JDM woods for the newbie

[panicmotion]

Hi guys,

I'd say this is my first real year being a golf nut so my handicap is still pretty high. I've tinkered around with golf here and there for a couple years prior. I finally got around to getting proper lessons at the beginning of the spring. I'd been gaming a full bag of Nakashimas, which in their own right are great clubs, but now that I have gotten a proper swing down, I think I'm ready to move on. In fact, earlier this month, I picked up a set of Miura MC-102 irons and got a couple satin wedges as well. I'm absolutely loving them. I play a 9 hole course after work pretty frequently and my best day I shot a 42. On average though, you'll find me shooting in the low 50s. My swing speed is on the low end so I'm definitely a R flex guy. On a typical weekend when I play 18, I'm happy if I shoot in the low 100s. A lot of my extra strokes are short game chip mis-hits and it's something I plan on taking more lessons on.

Enough background though...I've been looking at several clubs. I know they are extremely expensive but it's just something I like looking at and if I can find a great deal, I'd be quick to snatch one up. I just wanted your guys', the experts, opinions on some drivers/woods I've been trying to research, as well as shaft combinations to suit me.

Drivers:

Epon EM-S

Epon AF-152

Fourteen JC909

PRGR Egg Impact

Tourstage 701

FW Woods:

Epon AF-202

Fourteen SF-410

PRGR Egg Spoon

Of course, if i'm missing something blatant, please let me know. Something about JDM clubs have a huge appeal for me. I don't want to be labeled as a club ho as I plan on playing these for a very very long time. I just want to put together a set I'll be extremely happy with. I also don't want to say I'm a beginner golfer (although that's really the case), but I'd like to say i'm an 'improving' golfer. Helps me sleep at night :)

Thanks in advance for your input!

[wmclarenf1]

Try the Maruman Shuttle series. Very forgiving and long.

[Eca]

Email Tario [email protected] he might be able to hook u up with a barely used ryoma/cb46 6.7 ® for a fraction of the original price. Awesome combo long and

Forgiving.

[Duffer19]

From your driver list, IMO only the EMS and Impact might be suitable for you at this time. The Shuttle is definitely worth a consideration. As for FW, please rule out the Epon as it is definitely not for high handicappers. The Egg is worth considering or Yamaha D fw.

[panicmotion]

thanks guys!

before posting this, my intent was to find an em-s driver and 3 and 5 spoons. but i'll also look into the ryoma and maruman drivers and the yamaha fw.

the most difficult part in this situation is convincing my wife i need new clubs :)

[Eca]

thanks guys!

before posting this, my intent was to find an em-s driver and 3 and 5 spoons. but i'll also look into the ryoma and maruman drivers and the yamaha fw.

the most difficult part in this situation is convincing my wife i need new clubs :)

I'm always in the same boat.. most here just said "be honest and be nice :)" So i got new toys coming in the nxt week or two.

[idrive]

#1 Driver that would work best is the Ryoma with the right shaft. It is the most forgiving most consistent driver on the planet.

the EMS would be a great second choice. I love mine and has been very good to me. Sadly it now sits at home in the bag....

I have the new Epon 152 competing with the Ryoma and for the higher handicap it's no contest, Ryoma.

Single digit capper will love the 152

Re read Duffers replay as he is right on.

I would add that, IMO, the PRGR red FW's would be a good choice as well.

[rickson]

Check into Royal Collection for f-woods to consider. Always found then very forgiving off the fairway - even the models geared towards low cappers.

[Ara selai]

Plus one on the Royal Collection FWs. I just wrote up a comparison with the Yamaha D and V series. My Tour VS 5W was on fire yesterday. I was getting it as far as both my buddies' 3W (Ping and Taylormade). They are all excellent clubs and it will depend on how deep you want the face to be. If you can find an Egg, that's what was being recommended to me on this forum when I asked about woods and utility clubs. I've saved a spot in my bag for one at 14* or 17*.

Depending on your game, you might want to consider utilities as well, in which case see my other post for some thoughts. There are some good ones out there that might suit you.

[gian11]

+1 for the Ryoma - very forgiving driver.

[Duffer19]

+1 for the Ryoma - very forgiving driver.

Man, you have a +11 handicap? You can walk all over Tiger now.

[gian11]

Man, you have a +11 handicap? You can walk all over Tiger now.

If you give me your putter , maybe :-)

[Eca]

Definitely Ryoma.. Tells you when you miss the middle of the club then you walk and walk & then have to look back at the tee then try to remember if you flushed it or not. Very forgiving both distance & direction. I got accused of having an engine inside.

[gocchin]

As a high handicapper who is looking to improve and at the same time enjoy golf, the best thing to do is to choose clubs that will help you achieve these two things.

Too many times I have confident average and beginner golfers proclaim to me that they are improving fast and want those low handicapper models which in turn make the game harder and much less enjoyable and if anything ruing growth and progress.

At the same time golf clubs are not cheap so you want some clubs you can really grow with and still play when you are shooting in the 90's or even 80's.

Based on this, the Ryoma is a great suggestion and is my suggestion as well. Other drivers are the EM-S and the new Eggbird is better than the Impact that is if you don't mind hitting a 46.5" driver.

For fairway woods, definitely look at the PRGR Egg spoon and fw and even the Royal Collection TRC if you consider a more traditional and compact head. The ONOFF Fairway Arms are also very easy to hit and forgiving.

Utilities are also good choices for replacing long irons and short woods, and are very versatile when you need them. In many cases the key will be getting the right shaft especially as you improve and your game and swing changes.

[supo]

Tario..,

what about on-off ?

i played my buddies agn yesterday and i kid u not these things just howl.

they are abuzzzillion times easier to hit than just about everything and as u get better . a simple change of shaft transforms it from a high launcher. to a low piercing shot. distance no problems

looks terrific .sound fantastic

cant fault onoff drvers one little bit.

[gocchin]

Hi Stew,

Yes ONOFF is also a very good option. Its not quite as long as Ryoma but feel great and cost a lot less.

[panicmotion]

wow thanks for the input. is the EMB as forgiving as the EM-S? that one seems to be the cheapest of the bunch, even though it's a generation behind. not sure i'm too keen on the 'loudness' factor of that club.

have any of you ever hit the nakashima np-1? that's the only driver i've ever played with. i can hit that thing pretty well but i tend to be more on the slice side of things. it's a pretty forgiving driver, how does it compare to the ones mentioned in this thread?

[Duffer19]

wow thanks for the input. is the EMB as forgiving as the EM-S? that one seems to be the cheapest of the bunch, even though it's a generation behind. not sure i'm too keen on the 'loudness' factor of that club.

have any of you ever hit the nakashima np-1? that's the only driver i've ever played with. i can hit that thing pretty well but i tend to be more on the slice side of things. it's a pretty forgiving driver, how does it compare to the ones mentioned in this thread?

Forget about the EMB please and get the EMS instead if you are going that route. The difference is night and day. Nakashima is a US brand with a Japanese name and heads are made in China so it is not JDM. I wouldn't say they are bad, just don't know much about it and probably wouldn't try them. I suspect most of the guys here wouldn't play it.

[panicmotion]

i'm fully aware nak isn't actually a japanese brand. it's a set my bro put together for me in order to just get started playing. they're actually great clubs. i just want to take that next step.

thanks

[supo]

yamaha cavity irons

yamaha 14 + 17 fws

yamaha d 440 driver

not THATS got some thing about it that just sounds so

, suuuuuuuuuuuuuu weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet

[panicmotion]

i've actually picked up an em-s from one of the members on this board. still not sure how i feel about it since it's a 9.5*. i think i'd benefit from a 10.5*. i've only gotten to game it twice.

the next things i need to complete the bag are fw woods...and i'm leaning towards the egg spoons...and a 3i and maybe a 4i ute. leaning towards TRCs...

then my JDM bag will be complete and i can finally post my first WITB.

edit:

this thread:

speaks about a royal collection BBS utility that i can't seem to find any information about. can anyone speak about these compared to the SFDs?

Edited August 27, 2011 by panicmotion

[VforVendetta]

Newbie here too from the Philippines. Golf is one of the favored sport here. I grew up practically a few meters away from a golf course and have been desiring to learn the sport ever since. Now that I finally took lessons, I believe I can upgrade now to a better set. I'm using a Top-Flite XL set which is a beginner's set and I'm planning to replace them. Problem is, most of the clubs sold here are American brands save for Mizuno.

This weekend, I chanced upon a friend who works as a clubfitter in one of the golf clubs in Dubai. He was raving about Japanese made/branded clubs and how good they are. He criticized my Top-Flite clubs as they are made in China and the shafts are inaccurate. He told me no matter good my swing will be, those clubs will still produce bad shots. Thus my plan to shift to Japanese clubs. Problem is, most of the used clubs sold here are American brands. I've seen Maruman and Mizuno clubs being sold at our local ebay site and at sulit.com.ph but they are too old a version.

Just as a reference, what type of used Mizuno clubs would be good for a beginner like me? Affordability is a big factor. I have a slow swing by the way. Next, how far old should I consider in a used club? 3,4 years?

Thanks!

Edited September 1, 2011 by VforVendetta

[Ara selai]

edit:

this thread:

speaks about a royal collection BBS utility that i can't seem to find any information about. can anyone speak about these compared to the SFDs?

@panicmotion: In post #21, you asked about the BBD TRC utilities that I reviewed (I called them BBS in the original post, now corrected; apologies for the confusion). They are great, great clubs, and I highly recommend you hunt around for some to demo. The good news is they're from 2009, so you might find them for a good price. Bad news is, they're from 2009, so you might not find them at all! As stated in my review, I tried these against the 2011 TRCs, and preferred the 2009s. Not sure what the difference actually is, but it was noticeable. After 5 rounds with the the BBD's, I can quantify my review to say that they are excellent from ALL lies, including fairway bunkers - a couple of weekends back, I hit the 21* onto the green from a blind lie in a hillside bunker...from 175 yards.

For more info, check the following websites:

http://www.golftoimpress.com/royal-collection-new-2009-products/

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.royalcollection.co.jp/lineup/index.php%3Fcontroller%3Dlineup%26action%3DshowDetail%26orderNo%3D00000010&ei=bAJgTqK5N9OxhAf32MEK&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CEoQ7gEwBw&prev=/search%3Fq%3Droyal%2Bcollection%2Bgolf%2Bbbd%2Btrc%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26prmd%3Divns

...or if you read Japanese: http://www.royalcollection.co.jp/lineup/index.php?controller=lineup&action=showDetail&orderNo=00000010

You've probably heard it thousand times already, but it really does pay off to get to a shop and try several models and brands before buying.

Good luck!

[Ara selai]

@panicmotion: Another thing to keep in mind - in all the clubs I tried, the FWs in a given loft were significantly longer than the comparable ute. Supo67 recently replied to my original post and said the same thing. So, the point is, consider what yardages you'll use the clubs for. I hit the FW on long (>200 yd) second shots, and use the utilities for the 180-200+ yd range. Having played my set-up for several rounds now, I feel I could probably get on fine without the 3UT (21*), but it does come out of the bag a couple or more times every game, and I have buddies who swear by that loft. Also, when I don't need a driver off the tee, I've found I sometimes prefer to use the BBD utes, rather then the VS Tour 5W.

Finally, if you do demo a variety of clubs, compare what type of flight and carry vs roll characteristics each club brings to your game. You'll be surprised at how much difference there can be.

[panicmotion]

sorry for the late reply, took a 10 day vacation in europe with the wifey :)

thanks for the input ara...it's tough to find shops here in the US that has a lot of JDM equipment available. i haven't bought much yet. my decisions are based on the feedback of the experts on this forum. so far i've picked up an epon em-s and i'm loving that thing. just looking to replace my 3 and 5 woods and a 3 ute. been also doing a bit of research on the egg i+ utilities from prgr.