Ryoma - Field Testing w/Joe Average Golfer(S)

[Spoon]

I am waiting for the club to come...

I ordered a premia 8.5. Was thinking about v spec 8.5, 'cause i really like the black color over gold. However, I prefer squared face. I hate closed face. Not sure about the open one....

Hopefully i made the right decision

i am looking at the 9.5 premia V spec .5-1* open.

hopefully i get the oppurtunity to get one in the

next couple of months. im really intrigued with the

way the head was engineered and how they

were able to enlarge the sweetspot, trampoline

effect while making everything conforming. its amazing

how hey engineered the head. Seems like a no brainer

[FrankThong]

Frank, nice review!

I take it that both the Ryoma & Kamui heads are roughly the same specs. Did you have similar trajectories between the two and how was the dispersion of your bad hits with the Ryoma compared to the Kamui?

Also, I'm wondering if the distance gains for some are because of a longer stock shaft length of the other models(???).

Hope to hear more about your impressions after you've been able to spend more quality time with it.

As far as I know, the specs of both the Kamui and Ryoma were as close as they could be; other than the 'head' and lie angle (the Kamui was custom made to my specification, while the Ryoma was not), I wanted everything else to be exactly the same -- same shaft, same length, same grip, same swing weight.

I feel I didn't get any distance gains over the Kamui, but honestly though, I am not used to the Ryoma yet and I neither drove so well (so as to test the solid hits) nor so bad (so as to test the mis-hits) to give it a fair assessment. In summary, after the first 9-holes with the Ryoma, lets just say that I am hanging to the Kamui. For now. ;)

[FrankThong]

Give the Ryoma a bit of time Frank. I remembered you had emailed me saying the Kamui had great distance but miss hits were shorter than usual. The Ryoma should not be like that. I gamed the Kamui for a whole summer and I find the Ryoma not only longer but a lot more forgiving on miss hits. Once you dial it in hopefully you can see some differences.

Yeah, I needed a couple of rounds with the Kamui before being able to milk everything out of it, so it shouldn't be any different with the Ryoma. I'm also hoping that I will enjoy noticeable benefits from the mis-hits, which seem to be more than the good hits these days ha!

[FrankThong]

ok.....,

45.25 x 321 x d1.5

crazy 80 noir 7.7

ryoma v-spec d1 9.5*

today at sentosa serapong course .

first time in a match at a course about as good as they get

tees bit fr forward but never the less got to see how this palys in all tis glory

sultry 24* no wind ,typical singapore day

front nine was a bit eratic hit 4 of 7

back nine got it sorted nicely an hit 5 of 6 and found the centre of the club on all but 1shot

distance was as expected. excellent seriosuly excellent got a cpl of biggies going and was a long way down the centre

control overall was good although i hit a cpl of slices in the day but the results werent attrocious just missed the fairway by 10 yards.

feel was good, def NOT my favourite, tho like the epon and yamaha better for feel.

look at address is hard to come to terms with at first its a elongated rounded square looking face and it looks closed but isnt.

the face looks a bit thin and long but its has that v or triangle shape on the face that frames the ball beautifully.

the head shape is very appealing can not notice the power tail at all and looks very agreeable.

at the end of the game i was saying to my partners of the day this was the first ive played with it and all of them agrreed unanimously if ichangd drivers i was MAD.

i hit a bunch on the range and tried moving it about

and found i could work it a wee bit, more than the 435 jbeam not as much as the 425 prob slightly more than the 102 no where near as much as th 101.

as for an over all combo, well that noir shaft is good, its def a slight draw ball compared to the tj adn the crazy 80 and 50 . not as low spin as some other i felt .havnt looked at the specs but id be surprised if tis the same as the 80, 50 or tj

took me a little while to play to the draw ball , setting up on the left side ofthe box a lot nad hitting to unfamiliar territory .

but after i trusted my self to unleash over the right side terrain the results were great.

this is most def a keeper and a club ill play alot .

do i like it as much as my other big 4...... not sure yet, but one thing i noticed is its a better performer when i didnt go hard at it and just smoothed it

i think this is the best driver ive hit for that shot.

def in the rotation wont change it around liked what i had .

i def got few right out there trajectory was superb mid flight with lots of roll thats the shot im after in drivers

id have to say this was easily as long and straight as my good drivers .

but i wasnt "wow this is the best ever." like i was expecting................,

and i think i prefered the the stinger shaft in it ..,

i think this driver wil be a driver i use a lot , its def in my favourites after 1 match

and i think ill play it if im not driving well on the range , bec its forgivability is superb.

its in the final...!

You got a game at Sentosa finally! The winds do make a difference but if you found that many fairways at Serapong, even in fair conditions, I too say you'd be nuts to change. ;)

[supo]

yea drove it well irons were horiific, on the 18th i hit driver , 3 wood over the creek and missed the hole on the fly by 4 feet and i left the eagle sitting over the cup. i have to say this was a good drive.

[Jerry in China]

Ryoma should have some distance gain I believe. Because of its 0.35mm thickness spreading 90% of its body to save the CG back and low. Most other driver have 0.35mm at the thinnest spot on the crown, and thats it. Thus Ryoma has a deeper and lower CG. That is all the story.

If ryoma comes out with a non confirming head....

[FrankThong]

yea drove it well irons were horiific, on the 18th i hit driver , 3 wood over the creek and missed the hole on the fly by 4 feet and i left the eagle sitting over the cup. i have to say this was a good drive.

That's like a 500m+ hole, if I recall correctly. Unless you hit your 3-wood 300m, otherwise I'd say yeah, it was a damned good drive!

[gocchin]

That's like a 500m+ hole, if I recall correctly. Unless you hit your 3-wood 300m, otherwise I'd say yeah, it was a damned good drive!

You guys gonna get together for a game?

[FrankThong]

You guys gonna get together for a game?

Yeah, love to get some free golf lessons from Stew! ;) Though, will be tough for rest of Mar and early Apr -- end FY and moving house so weekday golf is out for a while and my usual weekend flight is almost always full.

[supo]

hhaha.,

only lesson im qualified to give is how NOT to hit an iron .....,

i got a Phd in that at the monent!

might try ria bintan next sat i think, thats a beauty!

[supo]

i neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed my irons ........,

i had to play with callaway x 20 uniflex things on sun , wow it was like looking at tennis racquets on a rod

sposed to be the easiest thing around i have no idea how to hit em. miss hit everything, big off set rounded things , yikes!

was awful!

pls let me get back to my home and normality agn soon.

[gbs]

hhaha.,

only lesson im qualified to give is how NOT to hit an iron .....,

i got a Phd in that at the monent!

might try ria bintan next sat i think, thats a beauty!

I think there are 2 courses or more in Bintan. The one i usually go to is Ria Bintan and thats a Beau. You should try it Stew.

[supo]

if my lovely wifey allows me to snaffle off for a hit then thast where ill be heading

btw.., looking good for a return to eden

we think well be back next week long as that reactor is stable(ish)

living from a suitcase when ur by yourselr is ok but with a fam,ah awful.

[gbs]

I am so out of touch from golf and this forum lately due to constant biz trips. Just got back last wkend and lucky i got to play 9 holes this morning to get a temporary golf fix. I took my Ryoma (coz its the most forgiving driver i got) coz I knew that i would fair badly as i have not been on the range nor been playing for a cpl of weeks. To my surprise as Billy said as well i was just swinging freely and easily (sounds like someone's quote here somewhere ;)) don't try to jerk and over confidently hit that driver and you will get a much better result. The Ryoma just flew as nicely although it does not seem to go that far but Whoaaaa. My buddy was boasting how well he hit his ( he is one of the longest hitter in my CC) and he was going towards the ball that went the farthest as always. To his surprise it was not his ball LOL we all cracked up laughing to see him shamefully backing off to his ball which was about 5 meters behind mine. Although it was not much of a difference but enough to hurt his EGO.

That did not happen all the time of course. I was also over confident and try to swing harder but resulting in bad hooks (not as bad as other drivers in the same situation) I guess i really have to control my swing tempo to get the ultimate results.

At the moment this is a keeper until Tario comes up with another winner to tempt me.

BTW i am wondering how many of you guys out there are using the RYoma? lets put a list down with the specs.

this is mine.

Ryoma V- spec shafted with Quadra FE 55 SR flex.

[gbs]

if my lovely wifey allows me to snaffle off for a hit then thast where ill be heading

btw.., looking good for a return to eden

we think well be back next week long as that reactor is stable(ish)

living from a suitcase when ur by yourselr is ok but with a fam,ah awful.

I know exactly what you mean stew, i have been living from a suitcase for the last month. But i always enjoy Singapore except of its constant rain. Well at least enjoy the space and food in Singapore for the time being. Let me know what you want to eat and where you want to go as i know Singapore pretty well. If you are still there next month we might be able to go for a round. :)

[supo]

well i might be here on the 18th my good friends 50 th is here and im under the puimp to come down for it

[gocchin]

The bottom truth is, any driver, if we try and swing out of pants, which we all are guilty of when going after that extra distance, will result in control issues.

When we get fit for a shaft, its not the shaft that matches the 110% swing, its the shaft that matches the consistent smooth controlled swing with proper swing path and form.

It doesn't matter what driver I have, if I try too hard and go to fast, my form breaks down one way or another resulting in either pushes or pulls or worse.

Some drivers are better than others at combating this and this is what I call forgiveness and the Ryoma certainly helps.

I have the same situation as you B, many times I played with my neighbors and they both swing over 100mph so they would naturally go to the furthest ball thinking it was theirs and yes it was mine (^_^).

They no longer do that as I play the red Klenot and they know where my ball is, but the Ryoma still always surprises them, even when I don't hit it well.

When we are not playing our best, every little bit helps.

Problem is we get greedy and want more.

My setup is now a Ryoma D-1 9.5* Crazy TJ-46 Noir 6.2

[Spoon]

sorry i did not catch the size of the ryoma head is it 460cc?

showed my dad the blog and he is sold! he wants a d1 10.5

has a ss of 93-95. hel be ordering one soon with FEX 55r

[Spoon]

ok guys i got the go signal from my pop to get him the D1 10.5.

was wondering if it can be specified as square FA 0* whats listed

in proshop is .5 closed.

from those that tried it what is your opinion on the stock tour ad SF1 shaft?

[+TourSpecGolfer]

For me swinging out of my shoes supports a straighter ball flight because I come around faster, going for a lesson next week so that I can swing smoother and turn my body through in time to square up the club head.

I notice the Crazy Black series is the most stable for me when swinging out of my shoes.

[gbs]

The bottom truth is, any driver, if we try and swing out of pants, which we all are guilty of when going after that extra distance, will result in control issues.

When we get fit for a shaft, its not the shaft that matches the 110% swing, its the shaft that matches the consistent smooth controlled swing with proper swing path and form.

It doesn't matter what driver I have, if I try too hard and go to fast, my form breaks down one way or another resulting in either pushes or pulls or worse.

Some drivers are better than others at combating this and this is what I call forgiveness and the Ryoma certainly helps.

I have the same situation as you B, many times I played with my neighbors and they both swing over 100mph so they would naturally go to the furthest ball thinking it was theirs and yes it was mine (^_^).

They no longer do that as I play the red Klenot and they know where my ball is, but the Ryoma still always surprises them, even when I don't hit it well.

When we are not playing our best, every little bit helps.

Problem is we get greedy and want more.

My setup is now a Ryoma D-1 9.5* Crazy TJ-46 Noir 6.2

I am surprised that you went for the 9.5* T. I love my ball flight atm with the 10.5 with the FE. not to high but very good roll. How is the TJ-46 Noir compared to the old TJ-46? I have the old one just wondering whats the difference.

B

[Billy]

I am so out of touch from golf and this forum lately due to constant biz trips. Just got back last wkend and lucky i got to play 9 holes this morning to get a temporary golf fix. I took my Ryoma (coz its the most forgiving driver i got) coz I knew that i would fair badly as i have not been on the range nor been playing for a cpl of weeks. To my surprise as Billy said as well i was just swinging freely and easily (sounds like someone's quote here somewhere ;)) don't try to jerk and over confidently hit that driver and you will get a much better result. The Ryoma just flew as nicely although it does not seem to go that far but Whoaaaa. My buddy was boasting how well he hit his ( he is one of the longest hitter in my CC) and he was going towards the ball that went the farthest as always. To his surprise it was not his ball LOL we all cracked up laughing to see him shamefully backing off to his ball which was about 5 meters behind mine. Although it was not much of a difference but enough to hurt his EGO.

That did not happen all the time of course. I was also over confident and try to swing harder but resulting in bad hooks (not as bad as other drivers in the same situation) I guess i really have to control my swing tempo to get the ultimate results.

At the moment this is a keeper until Tario comes up with another winner to tempt me.

BTW i am wondering how many of you guys out there are using the RYoma? lets put a list down with the specs.

this is mine.

Ryoma V- spec shafted with Quadra FE 55 SR flex.

Haha finally someone agreed on my greediness! Well Yup its a tough lesson to learn. I am now holding my horses really tight now. Men's a stock shaft. Wonder how it'll feel with a crazy shaft? Been really bz. My last game was the last i hit my ryoma. Imagine that. But i seriously am considering a crazy shaft now. Wait till I'm more free first. Really glad u guys ate safe and sound. Even some are enjoying their game now. Very good. Wish i could join u guys for a game to pick up some pointers.

[supo]

oh boy .......................,

ochid golf club in singapore this morning in a comp with my mates bit of coin on it, no mucking around top draw stuff.

ryoma ~~cray 80 ls noir set up agn

oh boy ...,

well im now super confused.

smashed the cover of it allday, played those tourstage yellow hard balls the ones idrive plays.

not sure ofthe model name, but they are hard nad spin beautifully on the greens

dont like the feel on the putter face but i certianly liked where they stopped all day!

super ball! most def now my alternate taken over form the srixon as no2

nothing tho willl repalce the brills...,

back to the driver have i said oh boy yet???

every driver had a draw that tok it form the right hand bunker to the middle ogf the fairway about 280 meters. ive got a bushnell range finder and i wa menatlly plotting the driver distance averagve about 270 meteres with te wind into it 250

aimed everything at the right touch line and most found the right fairway on rolled to centre. mid flight not low not high, no ballooning.

not much roll bec the ground like marshmello over here.

felt absolutely comfortable over every drive to repeat the same shot over and over

went super hard at a cpl and laid low on a cpl

didNOT turn over hook did not slice just straiggt with small draw the best fall flight on any driver ive ever used. and it hit about 10 drives like that .

oh boy.....,

what to do.

[FrankThong]

Round 2 with the Ryoma this morning. Once again, I carried the Kamui as well. On the way to the 1st tee, my playing partner's bag fell off the buggy, breaking his driver. I lent him the Ryoma; it being the 'more forgiving' of my 2 drivers and the Kamui was customized to my specs, which may not suit him. He was cut slicing his drives the last few of rounds; I gave him a couple tips on the Ryoma and on the first drive, he found the fairway on a cautious shot. As he grew more comfortable with the Ryoma, he began asserting himself with it and gradually, his driving distance increased. By the back nine, he was consistently finding the fairways at places he had never reached before with any other drivers! I'd say he was easily getting 15m or more, his shots carrying and running more.

He was greatly impressed with it, to say the least. Longer and straighter. Hopefully, next week, I could get a taste of that experience first hand.

[gocchin]

As he grew more comfortable with the Ryoma, he began asserting himself with it and gradually, his driving distance increased. By the back nine, he was consistently finding the fairways at places he had never reached before with any other drivers! I'd say he was easily getting 15m or more, his shots carrying and running more.

He was greatly impressed with it, to say the least. Longer and straighter. Hopefully, next week, I could get a taste of that experience first hand.

15m or more is superb. I sure hope you can also get that kind of distance gains Frank!