Today we’re going to look at the new 2012 Yamaha Inpres X D Series lineup. In the past Yamaha had two lines the V Series for the athlete and better golfer and the D Series for the average golfer. For 2012 the Inpres X line has been expanded to include 3 lineups shifting the D Series towards more of an average golfer and better player overlap. Thanks to this model realignment, Yamaha has completely redesigned the D series iron making it forged for the first time.
The premium Endo forged S20C D Forged head is matched with a plasma welded SAE high repulsion face. The SAE face provides durability and increased rebound for higher ball speeds and more performance. The D Forged is the forged iron for those mid cappers and average golfers who want to play a forged cavity back but still need ease of use and forgiveness. I’ve noted several of the key features of the Yamaha D Forged head in the image above. We at TSG are fans of the high tech design and while traditionalists may feel it takes away from the pure feel, high tech designs are getting better and better at retaining butterly feel at impact and reducing clickiness often associated with under cut cavities.
Along with the newly forged iron, the D Series also includes the new D202 driver and New D Power Spoon. Like I wrote in the post below on the V Series drivers, the 450cc conforming D202 shares many of the technologies that the V Series drivers do including the forged ELF Ti Ultimate face as well as the chemically milled variable thickness crown. It also utilizes the same RPM design which provides a higher launch but lower overall ball flight with lower spin for more carry and more run. The differences for the D series are not only a bigger and shallower head but also a lower CG point and slightly more bulge in the face to create more gear action or in other words straighten out those off center shots. The D202 sports a 0* square face angle and has a brand new stock shaft which Yamaha is very high on. They call the design “Tip Weight Technology” where the tip area of the shaft is reinforced so that at impact it remains as level as possible to provide a square blow on the ball. Some shafts can bow or deform at impact creating a less than favorable impact. I’m looking forward to trying the demo and seeing how the new stock shaft performs. In the past the D Series drivers featured a square face model and also a closed face model. Now that there is only a square face model, TSG recommends that the D202 be used by the mid handcapper and the average golfer who does not struggle with a bad slice.
Yamaha has also released an all titanium New D Power Spoon which is of course a maximum distance 3 wood designed to reach long par 5’s in 2 shots. The new D Power Spoon now sports the Fric Off twin sole and a new inner weighting design. A HUGE 70g tungsten weight is placed on the sole of the Spoon to increase launch and MOI. At address the 198cc head appears like a mini driver and many players will appreciate its 57.5* lie angle. This shallow head Spoon is made to provide driver like performance and not only driver like looks.
As always we have the promo video for the new D series and while it is in Japanese you get the chance to see and hear the clubs in action. Look for the new lineup to be in the pro shop this week for pre order ahead of the November 19th release. We look forward to getting some demos for testing and review very soon!
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