The Specialist Shaft Brand Making More Major History

New records were set at Augusta National. Although he was not at his very best on Sunday, the record six-shot advantage that Rory McIlroy had given himself at the halfway stage proved crucial. A year after making history by becoming just the sixth player to win the career Grand Slam, he finds himself as one of only four golfers to have successfully defended the Masters.

It puts out a statement: on his day, McIlroy is still the man to beat, especially at Augusta National. And as the Northern Irishman joined Nick Faldo on six Major Championship titles and was widely praised as the best European golfer of all time, more history was made at the Masters when Fujikura made it five Major victories in a row. It’s an impressive dominance that seems to slip under the radar, even after the brand’s ‘clean sweep’ in the Major Championships last season.

With the pressure mounting shot by shot on the back nine of Major Championship Sunday, players need to be 100 per cent confident in the equipment they are using. Fine margins can be exposed. For McIlroy, the brand’s flagship Ventus line played a key role in his victory, giving him the platform to put on another powerful display off the tee on one of the toughest courses in the world.

McIlroy averaged a massive 334 yards, the leader by quite some margin, which gave him a considerable advantage over the course of the week. Gaming a Fujikura Ventus Black 6-X shaft in his driver, alongside a Ventus Black 8-X and Ventus Black 9-X in his 3- and 5-wood, respectively, he produced another long game masterclass.

It’s the same set-up that powered McIlroy to victory at Augusta last year, as Fujikura registered its first Major Championship of the season. He finished one shot ahead of World No.1 Scottie Scheffler, who employed a Ventus Black 7-X shaft in his driver.

This was the same last May at the PGA Championship, where Scheffler made light work of Quail Hollow. That same ruthless consistency, aided by Ventus, was also on display at Royal Portrush, where the Texan tamed the famous links to win his first Open Championship.

In between, J.J. Spaun produced a remarkable display en route to winning his first Major Championship. Oakmont Country Club is not a course for the faint-hearted, but the American showed his mettle in brutal conditions, relying on a Ventus Black 6-X shaft in his driver to land the US Open, producing one of the shots of the year along the way, threading a drive onto the green at the par-4 17th.

And so history was made as Fujikura, which registered its first Major Championship in 2001, became the first specialist driver brand to have been in the winner’s bag at all four Major Championships, further cementing its position as the global leader in golf shaft innovation. At Augusta, where there’s a premium on finding the fairways, 39.6% of the field trusted the brand in its driver shafts, and 41.2% in its wood shaft line-up. Meanwhile, 62.5% of the field used Fujikura in their hybrids.

Given that the manufacturer doesn’t spend a single dollar on player sponsorship, this is quite some endorsement, and speaks volumes about the trust the brand has established. In fact, Ventus - built on a foundation of stability, with profiles meticulously engineered to suit a wide variety of swing types and speeds - has become one of the most dominant shaft franchises of all time.

Earlier this year, Fujikura strengthened its Ventus TR collection with the launch of new TR Black, Red, and Blue profiles, giving more players across all levels and with different swing types the opportunity to benefit from its latest technology and expert shaft innovation.

No one would be surprised to see Fujikura make it six Major Championships in a row at Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania next month. And with such a trusted line-up in his bag, no one would be surprised to see McIlroy continue his dominance with victory at the PGA Championship - although perhaps Scheffler will have something to say about that…

For more information on Fujikura, its products and to locate your local certified fitter, visit the Fujikura website.