kaaayelll

Not a trade offer, but I do have a BB-43 (center-shafted, DASS) in mint/new condition if you're interested. My BBX-80 may also be center-shafted. Oh, and I have an unused center-shafted proto (BB-6, I think). PM me if you want to discuss. Guess I should put some stuff up in the BST.

What are they and why? Biggest disappointments also welcome.

Hey, that's very cool...will do so when the weather warms up a bit.

Is there a good shaft guide somewhere that categorizes different shafts according to characteristics/performance? For some reason, I'm finding it harder to get up-to-speed on the shaft market (especially the driver/woods market) than anything else. If nothing like that exists, maybe this could be a place to talk about your favorites and what you like about them. Given the prices of the high-end shafts, it would also be interesting to learn people's perspective of "value-priced" alternatives for their favorite shafts. I understand that value is generally subjective - the highest-priced item could easily be perceived as the best value - but I can't help but think most have perspective on shafts they might describe as "90% of the performance for 50% (or 25%) of the cost."

Think I'll start a thread with some shaft questions...

Wish you were interested in Bettinardi putter trades. :(

Can't say I am having accuracy problems, but I feel like I can't get it set up easily (I'm very visual)...my misses are described above, but I'm not missing every drive. Having said that, I just caught the golf bug again (a round at Bethpage will do that to you) this year after more or less taking off the previous six years. The club gave me no trouble before I stopped playing. Only now that I'm back at it and fighting it a little have I started to rethink...hence the questions. I appreciate the thoughts.

Thanks for the help. I have two misses. One is when I get lazy and come-off-the ball, resulting in a high fade. The other is when I'm swinging better, but overcook it into a low pull. The set up with the Titleist (8.5*) seems to be putting the high fade in my head at address...feels like I have to be conscious to close it down. I think that's what I liked about the Ezone 450; it just looked easy to square from address. When I'm hitting the Titleist well, I hit a mid- to high-trajectory ball.

Just dipped my toe into JDM with the purchase of a used set of Yonex blades. Now I'm looking at drivers before moving on to wedges. I'm currently playing a Titelist 975 JVS, but for some reason have been having trouble feeling good at setup. I briefly tried a Ezone 450 the other day and liked the setup quite a bit. Having said that, even my Titleist looked huge when I first got it, so I bias toward the small side. I was thinking of taking a flier on the 380, but I've seen some less-than-stellar comments. Any other thoughts on what I should look at? My swing speed is in the 100-105 range. Thanks a lot.

Anybody have experience with both worth sharing?

Honma was probably my first introduction to JDM years ago. The irons always looked nice and intrigued me, but I only ever saw them paired with soft graphite shafts. Combined with the fact that they were way over my head at the time, I never tried them out Anyway, I don't see much discussion of them here. Are they just tailored to a corner of the market not represented here, or is there another reason? Curious...

Wow...some beauties there...that gloss black is something special!! Save for customization, is there a difference in these heads vs stock? A higher level of consistency (weight, etc)?

Guys, can't thank you all enough for the help. I'm looking forward to being able to contribute more than questions... So, I've hit the Miura Tournament Blades and Baby Blades. Contrary to popular perspective, I actually preferred the TB. I didn't have trouble with the size of the BB, but I felt like the CG might be off for my swing or something. I was hitting them pretty flush, but they were shorter on average for me than the TB, leaving me to think I was catching them just a little high on the face. The TB, I loved - felt great from waggle through impact - especially with C Tapers. I'm unlikely to be able to hit a Yururi Flat Back prior to purchase, but I'm wondering if this info helps narrow recommendations a bit. In addition to investigating the other recommendations earlier in the thread, I was thinking of looking at Bridgestone J33b, Mizzy MS 9 (not sure about the offset, though), or trying to re-shaft a brand new set of Orlimar Venturi blades I have in a box from years ago. Any thoughts are appreciated. Also, anybody able to compare Yururi with Vega VM-02 and/or VM-01? Thanks much.

What do you have Ed?

Certainly sounds wise...just seemed from some comments I've read that some shafts can react differently depending on the heads...maybe that's not so true, though.

Awesome information...really appreciate the references to previous posts as well. Any shaft recommendations for either of these heads. I've tried and like C Tapers a lot. Anything similar performance-wise I should consider?

supo67, thanks for the thought! Do you have a sense of how the Miuraism clubs compare to the US spec Miura (Tournament/Baby)? Is Muiraism the custom JDM line and Miura Giken standard spec?

Thanks, EdG. How do they compare in terms of offset?

In addition to the questions above comparing Yururi Flat Backs to Miura Tournament/Baby Blades, I'd love to know how the sole grinds compare. Thanks for the responses.

Hey folks...first post...so happy to find this great site and forum...not sure my wife will be thrilled. ;) Actually, she's quite cool. I've been playing Kenneth Smith Royal Signet blades since just before they went under, and have more or less always played blades. I picked up a standard spec set with Sandvik Ti shafts on eBay as Kenneth Smith was either trying to survive or dumping inventory. I enjoyed the clubs quite a bit when I first got them, but never really gave a lot of attention to whether or not the set up was appropriate for me. Then, I took about six years off of playing (save for some visits to the driving range). Last year, I played an outing and my 6-iron shaft broke on the range. I survived the few rounds I played in about a year since without the 6-iron because I was holding out hope of finding a matching shaft. Finally, I gave up and re-shafted in a KBS C Taper. Well, that was a revelation! I decided to reshaft the entire set and/or become more acquainted with the club market. So, I hit some Miuras and started down that slippery slope; now, I'm looking at everything. In the process, I've come to find that I still love blades and that I've played with wrong lie angles and shafts for a long time. I'm trying to decide whether to sink the money into reshafting and adjusting lofts/lies or go ahead and build a new set. I've really enjoyed the Miuras I've hit, but, then, I've really liked the Kenneth Smiths. However, I've come to think the Kenneth Smiths are more offset than I need/prefer. Plus, they're a .370 tip and I have some trepidation over shimming .355. So, my questions: - In the US, Miura is heralded as the best forging available. Some information on this site suggests that is a lot of marketing hype, but I couldn't find much specifics about dislikes. Anything worth sharing? Is the separate hosel an actual benefit? - I love the look of the Yururi flat back blades (especially in raw black), but I can't find any information on offsets. Are they more offset than Miura Tournament Blades? Any comparison to the feel, consistency, distance, spin rates, etc of Miura? - I favor a pretty traditional appearance with a thin top line, a soft yet solid feel, and a good value (willing to pay for legitimate differences, but not hype). Having said all that, what else would you recommend I consider? Thanks so much for your help, folks.