froggy10

Oh this most definitely has caught my attention! This is THE main reason I've held off. Too busy with the graphics. Do you have any pics to show how this would look like? Thanks.

First off kudos for even asking our input. It's refreshing to see a company directly take advantage of a source like this for input. Makes me want to consider Gold's ... even if the shape or look or final product is not to my liking in the end. That said, these are beauts... I absolutely appreciate and prefer a minimalist look in blades. So I actually would not prefer something going off the hook and gonzo. To me that would look tricked up and gimmicky. For the better player, I don't think they need or even want that. But just an opinion from observations I've made. I'm not big on sharp angles. But too rounded is not to my liking either. These are a very nice in between compromise. The topline looks thin enough to me on that 5i. The input for bounce and grind customization is a good one, but if that is not an option I would recommend more of a non-sweeper grind and bounce because that is the kind of player for these irons. With this logic, traditional lofts should be fine, since they'll be trapping the ball more and will naturally deloft the face. The offset looks minimal here, but anything to reduce it will be great. Finish wise, I definitely prefer the satin, but I like the raw as an option for those that don't mind the quicker wear. I agree with Vertigo88 for an option to have the numbers changed from Arabic to Roman, an option to have only 'Gold's Factory' as the engraving, an a la Geotech option and have -absolutely nothing-. To this I will add an option to have Gold's Factory stamped in Japanese a la Yururi style and allow to customize the positioning as well (e.g. towards the toe or on the muscle back section, etc.).

Go there all the time and have never seen anything there. Doubtful.

Saw some recent pics of these and wondering what's the deal with these. Looks like a "modern" MP-14 and closer looking to the Miura MB-5003s without the graphic fuss.

I'm not experiencing the same when compared to my old and trusted Infiniti 360 PFD. The sound of the BS J33R 460 is a mild to medium ting in my opinion. Shafted to a Diamana Blueboard My Infiniti is a thwap / wop and feels really nice. Shafted to a Fuji Vista Pro 60.

idrive, Where are you seeing $999? I'm seeing $1,899 in the pro shop.

Posted this in the Shaft Review section as well, but notice very little traffic there so reposting here as well for those interested. After some 6-7 years of using the same driver and shaft combo (was automatic with it so why screw up a good thing), I finally took the plunge and had myself fitted for a new driver setup. My driver was looking pretty beat up and I just figured it was time. Previously and up until now I was playing with an Infiniti PFD 360 in a 10.5 degree head (actual loft is one degree more at 11.5) and it is shafted to a classic Fujikura Vista PRO 60 (stiff). SST PUREd and 20g counterweighted. It's been a good driver for me. So it's been kind of difficult pulling the trigger. Anyway, during the fitting I was able to confirm my swing has not changed that much. Slow to medium tempo back and a somewhat quick transition from the top and consistent acceleration through the ball. The FlightScope software is rather nice in showing all of this off. My release is rather weak though. I just don't trust rolling my arms and wrists. So I lose a lot there. Numbers show an average swing speed of 103 (was at 105 a few years back for the last fitting using Vector I think). Smash factor was 1.43. What the numbers were showing was that the launch angle was way too high and the spin was in the 3000-4000 range. Distance was averaging in the 220-230 neighborhood. Draw to slight pull. Which sounded about right. In regular play, my drives seem to come in around 250 after any roll and/or wind contribution. Clearly the 11.5 loft ... although a safe thing ... was not doing me that many favors. I had been keeping my eye out for a new head and after much reviewing I focused on finding a brand spanking new Bridgestone J33 head in a 10.5 degree. In going from a 360 head to a 460, it's going to take some getting used to. I found one off eBay some time back brand new with a shaft under $100. Sold! The loft of the head is coming out to be exactly 10.5. Face looks square (as does the Infiniti). Now to the fitting... We tried the following shafts in all kinds of variants: Oban (Revenge, Devotion, Mach 4), Fubuki, Diamana (Blue and White), OZIK (XCon, FM, Altus, etc.), and maybe a couple more. My session lasted some 4 hours!!! We went through something like 30 shafts and 10 balls on each shaft. Each time a shaft was used, we applied impact tape and recorded the drives and then reviewed the results. I was pretty fried by the time we were done. The head used for the testing was a Nakashima Htec in 10.5 loft and swapped in an out the shafts. I absolutely did not care for this head or it's sound, but it was a good way to evaluate the shafts and results. The bottom line was I didn't do great with any particular shaft in lowering the spin and launch angle ... except for three. The trick was adjusting the driver head to the correct swingweight. We had to add 1 extra swingweight into the head to get things to settle for me. So a D2 is best for me. That took some time to figure out (e.g. went up and down on the swingweight), but once we got there it was clear the Diamana Blue Board in 63g and 73g plus the Oban Mach 4 were working for me. Both Diamana shafts worked well for me. Dispersion was surprisingly good, but I leaked a couple left which I never do with my current driver. We agreed that since we evaluated the Diamana late into the fitting session that I was getting pretty tired. Nevertheless, I was pegging the impact tape in the middle EVERY single time with the 73g shaft. Even I was surprised. After 10 drives, the impact tape just had one black dot in the middle. Pretty cool. The FlightScope showed a draw/pull like my previous driver, but with some 20-30 yards in extra distance. Launch had gone down as did the spin to the 2500 range. I did well with the 63g as well, but not quite as great. In the end though it was the 73g shaft version as opposed to the 63 that provided the best numbers out of the two. We even confirmed this when swapping in an out swingweights to the head. Each time with the 73g I was peppering a back dot onto the impact tape. The difference being the dot would move around a little each time we adjusted for swingweight. The 73g shaft does feel nice and I agree from what I'm hearing and reading that it's a smoother feeling shaft. What I liked the most about this shaft was that I felt the loading of the shaft and the delivery of the clubhead through impact. I felt in control. The shaft has a good kick, but not as whippy as my previous Fujikura Vista PRO 60. The Oban Mach 4 was tested towards the end of the session as well, and it too did well. But not as well as with the Diamana Blue board. Feeling wise, it did not feel as smooth for me but I liked it. I would say it was a little firmer feeling. The counterweight also helped I think. The loading of the shaft could be felt but the delivery of the head to the ball did not have as much kick as the Diamana Blue Board I would say. But the ball came off the face like a rocket. My problem was the inconsistency in the impact tape when compared to the Diamana Blue Board in 73g. FlightScope showed some of the longest drives. Dispersion was good but not as tight as the Diamana. Launch angle and spin were in the Diamana Blue Board range, but nothing that made us go "this is the one". So we settled on the Diamana Blue Board in 73g. It will be flexed to match my swing and the swingweight will be in D2. We'll work on the counterweighting to see if indeed I can continue to use the 20g weight I had in the old driver. Stay tuned and I'll report back when I get the driver.

Yes, a nice sharp looking blade. Nice to see they didn't go crazy on the graphics like that one post would have lead us to believe. Obviously other kinds of finishing options will be possible, so looking forward to what those will look like. Last but not least, a Miura-Giken MB-5003 vs. Epon AF-Tour blade comparison and shootout WILL HAVE TO HAPPEN. That will definitely drive my decision. Finally, do we even know yet if the pricing will be in the range of the MB-5003's? Sure hope so. Nice job.

Digging that satin finish the best still.

I find the CB-1006 to be more appealing to the eyes. That big cavity and busier graphics isn't doing it for me. Is the topline as thin as the CB-1006's.

So it's Friday. When can we see some of those pics??

It's Tuesday...

I don't think most would consider the AF-301 to be a real blade ... if you're looking into picking up a blade. If you're set on Epon, I read on this forum they're coming out with a true blade towards the end of the year. Gocchin and TourSpecGolfer can probably chime in with more info. Otherwise, the verdict is pretty clear right now: MB-5003's. Shafted to either the Nippons (for steel shafts) or the GD Tour ADs in 105 or 115 (for graphite shafts). However, the GDs sound incredibly expensive. Probably north of $2K when all is said and done with the heads and shafts. No one has mentioned the middle ground of the AeroTech SteelFibers i110 (graphite with steel) and I'll bet that makes for a very sweet combo. I've given up looking for those overpriced Yururi Flat Back Raw heads though. They look sweet but apparently are not an original design and quality could be suspect.

ajaykkr, I enjoyed your iron shootout a while back. Even back then I think you voted for the Miura MB-5003s. Would you say those 5003s were the easiest blades you've hit? I think you said the TB-1000s were the softest, but the 5003s did more of what you wanted in a blade. Just curious.

What are some of the easiest JDM blades to hit? These can be new or older models, but JDM only... and let's keep this to just blades (e.g. no Epon Type Js or Miura CB-1006 that are blade like but really more of a CB). Feel free to explain why you feel they're the easiest to hit. Explain any nuances about them as well (e.g. easier to hit off the toe for example, this shaft works better with this blade, etc.). I haven't tried too many myself over the years, but I did enjoy a set of MP-33's for a few weeks. Surprisingly easy to get the ball up. I also had a 7i KZG blade (not the ZO) for a while and found that rather easy to play as well. The feel in both was excellent.