88 ROUNDS PER YEAR

I could not agree more with you, especially "the praise have been overblown.. EPON are good but not hugely superior to other products."

Forgot to add that I'd changed my mind about the TS901. I think I am gonna buy it.

Thanks idrive for the reviews. Last weekend, I tried PPM, AF Tour, and X-Blade 901, against my tried and true MP29 again. I'd hit a total of 300 balls all together over a few hours. The result? I changed my mind and did not go with the PPM. I used MP29 as a bench mark because it is a traditional blade of yesterday technology. Here is my brief review. Balance (COG placement from head to toe for my hand action only) 1 X Blade 901 and MP29 2 PPM 3 AF Tour (Although Epon claims it to be perfectly balanced, I think too much weighted is placed toward the toe, more like a game improvement design.) Distance All the same except the AF-Tour is a bit shorter due to weaker loft. Feel 1 AF Tour = the softest yet very massive impact, really premium feel indeed. 2 PPM and MP29. About the same. 3 X Blade 901. The 901 provided very crisp yet soft feeling, but no, it was not as solid as the others. Some people may like this feeling though. From rough or tangled weed lies 1 X Blade 901 2 MP29 3 PPM & AF Tour (because it is the biggest of all) Contrary to what idrive found. I personally felt that the groove in the sole created more contact space and more resistance. I felt the clubhead was kinda slowed down or snaged instead of gliding through like other blades. Value for money 1 X Blade 901. Here in Thailand, I could get a 4-PW for about US$ 1000.00 2 PPM (for the price on Ebay yes. I would never pay US$ 1800 for it.) 3 AF Tour. I am reluctant to put this last because the feel is so great. Anyway, performance wise, it is not any better than a much cheaper models like AF301 or the TS 901. Just my personal opinion. (Gotta be very careful as the PPM was a topic of heated discussion on Golfwrx.)

If I get a birdie the first hole, it will be a mess the rest of the round. Everytime!

I am a big fan of MP29 with DG S300. I have used it for 5 years and worn out 2 sets. I still keep one brand new set of Final Edition MP29 in my collection! I think MP29 feels more solid than MP14. The sought after TN87 also feels great but a bit softer than both MP29 and MP14. I prefer the MP29 though. I am not using the AF-Tour with KBS-Tour Stiff. AF-Tour is soft-solid, very smooth pleasing feel. However, I am not sure if it is the shaft or not, but the AF-Tour seems to be draw-oriented. If you have very fast hand rotation through impact, the AF-Tour seems to close the face faster than the MP29 and MP14. Anyway, AF-Tour feels really great. If you could still find a set of MP29, I would highly recommend it; it is one of the best blade ever made. If not, the AF-Tour is a great modern alternative, but it costs nearly twice as much.

Better than your Tourstage 901?

Thanks, idrive. I also disagree with what Joe Kwok said. He said he would not recommend it on regular irons where golfers did full swing. I could not understand the logic. He also said that the grind would create inconsistent trajectories on inconsistent lies. Then, why would he did it on the wedges? Wedges are used in many different type of lies even on the same golf course, right? Trajectory is very important for wedge shots too, if not more important. I respect Joe Kwok as a very knowledgeable clubmaker; however, this kind of things requires high speed video camera at close up to determine how the double soles actually work. So, Joe Kwok's opinion is just that-his opinion. It could be just a gimmick, but who cares, there are million of gimmicks on golf club head designs. A good club from 15 years ago could be as good as a good club of today; it is difficult to improve on an excellent design. I said this once, I have said it a thousand time-my MP29 plays as good and forgiving as any modern blades of today, the AF-Tour included. However, I belileve the shafts actually determine the playablity and feel of a golf club. Anyway, this kind of grind is not something new. Mr. Shinagawa might or might not be the person who first designed it 30 years ago. I have seen it on older Honma and Mizuno models from the 70's. Honma irons have always been casted, so the special grinding probably did not cost it that much. Also, I just learned that Mr. Shinagawa did not do the grinding himself because of old age; it was his son (Shinagawa Jr.) who really did the fine job. Thank you for giving us a link to the US$999.00 for PPM. For that amount of money, I would no longer need to know where the PPM was forged. I would call my local distributor today and ask if he could match that price with the KBS Tour shafts. If yes, the PPM will be mine.

Hello, idrive, Does it feels even better than the AF Tour? I thought the AF Tour was the best feeling club in your opinion. I tried the PPM on the mat hitting into the net. It seemed to pick up the ball a bit easier from tight line (mat), but that probably was due to its sharp leading edge (thus, the second sole to prevent it from digging too deep in soft turf). However, I did not think it felt any softer than the AF Tour. The club grinding design is also controversial. Some said it was not as versatile as claimed. There is a heated discussion on GolfWRx regarding this expensive PPM. Furthermore, "the highest blank stock quality" may not be of the highest quality, right? If they were forged from a renown foundry, why shouldn't it be made known here. Why the secret? I do not mean this to be a knock on this PPM. Just want to know what I will be paying for. Anyone know for sure? Thanks.

Probably, the high quality is in the grinding. The blank stocks from Himeji are probably of standard qualtiy. That is why the foundry name is not mentioned.

OMG! I always thought that they were hand made just by looking at the rough grinding!! How dare Yururi ask for such premium prices!! Without information like this from Tourspecgolf, we would still be fools. Thanks.

Tourspecgolfer, The Porsche analogy is fine. A hand welded chassis is definitely better than robot welded chassis. The integrity of the chassis is better, although it is not easily perceiveable even when you are taking a severe curve. The performances of the engine, the transmission, the suspension are the same whether it is hand made or not. Another example would be a fine Italian leather bag versus a Hermes Berkin. As for Rolex, my current favorite is the DeepSea. I also collect some vintage Rolex including the 70's Steve Mcqueen Explorer II, the 60's Daytona Paul Newman, Milgauss, the Sea-Dweller Double Red, etc. I personally do not recommend that you buy the "flat black" watches, whether it is the DeepSea or the 116520 Daytona. Rolex Service Center would consider them as modified and will not service them unless you are willing to replace those flat black parts with the original parts at your cost. Rolex will also take away your modified parts. I agree with you that they look cool though. One last say about Rolex versus AP: If you would look at any chronograph AP under US$ 25,000 (like the SS Royal Oak Offshore, the Polaris, etc.) and compare them to your 08 Daytona. AP uses a slightly modified generic Valjoux 7750 (ETA 7750) which is know in the watch industry as the "blank stock" of affordable economical chronograph movement. These movements are sold to any watch manufacturers who want to put them under their own brands. Rolex also purchases those movements, and modifies them for its sister brand-Tudor, and sells them at only 10% of what AP is charging! Now, the movement in your Daytona is proprietary. It is highly regarded by watch connessiuers to be one of the best balance wheel set in the world. The balance wheel is the heart of any watch. The patented self-winding mechanism is also one of the most efficient. And even a Daytona is usually sold at premium price, it is still only 50-60% of what AP is charging for their basic chronograph watch. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to explain. Now, let's go back to golf equipment because I start to feel like I am working. Cheers!

About being handmade: Rolex cases and bracelets are still being hand finished at its final stage and hand assembled, just like those from AP . Also, for mechanical movements, they are all needed to be hand assembled regardless of brands, Rolex or AP are no exception. I would have to admit that for certain AP models, a few more internal parts are "hand" polished, engraved, or textured, but mostly for cosmetic and tradition purpose. What people overlook is the extremely tight tolerence (some less than 1/200 of a hair) of each small spare parts that form a complete movement. Rolex really excels in that area, and thus eliminates many of the expensive custom polishing processes. For Rolex, automatic machines are used only when they provide superiour results, but not to save costs (though it comes as a side benefit when Rolex achieves the economy of scale). Rolex throughout its history has always been constantly investing in so many highly technological advanced equipment for watch making, and many of them are proprietary, patented, or highly classified as trade secret. Some of those machines are like the hand operate CNC machine that you mentioned. Rolex rarely invites anyone except its business partners to visit its production facilities. To answer your question, no, I have not the opportuinity to visit AP factory, but I have been to some other leading watch factories including Rolex. However, my business associates have visited both AP and Rolex production facilities, and the impressions are not different from what I expressed above. About being unfair: If I offended you in any way with that statement, I apologize. However, comparing Rolex as a barrel wedge and AP as GF wedge is indeed unfair. Your analogy implied that Rolex watches were mass produced like barrel wedges and AP watches were hand made like GF. In fact, Rolex watches (cases and movements) are by no mean manufactured like "blank stock" that are cheaply and mass produced at all. Rolex production facility, compared to the golf industry, is more like Endo Japan, but produces only two brands (Rolex and Tudor) and does not accept any OEM. So if you want the finest Endo quality, you would only have to buy Epon, not Tourstage, not Fourteen. That would be a more correct comparison in my opinion. My point is , if Rolex were to produce only 20,000 pieces of watch per year while maintaining its current quality, the price of a Rolex would be even higher than an AP or a Patek Phillipe (not talking about complicated watches because Rolex is not making any). I would not want to argue with you regarding which brand of watch a watch enthusiast would choose because that kind of debate could go on for years and prove nothing. The AP empire has been falling even after selling two of its sister brands to ease its financial difficulties. That is ironical considering the success of Patek Phillippe who also claims to produces some of the finest "hand made" watches in limited number per year. As I said, people buy different watches for different reasons. Many people buy AP not because of its superior quality or craftmanship to Rolex, but just because they want something that not many other people have. Some people also think they are buying pieces of art, not watches. If the AP brand makes you feel unique, that is fine, but I do not think that I am one of the few who would choose a Rolex over an AP when it comes to quality. Our past 35 years in the watch business has proved that. Anyway, watches are not golf clubs that we use to dig into the sand and damage the fine finishing. Still, I am sure there would be some people would want to collect these very valuable GF wedges. I myself used to collect rare putters and still have in possesion a few of the limited edition handmade Hiro Matsumoto, Bettinardi, and Scotty Cameraon putters. My intention is not to knock on the GF wedge. I am just in the watch business and do not want to see false analogy.

With all due respect to your golf equipment knowledge, I would have to differ on your golf club and watch analogy. The swiss watch industry is a little more complicated than that, both in manufacturing and marketing aspects. Also, you have never visited the Rolex or the AP factory, it is not fair to compare the two brands the way you did. Let me share with you some facts. Many of the AP models use movements that are inferior (engineering-wise) to Rolex movements at price 3-4 time higher (due to limited production and thus much higher cost per unit). Rolex uses the best stainless steel alloy (904L) which is superior to the material that AP or Patek Phillipe use for their SS watch cases and bracelets. Rolex just is not interested in making watches with complicated movements like AP or Patek do, but when it comes to the basic three-hand watches or even chronograph (timing) watches, Rolex quality is second to none, if not the best. You are probably right that Rolex manufactures 20 times more watches than AP per year, but Rolex never cuts corners. Rolex has reached a state of the art in watch manufacturing that no other watch company in Switzerland can match, cost and quality wise. For one of more than a hundred examples, the tolerence in dimension of each Rolex Oyster case is less than 1/10 of a hair. Mass production watch companies or even the best "hand made" companies can not afford that and still be profitable. Rolex is the only exception. A "mass" production Rolex is not in any way inferior to the "hand made" AP in quality, durability, functionality, engineering, design, specifications, tolerences, and manufacturing process. Still many processes are still "hand made" at Rolex. In facts, Rolex invests in many extremely expensive equipment and manufacturing facilities for watch production that neither Patek Phillipe or AP could afford. You would have to visit the Rolex factory in Geneva to understand that. Anyway, people buy a specific brand of watches for different reasons. For me, I would buy them if they are really better (precision, craftmanship, logical design, and funtionality), but not because they are just limited or hand made. Same logic applies to the golf equipment.

I had bought and sold the MB-5003. Nice blade, solid feel, great feedback, excellent alignment, not very forgiving however. I just could not score as well with it as I did with my old tried and true Mizuno MP29 with DG S300. Finally, I sold it. Perhaps, it was because I fit it with the wrong shafts: Tour Concept R3 and KBS S 120 grm. I should have tried it with DGS300 before selling. AF-Tour: good soft solid feeling. Not as demanding as MB5003. I have never tried it on the course but do not want to because I personally do not like its appearance. Hate the Nike swoosh, the bright chrome finish, and the round toe. TS-901: Soft but not so solid feeling. The reason not many people care for it despite being a limited edition is the not so solid feel (dense).

Nobody has tried both?