"So this is the New Premium Red model. The face is really nice."

This was the reaction of Seiichi Kanai when he first handled the TR-X505 and lined it up for a shot.

A nice face?

"You don't know what I'm talking about? My generation of golfers grew up with drivers with persimmon heads. So I still have a fondness for that kind of head shape. Even though the head size is bigger, looking at a driver that keeps the same shape as that era just makes me want to say that. You might say I'm just not willing to try new things, but I just can't get excited about using a driver that looks like it has a lot of obvious features."

Let me ask you a question. If you had to choose between a driver that has a nice face but not a lot of features and one without a nice face but with a lot of features, which one would you choose?

"That's a tough question. I don't think I would want to use either one. I'm guessing that the New Premium Red isn't a club that just has a nice face."

Why don't we try it out for real and see.

(After a practice swing.)
"It feels nice. It's 46.5 inches long? It doesn't feel long at all. It's very easy to swing, and you can swing it firmly. Timing should be easy with this club. Let me give it a try."

And on that note…the round starts.

As Mr. Mitamura and Mr. Shimada are also long-time golfers from the persimmon-head generation, they were also intrigued by the shape of the head when they first addressed the ball. And, as with Mr. Kanai, when they first took aim with the New Premium Red, they quickly granted their approval by exclaiming that they loved the shape and felt no awkwardness with the club at all.

The first one to tee off at the 1st hole was Mr. Mitamura. He quickly let loose with a strong-trajectory shot down the centre of the fairway.

Next was Mr. Shimada. His shot was a bit to the left, but he still managed to stay in the fairway.

The last person to tee off was Mr. Kanai. He used a skilful fade on the ball to put himself in the best position.

As the three of them started out, drivers in hand, to get ready for their second shots, they again took a good look at the club.

Mr. Kanai remarked, "When you look at the sole side of the driver, it gives a completely different impression from when you address the ball with it. Looking at it from this side, the sole looks like it bulges to the rear and the centre of gravity looks quite deep."

Mr. Mitamura said, "It looks like there are features that are buried in places where you can't see them (when addressing the ball). That must have been one of the designer's intentions."

On a par 4 with a dogleg to the right, Mr. Shimada sent a big drive just past the trees lining the top of the sloping corner of the dogleg.

The course they were playing on was one used for senior tournaments and Mr. Kanai had played the course many times before. While standing in the tee box, he was holding a 3 wood. He typically would use a lay-up strategy at tournaments, but after watching Mr. Shimada's shot he asked his caddy for the driver. He switched out his club and casually cut over the top of the corner with a high-trajectory shot.

Mr. Mitamura also decided to try the short cut. If he had hit the same tee shot as on the 1st hole he would have cleared the slope, but he strained a bit with this shot and it looked like he halfway topped the ball and it ended up in the middle of the slope. However, on the next par 5, Mr. Mitamura got his revenge with a big shot that carried a long way.

As the round went on, the driver competition between the three golfers continued. So how did they feel after the round?

-Mr. Kanai:
"The face is great and I have no complaints about the features. Handling it feels good, and it hits the ball great. You can do a slow complete swing with it, and you can also execute a downswing like with older persimmon-head clubs where you save up your power in the downswing and let loose all at once. The club doesn't feel long and the whip of the shaft is smooth, which makes achieving good timing easy. You can get a lot of distance with it, so for golfers who have lost some speed on their swing, this club might be able to restore their youth."

-Mr. Mitamura:
"I was able to hit the ball cleanly with it straightaway, so I was happy about that. The takeoff angle is high and the amount of spin is kept low so that the ball has a strong trajectory. The trajectory of the ball is also slow and long. The setting of the centre of gravity is great. Feeling the acceleration of the head from the downswing gives the club an excellent feel. It felt great to swing. For me, I felt like I was able to enjoy a whole new kind of flight on the ball. It's clearly a step up from the previous Premium Red model."

-Mr. Shimada:
"Even though it's light, you can definitely feel the weight of the head while swinging. That means, more than anything, you can get a good feel of the balance of the club. You get a high trajectory on the ball, a good amount of carry, and the ball rolls quite a bit after it comes down. I think it makes it possible to add about 15 yards of total distance on your shots."

Next up is fairway woods. (Continued)