Grandista LS-001 Driver

[+TourSpecGolfer]

Just posted this in the blog have not hit it yet.  Nob's picked up for a good deal so hopefully he chimes in after he shaft's it.  although I know where he's at is not golf weather because I'm experiencing the same.

For those who are not familiar with Grandista they produce really good drivers and fairway woods.  The owner, founder and designer Kazutaka Yoshida is a former professional golfer.  At one point he was ranked 3rd - 5th on Japan's long drive championship.

This man doesn't fool around,  he sourced the best DAT55G from Japan by Daido steel co for the face of this new driver.

Both Yoshida-san's drivers have beautiful shapes at address.  This new LS-001 has a total of 9 adjustable weights on the head each made of different materials.  3.8g is tungsten,  2g is Titanium.  With each of the weights adjustable you can do some major fine tuning.

The head volume is 450cc's and the head is available hand picked between 9.5 and 11.5 with head weights from 192g to 210g.  Customers often order custom face angles and these can be had square to 1.3* open.

When comparing the cg depth, height, and distance from the face vs the previous Grandista driver this is the slightly more forgiving driver.  The new LS-001 is 5mm more shallow than the previous RS-001.

 

[nobmontana]

Have been playing around with a couple of drivers in the last week. 
Just a quick comparo review on them. 

The builds: 
 1. Grandista LS-001 9.5deg / Seven Dreamers Stiff flex   45.5" 
 2. P Tune PG 516 10deg / Fire Express Prototype 2014 Ver 1 F3 flex  44.5" 

Shape / Look

 Grandista / 7D -  Love the shape at address.  Epon AF-153 like.   Round, Large bulge on face.   Crown is fairly flat probably because it uses carbon composite  crown.    Very confidence inspiring.   Face looks neutral. 

 P-Tune / F Ex - Similar shape at address other than the very flat face.  A bit more pear shaped than the Grandista.  Crown has a nice bulged up rounded profile which I really like.   Face looks neutral.    

Winner:    Grandista from the top ... P Tune from the side     


Feel / Sound

Grandista / 7D -  LS-001 only comes in DAT55G face.  Would have wanted an SP700 option based on my experience with the RS-001 Ver S.     Typical slightly hollow and slightly loud DAT55G sound.    Very hot feeling face.   Not harsh .. but not plush either. 

P-Tune / F Ex - Feel is almost Epon soft ( or softer ) at the sweet spot.  This head uses 6-4 TI Cup face. 
Sound is interesting.   Sound at center is nice and muted but not dead.   It is actually perfect.   
However,  the sound is completely different on off center hits.  It makes an annoying high pitch noise and it feels harsh.  
I guess that is a good thing for feedback?

Winner: P Tune! 


Launch / Trajectory  / Distance / Forgiveness

 Grandista - High launch,  Low to Mid spin,  Maximum carry,  straight to slightly draw. 
  Easier to get a higher ball speed and higher smash factor on my Yupitel Atlas. 
  Forgiveness is very very good. 

 P-Tune - Lower launch, Lower spin (almost drop ball like ), slight fade. 
  Off center hits seem to get much more side spin compared to the Grandista which resulted in shorter distances as well. 
   Head is forgiving enough...  but probably better a shorter build on this one.   I feel back spin is a bit too low on this combo that I am losing distance.   Very low launch for a 10 deg head. 

Winner: Grandista!


To sum it up... 

Not sure yet on whether I am going to keep either one honestly. 

Performance wise,  Grandista does deliver great distance performance and seem to be a good match with the 7D shaft as well.  Overall feel is livelier than the AF-105 head I used previously with this shaft.   Plus the Grandista is significantly more forgiving than the 105. 
Sound and feel are definitely detractors.   After all these years,  I am still not fond of DAT55G faced heads from a feel/sound perspective.

I do like the look & feel of the P-Tune very much and performance is good.   I may try a different shaft to give me a bit more launch.   With the right shaft,  this head could well turn into a beast.   
 
As it stands, my Tour Issue , Black Ping G20/Kurokage Proto currently in the bag slightly edges both of these drivers as the better overall package.   It's old and probably lags by at least a few yards from a distance perspective,  but forgiveness and sound/feel make up for that. 

 

[marley]

Nice write up hits all the important points - where do you place these in terms of distance compared to others you have hit?

[nobmontana]

I'd say the distance performance is one of the best (if not the best)  of all the drivers I have tried or owned in the past.   

Ping G has been the longest ever for me,  but I really don't like the sound.  

This Grandista is in a similar position.  Great distance but I don't like the sound.  

 

[+TourSpecGolfer]

Perfect review and it must be cold!  You been playing in this weather?

[supo]

 good write up Nobs.

[+TourSpecGolfer]

Just an interesting tid bit on the Grandista driver .

The loser the screws the softer the sound. The tighter the screws the louder or more harsh the sound.

The screws will not come out but you can tinker with it this way.

[nobmontana]

I am now on my second LS-001 head.   

I sold the first one as I was not able to make peace with the loud sound it produced. 

I think this was a common opinion because as soon as I sold my first head,   they released a so called "quiet version"   in which they added sound insulating material inside the head.   The sound aspect being the only negative thing about this head for me,  I had to give it another go. 

Same specs as my first one.   200g 9.5 deg square face. 

Sound: While it is an improvement over the previous one , it's still not Epon or Mizuno muted soft sound.    But when you loosen the screws especially two of the screws at the center tail end of the sole,   then the sound becomes much more friendlier and within very tolerable levels.  

Trajectory is probably slightly on the mid-high side given the 9.5 loft.    It has a boring trajectory which usually means lower spin.  With my 100 to 105 mph swing speed,  I am consistently carrying around 250 yards  which I feel is a very good number.     Mostly straight shots but I am still able to work the ball slightly with a draw or fade.    The head is not overly sensitive to steering the ball .. 

Not sure if there is a definitive reason  but this head works very well for me paired with my 7D shaft and I can say with a high degree of confidence that this is the most consistent and forgiving JDM driver that I have ever owned.      I am still not 100% satisfied with the sound ... but given the consistency with good distance,  I think I can live with the sound for now.   ( until Yoshida-san releases an SP700 faced version of this head!! :) )     

 

My club specs are as follows: 

  Weight:  328g

  Length: 45.5" 

  Swing Weight:  D7 (calculated) 

 

***

 

My very very subjective scoring of this head. ( scale of 1-10 )    

1. Distance Performance: 9
2. Ease of Launch: 10
3. Ease of Workability: 9  
4. Look at Address: 10 
5. Feel at Impact: 9
6. Sound at Impact: 8
7. Forgiveness: 9
8. Build Quality: 10  

As some of you may know,  I am very picky with my drivers and I can tell you that Grandista is the real deal.    

I cannot recommend it enough.   

 

[supo]

now , that's the kind of  review that helps.

 

this  ust be good  for these kind of thumbs up from you

 might have a peek at this this season