TourSpecGolfer

Cool concept but they had to make the mid section very soft in order to do this, this scares me :) If you have an aggressive transition this is not the best thing to look for in a shaft, you want a stiffer mid/tip section more than anything else and also top grade carbon so the shaft is not heavily reliant on timing at impact.

Gloire F is worth a shot, also Yamaha RMX, Srixon Z745-545 all solid options.

What shaft has a tip stiffer than the mid section ?

Yes they are in stock! shocking!

A few of the recent ones for forum members:

Yup just email [email protected] with the model you have or want and the general direction you want to take the mods, I will provide my suggestions and let you know what is possible and we go from there.

Black Boron does give a firmer feel. most PVD finishes are not platings they are coatings and wear while this black boron finish isn't PVD and it is a plating which wears like satin or chrome.

Black Boron did this one justice:

I'm still torn on which one to get, want the 455S because it's a new addition but really think the 455 would be better for my game. I'm intrigued by the new Vizard shafts. see below: Vizard YA - Softest tip but stiffest butt and mid section for the smoother swinger would most likely help battle the right side Vizard YC - More stable than YA, relies less on timing with a bit more feel I'd consider this neutral. Vizard YZ - stiffest tip section with the softest butt, better for aggressive swinger helps with keeping left side out of play.

Hi Ranger, No I don't sir I'm sorry.

Awesome Tree! Nob-san!

Drop me an email [email protected] If Yamada has it in stock we can have it to our shipping department in 1-2 days and get it out, we will also beat anyones price on these. Issue has been with Yamada we would place orders they would respond please wait 1 month then 5 months later nothing... we make a fuss they respond that old man wants to retire, we ask "is he retired" ends up he isn't but he doesn't want to work... ok so where is our putters... please wait longer..lol It's not because there is such strong demand they are like this, its because the old man really want's to retire but can't for some reason. So what many of our customers have been doing is buying used Yamada's and sending them into golds and the result is even better than standard new.

Hi Ranger, It's hit and miss to be completely straight with you. Within the same brand I can be LL or bigger. There is no consistency in JDM apparel as they have manufacture different items in different places.

The Gloire F this year is geared toward the better player where as previous models where more mid-high handicap designs and with this new F we actually see many of TM staffers in Japan using the complete line up from Driver, FW, UT, and Irons. I've spent 5 rounds with this in the bag. I am intrigued to as why Taylormade Japan decided to use Alpha Beta Titanium Forged materials and can only assume it's for performance or feel. my overall impressions are this is an excellent club and while it isn't a range topper in one particular area it is above average in all areas except workability. In 5 rounds I never adjusted it once and is it comes square and I will also say it doesn't really feel soft like most forged faces, its got a semi soft pop off the face and if you didn't say it was forged I would not have noticed and just brushed it off as one of the better feeling TM drivers I've hit. It's distance was better than average, It's ball flight was very straight with a pretty tight dispersion for this stock shaft . The spin seems on the low side yet it has a mid/high launch which I liked a lot I will be keeping this club as a backup and tinkering with JDM shaft options that have a more aggressive kick and higher launch like the TRPX Air or tipped Fujikura Air, I feel as if this head could shine with the proper shaft. We can get the standard adapters or premium fancy golden ones. It's a very good club Holiday Special 650 + Shipping if anyone with over 100 forum posts is interested.

It's actually a pretty good driver.

It's beautiful! but feel wise it's on the firm side compared to the other MB's and just a hair more forgiving.

The Jbeam ZY-11 and 435 Black Out are limited edition models and quite expensive. The 435 Black Out is a revised design and while similar to the previous 435 slight adjustments were made, and also the face was changed promoting even lower spin. The ZY-11 is a long driver club 435 Black Out - Jan 10th TSG can start shipping ZY-11 Feb 1st

Yup sorry for getting to this late. 2007 - is the most forgiving of the 3 It's feels semi soft not as soft at a Miura MB it also isn't very forgiving considering it's cavity design - personally at this size I would go ONOFF Kuro 1007 - compact players CB, the 1957 is the same head with a different grind. If you are looking at the 1957 vs the 1007 I would take the 1007 as you have grind options and finish options and also I personally feel the cavity design looks a lot better and there is also the Y-Grind Version. 1957 - as usual Miura North America ( which is not Miura btw they are a separate company that buys clubs from Miura ) they get their stuff late and a little dumbed down, thats not to take away from it's performance it's still a miura club. Overall what I would say is that the 2007/1007/1957 don't have that Miura MB feel they are on the firmer side at impact. The 1007 & the 1957 while sexy looking don't pack much forgiveness in them but they are more workable than other CB's and they do look good slim and compact. 1007 Y-Grind + leading edge grind + slight "rounded" trailing edge grind + reduced offset + copper/satin would be my top pick if I were ordering one of these.

They can weld no problem, now do the have a neck to weld? Maybe not but if you have a junker with the neck you want and a putter you want to put it on to drop me an email I can see what is possible.

I'll post up some pics of the TC-888 tomorrow for you in the forums sir! Personally I would say Z745, I've had both in hand just not at the same time and the Srixon's shape is beautiful while the TC-888 is more rounded and less refined imo but that doesn't say anything about how they perform, just the visuals.

One of our friends has been sporting a new JBEAM ZY-11 driver on the long driver tour that we are about to get our hands on! He has been using it with the TRPX Air shaft in triple X flex but recently switched to a custom graphic version made just for him. More news and availability shortly.

This year it's all about a new process called W-FORGED, and interestingly Honma has chosen to use different technology and materials based on the needs of the player and the iron they should choose for example the TW727Vn and TW727V are the only ones W-Forged while the 727 while S25C Forged is not W-Forged and of course I will get more information about this from Honma shortly but it goes to show they are not just shoving tech into all their new products they are carefully considering and testing which models perform best with the technologies they have available. Honma TW727M Muscle Back Irons - Many pro's and low handicap players loved the previous version and now this version picks up where the las left off with minute differences starting with a slightly sharper leading edge that has been combined with a very thin sole it cuts through the grass like a razor. The offset values have all been changed as well as the shape starting with the long irons at nearly zero but even the PW has extremely minimal amounts and as you go from the long to short irons the top line bends for better visuals to help good players shape shift the ball with confidence. I gotta mention that this year there is a new Vizard heavy weight carbon shaft for these blades along with many steel options. Honma TW727Vn Muscle Cavity Irons - This model didn't exist last year! It fits in between the blade and the players CB and we are splitting hairs here because the players CB is already small and now this is just a touch more meaty than the blade is not to mention the W-FORGED technology starts here. How this model came about is that the top players wanted a cavity similar to the below V model but with the same lofts as the blade and while that isn't enough to justify the creation of a whole new model and design Honma incorporated the W-Forged tech which is a new Forging Process (Could be by Endo) so what this entails is a two press process starting with a very hot pressing of the S25C then a cold forged press with new compression technology for improved granular grain flow what this does is make the final 0.2mm more dense and that is the face area. Honma and their tour players are claiming the W-Forged irons to be the ultimate in feel and feedback. I will get deeper on this in another blog post with actual pics of all these irons in hand. Honma TW727V Cavity Back Irons - And this one is W-Forged as well :) Very similar in shape to the TW717V they have improved this years version by making the cavity a little deeper and the CG lower and implementing W-Forged technology. The dimensions are just a fraction of a mm more beefy but in the end it's still a compact players CB and now easier to get up and easier to hit. We will have photos comparing all models shortly. Both the Vn and V models have some really good looking graphite options to choose from in the 90-110 gram range as well as all the usual steel models. All in all I'm personally torn between the Vn and the V, I really should be playing the V but can't resist the VN is a new model and it's shape is quite different than the V, shorter heel to toe and also taller in the neck area. Excited to try both and go from there. Honma TW727P Cavity Back Irons - It's still for the better player as it's in the Tour World line up, it's just the most forgiving of the bunch. The all new TW727P irons are not fully forged they are 2 piece using soft forged steel in the body and a hot maraging stainless steel face. It's top line isnt thick at all and it still doesn't have much offset but what Honma has done is give it a slightly wider sole than the rest a touch more goose in it's neck and stronger lofts. A lot of it's forgiveness comes from its variable cavity design with the long irons having a deep wide cavity and as you go down to the 7 it narrows then to the 9 it's really just a slit then at the SW there is no undercut and it becomes a soft forged 1 piece head.

I've done this many times myself and a few times on accident. Softer, Higher, Wider Dispersion is what I noticed.

Yup this year is Srixon's strongest launch ever imo. There is Srixon and Bridgestone who both have similar global strategies. It's a really tight race between the two.

There is still the misconception that Honma is for the slower swinging senior player that's looking for gold plated golf clubs and I'm here to tell everyone "again" that couldn't be further from the truth. So what is the truth? It's that Honma is the #1 golf brand in Japan today! Whaa! But how? It's because Honma has stayed the course while other brands followed the gimmicks of many U.S companies and strayed away from what made them inherently Japanese in the first place which is Quality, Materials, and Design while never compromising or creating anything less than the best. While Honma has a parent company that is Chinese, as someone who has visited and knows them very well it's totally Japanese still. More Japanese than most Japanese Owned Brands and Sakata Studio not a studio it's a gigantic factory, it's massive and they have the ability to do just about everything yet Honma realizes in order to make certain types of clubs they have to use other factories... such as Endo :) Let me give you guys an example and a little inside info. Tour players usually don't like Endo drivers they are too soft and hold on to your seats... not exactly the best when it comes to distance. There I said it nicely.. It's alright I still love them but that's why you see Honma make their tour drivers elsewhere using harder faces and materials while their more consumer based products have an emphasis on what normal players desire especially soft feel. When I think honma and this year especially I think "Never Compromise" I'm not talking about the putters I'm talking about what they spend and what they do to get it done right... Ever see Honma adjustable weights? How about Adjustable Adapters? While they do have them and tested them for the new TW-727 series they for some reason didn't make the cut. Does that make them late to the party or firm on their convictions? Ever notice the finish they put on their Irons? There is an extra step someone here must have noticed.. Anyway the stuff is good, easily better than most and almost all for that matter and I like the fact they are not followers and chart their own course as this has paid off over the years making them the most powerful Japanese golf brand of them all. TW727 430 Driver - Deisgned for fast and stronger players who swing aggressively and require a low spin, low launch, anti hook design club. It has a very shallow and forward CG location for that strong trajectory and a black IP finish at the request of Honma's tour pros. TW727 455 Driver - All W-Forged models are made by Endo using Honma's proprietary high density forging process that increases the face hardness by about 15% This W-Forged face is also 2 grams lighter which allowed it to be larger in order to expand the sweet spot and improve feel. TW727 455S Driver - The 455S is also W-Forged and it bridges the gap between the 455 and 460. It's got a lower CG than the 455 and a slightly higher spin design to help players who need more forgiveness and who value a straighter more forgiving shot over workability. TW727 460 Driver - Naturally the most forgiving model in the line up designed around straight higher launching shots and a shape and size to inspire confidence. It features a lower center of gravity with it's shallow back which stabilizes spin for a tighter dispersion.