Ryoma Drivers

[Henry]

Can anyone give me an education on the different Drivers Ryoma offers and what the differences are? Specifically looking for which ones are geared for specific swing types and what would the custom offerings be with this company. For those that have played them, thoughts?

Edited December 26, 2012 by Henry

[wmclarenf1]

HI,

For me, having played 2 but tried all 3, the Premia is the softest feeling head of all 3. That is down to the different face material to the ones in the D1 and V-Spec. It says the premia is long but I believe that is very much largely due to the increased overall length (46.5) that the Premia is designed to play to and not just the face material. I played the V-Spec and now the D1 and find both to feel rather similar.

I will advise very very strongly that unless you are a very strong and fast swing speed player, to get a 10.5* and not lower as the V-Spec and D1 are relatively lower launching and very low spinning heads. Playing too low a loft may result in you not be able to generate enough spin consistently. I and I believe quite a few others in this forum had that result with 9.5* heads.

Then there are the ST non-conforming heads. If you are comfortabel with a non-conform, then this is supposed to give added distance. My belief here however is to get the added distance even with non-conform heads, you must still be able to nut it on the sweet spot. Costs' a bit more and if you are above 105 mph (I think) SS, this may not be for you as the face may nt be able to take that hammering over time.

You are asking for specific swing types.. if I had to generalize, I would say if you are a fast swinger (105 mph and above) then a V-Spec or D1 in 9.8 or below may suit but if not I would recommend any of the heads but in 10.5*. As mentioned above, for a softer feeling, the Premia is better. They also come in a variety of face angles and you can read about that in the Proshop.

What I think you will find if you have the right combo is that the Ryoma could be the most consistent (not the outright longest but not far behind) forgiving fairway finder. My fairway hit percentage I would say has improved tremendously. Of course you will still miss a couple of fairways here and there but this is by far the most forgiving driver for me.

Finally, its not just about the head. If you;re wiling to pay the moolah for a technologically advanced design head, do not forget about the shaft. You need to experiment and find the shaft that suits you and this head the best. That unfortunately is not easy and costly.

Good luck.

P.S. There are "fake" Ryoma heads out there now so be careful.

Edited December 26, 2012 by wmclarenf1

[Duffer19]

For the big or hard hitter, the V Spec would be good since its low spin and lower launching. I personally like the softer feel of the D-1 and Premia. If you are looking for a custom built, the Premia and V Spec would be available as heads only and specific weight could be ordered. I like the feel of the D-1 just as well as I like the Premia. The shape of the Ryoma is, IMO, a very traditional deep pear shape.

[shintajay]

For me, I'm a swinger with a low swing speed of 88, the Premia out distanced my TM 460 and Ping G10 by 10 yards. I just think is straighter, so its longer. The loft is true loft. I got the 10.5 and it goes lower then my TM or ping which are 10s.

The special tuned out distanced my ping and TM by 25 yards or more sometimes. Launched a little bit higher but not overly high. Was not able to try them side by side as I sent my sp in for repair. Both had the same shaft crazy RD SR. If you are going to spend that much on a head you might want to to consider a premium shaft. Have not tried the OEM shaft. The RD does play a little soft so I went with the SR and got better control.

For feel, I would say that the Premia does fell better then the ST. BUT when I use a low compression ball on the ST it feels better (or more explosive). To me both are great for lower swing speeds. Have not tried the Vspec as I wanted the closed face

[wmclarenf1]

Shinta,

What finished length did you play the 3 drivers at and what shafts did each have?

[shintajay]

Both Ryoma are cut at 46. Both are white Crazy Royal Deco in S/R flex. The ping and R7 are OEM so its 45. The R7 is tm oem, the Ping has a oem proforce V2 hi launch both in R. I feel the gain is partly the premium shaft and the head. Head is very straight but the shaft kicks with my low speed. Wanted to try the R but since the S/R worked so well I decided to duplicate the first Ryoma.

[wmclarenf1]

Both Ryoma are cut at 46. Both are white Crazy Royal Deco in S/R flex. The ping and R7 are OEM so its 45. The R7 is tm oem, the Ping has a oem proforce V2 hi launch both in R. I feel the gain is partly the premium shaft and the head. Head is very straight but the shaft kicks with my low speed. Wanted to try the R but since the S/R worked so well I decided to duplicate the first Ryoma.

The distance gains could be due to the longer length.

[supo]

ok heres my ryoma collection

diaman stinger 70x 200grma head 45.25 inch- low mid low very piercing vey very long hard to go left.

diamana X-----70s 202 gram head 44.75 inch mid flight.. very piercing god balance of carry and roll. perfect in wind.

graphite design p9003x 204 gram head 44.5 inch high flight. lots of cary slightly draw biased head is 1/2 * closed awsome driver!

crazy ls noir 8.2 198 gram head. 45.25 inch high flight. straight to draw biased feeling is out of htis world, good bal of rol and carry not playing this in wind too high flight

[shintajay]

I would agree that the longer shaft gives me more distance. My partners all comment that my shot shape into and down wind is much improved. Amazingly the Ryoma allows me to do a slight draw into the wind and down wind I am able to do a slight cut. I've elimiated my slice, I do hook it once in maybe 10 swings usually because I have the ball too far up in my stance. I'm usually the shortest one on my group. Now I'm actually in line or a little up on them and usually somewhere in the middle. And this is with the conforming model. With the special turned I'm longer them them. Just amazed at how well this set up worked for me compared with all the other drivers I had (I don't usually change gear that much, my last driver purchase was a Ping G10 and the R7 460 superquad - felt the G10 was longer but the R7 felt better). Can't wait until I get back my special tuned from repair so I can verify how much longer it really is.