Golf Shafts – Syndication Server

Graphite putter shafts are trending on tour. Can they help you improve your putting?

Breaking down the new trend that’s hitting pro golf and testing if it can help amateurs, too.

Dustin Johnson was stalking a 14-foot putt at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Championship like a leopard might circle around an unsuspecting antelope. As he address the ball, an NBC Sports analyst made golfers who follow equipment closely cringe.

“You know, Dustin’s coach, Claude Harmon III, told me he used three different putters in four rounds last week at the Valspar Championship and settled on old faithful this week (a TaylorMade Spider Tour Black), but he put a graphite shaft in it for a little different feel,” said Gary Koch.

The comment about three different putters in four rounds didn’t grab my attention, but the tidbit about adding a graphite shaft sure did.

With all due respect to Koch, Johnson has been using a graphite shaft in his putter, all of his putters, since the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. That week, he signed an endorsement deal with L.A. Golf (LAGP), the same company that makes the shafts in Bryson DeChambeau’s woods, irons, wedge and yes, his putter too.

Dustin Johnson had composite shafts installed in his putters at the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

While steel putter shafts still reign supreme at the professional level and among recreational golfers too, there is a small but growing number of players who are tinkering with composite shafts that are made primarily using graphite. Kevin Na has been using a graphite putter shaft since 2019 and had one in his Odyssey Toulon Design putter when he won the 2021 Sony Open in Hawaii. Anna Nordqvist had one in her putter when she won the 2021 Women’s British Open and competed in last season’s Solheim Cup. Tommy Fleetwood, Rickie Fowler, Sandra Gal, Jeongeun Lee6, Marc Leishman, Shane Lowry, Francesco Molinari and Michelle Wie West have also each used a graphite putter shaft recently.

According to brands that make graphite putter shafts, the advantage they can have over their steel counterparts is versatility.

A typical steel putter weighs about 125 grams and to create one that is more flexible, manufacturers typically need to make the walls thinner, which also makes the shaft lighter. Conversely, to make a steel shaft stiffer, they need to make the walls of the shaft thicker, which adds more weight.

Graphite is much lighter and shaft companies can layer sheets of material at different angles and use different blends to increase or decrease stiffness while keeping the weight the same. They can also make specific areas of the shaft stiffer or more flexible, to give the shaft different playing qualities without changing the weight or diameter.

Anna Nordqvist at the 2022 Women’s British Open. (Photo by Andy Buchanan/AFP)

This leads to the other edge graphite can have over steel when it comes to putter shafts. By making the tip section very stiff without adding weight, graphite putter shafts can help the face resist twisting when you strike a putt toward the heel or toe. That will effectively increase any putter’s moment of inertia (MOI), so if you hit a putt outside the ideal hitting area, many graphite shafts can help the face stay pointed at your target line more effectively. The result, theoretically, is the ball rolls where you aimed more often and it doesn’t lose as much speed on mis-hits, so your distance control is better too.

Fujikura Ventus TR graphite shaft

Adding a new material in the middle and handle areas helps Fujikura deliver more stability in the newest Ventus shaft.

When golfers talk about stability in their drivers, they usually think about how the head is designed to compensate for off-center hits by not twisting too much. The less the face twists when a ball is struck near the heel or toe, the straighter the shot will fly. But with the release of the Fujikura Ventus Black, Blue and Red shafts a few years ago, the Carlsbad, California-based shaft company was able to bring more stability and consistency to golfers of every level thanks to the shaft they use.

Now, with the release of the Ventus TR, Fujikura is using a new technology to expand the Ventus family and provide fitters with another option that could help golfers’ performance off the tee.

To be clear, none of the previously released Ventus shafts are going away, and why would Fujikura want to do that? If you counted up all the drivers, fairway woods and hybrids in play at the 2022 Farmers Insurance Open on the PGA Tour, more than 19 percent were fitted with a Fujikura Ventus shaft. Among the stars using a Ventus are Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Sam Burns, Aaron Wise, Max Homa and Billy Horschel.

Fujikura Ventus TR — The Spread Toe material in the Fujikura TR shaft provides more stability in the middle and handle sections. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The Ventus TR was designed to have a mid-launch profile, fitting between the low-spinning Ventus Black and the mid-spin Ventus Blue. Like the other Ventus products, the Ventus TR was designed with VeloCore, a multimaterial construction made with Pitch 70-ton carbon fiber and 40-ton carbon fiber. The tip section is especially stiff to reduce twisting on off-center hits and boost stability, all while helping golfers maintain feel.

The Ventus TR, however, also has a new spread-toe carbon-fiber fabric in the middle and handle areas. It’s like a carbon-fiber tape that is flat and woven together. You can see it, subtly, in the silver areas near the handle area. The Spread Toe material does not allow resin, which bonds the carbon fiber together, to pool, so the carbon-fiber content of the material is very high. The addition of Spread Toe increases torsion stiffness in those areas by about 10 percent compared to Ventus Blue, so as golfers make the transition from the top of their swing into the downswing, the shaft will still load and flex while resisting twisting more effectively. Fujikura said that results in more center-strikes with increased consistency and ball speed, without adding excessive amounts of carbon fiber or weight to the top half of the shaft.

The Ventus TR shaft comes in 50-, 60-, 70- and 80-gram versions that can be trimmed to fit into drivers and fairway woods, in regular (R), stiff (S) and extra-stiff (X) flexes and a torque of 3.7 to 2.6. It became available at authorized Fujikura dealers Feb. 1 for $350.

Graphite iron shafts are ready for their close-up

I grew up playing the game of golf. After 30-plus years, I switched from steel iron shafts to graphite. Maybe I wasn’t the classic candidate for graphite: Early 40s, single-digit handicap, mid-90s mph swing speed with 6-iron (driver swing speed north of 100 mph). But my hands, wrists and lower back needed a break, and I liked the idea of graphite reducing the shock felt at impact. Graphite iron shafts, at the time, had the stigma of being for senior golfers with slow swing speeds in desperate need of distance. In addition, the shafts cost more than steel and naysayers felt the carbon fiber poles produced less consistent results.

Some of the criticisms might’ve been true in the past. But, in 2021, the shafts are a viable option for all player types, regardless of age or ability. Graphite might not overtake steel anytime soon in the Irons fiefdom. After all, steel’s been king since it replaced hickory nearly 100 years ago. But you’re doing a disservice if you don’t consider graphite for your next set of irons. Here’s why.

To start, price shouldn’t be a deterrent anymore. Nowadays, aftermarket graphite is competitively priced to steel. Consumers can expect to pay an extra $150-$200 for a set of graphite-shafted irons (7 clubs). Granted, it’s not an insignificant amount but one that isn’t a dealbreaker for many golfers.

Graphite iron shafts are more consistent, too. Smarter designs and better materials have driven performance improvements in feel, distance control and dispersion. Fujikura, for example, collects tons of data at various swing speeds. The company has a high-speed 3D motion capture camera system, called Enso®, that reveals how shafts bend, deflect and twist prior to impact. Enso® enables its R&D team to take advantage of intellectual property (IP). The formula? Pair the IP with strong, light materials boasting “maximum carbon-fiber content.”

Of course, feel is uber-critical in irons. Years ago, the makers of graphite shafts would have to wrap material over and over in the same section (usually, toward the tip) to get the shaft comparable to steel in terms of swingweight and length. Just one problem: Heavier graphite shafts often felt “boardy,” or harsh, at impact. Five years ago, Fujikura began using High Density Composite Core (HDCC), a 7-gram composite insert in the tip section of Pro and Vista Pro iron shafts. With HDCC, Fujikura no longer has to wrap additional layers in the tip to get to swingweights. Their shafts are plenty stiff with better feel, in part, due to the larger inner diameter.

There’s more. Through materials and manufacturing processes, graphite companies can create numerous shaft profiles to suit specific players’ needs. For instance, Fujikura can increase stiffness in different sections of the shaft without adding weight. That means a stiff, lightweight (65-gram) shaft is possible. In general, the same cannot be said for steel. In order to manufacture a stiffer shaft, it’ll have to get heavier as well.

Fujikura’s robust lineup of iron shafts includes a vast array of weights, flexes, shot profiles and prices, making it easy to fit a variety of golfers. Weights range from 40 to 115 grams, in Ladies flex to Extra-Stiff. “That’s huge for good fitters,” says Nick Sherburne, founder of Club Champion Golf, the industry’s largest high-end custom fitter with 85 locations nationwide. “Weight is so important to a good fit and having those offerings set them apart. Some brands only offer certain weights in certain flexes.” Sherburne adds, “Fujikura has a nice mix of lighter-weight shafts that produce a higher ball flight and other models that deliver lower flight. And, likewise, they have heavier shafts that contribute to higher trajectory and ones for a low-piercing flight.”

Product design flexibility. High-end materials. Shock-absorption qualities. Competitive pricing. It all adds up to products worth testing when it’s time to upgrade your iron game.