RIP Ventus Blue Velocore Shaft

[gs1184]

I was playing today and noticed one of my drives felt and looked weird. I look down and I see this:

 

 

It is the non-TR model. I was going to reshaft to a TR Blue shaft anyway, so I guess I have a valid reason to do so!

 

Anyone have experience with Fujikura's warranty service? Should I call them or take it to an authorized clubmaker to figure it out? 

Edited July 17, 2023 by gs1184

[skraly]

I’m not that familiar with Fuji’s warranty service.  But from the position of that break I wouldn’t be surprised if they deny any replacement.  That type of fracture is often either damage from to many heel hits or damage from mis-handling.  I’m not saying those are the only causes.  Just that they are typical.

[gs1184]

46 minutes ago, skraly said:

I’m not that familiar with Fuji’s warranty service.  But from the position of that break I wouldn’t be surprised if they deny any replacement.  That type of fracture is often either damage from to many heel hits or damage from mis-handling.  I’m not saying those are the only causes.  Just that they are typical.

By misuse you mean hitting wonderful bombs then you may be right haha. In all seriousness, my miss hit is indeed on the heel but I can’t believe that hitting balls off the heal would do that to a premium shaft. I have had stock shafts that didnt do that.

 

on the other hand, I had a hard time pulling out the head from the shaft because the tip was corroding. I had to have a golf shop do it. Maybe that weakened it??

 

I’m kinda bummed because I just went to cut it down to 44.75 and had amazing numbers. It was a damn good shaft.

 

 

Gonna head to Dallas Golf to try out the tr blue, regular black and see how they feel. 

Edited July 17, 2023 by gs1184

[MFBach]

1 hour ago, skraly said:

I’m not that familiar with Fuji’s warranty service.

 

3 hours ago, gs1184 said:

Anyone have experience with Fujikura's warranty service? Should I call them or take it to an authorized clubmaker to figure it out? 

Their warranty service is great, but pretty thorough. They’ll want some particular information about the shaft as well as info on the original purchase. If you’re the original owner or know them well enough to help you out, it shouldn’t be an issue. If not, you may have to jump through some hoops, but I’ve still seen it done. 
 

They won’t force you to go through the original builder/retailer if it isn’t feasible, but they will suggest it as a primary option. 

 

21 minutes ago, gs1184 said:

my miss hit is indeed on the heel but I can’t believe that hitting balls off the heal would do that to a premium shaft.

There’s an entire thread about VC Ventus breaks at the tip of the adapter. It’s not limited to the Ventus either. There’s a lot of good information in that thread that explains the why and how, but yes, it’s entirely possible to snap a driver shaft w/ a reasonable swing speed, especially with regularly low, heel side strikes. I’m not sure specifically how the non VC models differ, but that break looks higher above the adapter than most of the VC model breaks I’ve seen. 
 

26 minutes ago, gs1184 said:

on the other hand, I had a hard time pulling out the head from the shaft because the tip was corroding. I had to have a golf shop do it. Maybe that weakened it??

TM uses aluminum for their adapters. It has a tendency to corrode over time. You can clean the corrosion, but it doesn’t affect playability or integrity. It does however make adjustments and tweaks a little harder to manage. It had nothing to do with the shaft breaking though. 

[Thayneil]

the non velicore is not a premium shaft!

[Thayneil]

3 hours ago, skraly said:

I’m not that familiar with Fuji’s warranty service.  But from the position of that break I wouldn’t be surprised if they deny any replacement.  That type of fracture is often either damage from to many heel hits or damage from mis-handling.  I’m not saying those are the only causes.  Just that they are typical.

do Fujikura even make them or are they "licenced" ?

[Streuner]

also the non Velocore is a Fujikura shaft, but it is far away from the Velocore version, different materials in the whole matrix, especially from the middle section to the tip end.

The difference at the ATMOS line between the ASM and the OEM version was really not that significant

[jblough99]

9 hours ago, gs1184 said:

I was playing today and noticed one of my drives felt and looked weird. I look down and I see this:

 

 

It is the non-velocore model. I was going to reshaft to a TR Blue shaft anyway, so I guess I have a valid reason to do so!

 

Anyone have experience with Fujikura's warranty service? Should I call them or take it to an authorized clubmaker to figure it out? 

Going by your signature, that’s a stealth 2+ so its fairly new.  Your best bet it to give TaylorMade a call.  Chances are they will send you a replacement shaft no questions asked.  Fujikura would likely tell you to deal with TaylorMade as well.

Edited July 17, 2023 by jblough99

[phizzy30]

5 hours ago, gs1184 said:

By misuse you mean hitting wonderful bombs then you may be right haha. In all seriousness, my miss hit is indeed on the heel but I can’t believe that hitting balls off the heal would do that to a premium shaft. I have had stock shafts that didnt do that.

 

on the other hand, I had a hard time pulling out the head from the shaft because the tip was corroding. I had to have a golf shop do it. Maybe that weakened it??

 

I’m kinda bummed because I just went to cut it down to 44.75 and had amazing numbers. It was a damn good shaft.

 

 

Gonna head to Dallas Golf to try out the tr blue, regular black and see how they feel. 

Test the TR Black as well.  It's pretty much the OG Black but with smoother feel.  I have one in the bag and it's been 🔥

Edited July 17, 2023 by phizzy30

[gs1184]

4 hours ago, Thayneil said:

the non velicore is not a premium shaft!

I have the velocore version not the stock shaft version.

 

I would think that a $350 shaft is a premium shaft. It was bought separately from my driver so I doubt they would differ me to TaylorMade.

[gs1184]

58 minutes ago, jblough99 said:

Going by your signature, that’s a stealth 2+ so its fairly new.  Your best bet it to give TaylorMade a call.  Chances are they will send you a replacement shaft no questions asked.  Fujikura would likely tell you to deal with TaylorMade as well.

 

I bought the shaft separately from my driver unfortunately. 

[AKA_Double J]

8 minutes ago, gs1184 said:

I have the velocore version not the stock shaft version.

 

I would think that a $350 shaft is a premium shaft. It was bought separately from my driver so I doubt they would differ me to TaylorMade.

The original post says that it is the non-Velocore version.  I assume that is where the confusion came from.

[Pastit]

3 hours ago, Streuner said:

also the non Velocore is a Fujikura shaft, but it is far away from the Velocore version, different materials in the whole matrix, especially from the middle section to the tip end.

The difference at the ATMOS line between the ASM and the OEM version was really not that significant

They are made in different factories and countries and to different specs obviously. I have doubts if the non-Velecore is made in a Fujikura plant. But mine work well of either type. 

Edited July 17, 2023 by Pastit
Omission

[Pastit]

7 hours ago, gs1184 said:

By misuse you mean hitting wonderful bombs then you may be right haha. In all seriousness, my miss hit is indeed on the heel but I can’t believe that hitting balls off the heal would do that to a premium shaft. I have had stock shafts that didnt do that.

 

on the other hand, I had a hard time pulling out the head from the shaft because the tip was corroding. I had to have a golf shop do it. Maybe that weakened it??

 

I’m kinda bummed because I just went to cut it down to 44.75 and had amazing numbers. It was a damn good shaft.

 

 

Gonna head to Dallas Golf to try out the tr blue, regular black and see how they feel. 

It’s highly likely IMO that these sort of swing speeds should select the Velecore version. And, suspect, those speeds are why they exist. 

[Thayneil]

35 minutes ago, gs1184 said:

I have the velocore version not the stock shaft version.

 

I would think that a $350 shaft is a premium shaft. It was bought separately from my driver so I doubt they would differ me to TaylorMade.

in your previous post you said it was non velicore

 

 

[Pastit]

7 hours ago, gs1184 said:

By misuse you mean hitting wonderful bombs then you may be right haha. In all seriousness, my miss hit is indeed on the heel but I can’t believe that hitting balls off the heal would do that to a premium shaft. I have had stock shafts that didnt do that.

 

on the other hand, I had a hard time pulling out the head from the shaft because the tip was corroding. I had to have a golf shop do it. Maybe that weakened it??

 

I’m kinda bummed because I just went to cut it down to 44.75 and had amazing numbers. It was a damn good shaft.

 

 

Gonna head to Dallas Golf to try out the tr blue, regular black and see how they feel. 

Upon reading about your separation issues I’d not be hopeful of a refund/ replacement should you raise that point. 

[gs1184]

10 minutes ago, Thayneil said:

in your previous post you said it was non velicore

 

 

Fixed. Meant to say non-TR.

 

I definitely wouldn’t waste anyone’s time if it was the non velocore version. 

Edited July 17, 2023 by gs1184

[gdb99]

You just cut the shaft down? 
 

Where did you have the clamp on the shaft?

 

And how long ago was it at the shop to get the head off? 
 

Maybe they clamped the shaft when trying to remove.

Edited July 17, 2023 by gdb99

[MattM97]

That's a clean snap, I hope Fujikura helps you out. 

[gs1184]

1 hour ago, gdb99 said:

You just cut the shaft down? 
 

Where did you have the clamp on the shaft?

 

And how long ago was it at the shop to get the head off? 
 

Maybe they clamped the shaft when trying to remove.

That is a great question. The Edwin watts I went to the guy took it in the back so I didn’t see what they did. Before I did this I tried to adjust my driver loft but couldn’t pull the head off at all. I was afraid to pull too hard in fear of breaking the shaft, well sure enough!!

 

I plan to reshaft my club elsewhere (Dallas golf), then take the broken shaft to Edwin watts to see what happened.

 

 

[Pastit]

3 minutes ago, gs1184 said:

That is a great question. The Edwin watts I went to the guy took it in the back so I didn’t see what they did. Before I did this I tried to adjust my driver loft but couldn’t pull the head off at all. I was afraid to pull too hard in fear of breaking the shaft, well sure enough!!

 

I plan to reshaft my club elsewhere (Dallas golf), then take the broken shaft to Edwin watts to see what happened.

 

 

Naughty boy. 

[gs1184]

Guy at edwin watts thinks it was a factory defect. Music to my ears.

 

So I texted the person from the golf shop I originally bought it from, and he is going to call Fuji.

 

We shall see.

[gs1184]

Back in commission. Can’t wait to use it. 

[phizzy30]

2 minutes ago, gs1184 said:

Back in commission. Can’t wait to use it. 

You need to change your sig now.  Is that a TR blue or TR black?  

[gs1184]

4 minutes ago, phizzy30 said:

You need to change your sig now.  Is that a TR blue or TR black?  

Blue. Sorry about the bad lighting lol

[Razortxn]

On 7/16/2023 at 11:39 PM, gs1184 said:

By misuse you mean hitting wonderful bombs then you may be right haha. In all seriousness, my miss hit is indeed on the heel but I can’t believe that hitting balls off the heal would do that to a premium shaft. I have had stock shafts that didnt do that.

 

on the other hand, I had a hard time pulling out the head from the shaft because the tip was corroding. I had to have a golf shop do it. Maybe that weakened it??

 

I’m kinda bummed because I just went to cut it down to 44.75 and had amazing numbers. It was a damn good shaft.

 

 

Gonna head to Dallas Golf to try out the tr blue, regular black and see how they feel. 

If you want to get that shaft repaired by Fujikura do not go through Dallas Golf. They refused to help me when I had two Ventus Black shafts break on me during a one week span over a year ago. 

[gs1184]

 

 

all I can say is wow. This shaft does everything better. Lower, more stable, great fill without feeling like a 2x4.

 

Things happen for a reason.