Fujikura Member Trip and VeloCore Fitting Experience Live at Fujikura HQ! Follow Along Here!

[SwingBlues]

42 minutes ago, eric61 said:

Just wrapped up another awesome day with the Fujikura and GolfWRX folks at Shadowridge — now I’m posting from my Uber to the airport headed home.

 

The whole experience was just first class. The Fujikura folks were great. And I think it’s also important to note that they didn’t ask us for anything — they just wanted us to share our honest thoughts and experiences, good and bad.

 

Andrew, who did our fittings yesterday, was in my group today, and he was very nice to answer a bunch of questions I had.

 

We went back and forth between the Axiom 105X and the 125X for me today, because I was just really comfortable with the T100 7 iron with the 125X and seemed to hit it well every time I swung it. It had nothing to do with flex — I’m around 87-88 mph with a 7 iron, hit it 170ish; I’m not by any means a guy who needs a super stiff shaft. It was the weight that was syncing well with my swing.

 

Ultimately after talking it over with Andrew and Spencer we decided on 105X and just getting them built to a heavier swing weight. Spencer rightly pointed out that the 4 and 5 irons would be bears with the 125X just in terms of overall weight.

 

I had the 105X in a P790 demo head out on the course today too, and was really impressed with the flight and spin. It wasn’t ballooning by any means, but the ball was stopping on greens fast. I had into a slightly uphill slope on a green that sucked back 2 feet, and one onto a more severe downhill slope that still stopped pretty fast.

 

I asked them why a set of something like the 4 and 5 iron in the 105X and 6-wedge in 125X wouldn’t work, and they said generally speaking, 20 grams would be too big of a jump in terms of keeping a consistent feel. If we were talking about jumping from 95 to 105 or something, maybe a different story, but they thought 105 to 125 would be too big a jump, which makes sense to me.

 

I think the Axiom shafts are going to pair really well with player’s distance type irons, where they’ll allow you to get the ball speed and forgiveness those iron heads offer while gaining the height and spin to make them really playable. Lower-spin guys in players’ irons will also love them.

 

The other thing I’ll say, for folks who haven’t hit graphite iron shafts before, is that they really take the sting out of impact. This is the first time in a while where I’ve had absolutely no wrist pain after a round. And it doesn’t come at the cost of the iron heads’ feel. The T100 I mentioned was still buttery soft.

 

Driver was a different story for me today. On the front 9, I just absolutely couldn’t hit the thing … I’m just making excuses for myself, but I think having a video crew around us was spooking me a bit. It was embarrassing, to be honest. On the back 9, I switched from a G430 Max head to a G430 LST head and it was like a light went on and I started driving the ball really well. I had the Ventus TR Blue 6S in both heads today but was feeling a little too loose in the mid-section. Andrew said I should go with the 6X and it would tighten that feeling up a bit. 
 

I did think it was interesting how swing speed was NOT really the dominant factor in what flex I was fitted into. On paper, in every way, you’d think I’d be a stiff flex guy. But in terms of what suited me and my swing better in terms of feel, X was definitely better. Just something I wanted to note as a reminder of the limitations of those “swing speed recommendation” charts you see from time to time.

 

Fujikura is going to send us the driver shafts we were fitted into, and then send the Axiom iron shafts to whatever local authorized dealer we pick to have them built. 

 

I’m pumped for the TR Blue 6X, but REALLY excited for the Axiom 105X set-up. 

 

 

Yeah, that's the WRX experience for ya, its like nothing you will find just playing with your regular mates.

 

Having that drone buzz and fly around and also with 4 other guys watching, pressure is on. For our Full Swing, everyone of us had errant drives except Brian, hes played The Grand before. When he pulls a 3 wood, you do the same.

 

It's also a course you never seen before so you have NO IDEA where to miss it also. You try not to cut a corner but sometimes it happens.

 

"oh theres a creek there"

 

"damn check out the slope on the green"

 

At the end of the day, its an EXPERIENCE like no other being a WRXer. Brian and my guys were a TON OF FUN keeping it light and laughs all around and cheering one another on. I was expecting money games atmosphere but nothing like that at all. Perception versus reality.

 

It's an unforgetable experience and I'll bet you would want to play that course again. I know I do, if I can get back to The Grand, love to hit it up again for a second chance even for a 6 hours of heavy, traffic driving, its well worth it.

 

Well done, enjoyed your postings 👍👍👍

Edited June 1, 2023 by SwingBlues

[Carolina Golfer 2]

Safe travels home everyone. 
 

Thanks for all the great updates snd thanks to @knudson81 and @Fujikura Golf 

[MFBach]

Always loved Fuji’s stuff… outside of a very brief stint with GD, I’ve played their wood shafts exclusively for the past 15 years. So reliable and responsive. IMO, they really can’t be beaten. Anyway, the Fuji fanboy in my has really been enjoying the follow on this one.

 

2 hours ago, eric61 said:

On the front 9, I just absolutely couldn’t hit the thing … I’m just making excuses for myself, but I think having a video crew around us was spooking me a bit. It was embarrassing, to be honest.

I was lucky enough to make the TM trip to Carlsbad early this year. As anyone that’s been selected for previous trips can probably attest to… It’s a blast. An amazingly, unrepeatable experience. BUT, it’s also a ton to pack into a few days. Product experiences, demos, fittings, then squeeze in a round as well.
 

The days are long and you’re running on fumes and adrenaline for most of it, because it’s over in a flash. Throw in a handful of airports/layovers and car services, two or three time zone changes from the East Coast, cameras, production team, interviews, promos, drones, and wow… I had next to no feel when we actually got around to fittings and playing. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt that awkward swinging a club before. Like Rickie Bobby for a while… “I don’t know what to do with my hands”. 
 

It gave me an entirely newfound respect for Tour players, caddies, and the entire staff that travels with them. @pga43, @atursky, @knudson81, and the WRX team blazing trails to tournaments and events every week has to be a grind, but a much appreciated one. 

Anyway, it’s such an awesome experience that it’s hard to absorb everything in that short period of time, much less navigate all the information and relay it to the site. Glad you guys had a great trip and appreciate all the info/feedback. Well done, fellas! 

[mizuno player]

I've read a couple times this shaft seems to launch higher and spin more than what you guys currently have? 

 

Not sure if this was asked or answered. 

 

How does the Fuji Pro iron compare to this in terms of launch and spin? 

[eric61]

1 hour ago, mizuno player said:

I've read a couple times this shaft seems to launch higher and spin more than what you guys currently have? 

 

Not sure if this was asked or answered. 

 

How does the Fuji Pro iron compare to this in terms of launch and spin? 

Yes, this is right — I definitely saw more launch and spin. Because I was comparing my i230s to a T100 and a P790, which were the heads they had available, it’s not a direct comparison, but it was without question true for me. Most surprising to me was how high the 125s launched.

 

I can’t compare the Pros because I’ve never hit them, but maybe @knudson81 could weigh in on that question since I know he has a set?

[TiScape]

On 5/31/2023 at 4:29 PM, knudson81 said:

Going with Ventus TR Red 6x set standard on a Cobra LTD head!

 

X flex at those speeds… I’m a little surprised. Super fast/aggressive tempo??

[Puppetmaster]

55 minutes ago, TiScape said:

X flex at those speeds… I’m a little surprised. Super fast/aggressive tempo??

No, quite the opposite. See my post on that here:

 

 

In short, I was not hitting the center of the face this week, despite the head speed. No fitting could have helped that part. The profile and spin changes were enough to go on, relative to the other flexes and profiles. Andrew was watching my transition and where I picked up speed, and the 6X was it. We played together today and I was able to pipe a couple and he’s sticking to the decision. I’ll report back once the rust is off. 
 

[QuigleyDU]

On 5/31/2023 at 10:10 AM, golfinbrad said:

What is the RACK used for?

Breaking shafts. Lol

[Puppetmaster]

Just came in to say that after such a full experience and taking a redeye home (landed at 0530H), I can barely function. 

 

Stay tuned for more recaps, and feel free to post questions in the meantime. 

[hammergolf]

On 6/1/2023 at 1:14 AM, SwingBlues said:

 

👍 GR8 writeup, thank you

 

ENSO fitting > regular fitting? Is this what you are seeing here then?

They mostly use ENSO for research, however it can be used for fitting. However, because it’s measurement are so precise in increments of tenths of inches it’s really overkill and the data would really get skewed unless it was an elite level player that is EXTREMELY consistent and repetitive. That being said, they have so much data from ENSO that they know what *****ed, weight, and flex is going to fit the player. And frankly, most of time it’s not the one people think it is. What I learned from talking with the fitters and designers is that butt stiffness is the most important factor in how a shaft works for a player. The fitter there, Andrew is REALLY good and within a few swings of watching and seeing data pretty much knows what profile is going to work. From the it’s just fine tuning between standard Ventus or TR. I’ll say it again, but do not guess what shaft will work you. The Ventus line and Velocore is so good that a player could use any profile, but when you get the right one, it makes a huge difference. 

[SwingBlues]

3 minutes ago, hammergolf said:

They mostly use ENSO for research, however it can be used for fitting. However, because it’s measurement are so precise in increments of tenths of inches it’s really overkill and the data would really get skewed unless it was an elite level player that is EXTREMELY consistent and repetitive. That being said, they have so much data from ENSO that they know what *****ed, weight, and flex is going to fit the player. And frankly, most of time it’s not the one people think it is. What I learned from talking with the fitters and designers is that butt stiffness is the most important factor in how a shaft works for a player. The fitter there, Andrew is REALLY good and within a few swings of watching and seeing data pretty much knows what profile is going to work. From the it’s just fine tuning between standard Ventus or TR. I’ll say it again, but do not guess what shaft will work you. The Ventus line and Velocore is so good that a player could use any profile, but when you get the right one, it makes a huge difference. 

 

We hear so much about ENSO, its great to get some details. Yeah, looks so extremely accurate and it would be a huge BUZZ to see this in real life. Did they show the actual use of ENSO to you guys?

 

It so true - to be fitted by the OEM shaft manufacturer especially when these fitter guys know their shafts SO WELL, its a totally different experience and expertise you can't buy from say CC or GolfTec etc.

 

Thanks for your insight, much appreciated 👍

 

[hammergolf]

On 6/1/2023 at 7:14 AM, Carolina Golfer 2 said:

Man...What a great write up.  Thanks, I was particularly interested as mentioned before we seem to be very close in swing profile.   I have a Red TR in 5R and thought it would be perfect fo me, and I stayed away from the Blue.  Now you have me re thinking that.   But one thing this trip reinforces to all of us  #FittingMatters    As WRX'ers we so often think we can fit our selves well enough.   That is often rarely the case. 

I thought the same thing going in. What I found out is that the butt profile is VERY important to how a shaft works for the player. How a player loads a shaft REGARDLESS of swingspeed is what matters. I had always tended to focus more on tip stiffness and that does not have as great an effect on performance as butt stiffness does. I was in the golf business for 30 years and thought I had an extensive knowledge, but I learned so many things in two days at Fujikura. Here’s a bit for you. What happens to ball flight if the torque of a shaft is too low???  The ball goes LEFT!! Exactly opposite of what I thought. So informative and once again proves that trying different profiles and not going into fittings without an open mind is a mistake. I would never thought I would not only be in the blue profile, but also be in the TR which is slightly even more stiff. Then to be in the R2 Axiom, which feels even more stable and more stiff than my MMT R flex BUT, I launch them higher, increased my spin, increased my decent angle while at the same time tightened my shot pattern and lost no distance. 

[hammergolf]

5 minutes ago, SwingBlues said:

 

We hear so much about ENSO, its great to get some details. Yeah, looks so extremely accurate and it would be a huge BUZZ to see this in real life. Did they show the actual use of ENSO to you guys?

 

It so true - to be fitted by the OEM shaft manufacturer especially when these fitter guys know their shafts SO WELL, its a totally different experience and expertise you can't buy from say CC or GolfTec etc.

 

Thanks for your insight, much appreciated 👍

 

Yeah, they had a whole session showing us how it works and how it measures. I think @Puppetmasterposted some pics of it. It’s a 10 high speed camera system that works in 3 dimensions. The club has head sensors and shaft sensors so it can be measured in real times at I believe over 20 different locations on the head and shaft. There are only 3 systems like it in the world and Fujikura has 2 of them. 

[eric61]

24 minutes ago, hammergolf said:

What I learned from talking with the fitters and designers is that butt stiffness is the most important factor in how a shaft works for a player. The fitter there, Andrew is REALLY good and within a few swings of watching and seeing data pretty much knows what profile is going to work. 

 

Andrew is the man. He talked through so much fitting-related stuff with me that had nothing to do with the shafts -- I'm making some adjustments in lie angles and swing weights with my clubs before the Axioms even get here. 

 

One thing that really struck me -- and I think just goes to show how skilled he is and why he's in the position he's in -- was the way he talked about how different shafts, tweaks, profiles, etc., worked or didn't work for us based on what he was seeing in our swings. Obviously he had the data to work with. I mean, with ENSO, Fujikura has as much data to back up their understanding of what works and what doesn't as any company in the world. But Andrew has the art portion of it nailed along with the science. There were conversations where he'd say "it looks like you're doing X, Y, Z," and would diagnose something before I could even describe what I'd felt. Or specific questions he'd ask about what we felt, where we felt it, and adjustments he'd make based on that. Those observations were how he figured out that X-flex Axioms (and later TR Blue when we were talking on the course and he was watching my drives) would fix a challenge I was having with S-flex, even though at my swing speed fitters would almost always put me in stiff. I guess it's why he's out there working with the best players in the world, and why I feel so lucky that a hack like me got to pick his brain for a couple days!

 

And agree with @hammergolf -- the point Andrew made about how shafts that are too soft for somebody can actually leave the face open vs. shafts that are too stout can lead to pulls and over-draws was one that surprised me, and was the opposite of what I think many of us would've expected. 

 

By the way, folks -- @hammergolf can really hit a 3 wood! He was super, super accurate with that thing all day. It was so impressive to watch!

Edited June 2, 2023 by eric61

[hammergolf]

21 minutes ago, SwingBlues said:

 

We hear so much about ENSO, its great to get some details. Yeah, looks so extremely accurate and it would be a huge BUZZ to see this in real life. Did they show the actual use of ENSO to you guys?

 

It so true - to be fitted by the OEM shaft manufacturer especially when these fitter guys know their shafts SO WELL, its a totally different experience and expertise you can't buy from say CC or GolfTec etc.

 

Thanks for your insight, much appreciated 👍

 

Yeah, they had a whole session showing us how it works and how it measures. I think @Puppetmasterposted some pics of it. It’s a 10 high speed camera system that works in 3 dimensions. The club has head sensors and shaft sensors so it can be measured in real times at I believe over 20 different locations on the head and shaft. There are only 3 systems like it in the world and Fujikura has 2 of them. 

[eric61]

I hope these video files work — I got a couple clips that show Andres priming and painting a shaft. 
 

The ones that are really hard work are the special edition Folds of Honor shafts. It takes lots and lots of passes to get those graphics right, but Andres nails them.

[hammergolf]

Ok guys, it was a long trip back but soooo worth it. Got in around 3:00am, but wanted to give you guys a report for our outdoor testing and on course review of the Ventus and Axiom shafts. We went to Shadowridge GC yesterday morning for some driving range time and on course testing. The course was in really great condition since they are having their member/member this weekend. Really fun hilly golf course with some tough undulated poa greens. (Well, I didn’t make a thing all day so maybe they were just tough for me… ) Thank god I went to Evnroll for a fitting after and they got me fixed up, but more on that in a different post. So we were all able to hit the shafts we were fitted in on the range and course. I’ll start with Axiom. My god are these good. We were hitting into the wind on the range so it was a really good test for the shafts. First thing I noticed is seeing a different peak height, and tighter pattern. I hit it side by side with my gamer (PXG Gen3XP MMT 70 R) I really liked my gamers before I hit Axiom. It’s just on a different level. Because of the advantage of using Velocore, Fujikura can make a shaft do something that all others I’ve had can’t. The Axiom is so stable yet helps me to launch the ball much higher, (my indoor testing showed almost 4* more launch) with more spin (indoor test showed me almost 900rpms more) and a much higher decent angle (indoor test showed almost 5* increase of decent). Well I saw all that with my own eyes outside yesterday. However, here’s what crazy. I hit the Axiom side by side with my gamer. I was able to hit the Axiom higher, spin it more, and land it softer but it carried the same distance as my gamer. That was great, but here’s what I’m still scratching my head about. It was an even tighter dispersion pattern… Side by side, the Axiom is much more stable and to me feels stiffer than the MMT. I just don’t understand how something can feel more stable and stout, but deliver more launch, more spin, and not lose any distance. That’s what Fujikura call Velocore. And it wasn’t just me, I saw @Puppetmaster, @CactusGolf, and @eric61 all hitting great shots with Axiom. Another thing that amazed me was how four guys with 4 different swings and four different clubhead speeds can have the same great results. I think that’s a testament to how Fujikura has designed 3 different weight and profiles to fit anyone. For golf I was paired with our fitter Andrew (aka The Ultimate Driving Machine with his G430 LST) @Puppetmaster, and @eric61. They all felt the same about the Axiom. On the back 9 @eric61 even hit a couple shots with the 105 and 125 profiles. Both shots were really good, but the one that stuck in my mind is the shot he hit with the P790 demo with the 105 in it. We all know how low spinning that head is, but he hits this mid trajectory shot right on line with the flag. It hits about 15ft short of the pin on a downslope and still had the spin to stop pin high about 8ft away. Which he calmly rolled in for birdie I add. I don’t know how they’ve done it, but these shafts just let you play more aggressive shots with your irons because they’ve figured out how to make a shaft work better in these newer design irons. You can hit ANY shot you want with these, High/low/fade/draw. The one thing I haven’t mentioned is feel. They have a great feel that is not mushy, but just the right amount of feedback, yet no unpleasant shock or vibration. In summary, Fujikura just flat out nailed it. If you’re thinking about switching, or have hand, wrist, shoulder pain, these are an absolute no brainer. Hands down the best performing shaft I’ve ever hit. Can’t wait to get them built and in the bag!!

[hammergolf]

Ok, now for the Ventus story. I put the Ventus Blue TR in my driver. It was a bit shorter than mine, but man is this thing good. Definitely longer than my current gamer. What was really good is that for me, the ball just doesn’t curve. I had to adjust because I’m used to hitting a little draw. But once I made that adjustment and swung more aggressively it really clicked. I normally drive it pretty straight, but have lost all my distance after the shoulder injury. But I drove it great all day. I think I missed 4 fwys all day (2 were less than 4yds in the rough) and really can’t wait to get mine made. I was even able to hit a little cut which has previously been a tough shot to hit. As far as the results, I was able to launch it in my normal window, keep the flight and peak the same, hit it about 10-15yds further, but without much curvature at all. I spoke with Andrew and he actually recommended me to go with a 46” build since my dispersion is already so tight and I might pick up another 5 - 10 yds. One thing is certain the Ventus shafts are so stable, but have a lively kick to them when you’re fit into the correct profile. The feel is a unique one for me, in the past when I have shafts that I can feel kick tend to be a little harder to control since it was torqueing also, but that’s not the case with Ventus. I can feel it kicking, but at the same time it just doesn’t torque. Once again, thanks to Velocore, Fujikura made a product that is remarkably stable and consistent without a boardy, dull feel. It’s easy to see why the best players in the world play these shafts. I highly recommend getting fit for Ventus wood shafts. I saw it for myself and with the other guys that each of them had substantial improvements in accuracy, consistency, and distance.

[mizuno player]

20 hours ago, eric61 said:

Yes, this is right — I definitely saw more launch and spin. Because I was comparing my i230s to a T100 and a P790, which were the heads they had available, it’s not a direct comparison, but it was without question true for me. Most surprising to me was how high the 125s launched.

 

I can’t compare the Pros because I’ve never hit them, but maybe @knudson81 could weigh in on that question since I know he has a set?

Thanks. I'm not interested in switching but I may get kicked off the site of I don't sound interested!!!! It's interesting nothing in between 105 and 125 weight. 

 

Super jealous of the trip. I. Sure it was a blast. 

[eric61]

1 minute ago, mizuno player said:

Thanks. I'm not interested in switching but I may get kicked off the site of I don't sound interested!!!! It's interesting nothing in between 105 and 125 weight. 

 

Super jealous of the trip. I. Sure it was a blast. 

Yeah, they said if there’s a market for more weights, they aren’t necessarily ruling anything out for the future — but they also feel like they have something that can fit pretty much everybody at the 75, 105 and 125 weights and are trying to keep things reasonable for fitters who wouldn’t really want a whole entire wall of Axiom options. 
 

I do think their position is reasonable. Like I mentioned before, I was really surprised by how stable the 75S was and how manageable the 125X was. I’m certainly not saying they felt the same by any means … but they were closer in terms of feel than you’d probably expect!

[hammergolf]

On 5/31/2023 at 6:33 PM, Fujikura Golf said:

 

OG Motore was good...but can't compete with VeloCore in VENTUS

That’s like comparing a ‘07 Vette to a 2023 Vette. The old Vette was super high performance in its prime, but it doesn’t compare to the 2023 Vette performance wise. Same story with pre Velocore and post Velocore.

[hammergolf]

On 6/1/2023 at 4:41 AM, GolfTurkey said:

 

That's good to hear, I need graphite because of my elbows but went back to steel because the funky SW of the SF's gave me a massive case of the hooks.

I played SF for 6 years, and they were good. However, the Axiom shafts are a whole different level. 

[hammergolf]

On 5/31/2023 at 9:00 AM, bruinmw said:

Looking forward to reading the reports, especially about the axiom shafts.  Would also be interested to see launch and spin differences between the Ventus TR shafts, all in the same head to really get a sense of the differences between the shafts, numbers wise.  Have fun!

I can’t speak for the black, but for me the launch between the Red TR and Blue TR was definitely different than what I expected. I actually hit the TR Red slightly lower than the TR Blue. What I learned from the trip is that people put too much into the tip or “launch” characteristics. The butt stiffness has the bigger effect on how a shaft performs for a player. The profiles of shafts are so player dependent. For example, I was the lowest peak height/speed guy in the bunch. @Puppetmasterhas more speed than myself and hits it way higher. I fit into Blue TR, and he fit into Red TR. The only recommendation I can give you is to hit them yourself. It will immediately make you aware of what shaft profile is for you. 

Edited June 3, 2023 by hammergolf

[hammergolf]

5 hours ago, eric61 said:

 

Andrew is the man. He talked through so much fitting-related stuff with me that had nothing to do with the shafts -- I'm making some adjustments in lie angles and swing weights with my clubs before the Axioms even get here. 

 

One thing that really struck me -- and I think just goes to show how skilled he is and why he's in the position he's in -- was the way he talked about how different shafts, tweaks, profiles, etc., worked or didn't work for us based on what he was seeing in our swings. Obviously he had the data to work with. I mean, with ENSO, Fujikura has as much data to back up their understanding of what works and what doesn't as any company in the world. But Andrew has the art portion of it nailed along with the science. There were conversations where he'd say "it looks like you're doing X, Y, Z," and would diagnose something before I could even describe what I'd felt. Or specific questions he'd ask about what we felt, where we felt it, and adjustments he'd make based on that. Those observations were how he figured out that X-flex Axioms (and later TR Blue when we were talking on the course and he was watching my drives) would fix a challenge I was having with S-flex, even though at my swing speed fitters would almost always put me in stiff. I guess it's why he's out there working with the best players in the world, and why I feel so lucky that a hack like me got to pick his brain for a couple days!

 

And agree with @hammergolf -- the point Andrew made about how shafts that are too soft for somebody can actually leave the face open vs. shafts that are too stout can lead to pulls and over-draws was one that surprised me, and was the opposite of what I think many of us would've expected. 

 

By the way, folks -- @hammergolf can really hit a 3 wood! He was super, super accurate with that thing all day. It was so impressive to watch!

Thanks! Bad news is I have to hit it too often… lol 

[hammergolf]

Here’s a couple videos comparing the Axiom shafts to steel for those of you worried about too high a launch or spin. You’ll see the results are the same as what we saw. You’ll even see our guy Spencer at work!

 

 

 

[Puppetmaster]

Posting live from 4 days ago... sorry, it does say Live in the title, but the schedule was so packed I barely had time to take notes. 

 

Recap Part 1

 

You guys know this part already, GabeWRX DMed that I had been selected. Excitement level 100. Then Spencer contacted us with all the flight, hotel and itinerary info. Excitement level 1000. Super organized, and generous getting me a direct flight from DC but also the transportation from SD to Carlsbad. Excitement level 10000. 

Bonus material - I got in a day early, played at the Crossings, which was such a good course both in terms of layout and condition with some very cool visuals.

 
@hammergolf was nice enough to pick me up from the course and we went over to the Yard House where we eventually connected with @CactusGolf and @eric61 for some pre-event drinks and to get acquainted. Already then we spent a couple of hours chatting about equipment over beer and could have gone on for much longer. 

Wednesday was the big day and I could barely sleep the night before. Excitement level 1000000. We walked into @Fujikura Golf offices to be greeted by Eric R., Kelsi, Jerry, Spencer, and Andrew. The Fuji swag and conference room pictures were already posted earlier. Spencer, who many of you might recognize from the social media videos, took Chris and I on the facility tour. He is incredibly articulate and knowledgeable, but not the kind of person who talks at you. He engages, listens, and you just want to listen to everything he says. He showed us the facility from shipping, to the resin fridge, to rolling the weaves, to all the custom machines you all saw. 

Very educational hearing about the hand rolling and the different pieces and shapes of materials that go on based on how each profile is to be constructed. We got to watch Kevin handroll different pieces of composite based on exact measurements, tighten things up with the machine to get rid of any air pockets, then throw it into the oven, for lack of better words. At least I think that was order. We saw shaft come out to be cooled as well. After that was the frequency and tolerance testing with those custom machines that you saw in the earlier pictures. Neat to see how they could build a prototype right there and do all the appropriate testing. Guess I never really knew how a graphite shaft was constructed, so this was new and interesting for me. 

@eric61 vids of Andres painting and and applying decals were perfect – smoothest shaft painter I’ve ever seen. He's the only I've ever seen. He was a super cool dude though, just a nice guy and was willing to explain the benefits of their process vs other industry practices. To wrap up the facility tour, Spencer showed us some cool paint job testing they had done, including the Folds of Honor version that is on the market currently. 

 

Edited June 4, 2023 by Puppetmaster

[Puppetmaster]

Very cool to see my trusty Speeder VC TS on the Wall of Fame, yet depressing to see that it was from like 2011 😅

[Puppetmaster]

Recap Part 2

 

After the facility tour came the iron fitting, working with Andrew. As I was to find out the next day, he’s a scratch player and absolutely bombs it. He’s great fitter – inquiring into our tendencies, flight preferences, playing conditions, and feel of the club during the swing. He has good eye for how people swing and worked that in with the data analysis. 

 

After hitting a few shots with my current 7-iron, a 2014 TM MB with KBS Tour V 110 in S flex (SW was D0, even though it was ordered/built from TM, too bad I only found out 8 years later), Andrew handed me a P7MC with Axiom 105-S (D3 SW).

 

We found that I was hitting my own set up with too little spin, around 5k rpms with a 30+ deg descent angle vs a more ideal 6k to 7k spin and 40+ degs descent. I think I remembered that right. Anyway, visually, I always thought my irons launched decently high but obviously there's no way I can observe the spin or descent. Don’t really remember the 7-iron speeds but that was less of a priority in this case. I do remember that by raising launch, spin, and descent, there was an increase in carry distance. The Axiom 105-S loaded more easily for me than the Tour V, which is very stiff in the butt almost feels like it doesn’t load at all. I have a smooth transition and am not an aggressive loader, and was fit into the KBS Tour V S and Tour S+ or Tour S hardstepped once years ago, but that was based more heavily on the numbers vs the fitter observing how I loaded. I’ve played the Tour V since 2015ish, and actually have always liked how tight it plays, even if it lacked feel. Felt smooth enough and stable at impact, shot dispersion was good, that’s all I need. Or so I thought.

 

Related to that, I tried the Cobra King Tour next to the P7MC, both with Axiom 105-S, and the Cobra was massively better almost every aspect, but for turf interaction, since we were inside. Thank goodness, because I was just about to look at some P series irons, but not anymore.

 

I know we keep saying this, but the Axiom has stability and enough feel that you know where the head is without it feeling loose. I tried the 105-X and it felt great too but it was tough to load consistently. I’m in my mid-40s now and need to make things easier for myself. Final decision was the 105-S, hardstepped. The S-flex straight in was fine, but I preferred a touch firmer feel.

 

Do not sleep on the 105-X, they don’t have to feel like a pipe or be 130 grams for high speed players to have control. Andrew is playing the 105-X in his irons, and like I said, he’s WRX-long. Or longer.

 

 

Edited June 4, 2023 by Puppetmaster

[Puppetmaster]

Recap Part 3

 

After the iron fitting, the entire group reconvened for lunch in the conference room. We were introduced to Marshall, who discussed how Fujikura works with Tour players and does analysis on vast amounts of Trackman data to help players find shafts that help their game. I’m not gonna say much more because @hammergolfrecapped it well already. Bottom line here is Ventus has taken the tours and college golf by storm, as you’ve all seen, and all three profiles have found good usage for many players. The Fuji team is not only out there talking to players, but also doing plenty of homework with the data they've collected.   

Chris and I stayed in the conference room after that while the other guys did their driver fittings. Spencer went over the history of Fujikura Composites America (FCA), the current line up of shafts, background behind each line, and much more. Ventus and Axiom were designed by FCA with a lot of R&D, not to mention all the QC and tolerance testing. It was impressive to see all the care that they put into their processes. 

After that was the driver fitting, I had a long post a page ago, but for some background, my SS is in the 105 to 110 range, used to have mid 160s BS but have slowed with age. I am more of a mid launch player, with a smooth transition, so historically been fit into the GD DI, GD BB, Fubuki K, etc. so you have an idea.

 

I played those for period of time, but one day I chose the Speeder VC TS 6.2 because I just had to tinker and it worked on the course. It wasn’t supposed to, based on the profile, but I was hitting it consistently long and straight. Really liked the feel and stability too. I’ve mostly played with the King LTD 9.5 head, along with the Bio Cell Pro and Fly Z. Tried the Speedzone Extreme but that only lasted one round. I was telling everyone how I used to have a couple of heads but lots of shafts to try, but once I got the Speeder, I just had the one shaft and tried it with 4-5 heads. Yes, I like Cobra drivers a lot. 

 

Anyway, Andrew found out that my driver was a D7 SW because of how heavy the King head is, which was slightly amusing. I hit a few balls with my driver and he immediately noticed how low my spin was, right around 2000 rpm on average. SS was somehow still 108-110, but ballspeeds in the high 140s – not gonna lie, I was tired and just not hitting it in the center consistently. He swapped the Speeder VC TS 6.2X out for a Ventus TR Red 6X and immediately ballspeeds were into the mid 150s with spin in the mid to higher 2000s and more carry. Also realized how much easier the Red was to load and find the center of the face despite my fatigue. The vastly different feel is still an adjustment, and I struggled with it initially on the course, but eventually hit some really good drives so I’m committed to giving it time. I’m very feel oriented and an overthinker, so I just need some practice with the Red.

 

At this point, both the Fuji team and other members on the trip all agreed that an indoor, simulator based fitting is only one part of it. The other part is to test it on the course to see if the set up actually works for you. Very different conditions and sometimes, the results may not always compare.  

Side note – Eric R. commented that I probably hit the most balls out of everyone all day and that was because I was 1) struggling to find my swing and 2) a total kid in a candy store and wanted to try everything in the room and back again. Can you blame me? Look and the bag of irons in the post above ^^^

 

That lack of self control probably didn’t help me with consistency, and as you’ll see, didn’t help my round the next day either.  
 

That being said, we were standing around just chatting and I expressed how much I liked the look of the TSR heads and of course, Andrew pulled one out of the drawer for me to try. Yeah, I could totally see myself in a TSR2 and Ventus Red in the near future... 

 

Edited June 4, 2023 by Puppetmaster

[CactusGolf]

Took a bit to gather and digest all the data that I had (and sneak in a round yesterday with a fitting shaft from the clubhouse to see if the results that I saw translated to my home courses), but thrilled to sit down and reflect!

 

This has been one of the best, once-in-a-lifetime experiences that I've ever had for a multitude of reasons!  I want to make sure I think everyone at WRX and Fujikura for the opportunity.  I was shocked to have been selected and unbelievably excited to dive in head-first into the fitting and product process.  First was the opportunity to meet other members and connect with those who have as bad of a golf addiction as I have.  Really goes to show how important it is to keep the sense of community in-person and open as easy as it is over the keyboard, but there is no replacement for in-person  Secondly, is the opportunity to be correctly fit for my current set and game that is changing.  Third, was the ability to understand more of what was going into my set and how it can help me and what my goals should be in order to truly shoot lower scores. 

 

I wanted to go into the opportunity blind.  I didn’t want to read any marketing materials, reviews, or anything that would give me an idea of what I should be looking for, but wanted the fitting and after-fitting data to speak for itself.  I came into the week striking it well and was on an upward trend as far as scores and center-contact (which was a welcome shock).  Strikes on the driver after the fitting were consistent and irons felt good!  Also....learned really quickly that when I travel, I feel miles better if I bring the wood heads in my carry-on.  Level of stress is way less!

 

 

 

 

About My Game:

 

Currently a 3.3 handicap and play about once a week and practice once a week.  I played high school golf, a year of college golf, and was a caddy from middle school all throughout college so played quite a bit back then.  Big on the use of data and have been using Garmin since at least 2014, but have not had an in depth fitting for several years and have never gotten fit for a set of irons in the modern sense.  The last iron fitting I had was with Titleist 990s if that gives you any idea and at that time....stiff or regular was essentially the only option.  Everything has essentially been more trial and error.  The last fitting was done in 2018 at a facility in Orlando and don’t think the end result truly worked for me.

 

Average swing speed is roughly 105 with the driver and about 89-90 with a 7-iron.  I’ve seen an uptick in distance with the switch to the Callaway Paradym, but have seen a drop off in fairways hit this season (down to 41%). 

 

My strengths are ball-striking with the irons and distance has been a benefit this season by a switch in driver and change in ball.  However, the weaknesses in my round are punishing and I know @knudson81 saw some.....wedge issues when we played on Wednesday.  Fairways in regulation, shots within 50 yards, and front-to-back iron dispersion really hurt my game. 

 

Also, as I get through the round, I tend to get tired and feel two things: 1.) I have to “work” harder to get the ball on line/in play and end up guiding the ball 2.) Lose the “feel” of the club early and have to pick up the club halfway down and either get too quick and feel like I have to rush to get it back on line usually leading to push-blocks or huge pulls.

 

I don’t want to give anything away yet, but using the last 10 rounds as a benchmark (one round with the new fitted shaft (swiped a fitting shaft from the clubhouse), I’d say the results were very positive, but more to come!  The results from yesterday were “wedge-related” unfortunately…

 

 

Bag Set-Up:

 

My bag-set up hasn’t changed much other than the driver over the last few seasons.  I haven’t looked at a new set of irons or changing them since they came out.  Can be a little afraid of switching the irons because I know what they feel like, how they perform in the turf, and the distance is very consistent.

 

 

Goals for the Fitting:

1.     Increase fairways in regulation and tighten dispersion without loss of distance- KEEP THE BALL IN PLAY

 

2.     Decrease front-to-back dispersion with the irons

 

As I mentioned before, my FIR have dropped and is most noticeable in my par 5 scoring (hard to make par if I’m hitting 3 off the tee) so I’m looking to improve my driving accuracy.  I can’t score if I can’t keep it in play (and can’t keep a cool head if I’m hitting it OB).  One of the big strengths of my game is iron play.  I would say that I’m a consistent striker of the golf ball with my irons, but do struggle on front-to-back dispersion, especially as the round goes on as I get tired and my hands start to get sore/tired.

 

More to come this afternoon as I work through pictures and split out the days and fitting details!

 

Edited July 5, 2023 by CactusGolf
Removed broken link.