akm10408 Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 There are a number of these on the used market, but very little information or opinion that I can find about them. For all I know, they are ladies clubs. Found them on Ebay for $50-70 each. Since I have a soft spot for older, difficult to hit clubs, they will be shafted tonight and given a provisional spot in the bag. Especially since they are higher-than-normal lofts, I am looking forward to seeing how they perform. Please feel free to comment if you have played them or know anything about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duffer19 Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 S-Yard was the premiere Japanese club 20 some years ago when Seiko first introduce them. Their drivers and fw were particularly popular amongst the Asian well to do golf population. A driver would retail at about USD1,000 at the time which was unheard of. Besides their driver, the 3 1/2 wood or 4w was extremely popular also. The ones shown do not look like ladies clubs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hutch Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 Used the 3 1/2 wood, it is surprisingly good....great flight and super soft feel...extremely forgiving and easy to use Had the stock shaft and still went long enough....was thinking at the time of fitting a UT shaft and using on windy days...16* UT Get these shafted fella and give us your thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+TourSpecGolfer Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 This is a K.K design and the original predecessor of today's T.388 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian-500 Posted August 15, 2014 Report Share Posted August 15, 2014 I love the older gear. With the right shaft these won't be far off the latest and greatest. Please report back on how these play for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akm10408 Posted August 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 (edited) Took these to the range today. The shafts I chose may not appeal to some, but Aldila's lineup is the one I am familiar with. The 1W was shafted with an Aldila Phenom 70TX, and the 3-1/2W with a Phenom 80R, both without additional weights in the hosel. I wanted to see if the 80R would play significantly softer than the lighter 70 gram shaft, and it does. Some tweaking needs to be done (and the ferrules turned down), but I am going to game these for a while. I left the lengths a bit long in case they needed to be tipped, and gripped down a bit to compensate. The range has a net in the back, and there was a tournament on the course, so I cant comment on total distance yet. The 3-1/2W is a bit loosey ballooney, but I like the height I was getting from the 16 degree loft. And the soft landing from some ballooning is not necessarily a bad thing from a fairway wood. I am going to tip it an inch and see how that goes. The feel is solid, and doesnt sound like other titanium 3 woods. Makes a thwock instead of a tinky sound. If it didn't say "titanium" on the sole, I might have guessed an alternative composition. Again, it is hard to comment on the shot shape, since it was left, right and ballooney at times. A stiffer shaft and more play on the course is needed for a good assessment, I think. The 1W I liked right away. Again, the extra loft was great, especially with the relatively low-spin shaft. It played small to moderate draws consistently, which is strange since I generally play fades exclusively, The trend may not continue from day to day, as the swing changes with the conditions, but draws are certainly not a bad thing. Nice and high, though. The sound and feel I did not dislike. Not quite as smooth as the Taylormade R510/Aldila NV 75 combo I have been using, but the head is more compact so perhaps some percussion is to be expected. Not a bad feeling at all. I tried the T.388 with the same Phenom 70TX the day before, which as some know is a clanky-sounding head, and it was not to my liking. The T.302 was not clanky, but low pitched and titanium tinky. A unique sound, at least to someone who has not played woods older than about 2000-era. I imagine the small displacement of ~300cc has something to do with it. Off-center hits were shorter than other drivers, again likely due to the small face and low displacement. That's exactly what I am looking for. Unfortunately, the butt needs to be trimmed. 46.5" is a bit long, so there goes a pristine Perfect Pro cord... I will follow up after a few rounds. Edited August 17, 2014 by akm10408 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolixul Posted August 17, 2014 Report Share Posted August 17, 2014 Very interesting! Can I ask if the clubs set up slightly closed? I actually have a set of four T301 heads (that must be the immediately prior model) and it looks like the three fairway woods set up closed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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