xerobound

Just seeing if everyone got a chance to check out the new "Social" link on the top navigation. Lots of live updates from the show. :)

I like the looks on the new Mizuno Fwy. "The mini driver" appearance is always good. And it is interesting to see "buttobi" on Mizuno MP's. I guess they don't want to be left behind in the "distance marketing" strategy. Anyways... I'm putting it on my list to test in the near future. :)

Good choice. The 460 much easier to launch than 435 and much more forgiving. I know alot of low cappers like the compact head and slightly lower flight, but... with that said, there are plenty of pros that will go for forgiveness these days. (It help them go after it much more and get away with some slightly off center hits) :)

Such a roller coaster ride! I think I'll still use their products no matter what image they project... Performance over everything!

Sweet. Love the dark stealthy ones!

Well said! Totally agree that players with avg and less aggressive ss would have less of an issue with longer shafts. Over swinging/ swinging too hard (especially with longer clubs) is a killer for a lot of players. I've seen so many people defeat the purpose of getting a longer shaft by swinging longer/extra hard. I like that old saying, "Let the club do its job." ;) ...And looks like your brother tamed the 48" beast.

Thanks for the input guys. Looks like some ppl have mastered the longer lengths. As for me I think I'm a 45 - 45.25" length player. I think I have best combination of distance and control in that length. With that said, the longer drivers are very fun to hit. There is definite potential for added yardage, but you know everything comes with a price. ;)

Cool. Can't wait to try them out myself!

Wow, this one looks good! This one goes through a 5x forging process to create soft feel. (3x with 800 ton pressure and finished with 2x 1000 ton pressure) It has a CNC milled face (as well as cavity) to give it a very reliable feel and spin control. It has a rounded off sole design to and versatility in various lies. It was designed to keep a sharp appearance at address while achieving a good level of forgiveness. It has a top line measuring 5mm thickness and minimal FP (3.5mm)

So lately, I've been getting alot of questions about trying to hit it longer with longer shafted clubs, so I decided to do a comparison with 3 of the drivers from major brands. These all have 47" or longer shaft length and made for the "average players" as the makers say. Each brand seem to have a different concept behind their "Longest" club. Callaway goes for low overall weight and swing weight to "help players of all strengths maximize swing speed". PRGR goes for the "optimum weight and balance" for the avg players to produce distance. Fourteen goes for heavier overall weight and sw to "get the most energy transfer at impact". Interesting.... So I got the Callaway Legacy Platinum, New PRGR Egg Bird, and the Fourteen GelongD. Specs: (all stock S flex) - Callaway Legacy Platinum: 47", 277grams, SW C9 (9.5*) - PRGR Egg Bird: 47", 284grams, SW D4.5 (9.5*) - Fourteen GelongD: 47.75", 307g, SW D8 (9.*) The Legacy Platinum and EggBird claimed to to be draw biased, but honestly I found all 3 to be pretty straight in flight. In forgiveness, the Legacy was the top runner, surprisingly more than the EggBird. It had the least variance in distance across the face. The Legacy had the highest launch out of the 3 as well, with the Fourteen been the lowest. (but all relatively high flights tho) So, the most important part, the distance... Out of the three, I found the Fourteen GelongD getting the most overall distance. The heavy design made it feel like swinging a sledge hammer, especially after the Legacy Platinum, but I think it help keep me smooth. The only drawback about it was the forgiveness compared to the other two. I also messed around at different swing speeds to figure out what type of player each would be best for and this is what I think. Callaway Platinum would be good for the slower tempo swings; especially the avg senior players. The light weight makes it easy to control and make a nice sweeping motion. Low hcp players with slower swing speeds would love it since it sets up very much like the other callaway lines. PRGR EggBird will be good for players wanting a feel closest to a standard (45") driver. The overall weight and balance is close to the standard drivers and will be best for most of the avg players. Feel is pretty consistent to the other PRGR Eggs for those of you that are fans. Fourteen GelongD will definitely favor mid to low cappers wanting to maximize distance. It got the most distance, but only for the well struck shots. Off centers shots saw significant loss of distance with this one. The heavy weight and balance will help out the aggressive swingers go after the ball while still being able to feel the clubhead the entire time, but the sweetspot must be met to to get the full benefits. (Which can be tough with a longer shaft) In conclusion I do think each model does in fact help increase driving distance, (compared to the standard length models from each brand.) 4-9 yards avg. BUT of course, the longer it is the harder to control... Anyone else try one of these or have any longer shafted drivers in play? Worth it or not?

I have a few buddies gaming these now and interesting thing is that the spin rate was slightly higher than the DI, but the lanuch was slightly lower. They have prepped this shaft well for many of the new super low spin driver heads that are or soon to be on the market. Let me know if anyone is interested in ordering one.

Romaro drivers are very solid. I tried them with Tour AD DI shafts and was a good combo for me. Nice soft feel and good jump right off the face without the spin rate going up too much. I personally liked the 435 size, but the 460 doesn't look too big either. I think the other "R" company.. Ryoma has been stealing the spotlight a bit, but once you find the right shaft, it would be a great head to head match!

It was part of the 2012 line up of wedges by PRGR. I never used it myself, but have two clients that put them in the bag. From what I got, it didn't produce a super high spin, but was comparable to many high quality jdm wedges. Overall, very sharp looking especially with the Black finish. Makes the head look more compact that it is, which was nice IMO. I thought the circular milling pattern on the face was quite unique when it came out. Now you see other companies doing similar stuff.

I believe that the new titanium material is less dense than the surrounding, heavier forged steel and helps moves the CG low as well as back farther. This iron, Yonex claims to be the most forgiving MB design. I think this one is looks like trying to get close to a cavity back launch and forgiveness as possible without giving up that MB appearance. I think the filling will provide a solid feedback rather than than a hollow feel. Only one way to find out... I'm interested to see how it will feel. Also, Yonex is supposed to let us know of all of their custom shaft options after the Golf Fair. I was just talking to one of my club builder friends about this one and we're trying to figure out all the details and science behind this, but that's what we got so far.

Thank Knuckle looks interesting. I would love those out of the deep rough!

Hey shank... the new Speeders are definitely something to look at. First, I thought they just redid the make up on the old ones, but I was wrong. The new ones are much more stable. It is more "smooth and flowing" as they say. They do have a higher tolerance for the quicker transition swings, but if you were able to get along with the previous speeder, you should have no problems with it. I think the main difference in the new model is that shaft doesn't release as aggressively (making it feel smooth), where in the older model I thought the mid to tip section released very aggressively. Its hard to improve upon a very successful shaft like the Speeder, but I think they did it. Much easier to control Speeder IMO.

Congrats and looking forward to what the data says. Makes sense with the newer heads being lower spinning. I know a bunch of pros that have 10 to even 12 degree lofted drivers in play. I've tried the Type V (10.5) and found it launched a slightly higher than the older model but had just as much roll, about 4-5 yards improvement. Which IMO is a big difference.

Yup. Interesting... Looking through alot of Japanese golf mags, many of the avg joe golfers in Japan like US clubs. Maaaan... we could improve/add to all those bags :) Having the right equipment can mean lots of strokes. I bet those avg. 90's score can be brought down into the 80's with some slight changes ;)

Mr. Shinagawa is well known in the Himeji area for his work in the golf industry, but he's more well known for doing customization work than his line up of clubs. He's very much respected by people I know a bunch of pros and aspiring pros in Japan and alot of them have heard of him, for the custom grind work he's done.

I think you will be LLL.... For instance, I have usually wear Small or Medium size in the US, but in Japan I wear atleast an L. Keep in mind that Japan clothes tend to be more slim fit too.

I found the MB very harsh on off center hits. I'm sad about this as it has a great look at set up. (I'm not sure about the appearance on that "crack" in the back of the head) lol The CB was very forgiving and very soft in feel. I think just as soft feeling as the MB. One thing that i found awesome about this line up is the consistent trajectory. The MB had a pretty low trajectory and the CB has a mid/high flight, but in both sets, I found that the apex of the trajectory stays very consistent throughout the set. Good for controlling distance.

They got some good shaft options! Speeder: It has a smooth flowing flex from tip to butt end, promoting a very automatic and natural flow for easy use. Tour AD MT6- (Has similar playability to the popular DI) It features a slightly stiffer tip section and slightly softer tip section to provide a full release of the head. Diamana W60- Softer flex closer to the hands with stiff tip section; flows very consistently through the impactzone. Attas5GoGo- Firmer near the hands and increased rigidness from mid section to tip staying very predictable and allowing players to go after shots without relying too much on timing.

Just when you think Yamaha had super awesome 2013 irons, they do it again! They never let us down. Hope to get a range session in soon!

Although the ONOFF Forged and VG3 can be seen in some pro bags. I'd say the Legacy Black is more of the "player's irons". However, with that said, I think most would agree that it is a very forgiving "player's irons"...Easy enough for the avg player to hit, but has great workability, way more than the VG3 or OnOff IMO...

Hi Gents & Ladies, Tatsuro here aka xerobound. I was born in Japan and grew up in the states. Currently located in Las Vegas/ Los Angeles. I joined TSG a couple years ago. Before that I joined, I was a coach for a Junior golf program and a staff instructor for a golf academy. (In Las Vegas) I've been around golf for over 15 years, completed in tournaments, experienced rules official position, assistant pro, setting up driving ranges, folding shirts etc... (all the fun stuff.. lol) I just love the game! I've always had great interest in swing styles, instruction, coaching and ways to lower score. (The playing part) But my interest in the technical aspects of golf (equipment) is growing rapidly! Learned alot from Tario and Chris and hope to help contribute to you all! :) My current hcp: 0