Cheaper alternatives to the Ventus TR and TR Blue

jonescm128 · June 1

I currently have the Ventus TR Blue 5S in my driver and the Ventus Blue 6S in my woods. I have felt for a while that these are a bit too light for me and want to increase to a 6S in my driver and 7S in my woods. As a comparison I have KBS $-taper 120g stiff shafts in my irons.

Are there cheaper options anyone would recommend I try out that have similar profiles to these shafts? I am in Switzerland and these shafts are about $350 each so would prefer not to drop $700 on new shafts.

Any advice on some shafts I could try out?

Streuner · June 1

I am from Switzerland too…

for me the bigger concern is, there is next to no possibility to try premium shafts before buy. Paying 350CHF for a premium product that Support me and my game is one thing, buying the product and HOPE it will act like the premium price tag, is another Level.

do you play a made for product that came along with a for example Taylormade Wood? Or is it a real deal Velocore Ventus shaft that you are used to? I am asking because of weight and feel of the „Made for“ non Velocore shafts and the real VELOCORE versions are different.

Edited June 1 by Streuner

WristySwing · June 1

4 hours ago, jonescm128 said:

I currently have the Ventus TR Blue 5S in my driver and the Ventus Blue 6S in my woods. I have felt for a while that these are a bit too light for me and want to increase to a 6S in my driver and 7S in my woods. As a comparison I have KBS $-taper 120g stiff shafts in my irons.

Are there cheaper options anyone would recommend I try out that have similar profiles to these shafts? I am in Switzerland and these shafts are about $350 each so would prefer not to drop $700 on new shafts.

Any advice on some shafts I could try out?

Tensei Blue jumps to mind. Kai'li Blue would also work. Of course, they lack Velocore and may feel different compared to the Fuji since they are different brands, but the general EI curve and balance points are roughly similar. You should be able to pick these up for close to peanuts since they have been stock in just about everyone for years (Tensei) and widely available in Cobra and Taylormade very recently (Kai'li). If you feel like they are going to be a bit soft you can always jump to the Pro model of the Tensei that would be more similar to the TR, but then you are getting up there in price because of the extra materials.

jonescm128 · June 1

6 hours ago, Streuner said:

I am from Switzerland too…

for me the bigger concern is, there is next to no possibility to try premium shafts before buy. Paying 350CHF for a premium product that Support me and my game is one thing, buying the product and HOPE it will act like the premium price tag, is another Level.

do you play a made for product that came along with a for example Taylormade Wood? Or is it a real deal Velocore Ventus shaft that you are used to? I am asking because of weight and feel of the „Made for“ non Velocore shafts and the real VELOCORE versions are different.

Yes, it is the real Ventus Velocore shaft. It was a custom built driver that I built with a fitter from back in the US. I have gained a lot of strength and improved my game quite a bit in the past couple years which is why I am considering moving to a heavier weight.

Streuner · June 1

The Velocore shafts are on the heavy side of the spectrum. I use a TR blue 5s and this is close to 60grmm. Kai’li Blue is a good mention I guess.

jonescm128 · June 2

11 hours ago, Streuner said:

The Velocore shafts are on the heavy side of the spectrum. I use a TR blue 5s and this is close to 60grmm. Kai’li Blue is a good mention I guess.

This is the exact shaft I have in my driver right now but want the try the 6S, which looks to be 68g

tx33 · June 2

22 hours ago, jonescm128 said:

I currently have the Ventus TR Blue 5S in my driver and the Ventus Blue 6S in my woods. I have felt for a while that these are a bit too light for me and want to increase to a 6S in my driver and 7S in my woods. As a comparison I have KBS $-taper 120g stiff shafts in my irons.

Are there cheaper options anyone would recommend I try out that have similar profiles to these shafts? I am in Switzerland and these shafts are about $350 each so would prefer not to drop $700 on new shafts.

Any advice on some shafts I could try out?

Why not put some lead tape on the current shafts balance point first?

jonescm128 · June 2

6 hours ago, tx33 said:

Why not put some lead tape on the current shafts balance point first?

Oh, I am not familiar with that. How would that work exactly? Is it just finding the spot where it balances and adding X amount of lead tape for however much I want to increase the shaft weight?

Does that actually work?

Jeff58 · June 2

2 hours ago, jonescm128 said:

Oh, I am not familiar with that. How would that work exactly? Is it just finding the spot where it balances and adding X amount of lead tape for however much I want to increase the shaft weight?

Does that actually work?

Don’t do it. It will change the flex as well as weight distribution to an unknown degree and potentially leave residue on the shaft, which will make reselling problematic.

There are many blue-type flex shafts in the world, some may work better for you, some not so much. You can only know which is appropriate for you by trying them yourself. That said, I started with the exact same shafts you have in driver and 4 wood. Some that worked well for me -

UST LinQ Blue - somewhat less expensive, similar performance and superior feel to the Ventus.

Diamana S+ and T+. S+ has a higher trajectory. IMO these are both superb shafts regardless of cost.

cw1209 · June 2

Denali Black

WristySwing · June 2

4 hours ago, Jeff58 said:

Don’t do it. It will change the flex as well as weight distribution to an unknown degree and potentially leave residue on the shaft, which will make reselling problematic.

There are many blue-type flex shafts in the world, some may work better for you, some not so much. You can only know which is appropriate for you by trying them yourself. That said, I started with the exact same shafts you have in driver and 4 wood. Some that worked well for me -

UST LinQ Blue - somewhat less expensive, similar performance and superior feel to the Ventus.

Diamana S+ and T+. S+ has a higher trajectory. IMO these are both superb shafts regardless of cost.

UST shafts are criminally underrated, IMO. Good call.

KevCannon · June 3

Definitely take a look at the BST on this site, try to save some money on a used version of the shaft. I know a few guys that were fit into TR Blue, and tried to find a budget version of that profile. All of them ended up trying out the cheaper $ shaft, and ended up just buying the actual TR Blue they were fit for. Common answer was - TR gave them better consistency and ultimately more confidence. Just food for thought, but i get the fact that shipping overseas can be pricey.

tx33 · June 3

18 hours ago, jonescm128 said:

Oh, I am not familiar with that. How would that work exactly? Is it just finding the spot where it balances and adding X amount of lead tape for however much I want to increase the shaft weight?

Does that actually work?

Yes, it most certainly works. Old school from before adapters were even a thing. Apply some masking tape on the true balance point (minus grip/adapter) of the shaft and see how adding weight impacts swing and strike. Done properly balance and flex remain unaffected. Even with a finished shaft you can get close enough by working from the middle ± an inch.