gocchin

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.

Duffer pretty much said it and is wise as always. Price tags in the end mean nothing if a shaft does not work for you. There is no doubting the materials and designs of many of these expensive shafts but as you know, just because a shaft has full length 80t and is made by long drivers doesn't mean anyone who buys it will miraculously gain 20 yards or even have that shaft perform for them. With all the choices out there, its getting harder and harder to make the right choice. As you can imagine, I help fitting customers every day and there is no exact science. I have to rely on the player giving me accurate info about their swing but sadly so many times people's estimations of their own swings and distances are way off which makes choosing the right shaft even harder. Some players say "I swing around 90mph and drive the ball 260" others say "I swing around 98 mph and drive the ball 230" or "I swing around 105mph and am currently playing R flex". Fitting aside, at the end of the day no matter what the price tag, its all about finding the right shaft for each individual and it ain't easy or cheap. Duffer struggled with the Longest Yard but on the other hand for me I had some of the best success of any shaft with the Longest Yard. The FE55 was so so for me in my driver so I passed it on to Duffer who as he said loves it. Jeff is also correct that Quadra is a manufacturer of high carbon sheets and supply many of the top brands with the 50t to 80t carbon which push the price up. Also what many of these manufacturers do not reveal is how much of the shaft is actually 80t? Crazy is expensive because their 80 series use full length 80t sheets for every layer butt to tip. Whereas something like the XDB has less sheets of high end carbon only in a small area. (Quadra I would assume also uses full length carbon). Fuji's Bangvoo has been talked about on this site but honestly in Japan, it does not have the same buzz. I think the Crazy 80t shafts are the superior shafts (in most cases) and have a much bigger hardcore following. There are many "hardcore enthusiasts" like you and I and Stew and idrive, who swear by the high end shafts because they work, and because they work, we are willing to pay for them, and because we are willing to pay for them, they keep making them and raising the price on us!!!

Nope both are conforming to max 0.83 COR

I am gaming the VG3 now and I have compared it side by side with the AP2. Size wise they are very very close and this includes offset and topline. Both are very good feeling but the VG3 has the edge in both forgiveness due to the deeper style pocket cavity and the stronger lofts and variable weighting. The VG3 is considered by most publications in Japan as the leading smallish/mid sized cavity for distance and forgiveness while still providing Endo feel. I actually preferred the feel of the VG3 as vibration dampening rubber can provide mixed feedback and is a personal thing. People are still waiting for around 4 weeks for their sets but it really depends on specs/shaft.

The Inpres X V Forged is a wonderfully balanced iron. Butter soft feel with premium forged steel from Endo, yet rather forgiving thanks to its design and grind. Deceivingly good distance. When I went from my strong lofted XXIO to the V Forged I thought I would lose a lot of distance but it wasn't the case at all. I would certainly game them again over Mizuno's personally.

Chris already has pics of the new sets. Should be the typical limited 3 wedge pro spec grind 48 53 and 58* wedges. Limited to 2000 sets and usually revealed at the golf fair next week.

Hi C, Of course, we can get all the Labospec gear and services. Labospec is the tuning department for ONOFF. Shingo's original Labospec prototype wedges did go retail as the S-Forged. You may not like the new stuff but the new drivers and FW's are a big improvement over the pre 2008 stuff. Last gen ONOFF Forged were awesome.

Its not technically available from Crazy until mid February. Because of this most people who ordered it did not want to wait and ordered the more advanced Ryoma instead with crazy shafts. I don't think anyone has the driver except Chris.

C, if you are 105-108 with a fast transition, but you can't overpower the DI-6 stiff, which you should, you should not be considering the proto at all. As skippercarey observed, the trajectory and apex could definitely be the result of the DI-6 being too light and soft. A DI-7 would do much better. The Quadra 65s has a stiffer butt and mid section than the DI-6s but is ever so slightly softer at the tip area. An SX may be the way to go.

For those who don't understand Japanese when stew refers to "oshiri" above he means the clubs ass or bum. (^_^)

Different grade of Ti, the TDX is more expensive, performance wise there is little difference except the TDX may be a bit more springy feeling.

No you will laugh because it will go so far!

90t XDB is not for you. It can't handle over 115mph well as it is a softer profile than crazy or quadra.

Thanks Stew for the feedback. This is definitely what the prototype was meant to me. Faster harder swingers had critisized the original FE for being a bit soft as you said which is why they reinforced the prototype to make it much more tight.

Rob, I was going to suggest the 8.5 D-1 V-Spec for you. As you can see Stew who is a fast swinger used the V-spec 9.5. The quelot is NOT made for the hard and fast swinger. It is also in a completely different price range so it is very hard to compare. The Ryoma's design is more advanced than the Crazy. It features the same single frame body as the CRZ-460 but also a huge weight system in the back because the walls of the head are the thinnest I have ever seen in any driver. That huge weight is what projects a massive sweet spot.

Hi Alex, Welcome. Well there are a few ways. Firstly where did you get it? What model is it? Do you have pictures of it? Is the shaft and grip original? Is the serial number laser printed and finally we can probably check the serial.

Welcome!

Most JDM brands use the actual aftermarket shafts. As does Titleist Japan. US is only offering Diamana made for titleist which does have the same colors as the actual Diamanas but the specs appear different and they do not appear to be the same shaft. The Tour AD DJ is Japan only.

XXIO makes good drivers, every year they compete and do well especially for average golfers in distance comparisons and performances. It's one of the best selling drivers every year in Japan. I did review it back last year some time http://www.golftoimpress.com/2010/06/xxio-2010-driver-review/

As always XXIO said it very well, HI COR drivers probably had more impact in the older days where cor even reached 0.90!! Nowadays technology and designs and materials have changed so much where non conforming drivers would probably easily out perform non conforming drivers of years past. Because of this for many players it may be hard to differentiate performance between conforming and non. Nevertheless people still want non conforming drivers and I get inquiries every single week about non conforming. Heck even I went for the non conforming twice in the last year with the Kamui and now Quelot. As I said in the blog perhaps it is psychological. (^_^)

Just to let everyone know idrive contacted me. He is doing very well and has been traveling and enjoying life. It was good to hear from him and we should be seeing him here online very soon!

Quite different irons with different target audiences. Burner TP has very little offset and is a small cb while the burner forged has offset and is closer to mid sized. Both are quite soft, even the TP considering its cast. I did comparison on the blog however not with each other as they targeted different level golfers Burner forged vs R9 forged http://www.golftoimpress.com/2010/08/taylormade-japan-burner-forged-and-r9-forged-comparison/ Burner TP vs R9 TP http://www.golftoimpress.com/2010/03/r9-tp-forged-vs-burner-tp-taylormade-iron-comparison/