IRONS: Yamaha 2011 Tour vs ...

[Ara selai]

Spent a bit of time last week at the range trying out the 2011 Yamaha Tours, at the request of a fellow TSG'er. My impressions are based on hitting the 7i. It was shafted with True Temper Golds. I also tried the Royal Collection BBD's Tour VS (NS Pro 850 and 950), the Ping Anser Forged, and my Miura CB-2006s. (NS Pro 850). Tomorrow, I hope to try the Miura Tour Blade and a selection of Fourteen and OnOff irons.

In my opinion, the Yamaha is one of the nicest clubs out there. It has a thin topline, a thin sole, and nice balanced head weight. It is almost the exact same dimensions as the 2006. Slightly different shape, which will be apparent in photos if I can upload them. It sets up beautifully with minimal offset, and swings effortlessly. I had very tight dispersion, and was carrying it a shade under 150 m with regularity. Not too much roll. (My Miura 2006 length -carry plus roll on a clean shot - is a reliable 150-155 with a full swing, so this was about the same all in.) The flight was quite high, compared to the other three clubs, which probably accounted for the limited roll. In general, shots were a hair right of target. Very few skulls or fat shots, attributable I suspect to its effortless swing.

I hit the Yamahas with slightly more consistency than my Miuras, which I pulled a few times, and tended to drift left of target. I've reviewed the Miuras before, but I'll reiterate here that on pure shots, they're still the winner. As they look so similar to the Yamahas, there's not a lot to say about set-up/address. They have a different swing characteristic, though - more apparent weight on the backswing. Not as effortless. I like the weight, as I can gauge how well I stay in-plane, but it's different from the Yamahas, so definitely worth testing for yourself. In general, I felt more feedback with the Miuras.

In comparison, I was pretty underwhelmed by the Royal Collections and the Pings. I love RC fairway woods and utes, but for me, the magic didn't translate to the irons. I also don't like the looks of the RCs. The back is odd, with the raised logo, and the topline is too thick for me. I'm also not a fan of the pocket cavity. Didn't like it in the Epon 501s I tried a few months ago, and don't like it in the RCs. Some will, but not me. I hit the RCs erratically, though well-struck shots were every bit as good as with the Yamahas and the Miuras. The Pings were fine. They actually look really nice, and set up well. They hit fine too, with a lower flight than any of the other clubs. But, truth be told, there was no 'magic' to them. They were a very nice, sensible club. I think they deserve to be tried, if you can, because they are definitely better than many, many offerings out there. Just not the one I'll rush back to.

Overall, I give the nod to the Yamahas in this head-to-head, although they wouldn't displace my Miuras, if I were in the market. There's just not enough difference to justify a switch. But I'd sure get them if I were selecting between the two clubs right now, and didn't already have either. In my opinion, the Pings and RCs take a backseat to these two.

Hope to be able to swing the Yamahas against the Miura Tours and comparable Fourteens and OnOffs tomorrow, and will provide a report if/when I do. No Miura baby blades to demo; those are the ones I REALLY want to try!

[Ara selai]

Part 2: I tried the Yamaha 2011 Tour blades again (hoping the price will come down soon, now that the 2012s have been announced!). I was comparing them to the following clubs:

OnOff 2011 Forged irons

Fourteen 710

Fourteen 510

Tourstage 2010 X-Blade GR Forged

Tourstage 2011 X-Blade 705

My overall sense is still that the Yamahas are the best hitting of the bunch. They have a really nice, steep flight that rains the ball onto the green. I was testing the 7i at a pin 149 m out, and was hitting that distance consistently, with about 10 m of dispersion either way. For 'blades', they're very forgiving. I say 'blades' because the OnOff, which are called cavity backs, are pretty similar in terms of rear 'cavity' depth.

The OnOffs were my second choice tonight. They have a clean look and are in many ways similar to the Yamahas. The Yamahas had more heft, but had a heavier shaft in the clubs I was demoing. The OnOffs have a more rounded toe profile, but otherwise look like the brother of the Yamahas. The flight of the OnOffs is slightly lower, but was the second-highest of the clubs I tried. The lower flight I experienced (haven't checked the specs to see if they're loft is lower) seemed to give a bit more dispersion, but still reasonable at about 15 m either way. I hit them with a little more right fade than the Yamahas. The OnOffs have a long sole length; they and the Fourteen 710s were the longest in that regard.

I wasn't as enamored of either of the Fourteens. The 510s set up similarly to the Yamahas, and the 710s had a slightly thinner topline and sole than the Yamahas. They had a still lower flight, and I experienced a lot more erratic dispersion. I'd put them in the same bucket as the RCs I tried last week: all right, but nothing special.

The Tourstages were better than the Fourteens, in my opinion. Not as nice as the OnOffs or the Yamahas, but more workable than the Fourteens. I preferred the 705s, but there wasn't a huge difference between them and the regular GRs. Mis**ts with the 705s were more punishing, whereas the regular GRs were more of your forgiving cavity back. Neither would make my top 5, but I'd gladly play them for a round if they were on loan.

And now the dark horse. The store rep brought out a Miuraism SC-01 7i towards the end, as the Miura Tour blades I'd hoped to demo weren't shafted. Holy mother of god!!! I have a new favorite club!

I, and all 4 guys I was hitting with, creamed it, time and again. We hit about 200 balls in total and couldn't stop asking to try it again. And again. And again. We've all got very different swings, but we were just pounding the balls at the flag. The coolest thing was the flight: straight shots went straight with no strong fade or draw; hits to the right drew left about 5 m and shaped beautifully; hits to the left faded right 5?or so meters and had the same characteristic shape. I'm not talking about working the ball (which was easy to do); it was like they were correcting themselves if a hit was slightly off axis. Inhave no idea how it works, but it did the same thing for all 5 of us.

The other thing was the FEEL. The only way I can describe it is the ball BLOSSOMED off the face. All the feedback was there, and yet it was like there was a momentary expansion of that feel before the ball took off. They weren't shafted with anything special, just NS Pro 950 shafts, which I have on my CB-2006s, so I've got to think it was the club doing the work. Or else that shaft was MADE for this club. MAGIC!

They weren't any longer than any of the other clubs, they were simply BETTER. I have NEVER hit anything that even approaches this club for the sensational feel of a pured shot. Although they're called 'cavities', they don't have any really perceptible cavity in the traditional sense of the word. It's a dent back with a bit of an edge around it, but far less of a cavity - in the usual sense of the word - than you'd ever imagine. They're not cheap, but they're on a different PLANET from the other clubs I've tried. (Unfortunately, there were no SB-01s to demo to see if its only the SCs, or whether all the 'isms are that special.) If you have a chance to try them, don't miss the opportunity. You can buy 2-4 other sets for their price, but they might just be worth that premium! I can't say enough good things. These would be mine right now if I'd had the spare cash tonight. (Actually, I CAN say one more thing: we all commented on the grips, which were Miura custom, and were just brilliant.) I'd love to know how to source them.

Anyone who wants to sell his (or her) gently loved set and can ship them to Jakarta, flip me a PM, PLEASE!