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Our featured customer today is Rob Harrand who is also know as Mjr. D on the TSG Forum. Rob was kind enough to write up his own introduction and save me the work so without further delay here's one of our favorite customers, Rob Harrand!

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First of all, I’d just like to say thanks to Tario, Chris and everyone who contributes to making TourSpecGolf a fantastic business, website and forum.  It’s definitely one of a kind... full of great people (and hopefully golfers!)

My name is Rob Harrand.  I was born in a city called Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.  Yes, Regina is pronounced the way it shouldn’t be. Ha!  I’m the youngest in a family of six.  I have three older sisters but unfortunately no brothers and no one is a golfer :(

BASEBALL

Baseball was my first love growing up.  Instead of dragging around a bag full of sticks on the course, pretending I was Jack Nicklaus, I spent my youth firing baseball’s into fences, pretending I was Nolan Ryan.

By the time I was 11, it became apparent that I had a gift.  I was able to fire a baseball faster than most adults.  Pitching in the Major Leagues was my dream and getting the attention of scouts that early in life, was definitely encouraging... perhaps my dream could one day turn into a reality!

I grew up with a very natural, fluid, effortless delivery but by the time I turned 14, it was already beginning to disappear.  As it is in Golf... Baseball and more specifically, pitching, is an industry full of contrasting theories and opinions when it comes to the “mechanics” of the pitching motion.  I had no idea at the time, but all the instruction and coaching I was receiving as a teenager would end up seriously impeding my development and progress later.

Too many “experts” began attempting to (unnecessarily) change the natural mechanics of my delivery (similar to what Tiger Woods is going through right now) and what that did was not only waste valuable time, it caused me to become far too aware of my “mechanics” (paralysis by analysis) and stymied my fastball velocity.  In pitching, velocity is what gets you further, faster, than anything else.

When I turned 17, I dedicated myself to pitching more so than ever before.  I had to do something to get myself back on track.  I rented an old Bingo hall and transformed it into my own personal pitching center.  I was able to find a local pitcher who had experience playing down in the US... I worked with him diligently for two years as we attempted to get me somewhat back to my natural pitching mechanics.

Through thousand of long winter hours doing mechanical drills, throwing, video analyses, strength training, etc... come summer of 1999, I was able to get drafted in the 42nd round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers.  42nd round isn’t great, especially since I was able to throw 90+ MPH at the time, but coming from a place with a three month baseball season and very limited exposure... it wasn’t bad.

I didn’t sign with the Dodgers, as I got a letter in the mail from San Diego State University, a Div.1 college.  They were interested in having me go to school there as a pitcher on their baseball team.  What was very strange about this letter compared to others I received was that is was signed “Rusty Filter” - Pitching Coach - SDSU Aztecs.

My dad owns a business in Regina called “Aztec Industries”.  Strange coincidence but not nearly to the degree that one of his main products is something called an Aztec “Rust Filter”.  Long story short, I had booked a trip to pay a visit to a Jr. College in Santa Barbara, CA on a particular weekend in July, 1999...  ironically, this was the only weekend of the whole summer that the head coach of the SDSU Aztecs - Jim Dietz, was going to be in San Diego.  Again, long story short, my parents and I met with him and he offered me a full scholarship on the spot.  Pretty cool!

I headed down to San Diego, California at age 19 to become a pitcher for the SDSU Aztecs.  It was a very difficult transition (coming from some place named Regina, Saskatchewan to a hotbed of the baseball world in California).  I stuck it out and although I definitely didn’t reach my potential (mainly because I was still so caught up in “mechanics”)... three years later I was drafted in the 9th round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Philadelphia Phillies.

I signed with the Phillies,  got a pretty nice signing bonus, treated myself to a car that I always wanted and headed to Batavia, NY to pitch for the summer.  I ended up doing well enough to be invited to the Philly’s post-season “Instructional League”, in Florida -  A league dedicated to developing “prospects.”

It was there, that would alter the next two years of my life.

I woke up one morning and for the first time in my life, it hurt my shoulder to throw a baseball.  Several cortisone shots, ice, running, rotator cuff workouts, sprints, stretching,  medication, and many worrying hours, later... I was no better.  I had a chronic muscle impingement in my shoulder that would not go away.  As a result,  I was released by the Phillies in the early summer of 2004.  It was a very difficult time as everything I geared up for since I was 11 years old (to one day pitch in the major leagues)... vanished into thin air.

I flew home to Regina, took a year away from baseball, went back to college and played on the college basketball team.

From 2005 to 2006 I spent a lot of time in the weight room.  Although the time away from baseball was good for me, I decided to pitch for a local team that summer and lone and behold, my arm didn’t hurt anymore!  Best of all, I started throwing a few miles per hour faster than I ever had in my life, so I decided I had to give baseball one more shot.  Unfortunately though, later on that same season, I hurt my shoulder again.  Shortly after, I flew down to LA to have a minor shoulder surgery (debridement) then headed to Tempe Arizona to rehab.

GOLF

It was in Arizona that I fell in love with Golf and not long after... I discovered TourSpecGolf... the rest is history!  My first order was an Epon Technity 9.5 with a Roddio Pentacross X flex shaft... along with a smorgasbord of wedges!  I fell in love with J-spec right then and there.

I spent a lot of my downtime in Arizona golfing (and eating).  Baseball was still my focus but golf became my hobby.

I finished my rehab in time to join the Ottawa Rapids Professional baseball team (CanAm League) in the spring of 2008.  However, when I flew up there and got back into the routine of professional baseball, I found out my personal desire for the game was no longer there. After a long talk with my family, I decided it was time to hang it up.

Since then I’ve spent the last 2 1/2 years focusing on my golf game and developing a website dedicated to helping pitchers of all ages reach their potential.  It’s called “Reality Pitching” - www.realitypitching.com.  It’s a one of a kind pitching website that I’ll be launching very shortly.

Golf is now my passion.  I fully intend to play it as long as I live and become as good as i’m capable of.  I actually went to Mesquite, Nevada this past March with a long time friend and former Milwaukee Brewer’s pitcher, Eric Thomas, to compete in a Long Drive Qualifier.  It was a great time and I plan on continuing to compete in it.

For those of you who asked... my swing speed with a 50” long drive club has been measured as fast as 150mph.

What's in the Bag

Right now i’m about a 10 handicap and I play Epon 302’s with Matrix Program 130 shafts as well as Miura Mb-5003’s, Nippon Super Peening Blues and Mizuno Mp-37’s with KBS Tours.  My Driver of choice is the Crazy FX-435 with the Crazy Black 50 XX.  My fairway wood is the RC 14* BBD Tour VS with a Crazy Black FW XX.  My hybrid is a Tourstage X-UT with a Crazy Utility X.  My wedges are custom Gold’s Factory’s with DG spinners.  I also recently just ordered the 2011 RC hybrid, a Sky Dream Jump type bite wedge and 2011 Onoff Forged irons.  I’ve gone through a ton of different equipment over the years (just like all of you guys, i’m sure) and my current setup is definitely my favorite!  I think the golf industry is starting to consistently make some really great stuff and no better place to buy it from than TourSpecGolf... helpful and honest a staff as you could ever hope for!

Thanks Tario, for giving me the opportunity to be featured on your blog.  I look forward to every single update you have.

Best of luck with your golf games, guys!

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Check out Rob's Reality Pitching Website Promo Video which features Rob in action in all 3 sports!

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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It's always interesting to know others who are into Japanese golf gear and share our passion for top notch products. We are going to start featuring some of our members and customers here on the blog as its quite cool to know what others buy and use. If you would like to be featured on the blog you can send us pictures of you OR if you are shy, a picture of whats in your bag/your JDM clubs to gocchin @ tourspecgolf.com plus a little writeup about yourself.

Today I'm introducing Doyle Wilson, a Long Drive competitor from Austin, Texas. Doyle is aiming for the Legends (60+) division in the Remax Long Drive Competition. He is a Ryoma user and currently has two Ryoma D-1 V-Spec 8.5* heads and he shafts them with Crazy's Black Longest Yard 01 Hot in 8.6 (XX) Flex and Fujikura's XD410 XX.  He's mentioned that the LY-01 Hot is the longest with the wind as it has superb carry while the Fuji excels into the wind. His longest drive in competition to date with the Ryoma and Crazy combo is 375 Yards!

Here are some pictures of Doyle in action. The top picture is courtesy of LDA and the other 3 are from Doyle.

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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Since I'm in Toronto visiting my parents, I thought I would check out my old stash of clubs in the closet for some nostalgia. It's like going back to the past in a time machine when looking at some of the first clubs I ever owned 5 years ago. The clubs are in fact older than 5 years as I had bought them all second hand when I was just starting out in golf. I'm sure I am not alone when it comes to having older clubs stored somewhere in the house as many of us have a hard time letting go.

I found an old G-Field driver,  Gauge Design tour wedge, Tourstage X-Drive 340 Driver, X-ST FW, and classic Z-101 irons.  Looking at these clubs I thought about how much technology has changed (or not) and also how little I actually knew about golf and choosing the right clubs 5 years ago. I think I've come a long way.

It's hard to believe I even played an X-Drive 340 and the Z-101 Forged irons as a beginner. Come to think of it though, they may have made me a better golfer, either that or I would have given up on golf for being too difficult with clubs like these. The 340cc is so compact and has an deep open face and high CG thanks to its high back design and long hosel. The Z-101 still setup almost blade like with their thin top line and sole. What on earth was I thinking??

The X-ST 3 wood is also deep faced and pear shaped and is very challenging to hit. Though these clubs were not easy to hit and not ideal for me, one thing I knew then and still know now is that when these clubs were hit on the screws they felt great.  It's probably why I kept them around as I go through a lot of gear and typically move my old clubs to make room for new ones but for some reason, these "classics" (if you can call clubs from 5-8 years ago that) survived. They probably won't go back with me to Japan later this week but I can always come back and admire them.

How about you guys? Do you keep older clubs?

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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We've been lucky enough to watch Crazy Shafts grow from a virtually unknown cult type brand to premium high performance brand in a few very short years. The great thing is Crazy is still growing its brand and product lines. Last year saw more and more golfers around Japan exposed to Crazy as the premier high modulus carbon shaft brand.  Crazy's media presence has grown significantly in the last 365 days. I read every golf publication in Japan and 2 years ago, there was rarely even a mention of Crazy as at that time, it targeted a much narrower audience with far less products.  The shafts were already pretty good but not everyone had the power and swing speed of long drive competitors which is where the shafts really shone.  Fast forward to 2010 and Crazy began to offer more shafts suiting a wider range of golfers and media outlets and shops and golfers around Japan began to take notice.

Marketing and media aside, at the end of the day its performance that counts. It can be difficult to measure shaft performance as every player is different, and every player needs their "own" shaft, so pitting up Crazy models against other brands models is difficult to say the least. So up to this point its been very hard to make shaft comparisons. Crazy shafts are not for everyone. Price wise they are probably one of the most expensive brands. Though keeping in mind that experimenting and changing shafts all the time, no matter what the brand is also a very expensive undertaking. Its all about finding the right shaft. So I was very excited when I was able to come across some data from International Sports Marketing Ltd's Japanese wing which compiled reviews of different equipment here in Japan from amateur and recreational golfers like you and I. Rather than say this shaft is better than that shaft, the reviews are based on individual satisfaction with a specific shaft model (kind of the way they do satisfaction surveys with cars).  This is not the be all end all of shaft rankings as it still is very unscientific and with no controls. Its just the feedback of golfers and how happy they are with their purchase pf a specific shaft. While this won't tell us how good a shaft necessarily is or even who the shaft might fit, it does give us an idea of the shafts ability to perform especially when someone has put down a large sum of money for shaft.

So as you probably guessed, Crazy must have done quite well in this shaft rankings. The rankings are always changing as reviews keep coming in but the current number one ranked satisfaction shaft model is the Crazy Black 46 shaft.  Number two surprised me as it is the Bangvoo Premium. You have to hand it to Japanese golfers to see a $725 and $1050 retail shaft ranked 1 and 2.  Number 3 is Miyazaki's Kusala Blue followed by Fujikura's Motore Speeder VC.1 line, UST Mamiya Axiv Core Red, Diamana Blueboard, Crazy Black 50,  Fubuki Alpha, UST Mamiya ATTAS T2, Bangvoo 787, Crazy TJ-46 Noir, Tour AD MD and Diamana's ahina.  This is pretty good recognition for Crazy putting it up there with all the big mainstream brands. One surprise for me was the lack of high reviews for Graphite Design and it could be just the sampling of reviews (just under 500 shaft reviews were used so far).

A big part of Crazy's growth has been getting out there and letting people try their shafts. As I noted earlier in a post, Crazy has launched their Tour Van/bus which not only supports top pros and amateurs at tournaments but also during non competition days, allow for recreational golfers all around Japan to test their shafts.  The Tour bus is currently in the middle of a 75 stop tour holding testing and fitting events all across Japan. If you stop in Japan on vacation or are here already, we can help set you up with a session.

At these fitting events and also recently at their Crazy Factory stores, they have been keeping track of different players and their club settings/whats in the bag. Its fun to see what kind of Crazy shafts others are playing. This week we've got a top female amateur's bag to show. Rumi Yoshiba is still in high school but she led all golfers at the end of last month at LPGA Japan's Q-school/pro test 2nd stage. Rumi uses Crazy shafts in all her woods as well as the Crazy 435 Driver. Her bag is as follows:

Driver: Crazy 435 10.5* Crazy Black 46 6.2 Flex (R) 45.5" 305g  D2
3 Wood: Yamaha Inpres X 15* Crazy FW-01 Evolution 6.9 Flex (SR) 43" 315g D1
5 Wood: Yamaha Inpres X 18* Crazy FW-01 Evolution 6.9 Flex (SR) 42.25" 323g D1
Utility: Yamaha Inpres X 22* Crazy FW-80 6.9 Flex (SR)
Irons: Yamaha Inpres X V Forged 750GH Regular
Wedges: Yamaha Inpres X Wedge 950Gh Regular
Putter: White Hot XG #7

More and more female golfers especially top amateurs have been spotted playing Crazy shafts thanks to their lighter weight but premium control and distance. We hope to see Rumi continue her success and make it to the Japan Tour!

So Crazy continues to grow and hopefully we can help you find the right Crazy shaft for your swing.! You can check out all Crazy's products in our shop and email us anytime if you need fitting help!

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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It's been a while since I have posted bag pics. It's also been a long time since I was proud of my club setting.  A little bit about me Jacque aka TourSpecGirl.  I've grown up playing the game of golf and Wailua GC on the lovely isle of Kauai in Hawaii will always be my home course. My dad is still a crazed golf fanatic playing a good 4+ rounds per week back at home, my brother loves the sport yet has little time to play since becoming a doctor and my other brother is a manager at TPC Summerlin Vegas.

In the family we also have my uncle David Ishii who has 14 pro wins including JPGA major  under his belt and even won the 1990 U.S PGA Sony Open.   As an adult my passion for the game was reborn just before moving to Japan back in 2001, Chris aka TourSpecGolfer was still new to the game and I loved giving him the beat down.  I still do now days...:)

My previous clubs were a full set of Lepon by Endo 1 thru LW,  it's the womens version of Epon quite old but still a very forgiving set.    In 2010 we visited Japan and I didn't bring clubs Tario aka Gocchin was kind enough to lend me his wife Koko's clubs and she was gaming the PRGR women's eggs.  I fell in love and had to have them.  Back in late February, Ryoma sent us all drivers and I put it into play at Hirakawa GC a famous Japanese golf course where they hold senior JPGA events.  I loved the Ryoma so much I had to have that exact driver sent to me 11.5 men's R2 flex which I think is a bit too soft for me as I'm producing too large of a draw at times.

Here's the breakdown of my set, I have space for a couple more clubs to fill the gaps, I'm still deciding what clubs those will be and when I do I will update this blog post:

Driver: Ryoma 11.5* R2 flex
FW: PRGR 17* Egg Spoon ladies flex
FW: PRGR Egg PX-03 #9 Wood
Irons: 6-PW PRGR ladies Egg irons
Wedges: AW+SW PRGR ladies Egg
Putter: Odyssey Marxman 33" w/ Muziik Grip

I haven't had an official handicap in years but my last several scores were 84 - 87 -87. I plan to go into the low 80's be the end of the season.  Below I have a short video Chris (TourSpecGolfer) made that shows my swing during a round a couple months ago in Japan at Hirakawa GC in Chiba.

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There is a never ending march of new clubs being released. When do we take the plunge and buy a new club? When do we stop buying new clubs? The search for the greatest golf club is a cycle that seems to never end. So when you're looking for a new club what are the 3 factors that influence you the most?  Please choose up to 3 answers from the poll below.

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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I posted the first part of the Driver White Paper last week, a survey done by Golf Today comprising of 350 random golfers and their driver trends.  Today I'm going to talk about some of the other results such as what influences players purchasing decisions and what brands and new models really stand out to those 350 surveyed golfers.

As I had noted in question 4 from Part 1, 287 golfers said they were satisfied with their current drivers. The survey actually goes deeper and asks the player the key point of that they are most satisfied with.

Then results are quite spread out with forgiveness actually edging out distance. However it's possible distance comes from forgiveness and distance also equals a forgiving driver.  About 44 people went with design of the head meaning looks still count in the books of many.

Next was a list of the 20 most used drivers among the 350 players. They did not list actual numbers used however the names on the list are of interest as they range from 2005 models all the way up to new 2010 models:

2007 TM Burner, 2009 Titleist 909D3, 2008 XXIO Driver, 2008 Callaway Legacy, 2006 r7 425, 2008 Srixon ZR800, 2008 Yamaha Inpres 4.6v RPM, 2008 Nike Sumo 5900, 2009 TM R9, 2009 Tourstage X-drive 701, 2007 Mizuno MP Craft 425, 2010 XXIO Driver, 2010 Tourstage X-drive 703, 2006 Nike Sasquatch 460, 2008 Mactec NV-NX, 2010 PRGR GN502 Tour 440, 2005 Tourstage ViQ, 2009 Ping G15, 2010 TM Burner Superfast, 2009 Yonex Nano V

One of the reasons why there are many older models in that list is the availability of used clubs in Japan. The fact that there are so many used clubs available also means that the turnover is high and supports the observation that Japanese golfers change clubs a lot, at least a a large portion will every 1-3 years.

Next players were able to pick the most important features they look for in a driver that influence their purchasing decisions. Players were able to choose more than one feature.

The number one important characteristic was look at address while distance was number 6. Price was down at number 7 and only a important purchasing factor for 117 of the 350 people.

The next question is an interesting one. Players were asked to pick which brands they like and they could choose more than one. This question does not necessarily have to do with which brand driver the player currently owns but rather based on new models and offerings as well as reputation, which brands appeal to these players the most. Please note they only listed the top 10.

Titleist Japan took top honors here and the feedback from most was their image of producing high quality clubs. The Japanese seem to always want something with foreign brand whether it be BMW or Benz or Callaway or TM. And the foreign brands take advantage of this with top quality Japan only products like the Titleist VG3, Callaway Legacy and TM Japan's Japan only forged irons.

Next they asked players if there currently was a driver on the market that they wanted to buy. 140 players said yes and 210 said no. Please note that this survey was done back in August so certain models were not announced yet or available. Golf Today asked the players to name which one driver they were interested in buying.

The results were a bit surprising considering Titleist was named the favorite brand yet not a single Titleist driver made the top 10 of desired drivers. I was honestly surprised to not see the VG3 driver here in this list considering how popular its been in Japan the last 6 months.

The final question asked how many of the players had reshafted their drivers. Amazingly 60% of the players had reshafted with most of the players wanting more distance and control.

So how about you?

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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Being able to try a lot of different clubs from a lot of different brands sure is a lot of fun but at the same it can make sticking with the right clubs in my bag difficult as there is just too much to choose from. One trend I do seem to find though is c0nsistently going back to certain brands that I know perform for me the way I like. ONOFF is one of those brands that always has a solid lineup of drivers, fairway woods and utilities and irons and wedges.  Their clubs always provide a balance of performance and ease of use as well as good looks and great design features.

At one time or another I've played all their clubs and earlier this summer while my Spoon was away being reshafted I pulled out my 2008 ONOFF Fairway Arms Plus 3 wood and it reminded me of how fun ONOFF clubs can be.  I thought I would give this years 2010 Fairway Arms Plus a go and see how it compared so I got a 5 wood for testing.

ONOFF Red and Plus

ONOFF clubs are broken into two "lines" the Red line and the Plus line. The Red line is made for the average golfer with a focus on ease of use, forgiveness and distance while the Plus line is for the better player wanting more control and accuracy along with added forgiveness and ease of use.

Click Read More to continue the ONOFF Fairway Arms Plus Review!

Strong lofts and open face...

The Fairway Arms Plus features stronger lofts (the 5 wood is a 17* and the 3 wood 14*) and a compact more traditional shaped head. All Plus models are 1* OPEN and mid to deeper faces. While I don't normally call myself a better player and usually classify myself as average, I like a compact FW as I seem to be able to concentrate better on striking the sweet spot and the 1* open face actually works for me as my bad shot with fairways and irons is a pull (hook if it gets really bad).

Versatile V Sole and balanced head....

Two of the key points for the Fairway Arms Plus is the V sole where the heel and toe side of the sole are at 15 degree angles meeting in the center. The back of the sole is also tapered off for trailing edge relief and in addition to the V sole the leading edges is nicely rounded rounded and blunt to create less friction. The V sole allows the club to excel in multiple lies and really help optimal impact right in the sweet spot.  The new sole also features a tungsten weight plate though smaller than last years model, this weight is placed right in the center of the sole which ONOFF says helps the balance of the head and creates control as well as optimal launch.

Variable Thickness High Maraging Face

The second key feature is the High Maraging face of the Fairway Arms Plus. This mid to deep face allows for control and is a feature really liked by better players. The face uses multiple thickness to create a slingshot like effect and create more solid feel with the center of the face being the thickest and the outer edges being the thinnest. Ball speeds are increased over the previous model thanks to this design.

Classic look at setup, penetrating trajectory...

I love how the ONOFF Plus sets up. It looks great at address, it's plain and simple and allows you to focus on striking the ball cleanly which the V Sole and design of the club really contribute to. Clean shots with the deep face are solid but crisp thanks to the maraging face and trajectory is penetrating which allow for more direction and control.  While all these characteristics, 1* open, the deep face, lower trajectory, smaller head, all point at a club for the better player, the Fairway Arms Plus is much more forgiving than one would expect.

Pretty good stock shaft...

As I mentioned before I battle a pull or pull hook with woods and irons and the flatter lie (57.5* for the 3 wood) and 1* open face of the ONOFF really allow me to hit a very straight ball or soft draw. One thing that also contributes to the clubs performance is the stock shaft. Unlike the Red line, the stock shaft for the Plus does not play soft but much more true to flex. It's a very stable shaft and very acceptable for a stock shaft. ONOFF shafts as well as Roddio shafts are all made by Daiwa (their parent company) which has had years of experience working with carbon and graphite.  This really shows with the stock shaft as it performs well and the mid-high kick plays a part in the clubs penetrating trajectory which I love. No ballooning shots, just straight controlled shots with a very strong trajectory. I like the feel and sound at impact, some may say its not as soft as some FW's but I find it soft enough and the crisp and higher pitched sound is comforting.

Forgiving Performance for different levels of players...

So in conclusion, while ONOFF's 2010 Fairway Arms has all the characteristics of a player's fairway wood, average golfers who want a smaller head and deeper face as well as more penetrating trajectory won't find this hard to hit. It's a good looking club both design wise and at address. Performance is top notch and while feel is subjective it is comparable to most top brands out there.  Athlete golfers will love this club, average golfers will ride this club to the next level.  The ONOFF Plus performs and makes golf fun.

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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Today I received my new GreenOn Plus GPS unit. For those of you who don't know, GPS stands for Global Positioning System. It works using satellites around the earth to pinpoint your location somewhere on the earth and can typically be found in common places like car navigation systems. I had a chance to choose from a large number of GPS units made for golf here in Japan and I decided on the brand new GreenOn Plus from Masa Media and Space Adventure.

The GreenOn Plus is specifically made for Japan and contains over 3000 courses in Japan with pin positions updated weekly. It can also be used overseas (though the unit is in Japanese). It's tiny at 9.4cm long by 4.8cm wide and only 1.7cm deep. At 85g  it weighs slightly less than 2 golf balls.  The screen is bright and easy to read even while on the course during a sunny day.

The first thing I did was update the course data using the supplied micro SD card that came with the unit. The GreenOn Plus also features different 3 voice characters that cheer you on while you play and give instructions, including pro golfer Chie Arimura (who is one of my favorites), a Japanese idol and a Anime voice character.  The unit has data on every hole for all 3000 courses including fine detail like distance to every bunker, edge of lakes and even the dimensions of every green and for some courses the inclination of the green.

The GreenOn Plus also tracks your score for the course you're playing as well as a history of all the courses you've played, distance of your last shot, and when approaching the green the distance to the front edge of the green, back edge of the green and of course to the pin.

I loaded up the course I live on, Kiminomori GC, and I'm happy to report sitting at my desk , I am 363 yards from the pin of the 7th hole. (^_^) I'm looking forward to trying the GreenOn Plus the next time I head out on the course!

So how many of you have used GPS?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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My new Sony Nex-5 camera arrived yesterday and like a kid on Christmas day I could not wait to try it out.  The Nex-5 is said to be the world's smallest and lightest interchangeable lens digital camera.   The Nex-5, constructed from magnesium alloy,  offers a newly developed 14.2 megapixel Exmor™ APS HD CMOS sensor. About 60 percent larger than the sensor in micro four-thirds cameras, this sensor is key to the exceptional image quality, extremely low image noise and creative defocus background effects that are familiar to DSLR users.

Besides great pictures, the Nex-5 has breakthrough video performance, as the word's first interchangeable lens camera with an APS-C sensor to continuously adjust focus and exposure while recording video. The NEX-5 camera offers Full HD movie capture (1080i AVCHD and 720p MP4) with Full HD 60i recording. Still and video image quality is further refined by Sony’s powerful BIONZ® processor that ensures quick DSLR-style shooting response with fast, precise auto focus and minimal shutter lag. Both cameras can also capture fast-moving action with a high-speed burst of full-resolution images at up to 7fps.

The model I got is the Sony Nex-5D (J/E) model which is a double lens kit with both the low-profile E 16mm F2.8 wide angle prime "pancake" lens and the 18mm-55mm F3.5-5.6 standard zoom lens with image stabilization. The (J/E) stands for Japan model with English menu (and other languages) as typically Sony Japan models feature a Japanese only menu. I had considered getting the Japanese menu model at first but figured I'd be able to best use the camera in my first language so I got the J/E from the Sony Japan International models division.

Another cool feature is the sweep panorama feature where the camera can take a picture while rotating horizontally at 226* as you can see in the picture above I took at my local driving range. Also took some test pictures yesterday at the in laws' house and around our garden in the back after wards... should be great for my golf club pictures and video reviews!

For those who are curious on finding out more on the Nex series of camera's check out the Nex-5 and Nex-3 17 page review over at dpreview.com . In the meantime here are some sample photos I took yesterday!

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

 EMAIL

Graphite Design has held the number one driver shaft position on the Japanese tour for over 5 years running. This year is no different and their share has in fact increased thanks to the popularity and usage of the new Tour AD DI Series. The Orange DI is seen all over the Japanese men's tour helping push Graphite Design's share up to 35.8%. Japanese pros are flocking to the DI also know as Deep Impact thanks to its low spin and big distance performance.

Ryo Ishikawa and his DI-8TX leads more than 20 pros on the men's tour using the DI in their drivers. Tourstage's Katsumasa Miyamoto notes that the DI's strong trajectory and low spin are the equation for big distance. Ishikawa also notes that at impact, with the DI shaft, the head has no play or wobble creating clean square impact for max smash factor.

The popularity of the DI on tour has also led to huge sales in the Japanese market for the DI thanks to it being available as the upgrade option for many of Japan's top drivers.

So how about the ladies tour? Golf Today also put together some recent data on the driver shafts of some top lady pros JLPGA and LPGA and its interesting to see what shafts, weights and flexes they play.

Lorena Ochoa: Diamana Blueboard S53 Stiff
Ji Yai Shin: Fujikura Rombax 5X07 Stiff
Ai Miyzato: Tour Design by Graphite Design Tour AD B03-03W stiff
Momoko Ueda: Graphite Design Tour AD PT-6 Stiff/Regular
Chie Arimura: Graphite Design Tour AD EV-5 Regular (pictured above)
Sakura Yokomine: XXIO MP600 Stiff
Shinobu Moromizato: Graphite Design Tour AD Prototype Stiff
Miho Koga: Fujikura Motore Speeder VC6.0 Stiff
Rui Kitada: Roddio Tricross Stiff
Mayu Hattori: Fujikura Rombax 5Z08 Stiff
In Bee Park: Graphite Design Tour AD PT-6 Stiff/Regular
Michelle Wie: Grafalloy ProLaunch Platinum X-Stiff
Karrie Webb: Nippon NS Pro Prototype (Regio) Stiff
Son Jyu An: Graphite Design Tour AD DI-5 Regular
Eun Hee Ji: Fujikura Rombax 5X07 Stiff
Son Hee Kim: UST Proforce V2 57 Stiff
Yuko Mitsuka: Diamana ilima X-Stiff
Yani Tseng: Fujikura Motore F1 65 Stiff
Cristie Kerr: Graphite Design Tour AD MD-6 Stiff
Na Yeon Choi: Diamana Whiteboard D63 Regular
Suzanne Petterson: Project X-6B6 Stiff
Brittany Lincicome: Graphite Design Tour AD DI-6 Stiff

Data from May 2010

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

 EMAIL

Satin Finish with a Raw Face
The New Yururi Rupas Wedge has got some serious spin while still complying to the new 2010 groove rule.  The extra spin comes from having a non plated "flat" face with grooves that reach the maximum tolerance allowed on Tour.

The idea is when a plating is applied over the face it dulls the grooves while a non plated face is sharper producing more spin.  Another attribute of a raw face is feel.  The ball touches the softer forged carbon steel directly instead of a plated surface.

What is Seida?
Seida means  精 precise and 打 stroke,  The Original Seida Wedge was recently reproduced for what could be it's final run. It's an awesome wedge with mill marks on its face, minimal offset and Fantastic soft feel.  The name RuPaS means "Rule Permitted And Spin" because its new rule conforming.

The Grind is Forgiving, Very Forgiving! I'm playing the Seven Hills wedges right now and those have thinner soles which sometimes give me fits in the bunker.  The RuPaS 60 I'm testing is a dream in the bunker  as it's sole is on the wider side with just the right amount of heel edge relief to get er open.

I can see this wedge suiting a very wide range of player.  I have a spot open for a final wedge and the RuPaS 60 is going to fill it.

The Black face frames the ball especially well which in my opinion gives golfers more confidence for a precise swing, the grooves are pretty sharp scuffing up balls at times but the result makes the shred totally worth it.   Both the RuPaS Seida and the Original Seida are currently available as head only.