50 Words Or Less
Superb feel. Nicely rested between smooth and boardy flex profile. Easy to control. Explosive distance.
Introduction
One of the biggest mainstays in my bag throughout the past couple of golf seasons has been my trusty Fujiukura Motore Speeder VC 6.0. That shaft has proven to be a favorite for many golfers and for good reason; it’s an excellent golf shaft. Then one day, I hit the Fujikura Fuel and it legitimately changed my game off the tee.
Fujikura will tell you that this shaft is loaded with all sorts of impressive new technology like fuel rods, combustion chambers, and load injector tips, but none of that mattered to me. What mattered to me was the shaft worked. The shaft worked REALLY well.
I installed a Fujikura Fuel 60x in a Cobra ZL Encore for testing.
Feel
I’ve never been a guy who puts all my stock in numbers off of a radar. Though the numbers are extremely helpful for dialing in equipment and your game, at the end of the day, a club still needs to feel good when you’re swinging it. The Fujikura Fuel feels better than any shaft I have ever used. The Fuel feels sturdy and smooth from the backswing, transition, and downswing. At impact is when the fun the starts.
At impact, the ball literally feels like it’s exploding* when I use the Fuel shaft. The shaft is sturdy enough in the tip to feel you are putting an explosive strike on the ball, but softer in the butt section so that it doesn’t feel like you are swinging a tree branch. With this smoother flex profile, it seems you can swing with more feel and worry a lot less about perfect timing in the swing.
Price
The Fuel is be available in 50, 60, and 70 gram versions with flexes ranging from R2 (senior) to X-stiff. The MSRP is $225. There is also hybrid shaft in 85g and 95g versions.
Looks
It makes sense for shaft manufacturers to make their shafts as bright, bold, and unique is possible so they are easily identifiable whether it’s on the driving range or a PGA telecast. I have had my fair of red, white, green, yellow, neon pink, etc… shafts, but looks are typically not that important for me as long as the shaft works well for me. That said, I like a nice balance between a little flash, but not too over the top. Again, the Fujikura Fuel is perfect here. It has just enough flash to be unique and identifiable, but it isn’t so over the top that I look I’m trying to be that guy in the Wilson Staff Commercials.
Performance
Since putting the Fuel in my driver, I have tightened my dispersion up quite a bit. My drives have become more predictable and accurate giving me a better ability to set myself for ideal second shots. A lot of this has to do with the feel and control of the shaft.
The superior feel in the shaft seems to make it easier for me to flight and bend my shots as desired. I am able to get a little more air under the ball than I was before, but it’s still easy enough to knock the shot down in high winds. My ability to draw and fade the ball on demand into tight spots has gone up because of the Fujikura Fuel.
I’ve talked to a number of golfers who have played the Fuel and there seems to be an interesting common theme. Often times, golfers have a difficult time switching between flexes. The Fuel seems to be a sturdy enough shaft that players are able to switch between a x-stiff flex or an stiff flex to make minor tweaks to their ball flight without losing the ability to control the shaft. I have not been fortunate enough to test this myself, but I feel it is worth noting if you are looking to test this shaft. Make sure you try a couple of different flex and weight options because it would appear that you may be surprised with what you like the most.
Conclusion
There haven’t been too many products to cross my plate that have completely blown me away recently, but the Fujikura Fuel certainly changed that. Typically when this happens, it’s a pretty personal experience because the product is a good fit for me. I truly believe that the Fujikura Fuel would be a beneficial shaft to almost any golfer as long as they have the proper shaft weight and flex for them. Without knowing the details of a golfer’s game, I would feel more than comfortable suggesting that they give the Fuel serious consideration. I have hit my fair share of Fujikura shafts over the years, but I have yet to hit one that has felt this good and has been this easy to control.
If you have never tried a Fujikura shaft and want to see what all the Fujikura fuss is about, go straight to the Fujikura Fuel. Fujikura certainly got it right with this one.
*EDITOR’S NOTE: Sadly, even though it has felt like it numerous times, I have not broken any golf balls or “tore the cover” off…yet.
Bill Bush
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I have the Fuel in my Nike Covert and I LOVE it. It has that right feel and kick to it
It’s funny because that’s a fairly vague description you gave…and I TOTALLY get it! That’s exactly how I would put it in a simple line: “it has the RIGHT feel and kick to it.”
I’d like to try one of the Tour Spec ones to see if it feels just as good or even better.
I was fortunate enough to win one of the Fujikura Fuel US Open shafts. I haven’t had a chance to hit it yet, but after reading this, I can’t wait to see how this works for me.
I installed the Fuel 60 regular flex in a Tour Edge xcg5 3wood with 11.5 degrees of loft to create my version of the “Phrankenwood”. It is now my go to club off the tee.
This shaft sounds phenomenal. All the testing Fujikura is doing with ENSO is working.
Looking for more distance as everyone else is too. Sixty-six years young. 8.4 handicap because of my short game. Driver distance, two hundred yards. Can anyone offer advise to what Fujikura fuel shaft that would help in getting extra distance with my driver. Thanks for any advice. MJB.
Michael,
Only a qualified fitter like Club Champion or True Spec could tell you what shaft would help you get more distance.
Best,
Matt
Have to change 60
S shaft can’t put any power into shot so many 60 s on ebay
Hi Matt
I was fitted with the Fujikura Fuel shaft 7 years ago in my Titleist D913 and have used it ever since. I still use it today in my Ping G400.
What is todays Fuji Fuel? My fitting numbers are still the same.
Thanks RW
Rob,
I loved the Fuel, but it’s been quite a while since I’ve swung it, so I’m not sure I could identify a good comparison. My best advice is always to get fit if you’re looking to upgrade your equipment.
Best,
Matt