gocchin

Here in Japan and among our customers the Crazy 435 (445cc) is far more popular than the 450. Both are great drivers (435 vs Kamui 456) and its really more about which fits you. You haven't provided much about your swing or what you are looking for in a driver so it's hard to recommend one or the other.

VG3 vs E600 Forged VG3 has less offset, top line about the same, thinner sole, shorter face length... overall smaller. Just as forgiving and just as good feeling if not better.

I like the Nippon. I tried the FF twice and just could not get used to the feel. Firstly its light and secondly I felt it deadens the feel of the putter which is the opposite of what it supposed to do I think.

All 3 shafts are heavier and spin low so will naturally bring your ball flight down a touch than the lighter whiteboafd. All three should handle your lag and if anything stay with the fade. I would consider either the DI7x or the 9003 X. The 9003x X is a bit on the heavy side, and that's a pretty big jump from the D63. The DI actually has the most similar stiffness distribution as the white board. The white board is soft butt, stiff mid, stiff tip. The DI is standard butt, stiff mid, stiff tip. The 9003 is stiff but, standard mid, stiff tip. The DI would feel most like the shaft you have but heavier which provides more control, more stabilty and even less spin.

Need a lot more info then your distances. Are you smooth? Aggressive? Lag? Your transition? How about your bad shot? What's your trajectory like? Do you get alot of run or is it all carry? What kind of trajectory do you want? What do you think of the whiteboard X? Did it work? That said there is not that much of a difference in the 3 shafts you chose, all penetrating launches with low spin and all three can keep the left side out of play.

The PC-01 is not an actual UT as it's part of the egg iron set. However many people use the long irons as UT's as they are very easy to hit and very long. The 2007 you tried is either the 320cx if it's a wood style ut or the zoom driving iron. The newer Zoom X is nice but the shaft was a but too whippy and the head on the larger side. A new one is about to be announced along with all new forged irons and driver.

Those are 2006/2007 models made in Japan. If you go with Stew's recommendations of the 2009 ONOFF Red and the Yamaha 4.6D, the ViQ MX will become the back up as both those drivers are superior to the ViQ with better feel and better distance at similar club weights.

I love the ONOFF, it has great feel and is pretty explosive, it may not however be as shallow as some of the others which is typical as you get to 5 7 9 woods. The RED 505 is VERY shallow and very very easy to hit. It is also very good distance wise. You already know the egg performs, that may be the way to go.

Hi Kent what did you build the two clubs to length wise?

I'm very happy to hear they worked out for you. As with any new club there is always a period of adjustment, especially when you've been playing your previous set for many years. To many people freak out after one little range session that they can't hit the clubs. We're unfortunately not pros so it takes us time to adjust to new looks, feel and even design of our new clubs. I'm glad to year the Epon's worked out as well! T

Many people actually like that head. Most of which swing over 115mph have told me it spins super low for them and they get very good run. The 80LS also works for the right player.... low spin, hot active tip area for that extra umph. Honma themselves did a test on the effects of higher carbon which they use in their various shafts and while they tested only up to 50t, the higher grade shafts showed much less wobble and much tighter dispersion which I have always talked about. Even the 2 star is 40x46t carbon so you can imagine more mainstream shafts on the market that range from 20-30t.

I say 17*, you won't loose much if any distance over the 15*. I gamed the original 17* for 2 years... it made it easy being the only FW in my bag at that time. Long second shots or off the tee. 17* is very versatile.

Crazy and Quadra are the only shafts I use. For me they simply perform over all other shafts. I think Stew is like that now too... sticking with crazy and quadra.

they haven't made the official announcement yet but the new models are already decided and to be released in November supposedly. I should hear from our Yamaha rep next week on more details. The seem to be making a bit more of the tour model this year, 4000 drivers and 1200 iron sets compared to 3000 and 1000 in previous years. The new driver will feature the ahina as you mentioned and be 425cc and 45" in length. 3 other standard models as usual will follow including a V440 Type S 445 and D460 Power Draw. There will also be a new fairway wood finally with a newly designed Dual Fric Off sole. I don't have info on the irons yet but will hopefully next week.

You're right... I guess I didn't look hard enough. It will be released in the same flexes as the DI 5 6 7 8 and torque as I mentioned is about 1.0 less than the DI in each respective model. However the torque is just one aspect. The new DJ is supposedly an evolution of the DI which was already pretty good. It incorporates the same design using nano technology with supposed increase in control and even more distance. More control and more distance.... sounds good. (^_^)

S, you should actually make the selection in the poll then. Show your love for the egg! (^_^)

I picked the egg, I found it easier to hit and more forgiving based on it's design and I preferred the feel and sound and swoosh it makes. If you do go with the Epon it has to be the HT model as its much better than the standard model.

S, Technically the MD, EV and DI all take out the left side to some extent. The MD actually features both a stiff butt and mid section, while the higher launching EV has a stiff butt but slightly softer mid and tip area. The DI features a stiffer mid and tip area hence the very low spin. These statements are referring to the 70g+ models as the lighter ones have slightly different stiffness profiles.

GD hasn't even officially announced this shaft yet. It's only shown up as an upgrade option for many up and coming club releases from various manufacturers. Based on the specs it's pretty low torque and most likely lower launching than most current Tour AD models. The DI is very low spin, in the recent 2011 Japan shaft bible it spins lower than both the Crazy and Quadras

Same finish. The word tour is sometimes used as it's preferred by some tour players due to its anti reflective nature. The Teflon black does not have a huge effect on feel, it is plated then finished but the plating is typical plating used on most premium golf clubs ie NiCR nickel chrome.

.... and ping finally responds to me today to confirm... indeed 0.355". Thanks Matt!

7.4 is actually stiff flex for Crazy. But as we all know the stiff cpm's out closer to X in other brands. The 80 has some nice feel to it, more so than the 50 thanks to its very dynamic tip section which is probably that sting in the tail you are talking about. I played this in an Epon 460ZR but the flex was too stout for me as R came out well over 250cpm.

Both different cavity designs. One's a full cavity the other is a pocket cavity. Bigger topline and sole in the 701G as well as more offset. However the face of the 701G is smaller because it is shallower. Feel is different due to the different cavity designs. More pure feel on the 701 and a bit more of a click on the 701G due to the pocket. 701 has a shorter center of gravity and is lower launching while the more forgiving 701G has a deeper CG and is higher launching. The 701 is aimed at the pro and single digit player while the 701G is for the low handicapper and better player ie even 10-15.

The egg spoon is actually smaller than 80% of the 3 woods out on the market today. It is under 150cc in size that makes it even smaller than some pro model compact 3 woods. But this just goes to show how good its design is, that 149cc to be exact is spread out so well with the scooped out back. The driver if I remember correctly is 430cc but it seems bigger as it's a bit shallower in the back side. I didn't like the feel much and hit the spoon just as long. I'm playing the egg spoon 15* 42.5" Quadra Fire Express 55 Regular tipped 0.5". 37g grip to bring the swing weight back up as I went 0.5" shorter than standard. Can hit it about 220 yards always straight and in the fairway. The Quadra is not an option from PRGR as they only offer heavier stiff flex shafts.

PRGR drivers are very very good. Great pop and crisp feel. Just the egg driver didn't work out as well. It is very highly rated though for going straight and if your number one priority is in the fairway and don't mind sacrificing some distance, the egg driver will do so. I hit the spoon as far as the driver though. The spoon is my choice club off the tee now as you can see from my sig.