My JDM Story

By upndowninthree

I once heard about a Japanese pro who dressed from head to toe in silk and hit the ball prodigious distances, legend has it that at his first tournament he even waited for the wind to blow into him before he unleashed a mammoth drive straight down the middle. At that point in my golf life I had never heard of Jumbo Ozaki, a legendary figure in the world of golf. Ozaki’s obsessive personality over details was well documented, and his biggest obsession was the U.S. Masters tournament. Ozaki used to say that whenever his neighbors would hear him hitting balls late into the night, it must have been early April. Episodes like this only further illustrate that this was a man who would go into something fully prepared to succeed or he would not bother making the trip. These factors had to translate into a particular eye for his equipment, Ozaki was the type of person that would not compromise on anything no less the tools with which he performed his magic. This curiosity of Ozaki was the introduction to the Japanese Domestic Market for me.

My first club from Japan was Jumbo’s driver at the time, the Bridgestone J’s professional weapon. The first time I saw the driver I remember thinking “that is the deepest face I have ever seen”, the profile of the driver from address was just about perfect, a bulbous pear but with a streamlined look to it. The J’s had a long hosel, which I loved, that made the head look so sleek that it looked like it could slip through a solid block of ice. But looks were not the only thing she had going for it, this thing could perform, not that I expected any less. The J’s was the first driver that I could get to fly low, high or whatever a good swing and thorough visualization could produce. I could actually hit what I call high bullets, it was the first time I saw a ball off the driver that flew high with a big flat spot at the apex.

This sparked my interest to the point where I could not get enough information about Japanese domestic equipment. The Internet/Web was not as it is now and research was fairly difficult, if you didn’t have a golf shop that carried these lines you would never even know about this whole new world.

Then one day while browsing the local golf shop I saw something quite intriguing, a Maruman Conductor 3 wood, a 13-degree gem with a Nippon steel shaft. Back in the early nineties this was not a common sight, the only place that you even saw the word Maruman was on Curtis Strange, and Jose Maria Olazabal’s bags. Eventually I found that Greg Norman had been using this very 3 wood for years, and continued to use it for years after. This was the first 13 degree three wood that I had ever owned so the newfound distance was a nice surprise. I fully expected more distance but sometimes when you hit it just right it would fly just as far as my driver.

My first eagle that I made via a putt was made following a shot off the Conductor 3 wood. I had a number that was further than any distance I had covered with a 3 wood previously, but I gave it a go. I hit a perfect little cut around a tree and the ball rolled onto the green up the right side. I had hit it pretty good but it was still around 40-50 feet away, I had to drop a putt from almost across the whole green, but luckily it fell and it was all due to the new 3 wood that I had picked up from Japan.

Through the years I have been lucky enough to own several clubs from Japan with some of my favorites being the Mizuno pro 300s(original with the Blue face), Mizuno Tn-87, Maruman 41cx, Honma pp-737, Bridgestone Rextar, and last but not least the Tourstage J340. Currently in the bag I have a Tourstage X-st 3 wood, and Fourteen wedges, I had been in search of a three wood that would launch high but still carry, without the weakening of flight I was finding with other clubs when you hit the ball real high, my search was over when I found the Tourstage X-st. It was easy to hit and forgiving, but with the qualities of a club made for someone who was looking for a specific flight. As far as wedges are concerned there is nothing even close to JDM. You cannot argue with double milled faces, milled grooves and finishes that look like they belong on a Bugatti Veyron. The Fourteen wedges are exactly what I am looking for in a wedge, great profile at address and super grooves.

The discovery I have made that is common among almost all Japanese domestic products is that the workmanship and quality is at a level that just cannot be touched by U.S. domestic products. The fit and finish, the tight tolerances, the grind and just the overall pride in craftsmanship the JDM products showed were clearly visible. It seemed to me that these JDM houses were not striving to break world records for production, millions of clubs flying off the assembly line so that they could sell as many clubs as possible in order to break some world record for manufacturing. The major concern for Tourstage, Maruman or Honma was building a high quality, superior product for a discerning customer.

There are people in this world that refuse to compromise when it comes to quality and realize that it comes at a premium, fans of Japanese domestic equipment are at the center of this demographic. And don’t fool yourself into thinking that the stuff you see here is the same as the stuff actually in Japan, most people think that all the Japanese people eat is sushi, you say Japanese food and most people think that all they eat is raw fish. That is certainly not the case and the same holds true in the world of golf, the Japanese customer, in general, is a more discerning customer and JDM products reflect this.

JDM products may cost a little more and take a bit longer to manufacture, but would you rather an investment cast heat treated head that came off a mold that was into it’s thousandth head or something that was forged, precision ground and shaped in the hands of a person who gives it life and personality. I feel it more as creative process than one of the mass-produced fashion in the U.S. (just my opinion)

I had never even heard of things like SP700, alpha/beta titanium, Super Hyten, until I saw them being used in Japanese Domestic clubs. U.S. manufacturers were casting driver heads from 6-4 titanium while JDM heads were being forged from beta titanium, there really is no contest. That initial feeling from the impact of a forged titanium driver head is something that I can only describe as sweet, like a cool breeze on a warm spring day, just nice.

Not all golfers are particular about what clubs they play with, what their clubs look like, what they are made of, or pretty much of anything. JDM customers are not of this persuasion, Japanese club fans are a group comprised of people that respect their tools and take care of their belongings. Some people are concerned with one factor concerning golf clubs, does it work? For JDM connoisseurs this is not enough, it can’t just work it has to look and feel the part.

JDM fans are a demanding, precise, and decisive group, we know what we like and we want it exactly the way we want it. The JDM market is for that select group of individuals that don’t mind paying a premium for a quality product.

Zodia wedges and Iomic grips aren’t for everyone, nor were they meant to be.
The shape and and sharp grinds of the wedges are not pleasing to everyone’s eye, the negative ion effects of Iomic grips don’t have everyone convinced, so be it. Products like these were never designed with a homogenized idea of what a wedge or grip should be, or which design would sell the best, they had a vision and gave their best effort, take it or leave it, I for one will take two.