New 2010 Yamaha Inpres X Drivers

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As I posted on http://www.golftoimpress.com

Yamaha has announced its all new line of 2010 clubs. Today I'll start by introducing its driver lineup. The Yamaha Inpres X Driver series has really dominated the Japanese market in recent years. A combination of awesome design, finish, performance and feel have kept them at the top of the sales charts in Japan. Yamaha has always released drivers to suit several player levels and styles and 2010 is no different as they will be releasing 4 new drivers up from their usual 3 models a year.

The V series which has always been aimed at the athlete golfer or low handicapper and pro level player has gone from 1 model to 2 models with an introduction of a limited edition TOURMODEL. The D Series for the average golfer remains with 2 models a standard model and a Type S model. Here is a look at the breakdown of the 4 models and what kind of players they target. The V Series is aimed at control, for those who want to work the ball left and right, while the D Series is automatic in other words swing away and the driver does the work.

The V Series features a higher and shallower center of gravity for a more piercing and controlled trajectory. Both models feature a 0* square face angle and neutral weighting. Interestingly, the V201 TOURMODEL has a lower CG placement than the standard V201 model which launches the lowest of all 4 models. The V201 TOURMODEL provides a mid trajectory and is easily workable left or right. The standard V201 launches low and straight. The trajectory of both V Series models can also be attributed to the stock shafts which are high end shafts from Graphite Design and Fujikura rather than OEM Yamaha shafts.

The V201 TOURMODEL features the new Tour AD DI-6 shaft as its stock shaft. This is an all new design from Graphite Design featuring a touch softer butt than the EV Series but a much firmer tip area than the EV. This results in a lower trajectory and increased control than the previous EV series which launched higher. Paired with the Yamaha, this is a mid launch combo with low spin and the control that pro players want.

The V201 features an all new Fujikura shaft, the Rombax J. The 6J10 is made only for Japan and compared to last years 6Y09 has a much stiffer mid section to tip area. The Rombax J features a 2 carbon ply overlay overlapping a 3 carbon ply weave. The softer butt provides feel but the stiff mid section and tip area make the launch low and piercing.

The Inpres X D Series which is the number one selling driver series in all of Japan for 2009 features the standard D201 and D201 Type S. Like previous years, the standard D201 is weighted for a draw and the Type S for a straight to fade ball. The CG placement in both D series drivers is identical at 37.0mm deep and 33.5mm high. Only the weighting is different and the face angle as the Type S has a 0* square face and the standard D201 a 1.0* closed face. So these provide higher launch coupled with lower spin thanks to the new shaft and face design.

There is a new forged Ti face for both the V and D Series, an evolution of Yamaha's X inface design. The 2008 had the X inface and the 2009 the multi X inface design. The 2010 models feature an all new Cross X design with a circle stroke around the X to create the biggest sweet spot ever on a Yamaha driver. The Cross and Circle create 8 sections of the face with variable thickness hence the name OCTAFACE. The shape of the cross as well as the thickness measurements vary between the V and D Series. The Cross pattern favors misses high and low on the face for the V Series as the better player doesn't miss as often on the toe or heel. The D Series Cross is rotated to create forgiveness high on the toe and low at the heel, typical miss spots for the average golfer.

The OCTAFACE V on the V Series features a thicker sweet spot that caters to faster and harder hitters while the OCTAFACE D features a thinner walled sweet area to focus on distance performance. The D Series also features an all new shaft from Yamaha the "orbit". The oribit comes in two flavors, a Square Impact Design model and a Draw Impact Design model. The orbit focuses on creating stable kick and squaring the head at impact for optimal contact. Not only does the orbit square the face to the ball but it creates a plane where the head lines up to the ground creating a parallel line between the CG point and impact point on the face. This provides optimal launch and spin. The dual kick orbit creates a mid to high kick followed by a mid to low kick that creates an accelerating feeling as the shaft unloads.

One of the reasons why the Yamaha drivers perform so well is that their heads always spin relatively low. Rather than focus on the high launch max carry concept, the Inpres X line has always focused on optimal launch (which is not necessarily high) with low spin for carry AND run. The combination of head design mated with the right shaft produce the type of trajectory that players today are looking for as shown in the chart below:

So Yamaha looks to continue its streak of best selling drivers as they seem to always produce what the Japanese consumer is looking for, cutting edge designs, features and technology that simply perform and feel great. Look for the new drivers to be in our pro shop very soon for pre orders.

Make sure you check out the blog in the next few days for my 2010 Yamaha irons preview.