Nice to meet you. My name is tK and I am the editor of this blog.
Although I give lessons for a living, I have always been just a user of JUCIE. I am also a golfer who has been immersed in the world of golf in my own way, and have repeatedly been troubled, improved, and depressed again. However, it is a little strange for me to be writing a blog about the JUCIE brand and its designer, Muneyuki Matsuyoshi.
This time, I would like to write about my encounter with Mr. Matsuyoshi of JUCIE. First of all, let me tell you that I am an enthusiastic fan of Mr. Matsuyoshi and the JUCIE brand. Yes, I am aware of it. So, I may be a bit hot and bothered, but please forgive me for that.
We met in 2023. The days of losing a score if you miss the green
I believe that was around the beginning of the year 2023.
At that time, I was playing golf in a very unstable way, as if I would lose a shot if I missed the green. If my shots were good, my score was good. But if my shots were a little shaky, I was out of control. I was especially bad at approaches, and was stuck in a negative loop of "I can't get close, it falls apart, and I give up. Then, through a friend of mine, I was told, "Why don't you consult Mr. Matsuyoshi of JUCIE? Mr. Matsuyoshi of JUCIE.
Mr. Matsuyoshi - I knew his name; he was the right-hand man of the late Takamitsu Takebayashi, who had made Japanese club design world-famous at F Corporation, and had inherited his DNA. He is a rather awe-inspiring person to consult with.
But I went there.
And suddenly, "Do you want to try hitting?" and asked me to accompany him to a nearby driving range, where he explained each model and let me try out all the wedges.
But...to be honest, at that point, I couldn't really pinpoint what the difference was.
Looking back, I myself did not understand the wedges at all. I didn't know what to feel, how to use it, and I guess I didn't have the sensitivity to "feel" the individuality of the club itself.
Even so, I bought the 60° tH wedge 6010K, which I found "somewhat easy to use" at that time.
Once I put the sole to the ground, everything changed.
The day I received that club, I was excited to go to the driving range.
To be honest, I still don't know what my excitement at the time stemmed from. Was it because I had a new club in my hand, or was it the desire for ownership of a luxury piece of equipment? ......
Before using the wedge, there was a quote by Matsuyoshi that remained in a corner of my mind.
He said, "A wedge is the sole. It's important that when the sole hits the ground, it matches the way the person wants to hit the ball."
Thinking back to those words, I consciously hit the ball with the sole against the mat--
and wow, the head goes under the ball with ease. It was as if the club was doing it on its own.
I thought, "What? I didn't realize how easy it was to approach?"
It was a strange feeling, and for the first time in my life, I felt that wedges were fun.
When your approach changes, your whole golf game changes.
The wonder of it all became a certainty a month later at a competition.
The greens were hard, fast, and 11.8 feet. The greens were hard, fast, and 11.8 feet, conditions that would have made me give up and say, "I'm not going to make it today.
However, on the par 4 green, my 20-yard approach from the boulevard came within 1 meter without any hesitation.
It may look like a "normal" approach from the side.
But in my mind, I thought, "What? I could hit it normally, but..." I felt uncomfortable. And it continued for the rest of the day.
You don't have to be afraid of hitting off the green.
If you hit it with the sole, the club will pick it up on its own. So you can concentrate on the landing area and line.
And with the tH Wedge 6010K, I had been taught not to apply too much spin and to make the most of the ball foot, so I had the feeling that the ball would naturally come close to where I was aiming without any extra manipulation.
I never knew an approach could be so reassuring."
Since then, any sense of aversion to the approach disappeared.
And then I realized. When my approach becomes stable, my whole golf game flows so much better.
To use an analogy...it's like being a baseball pitcher with a super-ironclad defense. Even if you get hit a little, someone will definitely get it. That's why you can pitch with confidence. That's how I felt.
I also felt this way.
I was neither attacking nor defending. It is not just a "bridge. It is not just a "connection." It is an absolute foundation that creates a sense of security. That is my impression.
As a result, I was the gross winner that day among more than a dozen other seniors who were in the lesson business.
I was surprised myself, but what made me happier was that I enjoyed golf and my approach. I really enjoyed it.
The "quiet madman" named Muneyuki Matsuyoshi
From there, I could no longer stop wondering, "Why is he so different?" I went back to Mr. Matsuyoshi again.
I went back to Mr. Matsuyoshi and asked, "Do wedges really differ that much?"
Does the shape of the sole have this much of an effect?"
I asked a lot of layman's questions, and Mr. Matsuyoshi answered them all politely and with a soft-spoken manner. However, the more I listened to him, the more I began to think, "I don't know.
Oh, he's a little crazy." In a good way, of course.
I don't get that impression at all because he answers all my questions in a soft-spoken manner. However, the more I learn about the depth of his conversation, the more I cannot help but feel that there is something "insane" about him.
Matsuyoshi is thinking about clubs on a completely different level from what we know about clubs. He draws a club from scratch on a blank computer screen, and although I have never actually seen him do it, I am sure that it is an insane world where no one can enter, where thoughts, numbers, and aesthetics continue to walk a tightrope.
The story we are being told is only a small part of it. We can't even imagine how many oceans of thought and design are spread out behind it - we can't even imagine.
From brands to people. And what I will continue to convey.
I started out with the brand JUCIE.
But now I am a fan of the "person" Muneyuki Matsuyoshi.
Thanks to him, I was given the opportunity to write this blog. I still think it is a mysterious fate.
I hope to continue to communicate JUCIE and Mr. Matsuyoshi's thoughts and philosophy on club design from the perspective of a fan and user.
We would be happy if we could make the contents of this website such that readers would want to dive into the "deep sea" of Mr. Muneyuki Matsuyoshi.
See you then.
From tK