VA Shafts Compared - Which is right for you?

VA shafts - high performing, premium shafts adorned with beautiful graphics. You've earned the right to colour your game. Find out more.

We're still locked down, and I hope you've been staying safe and keeping well.

Here at Smashing Drives, we're always looking for ways to make your golf game better and more enjoyable.

On that note, we're proud to announce that we now carry VA Shafts.

VA shafts comprises several series of beautifully crafted shafts made from the finest high-end materials from Japan and manufactured according to Japanese certification standards.

The material content is high carbon with low resin which is what we want in a shaft to perform consistently and feel good.

VA Composites Inc is founded by Victor Afable, who with his over 35 years of golf knowledge and industry experience, is most recognized for his expertise in shaft concept and design.


His belief is to start with exotic designs along with the best materials available in today’s market, to create the most exact performing shafts in the industry. 


It is also for this reason that VA shafts are only exclusively offered by the best club fitters in the industry as a precision golf shaft will only offer great performance when fitted correctly – with greater distance and much tighter dispersion.


The RAIJIN is the original shaft first conceptualised and designed, and it launched the Dragon Series which includes SLAY and DRAGO.


The RAIJIN utilises multiple composite materials including the exotic 40T carbon fibre prepreg materials from Japan, where its design is unprecedented in the golf industry.


The artwork is inspired from beautiful Japanese tattoo art and represents the Japanese god of thunder. 

The RAIJIN is mid to high launch with fairly low spin, and is designed for a smoother swing profile.


The RAIJIN is fairly stout in the butt section but gets a little bit softer progressively in the tip section.


The RAIJIN would actually make for a good fairway shaft for golfers who need a profile where it’s a little more stable in the tip section than the SLAY, but not quite as stiff as the DRAGO.

The SLAY has a unique design fits a wide variety of golfers and is one of the most universal shafts in the industry.


It features a multi-material design comprising the industry’s most exotic materials from Japan.


The SLAY boasts high launch and low spin playing characteristics allowing golfers a tighter dispersion and more distance.


The SLAY is for a large number of us who are slower swingers or into the fairway wood profile; it’s more tip active where the ball launches a little bit higher and we’ll definitely feel some kick through impact with the SLAY.


The SLAY is neither heavy nor super stiff, but gives sufficiently good stability while playing.


The DRAGO boasts mid launch with low spin characteristics.

When compared to the RAIJIN and SLAY, the DRAGO has the stiffest bend profile, the stiffest butt and tip sections, and typically provides the lowest launch. 

The Drago also utilises the most exotic prepreg materials from a leading supplier of high performance composite in Japan.


The Drago is the most stable and is probably what the stronger players will gravitate towards.


The VYLYN is a new shaft inspired by pop artists Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, and beneath the iconic artwork are layers of high modulus composite material.

The material is hand laid in consistent and multiple directions in order to control torque and bend profile, resulting in a better feel and higher performance. 

The VYLYN’s bend profile is softer in the butt section of the shaft, while stiffer in the mid and tip sections; this results in low spin with mid-high launch.

A player with an average load and smooth swing could benefit from playing the VYLYN – guess we could all try playing the villian!

The NEMESYS is inspired by the comic book revolution of the 70’s and the Pop Art movement of the 80’s.

The NEMESYS is an extremely counter balanced driver shaft and features one of the highest balance points in golf.

Counter balancing with drivers can be beneficial so that you can get more ball speed out of the heavier head without throwing off the swing weight.

At times, it is advantageous to have a heavier club head to make it slightly more forgiving, up the MOI and also produce a little bit more ball speed; that can affect consistent delivery if you feel the head is too heavy, and so that is where we have to balance out the components and it’s best to get fitted well.

The NEMESYS is unlike any shaft on the market, including in the VA shaft arsenal.

The NEMESYS showcases the unique use of tungsten powder in the butt section of the shaft which increases the weight and provides additional stability without building up wall thickness.

In addition, by using the highest grade composite material T1100 in the tip section, VA Composites Inc has been able to make the shaft wall thinner and add stability while maintaining proper club swing weight.

The precise engineering of this heavier butt section and lighter tip section results in the NEMESYS being a high balance shaft.

This allows club fitters to give golfers the added benefit of building clubs longer and maintaining swing weight - additional club head weight at the same club head speed means greater distance.

So, which is the shaft for you?  The RAIJIN, SLAY, the DRAGO, or be the VYLYN or NEMESYS?

Let us know, and we hope to be able to see you real soon!

Until then - Stay home and keep safe everyone!