My First Experience with JDM; A True Story

By dknack

My first experience with JDM equipment is one I can never forget. It was in the summer of 2005 while I was studying abroad in Tokyo. I lived in Kashiwa, a large town in Chiba Prefecture, with an older couple who owned a yakitori restaurant. We lived above the restaurant in a small apartment and I would bus tables at night to pay for rent. I couldn't have asked for a more Japanese experience! When I arrived in Japan I could only say a few words and phrases, but my Japanese improved quickly just from talking to the customers. Of all the thousands of customers I met, there was one that stood out the most.

Every Friday night a man came and always sat in the back corner of the restaurant. He seemed to be an important customer since my host father would talk to him a lot. My host father finally introduced me to him the third time he came by since I started working there. His name was Masuda-san and was a friend of my host father since elementary school. He also was the owner of a driving range in Kashiwa. I soon as I heard "driving range" I knew I need to get to know this guy. My host father told Masuda-san that I was pretty good at golf, but didn't have enough money to afford to play golf in Japan, so Masuda-san made a deal with me. He said I could hit all the range balls I want if I was his grandson's English tutor. It was perfect! I helped his grandson with English for an hour, then hit balls for three. Sounds like a good deal to me. There was only one problem…I didn't have any clubs. I told Masuda-san I didn't have any clubs, but he said not to worry since he had his son's old set of clubs were at the driving range. He said they would fit me well because his son was supposedly a pretty good golfer.

The following day, I went over to the driving range to teach English to Masuda-san's grandson and more importantly, hit balls for the rest of the day. I was excited to play golf again since I hadn't touched a club for two months. I was just hoping that my swing was still good since my host father was praising Masuda-san about how I could hit the ball 300 yards.

After I finished tutoring, Masuda-san went back to his office to get the clubs for me. I can never forget the moment he came out with the clubs. It was a Tourstage staff bag with everything Tourstage in it. I was in heaven. I wanted to say how gracious I was to Masuda-san for letting me use the clubs, but I could only say "Sugoi! (Wow!)". Then I looked down at the bag and I saw his son's name "Nobuhiro Masuda" on the bag. Wait! Nobuhiro Masuda!? One of the best golfer's on the Japanese tour!?

"Your son is Nobuhiro Masuda?" I stuttered in disbelief.

"Yeah, yeah" he said shrugging it off. "He's not that great."

How typical of a Japanese father. Even though his son is one of the best golfers on the Japanese Tour, he's still humble about it.

He told me to have fun and walked into his office. Was grinning to my ears. Not only did I get the chance to hit Tourstage clubs for the first time, they were Nobuhiro Masuda's own clubs.

I first looked at the irons, Tourstage X-Blades. Before this moment, the only clubs I had ever played were old Ping Eye 2s, which in comparison, well… there is no comparison. The Tourstage's were beautiful. The sleek design, the forged compact head, the thin top line; it was perfection. I knew this was how a golf club was supposed to be made, not from cast moldings and perimeter weighting.

Still remember the feel of hitting those irons for the first time. They were so crisp and pure, a feel I never experienced from cast Ping Eye 2s, they were built for a tour pro. I felt in complete control with those irons. I could work them in either direction; high fades, low draws, punch shots, whatever I wanted. I didn't want to stop hitting balls that day. In fact, I hit balls until my hands blistered. I was so in love with the irons that I didn't even get to the woods that day. I went to the driving range every day to teach Masuda-san's grandson English and hit balls. A lot of my friends say I went all the way to Japan and wasted an entire year at a driving range, but I wouldn't change a thing. How many chances does an average guy get to hit a tour pro's clubs? It is by far the most memorable golf moment of my life and my first experience hitting JDM clubs.