50 Words or Less
The VA Raijin Black is an uber-stout shaft for the very fast or aggressive swinger. Low launch and spin. Demands that you earn everything, for better or worse.
Introduction
“Raijin” translates from Japanese to “Thunder God,” and that’s what you need to be to wield this shaft well. VA’s own website says that the Raijin Black “should not be compared to Raijin” [review HERE]. Drew Koch, a top fitter of VA Composites shafts, joked, “Nobody needs this.” In spite of these warnings, I took the VA Raijin Black out for testing to see who should put this into play.
Looks
In a sea of colorful VA Composites shafts, the Raijin Black stands out. As you would guess, the VA Raijin Black is all black, matte black to be specific. The graphics are restricted to just about 11″ below the grip, though they do wrap around the entire shaft. You have to look carefully – the grey and bronze don’t scream for attention – but it’s worth it to see the details in the dragon underneath the “Raijin” branding. There’s also a subtle scale pattern beneath it all. There aren’t many shafts that leave me wanting more – in a good way – but the VA Raijin Black is definitely one of them. [See Price / Buy]
Feel
According to VA, the Raijin Black has “the stiffest bend profile throughout all the VA shaft series.” This was evident from the first swing. Unlike the active Nemesys [review HERE] or even the SYNYSTR [review HERE], the Raijin Black felt like it had no action whatsoever.
As with anything in golf equipment, this isn’t inherently good or bad. On the positive side, you never have to guess where the shaft is or what it’s doing. It’s incredibly stable, doing exactly what you make it do.
On the other hand, swinging the VA Raijin Black feels like work. This shaft is not adding any extra speed or energy. If anything, it often felt like it was telling me, “Swing harder!”
Performance
While the feel of the VA Raijin Black is not exciting to me, the results often were. My best shots with this shaft displayed my favorite ball flight: high and flat, dead straight, carrying almost to the end of my ability to track the ball.
This is billed as a low launch, low spin shaft, and what I saw in my testing was consistent with that description. My launch angles with the Raijin Black were a bit higher than other VA shafts, but that had more to do with the shot shape – straight or pushed rather than draws. Despite not hitting my normal draw, the Raijin Black kept my spin quite low. [See Price / Buy]
Staying with shot shape, the VA Raijin Black made me feel like I could hit any shape if my swing was good enough. I didn’t have to guard against a hook, and I could access fades without extra effort. For players who see the left side of the course too often, the Raijin Black can go a long way toward balancing your shot dispersion. In my testing, I didn’t see a single shot that I didn’t earn.
Speaking of earning, the Raijin Black will make you earn your speed. For me, this is the polar opposite of the SYNYSTR CB [review HERE]. That shaft made the swing feel effortless. With the Raijin Black, every swing was effortful. I knew that the ball wasn’t going to go fast unless I made it go fast.
The VA Raijin Black is available in just one weight class: 65 grams. Golfers can choose from flexes 3, 4, and 5, equivalent to regular, stiff, and x-stiff. If you’re going to get fit for this shaft, leave your ego at home: you may need a flex lower than you normally play.
Conclusion
After extensive testing, I understand Drew’s assessment of the VA Raijin Black. This is not a shaft for most golfers. However, if you’re in that sliver of the golf population that is really fast, really aggressive, and just needs a shaft to keep up and keep the ball in play, this is almost certainly the best VA shaft for you. [See Price / Buy]
Learn more about the VA Raijin Black Shaft HERE
He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
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3 Comments
Matt,
I appreciate the writeup. This is definitely not the shaft for me, and I don’t think I need to be fitted to know that, based on my swing speed. But it seemed to work out well for you.
I know that spin is just one variable, but do you find that there is a “sweet spot” for you personally where the spin gives you favorable rollout, but doesn’t balloon up on you?
Yes, for sure. I like to be around 2,000 RPM, and I’d rather be a bit below than above. There are plenty of people in the comments who like to tell me that’s too low, but that’s the flight I like and that gets the distance I want.
Best,
Matt
Thanks for the response. For some reason in my mind, anything below 2,000 always seems “too low” for me. I couldn’t tell where that came from, just a bias I admittedly have. Always appreciate the work you and your team do, and your willingness to engage with the readers. Other sites are…less than engaging or friendly.