Fujikura Ventus Shafts - 2024 Forum Review

[bens197]

28 minutes ago, skraeling said:

i graded it marginally better.

I thought your review was fair...the play it or trade it 10/20 made me do a double take after reading the higher scores within the final grading...but I get it.

 

What would it take for you to make this a mainstay?

[Preeway]

1 hour ago, bens197 said:

I thought your review was fair...the play it or trade it 10/20 made me do a double take after reading the higher scores within the final grading...but I get it.

 

What would it take for you to make this a mainstay?

Is this directed at me?

[skraeling]

1 hour ago, bens197 said:

I thought your review was fair...the play it or trade it 10/20 made me do a double take after reading the higher scores within the final grading...but I get it.

 

What would it take for you to make this a mainstay?

It honestly will become it.  My driver swing is currently causing me issues not either shaft choice I currently have.

so far my best driving performance of all time has been with this ventus shaft.

The grading just worked out that way for the play or trade.  It was 0/10/20.  There was no sliding scale for it.

I’ll honestly need to give it a full season of using to really form a concrete opinion.  It took me 1-2 months to get used to my irons I had actually been fitted for. I got fitted the end of one golf season and they didn’t show up till winter of the next year. So I couldn’t get any play time with them the year they were fitted to me.

Now I can’t see myself hitting anything but them.

Now my irons vs driver… well irons I’ll hit multiple times a hole.  Driver is hopefully…. Just once.  So it’s going to take many many more swings.  Overall I stand by my I just flat need to play it more rating.

The weather cost me at least three playing opportunities this test.  

[bens197]

31 minutes ago, Preeway said:

Is this directed at me?

@skraeling mentioned 10/20 for play it or trade it.  

[Syks7]

Final review is posted.  I'll be adding a some additional data off the GC4 for each session as soon as I make it presentable.

Edited August 13 by Syks7

[bens197]

5 hours ago, Syks7 said:

Final review is posted.  I'll be adding a some additional data off the GC4 for each session as soon as I make it presentable.

Really nice job @Syks7 and glad to see it found a home in your bag.

One question now that you’ve given your final thoughts.

Without the complement of data, do you believe this still would have won amongst the others based solely on practice and play?

 

[Syks7]

26 minutes ago, bens197 said:

Without the complement of data, do you believe this still would have won amongst the others based solely on practice and play?

Thank you. 

To answer your question:

Yeah, I think it would have made it into the bag regardless.  I was leaning toward keeping after the initial adjustment period and that feeling kept getting more solid the more I played it.  Truth be told I haven't had a truly bad day with it.  Its never felt uncontrollable and I've never struggled to find fairways -- even on days where I know my swing isn't working the way that it should.  

I didn't really look at the data until the end of the test.  I was just playing, practicing, and collecting data until about two weeks ago when I started to sort through it -- which ended up being a pleasant surprise.  I'm always trying desperately to remain unbiased when I'm testing a product and it was nice to see good supporting data that aligned with what I was seeing on course -- in particular that the on course dataset aligned so closely with the GC4 dataset.  

[bens197]

4 minutes ago, Syks7 said:

Thank you. 

To answer your question:

Yeah, I think it would have made it into the bag regardless.  I was leaning toward keeping after the initial adjustment period and that feeling kept getting more solid the more I played it.  Truth be told I haven't had a truly bad day with it.  Its never felt uncontrollable and I've never struggled to find fairways -- even on days where I know my swing isn't working the way that it should.  

I didn't really look at the data until the end of the test.  I was just playing, practicing, and collecting data until about two weeks ago when I started to sort through it -- which ended up being a pleasant surprise.  I'm always trying desperately to remain unbiased when I'm testing a product and it was nice to see good supporting data that aligned with what I was seeing on course -- in particular that the on course dataset aligned so closely with the GC4 dataset.  

I felt the same about controllability with my original velocore blue.  And it’s no surprise that there’s so many who have these in play.

I’m glad it worked out well for you.  Driver is on the chopping block in my bag and tests like this make it really helpful in deciding what shafts I want to look at for next season.

Good work. 

[skraeling]

32 minutes ago, Syks7 said:

Thank you. 

To answer your question:

Yeah, I think it would have made it into the bag regardless.  I was leaning toward keeping after the initial adjustment period and that feeling kept getting more solid the more I played it.  Truth be told I haven't had a truly bad day with it.  Its never felt uncontrollable and I've never struggled to find fairways -- even on days where I know my swing isn't working the way that it should.  

I didn't really look at the data until the end of the test.  I was just playing, practicing, and collecting data until about two weeks ago when I started to sort through it -- which ended up being a pleasant surprise.  I'm always trying desperately to remain unbiased when I'm testing a product and it was nice to see good supporting data that aligned with what I was seeing on course -- in particular that the on course dataset aligned so closely with the GC4 dataset.  

 

1 hour ago, bens197 said:

Really nice job @Syks7 and glad to see it found a home in your bag.

One question now that you’ve given your final thoughts.

Without the complement of data, do you believe this still would have won amongst the others based solely on practice and play?

 

over winter ill add data from a sim as well.  Just didnt make it in to one during the test (its a pain in the ass here and not cheap).  But arccos was showing that it was better on average for me if slightly worse accuracy (not less accurate enough to make me not play it over my original).

Almost more telling it showed improved (granted not as much) results for me as a 20hcp.  Think I even stated in my review a lower hcp will probably get a lot more out of this shaft than I can.

Edited August 13 by skraeling

[skraeling]

Yes I know the test is over however im still playing the shaft.

So with some setup tweaks the driver is back to behaving.  I dont know about anyone else but I tend to start creeping farther and farther away from the ball with my long clubs.  That corrected and back to hitting decent shots again...

You know.... until you toe a 7i right into a ladies deck   Drop in the fairway... then hit the green from 200yd with a hybrid .

Golf.. what a game.

Wasnt all high drama though.  We had started on 18 for league with the second hardest hole on the course #18.

I then proceed to give myself my first ever eagle opportunity from the blue tees (first time playing them for league this year).

and then par the hole

 

Either way next year heard we all go back to the white tees.  REALLY looking forward to that.

Kind of annoying I have to play sometimes 50yds farther than people younger than me.

[skraeling]

Now that my mechanics have calmed the hell down (again), the ventus is really doing some things for me.  Ok granted its probably not all shaft as thats how bad my setup had gotten, but only reallllly pulled one super left and it was still playable at about 267 so eh good and bad but had to punch out from some trees.