gocchin

What Arthur said is true. There is no miracle driver out there or one longest driver because if there was, everyone would buy it and there would be no need for any other driver. That said many of the best drivers out there today all have their own strong points. The T.388 is a good driver but for many it is certainly a different driver. All the people who have seen performance improvements switching to the T.388 definitely went through an adjustment period to figure out it tendencies. I don't think any driver can be judged simply in one range session especially when you test it vs you proven gamers you are so used to hitting. Once people figured out the T.388 is best tee'ed lower, and stuck with a level blow, it has performed for most. Again it all depends on if the driver AND SHAFT is right for you. For me I had the T.388 for a month before I wrote my review in the blog and realized it was something special.

Added new MP-64 and MP-69 custom orders from Yoro!!

Endo forgings began with these new Z Series models. All 3 are S20C. The 725 is amazing looking, looks very powerful and as they say in Japanese Kakkoi or cool. But as you all noted, compact and less offset. Feel is soft especially on the 925 as Stew noted. The laser milling (taken from Cleveland) is very nice on both feel and spin.

Sky dream jump D-Tour wedges are non conforming and sharp as heck... Yururi gekku raw, most older Miura, the Kenmochi black model, all sport sharp non conforming grooves.

After seeing the irons again at the show I'm finally getting around to writing up my review. And yes ENDO forged!

T brought up a good point about the face angle at address. The way the club sits with that big power booster on the back always makes the face look closed when you are setting up to the ball. This is because the hump in the weight rolls the face into a closed position when placed on the ground. Of course this is not the case when you swing it. Some people with lesser swing speeds actually have a hard time launching the 9.5* Vspec so if you want more launch definitely a v-Spec in 10.5* or 9.5* Premia.

None of those irons are actually new. The bag is reasonably new. The XT and GT Type S are last year and the X-Lite are 2011. I have gamed all the irons and the GT Type S is in fact similar to the AF302. The GT Type S as well as the XT irons were designed by Kobayashi-san FOR S-yard while he was president of Endo and chief design Meister. (meaning he did the bulk of designing for all Endo customer brands). I have gamed both the GT Type S which are very nice but produce a stronger trajectory than the AF302 which launch higher. This is due to the higher cavity and CG position in the GT Type S. I did not like the XT admitedly when I first saw them but I love them now. They are very automatic and the distance is simply awesome just like the driver. I prefer them over my old AF701 which again they have a similar design to. What turned me off about the XT iron was the shiny face but when I spoke to S-Yard they told me it was a special chrome coating to protect the irons in the long run. I went to the range and hit about fifty range balls, leaving marks all over the face. One wipe with a DRY towel, removed ALL the marks and it looked like it had never been hit. Feel is very good and not clicky which is surprising.

Tabuchi-san told me the sheep are based on the origin of golf in Scotland. Shepherds would get tired of grazing their sheep so they used to hit round stones into rabbit holes and the game was born. This is also why they call their woods Shepherd. Fuso Dream is the golf brand, and Buchi is a line under Fuso Dream. Fuso Denki is the parent company and as Chris mentioned an Electrical Company.

Yes it came out last year and was designed by Kobayashi-san FOR S-Yard at the time Kobayashi-san was still at Endo. Endo had two "meister" designers that did designing or contributed and worked with brand design teams. Kobayashi-san was one of them and he did all S-Yard designs. Of course now S-Yard is his own brand.

I have both here. I gamed the hi Cor on Monday and it was the Speed Type with 46" Tour AD shaft. I used R-1 and thought it might be soft (I am 90mph) but it was just right. I out drove both my playing partners on quite a few holes and they both swing over 100mph.

Mark I love the S-Yard XT and its feel... it has already knocked Ryoma out of my bag. The quality of the driver it self is so high and the feel fantastic. I never thought anything could out carry the Ryoma but the XT does.

<a href="http://www.golftoimpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/SLIDE.jpg"><img'>http://www.golftoimpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/SLIDE.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22146" alt="SLIDE" src="http://www.golftoimpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/SLIDE.jpg" /></a> Romaro Sports had a very strong 2012 and they looked to ride that momentum right into 2013 by adding new clubs and accessories to an already awesome lineup. Last year saw all new drivers and woods as well as Pro Forged blades and the Ray H for better players. The Ray V Forged iron which were from late 2011 were still among the most popular irons for improving players and better players looking for forgiveness. Romaro though which has traditionally been a company focused on the athlete and better golfer decided it was time to tweak the Ray V Forged iron to make even more forgiving yet more appealing visually. <a href="http://www.golftoimpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/DSCF7355.jpg"><img'>http://www.golftoimpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/DSCF7355.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22148" alt="DSCF7355" src="http://www.golftoimpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/DSCF7355.jpg" /></a> The took an already great design forged from S20C steel and featuring an undercut cavity with TPU insert, the sharpened off the shape of the cavity back creating a straighter top line and sharper toe but increased the forgiveness by changing the internal pocket cavity and weighting. The increased MOI and larger sweet spot equal less distance lost on miss hits and an overall more attractive package. The back cavity has a new V pattern which enhances feel at impact on the sweet spot. Romaro decided to release the improved V Forged as the TypeR which is the name of the new performance lineup aimed at the average golfer. <a href="http://www.golftoimpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/DSCF7387.jpg"><img'>http://www.golftoimpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/DSCF7387.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22151" alt="DSCF7387" src="http://www.golftoimpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/DSCF7387.jpg" /></a> Romaro has always featured forged Titanium cup face fairway woods and utilities which is rare in golf other than drivers. The Ray FW and UT's from last year (which are still current) were well liked by the better player but average golfers did not find them as easy to play due to thicker faces and higher CG positioning aimed at stronger players. They redesigned all the fairway woods to feature thinner and hotter faces with lower and deeper CG positioning due to a new sole design with weighting similar to what the 460HX looks like. They even did it with the smaller Tour Select Head which is for the player who wants a smaller square faced head but with forgiveness. <a href="http://www.golftoimpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/DSCF7397.jpg"><img'>http://www.golftoimpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/DSCF7397.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22152" alt="DSCF7397" src="http://www.golftoimpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/DSCF7397.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.golftoimpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/DSCF7371.jpg"><img'>http://www.golftoimpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/DSCF7371.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22157" alt="DSCF7371" src="http://www.golftoimpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/DSCF7371.jpg" /></a> They of course applied the new TypeR design to the standard Ti Fairway woods as well as the new utility which are both now available in either black or satin now. I spoke to the chief of sales who told me the new TypeR is very easy to launch and the face is a lot hotter especially for more average players. As always with Romaro the finish of the heads is top notch and very attractive. <a href="http://www.golftoimpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/DSCF7378.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22158" alt="DSCF7378" src="http://www.golftoimpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/DSCF7378.jpg"/></a> Last years Ray SX wedge was very very popular and the limited black versions sold out very quickly, they decided to tweak the SX with a more versatile S sole featuring toe and trailing edge relief as well as plenty of heel relief allowing for the wedge to open up nicely. The top blade features new CNC milling and the wedge is now available in black as standard. <a href="http://www.golftoimpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/DSCF7385.jpg"><img'>http://www.golftoimpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/DSCF7385.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22161" alt="DSCF7385" src="http://www.golftoimpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/DSCF7385.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.golftoimpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/DSCF7402.jpg"><img'>http://www.golftoimpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/DSCF7402.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-22163" alt="DSCF7402" src="http://www.golftoimpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/DSCF7402.jpg" /></a> Romaro is always well known for colorful accessories like bags, head covers and grips and the Golf Fair showed of some of their new colors in what looks like Lime Green/Yellow, Fuschia Purple and Sky Blue bags. I don't even know what these colors are officially called yet but they are definitely bright. Romaro mentioned that they actually have several scheduled club releases that we will see as 2013 progresses including new irons and new drivers which are currently in the final stages of design and development. We are certainly looking forward to seeing them all and testing them all out! The new TypeR line will release in late March and we will be reviewing them here at TSG as always!

Yup yours is MCI 80 R.

Yes the 519 has become the Black Tour... may have been minor tweaks for production.

Already up to 49 wedges on our pre order list... I am crossing my fingers S-Yard can come through!

The GT Type S is in fact a Kobayashi-san design but he designed it while he was still at Endo. In fact pretty much every driver and forged iron/wedge has Kobayashi-san's fingerprints on it. He created the mold for that iron above as well as the XT and the XT and GT drivers.

Anything you want R. T, the stock lofts are D3 in the 50 52 and D4 in the 56 58 60 so going to 130 will do D5 for the sand wedges. KBS Hi Rev is 130g for X and DG Spinner W+ is 131g and might be a great fit.

I just wanted to clarify about the stock shaft, it is the Shimada K's 120 DCR (Dark Chrome) in a wedge flex. This is a very good shaft. ALSO custom shafts are available. To the 20 customers who have already placed their orders, you can choose a different shaft... if you want. Just let me know.

Labospec 420 is sold out so go with the 909....

Hi Guys, S-Yard has started up their facebook page and are giving away S-Yard caps and accessories which look really nice. All you have to do is LIKE the page for a chance to win. You get to follow all their cool posts as well and watch Kobayashi-san in action there... (^_^) So check out the page and give it a like! http://www.facebook.com/pages/S-Yard-Co-LTD/311751335513068 Caps are very cool by the way!

Actually its not that they want the wedge to rust... it is to leave the S20C pure. Spin is also affected by materials of a club ie the softer material creates more contact with the ball and more friction. There is no plating in between the ball to hinder direct contact with the face of the S20C wedge.

Hi Ed, yes as I said in the writeup Kobayashi-san tested with both raw and plated but in the end the raw gave better feel and more bite. His focus is on creating a wedge with the best performance possible so for now yes it is unplated. That said, the finish is done so well, I actually thought it was plated and initially when I asked him I said what kind of plating is this? If you look carefully at the back face, it in fact features a black dye on the top portion of the blade where the tungsten weights are and a different teflon black on the center and lower part of the back face, again S-Yard did not hold back on the processes here. They could have simply dipped the whole head in black dye but did not.

Keep in mind the look on the back is not for aesthetic reasons... if it were purely for looks this wedge would definitely be "robotic" but there is purpose behind the design and luckily we do not see all that at address. (^_^)

Stew the Shimada K's is a wedge flex. It's the HW120 in DCR.