WessCook
Tweet me @WessCook
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It's new to me Tim and being able to feel this shaft release through the ball is quite the feeling!
Miyazaki B. Asha Review - Forum Testing
It's new to me Tim and being able to feel this shaft release through the ball is quite the feeling!
WessCook
Tweet me @WessCook
- Joined
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- 2,773
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- 10
The guy I was paired up with had one of those GPS watches(how accurate it was....not sure) which seemed to be off both long/short. The one hole where I could actually have a target from the tee box to beam my laser from my ball registered at 296. I would call the trajectory a mid-high ball flight, but the benefit of this combination with the Classic head is to hit it low tee it low, hit it high tee it high.
Feel is subjective for me; with my other driver all I felt was the shaft and with this B. Asha Classic combo I can actually feel the head of the club now which is awesome because I can properly judge mis-hits.
Reading these reviews starting to come in makes me wish I would have spent some more time with the B. Asha at the Atlanta THP tour stop.
- Moderator
- #704
Launch Monitor Session #1
I've got some launch monitor numbers that I need to dissect over the weekend but I'm happy to share a teaser..
B.Asha 5x (Kusala in brackets)
Avg ball speed: 154.3 (+3.1)
Avg swing speed: 106 (+2)
Launch Angle: 11.0 (-0.9)
Total Spin: 2448 (+492)
Descent Angle: 38 (+2)
Carry Yards: 267.76 (+0.82)
Total Distance: 293.92 (-1.84)
Offline: -1.62 (+24.5)
Peak Height: 34.19 (+1.07)
needless to say, I'm really surprised in the numbers... I think one thing to factor was that a lot of my B.Asha numbers were warming up, which could attribute to the slower swing speed, but it's very hard to say.. It might bump it up a touch, but the offline stats, the total yards, and the descent angle were fantastic.
More on this as soon as I get some time to really take it all in.
I've got some launch monitor numbers that I need to dissect over the weekend but I'm happy to share a teaser..
B.Asha 5x (Kusala in brackets)
Avg ball speed: 154.3 (+3.1)
Avg swing speed: 106 (+2)
Launch Angle: 11.0 (-0.9)
Total Spin: 2448 (+492)
Descent Angle: 38 (+2)
Carry Yards: 267.76 (+0.82)
Total Distance: 293.92 (-1.84)
Offline: -1.62 (+24.5)
Peak Height: 34.19 (+1.07)
needless to say, I'm really surprised in the numbers... I think one thing to factor was that a lot of my B.Asha numbers were warming up, which could attribute to the slower swing speed, but it's very hard to say.. It might bump it up a touch, but the offline stats, the total yards, and the descent angle were fantastic.
More on this as soon as I get some time to really take it all in.
Damaikis
Fairway Finder
B. Asha Maiden Voyage
B. Asha Maiden Voyage
Today was my maiden voyage with the B. Asha 4x. I originally went up just to hit the range, but when I saw that I had enough time, I decided to head out for 9 after hitting a small bucket. I plugged the shaft into my R9 460 head graphics down which led to me looking down at the most beautiful driver I’d ever hit. I still think the way that the NDMC Whiteout- Red grip I put on it looks amazing with the cream color of the shaft and it accents the red markings on the shaft. Before I had even put a swing on this bad boy, I was confident because of how it set up to my eye.
They had us on mats at the range today, so I started out hitting range balls in really bad shape on a mat that didn’t have much traction. Either way, after my warm-up, I was able to get some initial thoughts on the B. Asha. The first thing that hit me was how light it was. It made the head of the driver feel very heavy and allowed me to feel the head all the way through the swing much better than my previous drivers. That was very nice for me as it allowed me to feel the rotation of the face, which is something I struggle mightily with both in the backswing and the downswing. I think the light weight had me swinging a bit faster as well. I really went after the ball today like the weight allowed me to do, and the shaft held up very well. It was plenty stable all the way through the swing, and I think that is where the stiff butt end of this shaft really comes into play. It really helped me feel like I was connected to my driver the whole swing because it didn’t get whippy in the slightest. That was something I had never seen in a shaft before: it was really asking me to get after the ball. I can’t even begin to understand how Miyazaki was able to keep such a stout shaft so light, but whatever it was, I definitely like it. This was a big change for me as this shaft comes in about 15 grams lighter than my previous shaft, the Aldila NVS 65s.
Now for the not so good aspect of the weight of the shaft: it’s a change. Like I said it is 15 grams lighter than my previous shaft and it is way different for me when I’m swinging. Right now with the 4x I almost feel like I’m swinging nothing. That caused me to get a bit quick and led to some over the top swing paths. I didn’t really hit any hooks, but the over the top action led to some straight pulls and some cuts. I had to really focus to come straight through with my swing, and that helped me hit quite a few good ones out there. I’m sure I will get used to the light weight of this shaft quite soon, and hopefully that will lead back to me swinging a bit more naturally.
The next thing for me to note is ball flight, which was also quite a bit different from my previous gamer. I already mentioned that my shot shape was either a pull or a cut with the occasional straight shot in there when I put a good swing on it. For the most part, I could see on the face that I was hitting the ball a bit high on the face and generally closer to the heel. I am still monkeying around with tee height a bit to try to get it just right, but that’s only a matter of time. For the most part I saw mid-flight bullets out of this thing. Like I said some were too high on the face, which led to some higher balls that did not fly nearly as strong as the decent shots. A couple of the ones that I hit well got up there quite a ways even though they were still hit solid, so I am attributing that to differences in my swing and tee height. The good ones for the most part were very penetrating and seemed to carry a good bit before slowly descending to the ground and rolling out. Some lower, some higher, but I would say it was a solid mid-flight average. My depth perception isn’t the best, but from what I did see it seemed like the ball was carrying just as far as my previous driver and then had more roll-out. Keep in mind that I did not really hit too many shots really solid: most of the ones I did hit on the center of the face had an over the top swing on them which led to a pull-fade, so clearly not optimal.
Like I said, even on not-so-good swings I was carrying the ball out there as far as good shots with my old gamer, which I found quite surprising. Overall distance appeared to be more than my previous driver because of the extra roll-out that the lower flight provided. I couldn’t tell for sure on the range, but that is what I perceived. The ones that I hit high on the face lost what appeared to be 20 or so yards carry with little roll-out. After I finished up hitting my range balls, I headed straight to #10 tee to get to work. I hit driver on all 7 of the non-par-threes on the back, and I hit 7/7 fairways. Most of them were decent swings where I would make contact with the center of the face, but my swing path would be a bit off. On-course testing was the best way for me to measure distance because I know where I normally end up with my driver on those holes. Well on 3 separate holes I hit my longest drive ever, which got me really excited to see what this can do when I’m having a good day swinging the big stick.
One particular scenario stands out in my mind from today’s round, and that was on hole #11. I hit my first tee ball, a mid-flight bullet that I pulled down the right side to start, but then faded back to the left-center of the fairway. I decided to pull out another ball just to get more swings in, and that one I hit off on the toe a bit. The ball started a bit left but flew in a straight line. I figured I would lose a bit of distance but the ball kept flying. When I got up to the fairway, this is what I saw:
I’ve never hit a drive past the 150 pole on this hole before, and I come up to find that two mishits had both made it past the marker and were only about 6 feet apart. That’s what I call consistency in performance. So I would say overall my driving average today was a bit further than my normal ones with my past driver and that is with no totally pured shots. I really can’t wait until I get ahold of one with this driver out on the course. Like I said I hit 7/7 fairways with the B. Asha today, which speaks volumes about its dispersion for me. While I was having a very bad day swinging the club, the B. Asha seemed to kill a lot of the sideways momentum on my bad shots, so my would-be banana slices turned into high, gentle pull-fades that still found the fairway. That happened to me twice during the round and I loved seeing my ball safe and sound when I had originally feared OB. While it has only been one session, I can safely say that the B. Asha is an immediate upgrade in dispersion for me, and I think that goes back to being able to feel the face of the club all the way through the swing. I managed to keep the face square today for the most part, and it really showed. Such a good day driving the ball led me to an even-par 36, my lowest ever score on 9 holes. Coincidence? Maybe, but I doubt it.
Overall it was a very good first day with the B. Asha 4x. I can’t wait to get more time in with it so I can start to get used to it and get back to making good swings. While not my best day driving the golf ball ever in terms of distance or solid contact, the B. Asha performed well for me on a bad day and it definitely shows a ton of promise for the future. I should be able to get 36 more holes in this weekend, so a lot more feedback to come. Thanks again to THP and Miyazaki for helping me shoot my personal best 9-hole round. Like always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer in a thorough and timely manner.
B. Asha Maiden Voyage
Today was my maiden voyage with the B. Asha 4x. I originally went up just to hit the range, but when I saw that I had enough time, I decided to head out for 9 after hitting a small bucket. I plugged the shaft into my R9 460 head graphics down which led to me looking down at the most beautiful driver I’d ever hit. I still think the way that the NDMC Whiteout- Red grip I put on it looks amazing with the cream color of the shaft and it accents the red markings on the shaft. Before I had even put a swing on this bad boy, I was confident because of how it set up to my eye.
They had us on mats at the range today, so I started out hitting range balls in really bad shape on a mat that didn’t have much traction. Either way, after my warm-up, I was able to get some initial thoughts on the B. Asha. The first thing that hit me was how light it was. It made the head of the driver feel very heavy and allowed me to feel the head all the way through the swing much better than my previous drivers. That was very nice for me as it allowed me to feel the rotation of the face, which is something I struggle mightily with both in the backswing and the downswing. I think the light weight had me swinging a bit faster as well. I really went after the ball today like the weight allowed me to do, and the shaft held up very well. It was plenty stable all the way through the swing, and I think that is where the stiff butt end of this shaft really comes into play. It really helped me feel like I was connected to my driver the whole swing because it didn’t get whippy in the slightest. That was something I had never seen in a shaft before: it was really asking me to get after the ball. I can’t even begin to understand how Miyazaki was able to keep such a stout shaft so light, but whatever it was, I definitely like it. This was a big change for me as this shaft comes in about 15 grams lighter than my previous shaft, the Aldila NVS 65s.
Now for the not so good aspect of the weight of the shaft: it’s a change. Like I said it is 15 grams lighter than my previous shaft and it is way different for me when I’m swinging. Right now with the 4x I almost feel like I’m swinging nothing. That caused me to get a bit quick and led to some over the top swing paths. I didn’t really hit any hooks, but the over the top action led to some straight pulls and some cuts. I had to really focus to come straight through with my swing, and that helped me hit quite a few good ones out there. I’m sure I will get used to the light weight of this shaft quite soon, and hopefully that will lead back to me swinging a bit more naturally.
The next thing for me to note is ball flight, which was also quite a bit different from my previous gamer. I already mentioned that my shot shape was either a pull or a cut with the occasional straight shot in there when I put a good swing on it. For the most part, I could see on the face that I was hitting the ball a bit high on the face and generally closer to the heel. I am still monkeying around with tee height a bit to try to get it just right, but that’s only a matter of time. For the most part I saw mid-flight bullets out of this thing. Like I said some were too high on the face, which led to some higher balls that did not fly nearly as strong as the decent shots. A couple of the ones that I hit well got up there quite a ways even though they were still hit solid, so I am attributing that to differences in my swing and tee height. The good ones for the most part were very penetrating and seemed to carry a good bit before slowly descending to the ground and rolling out. Some lower, some higher, but I would say it was a solid mid-flight average. My depth perception isn’t the best, but from what I did see it seemed like the ball was carrying just as far as my previous driver and then had more roll-out. Keep in mind that I did not really hit too many shots really solid: most of the ones I did hit on the center of the face had an over the top swing on them which led to a pull-fade, so clearly not optimal.
Like I said, even on not-so-good swings I was carrying the ball out there as far as good shots with my old gamer, which I found quite surprising. Overall distance appeared to be more than my previous driver because of the extra roll-out that the lower flight provided. I couldn’t tell for sure on the range, but that is what I perceived. The ones that I hit high on the face lost what appeared to be 20 or so yards carry with little roll-out. After I finished up hitting my range balls, I headed straight to #10 tee to get to work. I hit driver on all 7 of the non-par-threes on the back, and I hit 7/7 fairways. Most of them were decent swings where I would make contact with the center of the face, but my swing path would be a bit off. On-course testing was the best way for me to measure distance because I know where I normally end up with my driver on those holes. Well on 3 separate holes I hit my longest drive ever, which got me really excited to see what this can do when I’m having a good day swinging the big stick.
One particular scenario stands out in my mind from today’s round, and that was on hole #11. I hit my first tee ball, a mid-flight bullet that I pulled down the right side to start, but then faded back to the left-center of the fairway. I decided to pull out another ball just to get more swings in, and that one I hit off on the toe a bit. The ball started a bit left but flew in a straight line. I figured I would lose a bit of distance but the ball kept flying. When I got up to the fairway, this is what I saw:
I’ve never hit a drive past the 150 pole on this hole before, and I come up to find that two mishits had both made it past the marker and were only about 6 feet apart. That’s what I call consistency in performance. So I would say overall my driving average today was a bit further than my normal ones with my past driver and that is with no totally pured shots. I really can’t wait until I get ahold of one with this driver out on the course. Like I said I hit 7/7 fairways with the B. Asha today, which speaks volumes about its dispersion for me. While I was having a very bad day swinging the club, the B. Asha seemed to kill a lot of the sideways momentum on my bad shots, so my would-be banana slices turned into high, gentle pull-fades that still found the fairway. That happened to me twice during the round and I loved seeing my ball safe and sound when I had originally feared OB. While it has only been one session, I can safely say that the B. Asha is an immediate upgrade in dispersion for me, and I think that goes back to being able to feel the face of the club all the way through the swing. I managed to keep the face square today for the most part, and it really showed. Such a good day driving the ball led me to an even-par 36, my lowest ever score on 9 holes. Coincidence? Maybe, but I doubt it.
Overall it was a very good first day with the B. Asha 4x. I can’t wait to get more time in with it so I can start to get used to it and get back to making good swings. While not my best day driving the golf ball ever in terms of distance or solid contact, the B. Asha performed well for me on a bad day and it definitely shows a ton of promise for the future. I should be able to get 36 more holes in this weekend, so a lot more feedback to come. Thanks again to THP and Miyazaki for helping me shoot my personal best 9-hole round. Like always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer in a thorough and timely manner.
WessCook
Tweet me @WessCook
- Joined
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- 2,773
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- 10
Nice write-up Dam! I agree with you on the immediate dispersion upgrade. My used to be power fade misses are now manageable cuts.
- Joined
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Bid in on one...you all make it soooo difficult to hold off. I really need to go hit the one I know is close a see what comes of it. Jrod...represent later today brother!
Mr. Satchmo
urielsatchmoortegaMR.Jinx
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I can't hang with your late night antics U, I WILL have one.....somehow. You...my good man, have great feedback across the board! A lot of good information from your experiences.
Mr. Satchmo
urielsatchmoortegaMR.Jinx
- Joined
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Not that it's late, but the "U" is simple...I'm looking at the 5X..and you (U)?
Mr. Satchmo
urielsatchmoortegaMR.Jinx
Tadashi70
Well-known member
dan the numbers don't lie. Each session will give you different but close feed back. My point is that the occasion for you to jump on a monitor when your swing is at its optimum output is hard to do. I'd think you would need at last a half hour of time to warm up properly and hit the B asha. Based on the videos of your swing the other day I would be included to bumb those up as well. But swinging somewhat cold on monitor and to produce those numbers is good.
the Kusala should have a little more kick due to the fact it's been your gamer.
Tadashi70
Well-known member
Goos stuff Charlie, the side spin will be minimal with that 4x. 7/7 with bad swings it pretty darn good. And that fact that you distance has increased with lease carry means more club head and ball speed. The beauty is being able to really get after it with out fear of the club keeping up. I'm sure you hit at least one on the screws on the course, what were the results. Also the hole pictured, how long is it?
Wicked Cool Bearded Man
4thegolf+4thefriends
Great write up Charlie! Great round too man. That is a sweet first time out bro
Wicked Cool Bearded Man
4thegolf+4thefriends
Nice write ups dan and Wess as well!
FrankA
Catch ya on the flip side
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You and Chunky have the ones I'm waiting to hear about
dhill
New member
Nice write up Dam.
Reading these have really opened my eyes to what different shafts can do. I didn't realize all the possibilities.
Tapping my way forward as a MC hopeful
Reading these have really opened my eyes to what different shafts can do. I didn't realize all the possibilities.
Tapping my way forward as a MC hopeful
Damaikis
Fairway Finder
The hole I showed was probably at about 410 yesterday, so those drives were unofficially 265-270ish. The one that I hit the best on-course was on #18, which is about 370 yards, and I had about 100 left in. It had a nice mid-low trajectory and was slightly pulled but carried out there a good bit and then rolled out a bunch. I should know much more in terms of distance after this weekend.
Damaikis
Fairway Finder
I just finished my first full 18 hole round with the B. Asha 4x. I definitely have have some more thoughts to add to yesterday's writeup as well as some info to expand on yesterday's. I hit two of the best drives of my life today and even though I only hit 7/14 FWs (all with the B. Asha), I didn't take a single penalty off the tee with it all day.
JRod
Well-known member
Learned a lot about this shaft today. Can't wait till tomorrow to put it in play again and post some thoughts tomorrow night.
SW
Grinder
Way to go Charlie! That's two great outings since putting this shaft in play. Take a moment and think about this for a minute.
Are you swinging the same as you were before or has there been a change since you're using a new piece of equipment? Less aggressive, better tempo etc etc
Are you swinging the same as you were before or has there been a change since you're using a new piece of equipment? Less aggressive, better tempo etc etc
Damaikis
Fairway Finder
I'll keep this in mind and add more about it to my writeup tonight when I have more time to think about it. Initially it feels like I'm able to be more aggressive in going after the ball because of how stout it is and the light weight. I will say though that after today's outing I feel like I was more prone to staying on my back foot through the swing which leads to some pulled drives. That's one thing that causes me problems when I get tired and I think I did it more today than usual. Good question, I need a bit more time to think about it and formulate my complete answer.
Scrap Iron
On The Eh Team
Good job Damaikis.