Reader Reviews – Fujikura Ventus Part 2

Reader Review #3

Name: Cristian Nieto

Handicap: 12

Driver: TaylorMade M5

Previous Shaft: HZRDUS Smoke Black

New Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 5-R

How does the Ventus feel?  It took some getting used to at first but now feels much better.  Overall, I like the lighter weight and regular flex to it.  At first it felt a little too light and whippy but once I got a few rounds in with it, I gained more confidence with it and can now swing as freely as I did with the previous shaft.  The lighter shaft is better to play with through 18 holes.  With my previous heaver shaft, I was pretty tired at the end and hitting that difficult 18th hole par 4 was made harder with a heavier shaft.  One of my goals once I won this new Fujikara shaft and fitting was finding a lighter shaft without losing the distance–mission accomplished.

Have you gained distance on the course with Ventus?  Yes and no. On days with moderate wind and humidity conditions (I play in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area), I do get  more yards with this new shaft. On days with winder and more humid conditions, I feel like I get just a few yards less out of this new shaft than my old shaft. This makes sense to me since the Fujikara shaft was meant to get me a higher launch angle and ball speed than my previous shaft. Higher launch in windy conditions isn’t ideal–especially since the higher ball speed wasn’t significant enough to make a real difference in windy conditions. In windy conditions I do think my previous shaft gets me a fewer more yards. I am talking a difference of maybe 3-5 yards. It isn’t significant.

Has your accuracy improved with Ventus?  Overall, yes, I believe my misses are not as severe with this new shaft as with my old. Besides the technology of the Fujikara shaft, I believe the fitting, which resulted in a lighter more flexible shaft, gave me the confidence of swinging more within myself which leads to better shots. In my previous shaft, considering its weight and flex, I felt like I had to go after it harder and faster. Thus, when I connected with the ball properly, I got a phenomenal drive out of it. However, when I was just a little bit off, my previous shaft could result in a very severe miss in either direction. With this new shaft, my misses in either direction (right or left) seemed to be on a tighter dispersion.

Do your real world results match what you saw in your fitting?  Yes and no. Tough to mimic real world results in a controlled environment that is the Club Champion fitting..I do feel this new shaft is the better shaft compared to my previous shaft but it is hard to tell out on the course if I am getting the yardage the results that I saw in the trackman report. There are too many factors to consider (wind, humidity, soft ground after rain, etc) when trying to get back to the results in the fitting. In the end, I get the higher launch, my misses aren’t as severe and when I feel I put a good swing on it, I believe I get the yardage I am expecting to get out of it.

Will the Fujikura Ventus be your new gamer?  Overall, yes..I am certainly going forward with the new shaft and don’t think I am going to be going back and forth with my old shaft. However, as I mentioned above, in winder/dryer conditions, I do believe my heaver/stiffer shaft may be better. I don’t believe that this is because my previous shaft is better but just the fact the Fujikara shaft that was best for me is designed to launch higher simply makes it more susceptible for the wind to affect it more. Ultimately, the Club Champion conditions are ideal–no wind and no humidity. I don’t know that you can walk out of that experience with a shaft that is ideal in all conditions that you will see on the course. But you leave the fitting going to the course knowing you have the best club for your swing, which hopefully results in more confidence during the round and that usually leads to better results in most conditions. Lastly, most of us aren’t professionals with an arsenal of equipment for different conditions and all we have to deal with new conditions is improved confidence with the equipment we have.