gocchin

There have been a few purchases of these, but I don't think they are forum members. The problem probably is that these are to most people, this is pretty much an unknown brand so they don't pay any attention to them which is too bad cause the price value is definitely good!

Wow that's cool, they may be a one off set then! I like the look, the graphics are definitely better than the current axiv irons, and Tadd loves green!

Haven't seen that before... looks like V-Spec in green... where did you get the info? Are they iron shafts for sure?

He was htting the 501 but at the moment switched back to his 440cc 105...

P, they can but not from Fourteen, they would be custom built by TSG.

Stickys have far more play on the Japanese tour... barely anyone plays the X's as they are not as soft or as sticky as the stickys. Have you tried the Nowon's? The Sticky's would be the closest to the NO1 grips in style and feel.

Awesome feedback C..... and your bag is looking very amazing these days... quite the variety of top performing JDM!!

Hehe I kinda remember now that it was you and your Hyper ERC. Well let us know!

Please let us know how it goes... I think someone here in the past posted that they played with some Callaway USA reps and showed them his Hyper ERC driver, and they didn't really have any knowledge about the driver nor did they really care which was surprising. If these guys do fit the top Callaway pros then they should know something as most top Callaway guys have their clubs custom made in Japan.

In most cases yes to a certain degree.... Brands have their own staffers, but at the same time they will use what works for them... for example Kaname Yokoo is a Tourstage Staffer but uses a Callaway Hyper ERC.... Some players cost brands more than others for sure... but at the same time, Japanese players are very loyal to their brands and it's not uncommon also to see players sport 13 clubs from their sponsor and not necessarily because they are paid to do so. They pretty much have their own choice in shafts and as I posted a long time ago, Graphite Design has now led the JPGA 6 years running by a large margin.

I have the list of top 100 bags, I don't think I recall seeing even one Byron.... Odyssey is the most popular by far and as K said above followed by Cameron and some Yes, a spattering of Gauge here and there (used to be much more a few years ago)

Here's the Tourstage van...

Here's the Srixon Van...

Here's the Taylormade Japan tour van....

I think we need a TSG tour van... modeled after these vans...

Hehehe yeah you know what I mean! I just time warped back.... corrected to 2007!

It's always interesting to see what the pros play, and as always, the Japanese pros always give the most detailed specs on what they are using and what works for them. Always good to see what shafts are in play. Here are some interesting tidbits from a small sampling they took... lots of Graphite Design as always with Diamana's and Fuji mixed in as well as a couple of guys using the Brigdestone Diamana Black shaft... Kiyoshi Miyazato Tourstage X-Drive Black 445cc 9.2* - Diamana Blue S73 X Flex, 45" D2, 322g Toshinori Muto Taylormade Burner TP 9.5* - REAX Rombac TP75 X Flex, 44.5" D2 Keiichiro Fukabori Nike New Sumo2 Tour 8.5* - Graphite Design Tour AD M-75 X Flex Norio Shinozaki Taylormade r7 Superquad TP 8.5* - Graphite Design Tour AD PT-6 X Flex, 44.5" D2 Jun Kikuchi Yonex New NanoV 450D 10* - Graphite Design Tour AD PT-7 X Flex, 44.75" D2, 326g Ryoken Kawagishi Mizuno MP Craft 460 8.5*, Diamana White D-83 X Flex, 44.75" D3, 339g Mamoru Osanai Taylormade Burner TP 9.5* Graphite Design Tour AD PT-7 X Flex, 44.25" D3 Kazuhiko Hosokawa Srixon ZR-700 8.5* Grahpite Design Tour AD 9003 X flex, 44.4" D3.5, 332.6g Yusaku Miyazato Tourstage X-Drive 460P 9.2* Diamana White D-83 X Flex 44.25" D3, 336.4g Azuma Yano PRGR T3 105 9*, PRGR Inspec m-49+ (X), D2.5 325g Toru Taniguchi Yamaha Inpres X 425v 10* Graphite Design Tour AD Quattro Tech 65 Stiff flex 44.5" D1.5 Shoichi Ideguchi Cleveland Hibore XL Tour 8.5* Crazy Black 50, 45" D3, 326g Tomohiro Kondo Tourstage X-Drive 430P 9.5* Tourstage XD-60 X Flex, 44.5" D1, 325.5g Tatsuhiko Ichihara Srixon ZR-600 9.5* Rombax Prototype X Flex, 45" D2 331g Takuya Taniguchi Titelist 907 D2 8.5* Graphite Design Tour AD Quattro Tech Proto X Flex, 44.75" D2 Yasuharu Imano Tourstage X-Drive 430P 9.5* Diamana Black B07-05 X Flex 44.5" D4.5 329g Kamane Yokoo Callaway Hyper ERC 8.5* Rombax 8X07 X flex 44.75" D3 340-350g Hirofumi Miyase Srixon ZR-700 8.5* Speeder 665TP S Flex, 44.5" D2 322.9g Toru Suzuki Mizuno MP Craft 460 8.5* Graphite Design Tour Ad Quattro Tech 75 X Flex 44.75" D3 327g Tadahisa Inoue Titleist 905S 8.5* Graphite Design Tour AD Prototype X Flex 44.75" D3 Tetsuji Hiratsuka Tourstage X-Drive Prototype 9.5* Diamana Black B07-05 X flex, 44.25" D2 328g

I had never heard of the HD-01 until you mentioned it, so I went to do some research on some japanese sites and apparently the HD-01 is the first generation Science Eye and it was released albeit very limited outside of Japan first as a test run. Apparently, you can correct me if I'm wrong here it does not do club head path but does do swing speed and estimate carry. It did not sell well as it was not as accurate as they had hoped for and they went back to the drawing board to create a more advanced and accurate one which is the Science Eye Japan release with better packaging and looks and more features like usb to computer connection. Here's the HD-01

It will be soon as soon as we get the word from TM Japan, but I did post the new GDO video preview for it on my blog earlier this week: http://www.inpakuto.com

GDO has posted it's video review on the RC Star FD and Pro TP... Both got amazing ratings and for good reason as evident by their amazing sales in Japan.... Posted on Inpakuto for your viewing pleasure. http://www.inpakuto.com

A lot will depend on what kind of a ball striker you are. If you're a good lower handicap player, almost nothing beats the Royal Collection Td+, small compact head, iron like profile and long and workable... there is a reason why many tour pros carry it. It's like a more compact hotter version of the X-UT. Otherwise the X-UT is also a good choice, low piercing trajectory and takes the left side out...

Great reviews Randy! The X-Drive 445cc has been getting AMAZING reviews in Japan and selling like mad. It's even backordered for us here at TSG. You hit on all the strong points for the Driver, straight, long and great feel. How is the shaft? Another winner has been the X-Blade UT, raving reviews and great sales...

It's a very very popular bag because of it's design... Mizuno bags sell out quick... will get Tourspecgirl to check stock for you.

sarintr! Thanks for the great post. How is the feel of the new Tour AD for EMB shaft? One thing that stands out is the higher torque number. It's quite a possibility we will be seeing higher MOI fairway woods as well next year won't we?

Very good observations Bat. Another reason for the shallow face is that research in Japan has shown that most recreational golfers miss on the face towards the toe or heel and as Bat said with the dimensions of the driver flattened out, the higher MOI creates far less twisting so that shots off the toe and heel will go straighter and longer. The longer shaft has two benefits, one is the shallower plane again as Bat mentioned which will help decrease backspin on impact, and the other is added distance rewarded for good strikes. You will see this trend on the Japanese tours....on the men's side, the average driver shaft length is under 44.5" as the men do not worry about power but workability more. On the other hand, on the Japan ladies tour, the women who do not hit as far as the men try to squeeze out all the distance they can by using a longer shaft averaging over 45" with some players including Ai Miyazato playing 46". Of course it helps that the pros can hit the sweet spot better than the most of us! Manufacturers have noticed this desire for distance which is evident with all the drivers available now at 46" including from Epon, Yamaha, Fourteen, Royal Collection and others. The key benefits for this EMB will be it's forgiveness and straight trajectory. PLUS a with all Epon drivers, it's feel. If it can feel like the epon 460 and be more forgiving and straight, then it's a winner!