Kamui Works has finally upgraded and released a brand new custom fairway wood based on their new Kamui Ray lineup. The new Ray is designed to be a premium distance fairway wood with mid to high launch and low spin.  Kamui Works is a very prestigious hand made golf club maker in Toyama City. Kamui Works has been making premium drivers and woods for over a decade and is a favorite among low handicap players and those wanting a premium custom made woods with a focus on feel and distance.

Kamui's custom fairway woods are simple clean designs hand made with premium SUS630 body and cold forged Maraging face. Maraging steel is stronger than SUS630 so can be made thinner providing soft feel and POP off the face at impact thanks to higher elasticity.  The new Ray heads are considered mid to smaller sized heads with a pear shape and a very handsome mid height face profile. Kamui Works uses TIG Welding (by hand) to attach the face to the FW body. Because this is all done carefully by the hands of top Kamui Works craftsmen, there is very little margin of error when it comes to loft and face angle. You order 15.5* and that's what you get.

The heads spend a lot of time on the grinding belt and are worked thoroughly by hand to ensure uniform thickness all throughout the head. Kamui Works believes this is an important process in creating a maximum performance head as uneven surface and walls of the head would not only throw off the overall balance of the head but cause the performance to fall below optimal. Moving from rougher belts to finer belts with many steps in between, Kamui Works ensures a perfect polish and shine with the final touch being done by hand and cloth buffing. This is pure hand made attention and the ultimate in Japanese hand made club making craftsmanship.

At address the Kamui Ray FW sets up beautifully and better players will like fact they can specify the exact face angle they want.

Current options include:

• Loft (Exact loft)
• Face Angle
• Lie Angle
• Head Weight

Keep in mind also that while we list adjustment guidelines here, it is NOT uncommon for Kamui to be able to adjust even more beyond these guidelines. Just email us for your specs confirmation if you require more than standard adjustments. (my comments in brackets apply to all lofts)

Kamui Ray 3W
Loft is 15* and plus minus 1* (we have seen them do 1.5 to 2.0* more)
Head weight is from 208g to 225g. (this is great for those who want a 42" or shorter 3W!!)
Lie is from 58* to 60* (again we have seen them go as flat as 56-57*)
Face angle is open 1* to closed 2* (2* open is certainly doable!)

Kamui Ray 5W
Loft is 18* and plus minus 1*
Head weight is from 215g to 234g.
Lie is from 59* to 61*.
Face angle is open 1* to closed 2*.

Kamui Ray 7W
Loft is 21* and plus minus 1*
Head weight is from 225g to 243g.
Lie is from 60* to 62*.
Face angle is open 1* to closed 2*.

Well as some lucky customers have found out, the Ryoma Special Tuning Hi Cor drivers began shipping. Ryoma has delayed the release for several months due to a finish issue which they have now resolved. The Special Tunings have begun shipping in limited numbers with heavier 9.5 and 10.5* lofts going out first. Lighter heads and higher 11.5* lofts have yet to begin shipping but should soon.  Two testers arrived at my house today, a Black 10.5* and a Gold 9.5*.

While visually the heads appear the same as current models, Ryoma has fine tuned the face and body of the driver to increase COR of the Special Tuning models to over 0.88.  Their key focus with the increased COR as well as structural changes are simply as they put it "to crush the ball at impact" and create as much initial ball speed as possible. They claim up to 30 yards increase (of course that is on the optimistic side and results certainly will vary but feedback from customers so far is very positive).

The new D-1 Special Tuning models feature an all new premium forged TTX face material (the current D-1 and V-Spec are TDW and the Premia TDX) which utilizes variable face thickness to create a much more spring like effect. The sweet spot of the face is 2.6mm thick and the outer parts of the face a mere 1.3mm thin! I don't think I know of any driver in golf that has a face section as thin as that. The face is laser welded to its monocoque unibody which features industry leading 0.3mm thin wall.  This driver is designed for maximum repulsion. While all the features of this driver scream distance and performance, there are limitations to its design, mainly being its made for players who swing UNDER 105mph.

Ryoma has already sold out more than 75% of this limited edition head. We had over 50 orders for the heads ourselves and still have many interested customers. We don't expect them to last long now that they are shipping out, especially with customers emailing us that they have gained anywhere from 10-25y which is absolutely awesome (makes me think the Ryoma is over 0.90COR which I must ask them about). If you want a Ryoma Special Tuning head, contact us now as they are available for a limited time only as special order with stock shafts, heads only or with any upgrade shaft in Japan. We need to get out fast and test these heads as soon as possible!

Taylormade Japan is a brand that always provides Japan market only models to satisfy the demanding Japanese golfer ready to spend his or her Yen on premium quality. Instead of offering a similar lower cost, 17-4 stainless steel model fairway wood, (well they actually do in the standard R11 and RBZ), TM decided to release an all Ti R11 fairway wood as well the Gloire all Ti Fairway wood. Before I get out and hit the two, I thought I would do a side by side comparison so that potential buyers can understand the differences.

The R11 Ti is similar in shape to the standard R11 fairway wood but sports different colors and a different IP smoked finish. Besides its physical looks, the Japan market R11 Ti also features a larger volume head with Titanium body, crown and face. Overall the club is about 16g lighter than the standard R11 which along with the Ti material increases swing speed and distance. The R11 Ti is aimed at the improving golfer and average golfer who wants an easy high launch in a mid to smaller sized head.

The Gloire Ti FW is part of the premium Japan Only Gloire line.  Made for max performance, ease of use and distance, the Gloire FW is even bigger and lighter than the R11 Ti and the 5 wood tester I have rivals some of the bigger 3 woods. While like the R11 Ti, it sports a full Ti head, it uses a more expensive Alpha/Beta Titanium mix for the body and a beta Ti for the face. The Gloire is aimed at the average golfer and senior wanting a premium light weight performance club.

Because the Gloire has a bigger head at 195cc vs 160cc (both 5 woods), it actually has the deeper and larger face of the two heads.  Both are more than adequate for teeing off and of course both feature adjustable sleeves which alter loft.

From the side you can see that the Gloire is quite a bit longer from front to back vs the R11 Ti. Both are high launch models but the Gloire with its long head really allows the CG to be placed deep in the head. However as you can see from the sole picture above, it has a pair of tungsten weights placed forward on the head to control spin and launch by balancing the CG low and forward.

At address again, you can really see the size of the Gloire vs the R11 Ti. The Gloire head is rounder and while it is spec'ed on Taylormade's website as being 1* closed face, it looked very square to me and just as square as the R11 Ti which is spec'ed as 0* face angle. Both heads with their white crowns and black faces frame the ball well. I was not a fan of the white heads when TM first introduced them but I've admittedly grown to liking them. So both the R11 Ti and Gloire are high quality all Ti fairway woods aimed at easy launch, big forgiveness and big distance. The Gloire can be considered on the large side and ultralight side as it offers two shafts, and with the lighter shaft borders right around 300g!

In the next week I will try and find some time to hit both side by side against the Ryoma FW and the egg Spoon, two very highly regarded fairway woods here in Japan. In the meantime you can already find both these fairway woods in the pro shop!

I've had the chance to spend more time on the LPGA tour here in Japan recently especially when they roll into my area here in Chiba. Last week was The Cyberagent Ladies at Tsurumai and this week the first Major of the year at Ibaraki Country Club. It's always fun to watch the girls play and check out what clubs they use. For the average golfer which makes up the largest portion of golfers here in Japan, the ladies tour is much more reflective of what is mainstream. Sure the guys tour is full of great players and gear but most average golfers don't play blades or compact cavities nor do they tee of with compact deep drivers and X flex shafts.

I was able to get out to Ibaraki on Tuesday for a practice day. Practice days are great days to go as players are more relaxed since scores don't count yet and they pretty much play a practice round and hit the driving ranges and practice putting greens to fine tune their swing and clubs. Its very interesting to see which players practice a lot and which players not so much.  Many of the big pro service/tour vans were parked in the woods between the two designated driving ranges. There were trackmans on the ranges and craftsmen getting the girls to try new shafts, prototype clubs and of course brands pushing  their clubs on girls who don't already play their brands.

When there is a major in Japan, several top US LPGA pros always make the trip and this time the World Ladies Championship - Salonpas Cup as its called features top pros Ai Miyazato, Mika Miyazato, Momoko Ueda, Morgan Pressel and Michelle Wie all coming across the Pacific to play. Ai-chan (pictured above with her caddie Michael Seaborn gauging distances at the range) is to ladies golf what Ryo Ishikawa is to mens golf in Japan, a star and everywhere she went cameras and event staff followed.  I was able to watch her play a few holes, practice on the range and spend time on the practice putting greens. Golf publications were dissecting her bag so I just peeked over their shoulders to see what she had.  Many of the top Tourstage pros have begun pushing the ViQ brand more, which everyone knows is the more average golfer model. Ai-chan carries the new ViQ driver as well as not yet released ViQ Forged (yes finally they appear to be coming back!).   A few other top Japan based Tourstage pros are also carrying the ViQ Forged but top Japan based Chie Arimura is playing the X-Blade 705 Type M.

Michelle Wie was accompanied to Japan and around practice day by her parents who watched over her on the driving range and walked the course with her. I actually had the pleasure of eating lunch at the table right next to hers in the clubhouse... wow she is tall!!! And boy does she hit it long. While many of the Japanese players barely hit 160cm, Michelle at 185cm towers over them. Many of the tour van staff around the range gawked at her size and distances.

One of my favorite new pros is Ohe Kaori. She is only 153cm tall but has a very dynamic swing. Two weeks ago just after her 22nd birthday she won her for Japan LPGA tournament, the Fujisankei Ladies Classic by simply hitting it straight and putting it in the hole which is what we all want to do. Even at 153cm she drives the ball well over 250y with her new Legacy Black 9.5* and Kai'li Prototype. She is still playing the original Legacy Forged irons which have long been one of the most popular irons geared towards average and improving golfers.

As always Srixon/XXIO is in full force on the ladies tour and there was a very large amount of players gaming the new XXIO 7 woods and irons (especially irons). The Gloire driver was in the bag of Shinobu Moromizato who on this event 3 years ago and the new Titleist VG3 forged also made an appearance in the bag of Erika Kikuchi.  Two of the top Korean pros on the ladies tour, SoHee Kim and Eun-a Lim also sport Yururi Tour Wedges which was nice to see. Momoko Ueda who you can see in the picture above I snapped joking with her caddie, is now playing the Legacy Black Forged after years of playing the original Legacy Forged. Finally Ji-Hee Lee who must have been on the range for 3-4 hours straight plays a really awesome bag with ONOFF Type-S Driver, Type-D 3 and 5 woods, Type-S 21* 'UT, ONOFF Forged 4-PW a Beres W103 Wedge and the Shingo Limited W358 wedge. The perfect ONOFF Bag!

All pics taken with my Lumix GF1 and 20mm lens.

Limited Crazy Toyoshima Wedges!

As I mentioned in the post before about the Crazy Air Iron Forged, I had the chance to stop by the Crazy Factory and got to see the VERY limited Toyoshima grind wedge.  This is the secondedition of last years very popular Toyoshima set with some small changes. Last years 52 and 58 set featured a raw and unplated finish with the option of a milled face as an upgrade. The raw wedge rusted easily so Crazy decided that this years Toyoshima set, which is still a 52 and 58 set, would be nickel chrome plated with a brushed satin finish.

The wedge also has a cnc milled face now as standard. I have to say this one very good looking wedge. Each set is hand grinded by Toyoshima Daiki ,who has 22 years of tour and grinding experience, creating beautifully finished special tear drop shaped heads with straight necks and versatile trailing edge grinds on this premium Himeji forged CC-B104 wedge. Toyoshima-san personally polishes every single wedge and inspects each finished product for shape, weight and proper set up at address. Toyoshima-san wanted to make a versatile grind and decided on a narrower sole with lots of trailing edge relief. The bounce on the 52* is lower at 6* for crisp approaches while the high 12* bounce on the 58* excels in the sand and with its grind is easily opened up to play various shots in various lies.

Last years 50 sets were sold out in two weeks. I had originally come away from the Crazy Factory thinking this year had 50 sets as well and that's what I noted when I added the Toyoshima wedge to the pro shop. However I found out today that Crazy had only decided on 12 sets, TWELVE SETS, for all of Japan. Since the set was added to our pro shop on Monday, we have already sold 7 sets and Crazy is now sold out.  Not bad for TSG to account for more than half of a limited release!

PERSONAL FITTINGS AT CRAZY FACTORY

While I was at the Factory for taking pictures of new products from Crazy, my main reason was in fact to custom fit one of our customers who was in Japan on holidays. I had the pleasure of meeting our very good customer Clive Mayhew from Australia who met me at the Crazy Factory in Adachi on Saturday morning for a fitting. Since Clive was in Japan playing golf, he was able to bring along his current Ryoma V-Spec driver and Mizuno MP-59 6 iron for the fitting.

The Crazy factory is a nice and comfortable place for fittings and their full workshop as well as several pros are on hand as well for instant spec checks and launch monitor analysis.  The staff are always very friendly and on Saturday I worked along with Crazy pro Muramatsu Taka to fit Clive for a driver shaft, fairway woods, iron and wedge shafts.

We were looking for a driver shaft to put in his new Ryoma Special Tuning driver so we put Clive up on the monitor first with his Ryoma V-Spec 10.5* with stock Stiff Flex shaft. Before taking his first swing, I asked Clive some questions about his swing and what his typical distances were. He told us he hit is driver around 250y on average however even with the 10.5* he was not getting a lot of launch. His first swing on the monitor provided us with exactly what he described:

Total distance: 250y
Head Speed:  102mph
Launch Angle 9.2*
Back Spin: 3250
Side Spin: 255 left

Clive hit a few more with his stock V-Spec all with similar results, around 250y, launch under 10* and back spin always over 3000rpm. I right away turned to Crazy pro Taka and said "Longest Yard 01 Hot Black". So we pulled out a CRZ435 10* head matched with the high launching Hot Black in 7.4 or stiff flex.

On Clive's first strike with this combo the numbers improved SIGNIFICANTLY as shown below:

Total distance: 271y
Head Speed:  102mph
Launch Angle 16.0*
Back Spin: 2750
Side Spin: 54 left

Clive consistently hit the Hot Black between 265 and 275y with his best drive being a soft little fade to 278y!:

Total distance: 278y
Head Speed:  107mph
Launch Angle 13.7*
Back Spin: 2500
Side Spin: 263 right

You can see as Clive got more comfortable with the Crazy combo his head speed actually increased and some of the speed and distance up can also be attributed to the Crazy combo actually being about 10g lighter and 0.75" longer than his Ryoma setup. But most the gain comes from a much healthier launch and less spin giving much better carry plus run out equaling a whopping 15-20y on average gain. Clive has very good form and looks great at the top. He has a bit of a hip swaying movement but is quite strong through the impact zone. With his Ryoma, the softer stock shaft caused some inconsistencies and created more spin. This coupled with Clive's tendency to hit down a bit brought the spin up. His angle of attack and the flex of the shaft actually delofted the club at impact hence the low launch angle.  The higher grade carbon of the Crazy shaft equals less bowing of the shaft and very consistent timing on release. Clive noticed this and noted he could feel the shaft work itself and he could just swing away.

We did of course try other shafts including the Crazy Black 50 which launched too low, the Royal Decoration which was too light overall causing Clive to go left. The CB46 and TJ46 which both did not give as much distance as the Hot Black and also the 80t Black TJ80 which caused very strong fades as its a tough shaft to turn over on. In the end none matched Hot Black which is designed to be the high launching shaft for strong players and as part of the black line keeps the left out - Clive was mostly straight or with a soft fade but had the best overall numbers and consistency with the Hot Black and that's what counts.

We also fit Clive for a 3 wood and 5 wood and he ended up getting a JBeam FX HG 15* with Longest Yard FW Evolution in 7.4 flex and a JBeam FX HG 18* with Black FW80 in 7.4 Flex.  Clive was cranking out the JBeam 3 wood tester  over 240y and nearly equaling his stock Ryoma Driver (that pretty much decided it for him). Clive also tested on the monitor with his MP-59 6 iron which was shafted with a DG S300 shaft. Most of his shots were soft to strong draws and I ended up picking out the Crazy Target Tour 120's in the tinted dark chrome and stiff flex which not only made his shots very very straight but he actually gained nearly a club's distance over the S300! With the Crazy workshop right there, we had Clive's irons reshafted with the Target Tour 120's and all 3 of his Vokey Forged wedges remade with Target Tour 120 Wedge shafts. At the end of the day it was not only a pleasure fitting Clive and seeing him happy with his choices but to be able to meet one of our customers face to face is always a highlight for me.

As many of you know I fit hundreds of TSG customers over the course of the year. It is not an easy task with much of it, actually most of it being done over the internet. With a lack of data it can be quite a challenge. I do have customers who send me launch monitor data and even videos of their swing but in the end nothing beats fitting a customer in person.  What I've learned from fitting Clive at the Crazy Factory is we'd like to invite any customers who are interested in Crazy products and happen to be vacationing or visiting Tokyo to contact us for a possible fitting session at Crazy with myself and a Crazy Pro. We all know, JDM clubs and shafts are not cheap, being fit and getting the right ones make them worth substantially more to each individual's score and enjoyment of the game of golf.  We look forward to hearing from you and meeting you if you do end up coming by!

I was over at the Crazy Factory on Saturday for a customer fitting (which I will cover in a later post). I got the chance to take pictures of a bunch of new products that Crazy will be releasing.  First up is the Air Iron Forged. I took pics of their prototype head which is pretty close to the actual retail model save that there are two different heads for the retail launch, a Dot One with standard sandblasted face and a Dot Two with micro milled face. The Retail models will also have a choice of a carbon insert in the back of the head or silver insert.

The new Air Iron which will be out late May/early June features a muscle back appearance but with a specially hollow forged muscle to provide cavity like forgiveness and distance. Because of this I call it a neo muscle. It' is forged from S25C in Japan and the back of the head is machined and the head plated satin.  Besides having a hollow muscle to help increase spring and distance especially with the long irons, Crazy has also grinded each head to make the iron more versatile and forgiving in different lies. Trailing, Leading edge relief help clean entry and exit in all kinds of conditions as well as toe and heel relief for more uneven and challenging lies. We all know we can make better shots when we make better contact and this multi grind is made for that purpose.

Face on the Air Iron is very compact with a boxy toe and perfectly straight top line. This gives the iron a very sharp and all business kind of look to it. You can see a slight rounding in the leading edge, once again to add a bit of friendliness to this neo muscle.

They had this proto shafted up with a Target Tour 120 Stiff which is too heavy and certainly too stiff for me. Never the less I fiddled with the club while I took pictures. At address it is very blade like. It's not the thinnest topline but it is rather thin and the neck quite straight.  Anytime you have a hollow head of some kind it is going to feel different. While most blades try and create the thickest muscle area for the most pure feel at impact (provided you strike it right in the sweet spot), the Air Iron and its hollow muscle do not create the same pure it felt like nothing feel. You can clearly feel the ball strike and spring off the face, which is actually a good thing. The hollow muscle increases the sweet spot and almost gives the club a hollow driving iron kind of feel but in forged blade package. It's really quite interesting.

The Air Iron Forged is a unique blade for any player who wants a muscle back with the forgiveness of a cavity back. For a blade the distance is rather good and the sweet spot probably larger than any other blade thanks to the hollow muscle. Admittedly coming from Crazy it is not cheap however we've come to learn we end up paying for quality and the coolness factory when it comes to their brand. The Air Iron Forged is already in the pro shop for pre order!

Today I'm going to do a quick introduction of the all new Miura Giken CB-1007 Forged Cavity Back Iron. We received a loaner head for photos which we have to unfortunately return so we won't be able to shaft it up and test it so this post instead will be a brief intro into Miura's latest athlete model offering.  The CB series has always been the more compact cavity back made for the better golfer. The previous model, the CB-1006 was released back in 2006 so the launch of the CB-1007 was long overdue.

Miura irons are very much based on feel which is not only attributed to their soft premium S25C forgings but also their designs. CB-1006 was already aimed at purer feel though the use of a muscle power hump. The CB-1007 design is more intricate, with a cavity that features multi thickness to both mimic the feel of a muscle back and to control weight distribution.

The thickest portion of the cavity is right in the center and Miura designed the thick part to extend vertically up and down, the typically striking pattern of a better golfer. The second level of thickness fans outwards and is not quite as thick as the center. This distributes weight outwards and lower to maintain a healthy launch and add some forgiveness while still providing feel.

Like all CB models or all Miura models for that matter, the topline is quite thin and the offset quite minimal. With very little cavity and a narrow sole, the CB-1007 is designed to appear like a blade at address promoting workability and control.

As better players prefer, the CB-1007 features a sharp face profile with a thin and straight top line. The toe is boxy and high while the heel area is shorter. The tall toe promotes using the height of the face for spin control and provides a confident appearance at address. To compensate for the narrow sole, the leading edge is slightly rounded to add some versatility. The new CB-1007 does sport conforming  USGA V grooves for tournament play.

The all new Miura Giken CB-1007 Forged iron is a good looking cavity back. Compared to previous heads its design is cleaner and less cluttered with a simple MG and CB-1007 in the cavity. Miura still insisted on leaving the W.D.D. Accurate Forged on the head but if they had taken that off or put it on the neck instead, the head would look even cleaner and less cluttered. Fans of Miura will love this iron mostly for its pure feel thanks to its muscle back like design. The new CB-1007 is available now through TSG as heads only or built to spec with your favorite shaft and grip. Look for it in the pro shop in the next few days!

For those who demand the best, there is no shortage of premium boutique style brands that produce top of the line drivers when it comes to design, materials and performance. From Epon to Crazy, and Kamui, and Baldo and most recently the new king of them all Ryoma, there are plenty to throw our money at.  They all boast intricate designs, meticulous workmanship and most of all unparalleled performance when it comes to feel, ease of use and distance. We recently added Romaro Sports to our stable of high end brands and so far they have not disappointed. I have already briefly looked at their forged irons and wedges which were very impressive as well as their wonderful Titanium Ray UT. I just finished spending a week with their all new 460cc Ray 460HX Black and 460HX Gold drivers and I have to say, Ryoma has a challenge on its hands.

Looks wise, the Romaro Ray 460HX models blow the Ryoma out of the water (at least in my opinion). Smooth black IP finish, clean lines and very nice aesthetics with simple but stylish graphics provide a very premium look. Much better in my opinion than the D-1 you find on the sole of the Ryoma.  Romaro prides itself in quality and finish which is why on the 460HX Black they even stamp the words GRAND QUALiTY near the heel.  I really like the way the drivers look. As the title and images suggest, there are two models. A Ray 460HX Black which is the conforming model and a Ray 460HX Gold which is a 0.88 Hi Cor Model.

As you can see from the image of the 460HX Gold above, it looks pretty much like the 460HX Black save for the Gold Ray HX badge and gold paintfill. They share the same materials and design basis with the differences being, a higher spring effect or Hi COR face and more closed face angle as well as a slightly lighter head meant for longer club builds. So while they have distinguishing names in 460HX Black and 460HX Gold, they are in fact visually both Black heads with different accents.

Both models utilize a beta titanium called SAT2041. The faces are forged and them chemically milled to produce variable thickness which expands the sweet area and minimizes distance loss on miss hits whether it be high or low or towards the toe or heel.  SAT2041 is reasonably rigid which allows for thinner face areas without sacrificing strength and rebound.  This does not however reduce the feel in anyway. The SAT2041 is soft but crisp a feel we  all like in drivers like the Ryoma.  Speaking of Ryoma, one of the reasons why it is so popular is its massive levels of forgiveness. I am happy to say that the Romaro 460HX models feel just as forgiving as their faces are huge with huge sweet spots to match.

The Ray 460HX models use back weighting like the Ryoma but no where near the same weight nor is it placed as far back.  Because of its placment, the CG is not as low in the Romaro's which actually create a lower spin flight and a stronger trajectory results in both optimal carry and run. The nice Ray HX badge you see on each head is in fact the back weight. On top of the back weight, Romaro designed what is called a Harmonized Fin System.  The fin system sits in the center of that groove you see crossing through the badge. That groove is called a power ridge which increases the rigidity of the bottom of the drivers face. The HFS system uses 6 fins in a circular design which help absorb vibrations and stabilize the head at impact for maximum energy transfer.

Unlike many distance and easy to use average golfer models today, the head is not flat and shallow. But rather deep faced and high back. Again this is a sign that the CG is not simply placed as low as possible. This driver launches strong and this has been a characteristic of all Romaro drivers. In tests that I have read and seen in Japan, many users and pro testers have noted, that Romaro drivers will not lose out to a head wind and are probably one of the strongest flying drivers out there.

At address the Ray 460HX models are neither compact nor large. They are after all 460cc. I would say they look very comfortable at address. As you can see above, the 460HX Black 10* which is spec'ed as a square face angle pretty much looks that way. The 460HX Gold on the other hand is spec'ed as closed and it surely looks close to a 1* closed.  The closed face angle on the Gold is to compensate for the slightly longer club length it is intended to have (46.25"). The longer the club gets, the harder can be for an average golfer to square the face.  I hit both all week and the while I can pull shots, the slightly closed face of the 460HX Gold did not cause me many issues. It actually produce mostly soft draws which is a good thing.

So the bottom line is how do these good looking heads perform. Lets say if this were a race, Ryoma, Epon, Crazy et al had better get use to seeing the back of the Romaro head as its a keeper. I firmly believe that Ryoma finally has a rival on its hands especially because the Ray 460HX also comes in a Non Conforming Hi Cor model. I had just shafted up my conforming Ryoma D-1 driver with Basileus Fiamma 50 R last week so I had the chance to hit it against both Ray 460HX heads which were sporting ordinary Romaro stock shafts.  The Ray460HX Black which again is conforming, matched the Ryoma in overall distance but provided a much more favorable trajectory at least one I liked more. Given the 460HX Black tester is 10* and my Ryoma 10.5* it will naturally launch lower especially since these high end brands are always true to spec. However as I noted above, the trajectory was very strong.  My Ryoma sometimes gets higher than I would like and runs less than I would like. The 460HX Black carried a touch less with its more penetrating trajectory but ran right up to similar spots as the Ryoma and sometimes even a tad more (reminder this is with the stock shaft).

The Ray 460HX Gold on the other hand carried at least as far as the Ryoma if not more, and ran more out distancing the Ryoma by about 10 yards. What this means is the Romaro Ray 460HX Gold is already a challenger to the yet to be released Ryoma Special Tuning Hi Cor head (if it ever comes out).  Forgiveness is very good as I miss towards the toe and shots were traveling straight or with a slight draw and still going pretty much just as far. I am planning on getting a 460HX Gold and building it with a Crazy Royal Decoration shaft at 46" as my new gamer.  The heads are now available but we are finalizing specs and options (ie head weight, face angles -I hope so) with Romaro so you should be seeing the Ray 460HX Black and Gold in the shop in the next few days.  They will be available as heads only, or custom made with any shaft available in Japan.  I think this will look pretty good in my bag, what about yours?

Geotech is Japan's leading components maker and has long provided high quality component designs at reasonable prices. They've worked hard to provide a mix of tweaked and original designs for players of all budgets looking for great feel and performance. Their Prototype RF700 lineup has been very successful with its drivers, woods and utility providing top notch performance at a fraction of the cost of big mainstream brands. This season they decided to release an all new Prototype RF700 Forged iron, an original design made for wide range of golfers.

Geotech notes that the Prototype RF700 Forged is a CNC machined muscle back iron, forged from S25C steel.  Even though its a muscle back, Geotech has put its target audience as players ranging from a 0 to 25 handicap which is pretty wide range of skill levels. After examining the iron's design and giving it a try I can see why. The RF700 sets up very much like a blade but the back face is almost cavity like, much like the Romaro Ray H I recently tested.  Because of this I've decided to call the RF700 a neo muscle cavity, a hybrid of sorts that has the feel and playability of a blade but the forgiving characteristics of a cavity back.

The unique design of the RF700 features a forged head which is then CNC machined into the finished head you see here. This intricate machine process creates what Geotech calls VFTD: Vetical Flow Thickness Design. From top to bottom the thickness of the iron varies from 4.7mm at its thinnest to 12.9mm at its thickest.  What this does is create a balanced head that provides feel, launch and distance. The thinnest area of the iron crosses  right through the center to create maximum rebound off the face and more distance, while the thickest area is the lower cavity portion which increases MOI by lowering the CG for easy launch and a wider sweet area.

Even though the thickest part of the iron is towards the sole, the actual sole itself is long and narrow. The front edge is slightly killed for some leading edge relief and the sole itself is rounded to provide some stability and control though different lies including firmer turf. While many irons today - especially JDM models are showing more bounce, the RF700 keeps bounce at a minimum with the 9i feauring 2.5* and the PW 3.5* of bounce.

The face profile of the RF700 Forged features a bit of everything as it has a reasonably straight top line paired with a boxy and higher toe as preferred by better players. But at the same time, its longer from heel to toe stretching the sweet spot side to side. The leading edge is also ever so slightly rounded, again for added ease of use and to promote more pure impact in various lies.

At address, better players will appreciate the thin top line and the lack of offset. It certainly does look like a muscle back at address as there is no sign of a cavity. When I first got the iron, I did notice how it set up at address like a blade (is it a blade or not?) but the longer face really stood out for me.  For the average golfer there are many features of this neo muscle cavity like its lower CG and thinner center as well as its rounded sole and leading edge.  The longer face allows for players to miss towards the toe or heel to minimize lost distance. As an average golfer, this was a playable iron for me even though its supposed to be a muscle back like design. Feel is very good  and the ball launches well and jumps off the face at impact very much like many cavity backs today that do feature thinner faces.  It may not be as pure as other blades that feature thick muscle areas right behind the sweet spot but the RF700 undoubtedly feels forged. I handed the iron to a scratch golfer practicing on the course and he right away said "oh blade" and he stuck a few and said "very nice".

The Prototype RF700 Forged is a cavity back in disguise as a CNC muscle back design iron. It has balanced performance, with good feel, easy launch, and good distance and forgiveness. Many people will like its clean but interesting looks, and even more will like its price tag and the fact it can be bought as heads only or built by Geotech with any shaft or grip to the customer's specs.  It offers something for every one in a good quality package and good price. The RF700 Forged is already in the pro shop and there are even matching wedges!

I took time out today to take a look at the Romaro Ray UT. While Titanium is pretty much what every driver is made of these days, and even titanium fairway woods becoming more and more common, Ti utilities are something we still don't see a lot of due to cost and design. Romaro however, decided to design and manufacture their Ray UT with a hot Titanium face and a sturdy 17-4 stainless body.

At first glance the Romaro caught my attention for its aesthetically pleasing visuals and compact looking head.  In fact the head is not that compact, it ranges from 122cc for the 18* to 116cc for the 27*.  The Ray UT's design hides its size well and this is a big positive. The Ray UT is available in 18 21 24 and 27* lofts all with square face angles and lie ranging from  58.5* to 60*.

The Ray UT is unique in that it offers a forged Titanium CUP face.  The cup face allows for a larger sweet spot in all directions equaling less distance lost on miss hits. Romaro decided on a cross like sweet spot thicker in the center and thinner towards the outer walls. This type of design creates more rebound and increases ball speeds at impact.  The face is mid height and certainly deep enough for using off the tee without a second thought. I really liked the feel at impact. It's not a metallic tink like some thin faced utilitys or fairway woods sound like but a soft yet solid feel which seems to be used to describe golf clubs. In other words the feel is very good as is the feedback.

Another key aspect of the Ray UT head is the sole.  A utility is used in many situations and many different lies and conditions. A versatile sole is a must and the Ray UT has been well thought out. It features a tapered V like channels on either side of the head and a multi level sole all which reduces friction and contact with the ground. This allows for better impact through a variety of conditions and we all know better impact equals more accurate shots and better distance. I tried the Ray UT here on the lush fairways of Kiminomori and in the deeper rough and it performed admirably with the with the sole working its way through to the ball and allowing the club not only create better impact but square impact. It is very straight and right on target.

Looking at the Ray UT at address, you can see what I mean by the head looks compact. It is almost a mini elongated pear shape and the top line and face angle perfectly square. The contrasting score lines frame the ball very well and give a very clear target for the ball to strike.  Teeing the ball up I felt very confident, the Ray UT definitely excels off the deck and off the tee and in both cases gets the ball in the air quick but produces a strong and stable trajectory.

Golfers looking for a premium titanium utility don't have a lot to choose from. There is pretty much the Epon AF902 and this Romaro Ray UT. To compare the two, I think I actually prefer this Romaro.  The Epon seemed big and longer from heel to toe (thanks to its shallower face) and while it does have a multi level sole as well, it doesn't appear as versatile as the Romaro.   Because the Romaro is compact, I felt it was actually easier to hit it center. Teeing off with the Romaro definitely has the edge over the Epon.  The Epon's edge is that the entire head is Ti and it really launches high and easy (though some may prefer the more stable and strong trajectory of the Romaro).  One advantage that the Romaro has over the Epon is cost, it's a few hundred dollars cheaper. I came away quite impressed with the Ray UT. It will satisfy most better golfers yet is forgiving enough for the average golfer to give it a go. It sets up great and the sole is very versatile. The titanium face provides very good feel and feedback and the 21* I had hit it as far if not further than my RC TRC 20* UT even though the RC is a degree stronger and built a tad longer.  I also like how the Romaro is available in 4 different lofts including a 27* meaning for a player playing a strong lofted set of irons, they could actually replace the 5i and 6i in the set with a 24* and 27* (yes I may actually do this).

The Romaro Ray UT will be in the pro shop before the week's end and will be available as head only or built to spec with any top Japan market shaft and grip!

Spring in Japan means time for Sakura or cherry blossoms.  Its a sign here in Japan that the winter is officially over and the warm winds of spring have arrived. While it obviously happens every year, the beauty of the Sakura only lasts for a couple of weeks and at that time, the Japanese celebrate by doing Hanami.

To quote wiki, "Hanami" is the centuries-old practice of picnicking under a blooming sakura or ume tree. The custom is said to have started during the Nara Period (710–794) when it was ume blossoms that people admired in the beginning. But by the Heian Period (794–1185), cherry blossoms came to attract more attention and hanami was synonymous with sakura. From then on, in tanka and haiku, "flowers" meant "sakura." The custom was originally limited to the elite of the Imperial Court, but soon spread to samurai society and, by the Edo period, to the common people as well. Tokugawa Yoshimune planted areas of cherry blossom trees to encourage this. Under the sakura trees, people had lunch and drank sake in cheerful feasts.

Every year the Japanese Meteorological Agency and the public track the sakura zensen (cherry blossom front) as it moves northward up the archipelago with the approach of warmer weather via nightly forecasts following the weather segment of news programs. The blossoming begins in Okinawa in January and typically reaches Kyoto and Tokyo at the end of March or the beginning of April. It proceeds into areas at the higher altitudes and northward, arriving in Hokkaidō a few weeks later. Japanese pay close attention to these forecasts and turn out in large numbers at parks, shrines, and temples with family and friends to hold flower-viewing parties. Hanami festivals celebrate the beauty of the cherry blossom and for many are a chance to relax and enjoy the beautiful view. The custom of hanami dates back many centuries in Japan: the eighth-century chronicle Nihon Shoki (日本書紀) records hanami festivals being held as early as the third century CE.

Most Japanese schools and public buildings have cherry blossom trees outside of them (like the picture I took above of Togane High School). Since the fiscal and school year both begin in April, in many parts of Honshū, the first day of work or school coincides with the cherry blossom season.

In Japan, cherry blossoms also symbolize clouds due to their nature of blooming en masse, besides being an enduring metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life, an aspect of Japanese cultural tradition that is often associated with Buddhistic influence, and which is embodied in the concept of mono no aware. The association of the cherry blossom with mono no aware dates back to 18th-century scholar Motoori Norinaga. The transience of the blossoms, the extreme beauty and quick death, has often been associated with mortality; for this reason, cherry blossoms are richly symbolic, and have been utilized often in Japanese art, manga, anime, and film, as well as at musical performances for ambient effect.

There is at least one popular folk song, originally meant for the shakuhachi (bamboo flute), titled "Sakura", and several pop songs. The flower is also represented on all manner of consumer goods in Japan, including kimono, stationery, and dishware.

The pictures above were all taken at Hakako in Togane with my D5100. The pictures below are from the Yoshitaka Big Sakura tree site in Inzai and the last shot is the blooming Japanese Momo in my backyard.

I've decided to take the plunge and try a new Basileus shaft in one of my Ryoma drivers. Basileus is a brand brought to us by Triphas, a new high modulus shaft maker based out of Akihabara in Tokyo. Basileus has not only decided to use high carbon materials but to also use a more complex fitting and shaft profile system to make sure golfers get the right shaft. I've talked about high modulus/high grade carbon many times here on the blog but to those new readers and to refresh everyone's memories:  Shafts are created with carbon fibers weaved together, and these fibers are measured by their modulus of elasticity in tension. Typical golf shafts are around 24t or 30t, the measurement of tensile strength. These lower grade shafts are more flexible and because of this the shaft is slow to regain its original shape on the downswing creating inconsistent impact where a player must rely heavily on timing due to the flexibility of the shaft.

As the tensile strength increases, the carbon weaves are more dense, more rigid and return more quickly to their original shape. The flex and rebound of the shaft becomes more predictable equaling more consistent shots and much tighter dispersion. The higher tensile ratings ratings in golf shafts are also related to the higher grades containing more glass and metal particles which are more rigid while lower grades containing more flexible rubber particles. Higher grade carbon shafts provide more feel and explosiveness, even though they use those tightly weaved, denser carbon weaves, typically high grade carbon shafts have very active and thinner wall sections which lead to very high but controlled elasticity. While the typical shaft on the market is 20t or 30t grade carbon, Baslieus shafts are all 40t and higher, much like Crazy Shafts.

Many golfers and brands focus on shaft flex and CPMs when choosing a shaft, but the truth is that isn't the whole story on how a shaft performs.  Looking at a shaft's rigidity distribution gives golfers a far more understanding of the way a shaft bends and flexes rather than just looking at CPM.  The Japanese have always been very technical, and these kind of measurements, looking at the tip, center and butt stiffness, as well as their ratios in relation to each other, have been available for many JDM brand shafts for many years and some of you probably see a smilar style of flex information being used by Miyazaki Shaft outside of Japan as well (they use 4 points on the shaft and follow IFC Flex code).

These numbers can also be used to interpret how a shaft feels ie whippy or boardy. Too many people immediately associate a shaft that feels "whippy" as too soft but many shafts are designed this way for a purpose and depending on their distribution of rigidity.  Fitters here in Japan use these numbers religiously especially the tip , center and butt numbers which are used to fit a lot of golfers here depending on the swing styles ie smooth and easy or hard and aggressive swingers. Hard hitters who need more control and stability are better suited with a shaft that has a bigger C/B ratio vs a slicer who needs the head to square and release who would do better with a lower C/B ratio. C/B is of course center over butt flex and the larger the C/B number meaning the stiffer the center area of the shaft is in relation to the butt and in turn the smaller the number meaning the softer the center is in relation to the butt.  It's also good to look at the actual flex at the butt point as this is the section of the shaft that is directly connected to our body and thus relays the most feel (or lack of depending on the butt flex). So in the end picking up a shaft and wobbling and declaring it whippy could only mean the butt is pretty darn stiff and the tip is soft so it creates that wobbly feeling.

Shaft fitters also look at the T/C number or tip over center flex which can dictate the ball flight of a shaft. The smaller the T/C number usually the higher the launch and the bigger the T/C number usually the stiffer the tip and the lower the launch as well as more control.  Simply looking at things like R flex or S flex or even 250cpm in the end don't really say how a shaft feels or performs, its a combination of all these numers including CPM. Basileus realized golfers and even fitters have a hard time understanding how different shaft models flex so they used these T/C and C/B numbers to create their own fitting chart with all their shaft models.

So this chart is very useful for a guy like me who likes numbers and specs. Without trying the shaft I decided on getting the Fiamma 50 shaft as my natural bad shot is a slice (though I can hook the ball but that is more due to trying to over adjust and avoid the slice). The more flex or active tip of the Fiamma wil help the shaft square to the ball and hit that nice draw I want. Its made for distance, with a stiffer center to butt section allowing for the player to feel the head kick and provide a nice launch for max carry.  Its a good replacement for the stock Ryoma FS-1 shaft. Now flexes aside, I wish Basileus and all other manufacturers for that matter would provide actual numbers at each tip, center and butt point (ie as I said above, how many kg it takes to bend that point 2mm). These numbers would give me a better idea of how stiff the Fiamma actually is. For example by looking at these numbers for the following shafts:

Butt: 28.9 Center: 19.3 Tip: 8.9 Crazy Black TJ-80 Stiff
Butt: 24.4 Center: 16.2 Tip: 7.5 Fubuki K Stiff

We can determine that the TJ-80 is stiffer all through its range than the Fubuki K in the same stiff flex. We can also use these numbers to calculate the T/C and C/B numbers. So while I have the actual T/C and C/B ration for the Basileus shafts, I don't know what flex numbers were used to arrive at those ratios. So in this case I could choose the right shaft characteristics but without knowing how stiff the shaft plays.  I assumed being high modulus carbon it would play on the stiffer side as Crazy shafts do but I didn't know until I installed it today.

So I checked the CPM and specs of the Ryoma D-1 with its stock shaft before pulling it and it came out to 45.25", 290g D1 and 226CPM.  This is very a very typical reading for a stock shaft in Regular flex. On the soft side which helps players square up and provide lots of feel. I decided to install the Fiamma 50 Regular with the same 45.25" length since I'm comfortable with it and it'd be a good comparison for performance.  The shaft is a tad heavier than the stock shaft by about 4 grams so I used a slightly lighter grip by about 2 grams and the final specs were the same 45.25" length, 292g and D1 with a CPM of 228!! Now this surprised me, I thought for sure the CPM would come out higher with the Fiamma using tightly wound 40t high modulus carbon which should flex and return to shape faster creating higher CPM. However it turns out it is just as soft as the stock shaft (keep in mind that this is for the Fiamma 50, we have not yet confirmed how the other models CPM).  Now once again remember CPM is only a guide to general stiffness, it still won't say how the shaft performs.  An interesting thing is I used to play an a Crazy LY01 Nero R2 flex (soft Regular) and it came out at around 236CPM with the LY01 regular around 244cpm. CPM aside, if the shaft is stable and strong, I'll be very happy! We'll find that out Monday when I take the driver for 18 holes at Katsuura.

From a first impressions standpoint, the shafts are very pretty, Basileus says they use real silver plating (which surely drives up the cost).  I like the look but some may find it too reflective. In the long run we'll see how this finish holds up to scratches and marks. Stay tuned for Part 2 in a few days but in the mean time you can check out more Basileus shafts in the pro shop!