A lightweight driver shaft should in theory generate more distance. They're easier to swing and allow you to swing faster to create more swing speed than heavier shafts. The problem with lightweight driver shafts (for me at least) is there's often some other accompanying loss of feel, control, or accuracy. Until now.
The new Fujikura Ventus VeloCore+ White is the first lightweight driver shaft I've played that checks all the boxes for me. Increased swing speed and distance? You bet. But Ventus White also delivers consistent shot patterns and doesn't disrupt my timing and tempo. I installed the Ventus White into my Ping G440 LST driver and I'll give you some comparisons in feel, launch, and spin to the Ventus VeloCore+ Blue shaft (which I play in a different driver) in this review as well.
Here are 10 things to know about the new Fujikura Ventus with VeloCore+ White driver shaft.
Number 1. ▪️The first thing I loved about the Fujikura Ventus VeloCore+ White shaft is the simplest. The white color. We don't see many white driver shafts from OEMs. And it was an eye-opener how much I loved this color. There was something about the combination of white driver shaft and black driver head that just dialed in my focus on the driver face more than usual. Looking down everything appears stronger, cleaner, more powerful. Sure this is subjective but I'm telling you there's something about the white/black color contrast that's very confidence inspiring and I know I won't be the only one who thinks this.
Number 2. ▪️The first few swings with the Fujikura Ventus White I could feel my swing speed was faster. I just knew it. And compared to the 60 gram shaft I was playing in my G440 prior to Ventus White (40 gram) I gained almost 4 mph of club head speed (going from 95-100 mph to 99-104 mph). I'm not going to throw my old shaft under the bus, but I can tell you Ventus White was consistently gets out there 12 plus yards longer.
Number 3. ▪️Sometimes people assume lightweight shafts have to be whippy and that's been my experience with many of them. But that's not the case whatsoever with Ventus VeloCore+ White. In fact compared to my Ventus VeloCore+ Blue, the White feels every bit as stable at impact. My consistency of strike with White is on par with Blue. There's no twisting of my club head open or closed with White (though there are some different shot patterns between these two shafts I'll mention below).
Number 4. ▪️Ventus White is the highest launching and highest spinning profile in the Ventus family of (White, Red, Blue, and Black) shafts. High launch and spin is generally going to be most beneficial to slower or average swing speeds. But Fujikura's VeloCore+ technology (which you'll find in all models) makes White so stable even faster swing speed players could play White if the spin and launch characteristics matched their desired ball flight.
Number 5. ▪️A downside to many lightweight driver shafts for me has been loss of feel during my entire swing. Not being able to sense where the club head is during the swing immediately takes a shaft out of play. But Ventus White gives me that feel and understanding of the position and movement of both club head and shaft. And for me this is crucial to making consistent and accurate contact at impact. The feel is less pronounced than with the Ventus Blue but it's clearly there.
Number 6. ▪️Lightweight driver shafts in the past have also disrupted my timing and tempo. You know the feel I'm taking about, like you're just swinging air. I hate that. With those shafts if you step in it you're going way left (for a right-handed golfer) and need to slow down your swing to adjust (which defeats the purpose of lightweight shafts in the first place). With Ventus White however there are no swing adjustments, just my regular swing. And when I do step on it I feel like I can send it accurately and consistently. I feel like I can put as much speed into this as I want without losing any stability.
Number 7. ▪️ You can expect higher and (more) left flight with Ventus White because at this light weight you're bending the shaft a bit more going back and it's releasing more coming through. But as mentioned above this slight draw bias is not from shaft twisting or face deflection. You're in control with Ventus White. I have significantly less right-to-left variance with Ventus White than any other lightweight driver shafts I've used. And in terms of preferred height and spin, adjusting the driver loft sleeve (decreasing loft by opening face) has allowed me lower launch and spin to numbers that are best for how I dynamically get through the ball.
Number 8. ▪️Feel at impact with Ventus White is still powerful, you will feel it kick as it releases into the ball. A lot of lightweight driver shafts have an absolutely dead feel at impact, but not Ventus White. And if you're like me I don't even get to how a shaft performs if I don't like how it feels at impact. Feel is every bit as important to me as finding my ideal launch and spin conditions.
Number 9. ▪️Sound is closely linked to feel for a lot of golfers and I can tell you the Ventus White sound is similar to Ventus Blue in that it's a more solid sound than a muted sound. That muted sound is common in a lot of lightweight driver shafts. But whatever Fujikura is doing with their materials and construction techniques it's all working with Ventus White. And the solid feel is on both good strikes and mishits.
Number 10. ▪️And speaking of mishits, Ventus White is giving me incredibly consistent spin and launch numbers on misses towards the heel and toe. I'm not sure why this is to be honest (you'll have to ask one of the Fujikura engineers). But same driver head and same miss location with one shaft is noticeably less consistent than the same driver head and same miss location with Ventus White. I experienced similar forgiveness like this with Ventus VeloCore+ Blue and it was nice to see this same kind of performance carried over to the White.
If you're currently playing a 50 gram driver shaft definitely give the new Fujikura VeloCore+ White shaft a look. Heck, even if you're playing a 60 gram shaft like I do give it a look. Ventus White is a shaft that's going to increase swing speed and distance for a lot of players. It's going to do so without sacrificing control or dispersion or feel. And it's a triumphant victory without compromise in lightweight driver shaft performance.
No comments:
Post a Comment