Equipment

Tour Insider: Fujikura Ventus – The best “Fuji”shaft ever?

Published

5 years ago

Dec 21, 2020

Now that the tour season has come to a conclusion for this year, I wanted to take a look at something I found quite fascinating for a few different reasons. It’s not every day you see a club component (or “part,” as the guys on the trucks like to call it) that has had such an evolution as the Fujikura Ventus line.

The thing that makes Ventus go is VeloCore technology—that’s the “what” of the Ventus story.

But what exactly is it?

Well, it started as a tour-driven concept. Fujikura was using pitch 70 ton in the R&D “ENSO” concept shafts to study the influence of torque on performance.

A few background notes

P = Pitch = derived from earthy carbon-based materials like plants, crude oil, and coal.

70 ton – Standard modulus is 24ish, then you have intermediate, high (ex: T1100) and ultra-high (Pitch 70 Ton).

Ultra-high starts around 60 ton

The higher the tonnage the higher the stiffness.

At a certain point, Fujikura tested it at full length to push it as far as they could, and with the help of ENSO, they had a eureka moment. Engineers found that with this composite makeup they had a shaft that had the stability to increase center face contact frequency, all while dialing up speed. Boom! VeloCore was born!

It was over two years ago at Napa that the Fujikura Ventus Blue made its tour debut. At the time, other shaft manufacturers had launched very competitive product—Mitsubishi was very successful with Diamana and Tensei, Graphite Design with its Tour AD line and Project X HZRDUS was going strong. Needless to say, Ventus dove right into the middle of a very crowded swimming pool.

However, since the golf world opened back up, Ventus has seen momentum on tour that has been unique—in particular, the Ventus Black shaft.

Average number of Ventus wood shafts in play before shutdown = 24.46
Average number of Ventus wood shafts in play after shutdown = 32.9
34.7 percent growth after season resumed

In the shaft game, that’s a huge leap, and if you could nail it down to one particular shaft, it would be the Ventus Black.

But why? What is it about that shaft that sparks the interest of so many players including Rory, Fleetwood, Kuchar, Sergio, and DJ?

Check out this list of notable players who switched into Ventus Black

Rory McIlroy (driver)
Justin Rose (driver)
Dustin Johnson (driver (at times), 3-wood)
Sergio Garcia (won) with Black in all three woods and in the driver went to a 60-gram profile for the first time in years
Tommy Fleetwood now plays it in driver, 3-wood, and 7-wood
Matt Kuchar (driver)

I had a chance to chat with Pat McCoy (Fuji Rep on Tour) and get his opinion. This is what he had to say.

JW: If you could pinpoint one aspect of Ventus that is unique what would it be?

PM: The ability to keep the head more stable through impact regardless of head CG. At the speeds these guys are swinging, you need stability to maximize it.

JW: What is important to the guys on tour as a general rule, speed or stability?

PM: In years past, I would have said stability, but now it’s all about speed. We can fix the club to be built for stability after we get the speed.

JW: What about the Black has been so attractive versus the Blue or Red?

PM: The Black due to it being ultra butt stiff and it allowed fitters to increase loft and it will still be low in spin, plus it was a part that we know more tour players would want

JW: Is it fair to say that in some cases, certain profile heads just match up with really well certain shafts?

PM: It’s fair to say that certain swing styles match up to EI profiles but you still need to optimize CG and loft for impact location.

Over the year, I spoke with multiple fitters and tour techs on Ventus, but this comment was the one that really struck a chord as to the nitty-gritty of what makes this shaft unique especially on tour.

“Fuji hasn’t cracked the code they have destroyed it. The Ventus Black specifically has an integrity that I haven’t seen much of. Its not often that we get a tour part at 60G that gives the player everything they get at 70G as far as dispersion but in addition gives them more speed. 9.9/10 there is some kind of trade-off going up or down in weight, this shaft asks the player to sacrifice nothing. “You get what you get” is the best way to describe it, call it stability, efficiency whatever you like but players are getting perfect feedback from this thing. If a player has a left tendency, it goes that way, if it’s right it goes that way. It May seem like something negative but it’s not, feedback and predictability are paramount for the best players in the world, and as a fitter, once we know there are zero surprises, we can dial it in and the ownership falls squarely on the player. That’s how they want it. No tricks.”

The data supports the momentum. I had a chance to chat with PGA Tour stats wizard Rich Hunt on two specific test cases that paint an interesting story on what happened when Player A and Player B switched into Ventus Black. It needs to be said that the shaft is one piece of the puzzle, it’s the combination of the fit, the head, face angles, swing weights, etc. Nonetheless, there are some interesting data points.

PLAYER A (10 tournaments total: 5 before Ventus and 5 after)

*Carry Efficiency = Carry Distance / Club Speed

As you can see he is not only swinging a shaft at least 15G lighter than before, he also improved his spin, launch, carry, and accuracy. Counterintuitive to what you would think going to a lighter shaft. Point is swing speed and ball speed remained constant (AKA Effort) and with everything else being equal found a setup that maximized that effort by a significant amount.

PLAYER B (4 tournaments before and 2 after)

The story here is pure speed. The player, who was in a heavier profile previously was able to go down to a 60-gram profile found ridiculous (at the tour-level) upticks in swing speed, ball speed, launch angle, and max-height all while reducing spin. Now accuracy versus the field was sacrificed a bit, however, the 8-12 yards increase in distance is a worthy gamble. That’s a full club shorter.

What did we learn?

First of all, Ventus is one of many phenomenal shafts on the market. However, Fujikura has found something to run with. It’s the ability to offer a tour part at a true 60-gram weight class, all while giving players the same stability aspects of 70 to 80-gram shafts.

Usually, less weight means more speed and potential loss of accuracy. Ventus Black especially has offered more speed and improvements in dispersion. That’s unique.

I also spoke with some colleagues on the inside at Fujikura about what is to come, and from the sounds of it, they have big plans to extend tour offerings even further. Sub-60 Ventus Black? Ventus for the long shaft players? a TX? We shall see. When the tour asks, Fuji has a knack for responding quickly.

To compete in the shaft game, you constantly have to make breakthroughs, even in the most tucked of corners. The crew at Fujikura did something special here, and there is no disputing that now.

Quick Fujikura stats

General Fujikura shaft brand Darrell count (YoY increases – not Ventus specific, all Fuji shafts)

20% increase in driver count
7% increase in wood count
PGA Championship – 28% increase
WGC FedEx St. Jude Classic – 40% increase

Ventus Brand Darrell count YoY increases

Ventus – 219% increase from 2018/19 events to 2019/20 season events which were played. (This excludes events on the 2019 calendar but not played in 2020 due to COVID-19 season)

Whats in the Bag

Christiaan Maas WITB 2026 (June)

Published

10 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D LS (8 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3), TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 10 X, True Temper Dynamic Gold X100

Wedges: TaylorMade Prototype (50-SB09), TaylorMade MG5 (56-HB12, 60-LV07)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400

Putter: TaylorMade TP Juno

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

Check out more in-hand photos of Christiaan Maas’ clubs here.

Equipment

TaylorMade MySpider Tour and Tour X: More customizable build options now available

Published

10 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Alistair Cameron

TaylorMade Golf’s MySpider program underwent a substantial overhaul over the last month. Firstly, the company launched the option to customize the Spider ZT model, and now the program has returned with the MySpider Tour and MySpider Tour X.

The revamped page now gives golfers complete control over every visual and functional detail of their putter on the popular Tour and Tour X head, with every cosmetic idea thought of. In MySpider Tour, golfers can choose from four head finishes, 16 paint fill colors, nine Surlyn face insert colors, three aluminum insert options, six sightline configurations, and four hosel options — L-neck, small slant, double bend, center shaft. Six sightline options are available in MySpider Tour, including the optically engineered True Path alignment system. MySpider Tour X gives builders the option of four head finishes, four hosel configurations, and five sightline options, also including True Path alignment.

One of the more interesting features of the new MySpider program is the availability of three distinct face insert options. Along with the usual Surlyn Pure Roll insert trusted by Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, which can be customized from nine colors, golfers can now also select firmer options. Two are offered with the black aluminum Pure Roll insert, slightly firmer than the traditional insert, or for the firmest feel, golfers can choose from two colors of milled aluminum inserts.

Another fun addition to the MySpider Tour is the ability to use the “Tommy Sightline.” The custom alignment aid design, which was first drawn onto Tommy Fleetwood’s putter by PGA Tour Rep James Holley, is based on the milled sightline on his Spider ZT head. There are five shorter lines on the left and right of a longer central line serving as the traditional short line alignment aid.

See below for the full specifications sheet for MySpider Tour and Tour X:

MySpider Tour

MySpider Tour X

Equipment

Then and now: Comparing Rory McIlroy’s current setup to his record-breaking 2019 Canadian Open victory

Published

13 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Alistair Cameron

In Rory McIlroy’s first appearance at the 2019 RBC Canadian Open, he crushed the record books to earn his 16th PGA Tour title in dominating fashion, winning by seven shots over Shane Lowry and Webb Simpson.

McIlroy’s score of 22-under-par 258 is the lowest 72-hole score to date at the Canadian Open, and his closing 61 is also the best final-round score in the history of one of golf’s oldest tournaments. Finally, with his win in 2019, McIlroy became only the sixth player to win the career Triple Crown, adding to his victories at the U.S. Open in 2011 and The Open Championship in 2014, joining Tommy Armour, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods in a coveted list.

So, with that, why not compare his current setup to the clubs he used to break all the records?

Driver

2019: TaylorMade M5 (9 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees @8), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7X (45 5/8 inches)

McIroy led the Tour in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee in 2019; he’s doing the same in 2026. Between now and then, McIlroy has switched from the Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX (a shaft with slightly more feeling in the tip) to the original Fujikura Ventus Black 7X, having just made the change to the heavier version from playing the 60X.

What’s interesting about McIlroy’s 2019 setup is that the weighting on his driver is actually set in the high-draw setting, using the T-Track weighting system, whereas in the Qi4D, he’s currently using a heavily rear-weighted setup. (Two 13-gram weights in the rear and only two 4-gram front weights.)

The TaylorMade M5 driver he played in during his Canadian Open win was the company’s first head that they claimed to design to initially exceed the USGA’s COR limit, and then injected with tuning resin to bring it back in bounds.

Fairway woods

2019: TaylorMade M6 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX; TaylorMade M5 5-wood (19 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 90 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8X; TaylorMade Qi4D 5-wood (18 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9X

The TaylorMade M6 fairway wood that McIlroy was using during the 2019 season is still in the bag of some of the best golfers on Tour in 2026. Just check out Justin Rose’s winning setup from the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year. This year, though, McIlroy has still been searching for his top-end-of-the-bag setup, having played both the new Qi4D and the Qi10, which he won the Masters with.

The same shaft swap can be seen in the fairway woods as the driver, along with slightly less loft on the 5-wood.

Irons

2019: TaylorMade P750 (4) Buy here, TaylorMade P730 (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0
2026: TaylorMade P760 (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0

The biggest difference between McIlroy’s custom set and the stock P730s is the groove design. While the P730s were constructed with 14 MX-9 grooves on their milled faces, McIlroy’s proto heads instead use the higher-spinning, 16-groove layout of the TW2 grooves. Other big differences between the sets are that McIlroy’s 7- and 8-irons have thinner toplines, are 1 degree stronger in loft, and are 1/4 inch longer than the original P730 builds.

With McIlroy’s 4-iron, the switch from P750 to P760 sees a transition to a two-piece construction with Speed Foam in it, which allows McIlroy to launch the ball slightly higher, with more workability.

Wedges

2019: TaylorMade Milled Grind (48-09SB), TaylorMade MG Hi-Toe (52-09SB, 56-09SB, 60-LB09), Shafts: Project X Rifle 6.5
2026: TaylorMade MG5 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB, 60-08LB @61), Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)

Between 2019 and 2026, McIlroy’s focus on his short game has been much more apparent. It was the reason why he switched back to the TP5 golf ball, to help with launch, spin and control with his wedges leading up to his career Grand Slam victory in 2025. The most apparent changes to McIlroy’s wedge setup are his lofts and bounce. He’s slowly delofted his pitching to a sand wedge, but has increased the loft on the lob wedge, bending his current 60-degree to 61. With that, adding more loft to his lob wedge also slightly increases the bounce and leading-edge sit point, so, as a result, he plays a lower-bounce lob wedge compared to 2019. The MG5 wedges are also softer than the first Milled Grind option from 2019. McIlroy also no longer plays the full-face grooves found on the Hi-Toe.

Putter

2019: TaylorMade Spider X
2026: TaylorMade Spider Tour X

Notice anything similar. Yes, the copper finish on Rory McIlroy’s Spider X putter in 2019 is a slightly more reflective finish than the recently released torched PVD finish. McIlroy was using the True Path alignment system, but now uses only a single white sightline.

Ball

2019: 2019 TaylorMade TP5 (#22)
2026: 2025 TaylorMade TP5 (RORS)

As mentioned above, McIlroy had transitioned from the TP5 to TP5x golf ball since his victory in Canada in 2019, but now is black with the same style of golf ball as his victory at Hamilton Golf & Country Club.

Grips

2019: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
2026: Golf Pride MCC

Interesting, McIlroy actually used Golf Pride’s Tour Velvet Cord grips during his victory in 2019 (it was during a 2+ year switch to the corded TV) as opposed to his usual MCC grips, which he has played for most of his career.