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Questions about this product?
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Ryoma Golf and its D-1 driver has been the talk of Japan over the last year or so. The D-1 has been featured in many top magazines in Japan as a pure distance driver supposedly longer than any other driver out there. With claims of 10-20y distance increases for the average golfer, the Ryoma D-1 is made to change the face of drivers.
Ryoma Golf is a smaller company which has been in business since 2000 and are based out of Tokyo. They use an image on their site of famed Japanese historical figure Ryoma Sakamoto. Ryoma was a low ranking samurai driven to change Japan. Ryoma is credited with engineering a bloodless revolution that transformed the feudal Japan of the Tokugawa Shogunate into a unified nation bent on modernizing itself and catching up with the West. Ryoma Golf is wanting to revolutionize the golf industry with its driver and it's own unique designs and is inspired by Ryoma Sakamoto thus naming the company in his honor.
Deep and Strong Impact...
Ryoma's D-1 driver models utilizes a concept and design that Ryoma Golf has dubbed as DSI or Deep and Strong Impact. DSI is created by the deepest, lowest CG, creating the hugest sweet spot, coupled with low spin performance for max distance. The concept is not uncommon in the design of drivers today in the golfing world but Ryoma Golf takes it a step further by creating a CG point deeper and lower than pretty much any other driver in the golfing world. They've done this by manufacturing the D-1 as a monocoque structure made from their high strength forged titanium. Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's exterior to create a high strength unibody or frame. This technique is also used in aircraft design. More than 90% of the D-1's body walls are only 0.35mm thick which by industry standards is pretty much nearly half the thickness of most drivers on the market today. Now that is very thin. As shown in the image above, the head is stabilized by an inner frame. Because the walls are so thin, the body is highly elastic.
Power Booster 60g weight...
Due to the ultra thin walls which are very light, Ryoma Golf is able to place a huge 60g weighted system at the rear of the head which they call a power booster. Many drivers today uses weights, 10g 15g maybe 20g, but Ryoma Golf uses a whopping 60g which is why the CG is pulled back so low and deep in the head. This energy booster is linked to the walls frames and designed to repel and transfer the balls energy on impact. This coupled with a cup face (thicker sweet spot area surrounded by thinner face walls) creates the ultimate slingshot effect.
Ryoma Golf first tested their drivers using a robot hitting machine. Using an unnamed "other" driver and their own D-1 and D-1 Premia, you can see in the charts above how the Ryoma drivers produce more ball speed but more importantly a lot less spin and a lot more carry AND run. Not only was the distance quite a bit superior, the dispersoon was also tighter as shown in the illustration above.
What's amazing is that even with a much lower and deeper CG than most drivers on today's market, the D-1 gains its advantage through low spin and mid launch. Ryoma Golf has stated that they believe a mid launch with low spin creates the best angle of descent and the most run... plus in most cases the most stability and control. The above graphic showing the trajectory is based on testing and the average results of 10 players in live play.
The numbers in the charts above are amazing. An average of 15.8 yards distance gained by the 10 players with one even gaining an average of 24.5 yards himself. After looking at the above chart I went to my bookshelf to grab a few back issues of several top magazines here in Japan to see what they had to say about the D-1 and those who reviewed it mostly stated things like "surprising distance", "explosive impact", 'distance rivaling the best".
Besides the very low and deep CG, the D-1 sports a gravity angle of 39 degrees. The larger the gravity angle on a driver the quicker it rotates to meet the ball at impact. I am not familiar with any driver over 30* when it comes to gravity angles so I have to say that 39* is huge and I'll have to research if this causes an issue for the aggressive player battling a hook. Typically a driver of this type of design and classified as a distance driver is targeted at the average golfer or those wanting more distance. However in the case of the D-1 it seems to have attracted players of all levels and swing speeds.
D-1 V-Spec - D-1 - D-1 Premia
The original D-1 and D-1 Premia were designed for the average golfer and slower swinger looking for huge distance gains by eliminating bad shots right and providing maximum energy transfer coupled with low spin performance. The D1 and D-1 Premia feature square to closed faces (9.5* is square, 10.5* is 0.5* closed, 11.5* is 1.0* closed and the 13* is 1.5* closed) and a very large gravity angle to help square the face faster at impact. These features are meant to reduce shots right. In the picture above the D-1 10.5* on the right, the face angle is closed to help reduce shots right. The 10.5* V-Spec on the left however features a square face (the 8.5* and the 9.5* V-Spec are 0.5* OPEN) perfect for the better golfer and faster more aggressive swinger. The V-Spec model is also heavier overall to help stability for higher swing speeds.
The D-1 driver models feature very clean, very smooth Black IP and Champagne Gold/Gold IP faces exuding premium high quality. Ryoma drivers feature real lofts so if the driver states 10.5* then it has a real loft of 10.5*. Ryoma notes that the D-1 and D-1 V-Spec have targets of PLUS 15y gains for players while the D-1 Premia at it's 46.5" length (both the D-1 and V-Spec are 45.25") target a whopping PLUS 20y distance gain.
The Ryoma D-1 Driver - 3 Models
The D-1 driver is broken up into 3 models:
Ryoma D-1- Conforming Forged monocoque body and Titanium TDW face.
Champagne Gold IP Finish and Black Metallic Crown. Standard 45.25" length
9.5* (0* Face), 10.5* (0.5* Closed), 11.5* (1.0* Closed), HT13* (1.5* Closed)
Shaft mid kicking Tour AD FS-1 ranging from 44-66g and 3.0-5.0* of torque depending on flex
Ryoma D-1 Premia - Conforming Forged monocoque body and Titanium TDX face.
GOLD IP Finish, Crystal Brown/Black Crown. Standard 46.5" length
8.5*(0* Face), 9.5* (0* Face), 10.5* (0.5* Closed), 11.5* (1.0* Closed)
Shaft mid kicking Tour AD Premia ranging from 42-48g and 3.9-4.8* of torque depending on flex
Also available as HEAD ONLY 188-200g
Ryoma D-1 V-Spec - Conforming Forged monocoque body and Titanium TDW face.
Black IP Finish, Black Metallic Crown, Standard 45.25" length
8.5*(0.5* Open), 9.5* (0.5* Open), 10.5* (0* Face)
Shaft mid kicking Tour AD V-SPEC ranging from 54-66g and 3.0-4.2* of torque depending on flex
Also available with custom shafts or HEAD ONLY 188-200g
This listing is for thepremium D-1 PREMIA model HEAD ONLY with headcover. You can specify the weight of the head. This head can also be custom built for you with any shaft available in Japan including Crazy, Quadra, Tour AD, Diamana and more. Just contact us for a quote.
You can read gocchin's review at the GTI blog: http://www.golftoimpress.com/2011/01/ryoma-d-1-vs-quelot-re10-on-course-testing/
and watch a promo video here: http://www.golftoimpress.com/2010/12/introducing-ryoma-golf-and-their-d-1-driver/
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