50 Words or Less
The Fujikura Ventus hybrid shafts provide a wide array of performance characteristics but all have the trademark Ventus consistency. Very stable.
Introduction
Not enough golfers get fit for their hybrids and utility irons, but if you’re serious about improving your long game, you should. Just like with your driver, the right shaft can change a club from a weakness to a weapon. For 2025, Fujikura is offering golfers the same three Ventus profiles that are so popular off the tee as shafts for hybrids and utility irons. I got to test all three Fujikura Ventus Hybrid shafts to let you know which one might unlock the potential in your long clubs.
Looks
The Fujikura Ventus hybrid shafts match their longer counterparts precisely. Each of the three models has a rich, matte Phantium finish and the simple yet distinctive graphics below the grip. The Ventus HB branding is of average size, stretched across the middle of the shaft, with the specs below. If you prefer a cleaner look at address, the underside of the shaft is logo-free.
Feel
If you read the descriptions of the three Fujikura Ventus Hybrid shafts, you’d think they’re all quite different. Fujikura describes the Ventus Red Hybrid shaft as stiff, firm, stiff, from butt to mid to tip. The Ventus Blue Hybrid is firm, stiff, ultra stiff, and the Ventus Black Hybrid is ultra stiff, stiff, ultra stiff. While I wouldn’t disagree with these descriptions, I think they fail to convey the familial similarity of the three.
I tested all three shafts in 80 gram X-flex, making it as apples-to-apples as possible. All three felt very consistent and stable. While I had a clear preference for one, I feel like I could play any of them.
The Fujikura Ventus Red HB is definitely the most active. It can stand up to more aggressive swings, but it has plenty of kick for those that prefer a smoother approach. On the other end of the spectrum is the Fujikura Ventus Black HB which firmly requests your best effort. This is a shaft you can (and should) put everything into without fear that it won’t hold up. For me, the Fujikura Ventus Blue HB is the “just right” middle. It’s smooth and controlled with just a hint of kick. You can swing it hard or you can baby it, and the feel is always the same, always in control.
Performance
I’ll start with the Fujikura Ventus Hybrid shaft that worked best for me: the Ventus Blue HB. From the very first swing, I was filling my notes with lavish praise. The consistency was out of this world. My dispersion – both distance and right-to-left – was laughably tight. I hit a ball off the toe, thought, “Well, that should be ugly” and found it 210 down the middle.
For me, this shaft simply did it all. I could swing easy or hard and get solid results, never losing my feel for the shaft. The stock flight was a medium trajectory, but I could go higher or lower. It gave me the ability to hit big shapes, small shapes, or point and shoot down the middle.
What’s interesting about the Fujikura Ventus Blue HB being so clearly the best for me is that I don’t feel that was about the driver shaft [2024 Ventus Blue review HERE]. In the driver, I’m always somewhere between Blue and Black, but with the Ventus Hybrid, I’m clearly a blue player.
The Fujikura Ventus Blue Hybrid shaft is available in 70, 80, 90 and 100 grams. At 70 grams, you can choose from R and S flexes. S and X flexes are offered at 80 and 90 grams. At 100 grams, only the X flex is available.
The Fujikura Ventus Red HB shaft is billed as the higher launching, higher spinning Ventus HB. When I let the shaft do its thing, I did see this higher ball flight. It wasn’t a night-and-day difference for me, but the ball did fly higher and landed softer.
While I liked the feel of the Ventus Red HB, I will offer my typical warning that fitting doesn’t happen on paper. When I made my normal, more aggressive swing, this shaft produced a reliable draw that launched and spun a bit less than the Ventus Blue HB. Ultimately, my feelings about this shaft are similar to those I had for the 2024 Ventus Red [review HERE]: it’s very stable for a higher launching shaft, but it’s still best for players who are less aggressive swingers.
The Fujikura Ventus Red hybrid shaft is offered in 60, 70, 80, and 90 gram weight classes. At 60 grams, you can choose between R2 and R. The flexes move up as the shafts get heavier: the 70 gram version comes in R and S, the 80 gram version in S and X, and the 90 in X only.
The Fujikura Ventus Black HB is the burly, brawling bomber of the group. It lives up to its lower launch, low spin credentials, firing piercing shots downrange. As a player who already launches and spins the ball on the lower end, my shots with this shaft would never hold a green, but the best ones fly forever and run like they’re being chased. Depending on your swing needs and how you use your hybrid or utility iron, this could be very attractive.
In terms of dispersion and consistency, the Fujikura Ventus Black HB is much like the 2024 Ventus Black [review HERE] or the previous version Fujikura Ventus Hybrid shaft [review HERE]. The ball does not want to stray from its starting line. You will be hard pressed to get an unexpected result from this shaft. For good or ill, you get out exactly what you put in.
The Fujikura Ventus Black hybrid shaft is made in 80, 90, and 100 gram versions. Fujikura offers S and X flex at 80 grams but only X flex at 90 and 100 grams.
Conclusion
The Fujikura Ventus Hybrid shafts will allow every golfer to stare down their long approach shots with more confidence. Across three profiles, five weights, and four flexes, Fujikura has provided an option for any player. Visit your Fujikura fitter to put their latest tech to work for you.
Visit Fujikura HERE
He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
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6 Comments
Great review Matt, I recently tested the new Ventus HB Black & Blue shafts in 10X and to me their performance was very similar to the original Ventus HB shafts so they performed really well and were very stable, the Blue profile is just not an optimum fit for me so it felt quite soft and was spinning higher than I like to see in a hybrid while the black just seemed a bit more stable thus my spin dropped and my dispersion improved, I still slightly prefer the OG Ventus HB Black 10TX shaft in my hybrid so I won’t be upgrading at this time.
Matt, completely agree with you about the Blue. I got a 10x, been playing the OG Black 9tx in my QI10 tour hybrid. Put it in yesterday and did some testing with it on trackman. First impressions were very similar to yours. The Blue was so smooth and when I needed to go at it, it had no issue staying with me. It will most likely be staying in my hybrid this upcoming season. Great review as always!
Matt, did you test these with a hybrid or utility? I’d normally stay away from Black but would be curious to see how it might perform in a utility iron – especially since most lightweight steel iron shafts tend to bill themselves as higher launching, high spin.
Mike,
I tested these in my gamer PXG hybrid.
Best,
Matt
Matt, wondering if you can answer some feel questions.
Fujikura lists the handle as “stiff” for red and “firm” for blue. However, I’ve heard from some videos that they did really soften the handle on the red here, and generally the “butt flex” listed on their site has them equivalent or the red as having more flex (softer). How did you find the feel of the two more toward the hands?
Relatedly, blue is mid kick and red is low kick per their site. Can you sense this difference in kick point?
AJ,
I felt that the Red was softer overall; I certainly wouldn’t regard it as having a stiffer handle than the Blue.
Regarding kick point, yes, I can see the Red’s being slightly lower than the Blue.
-Matt