gregoire56

no kidding?!? you got to sample ALL those jBEAM driver heads we've been talking about and the original 435 is still your #1? that's pretty cool to be honest with you i know some players don't get along well with the 435, but even though I've never had the privilege of trying one I always thought it seems like one of the best-designed driver heads around. I'm a lover of DAT55G so that's right up my alley so was this new Bullet one of the heads you tried? what did you think of that thing?

have you ever hit the other ones, the Tsubame's?

That's wise advice.. I would actually swap them in and remove the AF-Tour's. ..in addition I'll also add the Crazy CRZ Muscle as an honorable mention, or make it #6

I couldn't agree more, they're on my list of top 3 MBs: 1. Seven x Shinagawa 2. Orion Himeji x Tsubame 3. Mystery MC-10 CR 4. Yamaha RMX 018 Tourmodel 5. Epon AF-Tour MB

if you're using a 60TX plus at 44.5" you should've increased the swing weight to around a D4-D5, would've definitely helped with the ultra low launch and with indexing the club head throughout your swing. I also much prefer hot melt to lead tape with wood heads

In a heartbeat.. GD is my go to, can't go wrong

They'll get no business from me, that's for sure

I've also fallen in love with the factory foamed head for the zy-11. if it's something you might like i'd recommend giving it a shot

I like some of their detailed club comparisons and the data they get from them, but they very rarely ever do one on a club or clubs that I'm remotely interested in. i'll be pleased and interested to see if they start doing the same thing for the popular JDM clubs that we find on this wonderful website. that i'd be interested in

yes I've heard you won't find anything at all longer than the ryoma fw, in terms of just the head. I can personally speak to the Grandista RS-F that someone recommended already, and it's phenomenal I also couldn't recommend it more. easily my favorite fw ever. put it in my bag and haven't looked back, instead went and got an RS-001 driver to match. it's very long if you hit it well - which due to its shape and look at address makes it very easy - and very easy to control, the feel off the face when you pure one is sublime, it's DAT55G. The Crazy full titan is just as good if not better from what I understand, very similar design to my eye too, but I've never had one and thus can't say. Also the Modart MA01F fw is supposed to be in the upper echelon with the two of those as well. yes they are all expensive but I have the Grandista fw and a Modart MA01H hybrid and my opinion is they're both well worth the money. have them built properly and you won't regret it

I also tend to come over the top and hit balls way too high, and I'm an ice hockey player and tend to clear my hips too early which adds side spin causing a natural fade/slice, and likewise the ZY-11 has been my savior as well. I have an 11* and paired it with a TourAD BB6x. If you can load the shaft properly then the high loft head plus low launch shaft is a combo made in heaven, in my humble opinion.

wow those are some beauties there fellas. when I get a chance i'll snap a few pics of mine too and post them with comparisons on the feel of each

I just found this quote from Chris in a post from 2012: Here's another controversial topic for some but basic knowledge to those with their boots on the ground. SST Pure, none of the Japanese shaft makers or material suppliers believe in it. It's kinda a Gimmick or Joke over there as the largest imperfection on a shaft is the seam or spine and lining that seam up with the target makes no sense and simply deforms kick reducing distance and accuracy. Thats the exact opposite of what it's advertised to do. Crazy, Quadra, Mitsubishi, Techno, Graphite Design and all of their designers believe in spine up. Not down or front and back.. UP as its the place where the spine will get in the way the least not hindering the kick forward or kick downward. Ever wonder why the spine on really good shafts is aligned with the logo up side? About 6 years ago I was all about SST this and that. Boy was I wrong when they showed us how the spine get's in the way of a consistent kick. We argued and asked every source we could. This is not opinion and they are not wrong. It's fact and think about it, what is the spine? it's the seam and it's the most flawed and inconsistent area on a shaft. It's more ridged which prevents the shaft's natural kick hindering distance and of the 4 basic directions a shaft can kick the least important is UP. front and back kick is very important for distance and downward bend is natural on a descending blow. SST pure will work on really cheap and poorly made shafts that have inconsistencies as it stabilizes forward kick meaning straighter shots yet at the cost of distance. On anything decent it reduces performance and this comes from the chief designers of every brand that produces all the worlds best shafts. Very pleased that I happened to stumble across this old post; conversation over with regard to SST. hah

that's pretty much what my builder said, in a few more and less colorful words. they still offer to do it as an optional service when building a club(s) for a customer, but I think they only charge like $15-20 per shaft/club and less per club I'm sure if you get it done to a whole set of irons/woods. they don't use the SST brand or equipment but the result is the same. If I understand correctly it's just a device that automates a process that they know how to do manually instead, but don't quote me on that. I've personally never gotten it done, never felt the need to, and based on what I was told if one buys a set PROPERLY, meaning a set that accentuates or compliments one's natural unique swing characteristics, then there's little to no need for it. I personally settled nicely into x100's in an old set of GI's, then when I switched to the blades I have now I changed to KBS Tour 130x's for more of a mid launch with the less forgiving irons, and a smidge lighter because I'm -.5" off standard and it felt better. I'm not that good on paper but I'll hit a few impressive shots per round, and that number and impressiveness increased significantly as soon as I got a real custom fitting by them and had them build my irons. do the dowels really affect vibration enough to be noticeable? I didn't notice it but if so I'll obviously take your word for it. I'm certainly no expert by any definition of the word

just out of curiosity... what is the loft of the Zodia driver head?

I'm not sure... I paid $350 and it's basically brand new so $250 plus shipping? like I mentioned before I wasn't planning on selling it so I didn't have a number in mind

hopefully there's still some of these left in stock around Xmas time, it's absolutely necessary that I purchase a pair

a D3? I'm not really interested in a driver head, I just got a new Grandista RS-001. I'll snap a couple pics and send them when I get home, but it's approx 33.25" and the specs are all standard: 4* loft, 72* lie, 385g head weight, Nippon Yamada special stepless putter shaft. head weight creates perfect balance with the shorter shaft length. here's generic pic of the putter head:

I have a Yamada Borzov.. it's not from the handmade series its from the milled series but it's the same material used for all Yamada putters. It's basically brand new, I wasn't selling it but would consider letting it go for a decent price, I do have five putters so I'm sure I can get by with one less ha

I have basically two different sets of clubs, the only thing that's the same for both are my irons. I only have one set of irons, I even bought a brand new set of the same heads as backups for when the ones I'm using become too beat up, but I have at least two of every other club and two main setups setup 1: Grandista RS-001 driver, Grandista RS-F wood, Modart MA01H hybrid, KZG Forged Blades, Crazy CRZ Tour wedges, SEVEN SH Limited putter (sometimes swap w Yamada Borzov putter) setup 2a: JBeam ZY-11 driver, Epon AF-203 wood, Epon AF-901 UT, KZG Forged Blades, PRGR iD nabla Tour wedges, Epon I-33 putter setup 2b: same as 2a except swap PRGR wedges with S-Yard Bold wedges (both Endo forged, which is kind of the theme of setups 2a and 2b) the reason for the two bags is it provides me with a ton of versatility, so I can alter and switch stuff up based on the course I'm playing or the weather/course conditions or even my mood sometimes I just feel like playing one bag over the other. I make some little changes, like using 2a or 2b, because 2a the PRGR wedges are 52/58 and 2b the Bolds are 52/56/60. so I'll use 2b if it's a shorter course and I'll need more versatility on approaches and around the greens, and use 2a if it's a longer course where I'll need more versatility for longer shots because then I can add my 3 iron into the bag.

ah would love to buy that Zodia head off you.. I literally just got a Grandista RS-001 though and just don't know if I can swing it. Will definitely let you know if anything changes

thank you, this is exactly the kind of info/feedback I was looking for. the "big reveal" i was referring to was that I saw the irons on there, I didn't know if you had a plan to release them or anything and just didn't want to spoil it. since they're open model though I can see why you might not be looking to make a big thing out of it

interesting. the design on the crown makes me think it's nonsense but who knows

found additional info, edited original post to include

I'm dying to hear some feedback on these new Grandista wedges.. anyone purchased or tried them out yet? any additional info? all I know about them is the little bit written on their page in the pro shop. (update 11/22) ...I just found this info on the Grandista FB page in their post from April announcing the new wedge (also saw something special for anyone who's interested in looking, don't want to spoil any big reveal though): The first wedge RS-W from Grandista！ REAL SPORTS Corporation will release a wedge "RS-W" with a completely new structure, "tungsten socket", that has never existed since the "Grandista" brand. <Material> Head: soft iron S20C; Socket: tungsten <Production method> Head: Forging; Socket: cutting out <Tungsten socket> PURE IMPACT SYSTEM (PIS) 【Application for design】 A totally new system designed to easily realize top professional's clear impact sound, trajectory, backspin, even in amateurs. ※ Because the inside diameter is 9 mm, only steel shaft is supported. <detail of function> 1. With a tungsten socket, it is possible to place the weight at a higher position. As a result, ultra-high center of gravity which has never existed, and backspin amount increase. 2. With tungsten socket, the weight becomes closer to the neck and the center of gravity distance becomes shorter. As a result, the ball gets on the face by getting much better, the height of the ballistic becomes stable, and the sense of vertical distance becomes easy to match. Also, the head does not hang in downswing, and fallout mistakes called pookon decrease. 3. With tungsten socket, the weight becomes closer to the face, the depth of center of gravity becomes shallow. As a result, the loft stood with impact, it became easier to hit cleanly while keeping the hand first, and Zakkori and top mistakes dramatically decreased. 4. Material uses S20C, to a soft batting feeling to overcome. 5. The head shape repeatedly polished repeatedly, while it is a professional model, it has a shape that made gentleness and beauty compatible. 6. Sole design is a designer and professional golfer, Yoshida Ichinobu tested the various wedges, realized it by considering the sole shape with the best coming out. <Generally gentle wedge> 1. The head is large The center of gravity distance is long, the head easily drips, the ball does not ride on the face 2. The sole is wide The center of gravity is lowered, the head becomes easy to release, and HandFirst can not be kept. 3. Looks bad It seems to have appealed that it is bad approaches just by having it. "From doubt to development" In recent years, if you are taking lessons from amateurs, symptoms like approach yips are increasing more rapidly. It seems that it is a technical problem, but as a result of examining a number of amateurs, I understood that the possibility of a club causing a mistake is high. In general amateurs who are not good at approaching are likely to use wedges that are said to be gentle. Even a gentle wedge is a pitch shot that keeps the shaft perpendicular to the ground, although the sole is easy to slide on the ground, if you do pitch & run that is suitable for the turf of the Japanese course, which is best suited for hands first, It can not be kept, released, it is easy to become a zakkuri, if you dislike it, it becomes the top and it will cause the approach yips. From that point of view, we began developing the Grandista wedge. Even from the thin turf in winter, from flower roads, from the spring turf in which sand was scattered everywhere easily, like a top pro, it was clear and hit clean. In order to realize touching impact ... Grandista developer × professional golfer Kazuaki Yoshida