Grandista?

[MBBG]

I understood that Dick was originally thinking of raising capital for his designs stateside but realized he could not find suitably small hands to do the brazing, caucasians are too damn big, so he reverted back to the Japanese market.

On that note I understood the ports on the underside of the head were also designed as exhaust outlets to better control the explosion and effectively accelerate the head to increase face contact time of the ball resulting in >180 smash factors and softer feel.

Yes you're absolutely right. This is a driver whose technology is far ahead of its time and will be revered amongst JDM enthusiasts for generations to come.

Honestly I'm surprised they're not a "Limited Edition 500 Piece" release that somehow 1500 people own!

[freehb]

How did I miss this!?!  Squirts Rules!  Confidence is very sexy...don't u think!!??

[freehb]

So squirts post sold me but does anyone have experience with this driver?

[wmclarenf1]

I was just looking at this the other day and nearly bought one.  dat 55 face too.

[nobwas]

They came out with an SP700 faced version as well and I bought one of these to pair with my 7D shaft.   Won't have the driver until mid August.   Based on my past experience,  I somehow just don't get along  DAT 55G faced drivers so went with the SP700.     Was getting very good numbers on trackman at my fitting at 7D using a Diamana B 60 shaft.    best one that day was 292 yards with 2150 rpm  back spin.    For a sea level callibration trackman that is really good for me.    Might be too soon to tell but this head might be a JBeam slayer!    shape at address is really nice.    Many have said it is reminiscent of  older Yamaha heads.   Quite forgiving from my limited experience as well.
Feel at impact is soft.  Sound is well controlled but loud enough for making it feel hot.
I personally would have prefered a cleaner sole.   Quality of finish is top notch.   

I compared this head against my AF153 gamer and decided to go with the Grandista for my 7D pairing.  I do love my Epon but the 153 is a bit outdated when it comes to distance performance and is a bit spinny relative to more recent  heads.   I felt as I was not getting the most distance out of my swing.   so I have high hopes for this Grandista head.
I mean I'm spending over 2Gs for a single club!! It better perform siginicantly better than anything I tried in the past.
If I can top the numbers I saw with the Diamana shaft by another 15 yards or so while getting better dispersion,   I would be a happy camper.

One thing I was not impressed about was the head cover.  bright blue vinyl and loud design.

The designer Yoshida san replied to my email personally prior to my purchase which I thought was pretty cool.
He told me that the only differences between the dat55 version and sp700 version were face color and  feel at impact.
He also said performance figures should be identical as they measure COR on all heads to be within their allowed tolerance.

Will report back once I have the driver.

[tokidoki1986]

Was looking at it earlier this week and wonder if someone going to start topic on this driver

[TFL07670]

very interesting and great write up squirts. so this boom pods thing - is it a one-time thing or something recurring once you buy it and plug it in?

[gocchin]

Looks like that photo was taken at 30,000 feet above the Pacific, top that Chris!

Let me take a stab at creating some hype that will have everyone frothing at the mouth to spend $1500 on this piece.

Grandista is a newer golf gear company in Japan that puts an emphasis on the highest quality materials, ultimate feel and control, classic looks, and user prestige.  The new Grandista driver is a technological marvel, utilizing two "Super Impact Tubes™" on the sole that can be loaded with small explosive "Boom Pods™" (sold separately in the Pro Shop) that detonate at impact to create extreme distance along with the pleasing sounds of small arms fire.  The patent pending cup face design is double cold press forged from Dat 69 for a soft, explosive feel, then precision brazed by a man with tiny hands for the ultimate in consistency.  As you may have noticed, it has the unique feature of having the entire spec sheet printed right on the bottom, so the anal retentive golfer will know his club right down to the last meaningless detail.  The crown of the club incorporates a classy ion plating and an easy-to-read user guide to help remind the improving golfer to swing the club correctly. 

Recently I was able to meet with the President and design team when they took me out for a few hundred dollars worth of exotic sushi and drinks in exchange for promoting their products through the Pro Shop.  Their chief designer, Hideki "Dick" Gozinya-san explained to me the revolutionary center of gravity design they put into this new club.  He explained it in Japanese (which I don't understand 100%) but I believe he said that the club head senses your swing speed and club path and automatically adjusts the CG to the optimum location for big carry and run using a sophisticated series of cats' eye marbles and a spring from a ball point pen. 

So how does this new beast play?  Recently I was able to spend some time with it in comparison to my current gamer--the last driver that I demo'd and declared the Best Driver Ever.  I have it shafted with my new favorite shaft, the $107,000 Sixteen Candles shaft in a SR flex playing at 46".  At address, the club head is both compact for workability for the better player while being large to instill confidence in the higher handicappers.  I didn't find the user guide printed on the crown to be distracting at all at address, unless I looked at the club. 

During my backswing I did hear some electronic calculation noises reminiscent of "KITT" from the 80's classic television show "Knight Rider."  But on the downswing I did not hear any annoying movement from the marble track, just the feel of incredible speed and then the explosive impact.  I liked the sound of detonation at impact whilst using the Boom Pods, but an elderly gent I was paired with for my round literally shat himself after my first drive, so keep that in mind when playing with new people.  I have now played two rounds and hit it at the range twice, so I can honestly say that I feel this is the newest Best Driver Ever, and fits a variety of handicaps from Pro down to beginner. 

Yes, it is mighty expensive, but hey, you're worth it.  Right?  These are now on sale in the Pro Shop with the stock Bangzoo Animals shaft, but of course we can build them with any high end shaft in Japan.

Jesus... Am I guilty for writing like that in the past?  Or that's not me right cause I do understand Japanese.... 

[MBBG]

Just re-read that post for the first time in a long time and was literally LOL at several points.

I don't think it's a mockery of you T, although the the proper use of commas and lack of run-on sentences might make it seem so.

[gocchin]

Just re-read that post for the first time in a long time and was literally LOL at several points.

I don't think it's a mockery of you T, although the the proper use of commas and lack of run-on sentences might make it seem so.

Yes it is actually quite well written. 

[Staxxx]

T, what do you think of this driver, please? Have you tried it perhaps?

[wmclarenf1]

I just found out this has a carbon composite crown like Cleveland or Cally had a longgggg time ago.  Not sure if I want that.

[nobwas]

What's wrong with Carbon Composite crowned heads?
Cally still uses carbon composite crowns ( I guess they call it "forged composite" these days )  with their 815 Big Bertha line.   

[gocchin]

The legendary first gen egg also used carbon composite.

It isn't necessarily a bad thing though for some they may not like the way using CC can alter sound and feel.

In the case of the Grandista, its not a complete composite crown but more of an insert in the crown.

Grandista is not a big brand and very much one of those smaller boutique brands targeted more at maniac/hardcore types.

The founder wanted to make a driver "that satisfied himself" - so he said, thus he made the Grandista.

It's borderline conforming right at 257CT and from the looks of the specs, the CG is rather deep though not so low.

It's certainly an interesting design at least visually.

[draven]

LOL! I nominate squirts homage for greatest post I've ever read on any forum... is it wrong that I really, really want this club now?