Driver Shaft fitting help- Ventus line

[robbradlee]

Hello, not a frequent poster but looking for some help and perspective from other seasoned golfers.

 

I play off a 10HC with a driver SS of 100-105mph. Average carry is 240yd. I've been stacking and have gained about 8mph of swing speed in the last couple of months. I play a fade.

 

I was recently fitted within the past 6 months into a G430 LST (previously from a G425 max). The fitter had me keep my shaft from the older driver (Graphite Design HD 6S)

 

The combination has been okay but left me wanting to explore some other shaft options. With the GD HD I struggle with some face strike and a left miss. 
 

I recently tried the GD VF 6S for 2 rounds but struggled mightly to turn it over and had very little feel with it. I do like a tighter , stiffer feeling shaft but it was a bit much for me. 
 

i demo'd a few Ventus shafts including the TR blue 5S, TR blue 6S, Blue 6S, TR Red 5S. Full disclosure, I had to try these out in different driver heads then my G430 because of what they had available but I was able to hit them into a trackman. 
 

The Ventus blue felt a lot like the HD and saw similar left misses 

 

The TR blue 5 &6 both felt very similar and I liked. Tight feeling but not as boardy or tight as the VF. The 5S was giving me spin numbers below 2000 which was costing me carry distance vs the 6S

 

The TR Red 5S FELT the best, in fact I really like how it felt but I was swinging consistently slower by 2-3 mph. 96-98mph with the Red. Not sure why that would be

 

id love some help on some other shafts to try and thoughts are the Ventus line results. The only shaft I wasn't able to try was the 6S TR Red and I am curious if my speed would come back up to normal. 
 

thanks for the help guys 

[Stuart_G]

 

Sorry, can't help you with shaft selection but ...

 

41 minutes ago, robbradlee said:

With the GD HD I struggle with some face strike and a left miss. 

 

make sure it really is the shaft that's the problem before putting a lot of time and money into an alternative.    Looking at things like playing length and head weight can sometimes be much more important and effective to eliminate or reduce those types of misses.  Even pinning down the best shaft weight can play a big part before exploring different stiffness profiles.

 

It's well worth the small effort and cost (some lead tape, foot powder spray, and a bucket of range balls) to go through this self tuning tutorial before moving onto checkout out different shaft options. 

 

PS - nothing wrong with testing shafts in other heads as long as things like. playing length, swing weight, grip size and face angle are kept the same or very similar.  If those things are not kept constant, you never can tell whether it really was the different shaft that was responsible for the different ball flight results - or something else.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 19 by Stuart_G

[Rbsiedsc]

51 minutes ago, robbradlee said:

I play a fade.

 

51 minutes ago, robbradlee said:

I recently tried the GD VF 6S for 2 rounds but struggled mightly to turn it over

Isn’t this what you want based on the top line. You play a fade but say you struggled to turn over the vf? So do you play a fade or a draw off the tee?

[robbradlee]

21 minutes ago, Rbsiedsc said:

 

Isn’t this what you want based on the top line. You play a fade but say you struggled to turn over the vf? So do you play a fade or a draw off the tee?

Fair question and maybe a poor choice of words. I meant squaring up the club, my fade turned into a push slice and the shaft was just difficult for me to swing

[Rbsiedsc]

1 minute ago, robbradlee said:

Fair question and maybe a poor choice of words. I meant squaring up the club, my fade turned into a push slice and the shaft was just difficult for me to swing

Got it. That makes more sense

[robbradlee]

42 minutes ago, Stuart_G said:

 

Sorry, can't help you with shaft selection but ...

 

 

make sure it really is the shaft that's the problem before putting a lot of time and money into an alternative.    Looking at things like playing length and head weight can sometimes be much more important and effective to eliminate or reduce those types of misses.  Even pinning down the best shaft weight can play a big part before exploring different stiffness profiles.

 

It's well worth the small effort and cost (some lead tape, foot powder spray, and a bucket of range balls) to go through this self tuning tutorial before moving onto checkout out different shaft options. 

 

PS - nothing wrong with testing shafts in other heads as long as things like. playing length, swing weight, grip size and face angle are kept the same or very similar.  If those things are not kept constant, you never can tell whether it really was the different shaft that was responsible for the different ball flight results - or something else.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the response and the post share. I do plan on some strike work no matter what shaft I land on using (including my current). I think the interest in a new shaft is partly driven by the want for that tighter /stiffer feeling shaft then what the HD is currently feeling like. I previously used a Hzdrus Black and liked that stiff profile more. I tend to launch the HD much higher , borderline too high but to your point, that could be strike driven.

 

Finding the right shaft weight is something I'm definitely interested in doing. I was surprised to see the 5S equal or slower to the 6S

[Pepperturbo]

4 hours ago, robbradlee said:

Hello, not a frequent poster but looking for some help and perspective from other seasoned golfers.

 

I play off a 10HC with a driver SS of 100-105mph. Average carry is 240yd. I've been stacking and have gained about 8mph of swing speed in the last couple of months. I play a fade.

 

I was recently fitted within the past 6 months into a G430 LST (previously from a G425 max). The fitter had me keep my shaft from the older driver (Graphite Design HD 6S)

 

The combination has been okay but left me wanting to explore some other shaft options. With the GD HD I struggle with some face strike and a left miss. 
 

I recently tried the GD VF 6S for 2 rounds but struggled mightly to turn it over and had very little feel with it. I do like a tighter , stiffer feeling shaft but it was a bit much for me. 
 

i demo'd a few Ventus shafts including the TR blue 5S, TR blue 6S, Blue 6S, TR Red 5S. Full disclosure, I had to try these out in different driver heads then my G430 because of what they had available but I was able to hit them into a trackman. 
 

The Ventus blue felt a lot like the HD and saw similar left misses 

 

The TR blue 5 &6 both felt very similar and I liked. Tight feeling but not as boardy or tight as the VF. The 5S was giving me spin numbers below 2000 which was costing me carry distance vs the 6S

 

The TR Red 5S FELT the best, in fact I really like how it felt but I was swinging consistently slower by 2-3 mph. 96-98mph with the Red. Not sure why that would be

 

id love some help on some other shafts to try and thoughts are the Ventus line results. The only shaft I wasn't able to try was the 6S TR Red and I am curious if my speed would come back up to normal. 
 

thanks for the help guys 

I have Ventus 5 & 6 series Red and Blue shafts and played TR Blue for 2+ years, until last year when I switched to GT

 

I hit TR Blue lower and further than Red, but Red's bend profile fit me better and it was straighter. Red has a very stiff handle and a soft but stiff tip, while blue's handle is a bit soft for feel users, but the tip is ultra stiff.  I can see why Red's stiff handle profile had you swing a tad slower. Choosing Red or Black profiles depends on SS.

[Arlin964]

4 hours ago, Stuart_G said:

 

Sorry, can't help you with shaft selection but ...

 

 

make sure it really is the shaft that's the problem before putting a lot of time and money into an alternative.    Looking at things like playing length and head weight can sometimes be much more important and effective to eliminate or reduce those types of misses.  Even pinning down the best shaft weight can play a big part before exploring different stiffness profiles.

 

It's well worth the small effort and cost (some lead tape, foot powder spray, and a bucket of range balls) to go through this self tuning tutorial before moving onto checkout out different shaft options. 

 

PS - nothing wrong with testing shafts in other heads as long as things like. playing length, swing weight, grip size and face angle are kept the same or very similar.  If those things are not kept constant, you never can tell whether it really was the different shaft that was responsible for the different ball flight results - or something else.

 

 

 

 

 

Agree with Stuart here - the amount of testing and swapping out components I have done over the years could have been drastically reduced if I did better experimenting with headweight only. 

[phizzy30]

It's tough because feel is very important.  If you can come to terms with being 2-3 mph slower, TR Red would be the best option, IMO.  It's tough to discount the TR blue because you liked it overall and felt similar to the HD.  I don't think you could go wrong either choice here which is a good thing.  Nice problem to have.  

[robbradlee]

16 minutes ago, phizzy30 said:

It's tough because feel is very important.  If you can come to terms with being 2-3 mph slower, TR Red would be the best option, IMO.  It's tough to discount the TR blue because you liked it overall and felt similar to the HD.  I don't think you could go wrong either choice here which is a good thing.  Nice problem to have.  

Actually the Ventus blue (not the TR) and HD felt very similar and I didn't like these 

 

both the red and blue TRs had a more appealing feel (stiffer/tighter overall) but to your point, can I live with a few mph drop. I am also contemplating testing out a 6s in the red TR to see if that weight helps with the speed at all but it may not 

[phizzy30]

7 minutes ago, robbradlee said:

Actually the Ventus blue (not the TR) and HD felt very similar and I didn't like these 

 

both the red and blue TRs had a more appealing feel (stiffer/tighter overall) but to your point, can I live with a few mph drop. I am also contemplating testing out a 6s in the red TR to see if that weight helps with the speed at all but it may not 

Definitely worth testing the TR Red 6S before making any decisions.  

[robbradlee]

1 hour ago, Pepperturbo said:

I have Ventus 5 & 6 series Red and Blue shafts and played TR Blue for 2+ years, until last year when I switched to GT

 

I hit TR Blue lower and further than Red, but Red's bend profile fit me better and it was straighter. Red has a very stiff handle and a soft but stiff tip, while blue's handle is a bit soft for feel users, but the tip is ultra stiff.  I can see why Red's stiff handle profile had you swing a tad slower. Choosing Red or Black profiles depends on SS.

Thanks for the insight, did you find any difference in dispersion or swing speed between the 5 and 6s in the TR?

[J-Walker]

If I were your shoes, I’d be careful making too many decisions by testing shafts with different heads. Opposing driver heads are probably going to pair with shafts different than the G430 LST that you play. Clubhead speed and dispersion will also probably differ in results with the shafts you’ve tried in your driver head. In fittings, I’ve seen 5 or 6 miles of clubhead speed difference just by changing to a different driver head… not to mention that different models of driver heads have different biases, left to right and high to low.

[GMR2iron]

On 7/19/2025 at 10:48 AM, robbradlee said:

Thanks for the response and the post share. I do plan on some strike work no matter what shaft I land on using (including my current). I think the interest in a new shaft is partly driven by the want for that tighter /stiffer feeling shaft then what the HD is currently feeling like. I previously used a Hzdrus Black and liked that stiff profile more. I tend to launch the HD much higher , borderline too high but to your point, that could be strike driven.

 

Finding the right shaft weight is something I'm definitely interested in doing. I was surprised to see the 5S equal or slower to the 6S

Have you tried an AD GC? I had a brief honeymoon with the HD in a 3 wood, until it developed a hook. I am currently demoing a GC; it feels very similar to the HD, but definitely tighter, more stout. Slightly lower ball flight. It has helped with the left miss.

I am still not sold on the GC, but it is a great feeling shaft that is more stout than the HD.

[robbradlee]

2 hours ago, GMR2iron said:

Have you tried an AD GC? I had a brief honeymoon with the HD in a 3 wood, until it developed a hook. I am currently demoing a GC; it feels very similar to the HD, but definitely tighter, more stout. Slightly lower ball flight. It has helped with the left miss.

I am still not sold on the GC, but it is a great feeling shaft that is more stout than the HD.

No I haven't, I don't know much about the GC but it does sound like what I'm after - a stiffer /tighter HD version. I'll be checking it out for sure, thanks for the recommendation!

[Prballin]

I play a ping g430 lst and played for 2 seasons with the 65 gram 2.0 tour black stiff shaft. For a stock shaft it was actually a very nice shaft. I recently upgraded to a velecore blue 6 x and it has better accuracy and a less spin then the prior shaft. At times though I do miss that higher launch of the ping I had when the wind is behind. I will say this the velecore really helped with my spinny high miss fade right and reduced it when it happened. 

[Pepperturbo]

On 7/19/2025 at 1:15 PM, robbradlee said:

Thanks for the insight, did you find any difference in dispersion or swing speed between the 5 and 6s in the TR?

Not really, 58 vs 68 - stiff. I am a downrange eyeball guy; don't use LMs. 

 

They were similar in distance, except I tended to hit the 58 further than the 68. I was surprised how stable the lighter-weight shafts are. Launch was relatively the same, and dispersion with each was minimal. I have several Ventus; they are fine shafts.

Edited July 21 by Pepperturbo

[rsballer10]

On 7/20/2025 at 2:31 PM, J-Walker said:

If I were your shoes, I’d be careful making too many decisions by testing shafts with different heads. Opposing driver heads are probably going to pair with shafts different than the G430 LST that you play. Clubhead speed and dispersion will also probably differ in results with the shafts you’ve tried in your driver head. In fittings, I’ve seen 5 or 6 miles of clubhead speed difference just by changing to a different driver head… not to mention that different models of driver heads have different biases, left to right and high to low.

This. Even drivers within the same family can have pretty different shot shapes. Then there's the loft as well, and sleeve/weight configurations. All these things will change launch/spin/ball speed/shape.

 

I would check the specs on the 425 Max vs 430 LST heads, preferably hit them side by side with the same shaft in. compare loft/sleeve settings/weight setting/head weights