Syard t.388 vs others

[sandee11]

The Syard driver get lots of attention from all the users. I'm wondering how other drivers ( crazy, epon, kamui, ryoma, Yamaha, ..... Etc) compare to the Syard? I mean any advantage(s)? I really can't see the distance/ forgiveness of the T.388 can be improve compare to 435ll / jbeam 425 tour/crazy 460. If is better feel, dont think they anything can get better than epon zero/102.I wanted to try one but really can't see myself getting one because of the reasons I mentioned above. Need honest opinion except for just jump on the van....or maybe is all reasons I mention above in one driver? Best feel / forgiveness / distance driver? I just want to know, if is only hype or is truth...... ?

P/s: I own all the brand/model drivers mention above, so would like to know if I should try it out.....

[wmclarenf1]

I think the reality is that no driver is going to present any SIGNIFICANT benefit over another in terms of distance and forgiveness on its own merit. Many here I think will buy whatever is new because they fancy how it looks or because buying new equipment is part of the hobby and game for them.

If one driver suits you better and you hit it longer its probably because it suits your eye and swing better, and you managed to have it with a shaft that suits your swing. This probably is not going to change unless there is a change in cor regulation and even then, I would not expect 50 meters more.

No magic driver out there. Just one that suits your swing better or you just like to fiddle with clubs. Try the syard if anything just for the fun of it and you can. If it gives you better drives great but it ain't gonna be due to any secret design trait unique to syard. I tried it and it gave me nothing more over my current drivers. It seems to have for others and that is good for them.

Edited March 16, 2013 by wmclarenf1

[gocchin]

What Arthur said is true. There is no miracle driver out there or one longest driver because if there was, everyone would buy it and there would be no need for any other driver.

That said many of the best drivers out there today all have their own strong points.

The T.388 is a good driver but for many it is certainly a different driver.

All the people who have seen performance improvements switching to the T.388 definitely went through an adjustment period to figure out it tendencies.

I don't think any driver can be judged simply in one range session especially when you test it vs you proven gamers you are so used to hitting.

Once people figured out the T.388 is best tee'ed lower, and stuck with a level blow, it has performed for most.

Again it all depends on if the driver AND SHAFT is right for you.

For me I had the T.388 for a month before I wrote my review in the blog and realized it was something special.

[idrive]

Below is a post I made in the Adams LL thread. A couple of drivers I forgot to mention were

a couple of Yamaha's and Mizuno's

I want to say again that it was not love at first swing. It took me as long or longer to dial this

in as any driver I've had. For the size the driver is reasonably forgiving. IMO it was not made

for the high handicapper but the better ball striker. Bottom line over the last four outings I'm hitting

the ball off the tee deeper than I've hit the ball in years. No hype.

"Nobody has "preached" that heads are maxed out and have been for years more than I have.

Period.

Look at any review I've done with a driver for the last five years and you will not see any claims of

distance gains. Forgiveness, yes. Overall distance, no.

I personally own (short list)

LL

R1

R11

Covert

Tourstage last 3 models

Ryoma premia and ST had a V-spec and sold it.

E-pon all of them inc. 152 and 103

Kamui's

S-yard GT

I'm sure I've forgotten a couple.

Truth is (for me) they are all pretty much the same when it comes to distance. You can just about throw

a blanket over them out in the fairway with the sweet spot hits. The biggest difference between most of

them is forgiveness, looks and feel.

Yesterday afternoon, on a real Tee box on a real golf course with real balls, the ball I play, myself and

two good golf buddies tested these and a couple of other drivers out.

Bottom line for two of us is the T.388 is noticeably longer. 10-15 yards longer due to roll out. Yes,

roll out. Pretty much landed with the rest of them but just simply rolls out past the rest of them.

Out third tester was struggling to find the sweet spot with the T.388 and did not get the additional

yardage. for him the Ryoma Premia worked best because of the forgiveness.

The LL performed very well and was (on sweet spot strikes) as long or a couple of yards longer

than most. Missing the sweet spot and it couldn't keep up with the Ryoma.

If I played for feel it would be the 103, forgiveness the Premia.

Looks, well very subjective but I am a bit old school and like the look of a smaller head.

For the money the LL is a great value. If it was the best club for me I'd play it.

Whether it is (T.388) the flavor of the month or not it's simply longer than any other driver for me

that I've found. I never stop looking."

[wmclarenf1]

I never stop looking."[/b]

LOL... I think this says it best for most of us :-)

[RLL33]

It ain't hype. Whether it's for you is another matter. As I said in my original post, the grail for me is a driver I can work like a 3-wd. I like smaller heads for that reason. I wasn't going in on the S-Yard thinking it would be longer than the Premia -- that was a surprise, and obviously a pleasant one. I hit the long Par 5 on my course in2 yesterday for the first time. Ever. Period. It ain't hype. Does this mean I'll never try another driver? Of course not. If I were to adopt that attitude, I wouldn't have tried the S-Yard... But it ain't hype. I do think the technology that K focused on the time-on-face variable is new and an advance.

[ant]

i think i kinda missed the boat on this t.388. its very nice to see sub 400cc heads getting back in action and demand for such product. the real challenge for Kobayashi and Endo would be to go sub 380cc (the original was 300cc?). reading here it appears there is custom order option which product page doesnt really go into too much detail about. if anyone here done that what exactly they can do and in what ranges ? i'm specifically interested if lie angle can be adjusted to be more flat because the hosel piece isnt that long to screw with and this being more on a shallow side by the looks of it it would matter more than deep faced head.

[coops1967]

i'm specifically interested if lie angle can be adjusted to be more flat because the hosel piece isnt that long to screw with and this being more on a shallow side by the looks of it it would matter more than deep faced head.

Get the Mizuno MP 611.

410cc, Endo forged titanium. Lovely shape, deep face, excellent performance ... and can be ordered 1 1/2 degree flat from standard, so lie angle of 56.5 degree.

[ant]

56 sounds very good, especially comparing to other options out there (or lack of thereof) but my understanding was that mp craft was designed as high launching head with some mizuno branded high launch shaft as well. the product page says the weight is placed low and back and mentions there are two internal weight 1 center sole position and 1 at the back so that would confirm high launch design of the head itself for me. this t.388 thing on the other hand designed with weigh high and more towards front. to me that makes alot of sense bringing cg towards the shaft center line (i know its still nowhere near it but it has to be much closer that what has become conventional design these days with weight moved back). the stock shaft not to blow that seems like another plus tho i gotta say 65g is too light, something closer in weight to that nunchuk of yours would have been preferable. i'm kinda sold on design points of this t.388 thing to be honest tho i gotta say that it doesnt look all that good or compact judging by comparison pics but they cant get everything right for everybody. the best looking head i have seen lately was yonex 380 except for the sole which looks like a fugly spaceship.

Get the Mizuno MP 611.

410cc, Endo forged titanium. Lovely shape, deep face, excellent performance ... and can be ordered 1 1/2 degree flat from standard, so lie angle of 56.5 degree.

[Vegaman]

56 sounds very good, especially comparing to other options out there (or lack of thereof) but my understanding was that mp craft was designed as high launching head with some mizuno branded high launch shaft as well. the product page says the weight is placed low and back and mentions there are two internal weight 1 center sole position and 1 at the back so that would confirm high launch design of the head itself for me. this t.388 thing on the other hand designed with weigh high and more towards front. to me that makes alot of sense bringing cg towards the shaft center line (i know its still nowhere near it but it has to be much closer that what has become conventional design these days with weight moved back). the stock shaft not to blow that seems like another plus tho i gotta say 65g is too light, something closer in weight to that nunchuk of yours would have been preferable. i'm kinda sold on design points of this t.388 thing to be honest tho i gotta say that it doesnt look all that good or compact judging by comparison pics but they cant get everything right for everybody. the best looking head i have seen lately was yonex 380 except for the sole which looks like a fugly spaceship.

I got the Craft 611 as well, I got the 10 degree version and I'm happy for that, because, for me, the 611 is very low spin and not more then say, medium launch. I swing pretty hard, 110-114 mph and have often struggled with too much spin and a too high ball flight, and so have gone to 8-9 degree heads before, but the Craft 611 gives me a kinda medium flat ball fligth with truly excellent roll out. I can't believe they are marketing the 611 as being high launch? It has a deep face, is compact, has a high back design and is very short front-to-back. Any weight in the 611 will be pretty close to the face because the head is so small...?

Edited March 17, 2013 by Vegaman

[ant]

well its still pretty large (over 400cc) where shaving weight from the body and adding it elsewhere would allow them to play with cg quite a bit. think ryoma like ping pong ball with a bullet glued to it as extreme version of what they can do these days. we are not talking 150cc persimmon uniform body here and even there cg can be shifted enough with adding weight like to the back and sole, not to mention modern iron designs. maybe it got lost in translation and product description doesnt reflect the reality which is what your experience suggest and thats more valuable than marketing material in my book. do you know reliably (tm measured) whats your attack angle with it on average ?

[coops1967]

I have the 10 degree 611 as well, and just as Vegaman says - the 611 is definitely not high launch... not low either, but due to low spin gives a really, really good flight.

I just pulled the shaft and put a nunchuk in - the head weight of the 611 seems about 200gm. Can't order head onlty, but at least the lie can be ordered decent.

Really good looking shape to it, too. I had the Yonex 380, it is even more pretty shape at address - but feel is not so good, and performance is nothing like the 611 ro an Adams 9015d.

To give you an idea, here's a pic showing the face of L to Right :- Yonex 380, Adams 9015d, Miz 611

[supo]

love the adams 9105d.. thats a heck of a driver head.

[Vegaman]

I don't know my angle of attack, but will find out for sure. I always thought I was a bit steep since I usually get a high ball flight with (usually) very little roll out, even when using 8-9 degree heads. I do feel I have started to get a more level blow in the last couple of months, so I wasn't overly worried when I got the 611 at 10 degrees, also because of the really stout shaft I got in it, the Roddio M6 Xstiff. I feel the few extra degrees give some extra forgiveness, while at the same time I get a mid flight with what seems like ideal spin.

[jm3]

Hi my name is Tom and I am a JDM Junkie. I'm so lucky there are no crack houses here for me to get a fix of JDM drivers. I hear Jbeam 435, syard 388, kamui kp-x... Have a Yammy 201 with roddio i like. Have a v440 with ad bb I've broken up with and want out of my house. Have a ryoma with crazy boron two tree coming soon that I'm feigning over... I want long..forgiving.. You have 1 driver to buy not named ryoma, what do you buy?

[RIduffer]

Hi my name is Tom and I am a JDM Junkie....

You have 1 driver to buy not named ryoma, what do you buy?

Hi Tom. Admitting you have a problem is the first step to emptying your wallet. The second step is making that statement "you have 2 drivers to buy not named Ryoma..."

To answer your question with another question, which is more important, length or forgiveness?

[jm3]

Thanks RIduffer. Most important to me is for-length-ness. What should I buy for this? :) I bought a ryoma because of forgiveness (but I haven't hit it because it's in pseudo transit), so I guess if I'm going to spend some coin, I might as well get something that goes long and has some forgiveness. Lets say 70% long, 30% forgiveness. I'm hearing some crazy talk about this s-yard and how it's epon/endo forged and it's got some special suck me in, shoot me out special powers and I'm drooling like a kid in a candy store. I've read about the kp-x and that seems to be last months flavor of the week... the jbeam 435 is on a lot of signatures here and that makes me think I should have it on my signature too. I read what Stew writes, and lets be honest, Stew has everything and likes everything... I can't buy everything Stew likes. Unfortunately, being in the states, it's kinda like "let me buy this and sell it if it doesn't work out". You can see in BST I have a v440 with ad bb.. didn't work out. I'm not quick to pull the trigger.. so I read and read and read and read, then sit on my hands for a couple of months and viola, I have a new driver. I'm finding it enjoyable to be on this forum, my wife, not so much.

[RIduffer]

If you're 70/30 length/forgiveness then I would start with the 435. I have not hit it personally, but that seems to be the consensus for distance. If that doesn't work out then the S-Yard. For time's sake you could buy both and sell the loser of the two...

[wmclarenf1]

If you're 70/30 length/forgiveness then I would start with the 435. I have not hit it personally, but that seems to be the consensus for distance. If that doesn't work out then the S-Yard. For time's sake you could buy both and sell the loser of the two...

A great suggestion and I still second the 435 big time.

Jm3, if you don't already know, you will soon know that it's not all about the head. You need to spend time and money to find the shaft that suits you best as well.

[jm3]

A great suggestion and I still second the 435 big time.

Jm3, if you don't already know, you will soon know that it's not all about the head. You need to spend time and money to find the shaft that suits you best as well.

Thx WM.

Have a roddio penta, like it..it's ok. Have an ad bb ..it's ok. Have a di, think I like this shaft the most so far. Have a crazy coming, boron, s1.. Got it as a pull at a good price, but think it might be too soft, we'll see. want to try the quadra tech comp. had a blue board, seemed a bit whippy. Have a whiteboard but it's in a closet in Hawaii, haven't hit it in 2 yrs, like that, goes far. I'd like to try a ad gt..honest truth is I don't know what I'm looking for in a shaft.

[wmclarenf1]

Th eRoddio Pentacross is a great shaft if it suits you. DI is nice as well but I hold the TourADs which I used to play almost exclusively, a rung below the Crazy, Quadra and Roddio. Just me though.

[supo]

consistant distance for my money the 435. hard to beat

if u like that shape head.

its a bit different.

its like a sqaure thats been rounded at the corners

and it sounds pretty lame at impact.

but that prob doesnt matter when u see where uve hit it

most of the time

[sandee11]

I find the crazy 435ll is really forgiving, and long! never try the original 435.

[ant]

@Vegaman this would make sense then since you would normally get a low launch and high spin which would translate to ball starting low then climbing like crazy then falling out of the sky (just guessing) so you had to go with lower lofts just to even it. if 611 has weights placed as product description page says then given you are catching the ball more on the upper half of the face and this being deep faced head it would actually reduce spin for you in which case you can use a little more loft to get a higher launch angle.

@coops nice comparison pic, thanx. nunchuk needs a higher launching head anyway or thats what i heard being recommended and its being tip stiff as it is i would think it should kill 611 spin reduction (to some degree at least) not help it but hey what do i know.

anyways, i think product description page for 611 design features is accurate and it looks like a very nice head indeed. might be my next experiment comes summer.

[coops1967]

The Nunchuk does seem to cut spin - I have it in both the Adams and the 611. The Adams is labelled at 10.5, but probably is a bit higher in reality, whereas Mizuno's tend to be closer to stated (and more so with the Craft gear).

Can still hook it with the Nunchuk, but bad shots seem to have reduced curve on them and stay on the golf course, which is handy.....

Bear in mind, weights in the 611 sole and back are far, far less back than they would/could be in an equivalent 460cc head with a less deep face - you know, the big a@ss long from heel to toe and front to back style - the 611 is much shallower front to back, so it seems to me the weights help gain back the MOI you lose with the deep face and smaller 410cc.

If you're tempted by the Nunchuk combo, the 10 deg 611 would be good, i reckon... unless you launch way, way high all the time. Think my launch angles are usually around 10 to 12 degrees at 105 to 110mph clubhead (on good ones, haha) and the flight is really lovely. Seems to get way out there.

Didn't hit it with the original shaft, so can't say how it does with other shafts, but Vegaman also seems to be getting good flight (ie not 'high' launch) so...

Lovely club, and i recommend the flat lie option if you tend to draw the ball.

Edited March 19, 2013 by coops1967