RLL33

The Miura C-grind is perfect for rainy, soft conditions. The Y-grind is good for tight lies and pitching. Nothing wrong with mixing.

I did think about that, M. In fact, I bought that Gekku, but didn't feel right about using a non-conforming -- or bending something that beautiful. Put it on BST a couple weeks back after just playing with it in my backyard a few times. It WAS fun though -- the spin those things generate is off the scale -- it even backed up on my artificial green!

Echo the others in saying, Nice Bag! Also agree with iDrive that wedge choice really depends on specific swing pattern, type of lie you play on most, etc. But I've been through tons of wedges and have never felt so settled as the last couple of years with Miura's. I tried the knuckle versions (3 and 1), and didn't care for them either -- especially on tight lies. But both the Y and C grinds I've only been able to describe as soft scalpels. Feel like I can literally aim at specific blades of grass and feel the dimples on the ball roll across the club face. The C-grind is the best wedge I've ever found for sand play, hard or soft. Wish I could find a JDM 64, but have never seen one, and so use the Cally Forged Copper which also has very nice feel and precision. All that said, I have one of the Bold's on order -- couldn't resist trying that design... <g></g>

Yup, I have a second one on the way just to try a different flex in the shaft. And because I've been through enough drivers in my time to recognize one that rings the bell (FOR ME). Not to mention the yes answer to my inquiry on whether the t.388 is a limited edition...

Someone touched on it -- the wind up factor that a professional pitcher understands intuitively is not going to measure with us mortals -- especially when the guy is Mjr. D's size to begin with. My guess is you also threw a rising fastball -- is that right, D? The other ball players that often transition to good golfers tend to have the old fashioned kind of wrist release when they hit that Mike Schmidt had. I used to watch that in slo-mo. It IS the golf release, and why a lot of Schmidt's homers looked so effortless. I say, nice hitting, Mjr D!

Haven't tried one off the deck with the t.388 yet, but this talk makes me think about giving it a shot some time this week if the opportunity comes up. Head shape might actually make it good for that, too.

I would agree, and that's the design breakthrough, IMO. Misses high or low on the face can be compensated for by tee height (if the misses are consistent). But heel to toe forgiveness is what I think K's rib design in the head promotes. It's subtle, but I think it's what produces the surprise smile on mis-hits that still go pretty straight and long. One question though -- I forget, is this a limited edition club or will it stay in production? --Richard

It ain't hype. Whether it's for you is another matter. As I said in my original post, the grail for me is a driver I can work like a 3-wd. I like smaller heads for that reason. I wasn't going in on the S-Yard thinking it would be longer than the Premia -- that was a surprise, and obviously a pleasant one. I hit the long Par 5 on my course in2 yesterday for the first time. Ever. Period. It ain't hype. Does this mean I'll never try another driver? Of course not. If I were to adopt that attitude, I wouldn't have tried the S-Yard... But it ain't hype. I do think the technology that K focused on the time-on-face variable is new and an advance.

Yes, I spend the weekends (when courses are full) putting and chipping on this in the yard. It's also right next to my office...

Nice! Congrats, man!

3 of the 4 wedgesbelow have been sold. The one that remains available for sale is the Yururi Gekku Raw 45-degree @ $100 PayPal only. Free shipping to domestic US only. PM me. --Richard _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Selling these wedges. Very lightly used, only around the backyard, grooves are fresh, clubs look and feel new. All have DG Spinner shafts and Yururi limited edition grips except the Miura 60-deg which has the original Miura Pure grip. Would like $100 per wedge. PM me. Free ship to US contl. PAYPAL only. Yururi Gekku Raw 45-deg Yururi Gekku Raw 61-deg Miura MG WMF-06 58-deg Miura 1957 Y-grind 60-deg

My thoughts exactly. Every detail of this design seems to have come from Kobayashi's life of experience with those hand tools on his bench that Tario's pictures showed so well -- and which first attracted me to giving this driver a shot -- and I feel safe in assuming he put a good deal of thought into the shaft as well. I also wonder if the design for the curved ribs forged into the face is patented. I hope so because I think it's there that Kobayashi really made a startling advance in the technology.

Leaving the stock Tour AD Stiff in play. No reason to look any further for me as this combination shaft and club does everything I mentioned in my first post and more. It just keeps going and going and going... Never had a driver that I so looked forward to hitting every time I walk on a tee.

I saw and liked that bag in the background pics of the article on Kobayashi-san and the T.388. Am interested as well to see if the Bold line produces new irons in addition to the beautiful wedges.

I ordered a 50*, but agree with you, I'd like to see a 46* or 48*. Then again, I'd love to see a 64*... ;=]

Well, now you have me wondering about the Zen putter... Second date with driver went just as we'll as first...

The Callaway X-Prototype comes in 18, 21, and 24, I believe. I really liked the way the demo felt at the shop, and have an 18 on the way. Currently playing the Miura HB3 at 20* and love it, particularly out of the rough. It is a hybrid, but shaped much more like an iron than most, and the feel is exquisite.

Yeah, I'm glad I went for the 10.5, too. On the range, I gradually raised the tee height back to my normal Everest height and it was then that I popped one over the screen at the end of the range and realized I could get plenty of height out of it, too. Another example of the kind of choice I think this club gives you. Sweet!

Agree with you on the shaft, too. I got the Stiff -- it's great looking and I really like the way it loads. Looking forward to my 2nd and 3rd dates over the weekend... <g>

Thanks. The only non-JDM club at this point is the Callaway 64* wedge. No luck yet in persuading Miura to make a 64*... ;=]

Although a longtime lover of JDM equipment, I'm new to posting here though I've been a reader for some time. And Tario has guided me through many purchases, all of which I've taken great pleasure in, including a Ryoma D-1 Premia late last year. So it was with great interest that I read his blog posting on the new S-Yard T.388 driver out of Kobayashi-san's studio. Well, I got mine at the end of last week, and have now had a chance to hit it on the range and play it at my club just yesterday. And the performance is so spectacular that I was moved to offer up this posting. As Tario says, the T.388 is a work of art, and as the perpetual grail for me has always been a search for a driver that I could work like my 3-wood, the design is particularly striking for me. At address, looking down at it, I get the sense of a stealth bomber waiting for take off. The smaller head size and shallower face immediately increased my confidence, not the opposite. And the subtle coloring strikes me as a weapon waiting in shadow. Just my kind of thing. And then the hit. No question, I've loved my Premia, and still love it. But I was thinking that better workability might trump my love of the Premia's distance. I did not expect the T.388 to compete on that stat. But, boy, was I wrong... Yes, my first drives were straight pipeline, and the trajectory is, as described, more penetrating than high. But to my surprise, at least for me, the T.388 is not just more accurate, but longer. In fact, way longer! On my club course, there is a Par-5 with a deep ravine crossing the fairway from about 240 to 260 yards out. (Great 100 year old Billy Bell design...) I've carried it twice with the Premia, but with the T.388 yesterday, it was like it wasn't even in play. When you catch it right, the ball literally explodes off the face as if powered by an afterburner. But I'm a feel kind of player. And what first intrigued me about Tario's article was the description of Characteristic Time (CT) that Kobayashi has zeroed in on. I've heard it described many times, but none better than in Tario's phrase as that "sucking in and flying out" feeling accompanied by a finely tuned sound. THAT'S what I love in a driver. And man, that's what the T.388 has nailed. The feel is like a forged iron -- soft but most powerful when struck smoothly and on plane. And the sound has me looking forward to every hit. So, accuracy, yes, without a doubt. Even on mis**ts, my experience was like Tario's with the flight staying on line and losing only slightly in distance. BUt the massive distance I was getting was a bonus I didn't expect. It might be my swing, or my preference in feel, but this thing outgunned the Premia by far. So, thank you, Tario. And I thought I would share my reaction to this club absolutely taking its place in my bag as of now. Best regards to all you guys here, too, whose posts I learn from and enjoy greatly. (If any of you are ever in the Los Angeles area, please feel free to PM me and join me for a round.) --Richard

Can't help but notice that "athlete" seems to be spelled "atlete" on the putters...

T -- will you be selling any of the S-Yard accessories? Like the hat and was wondering about the bags...

Is there any JDM company that makes a 64*?

Any chance of getting one of these in a 64*, Tario? <g> Thanks.