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Golf Equipment Chronicles 2004 (Part 12)

Japanese Quality & Top Ten Drivers

It’s been a tough month to focus on golf. With the election in high gear, plenty to worry about in Iraq and Palestine and the economy bouncing along the rocks, golf slowed up a bit. Hopefully, some of those problems will stabilize soon. At least we elected a new president -- the stock market likes it that the American political machinery is cranking along.

I managed to play a couple of tournaments. The low-key Palo Alto “Beat the Pro” turned out to be one of my high points for the year. My partner Joel and I were paired with the two Paly pros in a four ball match: Mark Maydayag and Dan Jamati. Our match wasn’t much to talk about for the first eight holes. But from nine in, we went a combined 11 under. My belly putter got hot on the back nine and I shot 32, lowest nine of the year. That’s an amusing way to shoot 74. Mark and Dan posted a best ball 66 at scratch, showing the field why they’re pros. The birdie-eagle barrage was great fun.

If you’re a Muni golfer like me, and you’re not playing in a men’s (and women’s) club, make joining one your New Year’s resolution. Every Muni has a club. You make new friends; play in competition with preferred morning tee times on weekends. There’s no better way to improve your golf game and have some fun to boot.

Before long, we’ll be hearing about new products coming down the pike for 2005. By next month, the public relations machines will be churning out leaks leading up to the annual PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando on Super Bowl weekend. Just when you think that everything has been invented, the creative minds in the R&D shops come up with new ideas and we all get excited again. We want to buy something new -- even if it has a minuscule chance of working.

Meantime, I’ve been thinking back about the trends and products that caused excitement in 2004. The biggest story was the dominance of Japanese products at the high end of the market -- forged, hand finished irons and premium shafts -- both graphite and steel. That trend will continue and expand through 2005.

For good measure, I made up a “Top Ten List” to rank the best drivers of the year since I’m still on the hunt for the “Magic Driver.” That story never ends . . .

The Incredible Rise in Japanese Golf Equipment

Americans have been hearing stories about crazy Japanese prices for years. We just don’t understand $20,000 for a set of golf clubs. We might not be ready to step up that far, but I think that Japanese golf equipment is going to continue to drive the high end of the golf equipment market in America. Here’s my evidence:

Fujikura Speeders. Fujikura retooled their “made in Japan” Speeder line, adding a host of new models. Speeders used to be for Tour players and low handicap amateurs. Today, there’s a Speeder for nearly every player. A year ago, there was a big business importing grey market “Tour Spec” Speeders from Japan. Fujikura reworked the graphics so now all domestic Speeders are Tour Spec. The grey market is shut down. The Speeder mystique is not all hype; they’re expensive but they test out the best in our SST PUREing process. They usually show the tightest dispersion in our launch monitor testing. And, players have confidence in clubs that are shafted with Speeders -- so they play better. Fujikura is dominant on Tour and there’s nothing to suggest that the company will be knocked off its perch on the top of the shaft market.

UST ACCRA Shafts. UST is well known for their Purple and Gold Proforce shafts that started the whole trend to painting golf shafts like ski poles. UST, like every other company in the golf shaft business, is jealous of Fujikura -- and especially the prices that Fujikura commands for its Speeders. A few years ago, UST came out with its own “made in Japan” line, the ACCRA. UST proved one thing with the ACCRA: they can’t sell a premium shaft line. In 2004, UST embarked on a new strategy. They retooled the line with three price ranges including the new SE model that is more expensive than the most expensive Speeder. They named a new exclusive distributor for the ACCRA line. Premium Golf Management (PGM) is a Canadian company charged with creating a new distribution channel -- elite clubmakers. Thanks to UST’s clout, ACCRA shafts have been promoted heavily on Tour and they’re picking up momentum from week to week. The premier shaft testing company in the world, Hot Stix Technologies in Scottsdale, AZ places ACCRA shafts at the top of their quality and performance rankings. UST intends for ACCRA to be serious competition for Fujikura. UST is the kind of company that can make something happen when they put their resources to work. Stay tuned for comparisons between Fujikura and ACCRA shafts.

Nippon Steel. With Fujikura and UST mopping up the graphite business, another Japanese company is dominating the market for lightweight steel shafts. Nippon Steel is part of a Japanese Kiretsu that includes a company that makes car springs. That’s why Nippon shafts feel different. The steel is “springier.”

After expanding throughout Asia, Nippon made inroads in the American market three years ago. They focused on the LPGA Tour, converting a high percentage of players to Nippon. Titleist won an exclusive contract to put Nippon shafts in their irons. Japanese companies are content with slow and steady progress. Today, most of the major American OEM companies offer Nippon shafts either as stock or custom upgrade. If you play steel, keep your eyes open for models that are shafted with Nippon. If you are reshafting with lightweight steel, Nippon shafts are available from a network of custom clubmakers. The Golf Lab in Palo Alto carries every model in every flex.

Nippon is not going to be satisfied sticking only with steel. They’re expanding their graphite line. Guess what? It’s made in Japan.

Japanese Forged Iron Heads

One of the trends of 2004 was the migration of almost all golf equipment manufacturing to China. Japan was too expensive for the mass market years ago. Then, Taiwan got to be too expensive. Luckily, it’s not too far to China -- the cheapest manufacturing environment in the world. It won’t be long before your name brand OEM golf clubs are designed, cast and glued together in Chinese factories -- many already are. Outsourcing to China is the way mass-market golf equipment will be manufactured in the future.

But you won’t find many Tour players with Chinese clubs in their bags. Since Tour Players are all Republicans, they naturally want to “Buy American.” Alas, the last American foundry closed a couple of years ago so that’s impossible. Now Tour Pros have to get their forged irons from Japan.

In 2004, Taylor Made earned “the top of the class” with their Miura Forged RAC irons. Taylor Made went to Miura because Miura has the reputation as the best foundry with the most meticulous finishing in Japan. Miura is the “gold standard” for forged irons. Taylor Made Tour Issue RAC heads can bring $1000 a set on eBay and Bombsquad.com. Even today, second-hand retail Miura RAC’s sell for $500 and up on eBay. Aficionados know that no irons hold their value better.

But be warned. Taylor Made is not above a little “bait and switch.” Their original 300 Series irons were forged by Miura. Later models were produced in China. Look twice when you see a cheap price.

More on Miura

If you haven’t heard about Miura before now, you will hear more soon. Miura is a tiny foundry, with fewer than 60 employees. They make the finest forged clubheads in the world; that’s why major OEM’s beat a path to Miura’s door. But doing business with major companies puts you at their mercy. In 2004, Miura brought its own original designs to the American market -- reworked to suit American tastes. They build clubs for the “green grass” trade in Texas. Miura also supplies a few, selected clubmakers with heads to build customized sets.

This dual distribution strategy makes customized Miura irons available to players who won’t be satisfied with standard specifications and common shaft choices. Miura understands the custom clubmaking world. Most foundries supply their heads in a single weight range, plus or minus three grams each way. That keeps custom clubmakers in business with tool kits full of lead, tungsten and brass tip weights cobbling together sets that fit customer specifications.

Not so for Miura. They are precise in hitting correct weights. As a clubmaker, you can get a set of heads anywhere from -4 grams from standard to +6 grams from standard. If a custom clubmaker is building a set of irons with Miura heads, he doesn’t have to use up his supply of tip weights to get a balanced set of clubs. Clubmakers can build Miura irons with any shaft from standard 125 g. steel to super lightweight 65 g. graphite.

Zodia Wedges

Japan is home to many small high-end, custom manufacturers. One of those is Zodia. Each wedge is hand ground to “USA Spec” for the American market. Zodia counts dozens of Tour Pros among its customers. Distribution is limited, but it is possible to buy the same wedges Tour Pros buy, fitted out the way Tour Pros play. Mark O’Meara would be happy playing your Zodia wedges.

KZG Japanese Forgings

In a slightly less exotic vein, I call attention to KZG. KZG is a small company that made its fortune supplying maraging steel faces to Orlimar, when that company was shooting the moon. They used their grubstake to start a company dedicated supplying high quality components to clubmakers. KZG is trying to establish a new category: “Custom OEM.” KZG forgings have always been recognized as high quality. They’re relatively expensive. That’s because KZG went to Japan for quality forged iron heads. When the rest of the component world began sourcing their products in China, KZG stuck with Japan. If you’re spending your own money and want a quality, Japanese forged iron, KZG is a good choice that won’t break the bank.

MacGregor MacTech Drivers

I have one final data point. MacGregor is one of the quintessential American golf equipment companies. Like many others, it was abused by corporate raiders through the years. Three years ago, a new owner Barry Schneider took over the company, intent on returning it to its former glory. It’s not been an easy road, but Mr. Schneider has made a lot of progress.

One of the corporate moves he made was to buy back MacGregor’s Japanese subsidiary. Japanese innovation will be emphasized in the MacGregor line for 2005. Their new MacTech drivers will be featured on the covers of the Dick’s Sporting Goods and Edwin Watts Christmas catalogs. The Japanese influence expands even into the product lines of American companies.

Best Shaft Discovery for 2004
-- and Maybe for 2005

The conventional wisdom about fitting golf clubs says that strong players need heavy, low-torque shafts in their drivers. That’s why so many good players have chosen the Speeder 757. It’s a mid 70 gram shaft and plays very stout. This year, I’ve been interested in testing very lightweight shafts. My motivation came from working with Eric Jones, building and testing clubs that he would use in the World Long Drive Championships. We found that “it’s all about weight.” Swingspeed goes up with lighter shafts, longer lengths and lighter heads. My reasoning was that what worked for Long Drive Contestants would surely work for amateur players.

The Fujikura SIX Speeder is a sub 60 gram shaft with relatively high (4.0¡) torque. It doesn’t get the same press as the Speeder 757 but it has a couple of key supporters: Annika Sorenstam and Stewart Appelby. Last month I told the story about how I trimmed my Fujikura SIX shafted Nakashima 380 a little too much. By the time I was finished “tuning” I couldn’t get it airborne. Then, I gave the club to Iron Byron (scratch, 122+ MPH swingspeed) and he hit it off the planet. It’s still in his bag. That’s a totally counterintuitive result. According to the conventional wisdom, there is no way he should be playing a lightweight, high torque shaft. And yet it’s the best performer that he found all year -- and he’s tested all of the premium shafts. Here’s the takeaway: if you’re a good player, don’t be afraid of lightweight, high torque shafts.

A second data point on lightweight shafts was discovered by Heather, a Golf Lab part-timer, former two-time S.F. City Champion and onetime pro. Heather’s 85+ MPH driver swingspeed is a little south of men’s “regular.” We built a dozen drivers for Heather in 2004. We tried all kinds of shafts, and all kinds of heads in all lofts. The winner? The best performer is a sub 60 gram shaft in a stiffer flex and a lower loft head (10¡) than the launch monitor tells us is right for her. Here’s the takeaway: You can’t trust standard fitting formulas and electronic gizmos. You can use electronics to find a starting point, but in the end, you have to experiment a lot and finally take your test clubs to the course you play. On-course testing is the only way to really know how new clubs will perform.

So I took a little of my own advice . . .

The Palo Alto City Amateur Experiment

The first weekend in November every year is the Palo Alto City Amateur. This year, the tournament was upgraded to a 100-point NCGA event. The City Tournament draws a great field. Some of the Paly Men’s club regulars enter the tournament to make sure the prize fund is rich so the young guys have plenty to play for. That’s my motivation. I also wanted to test some clubs in competition -- the best way to find out if you’ve got your sticks right.

I’d been talking to Dave Makarucha and Gavin Richardson at PGM, the ACCRA distributor for the Americas. At the request of some PGA Tour players, they added a very light shaft in a very stiff flex to their ACCRA line. The opening range of the ACCRA line is the “Tour” series. It’s in a premium price range, but not Speeder country. The T-50 is ACCRA’s sub 60 gram shaft. ACCRA has code numbers for flexes. M1 is soft, progressing through M5 which is “X.” I ordered up a selection of ACCRA shafts to make up a couple of test drivers.

I was also anxious to try the Alpha heads. That’s because I made the journey down to Mesquite, NV to see Eric Jones defend his World Senior Long Drive Title. At least half of the competitors in the semi-finals and finals were using Alpha heads. Eric is sponsored by Alpha. Despite that, I never paid too much attention to Alpha heads. Why? I didn’t like the shape.

Sometime in the future, I may ask myself why I didn’t put a little more stock in the fact that most of the best long drivers in the world chose Alpha. They don’t seem to think that there is anything the matter with the shape.

I made up two test clubs. The Alpha model that I liked the look of is the new 425 cc “Version 2.” It’s patterned after a Titleist with a slight pear shape. I mounted a 10¡ V2 head on the ACCRA Tour T-50 shaft in the M-4 (“S” flex) shaft. That tested out to 255 CPM at 45.” That’s the flex I think I play best. The second club I built a C-830/2 in 10¡ loft -- the model Eric uses -- with a T-50 M5 (“X” flex) shaft. That club tested out to 268 CPM at 45.5” -- quite a bit stiffer than I think I like.

I had one range session a few minutes before teeing it up in the Tournament. The club I wanted to like leaked to the right. I couldn’t turn it over. I bounced a couple “high right” off of the net. I didn’t see much point taking it to the course. Once again, my best thinking, a few swings and it’s back to the parts bin.

The club I didn’t like (because it was a little too “chubby”) was very solid. Since I didn’t have any other choices, I put it in my bag and headed for the first tee. Surprise of surprises!! I had the best driving day I can remember. One fairway missed. Playing from the black tees, I was finding my ball more or less where I would expect to find it from the blues. If I didn’t make a few bonehead plays, I would have shot a pretty good round.

Sometimes I think I’m a little crazy. After the best driving day I can remember, instead of declaring that I just found the new “Magic Driver,” I went straight back to the Golf Lab and replaced the M-4 shaft in the Version 2 head that I “liked” with an M-5. I played that club on Sunday. I proved one point. The same club that leaked to the right with the “softer” shaft held its line perfectly with the new shaft. I probably didn’t have to play it in the tournament to find that out -- but hey!! I had some pretty good drives, but overall the results didn’t compare favorably to Saturday.

Here’s the takeaway: If you’re going to test a lightweight, high-torque shaft, you will have better results if you play it at least a flex stiffer than your “normal” flex. That’s what our testing proves from Iron Byron, Heather, Eric and my own experience. This experience also proves again that you can’t tell what shaft will work for you from frequency measurement alone. There is a huge difference in how shafts play which can’t be measured in one simple frequency reading. Don’t get too hung up with the “science.” Finding the right shaft is still an art.

And there’s another issue. If you’ve been a golf snob all your life and think you know what you like, ask yourself how you will ever discover another club that will work better for you unless you test it. As for me, I might be dumb, but (I hope) I’m not stupid. I’m going to be playing the Alpha C-830/2 10¡ head on the ACCRA T-50 M5 shaft for the next few weeks and see if that club makes it past the honeymoon period. That head is just plain solid and easy to hit, even if I don’t like the shape. In a couple of weeks, I might think it’s beautiful.

BTW: Eric took third in the World Senior Long Drive Division at Mesquite. I shot 80-76 in the Palo Alto City Tournament and finished out of the money.

Best Drivers of 2004

I’ve been a Letterman fan since I lived in Indiana for more than 20 years. I just can’t resist making a “Top Ten” list of my own. I think that this is a good list, but if you’ve got a favorite you can email me: Leith@calgolftech.com. We might get a good debate going. What’s more fun than arguing about golf clubs? But for now, here’s my list.

Taylor Made R 7 Quad TP. My overall winner is a weird one. I’m naming the Taylor Made R 7 TP the top driver of the year and I haven’t even played one myself. There are two reasons: First the TM R 7 has killed sales for most other drivers since it came out. Second, I’m an inveterate club “ho” and that means that I never pay retail price. The R 7’s have been so popular that they’ve held their semi-stratospheric retail price through most of the summer. But in the last month that has changed. You can find the TP version on eBay for less than $500 and a couple of my friends who have Taylor Made in their shops don’t mind letting them go at cost plus a couple of points. I’ve got two on the way. I hope I didn’t waste $1000.

The R 7 TP was the top driver on Tour this summer. Vijay and Sergio helped establish its dominance, but they had plenty of company. The R 7 propelled Taylor Made to the top driver company of the year. But be warned: the retail version of the R 7 is destined to become a glut on the market. You’ll be able to buy one for under $200 before long. Be warned: never buy TM “retail” products. The cheap, proprietary shaft and the .350 anti-warranty replacement tip diameter are never interesting to better players who support the secondary market. The TP version with the Fujikura Speeder shaft and complete weight kit will hold a (street) price around $400 for most of 2005. But the $800 days are over.

Next month I promise a full review. Bob has his own lefty R 7 TP so we’ll be able to give you a view from both sides of the tee box. Bob and I share one nagging doubt. The R 7 has been out for six months. We’ve reshafted dozens. But we haven’t found one single player who has said that the variable weight system made a difference in his game. It might be that changing the weights is just too complicated and the inconsistencies of an average amateur’s swing prevent the R 7 from delivering on its promise. The R 7 might never become a true “Classic.” Stay tuned.

The Nakashima NP-1. Nakashima was a great story in 2004. Despite its Japanese appellation, Nakashima is from Stockton, California. The company is the brainchild of John Nakashima and the creativity of Scott Son. Nakashima is a very small company that is very disciplined and very focused.

When a new club hits the market, the “players” always show up to buy it and try it. The new club usually stays in the bag for a week or two. For the players that bought them, the Nakashimas have stayed in the bag, period.

The reason I’m giving Nakashima number two position is I’ve seen the 2005 prototypes. They are truly innovative and will be a major step forward in driver design. I can’t tell you what the innovation is, but if you want to fine tune your driver performance, Nakashima might be your best option in 2005.

KZG Gemini. KZG is a solid company that’s trying to establish a niche for “OEM Components.” It’s a tough row to hoe. KZG has a minuscule marketing budget and can’t pay “tee money” to PGA Pros. Nevertheless, KZG is the line that amateurs buy when they have to spend their own money. There was even one pro at the PGA Tournament this summer who turned down $10K to swap his KZG driver for the Taylor Made R 7.

Almost two years ago, KZG perfected the “dual face” driver model that became the “Gemini.” They took the idea to the USGA for approval. The USGA refused to approve the design for over six months. When the approval finally came, KZG missed an entire season. Luckily, the company survived.

If you’re going to try a new driver that’s not a Taylor Made or Nakashima, you can register a vote for the underdog by picking up a Gemini. You won’t be giving anything up; the Gemini is a top performer.

Alpha C-830/2 460 cc. I mentioned my pilgrimage to Mesquite, NV for the Remax World Long Drive Championships. Jimmy Yeh, Alpha owner, did a fabulous job of recruiting the longest drivers to the Alpha team.

Alpha heads were represented in the finals of all divisions. There is simply no other way to say it, in 2004 Alpha won the sweepstakes in the Remax World Long Drive Championships.

Cobra 454. It’s not always obvious to golfers that the major golf equipment companies have multiple brands to cover different price points. Cobra is Titlist’s “value” line -- that means low(er) priced. In 2004 Cobra made a move to get into the Long Drive business. They did a great job of it. Their heads were in use by most of the Pinnacle Long Drive Team and were used by quite a few finalists at the LDA World Championships. They made their heads available as “components” for long drivers.

The Cobra marketing machine parlayed their success in Long Drive to the consumer market. The most brilliant move they made was coming into the market at $399 list price ($299 street price) in a market that was growing weary of $500 drivers. Despite their lower prices, Cobra is picking up a following among better players who normally only buy the most expensive products.

Cleveland Launcher 460. We see a lot of Cleveland drivers in the shop. Most of them come in because the player wants to upgrade the proprietary shaft. That’s usually a good investment. Cleveland proved that golfers feel the thickness of their wallet in their back pockets. The Cleveland drivers are plain vanilla, but they’re very good quality, they have classic shapes that appeal to good players as well as occasional golfers. And, they’re usually available for around $300 street price.

Nike Ignite 460. Who could imagine that Tiger Woods would be playing a 460 cc Ignite driver? There he was at the Tour Championship, looking miserable but cashing a second place check for $700K. Two more Nike players were in the top 10 -- Stephen Ames and Rory Sabbatini.

Nike is like the Energizer Bunny, they just won’t quit and one of these days, they’ll get it right.

SMT 455 DB, Shinnecock, Nemesis. SMT founder Mike Tait burst onto the golf scene three years ago with his “indestructible” component heads. They came with a lifetime guarantee, an innovation at the time. The first year was truly storybook. The SMT 455 DB won the World Long Drive Open Division with Carl Wolter at 384 yards. In the last couple of years, SMT has become very popular among clubmakers. Rather than going “super premium” and raising prices, SMT held the line and even decreased prices.

If you’re an amateur golfer who doesn’t want to waste a lot of money on custom clubs, you can’t miss with the 455 DB, the Nemesis or the Shinnecock. All were still in use at the LDA Worlds. They are classics and the best value in the business.

Ping G2. The G2 is just now hitting the market. The big story is that it’s a philosophical departure for Ping. They finally went to China. They’re attacking the bottom end of the market. In the past, Ping stood for “Made in America.” Early reviews are giving the G2 high marks.

Taylor Made 510 TP. It’s likely that the true classic driver from this era will be the TM 510 TP. I bought a couple of heads now that they’ve become relatively cheap. They are great looking at about 390 cc.

Trends to watch for 2005. The big change in 2004 is the realization from major OEMs that they won’t sell too many more drivers at $500 plus. The TM R 7 is going to be the last of that breed.

If you’re going to buy a new driver, there are two important considerations. First, the shaft choice is paramount. My recommendation is to choose a very lightweight, high torque shaft in a flex that is too stiff.

Second, if you’re a golf snob, get over it. The large heads are easier to hit. Everyone knows that already, especially the pros who try to make a living hitting a long ball. Find a 450 cc head that suits your eye and learn to love it.

Leith Anderson is a partner in the Golf Lab in Palo Alto. He will answer all questions related to clubmaking and clubfitting personally. Contact Leith Anderson by email: Leith@calgolftech.com. Cell phone 650-743-2816.