ihatebogies

Tario, I feel a little guilty getting you to commit (sorta) before your full forged iron shoot out is complete but thanks for your input. The 302's are a great iron and I really liked them but if, say the Yamaha irons are a good fit for me then the difference in price between them and the epons allows me to pick up a PRGR egg spoon as well based on my budget. Great problem to have!!

I've already gotten in touch with Tario and will lean on his expertise but any additional advice would be greatly appreciated since I have only been able to demo one of my four choices which are: 1. Onoff Plus Forged 2. Tourstage X-Blade 703 3. Yamaha X V Forged 4. Epon AF-302 I have hit a demo of the 302 and did like it way more than the 502 demo, so the 502 is not in contention nor is anything else please. I've got enough on the plate right now with the above four choices. About my game, float around 6 to 8 handicap, iron play is the best part of my game, not a big hitter 90-92 mph driver swingspeed 76 mph 6 iron swingspeed. I have in the past played Titleist 690cb's then went through a number of game improvement irons and currently play a set of Callaway X-20's which are like house guests that stay too long.......it's time for them to go! Any experience with the above, advice, whatever please give me your opinions. I've been saving a long time to do this and I hope to get it as close to right as possible with all of your help. Thanks! Jim Oh yeah, I too am excited to see how Tario's forged iron shootout goes as well!!!!!

I'm not exactly sure what you're asking but I'll throw my $.02 in. I'd love to see a stamped Shamrock with Japanese characters next to it stating "absolutely pure" or "pure everytime". The clubs would be cavity backs 4-7 with blades 8-pw, no paintfill and the finish would be satin. Lofts would be similar to the Epon 302's. Oh by the way my grandmother was Irish.

Am I missing something, I know it was in the Pro Shop a few days ago?

Any word on a replacement in the future for the Epon 901?

Hoping for any feedback on these wedges. If you're gaming these what do you think and what shaft are you using in them? Thanks!!

Agree!!!!

I read on another website that Epon was going to release the 702 irons in August. Does anybody have any confirmation of this?

I've been an admirer of premium JDM equipment for years and have very much wanted to purchase a number of clubs I've seen on this website but because of financial constraints have been afraid to pull the trigger on them without being able to demo so to speak the club/clubs you're going to drop some decent coin on. Thanks to a long time member here and someone I hope to get to meet in person some day, graciously allowed me to hit a couple of his own personal stash. So on with it......I had the opportunity to have in my own hands a 7 iron Epon 302 shafted with a stiff superpeening Nippon shaft and a 5 and 7 iron Epon 502 with KBS Tour stiff shaft softstepped once. A little about me, I'm 61 and fluctuate between a 6 and 8 handicap, don't hit it far but do manage to get around the course ok. My driver swingspeed is around 92 mph and I have a smooth tempo golf swing. Having said that the shafts in the clubs on paper weren't that far off for my swing I felt. Off to the range and course........I took out the 302 first and thought it might be a bit much for me. I have played a players cb in the past (Titleist 690.cb) and loved them when my game was on. But as time has slowed my swing (strike up the violins) I have gone to a GI iron (Callaway X-20). I like the Callaways but certainly don't love them. So when I loosened up and made my first real swing at a golf ball with a premium JDM club I fully expected to mis**t it and have that horrible feel you get when you mis**t a club you have no business playing. I was shocked, nice gentle draw into a flag on the range that I was aiming for. Very buttery but not Mizuno soft if you know what I mean. So I repeated this over and over and for the most part got the same results. As always a poor swing does you no good no matter what you have in your hands. the Nippon shaft in this club was heavier than what I normally play but smoother than I expected. On the course I pulled this club out several times and was very pleased with how accurate it was as compared to my X-20's. Kind of like the difference between driving an Acura TSX vs. a Ford Explorer on a winding road. The 302 was everything you wanted on demand and you could trust it when it counted! On to the 502 (this is a mini review right). The 502 was shafted with a KBS Tour shaft which I had once in a set of the infamous R7 taper tours of another site. I never got on with them in the taper tours nor did I like them in the 502's. To me the 502's felt very dead, little or no feeling at all and I kept thinking why all the hype for this iron. I kept wanting to like this club because it's a beauty but never hit any shots that were memorable in my mind. It could be the shaft though but to me the 302 is the better for my game. The 302 is more forgiving than I would have thought and the 502 was nothing close to what I wanted it to be. I can't thank Jeff (idrive) enough for allowing me the opportunity to hit clubs I've looked at and drooled over on the internet and always wondered what they'd be like in my own hands. It's too bad there isn't a reasonable way to demo these and the other JDM clubs most of us just get to look at and read about on the internet because Epon sure makes as good or better golf club than I've ever had the opportunity to play in my 45+ years of playing golf. I hope this is of some help to any of you considering these clubs. If you have any questions feel free to PM me. Jim

Jeff, thanks for letting me demo this club. I just spent about a week on the range and course with the club and while the shaft wasn't a perfect fit for me, I could tell the AF-302 with the right shaft would be one nice set of irons. When I put a good swing on the ball it was pure buttery feeling. I've never had the chance to hit a premium JDM iron until this past week and I see what all the buzz is all about! If any of you have wondered the same thing, Jeff has been kind enough to offer this club up as a demo. You should take advantage of his kind offer!! Thanks a million! Jim

I have similar swing characteristics to you just a bit slower SS and have an Ozik Altus stiff flex in my TM Superquad and couldn't be happier.

I know the price as well as weight are different but what would be different about the playing characteristices of these two shaft designs. I'm looking at reshafting a set of irons that are .355 tapers and since I've developed a little bit of elbow pain lately am looking to go graphite.

Thanks all for the insight into graphite iron shafts. As has been said before, a search about them doesn't offer much info. I'm looking for graphite iron shafts myself and this thread is greatly appreciated, please keep it going.

Ya gotta love Shingo, hope he can continue his great play and be in the mix on Sunday! Jim

Tario, did you by chance hit some balls with it? If so how does it compare to the Epon 701's you were playing? Jim

Anybody?

Could someone enlighten me on what a "catalogue" vs "open model" head is? Thanks

Hello all, I'm fairly new to the JDM game but the more I look the more intrigued I am. I have been looking especially at the Epon AF-501's but these Geotech V-CNC heads (except for the topline) are very appealing. Has anyone here had a chance to hit these. If so how soft are they, they obviously look very forgiving. How's the offset and how big are the heads. I play between a 4-8 handicap depending on the time of the season and how well I drive the ball. Have always bagged players cb's except for a set of Taylormade Taper Tours from another golf website which I sold due to not liking the cast feel and thicker sole and topline. They did go straight but little or no feedback. Back to topic, any info or experience with these heads would be greatly appreciated. Jim

52* bent to 51* 56* bent to 55* 60* bent to 59* with sole grind

TSG carried some of Gold's Factory irons a year or two ago and from the address position they were the nicest looking iron I think I've ever seen. I contacted Chris about getting some and he told me they were being discontinued but if I put in an order right away he might be able to get one last set. Well........I didn't order a set but now wish I would have. Does anyone know which irons these might have been and if Gold's Factory will produce an iron similar to these. Sorry I can't be more specific! Jim