True!!!!

yeah.. ventus NON velocore was made for taylormade only.. you cant buy them anyhwere else for any other brand..

A true Ventus will have velicore stamp near tip

I would say that this is one of the most egregious attempts to fool consumers

Thanks for watching!

They probably care more about being able to say they own it, then actually using it.

@@EFGMC 100% appreciate you taking the time to reply to my comment!

Ping has definitely always done things their own way.

The Ping Stock" ALTA CB. shafts are made by Aldila..they work just fine ..

Lots of Ping tour players use those stock Ping shafts, especially the seniors!

It might have performed better for you but maybe the other way around for someone else.. Just a thought

Your talking 50 $ or 400$+ nuff said

TaylorMade are the big boys when it comes to bullshit marketing.

They have the 70 specs on the PX page, just under the 60. Also have the 80. The 5.5, 6.0, and 6.5 are all pretty close spec wise. They also make a 6.5TX with different specs (at least not in line with the others). Guessing those won't be a standard option!

I have a few Ping fairway woods and find that their stock CB shafts are outstanding so I agree with your comment.

Mizuno does seem to give the best chance at getting what you think you're getting.

Definitely still happening. Some club and shaft brands are worse than others but, consumers need to do some homework if they are really worried about what they are buying.

Hell Yes ,been also going on for years...Designed in. .......etc...

Yeah, they only have a few 'flying monkeys' they can send out to down vote.

Agree. Plenty of these shafts are solid, but it's all just a convoluted and deceptive.

I have set of ping eye 2s, but recently went on e-bay and picked up a set of karsten III rails. I love um

I would guess 75% of men just look for stiff or x stiff and off they go!

Plenty of golfers don't realize this goes on, and most it probably doesn't effect. That being said, still don't think it should be happening.

Depending where you look, I have seen both the mid and low at the $300 to $350 price, but like you said, the low is nowhere to be seen as a stock option.

Don't think PX makes anything in US anymore. The Handcrafted were produced in San Diego but they no longer do that. Everything is made overseas.

Thanks for watching!

That gets extremely tricky as none of the OEMs are going to use language that is explicitly dishonest. They will go just far enough to let you draw your own conclusions. Again, I don't want people to think that these stock shafts are bad, because in many cases they are excellent shafts for the majority of golfers. People just need to be extra careful when looking at the options and make sure they understand what they are getting vs what they think they might be getting.

@@EFGMC Thanks again, I guess as usual, Caveat Emptor! The corporations make money and we the minority lose it. Next time I will get fitted professionally at somewhere like TXG in Toronto, at least I will know what I am getting for my money. Do you have any feedback on the Callaway version of the HZDRUS Smoke iM10 60g mid spin shaft in a 5 wood? I am not hitting it very well and bought it because I already had a HZDRUS Smoke 60 g low spin in my Callaway driver, and like the way that shaft works for me. And another question if you have the time, I was fitted for my Mizuno irons and the Dynamic Gold AMT S300's were recommended at the time, would these shaft be the real deal or a cheaper version of what they are portrayed to be?

@@Brentokan The mid and the low are very different shafts. Personally, I think the low is likely the more premium version, while the mid ends up as the "stock" option. I don't know of any "funny" AMT shafts. Steel, you usually don't have as many deceptive practices on. Those Mizuno DGs would be the real thing.

@@Brentokan shafts should be heavier in your fairway woods. So if your a 60 in driver 5w should be 70-80

It could be the real deal. Project X shafts are some of the most affordable aftermarket shafts available. That’s why you see them offered as stock options by most companies these days. If it’s fake, there will be something on the shaft that distinguishes itself from the “real” version.

I think most of the stock option shafts are excellent for most golfers. Obviously some golfers are better suited in different aftermarket shafts but the only way to really answer that is by trying a few shafts side by side and seeing what happens. Personally, if you have the specs you need, I don't think a $400 shaft will perform any better than a $200 shaft.

I will add that to the list. As far as which I like best, the Tour Lock counter weights are easy to install so the lazy me votes that way. They are more expensive however.

I've read mixed reviews on the Maltby ratings. Never really looked into them. Big fan of what Russ Ryden does. It's one guy using the same machine and doing all the testing himself so that takes a lot of the variables out of it. I count the golfshaftreviews website as a great resource.

Ping is really the only company now who actually puts their name on the shafts since they co design all of them. You are correct, they are excellent.

How do you like them? I have really only heard good things about the Ping co designed shafts.

@@EFGMC I'm very happy with them but honestly can't compare to any other contemporary shafts. I've transitioned over last 8 months from a lifelong occasional golfer using hand me down equipment to playing 1-4 rounds per week. The Alta feels great with more controlled fluid swings I make with them and Tour 65 was probably best choice of stock considering I needed to lower trajectory and reduce spin but was more interested in maximum forgiveness in head (410 plus).

@@EFGMC i have ping woods and driver s with the stock" ALTA CB...(made by Aldila.).and I have also put the Tensei Blue , and Orange shafts in them.. I like the Tensei better .just feel smoother kick or something ..but the Stock ALTA works great as well...

Thanks for watching!

Have not seen evidence that any of the upcharge shaft options are not what they say they are. Could be wrong, and of course some people might debate the prices for the upgrades, but they seem like they are what they say.

Like that last idea!

you cant buy these "made for/upgrade/made for club brand" shafts separately, so if you go buy a separate shaft it will be a legit premium model.

If you are talking about aftermarket premium shafts this question gets tricky. As I said in the video, some of these shafts are sold as premium aftermarket but shouldn't be. The pricing however is dictated by the OEM and not the retailer so the shop selling them can't really be blamed. Really need to do your homework to know what you are looking at and for. This sometimes means going to both the retailers website and the manufacturers site to see if you can glean any clues. All that being said, some brands are far more transparent. Graphite Design is a good example. Any of the high end stuff they make is what they say it is. No trickery. Matrix (now LA Golf) always had really good quality shafts. Brands where it gets cloudy include Project X, Fujikura, Aldila/Mitsu. Again, they all make great shafts but you need to be more careful to make sure you know what you're getting.

So would ordering a shaft from Golf Works be a safe bet in getting a legit aftermarket premium shaft.

@@-What-are-your-thoughts In most cases yes. Just make sure you read the description to know for sure.

@@EFGMC When the Ozik line was discontinued with Matrix, these could be found very inexpensively. At a shaft testing for my son's driver, the recommended one was $400, but barely changed the numbers from the Ozik Red tie from a few years back. After 3 hours of shaft work, the fitter changed the ball from ProV1x to AVX and the driver spin numbers came down and optimized the driver. There are so many factors involved now. Imagine what Mr. Hogan could've done with all this...and a good putter and putting coach ;-).

Ping is the only brand I know who co designs their shafts and are extremely involved in the process. Have really only seen good things said about those shafts.

Thanks for watching!

I would look out for Mitsubishi Diamana or a Graphite Design AD. Those are usually authentic and were not copied or watered down during that time range. Most important thing is finding a shaft with the right specs though. A more expensive shaft that doesn't fee right is worthless.

@@EFGMC Oh yes, i've seen Diamana shaft around. What about matrix or fubuki? Apart from stiff, is there any specific specs I should look for? The length will be a variable, but it can always be trimmed down.

@@hotdogint Older Matrix shafts are another great option. They made maybe the most consistent shafts of anyone for many years. Just make sure you are getting a shaft at least 44 inches long if it's used, so you know it is for and will be long enough for a driver.

@@EFGMC Right on. Standing at 6 feet plus shoes makes shorter clubs quite the handicap. Thanks for the input!

No reason to not try it. Shaft weight changes won't ruin a club. If you play better with lighter shafts, you should play lighter shafts regardless of what head it's attached to.

@@EFGMC thank you. Much appreciated. And thank you for sharing your insights about the fitting game. I’ve learned a lot.

Project X has so many variations, names, logos, paint jobs, differing profiles and materials based on flex. You need to be Sherlock Holmes to figure them out.

Iron shafts in general are much cheaper and the majority are steel so it happens infrequently at best. This happens in large part because the professional game uses these high end graphite driver shafts so amateurs want to copy that. Most pros play steel shafts so you don't have the same desire to copy. That said, you do see things like the Tour Issue DG logo showing up on wedges from every brand that I am not sure are really tour issue as far as specs go. So that would be the most prevalent case for this.

Probably not, because they don't even give you the option of trying any of the stock stuff. It also seems like they guide people into certain equipment setups which makes me question the validity of the fittings. Not to mention they try and sell everyone on shaft PUREing, which I don't agree with.

Agree club champion will attempt to take you for all your money. Ive seen 4k bill for 2k worth of stuff. Go to a smaller clubfitter would be my recommendation

@@EFGMC 💯 AJ. 2 years ago I was custom fit at club champion in NJ. For a cobra F9 driver , 3-4 wood 5-6 wood and 2 hybrids. The Fitter put me right into Accra Fx 2.0 360 M4 ($365 surcharge) and 2 fairway and 2 hybrid shafts both Accra Fx 2.0. Mucho dinero. I no longer have those clubs the F9 driver was not forgiving enough for me, I wound up selling all the heads, I still have all the shafts with Cobra Tips. Goin to see if these shafts are good for me next year at my custom fit at 2ndSwing in Delaware. Goin to be taking a 2 hour drive from New York. I’m recovering from rotator cuff surgery in December 19 and my speed is not up to where it needs to be for that level of stiffness. Club champion also pushed the shaft Puring which I also did. I just bought a TM SIM MAX 3 wood and 5 wood. both have the Project X RIPTIDE regular flex 5.5R 60 g. Is this one of those “made for” shafts. I don’t see it listed on True Tempers website. They have listed a Riptide 50 (5.5 Regular) but not a 60

@@stephendibari5010 Your description of your experience at CC seems to be the norm and not the exception unfortunately.

@@EFGMC thanks. Any idea on the Project X RIPTIDE shafts i mentioned at the end of my comments?

I haven't hit them, but from reading they seem to be excellent quality shafts. Weight and launch is typical of what Callaway likes to use in their irons. Callaway does sometimes use slightly different version of steel shafts however, I have found that those shafts are always very solid. If the weight and flight fit your game, I would have zero issues with those IO shafts.

@@EFGMC Thanks for the reply and insight. I actually have some coming with Nippon Modus 120 stiff but I was curious. Also, great job on the videos, keep them coming 😊

@@lagit4strokesgained820 120 is a great shaft. Just picked up some 115s that I will be installing in my "new to me" irons in next weeks video.

There are some cases where some brands do have more expensive (usually older premium aftermarket) as stock options but it's so hard to know. Some times it can be the same shaft, but produced in different factories and the only tell is on the shaft label under the grip.

Titleist 975 w/ the Fujikura Speeder is the first one I always think of. Looked like a Speeder 757 but small words "Exclusively for Titleist" told the tale.

@@EFGMC just going by your example of making a shaft for an oem and selling it at premium prices, which is the LTD. Fuji never sold the Exclusively For Titleist Speeder.

@@seymourbutts5277 Got it. Thought you were talking about stock option shafts disguised as premium. Didn't remember the LTD being sold independently.

@@EFGMC yep. It's still on the website, and it's still no upcharge with most oems except the TX version of course lol

I wouldn't discount a shaft just because it says "made for" or any variation of that. The question is does that shaft work with your swing based on weight, flex, and bend profile.

Depends on where you go. I work for Golfmart (world wide golf shops) we have accounts with all the major brands. I call customer service to check on orders and we get visits from the sales reps bi weekly. I custom order my own stuff. Everything in the store it top class legitimate. The store must have an account/ a fitting cart/ testing demos, etc. it’s easy to spot a legitimate business. And BTW, I can spot a fake club a mile away. When you’ve seen hundreds of them it’s easy when you know what to look for. The average Joe doesn’t and unfortunately gets taken often by that. Just try to go to a store with actual accounts with major manufacturers. Also what’s said here is absolutely correct about shafts. But also realize that the shaft just has to be better quality than the quality of the player. So a beginner-it doesn’t matter, average player- the made for OEM mid range/stock shafts are fine, advanced player-$200-300 upgrade premium shaft. My driver shaft is a “Hand Crafted Project x Black Hzrdus 75 6.5” with my Callaway driver it was a $275 upcharge. If it doesn’t say hand crafted it’s the made for OEM version, their about $80-100, and very good in their own right. The OEM one is in my 3wd and it’s very good but I can tell the difference but one was a comped club and the other one I paid for. I get the premium when it’s a company free bee.

Wouldn't be any Velocore on a Tensei shaft. It's a completely different manufacturer.

@@mulvihillmatt my mistake. Either way there is something different about the tensei 60 gram blue for the sim 2. I like it but something about it doesn't feel right

@@GeoffAskewGolf you’re completely right on that. I have the same shaft on as well. I swapped it out for the Tensei Pro Orange and I love it.

@@mulvihillmatt im getting a fit for a new shaft in july. I may also be using the wrong stiffness and bend profile for me. At a full stepped on swing im reaching a little over 180 ball speed. With a 43.5 length. At 45 it felt like a noodle.

Really not sure on this one. Can you find the hosel on eBay? Other option would be one of the 3rd party fitting adapters like Club Conex that you could maybe use. Just guessing on that though.

@@EFGMC Can't find one on E-bay. I'm not sure if other Nike models would work. If it would screw onto the head maybe I could get it to work. BTW, Thanks for replying.

Waiting for a reply from Club Conex. Thank you for your help.

@@arnoldlunsford9872 You may need to go with a different brand. Club Conex was bought by True Spec and the pricing structure is basically a scam now. If you could find some used ones on eBay, might be an option. Also could check out Billy Bobs Golf or Golfworks as both have some different options similar to Club Conex.

Correct that they did away with the Handcrafted builds out of San Diego. Now everything is produced offshore. Small batch is just tighter tolerances supposedly. RDX line is a more mid level shaft so they don't seem to do Small Batch with them as they were designed as stock option OEM shafts.

@@EFGMC thanks! That's why I have been going with project x shafts. They perform well and are much cheaper than others (as I only need 60g stiff range shafts for my swing). Still wondering about Callaway im10. At least it works for me very well.

@@jek7011 The iM10 again gets a little tricky. They have the mid which is the version available as stock options. Pretty much middle of the road stock shaft as far as specs go. Then you have the low, which appears to be much more stout, low launch, low torque. That shaft doesn't appear to be a stock option anywhere as I would guess it's more expensive to produce even though they price the two shafts the same. All that being said, what really matters is if whatever shaft it is, works for you!

The cost of drivers I would argue have increased less than any other club or component in the golf bag over the last $20 years. Say 25-30% for drivers depending on a $300 or $400 year 2000 price. Irons have increase over 40% and even more when you consider the standard set is now 7 not 8 clubs. Shaft and grip costs have gone up even more.

The Orange is going to fall into the same category as most stock offerings today. You can buy it for around $250 but it's not the same type shaft as the Tensei Pro Orange for example. The TX versions of that shaft will be more expensive usually as they have more high end materials used. Not sure exactly where that Blue AV falls as it shows a different weight from the standard aftermarket AV Blue. Something strange going on with it but not sure what the story is.

Really will be shaft by shaft dependent. Some are similar with slight differences in materials or amounts of materials. Some can be completely different profiles. This can get extra tricky when a shaft company produces a TX flex version. The TX will almost always have a different profile and see a spec jump. For instance the torque measurement may go from 4.4 to 4.2 to 4.0 as it goes from R to S to X. But then the TX will drop to 2.8 so it moves outside the steady progression of the other flexes.

Yes, to my knowledge, the steel shafts are all what they say they are. On occasion, you get a Callaway or someone who has a shaft made for them like the True Temper stepless XP shaft they used in the Rogue line or the Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S200 they use in their wedges, but the first shaft was very different looking because of the lack of stepping and the tour issue band is again different color. Again, just read the shaft labels to make sure you know what you're getting as far as weight etc.

True, although I have read some differing accounts about the Atmos and it being produced in different factories with differing QC.

@@EFGMC I believe it was real. But their 2021 offerings show everyone up I think. Incredible stock shafts

@@nicchoulman5789 Definitely will have a better chance with the smaller guys (Cobra, Mizuno, etc) than with the Callaways and Taylormades.

Mizuno does seem to have some better options. They had stock Fuji Atmos Tours for a few years now, although I have read that these shafts may be made in different factories where quality control is not the same. Those Diamana's do seem to be on spec so I don't know if they are older stock with updated paint or something else. From what I've seen though, they are very solid shafts regardless. Project X is always a can of worms to get into. I think the RDX line is just a less expensive line but PX always seems to me to be the most confusing and misleading of any of the big shaft companies.

@@EFGMC thanks for the awesome reply! Yeah, PX always seems fishy. Sure is a topic I've been very interested in.

Project X is probably the worst as far as knowing what you are getting and having slight variations within models. The Even Flow blue and black were both produced in a standard version and a Hand Crafted version made in San Diego. Specs were the same but the HC version was supposedly tighter spec'd. The standard ones can be found for $50 more or less, the HC still get $150 or more in some cases.

@@EFGMC That's what confused me while looking it up online. Both shafts look identical and are described in the same fashion, the only difference being the "handcrafted" shaft and of course, the price. This marketing approach is confusing since there is very little that differentiates the premium handcrafted shaft, unless the whole point is to prop up the cheaper shaft. This begs the question; why ever buy the HC?

@@mrpopenfresh Unfortunately this is the shaft business. Smoke and mirrors, misdirection.