Search the Community

decided to test some drivers now that i have a few. the ryoma vspec is 9.5* and shafted with the crazy la bomba at 46.5"...just how it came from eca. the kamui works ray 9* (non conforming) and the jbeam 435 9.5* are shafted with ust mamiya tour red 69 to the same length as the ryoma. i know this shaft well so i shafted these heads up for comparison purposes until i decide which ones i'm going to keep and what shafts to put them on. they're all stiff flex and my average ss is 105mph. to my eye, the ryoma easily looks the most comfortable and pleasant at address. the kamui sets up well also but just not as well as the ryoma. the 435 looked odd. it's face seemed really tall and the head much more compact. i honestly didn't like the way it looked at all and immediately decided i probably wouldn't be keeping it for that reason. because of that i think it took me a few extra swings to get comfortable with it. all three drivers were very accurate and forgiving for me. however, it seemed the 435 had a slightly more upright lie angle than the kamui or ryoma and i believe because of that it was easier for me to put a draw on the ball when i wanted to. it also made it easier to have slight low pull on my misses rather than than a high fade as with the ryoma. i can't say i'd really give the advantage to any one here. feel. here's where the kamui ray shines. it feels so much better than the others. the ryoma is good, but the kamui just feels like the ball smashes against the face and stays there a bit longer. the ryoma sound is the normal sound i'm used to with my old ping i15. the kamui is still a metalic sound but a bit more muted and soft. not a dull thud that some drivers have but a good sound that definitely aids the perception of a soft feel. the 435 is horrible! it felt like an old ping ti-si tec and sounded every bit as bad. totally metalic like the face does not give one single ounce. they all gave me comparable trajectories so i don't think the minimally stronger loft of the kamui ray played a factor. the 435 and kamui ray were both the longest, indiscernible overall distance between the two but at least 10-15yds past the ryoma. i was a bit surprised by this, one because the ryoma has the much better shaft and two because the 435 easily kept up with the non conforming kamui ray. the distance the 435 gave actually pissed me off me because i really wanted to hate this thing due to the way it set up, it's unruly sound, and it's gawd awful feel. anyways, that was my morning. i thought i'd have some things sorted out after my range session but now i'm more confused than ever!