If you’ve been ordering your clubs off the rack, you may be missing out on some premium performance benefits in the form of upgraded shafts.
Shafts may be an afterthought for some players, but choosing the right brand and flex for a specific player’s game is an essential ingredient in every custom club-fitting.
That’s why every club ordered from Fairway Jockey includes an opportunity to upgrade a number of different features, including grip, length and yes, shaft too.
But what is it that makes these shaft upgrades superior to the stock option? I asked True Spec sales VP Matt Morin to explain the benefits of three popular shaft upgrade selections from Fujikura, Graphite Design and Mitsubishi.
“Outside of the pure performance of these shaft manufacturers, there has been a heavy marketing push due to the top players in the world playing these brands week in and week out at the professional level,” Morin said. “This does not mean that the normal, everyday player should be playing what the tour players play, but the evolution of shaft characteristics and technology has provided an opportunity for the average player to feel as if they are playing what the best in the world do.”
3 popular shaft upgrades — and what they can offer your game
Fujikura Ventus Blue
Based on the game-changing VENTUS Blue profile originally launched on global tours in 2018, the all-new 2024 VENTUS captures the same incredible player-trusted feel as the original model, with improved material integrations and layouts. The first profile to incorporate Fujikura’s newest evolution of VeloCore Technology provides players even greater overall performance results. The next generation of Fujikura’s ground-breaking proprietary key technology. VeloCore+ is a multi-material bias core construction technique that not only increases and enhances the original combination of Pitch 70 and 40 Ton materials, but incorporates an all-new third premium material to give players even tighter dispersion and increased ball speeds. VeloCore+ takes all the benefits of the original VeloCore configuration and enhances performance even further by strengthening and tightening the overall structure.
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“Fujikura offers three launch profiles within the Ventus line,” Morin said. “This gives golfers the ability to still play a brand and model that a touring professional does but also allows them to fit into something that is going to complement and improve their game.”
Overall: The right Ventus shaft can give you tighter dispersion and increased ball speeds.
Graphite Design Tour AD DI
The Graphite Design Tour AD DI utilizes premium, aerospace quality 50t carbon-fiber materials to provide the best performing shaft available. The Tour AD DI is the first shaft design that was integrated with Toray Company’s original NANOALLOY material technology in the tip section of the shaft. This unique material technology promotes additional shaft stability without the loss of feel and allows the player to create greater club head speed and thus greater ball speed while still providing exceptional feel and control.You can purchase the Graphite Design Tour AD DI in the following models: DI-5, DI-6, DI-7, DI-8. The Tour AD DI Wood shaft will work in both a driver or fairway wood. JOCKEY TIP: The Graphite Tour AD DI is ideal for the player that prefers a softer mid-section, while maintaining a firm enough tip section through impact, promoting a high launch and low spin ball flight condition.
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“Played by Tiger Woods at one point, the high launch and low spin characteristics of this model are something that can help any player at any level,” Morin said. “Height and stopping power are key points to better golf.”
Mitsubishi Chemical Diamana WB
The board is back. After a few years away, the vintage surfboard always associated with Diamana™ makes its return with Diamana WB. Built on an extraordinarily popular and tour-proven platform, WB brings classic low-low performance and the legendary stability and control you’ve come to expect after two decades. The first in the 6th Generation Diamana™ family, WB is designed with all the traditional branding that made Diamana™ so beloved, including flowers in the handle section, a surfboard behind the Diamana logo, and return to the original 53/63/73/83 weight class designations. But rest assured, the only thing throwback about Diamana™ WB is its appearance. Indeed, super high-modulus 80-ton Dialead Pitch Fiber is used in the butt section to deliver maximum stability and increased energy transfer and high modulus 46-ton fiber is used in the shaft’s angle plies to reduce torque without increasing weight for improved control and stability. Carbon fiber orientation at the tip section is optimized to further lower torque. The classic feel of this Diamana™ profile is achieved through the use of our proprietary Xlink Tech™ Resin System and MR70 technologies. Our Xlink Tech™ Resin System increases the strength and durability of the shaft while driving carbon fiber volume up for better feel. Feel and strength is further increased through the use of our aerospace-grade MR70 fiber – our strongest fiber to date.
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“Another juggernaut in the shaft industry is the Diamana family.” Morin said. “This shaft line has been around for decades. The newly revamped 6th Gen line brings stability and playability to your bag, and also offers multiple launch profiles to best fit your tendencies within your golf game.
“What sets these shafts apart from a stock option shaft that may have the same paint job is the tolerance in how they are produced,” Morin continued. “The upgraded material and enhanced technology make the authenticity of these shafts more valuable and better-performing than a stock option.”
To order your upgraded shaft now, click on the links above. Or, to identify the best shaft for your game, schedule a fitting at your local True Spec today.
