xxio

If from a Honma sponsored player, then they are probably protos or special order of some sort. I have seen a few things from a previously Honma sponsored pro that never got to retail. Strange that he had gold put in them. Probably a marketing thing so you could identify them from afar.

I haven't seen those before. Honma is usually pretty good at stamping the heads with model numbers. IIRC the Tour World models spanned from 2001-2005. I also recall that the Twin Marks line is different from the Tour World line. Sort of like premium vs players models. No other thing to say execpt, sorry but I doubt their authenticity.

Is it just me or do the grooves look angled (not parallel) to the ground? Or the driver has a raised toe, My old Shimano driver - Ultegra X had a high toe.

IIRC Miz US makes the steels shafted heads to a taper bore and the graphite shafted ones to a parallel bore. Does Miz Japan do the same. I suppose the vary the headweights as well, which is a common practice among Japanese OEMs for garphite vs. steel.

Weren't the Precept Tour Premiums forged? Tourstage is an excellent choice. Take a look at the ViQ line. X blades are soo demanding. Forgiving for a blade but still a blade. Mizuno has the MP27s which despite being 2-3 years old are great. My buddy has a set with graphite/exsar that hasn't seen the light of day in a while. I'll ask if he is selling. Honma Beres. Chris has great prices on these.

Me too, might have something to do with the tester's SS or the performance of that specific wedge.

XXIO 283.3 5,480rpm

Taipanli, The only XXIO on the test is an older model. The TS V10 is apprently for the guys who prefer the long and soft type balls. I would be very surprised if this is the ball that AM really plays and not a version of the X01. I agree, we all got duped on the original Miz balls. I had to pull a few strings to get the C301, and was immensely disappointed. I tried the T301 as a "tour sample" about 5 weeks ago. I quit because I was in a slump then. Results then were already better than the C301.

Just confirms that the Gran Z is not a premium-performance ball. Just high priced. Similar to the TS V10. High priced, but not a "tour-level" ball.

I have the magazine in front of me I'll just post some results. I didn't post the other Japanese market only balls. If you want to check on a specific ball let me know. I'll check the magazine Distance based on a 46m/s swingspeed with a Nike DFI460 9.5 loft Rombax 7V05 X flex Spin based on a 58 Ping Tour MB wedge. Ball Distance Spin Titleist ProV1X 279.2 8,426rpm Titleist ProV1 276.4 8,385 Titleist Gran Z 275.0 4,505 Nike One Black 280.7 8,357 Nike One Platinum 279.5 8,992 Nike Ignite 281.6 7,133 Callaway HX Tour 56 279.9 8,207 Callaway HX.Tour 282.4 7,891 TM TP black 281.4 7,780 TM TP red 278.5 7,866 TourstageX-01S 277.6 8,524 TS X01 282.1 8,346 TS X01H 282.6 8,029 Srixon Z-URC 282.7 8,325 Mizuno X8 S301 282.5 5,680 Miz X8 T301 288.5 6,988 I have a couple sleeves of the Miz T301 and a differently marked Z-UR (it is a Z-UR(star)) to test next week. Busy the next few days.

Chris, Any chance these will be available for FWs? Gold Series 75 Superlite Alloy R300 86g 75-81g .370 .600 S200 88g 77-83g .370 .600 I don't know why there are 2 weight measurements. I need to talk Japanese lessons soon.

PM sent

I'm getting rid of my player's CBs. I'm no longer a "player". Let me know what you have and I'll send pics of my trade bait.

Interesting so when American irons say SC30, like let's say the I506s or the Cobra Forged SS is that an indication they are Japan in origin?

So the "S__" vs the "10___" doesn't make a difference. Is it just a Japanese measurement versus a American measurement of the same value?

The PW still seems to have the Japanese affinity for larger size, slight offset short irons. That was my only complaint on the original 300 forged as well Chris can you enlighten us on SC25 vs SC30 vs 1025 vs 1018 etc. It was discussed before but that was ages ago. We need a refresher.

No doubt the <UX> and >UX-S. are great balls. I played those balls exclusively for a while. I'm a big TS ball fan. I'm asking what is the difference between these models and the previuos ones from 2002-2003? The markings look the same. Maybe Maru is just trying out the old balls again? In the older models the <UX> was the U tri Ext Dist. The *UX* was the U Tri Ext Spin. The .UX-s. was the U Tri Tour.

Whats the difference between these and the older <UX> and .UX-S. I loved the <UX> basically the U Tri Extra Distance.

These have been in a Pro's bag for a while. The driver seems to look similar to the XXIO 06 model.

Think Ping Eye2 made out of very soft steel. I played a set for quite a while in 1989-1993 I think. The graphite shafted heads are heavier than the steel shafted heads. Mine were custom....Honma called and asked whether the 37.75 5i measurement I wanted was based on grip on or off. Mine were "black barrel" finish from Honma. Not as dark as gunmetal, not that dark at all, but it was a very durable finish.

I would have set of these by now if I didn't decide to wait for something else....... The short irons actually don't have much of the normal Japanese shovel/reverse progression look. It is still there though. Sort of like the MP27s maybe a little less. I demoed the blades and the CBs (both DGS200) into a net and with my ball of choice (X01) about 3 months ago. Feel is up to par with forged. Not quite Tourstage Xblade soft, but about MP32 soft. When the car payments are done in 3 months I will have these. I should've stopped hyping the woods and the irons since Feb. Now I have all you guys bidding against me4

The entire clubs look good.....I love the ferrules.

I also had a few strange X01 balls arrive with my samples of the new Miz T301 Cross8 balls. I will post a review on that next week. First results show it is definitely better than the previous Miz C301 Cross8. The TS has --X01-H-- instead of the normal <X01-H>

TS is no longer with Endo right? So who makes these?

If you don't like the NC-1s, I'll be in Manila after our member-guest in Cebu next weekend. I'll bring trade bait.