Golf is a great sport for gear. We golfers love to sit in the clubhouse and discuss what clubs we are using or want to be using. Today we are going to talk about shafts. You may be embarrassed to talk about this, you may even feel your shaft is inadequate. Don’t worry though, All Square is a place where you are free to talk about your shaft without fear of being judged.
Okay, enough of the immaturity. Today we are looking at Fujikura, the Japanese company that make some of the finest shafts on the market. At the PGA Merchandise Show they will launch their new offering for elite golfers the Atmos Tour Spec line.
Fujikura XLR8 Technology
The XLR8 line maximises speed. The company moved some of the weight of the shaft around to alter the characteristics. This movement has resulted in shafts with slightly stiffer tip and butt ends. In simple terms this means that the shaft ‘kicks’ with greater speed. The technology has been included in their Speeder PRO XLR8, SIX XLR8 and PRO XLR8 shafts.
The PRO XLR8 is one of the best-looking shafts on the market. The grey and yellow paintwork stands-out but not overly so. The Speeder PRO XLR8 took the market by storm and sold-out rapidly. Again, the paintwork on these shafts look great. The Speeder PRO XLR8 has a more subdued livery than the PRO XLR8, but it still looks fantastic.
Another great offering from the line-up is the SIX XLR8. This impressively engineered shaft is ultra-lightweight (under-60g) but still feels stout. The SIX XLR8 is for golfers who need a bit of help to get good swing-speeds but still want the feel of a stronger shaft. There is a product here for every golfer. This is a comprehensive and thoroughly impressive set of products.
Fujikura Speeder Evolution SeriesThe Speeder Evolution has itself evolved from a single product to a whole series. When Fujikura launched the original Speeder Evolution it was so well received that they expanded and for 2017 they have completed the family. The line-up is as follows:
Speeder Evolution I (Blue) – High/Mid Launch – High/Mid Spin
Speeder Evolution II (Orange) – Low Launch – Low Spin
Speeder Evolution III (Red) – Mid Launch – Mid Spin
The product line is a comprehensive one with twelve shafts on offer. There is a product here for every golfer and they will undoubtedly see great results from putting a Speeder Evolution in their driver.
These shafts feel great. You get a lot of feedback from them yet they feel stable, even when you’re going after it. The most unique thing about them is the whip-like feel as you go through impact. You really get the sense that all of the energy you have put into your swing travels down the shaft and reaches the clubhead at the perfect time to launch the ball.
Fujikura ATMOS Tour Spec
Fujikura pride themselves on relentless testing and development driven by data analysis. To this end they have come out with the all-new ATMOS Tour Spec shafts that are debuting at the CareerBuilder Challenge on the PGA Tour.
To start they look great. They have the ‘tour spec white’ colour and either red (high-launch), blue (mid-launch) or black (low-launch) detailing. The shafts come in either tour stiff or tour extra-stiff flexes and will be available for public testing at Orange County National on January 24th during the PGA Merchandise Show Demo Day. This line is the culmination of two decades of research and work with tour golfers.
Fujikura is one of the most recognisable companies in the manufacturing of top-quality shafts. Custom-fitting of a shaft is the fastest way to gain distance and accuracy through your bag. Finding the correct product for your swing will give you instant returns and improvements. In 2017, if you haven’t already, you really need to try a Fujikura!
