gocchin

I think I'm also going for the Fourteen. Stew was killing it dead straight with very nice ball flight. Fourteen afterall has years of experience when it comes to making driving irons. Many of their models have had tour presence even in the US. Yonex's model is their first crack. it sure looks great though. T

A lot of people have gotten Ryoma's and most have come back to me with feedback on simply how easy it is to hit. this is what I touched on in my reviews and testing... a bad shot goes far, a good shot even farther. Low spin, good carry good run... all around its a very strong performer. One can never have enough forgiveness especially we average Joes. We just sent a demo to bogeydog which will start making the rounds to those who ask for it. Bogey's comments to me by email have already been very positive after a session at the range.

Very well said Frank. It is very true that the material used is only one factor in the performance and quality of a shaft. How a shaft performs is based partially on material but a very big part of it is definitely design and manufacturing. A lot of people look at the surface of a shaft and things like flex, weight, torque but beyond that there are so many other aspects to a shaft such as rigidity distribution, bend profiles, actual flex at different sections of the shaft. Plus how the material is designed and put together in that shaft. All these aspects end up effecting flex, launch, and to be more precise the deformation of a shaft and its ability to return to form. And finally even when all these points are said and done... there is feel. In the end materials can make a difference if the designs are all equal and good. Afterall great materials in a poorly designed shaft won't give any of us the performance we want. Neither will low quality materials in a well designed shaft. It's the balance of materials, design and quality production by shaft designers who understand what a shaft is meant to do which will result in a top quality shaft. So put together a great design and great materials with top notch manufacturing and hopefully that is the 1000.00 shaft. (^_^)

I had asked TM Japan back when I made the blog post because heads were spotted "floating" around and at that time I was told by our sales rep that they had no plans to release them. As far as I know, TM still has no plans to ever release them (which makes sense now that the R11 is out) and any heads floating around may have prototypes or testers they decided not to go with.

I gave my impressions here... but thats before I hit the Ryoma... http://www.golftoimpress.com/2010/12/tourstage-2011-x-drive-705-type-first-look/

DO NOT PURCHASE THESE IRONS UNTIL FURTHER INVESTIGATION. TOPIC LOCKED.

The Yonex 380 looks tiny at address. It looks much more like a fairway wood these days than a driver. The face is spec'ed to be square definitely not closed this is a driver aimed at pros and low handicappers. It really does have a persimmon type of profile. The Tourstage 385 on the other hand looks like 420cc at address and inspires much more confidence.

Keep in mind the TS Solid is Tourstage's top pro model. It's strengths are all around play with a focus on spin around the greens. The XXIO premium is a distance ball and not much of a spin ball. I's meant to be soft feel, low spin off the tee. The Mild would be more of a comparison with the XXIO but the Mild would still spin more.

You're very welcome. As I said, the driver is simply so easy to hit which is why overall distance is up as you do not get penalized for miss hits. I liked the Kamui but the Ryoma is superior in technology and design.

J, good to see you. Its been a while! Agree with either AF-302 or Yamaha Tour Models. The tour models are already hard to get. Skip is on with the super peening... great feel, very smooth.

Haha I may have a hard time keeping up.... on the second shots you guys will be hitting PW while I need a 5 wood! T

Great post Jeff, as I said the ryoma is superb when it comes to off center hits and going straight. I don't know of another driver that rivals its forgiveness. Based on your feedback I started to wonder if the Quadra's lower launch hindered the Ryoma at all. That is I am assuming that the Ryoma launched lower with the quadra? I found that if the Ryoma has the right amount of launch it just wants to simply carry and carry. Of course the EMS and Crazy is also a premium combo. You have two awesome contenders right now to choose from.

Thanks so much Pete for posting that up. 262 is not crazy soft for an X but it is on the softer side and it sounds like your experience mirrored mine when I tested the R. I would have been much better with SR so for most players it looks like a flex up is the way to go. This is afterall a 200.00 shaft so it is no Crazy or Quadra or stinger however for the right player it certainly gives good feel and kick.

S, the one I got was the lighter 50t XDB55 model and it was softer than expected (also it was an R flex) but not necessarily very soft. I'm guessing and hoping the 65 90t would be better.

You were actually hitting it 224 to 228.6y on your best shot all with a nice trajectory and very straight. I loved the sound, it sounds like a cross between an FW and and Iron. Almost a tink. I think that was a 4 iron 21* HI610h right?

Oh 45", yeah thats right you went with the heavier head. I forgot as originally you were going to go over 46" with that. Yeah get out on the course with those drivers especially since you know your distances well at the courses you play.

Can I temp you by sending you a demo? (^_^)

I think Stew needs to bag the driving iron... nice trajectory and oh so straight!

Epon makes great drivers as everyone knows and I love them. For me personally though the Ryoma was unbeatable and is in the bag. It is just too forgiving and easy to hit. Jeff is an epon man so this will be interesting to hear about. (^_^) J, make sure you give it time for a fair comparison, afterall you've been using the epon for quite some time and you may need some time to dial in the Ryoma especially at its longer length.

Hi guys, fourteen hasn't put any of the new items up yet on their site. We're guessing March for their new releases and we should have more details in the next few weeks. I'm guessing 18 21 24* lofts probably to replace 2 3 4 irons in a more traditional set.

These are the blades! Will post more in the Yonex blog post!

Yes I've mentioned several times, Crazy does not make the carbon sheets. The do not have the capacity to do so. They only design and make/roll the actual shafts. Like Honma and their 5 star shafts. They get the carbon from Quadra but charge 4 times Crazy. Stew is right, the TJ-46 is a better choice for C. the TJ has a softer feel thus more feel and higher launch. But it doesn't quite make sense. C if you want to try the proto FE then that is a very stout and stiff shaft. WAY more stout feeling than the Longest Yard.

Hi C, If they felt too stiff and launched too low then they were probably not to your spec. The Longest Yard has great feel and technically has more feel than the Quadra FE. It is also not a low launcher. But you're absolutely right, not every shaft works for everyone and if the quadra works for you then you should definitely stick with it. (^_^)

No we won't. Yamaha never has a booth at the show and I don't think this year is any different. I wish they did though but Yamaha is so popular in Japan they focus more on events across the country rather than this one show. I'll see if we can get some demos for shots though.

I'll be doing photos while TSGolfer handles the video. We'll definitely try and get some shots of the crew. Excited as the show is only 2 days away! I already shipped my gear to the hotel as I will not be commuting back and forth to Chiba in between days of the show.