Best Quality Driver Shafts that are "free"

[PNW1896]

I am fortunate enough to have a discount with a golf shaft company and recently purchased a Ventus Black Velocore for my driver replacing my Speeder 661 Evo TR

I plan to buy a new driver soon, meaning I'll have a 3rd shaft to add to my driver shaft quiver. 

Curious to know opinions some of the best "free" shafts that are available for major retailers such as Taylormade and Callaway.

[cnosil]

All shafts are good;  the best "free" shaft is the one that fits your swing.  

[NM01]

Agree with cnosil.

Only bad fits, no

bad equipment or shafts 

[Swood1994]

Assuming by free you mean non-upcharge shafts. In that case barring the typical response of “the one that fits you best” I personally like the Mitsubishi Tensei Raw AV Blue 65 (75 for fairway woods). I think it has a nice balance and feel for a non-up charge option. 

Now with that being said it doesn’t compare to my Ventus Black Velocore. Granted 2 different shaft profiles but even the ventus blue velocore is better but there’s roughly a $300 delta in pricing so somewhat to be expected.

[GolfSpy_APH]

Depends on the golfer, but typically each company will offer a few different no upcharge options. Best you can do is get in and try them to see what works. Hard to say otherwise like others have stated. 

[NM01]

6 hours ago, Swood1994 said:

Granted 2 different shaft profiles but even the ventus blue velocore is better but there’s roughly a $300 delta in pricing so somewhat to be expected.

The blue is better for who?

Upcharge shafts aren’t necessarily better for anyone or everyone. I have a friend I play with back home who is 115+ swing speed, hits Avery high ball and is a sub 3 handicap. He has been fit into the red ei av white the last two times. No upcharge shaft and his swing profile would make him a candidate for the blue or black TR or just the black and possibly the red. And yes the red is a possibility. Have a local playing partner that is similar speed doesn’t hit it as high and was fit into the red by Ping despite all other fittings he has done with Callaway and tm put him in shafts like the t1100 or the px green tx.

There is no one shaft that’s better than another on its own. It’s what fits the golfer. Price doesn’t equal better either 

[Swood1994]

1 hour ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

The blue is better for who?

Upcharge shafts aren’t necessarily better for anyone or everyone. I have a friend I play with back home who is 115+ swing speed, hits Avery high ball and is a sub 3 handicap. He has been fit into the red ei av white the last two times. No upcharge shaft and his swing profile would make him a candidate for the blue or black TR or just the black and possibly the red. And yes the red is a possibility. Have a local playing partner that is similar speed doesn’t hit it as high and was fit into the red by Ping despite all other fittings he has done with Callaway and tm put him in shafts like the t1100 or the px green tx.

There is no one shaft that’s better than another on its own. It’s what fits the golfer. Price doesn’t equal better either 

Like I said in the beginning of my reply the answer is always go get fit to see what works best for you. I simply gave MY opinion as to what I think is a good all around no-upcharge option.  I also have used both and can confidently say that FOR ME the money spent on a ventus upgrade was well worth it for the performance gain I saw compared to the Tensei. 

I’d like to think that most people know that MGS and most forum members are big on getting fit as it seems to be the first 5 responses to threads like this. But at a certain point people might like to hear other people’s opinions so I gave mine. That doesn’t mean it’s right for the original poster.

Edited June 26 by Swood1994

[NM01]

5 minutes ago, Swood1994 said:

Like I said in the beginning of my reply the answer is always go get fit to see what works best for you. I simply gave MY opinion as to what I think is a good all around no-upcharge option.  I also have used both and can confidently say that FOR ME the money spent on a ventus upgrade was well worth it for the performance gain. 

I’d like to think that most people know that MGS and most forum members are big on getting fit as it seems to be the first 5 responses to threads like this. But at a certain point people might like to hear other people’s opinions so I gave mine. That doesn’t mean it’s right for the original poster.

We are big on getting fit because it’s one of the very few ways to get the right setup outside of one doing their own testing.

With self testing many don’t try options on the extreme of the conventional thinking based on handicap, swing speed, skill level or they look at marketing.

as has been posted recently by members who got fit they ended up in something they would never have thought to try on their own. This is where the skills of a good fitter come in which is a skill lacking in the majority of golfers who self fit.

Giving opinions based on personal experience really does nothing for the reader. The poster or reader may think it does but because we all swing different how one shaft performs for one is no guarantee it will perform the same way for another golfer.

Here is a well know and respected fitter with tons of data talking about this very thing

Myth #5 – How a shaft plays and performs for one golfer or group of golfers is important for other golfers to know to be able to make a proper shaft selection

Only if the golfers involved all happen to have EXACTLY, and I mean exactly, the same swing characteristics is someone else’s experience with a particular shaft of any importance. And how often do two or more golfers swing exactly the same way? 

I can’t tell you how many times I have scanned posts on golf equipment internet forums from golfers who ask a question such as, “has anyone tried the XYZ shaft and what do you think of it?” Invariably, almost every golfer’s response comes back citing this or that personal opinion or playing result without ever saying one thing about any of their specific swing characteristics. 

In addition, numerous times I have heard a golfer comment about a shaft to say something like, “that XYZ shaft is really a bad shaft. If golfers knew that shaft performance is so tied to specific golf swing characteristics they would say instead, “that shaft is probably a good shaft for some other golfer, but it is a bad shaft FOR ME AND MY SPECIFIC SWING CHARACTERISTICS.” 

There is no such thing as a good shaft or a bad shaft in this game. There are only shafts that fit their owners and shafts that do not fit their owners. More than any other component, the performance of the shaft is completely related to a series of finite, specific swing and playing characteristics – your clubhead speed, your transition move to start the downswing, your downswing aggressiveness/tempo, the point during the downswing when you unhinge your wrist-**** angle to release the club to impact and whether you as a golfer do or do not have a specific, preferred sense for the bending feel of the shaft during the swing.

 

The claim that forum members are more educated than the regular golfer is a myth to an extent. Theres tons of information and opinions posted regularly on golf forums that is outdated and has been proven with data to be wrong because many forum members don’t read things from well know sources like title and website, Wishon, Howard jones, Dr Sasho Mackenzie, many other and many instructor others about golf swing, golf equipment and so on

[Swood1994]

37 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

Giving opinions based on personal experience really does nothing for the reader. The poster or reader may think it does but because we all swing different how one shaft performs for one is no guarantee it will perform the same way for another golfer.

I think we are hijacking the original posters thread here RB. I'm not disagreeing with you and your sentiment around testing at all. The OP stated "Curious to know opinions some of the best "free" shafts that are available for major retailers such as Taylormade and Callaway." Who are we to assume that they aren't doing self testing or has enough knowledge to generate a decent starting point by doing research of shaft profiles and how they work based on numbers to go into the fitting session with at least an Idea of what they want to try. I'm in the camp of being surprised by fitting result myself which led to my current gamer but it is dependent on the head combo as well. We are all adults and if we ask for opinions we should know some will work and some won't.

I am not against fitting in any way and and love that MGS and the forum promotes it so much especially for the average golfer. But when someone is asking for an opinion I'm sure they have their reasons. Never once did I say that the shafts I called out were the best and they should only buy those nor did I provide a shaft I didn't like. I simply said based on on my experience I liked one and liked the others more because they performed better for me. To your point about not providing swing characteristics, if the OP wanted more info as to why I thought that shaft is decent then we could continue the conversation.

Again, I do not disagree with anything you are saying but I took the OP's question at face value and answered it based on my experiences like we do with any other conversation/opinion in our lives while still prefacing it with "get fit". example: I always recommend going to Dingle when in Ireland because I liked it. If someone prefers big cities they may not. I'm still going to recommend it because they asked my opinion of where to go.

I don't think anything else needs to be said on my end and I hope you have a great rest of your day RB! 

[cnosil]

16 minutes ago, Swood1994 said:

I think we are hijacking the original posters thread here RB. I'm not disagreeing with you and your sentiment around testing at all. The OP stated "Curious to know opinions some of the best "free" shafts that are available for major retailers such as Taylormade and Callaway."

I get what you are saying and here are my thoughts on that perspective .  none of the shafts are better or worse than any of the other shafts.   What the OP really needed to provide was intent.   I am guessing not highest resale value since it is going into the collection but what is the desire.   If the question was more of a n I am looking for this type of profile does anyone know which shaft offered best meets that profile question then I can see answers being provided.  
 

What i  recognize is most people don’t understand shafts or golf equipment in general and many people associate forum responses with MGS itself.   If a majority say a specific shaft does that make it better?  What if it is the worst shaft for the person and they buy that shaft based on a recommendation?  I can see the response:  “went to MGS who provides answers based on data and the shaft was terrible”.   These type of responses are provided daily on every article MGS publishes.  
 

it’s like the what irons are the best for me type questions.   How can that even be answered?  As a tester for MGS I know all clubs are good quality but they all perform differently.   Show me some numbers based on swinging the equipment and I’ll be happy to give you my opinion.  

[NM01]

9 hours ago, Swood1994 said:

I think we are hijacking the original posters thread here RB. I'm not disagreeing with you and your sentiment around testing at all. The OP stated "Curious to know opinions some of the best "free" shafts that are available for major retailers such as Taylormade and Callaway." Who are we to assume that they aren't doing self testing or has enough knowledge to generate a decent starting point by doing research of shaft profiles and how they work based on numbers to go into the fitting session with at least an Idea of what they want to try. I'm in the camp of being surprised by fitting result myself which led to my current gamer but it is dependent on the head combo as well. We are all adults and if we ask for opinions we should know some will work and some won't.

We are not hijacking the thread. I’m pointing out the flaws in people offering opinions on shafts based on their personal experience and why that’s not doing anything positive for the person asking in any thread based on my own personal experience doing fittings for 6 years, reading and studying about fittings and talking to fitters to learn and then posting a respect fitter to show it’s not just some random opinion of a member but that it’s valid based on actual data.

You made a statement about the ventus  r being better than the tensei blue, I pointed out how that’s not the case because no one shaft is better than the other because we all swing different. I pointed that out not only for the op but for any reader that comes to thread so that they can learn.

If everyone came in here and posted their shaft section there would be around 20 shafts of if not more which makes it hard for the op to pick a shaft to try and test.

the assumption can be made that self testing wasn’t really done because Md he asked for the best one which again nobody can tell the op because we aren’t swinging the club, only the op will know what works, and also because the op didn’t ask for opinions based on what was tested. Which the answer would have been what one produced the best results in the testing.

To the bold part you are correct it is also dependent on the head and how that balance feels to the person swinging, which will be different for each person.

Also for the bolder most don’t know what works and what don’t and again our guess is irrelevant because we don’t have the ops swing. We don’t know how a certain profile and weight will work or feel. Even if as example he was given all the blue profile shaft designs out there they all have some difference that may not work for him. I fit into high balance like shafts and counterbalance but some counterbalance don’t work for me. So no despite being adults we don’t know what works and what doesn’t for someone else.

9 hours ago, Swood1994 said:

I simply said based on on my experience I liked one and liked the others more because they performed better for me.

This is what I’m pointing out and wny I posted Wishon’s myth to show your experience is just that and means nothing to the op. Whether people like it or not the best advice when someone asks about what is best the answer should be only you will know based on you testing or getting fit. But people want to feel like they’re helping by giving personal experience or saying based on info you gave try X. When we know and yourself included going based on the general marketing or concepts of what should would keeps the better option from being tried.

 

[NM01]

9 hours ago, cnosil said:

What i  recognize is most people don’t understand shafts or golf equipment in general and many people associate forum responses with MGS itself.   If a majority say a specific shaft does that make it better?  What if it is the worst shaft for the person and they buy that shaft based on a recommendation?  I can see the response:  “went to MGS who provides answers based on data and the shaft was terrible”.   These type of responses are provided daily on every article MGS publishes.  

Exactly. I don’t want someone spending money on something that may not work. For the same reason as why it would look bad on mgs or its members.

And blind buying trying to find the right shaft to head can get expensive 

[Kaaaale]

Definitely isn’t the Aldila Ascent red that came with my Mizuno STZ… at least not for me. I wish I would have spent more time with it before running to the register. Stiff but lightweight not a good fit for my swing. 
For the price of shafts now I’ll be better off selling the whole driver and buying one used with a different shaft.

[NM01]

49 minutes ago, Kaaaale said:

Definitely isn’t the Aldila Ascent red that came with my Mizuno STZ… at least not for me. I wish I would have spent more time with it before running to the register. Stiff but lightweight not a good fit for my swing. 
For the price of shafts now I’ll be better off selling the whole driver and buying one used with a different shaft.

This gets to the discussion above. Because a shaft isn’t for you doesn’t make it bad or not the best. There is no one best of anything in golf clubs or shafts. The only best one is the one that works for the golfer

Also shows why not getting fit by someone can lead to bad buys