xxio

I would go Fourteen (pre Daiwa buy out) if I could go back to about 2-3 years. But today 2010 I would have to go Tourstage. They are the only ones with enough options models that you can mix it up a bit i.e forgiving long irons, scoring mid-short irons. Great stock shaft availability on the drivers, hybrids and fws. The wedges are good enough. They had a BB16/Oddyssey 9 style putter last year as well as a bonus.

When all controversy first came out on .83 vs .86 COR (USGA vs R&A) several club designers were interviewed in Golf Tips magazine about it. Tom Wishon did a test on why the .86 COR drivers produced "hotter" distances. It was all traced back to lower spin rates while maintaining launch angle. He then set out to produce drivers that lowered spin and increased/maintained launch angle. There were a few methods to do it mostly by weight manipulation....thus started the trend in most modern drivers. In short if you can find a driver and shaft combo that can lower your spin and maintain/increase launch angle you would be just as good as playing a high COR/CT driver.

I'm doing a combo set and need to change the short irons. Anyone have AF301s 8-pw they want to sell heads only :)

It will be the bounce that will be an issue more than the loft. The TC550s already have bounce a little on the high side to begin with. Just in case PM me the price, it may be worth bending the 4i weaker then that 3i weaker to get lofts closer together.

Pol, Not good enough to be hitting 3 iron anymore.

Head only preferred. Doesn't have to be new since the rest of the set is 8/10 anyway.

The face milling style looks like the one RJB has been using off and on for a couple of "Tour Stock" the past year.

My mistake. It seems it is real. I thought it was fake because the paint job looked a little bad. All my JDM Betts (still have 5, had 8) had perfect paintfill. This looks sloppy and even looked like it was just painted on and not engraved. My apologies.

I think this is what Epon's policy has been from the start. Getting their products in the hands of great builders/fitters.

It's a fake. There is a real putter this one is based off.

Is the cavity a darker gray? If it is I don't like. I prefer all chrome. The darker gray makes it look cheap, cast even.

I play the 5-pw as my gamers. They are getting worn. :)

Not really a flaking, but bag rubs that you can't see from 4 feet away but look kinda ugly up close.

Epon is still available. Chris is the US distributor I'm sure he can go thru his list of authorized sellers and find one you can deal with. IMHO the only thing that has really suffered here is the pricing and the ability to buy heads only. Noone hits a clubhead only and pricing is just being brought in line to what MSRP should be.

Initailly on the website TSG was previously listed as the US distributor. I was surprised at the change to "on-line", about 6-7 months ago? Good to hear Chris still dealing with Epon. In fact this makes more reason for the policy of having a clubfitting facility. It will make sure that Chris' resellers/clubfitters (who are also his clients btw :)) in the US will have spent the same amount of money and effort investing in Epon and facilities that there will be no big pricing wars. That can only benefit Chris as the US distributor by standardized pricing as well.

From what I understand about Epon from readings outside TSG. Epon was principally geared as a club-fitting type brand. I have read Nimi-san say that in several interviews as far back as 3-4 years ago. The ability of TSG and the other online sellers to sell Epon was outside their company philosophy. If you look at the dealers on the website, if I'm not mistaken it is only TSG that stands out that does not have an actual physical club fitting/making facility. IIRC Epon requires that in their dealership contract. We may all know what our specs our but club fitting was Epon's philosophy from Day1 and we should respect that. This is just the enforcement of that philosophy. They will lose the TSG market but in my experience with Japanese companies as long as they are not totally losing money they will stick to philosophy and principle. I respect that. I'm actually that they still have the resolve to enforce what they espoused from the start. The ability to previously buy Epon components on TSG should be looked at as a bonus. We can still buy the specs we want thru a dealer who is a fitter. May be at a higher price but we should never confuse pricing when it comes to dealer vs people who sell solely online. We see that all the time on the net. Online vs mom and pop/storefronts. Epon is just protecting their dealers who have put up the facilities that they require. In any business a company should protect the interests of the majority of their dealers. I'm sure Chris can turn us on to another brand if we really want :) Alternatively, I'm sure Chris should be able to put up a storefront himself. The proshop has a lot of items that walk-ins would be able to purchase as well.

An older version of the MR23s had waffles in the cavity. I had those for about 3 weeks. The waffles supposedly help in feel. How? I can't remember.

You've tried it and didn't tell me?

I will reserve my opinion until we get more details and pics. Hard to say it is a nice putter from a single pic that shows it is another putter styled after the Anser2/NP2/BB8. There have been a tons of great putters in pictures that when I saw and putted with up close have been disappointments especially for the price tags.

Get a hybrid that has a flat lie angle. I have used a couple of JDM hybrids with flatter lie angles and I don't get a hook unless I pull it really bad.

Wasn't there already a Diamana Stinger about 3-4 years ago.

I have an old JDM only TM Rescue 14*. It is 3* flatter lie angle than the Rescue Mid and takes a .350 shaft...perfect. Cleveland also had 14* in the Halo.

I had a small review when I first had it in September/October 08 in a proto head. It should be somewhere on the site but my findings were not low spin at all. It seemed spot on to what the GD site says. Mid spin/mid-low kick/mid-high trajectory. At first I thought it was the Fourteen 909 head, but it seems it was the shaft after all. http://www.gdintl.com/shafts/ev

Same as what Epon is using, right?

The older 07-08 XXIOs that were forged. What construction were they?