Fujikura’s new Ventus TR Blue shaft filled a hole in my bag

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The Fujikura Ventus family of golf shafts has dominated the Tour for the past few seasons, and earlier this year the company released an updated version in the Ventus TR Blue, adding Velocore+ technology. Fujikura has also changed the way it places the Spread Tow fabric in the handle section, opting for a 90º structure rather than an angled structure. This increases torsional stability in the handle, while maintaining feel throughout the swing. (For more on the differences between the OG TR Blue and the new Velocore+ TR Blue, check out this piece by our colleague Jack Hirsh.)

If you’ve been keeping up with our Fully Fit series, you may have noticed that I’ve gone into the OG TR Blue during many of the driver’s posts; Cobra, Callaway and TaylorMade have all chosen the Velocore version of the TR Blue. The problem is, while I’ve had a lot of success with TR Blue in my driver, I chose to play it at the end of the season last year in a Qi35 head before switching things up this year with the same Velocore TR Blue in my Qi4D, I haven’t had much success with TR Blue in my fairway woods or small driver. I always had to look for a different solution. So I was excited to try the new TR Blue with Velocore+, because I described it as offering more feel combined with more stiffness in the grip. Boy, that meant nothing.

Fujikura has transformed the TR Blue Velocore+ into a powerhouse hungry for speed. The handle section is much stiffer for me than the OG version. Because of that I find myself a little faster with the new version, but it’s not really the same as my change. So even though I kept hitting the same spot on the face, the head was giving me exactly what I needed. While the OG TR Blue Velocore helped me generate a nice solid pull, I found the TR Blue with Velocore+ very difficult to turn. It has a lot of “leftist” in it. It still sits as a good compromise between Velocore+ Blue and TR Black, but with an improved feel. To me, it’s not the best choice for a driver, but you know what would be great? Building a new fairway wood.

Fujikura 2026 Ventus TR Blue Wood Shaft (Velocore+)

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Because of the difference in how the shafts deliver, I have found that what doesn’t work well for me in the driver seems to work well in the fairway wood. I try to stay up with my fairway woods, like hitting my irons. I also produce more violent throws. While I like a soft handle on my driver, I tend to prefer something with a hard handle for every bag. The only problem? I hate 3-woods. With burning love. I’m not good at hitting them, they don’t do what I need and they control me mentally. Enter TR Blue with Velocore+.

The numbers you see above are indeed good for me: 260 yards from the deck is perfect for what I need, and the best part is the new TR Blue Velo+ that wants to swing. immediately. When I pulled the handle up in the swing, the club grew faster and felt more consistent. It’s almost as if the speed turns on the profile. Being neutral in attacking the ball also seemed to help the profile work better for me, and the contact on the face was always in the same place. The spread on that chart above may seem wide, but I promise you, for me and my cruddy fairway-wood game, it’s close to miraculous. It got even better when I put the ball on the short tee.

Look at that spread! This had a 16.5º fairway (4 wood), and these numbers off the tee were perfect. A direct to controlled draw that never went left for me, a nice spin window of 3,000 RPMs and a ball speed that is a mark above what I usually produce with a fairway wood of this loft off the tee. You will also notice that there is a ball that passes others in the group. That one went about 270 in the air and went out to 290. It was my last swing, and I gave it everything I had to change – to prove, once again, that the profile loves speed. If you can go fast, the shaft will help a lot, and the profile is stable by using the swing.

All in all, there is hope here. I’m on a long journey to find a fairway wood that I can play consistently, and a big part of that search will be finding the right hole to give me the confidence in the swing I need to produce. So far, the new TR Blue has passed all the tests, and knowing that I can swing hard and stick with my neutral​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​new​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​back down, the new attack angle on the fairways is a huge confidence booster. Honestly, I’m sad that the profile changed so much from OG, but the game is growing, the players are getting stronger and faster, and it was time to get strong players a profile that inspires confidence during the launch. So, while the TR Blue with Velcore+ won’t make me a driver, it is the leader in the clubhouse for fairway woods.