Yururi Wedge Builds Part 4 – Seida Rupas Testing at Hirakawa CC

One of the neighbors I play with on a regular basis is a member at Hirakwa CC, a private club about 10 minutes from Kiminomori here. I got the chance to play there today with him and get the Seida Rupas in for another round. Hirakawa is a top 7115 yard championship level course and also home to the Japan tour event the Fujifilm Senior Championship.  I’ve played there before and as always, the course is in top notch condition with ultra fast greens, super lush fairways, powder soft sand and deep thick rough that could even drive pros mad. This is even with the scorching heat we’ve had here in Japan for weeks with little rain.

It is one of the few courses in Japan where players actually walk and have a caddy, two things I’m not so used to as everyone in Japan rides and a caddy is usually too costly. We played from the white tees which still come out to quite a long 6609 yards and Par 72.  I was playing very well today and was told by my neighbor if I could shoot around 90 on Hirakawa it would be a very good accomplishment so that is what I was aiming for, bogey pace.  Being in the fairway is a huge advantage at Hirakawa especially for that second shot. Par 4’s are longer than usual and if you end up in the rough after your tee shot a second shot to the green can be very hard with the ball buried deep in the rough to the point where you can barely see it. This happened to me a few times off the tee and I ended up laying up out of the rough to get a clean shot from the fairway.

Stimp reading on the greens today were at 11 and super fast which made putting difficult on the already tricky greens. Though I struggled in the rough and with some putts, the Seida Rupas did their part and have earned a permanent position in the bag. They felt great and bite well even for conforming grooves thanks to the raw face which if you don’t keep dry and maintain can rust (some people actually want it to rust for more bite). Trajectory was lower than I expected even with the Yururi/Fujikura graphite shafts which were very stable. This lower trajectory contributed to the spin and approaches to the green were rewarded with soft touch and yes even good back spin.

The great thing I love about the Rupas is the look at address. The straight neck is eye pleasing and the rounded head provides confidence.  As I mentioned before the black raw face frames the ball very well. In the bunkers which i was twice, the 58 opens up easily and still aims at the pin and the slightly wider sole and bounce helped me in getting out of the bunker like a pro and not just get out but with control and direction at the pin. While the sole is wider the top line is still nice and thin just the way a better player will like it. The best part is that these wedges aren’t only for the better player though in talking with Yururi the Seida Rupas was designed for the Japan tour pro Dinesh Chand.  Even the average golfer can play these wedges as many of the features I mentioned above, the rounded head shape, the wider sole all give the wedge a lot of ease of use.

While I three putted and hit fat shots out of the rough on the way to a 91, the wedges gave me no problems at all whether it be attacking the green from 70 yards, escaping the bunkers or a short lob over another bunker from 30 yards out, the Seida Rupas were versatile and great feeling and performing. That’s why they’ll be staying in the bag… at least for a while (^_^).  As for Hirakawa CC, I hope to get revenge on the course again soon but not another 34C hot and humid day! I’ve been invited to this years Fujifilm open so that will probably be the next time I go watching Tommy Nakajima, David Ishii, Isao Aoki and many other top Senior Pros.