jk_77

Actually, he mentioned that his swing speed for driver is almost the same as for his iron shots. Like most senior asian players, it's more about consistency for them (plus, they don't want to throw out a back ;)) and let the club do all the work. I saw swing speed for driver would be around 75... maybe 80mph as well, so not really that fast. He's tried adjusting the weights on the R7 with the turnkeys they supplied, but doesn't seem to help. As for me, you're right ;) I used to clock in at around 98~100mph for my driver. That said, consistency was terrible. For my iron shots, I deliberately use a slower swing, due to my inconsistent swing. I played baseball for many years, and I found that while it did wonders for my upper body strength + waist speed, in terms of accuracy... terrible ;) I have a tendency to not take the same swing path.. ie, my upswing does not equal the same path as my downswing and as a result, balls spray everywhere ;) Well the shaft is basically the stock TM shaft (I think normal stiffness). You think he should upgrade to stiff?

Well, just an update. Spoke to my father yesterday and he said that it was a HOOK problem he had with the R7, not a SLICE problem. He said that he usually just opens up the club face a bit to try and fix the problem... but in recent rounds, even that hasn't helped. So problem best to go for a club that has an open face me thinks ;) As for distance - he mentioned that 220~230 metres is for good shots - ones he hits directly in the middle (with only a slight fade). But for miss**ts, anywhere between 190~210. I asked him what his swing speed is, and he told me he's never actually measured it. He did say that he hits his 5 iron approx 140 metres (I hit mine approx 150 and I think my swing speed was around the 80mph mark). So safe to guess around the 75mph mark for my dad? That said, he did mention that his driver swing speed is almost exactly the same as his iron swing speed... perhaps a touch faster. He prefers 10 degrees as his loft... he grudgingly admits maybe 9 degrees is too difficult to control. But he definitely doesn't want 11.5 degrees. He thinks the higher the ball flight, the less distance. As for shaft, he doesn't really care what kind of shaft, as long as the ball goes straight and long ;)

Point taken - but I suppose that considering they charge so much for their clubs and still remain in business, they must be doing something right ;) Hmm... I have no idea on shafts, so any info is good info ;) BTW - with Tour Spec Golf shop - do they ship to Australia? If so, how much? BTW2 - I noticed a fair few Honmas on Ebay... but more importantly, they are at very cheap prices (for instance, 3~4 star models - albeit, they seem like older models, which are almost brand new all going for under $500US). Are these fakes or just well preserved second hand gear going at a good price?

Really? lol - great site! Been reading a lot of stuff on your site and it's very informative! Ahhh I see. Sounds good! As long as the club works. So a bit like the old Ping's then? I noticed the R7/Nike have a 'thud' sound, unlike the Ping/Callaways which have a more 'metal' sound. My dad said he prefers the old Callaway sound to the TM sound. As for feel - I'm not sure which his high handi, if feel would be that important, but if it comes standard with the club, sounds great! Soft feel sounds great - but wouldn't that mean less distance? My dad's korean (and for that matter, so am I ;)), so there's this aura around that Japanese clubs are better suited for asian players.. not sure if there is any truth in that, but from my readings - it seems that most of the Japanese clubs are made in Japan, unlike the USA based clubs which - while designed in the states, are all made in China.

Not a great feel? Hmm... what do you mean by that? Doesn't feel good after a shot? Sound after a shot is bad? BTW - I found this interesting site ranking top clubs in Japan during Jan~Mar: http://www.inpakuto.com/content/view/154/81/ Yamaha make golf clubs too? lol. BTW - no mention of Epon on that list.

Well, he was a welder for a fair few years, so he's got a long of arm strength. Plus, he practices in the backyard every night for 40 minutes. ATM - I really like the Epon 460 and the Honma 611 (although I'll ask him tonight if he doesn't mind playing with a loft of 11.5). As for the star system on the Honma - I noticed the jump in price is quite substantial from the 2star to the 3star. From 3 to 4 is even bigger! How good is that ARMRQ shaft?

Cheers for the feedback! Prime with the closed face? Sounds good. I'll do some research on that. Although can I ask how your Epon 460 is (I noticed you have that in your bag ;)). I've been doing some more reading and it seems the Epon is getting very nice reviews. Especially in terms of feel + all round ability. Can I ask - if I did opt for the Epon, what kind of shaft would be appropriate (I assume seniors would like a fair lightweight shaft that has a bit of kick to it?) Also noticed the Mactec seems to be getting some good reviews too.

Thanks for the quick reply! The driver is for my father and when he was buying the R7, I actually told him to go with more loft. That said, he still thinks he is young at heart, and said he wouldn't go for a driver with loft greater than 10.5 (he actually wanted to go with 9 degrees!!). I think his mentality is that the greater the loft = higher trajectory = less distance. Ahhh I see. No idea with my father's swing speed, but considering his age (64), I wouldn't exactly call him a power player ;) As for consistency, I think that's probably his main problem. He tells me most of his miss hits end up in bad slices, so the bigger the sweet spot, the better I suppose. Distance would be maybe... 220~230metres (approx 240~250yards)? Indeed. With the Honmas, I was looking at 2 star. Although with the other drivers, not sure what kind of shaft would be good. Great stuff! I'll have a look at each driver. Problem with the Japanese drivers is not too many english reviews on them at all, even when you search in Google.

G'day everyone. Firstly... brilliant site. Been reading over past threads for the last hour or so and the feedback & info given in here is top notch stuff. Anyway, just need some opinions for a driver. I'm about to buy a driver for my old man. In his mid 60's, plays every Sunday, handi in the 90's and like every other golfer out there - looking for that 'magic' driver ;) He's currently using a first model TM R7 (US version), with stock shaft with 10 degree loft. Before that, he was using the Callaway BB. Considering he is in his mid 60's, he's doesn't exactly have a power swing and relies on a bit of 'oomph' from the driver. The R7 at first did that, but his main issue seems to be the forgiveness factor (he claims he only hits around 3 out of 10 down the middle.. the rest go wayward). Obviously, the easy solution would be to blame the driver (as in 99% of cases, it's more likely the player than the equipment ;)). So for an early B'day present, I was looking at buying the Honma MG712/MG611. I spoke to a Pro at the local driving range, and he claimed that Honma made the best gear, particularly for seniors who want the elusive maximum distance coupled with plenty of forgiveness. But after having a read through the many pages in here, seems like there's a whole new world of drivers out there, in the Japanese market which most of us who live in the western world don't know about. ATM - I'm really interested in the Epon 460 and the Tourstage 460, as there seems to be a lot of favourable reviews on these two. Suppose the only issue I've got is most of the users in here seem to be fairly young (well, younger than my dad anyway ;)) and have more power to their swing + lower handicaps, so I'm not sure if they would be suitable for my dad. Plus, any feedback on the Beres lineup would be greatly appreciated. So any advice on which driver I should go for? :)