GD XC vs Ventus Blue TR

Adam B · June 2, 2023

Title says it all. All of the good fitters in my area are booked through the end of the month so curious if anyone here has any thoughts before I convince myself to hit the Buy button. I know XC is a bit unique due to the soft butt section but I’d like to know how launch and spin compare to TR. I had Ventus Black for a year and find XC much more friendly at 80-90%.

eric61 · June 2, 2023

XC feels MUCH softer in the handle in my experience. The TR Blue (which I was just fit into at Fujikura) is more of a mid-kick with a very stable tip — still some feel in the handle, but it’s more stout than original Ventus Blue and definitely more stout in the handle than XC. The XC probably has a stiffer mid-section and on a robot might launch lower, though it’s a little hard for me to tell because when I tried it the soft handle just didn’t suit me.

Dhal23 · June 3, 2023

I have both. Was fit into the XC in a TS!3 and really liked it. Very consistent and very straight. I felt like I was leaving some distance on the table because for me, I was carrying it a long way but by not getting much roll. Had some pro shop credit so got the TR as I had hit it several times and liked the feel. I have found that that the TR launches higher and spins a bit less, I am getting more roll. They are very similar shafts in terms of performance, both excellent. For me, the XC is more accurate, the TR longer. Tough trade off, haven’t decided on which one I will game this summer.

Buschlight · June 3, 2023

I play a xc in a tsi3 head. Very forgiving shaft that keeps the spin down on off center hits.

drscott266 · June 12, 2023

I have both shafts you are referencingand have hit the ventus black a bunch to compare as well. My thoughts are similar to the other posters, so here goes. The Ventus black didn't really fit me terribly well on course, but performed in the simulater fitting. That led me to buying the TR Blue when it came out, and that is a very nice shaft for those who need some stability but black was just dead feeling to me. I was gaming TR for a while, and happened to grab an XC from my local shop demo bin... that was one of my favorite experiments ever. The handle is softer than TR, but its not DI soft. I got some of my longest drives with the XC both in carry and roll out. It just punches the ball out there on good strikes. Sometimes the handle kicked a little too much for me on bad swing days, but honestly not much performs on bad swing days right? I believe the XC and TR net out kinda similar when you really get down to it, tip stiff with kick, you will just feel the kick higher in the XC than the TR. Both proved that Ventus black wasn't a good choice for me on course, and I since then have added an AD UB which is also very similar to TR more than XC... stiffer feeling handle kick in the middle.

One last note is static weight, the TR Blue is almost 70g in the 6S I play... the XC is definitely a couple grams lighter, adn the UB ligher still. To me the TR also plays a little tip heavy, the UB feeling the lightest in the head.