beluga99

I agree with @StarFleetGolfer they are extremely robust and haven't noticed any scratching, scuffing or damage to the finish. It's baked in nice and deep. Plus they're excellent irons. I recommend highly.

My AoA was between 3-5 degrees, however I do like to play a fairway finder which has a neutral 0-1 degree AoA. What sort of dynamic loft are you presenting at impact? Mine was between 10-12 degrees which seemed about optimal according to the fitter.

Are you still sweet on the Red 6x? I see it's still in your signature. I hit the Blue + last week, and it was terrific, very straight but maybe needed slightly more launch and tad more spin. I think the Red might be the ticket.

Very good question @PNW. It was extremely manageable on both heads. I hadn't hit any Ventus shafts before, but that was the one element that stood out. The spin on mishits never got above 3000 rpm. There were a couple of mishits where the spin dropped to 1900 but again, the ball stayed on a reasonable trajectory with some additional roll out. Ball speed was around 158mph. I did hit the Chrome shaft X in the 440 prior to the Ventus and results were noticeably better with the Ventus shaft. The fitter also commented that he notices that the Ventus shines on crappy swings. Balls don't tend to leave the planet. The Kai'li white I play currently in my G430 is really good at keeping spin down as well. I could happily keep playing it but have had it for three years so might be time to switch. I may also test the Ventus Blue in my current head for an apples to apples comparison.

I actually tested both of these last week with the Ventus Blue 6x 2024. I think I swung the Cobra faster by a 2-3mph (109 vs 106 with the LST). I preferred the feel of the LST and had better dispersion as well. Cobra on best strikes went slightly further likely due to the increased swing speed. Both great drivers, and could play either. The Ping did feel slightly more solid on mishits too. My miss is on the toe side and the shaft/head combo seemed to deal slightly better on the G440.

Sweet bag. How do you like the Tour AD VF in the driver compared to the Ventus Blue? Both of those shafts are in consideration for an upgrade. I have a Ping G430 head which might be a little heavier than the Elyte.

From memory I had ~12 putts inside 20 feet, some shorter. It was laughable towards the end on how well I was hitting the ball and could not for the life of me make a birdie. I've since tweaked my putting stroke, making a few more 6-10 foot putts and my index has dropped from 4.5 to 2.9.

I once had 14/18 green (0 birdies and 34 putts from memory). Driver and irons were excellent. Shot 76. Putter for me, as making 6-8 foot putts is huge. Driving the ball well helps me get in good positions but making the putts helps me go low.

I would echo these thoughts. Looks beautiful by the ball and very understated in person. Didn't really notice the carbon many are not a fan of. The Nippon 115 pairs nice with them. They seemed compact and angular, less rounded than their predecessor.

How do you find the Ventus Blue in the 430 head? I have been toying with upgrading after seeing a few playing partners rave about the Ventus. The 2024 version is the one I have my eye on.

I must be an outlier on feel, as all the irons I have played in the last 20 years felt butter when flushed. I have played the i20, iE, i230, MMC-20, 919 Tour, MP-69, W/S blades and have recently acquired a set of 925 Forged. I agree they do feel different when mishit, some are better with thin shots, but when hit out of the sweet spot with a premium ball, they all feel pretty darn good to me. Maybe eating a bunch of paint chips as a kid, and watching the food spin around in the microwave too closely has dulled my senses. I am looking forward to hitting these at some point.