You know when you find something that works for you, it’s difficult to make a change to something else? This probably happens to me more than most people because I’m around new stuff all the time. I liken it to a fantasy sports team – you have a guy that you drafted 18th overall, and you think this guy is undroppable, but then… he starts to stink, and that guy you never heard of looks really, really good. You pray for good old #18 to land on the IR so you can shelve him without really cutting the cord. I mean what if someone else picks him up??? But this other guy is really lighting it up… And while you contemplate, your son takes the new guy. HAHA. I digress.

This happens to me with shafts. I expect to want to play a new head. Switching to Apex AI200 was an easy one. Putters? They are always one yip away from being replaced. With shafts, though – I feel like I find one I like, I know how it will respond, so why mess? And yet?

I’ll be on the range at an event and I’ll have a new shaft or head come in, so I build it up and try it. I try everything. I need to know what it feels like and how it performs next to my current gamer. Every once in a while, I hit something and I think I gotta be goofy to not put this in play. I can think of several such instances – the first time I hit Ventus Blue in a driver, hitting the Dynalite Gold iron shaft after the Mizuno Shaft Optimizer recommended it for me, the AI One Cruiser putter… The 9 wood? I thought I gotta be goofy not to put this thing in my bag… I can’t. Nope. Not yet.

Funny, but each of these came at a time when I had something that I was currently playing that was “undroppable”. Ventus Blue came when I was playing Graphite Design Tour AD-DI. Dynalite came when I was playing Dynamic Gold and had been since I was big enough to swing an adult golf club. The AI One Cruiser came when I was playing the Eleven – the best putter I ever used. I passed my PAT with that putter. Are they really undroppable, or are they the best thing you can find? Are you open minded enough to make a change? The Eleven and the Ventus Blue are on my “Golf Club IR” so I can try something new without changing cold turkey.

Understand a couple things. First, every head works well FOR YOU with a certain shaft. Just because Ventus Blue worked well for me in Rogue Max LS, didn’t mean it was going to work well in Paradym (it didn’t – I changed to Graphite Design CQ as a result of a fitting event “trial session”). GD CQ wasn’t great in the Smoke driver, so I tried Ventus Blue again. It was better, but I landed on the new Ventus Blue with Velocore+. This combination is easily the best combination I have ever played. Of any club. Ever. Seriously… I played in California a month ago – I can count on one hand the number of fairways missed in 4 rounds. Pinehurst for 5 rounds – same story. So you’re gonna switch?? I’m a golfer. We always switch. It’s what we do. We are always on the lookout for the new magic pill to give us longer and straighter.

When I got the new Elyte driver, I popped my current gamer shaft in it, and off I went. I thought it was really good. It’s as straight my smoke, but higher and perhaps longer – if either of those are possible. But… Can it be just. a little. bit. better?? If it’s better for me with no downside, I’ll switch. Often, these switches are as a result of what I highlighted above. I got a different shaft – I gotta try it. I’m not shopping, but I gotta know what it does. wink, wink.

Yesterday, I played with the new head, and a new shaft. Um. Yep. I took the best driver I’ve ever played and put it on the shelf. I already knew the head was good, and I hit this shaft when I was in California. I had never heard of it. The company is Aretera. It was started by two guys who worked on the design team at Fujikura that brought Ventus to light. HMMM… that has potential. The trial session where I hit it was a disaster zone. People everywhere. It was hard to find the right head with the right loft and then the right shaft. I built one that was close enough. I hit it a few times and liked it. File that away as “Try that again later”. The shaft showed up for my fitting kit on Thursday. I’m bringing it when I play on Sunday.

The plan was to try the two drivers side by side (Smoke with Ventus Blue vs. Elyte with Aretera). I liked the combination so much; I played the whole round with it. Without comparing it to my current gamer. In fact, I took my smoke driver to the car at the turn. It was fun to see how it performed. I’m really looking forward to hitting the two side by side over the winter.

The point to the story is twofold. First, certain shafts get “optimized” for a head when they are offered. “Stock shafts” do, while most upcharge shafts do not – most shafts simply get trimmed as recommended and installed. When Callaway lands on a “Stock” shaft, we have the manufacturer tell us how to make this combination the absolute best it can be for the head we intend to use it in. Doing this for every shaft is not feasible. This Elyte/ Aretera combination was one of those. Performance can be elevated if a player falls into one of those combinations.

Ever wonder why my team and I often fit players into “stock” shafts? It’s not because they are less expensive. They just work better more often. This combination is that. My Ventus Blue is optimized for a Smoke head – not the Elyte head. Perhaps my performance can be elevated even higher with a different head/ shaft combination. Perhaps not, but it’s worth exploring. Sure, start with “tried and true”, but don’t be so closed-minded thinking that something else won’t be better. Either as a fitter or as a player. Second, every company makes their version of vanilla ice cream. For my golf swing, I know what shafts tend to work best for me. Same for you, and for everyone. If you stay in that lane, you will find many that are close or good enough, but you may get lucky enough to find “the one”. When it’s time to change one part (the head, for example, is a pretty big part), you have to get back into your lane and try different complimentary options. When fitting other players – know what “lane” their current gamer is in. Can you stay in that lane and make it even better for them? This is a great idea for a new post – maybe next week.

We will be offering the Aretera shafts as a $100 upcharge (retail pricing) on Elyte drivers in 2025. If you wanted to put it in Smoke, it’s a $350 upcharge. Buy one loose from us, it’s a $350 bill. E-Bay one? They’re $420 there. This shaft is the real deal. The one I played was the EC1 blue 65 4 flex (stiff). 68 grams trimmed. Stiffer in the butt and tip section, yet softer (they call it “more compliant”) in the mid-section. I could feel it release nicely. Soft, not too firm. I could hit it high, low, straight and turn it right to left (the only fade I tried to hit went dead straight). The new combination of materials make it lower spinning on off center hits. For a Ventus Blue with Velocore player, this is a very nice option (and it’s $250 less expensive). For a Ventus Blue non-velocore player, for $100, this is a GREAT option if it falls in the budget. Think of it as a $1,000 driver for $700. You’re welcome…

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Happy Fitting!!!

Jim Yeager, PGA