Lately there has been a lot of press and  talk in Japan about the Ryoma D-1 driver from Ryoma Golf. 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. Personally I have seen the articles and the driver itself but somehow it never really grabbed my attention as I was not a big fan of the clubs look and graphics. However, I can no longer ignore all the positive feedback and claims of 10-20 yards of distance gains.  So I’ve decided to check this driver out more thoroughly and share my findings with our readers as we decide whether or not we carry the D-1 in our shop. We are also meeting with Ryoma Golf this week to get more in depth info on their company and the driver itself so this is just a preliminary introduction.

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.  I assume 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.

The Ryoma D-1 Driver

The D-1 driver is the lone club they sell so they focus all of their resources on it. It is available in standard D-1 and a D-1 Premia version which is a a long 46.5″ version of the D-1 also featuring some aesthetic differences such as Gold IP plating and crystal brown black gradient crown. Both drivers are forged from high strenth Titanium the dub TDW. I tried to do more research on TDW but it appears that this is a acronym they may have created. I will definitely have to ask them about that. I’ve gone ahead and translated some of their media and charts on the driver which I will use throughout this post.

Deep and Strong Impact…

Ryoma’s D-1 driver 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. I actually had to go look up what monocoque means as living in Japan, my English ability is deteriorating quickly (^_^).  Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object’s exterior that creates 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. So how does this come into play in the real world?

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 look 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”. I realize now I should have gotten over the looks and checked this out long ago. Needless to say I will have a D-1 to test later this week.

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.

For all players?

I was actually reminded about this driver by one of our forum members who swings around 115mph and did a test session with the club here in Japan and stated similar feedback, long lower trajectory, though he could not estimate run as he was hitting the back of the net. Also the fact that the D-1 is available in a loft as low as 8.5* means it could attract harder hitters and swingers with the right shaft.  The 8.5* and the 9.5* have square face angles while the 10.5 and 11.5* have 0.5* and 1.0* closed faces.  There is also a 13* High Trajectory Model with 1.5* closed face and a ladies model (pretty much a ladies shaft with the HT model).

Ryoma Golf is a small company but they have the support of top Golf Gear Analyst Kanatani Taichiro whose videos you probably see here from Golf Digest Online sometimes.  Kanatani loves the driver for its soft feel and explosive sharp trajectory.  We actually have a video from Ryoma Golf with Kanatani testing the driver and giving feedback and talking about its technology (in Japanese).  He talks about smash factor and a topic I always bring up which is why can pros who swing the same speed as amateurs generate so much more distance? It’s that smash factor and the ability to hit the sweet spot consistently with the right club creating the right amount of spin.  He also purposely hits the ball off center towards both the heel and toe with very little distance loss.  He goes thoroughly through the technology and spends time with the Ryoma Golf staff and launch monitor to verify results.

I am dying to try it…

This driver sounds like a dream. In one weeks time I’ll try my best to see if it truly is all that the D-1 is touted to be, especially at the prices this driver is listed at (over 1000.00 USD).  I still don’t like the way the driver looks but after reading up on all the specs and technology and checking out the video, I have to honestly say I am pretty excited as I am a player who only cares about distance in the fairway with the driver. Let’s hope I don’t get disappointed. :)

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