nobmontana

beautiful irons!!

I’ve never tried graphite irons above 100g range... let us know how they work for you!! I’ve only tried the Recoil 95 in a driving iron. Was really good feeling.

Legendary blades!! GLWS

My swing unfortuinately isn't down blow enough to justify using blades full time. I'm guessing forgiving irons that are slightly larger in size tend to make me sloppy overall with my swing. With forgiving clubs I get away with some of the lousiest swings. Over time, It has a downward spiral effect in swing, score and game, The "improve score & handicap" initiative I've set at the start of the year really started to take a hit after switching to forgiving irons. Seems opposite but I remembered what Bob (Owner of a golf course in Bozeman, Montana) told me about "Game Improvement" clubs. He said if I wanted to improve my game, I needed to use the least forgiving clubs possible. The term "Game Improvement clubs" is deceiving because over time, your game (skills) will actually NOT improve. I'll be rotating ID BLs and Shinagawas MBs for a while to see if I can get back on track. Also have the Miura 99.3s that I can shaft up... yeah maybe I'll go ahead and do that.

now that's a rare find!!

I need some medical leave from work for whatever disease this thing is.. 🙂

I feel that logic has lost its place in my world of golf!! HaHaHa! Shinagawa I feel are modern masterpieces from a design/shape perspective. I love how they look at address. Not quite as dense as your MP33 (traditional blades). But with the right shaft, it can feel very nice. I think Modus 120 or Dynamic Golds would make the softness really come out. I currently have Modus 125s so they feel a bit firm off the face.

It's really a sickness.... after switching my irons recently to very forgiving Yonex N1-CBs.... Just these past few days, I've completely lost interest in them. Uggh!@! not sure why... I feel no satisfaction in hitting them. So today, I've put my IDBLs as my primary and then pulled out my Seven Shinagawas as secondary. Same with driver... I've sort of lost interest in the Romaro Ultimate Tuning and gone back to the Grandista RS-D but did install the Loop GK in it. Went out to the range this evening and hit my Shinagawas for the first time in a while and they feel perfectly fine. I can hit them straight. no issues! With the Grandista I am hitting it very consistently. Just need to add 5 to 6 grams to the head for the right swing weight. I'm sure after a while of this set up, I'll find something else to try.... than I'll go try that... it's just never ending. Oh and I've gone back to my Benock Blue Dragon II as my primary putter and even got rid of a taperless grip and went back to a normal reverse overlap grip as opposed to the left hand low grip that I was using for the last 7 Mos or so. All these changes should get me a fresh perspective on the course!!!

Probably the last of the few models to come out with SP700. Mizuno Pro drivers switched from their SP700 faces to some type of Beta titanium .. not sure what ... but they had moved away from SP700. Not clear whether they switched due to supply or because Beta Ti was the better performing.... I bought a Romaro Type R Ultimate Tuning recently, they applied the same technique as Taylormade M5 M6 "injected face." Using SP700 cup face, they apparently went a tiny bit beyond the allowed COR and then using a resin pocket behind the hitting area to fill it with resin to de-tune the COR within the limits. Feel wise it is soft off the face, but has a different sound than any other SP700 head that I've had. This one reminds me of the Titleist 913 D2 sound with a soft tingy metallic sound mixed in. Actually starting to like the sound very much. Also this head does not let you go left. It takes me a strong grip plus a deliberate in to out swing to get it to draw. It only comes in a 10.5 loft but it plays like a 9.5. Paired up with a Loop GK SX shaft, it is mostly straight with occasional fades. Together with the Ping LST I now have two "ACE" drivers. that I can game any day without any hesitation. LOVING IT!

Yup unidirectional! Other than the very newest models, I believe they are all using high grade PAN type carbon fiber. In a sense very traditional material but boy do they know how to roll them the right way!! My impression of Syncagrahite is that they are artisans who are working to preserve the culture and technique of handmade shafts. Something warm and fuzzy about their products. 🙂

With the Ping / Loop JJ combo. I was having a hard time controlling the dispersion... I think maybe the flex was too soft due to the Ping head being 207g or so. Ended up tipping the shaft .75" and going 211g on the head weight and now it is very controllable and it's still quite long! I do like the weight and trajectory of the JJ. It's perfect for a driver. but if I were to do it over, I'd go for an SX or X flex. and the feel is just fabulous! GK is heavier but still manages to go far. GK in SX flex for me is perfect. My Romaro head is also set to 207g. The HD S flex which is the lightest of the three that I have is in my Grandista RSD head 200g .. this one is 45.5". Obviously a bit more harder to hit the middle of the face consistently but when I do... it really goes!! higher trajectory than the JJ or GK but not overly. I believe this is a double kick shaft.

who's Tony Martin? didn't get it.. sorry.

There is actually a heavier model even more low launching. The Loop IP. I think that I the one for you.

Really good!! - Ping G410 LST / Loop JJ S / 45.25" / D4 / 321g -> today's best distance 310 yards on Top Tracer - Romaro Ultimate Tune / Loop GK SX 45" / D4 / 327g -> today's best distance 301 yards on Top Tracer - Grandista RS-D / Loop HD S 45.5" / D4 / 314g -> today's best distance 305 yards on Top Tracer GK being high 60g range shaft felt most stable and consistent. Probably the least dispersion. More of a control shaft. JJ is 63g but was lower launch and lower spin. Baby fade shots produced the best trajectory and best carry. The HD is 57g and combined with the Grandista RS-D head just felt like a velvety smooth Dai Ginjyo sake. This one is more mid launch but still lower spin. It was just so smooth. I am totally into these Loop shafts. They are the smoothest feeling shafts ever. And they perform very well too! They are not super light weight. But they actually feel like they are flexing at the down swing and doing its job of being the engine of the driver. I can't recommend these shafts enough!!

I have a Loop HD and Loop JJ now to try. HD in the Grandista RSD head and Loop JJ is in the Ping G410 LST. I put the GK back in the Romaro Ultimate Tuning. Out to the range shortly!!

But it's no longer single piece mild carbon steel.... I guess Onoff is joining the same bandwagon as PXG and TM P790, Honma TW-X etc, etc... Sad but I think that is the general direction we are headed to.

There is a guy in our Men's club who has been club champion 13 times in the past. But he has a two driver setup and his secondary driver has one of those super heavy Nunchuck shafts built to 43.5 inches. I was on the same group on Saturday and on a par 5 hole, he took a very aggressive line on the left with his normal driver which caught the tree line and his second shot was 270 yards out with a tree on his direct line to the green. So he calls out "I'm going to cut a driver on to the green," pulls out his shorty driver and hits a cut stinger 20 ft to the pin. What an amazing shot to watch!! initially hovering to only about 2ft off the ground and after the halfway point, the ball started to float up a for a nice soft landing on the front edge of the green, steadily rolled toward the back end towards the pin. Miraculous! Got me thinking there a bit about a 2 driver setting. 🙂. If I were to build one, I would choose a smaller head that has a shallower face. I think the S Yard T.388 in 10.5 with the head weight adjusted to about 210g or so.might be a good candidate I'd combo it with a NS Pro 950GH FW.

Honestly the translation is not that much off. Flash = very fast kick push = compressing the ball thick impact = dense feel at impact.

Forgiveness is better on the Ping, I am getting another Loop shaft for the Romaro head. What I am doing is to have my primary bag more focused on forgiveness for competition use. And my secondary bag has all the nicer looking and better feeling JDMs but not necessarily the most forgiving.

OK ..so I recently bought a new driver head from Romaro ... Type R Ultimate Tuning! This head uses a similar technology as the Injected Face used in TM M5 & M6. Though similar technology is used, Romaro based their's with a Type R '17 head which uses an SP700 face! This is still my favorite face material to date!! Which unfortunately I hear is said to go out of stock soon. 😞 Anyway, I wanted to pair this head with something a bit special. a JDM boutique shaft. I have been eyeing on Syncagraphite Loop shafts for a while now. Their material are PAN type carbon fiber material similar to Seven Dreamers. All hand rolled and such!! Out of the Loop offering, I chose the GK model which is a high 60g weight with more or less a mid to high kick point designed with stiffer tip and softer butt section. I need this type of shaft to help me create lag in my early release type swing. Anyway, I had this GK shaft in the new Romaro head. Results were really good and no different in performance even compared to my Ping G410 LST. I have been tinkering with different shafts in the Ping G410 LST in preparation for the Club Championship tournament that I have this weekend. Probably went through 6 to 7 different shafts in the last week to find something that is most consistent. Today I decided to pull out the Loop GK from the Romaro and pair it with the G410. BINGO!!!! OMG this shaft must be one of the most stable and consistent shaft other than the custom Seven Dreamers I had... Actually it is darn close to the Seven Dreamers. Feel is great trajectory is great and I am getting very good distances! If you have not tried Loop shafts, this is highly highly recommended!! I need to go try more Loop shafts!! I feel really confident about my driver going into the club championship.

Yah the original PX03 egg 13 deg was a monster!! I had an Al’ islei 83 S in it and it was soooooo good. I should build another maybe this time with a Loop shaft!!

I am going through similar adjustments with Driver and 3W head/shaft combos. With a sub 315g driver ( generally using a 50g X flex shaft ) I can swing faster but interestingly it doesn't necessarily mean it goes longer or straighter. For me, approximately 320g D3 driver using 60g Stiff flex seems to be a recipe for good tempo and pretty good distance along with more consistency in my drives. As for 3W, I have two in rotation now: JBeam G-FW 13deg with a Tour AD TP-6 X flex which has been in there for a whole year now. club weight is 329g SW D2 In my Modart MA01F 14deg, I've just installed a new Loop FW Seven SX flex built to 341g D1.5 Seems like I am hitting the Modart 3W better at the moment. I'm also playing around with swing weight at the moment with one of my drivers. When club weight is less than 315g or so, I can go D5 swing weight and it feels fine but with a 320g+ club, D5 feels too heavy. Lastly, I just built a new driver which I shall do a full review for soon. It's Romaro head that just came out combo'd to a Loop shaft. I am really starting to dig these Loop shafts!! Been away for a while from boutique brand shafts but I feel that Loop has the potential to take over most of my woods!

An Ex Japan LPGA pro designed it. Supposedly popular with Japanese senior ladies tour. review says its pretty long.

Speaking of shafts, I’m using Modus 125s now but I would not mind trying lighter shafts again. Reason being the lighter stock shafts in my Honma TWU Forged #4 and #5 is working very well for me.... and just yesterday I played 9 holes with a demo set of Mizuno JPX 919 Forged irons shafted with DG 105s and I was overshooting virtually every green. But control was still there. Finally adjusted down two clubs to get the right distance.

Nice review!! Whenever I go look for forgiving CBs to try, VG3 always come to mind. Then I’d feel like I’d have to go all Titleist in my bag cuz they make good woods, wedges and putters too. That’s a dangerous and expensive road to take!!! 🙂 The clicky feel is because face is stainless steel? And not fully forged?