xxio

710s not but the older 770s were.

Kuya, It sounds like you came a cross a set that was originally shafted with graphite shafts. I have an uncle who uses graphite shafted Fourteens and they take parallel tips (the "370" designation on the shaft seems to confirm that). I have had 4 sets of Fourteens. The 3 that had steel shafts have been taper tip and not loose fits at all. The 4th was an older set of blades bought used and had parallel shafts. Those could have been a reshaft job though. I do not know if Fourteen subscribes to the older Honma theory of using heavier heads for graphite/lighter shafts to keep playing length between graphite and steel the same and not have the swingweights out of whack. It would be good to weigh the heads when they get in just in case you may have to reshaft to lightweight steel to keep overall and swingweight manageable. I reshafted a set of those older graphite shafted Honmas to steel/DG and the swingweights went from D2 to Esomething and almost unplayable.

Both the TC and TBs had a slightly thicker topline than what would be expected from player's clubs. I actually found the TB1000 easier to score with than the TC1000s. I broke par a couple of times with the TB1000s. Something I never got to sniffing with the TC1000s. Of course I only played the TB1000 5-pw

The easiest way would be to ask the governing/ruling body of that tournament what their plans are re: the groove rules. Majority of the elite Am events and even majority or PRO tournaments outside the major tours (PGA, EuroPGA, JPGA, LPGA, etc.) still allow the older grooves and will do so for the next couple of years.

Duke, I wish I could still say I'm a decent player. Breaking 80 is no longer automatic nowadays, unless I get an extremely hot putter. Nagging injuries messed up my swing. Doing a lot of equipment changes to suite my current abilities. Going stronger lofts all throughout to get a little distance back as well. Just picked up a set of the JDM '11 Nike ProCombos. Nice the 46* pw helps, but since I'm getting rid of couple of weaker lofted sets the Burner TPs will be the replacements for those.

T, Thank you. Looks like off to find Burner TPs...I see someone had the same thoughts in the wtb already.

Your soul....... Honestly the big "ado" about non conforming drivers before was that they were able to launch the ball higher with lower spin. Wishon did a study on this circa ERC II controversy. It became the mantra of club design since. It has shown with the distance gains from average players since that wave. Nowadays you can get the optimal high launch/low spin combo for you with conforming equipment. You still may be able to squeeze out an extra yard or two from non-conforming equipment vs optimized conforming equipment but at that point not much. If you are an amateur/low handicap and getting about 1.45-1.48 smash factor you are nearly optimized.

Deal is I have to buy something TM and something Japan. Narrowed it down to these two. Anyone compare size, offset, and feel?

From memory bout the same size as the J36. I have not seen the J38 in person though.

I've been looking into the Anser forged and the TS line with graphite shafts because my tennis elbows have been really bad. Anyone know the tip sizes just in case I get them and end up putting steel shafts.

C, Over a year? You gotta get me hooked with your Ping connection. I had to wait til June/July this year to get a demo to try. I agree the AWT is a surprisingly decent shaft.

Spoon has that 8802 style Yamada. Personally being a 8802 fan I find the 8802 style works better for me in the 330-345 gram range. Any heavier and the "gate" feels unnatural to close.

So how can one distinguish from conforming and non-conforming.

Will the non-conforming wedge be exactly the same? Grind, size, shape, etc?

Any address pics to show offset? Thanks.

Any pics of the PW? Reverse offset by any chance?

I have a couple of Aldila TGi 100 and 120 shafts. Once spined they are quite good. I'll bring one up for you next time I go to Manila. It's yours just let me have a shot of the "Oban" you have in the lab.

I thought only Epon was made in Endo Japan, all other get Endo Thailand?

Thank you for the clarification. So they are not subcontracted but really a different entity (the foundry) all together? the employees are not under the control of Miura, they just approve the final product.

90% of the whole process? 90% of the forging? rough shape? both head and hosel? Just asking for clarifications.

Fair enough again. Just like I responded in the wrx thread that the guys who were insinuating against you should come out with proof otherwise they are just tarnishing reputations I also come here and ask that perhaps better efforts could be made to ask Mr. Techner. If Scratch replied with a "none of your business" type of email when you asked them about what you had discovered then all the harsh words are well deserved. I saw the tolerances for the carbon contents of 1018 and 1020 somewhere and with tolerances they do overlap. I did not think to look at the other mineral content though. I hope test results come back soon.

Fair enough. You can handle things anyway you wish. I would have hoped to have seen an effort to contact Scratch to make a few inquiries first before "exposing". I guess I fruitlessly thought the gentleman's game extended to the industry as well. Especially between two people who had a previous business relationship. IMHO there is no benefit of the doubt, even "some" because otherwise the certainty with the information is posted would not be done so with such vigor. I'm am no expert in open heads. I just know there are so many out there to count. There are so many similar iron, wedge, and putter heads that are bought in very rough shapes and then guys with great hands can do magic with them. I hope the truth does come out.

Chris couple of questions. First, Why the use of "we". You and...? Secondly, if you did think that Scratch did not know they using open molds (maybe they were told by Ishihara-Shoten they were using originals?) and that they didn't know what was going on wouldn't it have been more prudent to have contacted Scratch first since you did have a previous connection. Maybe Scratch thought all Ishihara's were the same. It seems that they are dealing with the son? More than a few would have assumed that the son is part of the operation, the typical Japanese system of keeping everything in the family. IIRC you had a similar experience where you felt you were being "fooled" by GD-USA a while back during the GT vs DW wars. It would have been ideal for someone to have reached out to you then, why not "give back" to the industry which has been kind to you and reach out to someone who may be undergoing the same experience. By doing an "expose" without talking to Scratch (and Miura) first I see how people can take it to mean there is an ulterior motive when there maybe none. For me the Miura issue (not doing their own forgings) is bigger than the Scratch 1018 issue because carbon contents can overlap even using correct tolerances. Just my 2 cents.

How long was it in use? Do you have a link where I can look up the features/specs? I'm very interested.

What are the actual weight equivalents of each size?