REVIEWS: Fujikura ATMOS Tour Spec Testing. Read what member testers say.

[robrey85]

Oh my dear lord.

 

I know right? This guy uses mitochondria to describe some graphics and now thinks he's a super model. :blind: :cheesy: :cheesy:

lol sometimes, ya just gotta use mitochondria and rock the swag like a boss. No hatin here homie, own it lol

 

Hahah, I was just playing anyhow. Good times!

[FOOTJOY16]

Speechless. Still laughing though. ?

[awtryau89]

Well at least now if we see you on the course, we will recognize you and know what to do..... :cheesy:

[Mob]

So we played 42 holes yesterday, walking 15.3 miles, in Monterey California. Good weather, a little wind on the ocean holes as to be expected. The first thing I can say is that all my playing partners were impressed with my drives today. I am working on bringing my launch angle down a little bit, so I am teeing the ball alittle lower, which is taking some getting used to (my AOA is +4 degrees). I hit 6 fairways on the first nine, which maybe a record for me, then got a little wayward on the second nine. I settled down the second round and started driving consistently for pretty much the whole round. The good news is that my bad drives are only 10-15 yards off the fairway, instead of my usual 10-25 yards. I am not sure how much to attribute to the shaft and how much to attribute to the Epic head, as it is fairly new to me. This shaft has a nice stable feel to it, while still feeling lively; I think that is the best way I can describe it. Ball flight was good today, high but piercing ball flight.

At this point, the Atmos is going to be in the bag for the next few weeks, as I have several more golf trips coming up. After the trips are done, I am going to get out on the range and put it head to head with the KK DC 60TX, the Quadra Fire Express Prototype, and the Xxphlexxx Agera. I think it has already beat out the HZRDUS black, from previous testing last week. I think the toughest test will be the KK DC 60 TX; if I get time to do this on Sunday when I get back, I will give it a try, though it may cost me my marriage given how greedy I am going to look.

[cvhookem63]

Range testing session went well last night. I am working on an update to my initial post.

 

[Fujikura Golf]

Update 16 March Quick range session this evening. 50 degree weather so I was swinging a little bit looser. At risk of just sounding like a fanboy that received some free gear from a vendor, I am really starting to like this shaft. So I have been on the fence with my '16 M2 since I picked it up. I have never hit so many friggin balls out of play as I have since I picked this club up. While I have only had it on the course with the Atmos twice, and it was mostly just screwing around and not really playing for score, I have not hit a single ball out of play with this combo yet...not 1! Range session tonight was a little bit warmer than it has been, so I started swinging a bit harder with it. My miss when I go at something hard is generally a nasty hook. The harder I swung tonight, the straighter this combo went. And this shaft feels AWESOME when it is loaded up properly! Shots where I am damn near sure would have ended up in the trees to the left were just roped with a 5-10 yard cut. Nice piercing ball flight for the first 200 yards and then just flattens out. I am playing in a goofy golf 1-man scramble this weekend and the Atmos TS is in play!

 

Good to hear, thanks for the update. Your dispersion should definitely be down with ATMOS, we see that with most all golfers. Glad you're liking it.

[Fujikura Golf]

@Robrey86 - we're speechless, but loving it. Keep the posts coming, great reading. Hope you make some $ with your recent sale and glad you like the swag, and the shaft most importantly.

 

PS - your wife rocks if she agreed to take those pics without being bribed.

[cvhookem63]

Updated my original post with a more detailed review HERE

[gioguy21]

First post updated -- added my about me, current setup, etc. as well as some more thoughts on the shaft specifically.

[gioguy21]

Look forward to reading the reviews. Is anyone who received the Atmos currently playing the Mitsubishi DC? Would love to see a comparison DUAL CORE vs ATMOS!

didn't want this to go unnoticed -- Do you mean the retail Dual Core or the Dual Core TX??

 

if you mean the retail - i'll see what I can do as I have access to them. which were you looking for a comparison exactly? 60g? 70g? stiff or x?

[awtryau89]

I got 27 holes in today with the club. I probably had one of the worst driving days I have had in a while distance wise. I maybe hit 4 drives solid all day and it was due to my swing and certainly not the shaft. With that said, I continue to be amazed with the consistency of this shaft. As poor as I was striking the ball with my driver, I still managed a 3 over par round because I kept the ball in play. I was walking and by the time I got to the 3rd nine, my legs were gone and bad things happened. Still I managed to keep the ball in play. I definitely attribute a good portion of keeping the ball in play to this shaft. I could get wild with the Hzrdus and Tour AD. Those shafts could easily get me with snap hooks or bad blocks. For some reason, as bad of a swing I was putting on the driver today, I would look up and the ball would be close to my intended target. Dispersion is fantastic and the few times I did load the shaft properly and hit good balls, I just love the feeling of the kick. Another 18 tomorrow with $$$$ on the line. I need the Atmos to make me money so I can order another one for my fairway.

[Mob]

Another 18 today with the Atmos Black 60 stiff. I started out hitting the ball very poorly today, and unfortunately, no shaft was going to fix this swing. Out of sync for 10 holes, then started getting my rhythm. I hit a lot of great drives after that. Mid to high ball flight, straight, and fairly long, but more importantly, I hit a lot of fairways. I reached a Par 5 yesterday on a course where the member said he hasn't seen many people reach in 2, then the same thing happened again today on a different course. Unfortunately, I don't know these courses well enough to judge these shots against my normal driver or shaft. By simple math, one of these drives was 280 yards uphill, which is pretty big for me and the other was 290 yards with a pretty good tail wind. We are leaving Monterey today, and I have one more round tomorrow in Scottsdale, then I have to go back home to the real world. I was hesitant to put a new shaft in play on courses I don't know well, and had pretty much decided not to, but after the initial Flightscope session, I realized that it was going to be a low risk experiment.

At this point, I really don't know which shaft is going to end up in my Epic driver, but this one is certainly a contender.

[mackepa]

I received my shirt and hat today! Really nice touch by Fujikura! I especially like the Folds of Honor stitching on the side. If you don't know anything about the folds of honor I strongly suggest looking them up. They help provide scholarships for children and spouses of disabled or fallen service men and women of our country.

 

 

[coreyl]

updated post 14 with some goofy tournament action.

 

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1455020-reviews-fujikura-atmos-tour-spec-testing-read-what-member-testers-say/#entry15128380

[cvhookem63]

My ATMOS swag came in as well. The shirt is nice touch and the hat fits great. I wore the hat for my round today.

 

 

I was able to get out for a round this afternoon. Ended up playing 27 holes using the ATMOS Tour Spec Blue shaft in my M1 430.

 

 

My initial range testing went well. I like the feel of the shaft, and I like the results that I saw on the range. We all know range golf and course golf are two different animals though. The on-course results today went as well if not better than my range session. I had a solid driving day. The shaft was smooth but stable and I liked the ball flight that I was getting. The only bad shots that I had were blocked right due to user error (too quick on the transition which gets my upper/lower body out of sync.) I played my home course that I play at least once a week, so I am very familiar with where my drives typically end up. I hit 2 drives today that ended up having me play from places on the course that I can't remember playing from. I am typically a fairly long hitter, but I absolutely crushed two of them today. One hole in particular was a long, straight par 5 that plays about 540 from the tips. I absolutely nutted the drive and I knew it was a good one as soon as I hit it. Side note: There was a tournament going off at 1:00, so we started on the opposite 9 and ended up playing behind them on the back. They had a long drive contest going on this hole, and the leader marker was in the middle of the fairway (they were playing from the next tees up). At first, I thought I was pretty close to their long drive marker, but as I got closer - I realized I was considerably past it.

 

 

I ended up driving that one ~320, and I don't feel like I put much more on it than I typically do. I should have written my name on their marker. All that to say: the on-course results today matched how I felt about the shaft after my initial testing. This won't be leaving the bag any time soon.

[Mob]

I just finished my final round today in Arizona, and I am on the plane headed home. That now means that I have played 96 holes in the past 3 days with the Atmos shaft in the Epic driver. Today was a great day for me. As a 6-7 index, I shot a 76 on a difficult course that I have never played before. This was my best round in at least a year. Obviously this comes down to more than just driving the ball, but I am a big believer in hitting fairways, leads to more greens in regulation, and much better scoring for me. This shaft is clearly working for me. I cannot answer the question, is it better than my other good shafts that I like. I will try and get out on the range at my home club when I get back and hit it against my other shafts, and see if there is a clear winner. My guess at this point, is that this shaft will hold up to and compete with my other high end shafts, but I wouldn't necessarily say that it is better.

[awtryau89]

One more round today with the Atmos Black 6s and another 75 3 over par. Had a bit better day driving the ball than yesterday. Still hit some clunkers but they are always in play. I put the steering wheel on most today and played a low cut due to the wind. This shaft gives me so much control and confidence. I believe it is as long as any out there and my misses are getting to great spots. Played with our reigning club champion today and he gets it out there well past me most of the time. The 20 year age difference is key here. Even so, I was able to keep up with him on a few and stay within 10-12 yards. Really looking forward to warmer weather with this shaft. More roll and carry and I'll have a much better idea on the distance I can count on.

 

Also, my swag came today as well. Really looking forward to wearing that hat back to the course for my next round. Thanks again Fujikura.

[Fujikura Golf]

Glad to hear you guys are having some good results with ATMOS and continuing to put it through the ringer. Hitting fairways and winning long drive competition..solid. But - Wow I am jealous of how much golf you guys play! Also glad your swag arrived.

[rpaige88]

Sorry if I missed it but did anyone get the ATMOS Red? Would be curious to hear how the red compares to other shafts you've tried. Either way I'm thinking about buying one without testing one to put in my Epic because of these reviews. Tough decision.

[astout59]

Sorry if I missed it but did anyone get the ATMOS Red? Would be curious to hear how the red compares to other shafts you've tried. Either way I'm thinking about buying one without testing one to put in my Epic because of these reviews. Tough decision.

 

I've followed every forum post closely hoping to see if anyone has gamed the red in a driver. Seems most if not all have opted for black and blue, but I'm coming off my best driving year ever with a M/M Speeder 661 TS in a 9* 816 DBD head, and I believe I could benefit from reds slightly higher launch. (I typically play all my golf at 3500ft elevation or higher here in MT so higher is always better) I too can't test so I've been hoping someone who swings around 110 could give me some sort of piece of mind with as excited as I am to finally be able to order my M1 460 8.5 from Peoples this week. I hate to blindly choose the Red 6X and learn later I would've benefited from a blue or a 7X at $300 a pop.... Montana golf is great but what's not great is having to drive 9+ hours to be able to access a decent shaft selection for testing.

[gioguy21]

played 2 rounds in the simulator yesterday and the ATMOS tour spec blue continues to be great for me in regards to dispersion and launch. spin is a touch higher than I'd prefer still but, at least it's consistent.

 

can't believe how great it feels with the kick and just explodes through the golf ball. if I had the ATMOS tour spec black I think I'd be in heaven.

[drbonesvt]

3/10

 

First off, a big THANK YOU to both Fujikura and GolfWRX for this giveaway. I enter most of the giveaways as a "that would be cool" and don't really think much more of it until the winners are announced, but this is one that I was genuinely hoping to be picked for and I couldn't be more grateful and excited to get this thing in action.

 

Mine got shipped to the office today. I wanted to leave a little something here before I jump out of town for the weekend. I'll have better pictures, much more information/updates next week.

 

I got a call saying I had a "tall skinny package" and got very excited.

 

 

Opened it up to see this beauty:

 

 

with this note:

 

 

Some more pictures (ignore the messy desk and the calendar that I am obviously not using)

 

 

 

Honestly, my favorite part about the looks of the shaft is the GolfWRX etching (and that is saying something because the shaft graphics are gorgeous). The etching exposes black fibers and it looks awesome.

 

 

As others have mentioned, the white on this shaft is definitely different than traditional white. It is a very pure white, and it looks amazing. I am a big fan of the new ATMOS Tour Spec graphics and I look forward to getting this put into my driver head to start testing out.

 

Everyone enjoy your weekend.

 

3/17

 

The shaft came in last Friday, and I unfortunately left immediately for a long weekend trip out of town. I made it back in and got things settled back down enough to get out and do some testing.

 

ABOUT ME / CURRENT GAMER

 

My name is Caleb, I am 28, and I live in far East Texas - about an hour from Louisiana. Right now I play to about an 8 handicap. My overall game has been improving so that should keep coming down through the warmer months. Distance (and driving in particular) has always been one of the strongest assets of my golf game. My current gamer is a 9.5* M1 430 with Fujikura Pro Tour Spec 83X shaft. I have been using this head as my gamer for a season and a half, and the Pro 83 shaft was added a few months ago. I don't have any issues generating enough speed for a heavier driver shaft, and I have always preferred a heavier weight to keep my tempo in check (this is something that I believe started with swinging a heavier bat back when I was playing baseball.) I have had good success with Fujikura shafts, and I am currently playing them in all of my woods/long irons. I also picked up a 2016 M2 in the same loft about the same time I got selected to receive this shaft. I will try not to turn this into an M1 430 vs M2 comparison, but I am testing the shaft in both heads to decide which is the best option. The 430 has been a solid gamer for me - the solid hits are LONG (I have had some of the best drives of my life with this head) but the mis-hits can be ugly. I put both heads on the scale, and the M2 is considerably lighter. I have a replacement weight for it on the way and it may eventually get hot melted. I originally intended to add some weight to the M1 head, but I decided that I was comfortable enough with the feel to not mess with it.

 

 

LOOK AND BUILD

 

As mentioned above, the visual design of these ATMOS Tour Spec shafts is unreal. I have been a big fan ever since the sneak peak pictures of these starting being released on Twitter. The graphics on these have been described as "mitochondria" by robrey - which is surprisingly nowhere near the first time that word has been used in the history of this forum, but it is certainly the first time it has been used to describe the graphics of a shaft. After reading that, the upper graphics do resemble some type of cellular structure. The shaft graphics are detailed but not busy. The outstanding upper graphics combined with the pure white base and the simple branding make this shaft easily one of the most visually appealing that I have ever seen.

 

 

My ATMOS Tour Spec build specs

Shaft: Fujikura ATMOS Tour Spec Blue 8X

Playing Length: 45'' in M1 head

Tipping: 1"

Grip: Lamkin UTX Mid Blue (the colors of this grip match the shaft graphics perfectly)

 

I chose the blue because I am a low-spin player to begin with. I have a steep swing, and extreme low-low shafts paired with the super low spin M1 430 head sometimes end up hurting my distance. My current gamer was low-low and it was a good fit, but I wanted to try the mid launch of the ATMOS Tour Spec Blue to see if that would help squeeze out a few yards.

 

Range Testing

 

These are the shafts that I brought along for comparison:

 

 

I finally got out to the range last night to get this thing into action. I am lucky enough to have a great practice facility about 15 minutes from my house. It has a lighted range with plenty of mat bays as well as a large grass range. I grabbed a large bucket and went straight to the grass range to set up shop.

 

 

The temperature was 60 degrees with and windy (~10mph sustained winds / ~20mph gusts off my right shoulder - so helping and pushing a bit to the left). I started with a few wedges, 7 irons, 4 irons to get warmed up. I then moved to my current gamer M1 430 and Fuji Pro 83x to get a baseline. I hit probably 10-15 balls with that until I was comfortable with my swing and getting relatively consistent results. My ball flight with this combo is low/penetrating and I typically play a slight draw, but I can play a cut as well. The out/left wind was exaggerating my draw a bit more than usual. I switched over to the ATMOS Tour Spec Blue 8X at standard loft/lie adapter setting. The shaft looks great at address and pairs very nicely with the white/black crown of the M series heads. I set up just as I was with my current gamer and started taking swings. The first thing that I noticed was the feel of the shaft. The best way I can describe it is the shaft has a stout but lively feel. That may not make sense, so I'll explain further. I had mine tipped 1" and it is already a tip-stiff shaft, but I can still feel the shaft load. It has a smooth feel, but it also feels tight. This gives me the confidence to go after any shot without feeling like I am going to overpower the shaft. The second thing that I noticed was the ball flight. The flight was higher than my Fuji Pro TS 83, but not by an alarming amount - I would say mid-launch is a very accurate description. As I mentioned before, I went with the blue with the hope that it would raise my flight a bit without adding too much spin. That is exactly what this shaft did. Once I got it dialed in, my shot shape was very similar to my current gamer, but the ball seems to be staying in the air a little longer due to the higher flight. Distance looked great and I hit a few that seems to knuckle and just float out there a long way. I am sure that the strong helping wind played a little part in this, but I was pleased with what I was seeing. With other shafts, my miss is right when I try to go after it too hard and my transition gets out of sync - or left when I get lazy and turn my hands over without moving my lower body quick enough. The right miss is one that I was much more concerned with (the left miss is a laziness/swing issue not a shaft issue). Stability is one of the key factors in me putting a shaft in the bag - and the ATMOS Tour Spec Blue 8X delivers that without question. I put a few swings on it that were very aggressive with a faster transition than normal, and I did see a slight cut, but I never lost anything right. I mixed in a few shots with the GD AD-MD 8TX (my gamer before the Pro TS 83) but there's not much there worth discussing here other than to say that I like the ATMOS better.

 

Next, I switched over to the 2016 M2 head to put some swings on that. The lighter weight of that head was very evident, but I was still able to produce some good shots. I like to really be able to feel the head in my swing, and the lighter weight head didn't allow that to happen, so I'll report more back on that when my 10g weight comes in.

 

After some more tinkering with adapter settings on the ATMOS/M1 430 combo, I finally settled on the standard loft setting at the upright position. That was the closest shot shape to the slight draw I am used to seeing. That adjustment flipped the graphics up so I see them at address and turned the grip logo down which I don't hate either.

 

Conclusion / Going Forward

 

I really like the feel and performance of the shaft. The looks are just the icing on top. I feel comfortable enough with this shaft to put it in my bag for my rounds this weekend. I will be playing at my local course (weather permitting) so I will have more thoughts/updates then. When the heavier weight for my M2 head comes in, I will be doing some more head to head testing there to see which head will be my gamer this season (until I decide to move to the 17 M1 440). As far as shaft goes though - all signs are pointing to the Fujikura ATMOS Tour Spec Blue 8X being in my bag for the foreseeable future.

 

 

Nice review

[Sniperman]

Finally got to go out and play this weekend but he course we went to was covered in fog from hole 1 thru hole 8! Needless to say, had no clue about ball flight and distance on those holes. And when things finally started clearing up on hole 9, my swings weren't all that great.

 

However, on the driveable holes from 13-18 I had one of the best drives I've had in a long while. I played with a buddy (tmak19) who consistently drives it around 300 and to be within 10 yards of him on those holes was the best indication that the shaft has added distance to my drives. He was using a '17 M1 with AD DJ 6x compared to my Flex 440 with the ATMOS TS Black 6s. Best drive was on the 18th, I was parallel to his drive, whether he mishit or not we both drove it long.

 

As I initially wrote, shaft feels amazing! What I loved most was watching the ball launch mid and gradually just climb higher to what seems to be a flight that just keeps going once it's high up in the air. My favorite shaft has always been the Speeder VC6.2x, no other shaft that came after it has given the same overall satisfaction UNTIL NOW! When I spoke to Eric I told him the things I liked in the old shaft and he guaranteed I wouldn't be disappointed. I have to say Fujikura has delivered, and more!

 

It's not a fair write up as I said I didn't get to really play the driver due to the fog. I'll be back for more write up from range session and upcoming rounds!

 

Hole #3

 

 

Hole #8(?)

 

 

And did I mention this was my first time playing this 7180 (from blues!) course? From the black tees it plays 7620.

[gioguy21]

Swag! (Late to the party, i know)

[Mob]

My son immediately took the t-shirt, never even got to see it. Thanks for sending!!

[coreyl]

Update 19 March

 

Played yesterday and was still hitting a b e a utiful 10-15 yard cut ALL DAY. Was about 55-60* out and still a little soggy. I would bet on at least 15 more yards of roll when the course dries out a bit :)

 

Pic of 15 yards right of center line

[Homerun2Birdie]

So I've played 5 rounds with this shaft in the bag, and I understand there are a number of factors in play here when I say "this is the best shaft I've ever played", but I have never seen on course performance from my driver like I've seen over the last 5 rounds.

 

It has paired so flawlessly with the 440 head and my swing - I played 36 on Sunday in Wilmington, NC with some old pals of mine and it was hilariously windy. I hit 18 of the 22 fairways on the holes I played driver. There were some holes I was 60+ yards past my buddy, who on a windy day is right there with me distance wise. This is real world evidence that there is absolutely zero ballooning or over spinning going on here. Couldn't be happier with this shaft, and I am without question putting a Blue or Black 8X in my 3 Wood.

[robrey85]

So I've played 5 rounds with this shaft in the bag, and I understand there are a number of factors in play here when I say "this is the best shaft I've ever played", but I have never seen on course performance from my driver like I've seen over the last 5 rounds.

 

It has paired so flawlessly with the 440 head and my swing - I played 36 on Sunday in Wilmington, NC with some old pals of mine and it was hilariously windy. I hit 18 of the 22 fairways on the holes I played driver. There were some holes I was 60+ yards past my buddy, who on a windy day is right there with me distance wise. This is real world evidence that there is absolutely zero ballooning or over spinning going on here. Couldn't be happier with this shaft, and I am without question putting a Blue or Black 8X in my 3 Wood.

 

Did you get the Blue or the Black?

[Homerun2Birdie]

So I've played 5 rounds with this shaft in the bag, and I understand there are a number of factors in play here when I say "this is the best shaft I've ever played", but I have never seen on course performance from my driver like I've seen over the last 5 rounds.

 

It has paired so flawlessly with the 440 head and my swing - I played 36 on Sunday in Wilmington, NC with some old pals of mine and it was hilariously windy. I hit 18 of the 22 fairways on the holes I played driver. There were some holes I was 60+ yards past my buddy, who on a windy day is right there with me distance wise. This is real world evidence that there is absolutely zero ballooning or over spinning going on here. Couldn't be happier with this shaft, and I am without question putting a Blue or Black 8X in my 3 Wood.

 

Did you get the Blue or the Black?

Blue 7X - I've got it in a '17 M1 440, which is an obnoxiously low spinning head for me. I had a HZRDUS Black in there prior, so I wanted to test the Blue as an alternate. Figured a Mid shaft would be much more forgiving in terms of spin/trajectory. That being said the Blue has been a Low to Mid launch for me without question. It knifed through the high winds without issue, which pretty much showed me everything I needed to see on the course since the feel already is off the charts.

[mackepa]

Added my on course review to post #6