My JDM Story

By Droopy

Like most golfers, I started off over ten years ago being extremely obsessive about “hitting the long ball” at any and all cost. Professionals were hitting the 7-iron from 170 yards and here I was hitting it from 145. After eight years, I realized that distance would never be a strong part of my game; I had to try and be content with hitting it short and straight.

I decided the next best thing was to ramp up my short game and become the best short game player I could be. Of course, equipment would be key so I started off with the putter. After going through about 20 putters, including the Tommy Armour, Gauge Design, Taylor Made, and Mizuno putters, I chose the Titleist Scotty Cameron Newport Beach Tour Model. I figured, as a bigtime Club Ho, dropping two grand on a putter was just the cost of doing business.

After the putter, I moved on to my other clubs, and this is where the JDM equipment changed my game forever.

The next clubs to be scrutinized were my sand and lob wedges. I’ve used everything under the sun, from Titleist to Ping to Cleveland. The last “retail” wedges I owned were the Titleist Raw wedges. I thought the wedges were all pretty decent, but the grooves weren’t consistent enough for me to get the ball to check up, etc.

After not finding what I was looking for at my local pro shop, I decided to do the golfing world a favor and design some top-notch wedges that would outperform everything else on the market, and thus, “nũk Golf” was born. The pictures below are the prototypes of the wedges.

(IMG:http://www.inpakuto.com/scans/droopy1.jpg)

Needless to say, I could not contain my excitement when I opened up my new babies. Ready to revolutionize the game of golf, I shafted them up and headed out to the driving range. I heard a thunk! as I toed the first shot, but as I slowly got used to it, I heard Larry David saying in my head, “Pretty good!” Maybe not better than the retail models that I was using before, but pretty comparable; almost in the same league. Maybe after some tweaking...

While browsing the Internet and thinking up ways to improve the design, I discovered a seemingly obscure Japanese wedge called “Zodia”. After a bit more research, I found out that not only were they NOT obscure, but were considered one of the top wedges in Japan. I ordered a set of wedges and once I received them, rushed off to the driving range again, not knowing what to expect. WOW! The wedges were solid and more forgiving than I thought possible! The performance matched exactly what I experience in my head when I’m dreaming of the perfect round of golf. Now it was time to see how they perform in a real round of golf.

(IMG:http://www.inpakuto.com/scans/droopy2.jpg)

On the course, it was effortless to get the two-hop stop at will. Out of the bunkers, the clubs were lasers. In one instance, after hitting a one-hop stop out of the medium rough, one of my partners promptly said, “Are those legal?!?!?” All this AND buttery soft feel! These wedges completely “nuked” the nũk wedges into retirement. I had finally found what I was looking for. Thank the Lord for JDM equipment!

Then unfortunately, out of the blue, I suffered a freak carotid artery tear in my neck and was hospitalized for 20 days. How does this happen to a healthy 30-year old?! I left the hospital with a doctor’s note forbidding me to play golf (or do anything strenuous) for a period of 18 months. Needless to say, I was in hell…

2007 is officially the first year that I’ve been able to play golf regularly. I’ve been so impressed with JDM equipment that I have been emailing with TourSpec Chris about getting a new Epon driver with a Roddio shaft. Of course, with irons and woods to follow shortly. 