marty

I had the same question,. so I emailed Shimada Europe ( UK ) ,. this was their response to the difference in K's Tours (JDM) , and Shimada Tour (UK) The K's Tour and our TOUR shaft are the same, the flex's have been amended for the western world so you would have to go up to X flex for the same shaft as you currently have. We do not have the print on our shafts, we just use the labels. We also introduced new shafts - Pro, Pro Black, Pro Wedge Black, Tour Wedge Black, all shafts that are new to the Shimada range. Kind Regards Graham Graham Webb Director Professional Golf Europe Ltd

The DI performs better for me,. same same ball flight ( high ),. more carry,.. can really feel the active kick point more with the DI than the Crazy,. I like them both for sure,. but better results with the DI Cheers, Marty

Well I have both shafts,.. I have Crazy Black 50 ls 7.4 in my Epon 101, and a DI 7 X stiff in Epon 102. I do like the feel of the 102 with the Di better than my Crazy Black 50. I was in Japan on 2 separate occasions. Specifically to buy clubs. And I tried every Shaft, and multiple head combo you could imagine, it was a bout 4 hours each time for the fittings. Epon, Kamui Works, Akira Prototype, Crazy Black, Mizuno, Tourstage, PRGR, Yamaha, and a couple of other ones I cant even remember,.. and all the different shafts you can name, I tired it. So, My first time the best results was with the crazy black, second time it was the Di 7. These fitting were extensive, and lots of data recorded. And after narrowing down, to about three combos,.. then to one combo,. and he tallied his results, he called the Head Manufacuter, and then the Shaft manufacturer to confirm his results. It was pretty scientific. Which is better Crazy or GD DI? ,.. its preference,. but more money, doesn't always guarantee better performance. on my first time,. the Crazy 50 performed ( for me ) much better than the Crazy 80. Cheers, Marty

Hi forum,.. can anyone tell me the hosel diameter of the new Epon 902? .... Thanks in advance, Cheers, Marty

I have got a couple dozen of each tourstage R+, G+, B+,. love them all,.. depending on the course conditions I will use one or the other, love them all, better than anything I have tried from the NA brands. Cheers, Marty

Not sure about the other Epon irons,.. but the blades and woods, for sure are forged in Japan, here is an email I received in regards to a question I had regarding country of origin, and forging of the Epon AF tour blades,. and the AF 101 & 201 woods for duties payable: Thank you very much for your e-mail to us and I am glad to know that you like our products and your kind words as well. These are all forged in Japan, sorry for you have to pay duty. I hope your golf will be more enjoyable with our clubs. Again thank you very much for your contact. Best Regards, Yoko Ando Sales Manager / Epon Golf

CoolClubs in Scottsdale is a real option for you,. its not that far from Nevada,. and a great facility for fitting. Extremely good place to go. Cheers, Marty

Just an observation, but it is starting to sound a lot like a guy who was totally in love with his girlfriend, then she broke up with him,. now he thinks she is a whore,,.. Epon probably has over a hundred golf shops in Japan ( if not more ) carrying their products, and selling them on a daily basis,.... them losing one account is not going to bother them, as much as it does the members here on TSG,. Manufacturing clubs is like any other business. Their product, their choice If this marketing decision didn't happen yesterday,. the bandwagon would still be full,. then again,.. just my observation Cheers, Marty

I was in Japan a couple of months ago,. and went to an authorized retailer for a fitting of epon,.. it was quite elaborate, and thorough. I know that the particular shop that I went to,. would not sell a blade to a person, if he thought a different epon model would suit him better, or vise versa, and the shaft really needs to suit the customers swing to get the best results of their product. ( woods, and irons ) Knowing your specs is only have the equation when doing a good fitting. So I guess I can see their point to a certain extent. Also from T's original post,. they are still selling via the internet in Japan,.just not outside of Japan. Will this hurt their total bottom line,. in my opinion, I doubt it. And besides, it's their product,. I suppose they can market it however they choose. Anyways, having to go to Japan to get a set of epons, is just another great excuse to go there, it is a blast, and well worth the money Cheers, Marty

No sense waiting for the 10th of october to release the new Epon Pics,.. Might as well post em up now :) Just a thought Marty

Word has that Epon will be offering a new putter. The "i33", limited to 300 pieces, will TSG be offering these? Cheers, Marty

Hey thanks,. you are correct,. easier than I thought cheers, Marty

Yes they are definitely forged in Japan, they forged other makes in Thailand,. dont know all of them , but tourstage is one of them ,.. except for their 901 blades,, those are made in Japan also. cheers, Marty

where did you find the tourstage catalogue for clothing? thanks, Marty

Hey T,. would love it if you can get some pants made by "Black & White" (http://www.bwsp.co.jp/)... they have great golf wear,. and does Pearly Gates carry any menswear? Thanks in advance Marty

2 New Drivers,... AF 151, EMS, and 302 & 502 irons,. any idea of when we will see some pics?,.. seen the spy pics GTI blog of the 302's,.. nice looking :) Cheers, Marty

Royal Collection has some new blades on the way too,.. havent;t hit them though

Fitted by an certified dealer, I should also mention that, I went with the Shimada,. as i was told that Shimada was contracted by Epon to develop a shaft for their blades.. The ones I have ( K tours) are 123g full length, and they are going to be installed uncut with a 5 iron at 38.5" They were on the phone to them during my studio part of the fitting, with some of the questions I had,, and they were just confirming their answers to me. There was no shady answers,. or anything that made me wonder if I was doing the right thing. lol. Like I said they were just awesome !!!! T knows the place I went to,. I actually was told about the shop from an instructor I know that works in Tokyo. T said it was one of the most respected shops in Japan,, and he was right. I dont think it is right to name the shop in this forum. but if T wants to name it,. that will be up to him. Also, if you want customized Epon Irons,. you need to get them done here,. as they did not offer them in Japan

My current Driver Spec KZG G4 with a (lousy) shaft with fcm of 8.1,.. Swing speed of 107 and a smash factor of 1.47 and a ball speed of 143. Not a hot face on the KZG,. Spin rate was awful @ 3800+. This was all improved with my new set-up. I need to add that the Crazy Black 80, did not work anywhere near as good as the 50, albeit almost exactly the same specs; CB 80LS, fcm:7.4, 68g and 3.1 Torque, the CB 50 ( and it is a LS shaft, though not stated) is fcm:7.4, 66g 3.3 torque. Only difference is the 80t vs. the 50t (the material used). But a world of difference in performance for me, and my swing. I also hired a translator for the day to make sure my questions, concerns, and answers, were all translated perfectly, so there would be no understanding. I will also add that they are so impressed that a person would fly all the way from Canada to buy their clubs,. they could not have nicer or more polite. Their service was second to none. Cheers, Marty

Hi Bogeydog I think the first misunderstanding is about their torque specs. They really are not as low as some places have advertised,.. stating very low ratings i.e. 2.1 etc,... the real fact is that 98% of their shafts are all higher than 3.0 ( check their website) Secondly I could really feel the shaft work just before, and during the impact zone. I could obtain the same feeling in the other high end shafts,. however, at the moment of impact,. the Epon head was just perfectly squared up at impact. And the impacts were dead flush on the sweetspot. This was verified by impact strips on the head. I hit about 30 balls with each shaft and head combo,. and the impact strip on the Epon with Crazy shaft,. there was no variances,. just looked like I hit one ball. Ball flight was so much better than any of the others,. no ballooning. And the feeling was like nothing I have ever experienced before. Solid, but not stiff,. just like the irons, it was a pure shot feeling every time. So,... good flex, increased club head speed with the torque of the shaft,. and incredibly solid,. not boardy. Hard to put into words

Yes T,. you are so right,. it really was a blast,. got to get back there soon, hopefully in the nest couple of months. For sure, I can see how Crazy have become popular with the epon,. at least for me,. there was no other choice,. based solely on the results, it was a no brainer. Cheers, Marty

I was just over in Japan, got fitted for a Epon Af 101, and 201 woods,. and their af tour irons, (3- PW). all I can say is wow,. fitting session at the range, and studio was about 4 hours,. they made up lots of different Drivers ( Mizuno, Tourstage, Akira Prototype, and others, as well as the Af101,. tried all the latest shafts you name it I tried it the had about 15 different shafts set up for me, I wanted to like the Quadra Fire Express, the Bangvoo,. but the best combo for me with the Epon Driver was the Crazy Black 50LS,. it was so obvious when I hit it,. and the flight was like none of the other ones. So the crazy black is in both woods.. I also got a Tourstage UT !9* to fill the gap,. but might be going to a 18* 201, that'll be later So,. they are getting assembled at this moment. should be arriving in a week or so. as for the irons,. I went with the Shimada K Tours,. sweet feeling shaft,. no dispersion, and feels like,.. ( is there another name for butter, ? ) I kept my 53* Ping Eye 2 wedge,,. can really beat it, for my liking, and went with a Mizuno 58* from the, Yoro factory customgrind staff at Mizuno. and of course several dozen balls As for the New Epon Driver,. for what I was told,. and this is based on that, that the new Driver is a new version of the EMB,. but nothing new for the Af101. But then again,. it is only what I was told. Other news was that later this year,. Endo will be making the newer versions of the Tourstage X-Drive

Hi, Can anyone tell me the bounce angle of the Af Tour Blades? or at least the 5 iron. this would be a great help,. can't seem to find it anywhere. Thanks in advance, Marty

I would certainly like to hear some feedback from owners also,. strange to me that there hasn't been much to say about these Irons from people who have purchased them. Marty

Thanks for your response Chris, I have to agree about their origin, it seems a real shame to me, wondering if any of their products are forged at the Chuo plant anymore. they do look nice. but would have to know for sure before I could make a choice on them. Traveling to Kyoto in August to buy a set of clubs,. Wanted to go to MiuraGiken, but their plant is closed for a week, the same week I am there :( ..... So I am a little up in the air on which to choose. I know the Epons are genuine,. TS blades, but no options available,. RC blades have really caught my eye also,. but they do not do their own forging, who knows,. maybe they are made in china as well. Oh well,. still have a little over a month before I go, maybe some new light will be shed before then. Marty