nobmontana

In that case, would a sensible way going about a true combo set could be to produce a mold for MB blank that has extra mass on the back to allow flexible CNC machining for creating a pocket cavity, cavity and muscle back all from the same blank? Perhaps the process for taking off that much mass with CNC is too costly? Not sure... maybe I'm just dreaming. Srixon Z series are often used in a combo capacity and their designs have a nice flow from one type to the others. However, they dropped the MB in their newest release!! Weren't A-Grind CMBs designed with combo in mind as well?

As much as I would like to perfect my game in this arena, I still feel that the 3 wood is still the hardest club in my bag. For that reason, I try to look for a 3W that is forgiving and shallow faced so that playing off the deck is easier. I'll still use it off the tee box but will tee it up very very low to make sure I don't ever go underneath the ball. Before moving into my review of my current gamers, I wanted to mention the two very good 3 woods that I have used in the past that I no longer game. Epon AF-202HT and Ping G20... AF-202HT is possibly the all time JDM favorite by players who prefer shallow headed fairway woods. The thing is flat like a pancake. While pretty small from today's standard and not the most confidence inspiring footprint, the ease of getting the ball airbourne off the deck is unmatched by anything else I've played. The slight dislike I had with it was that the feel off the face was pretty firm. and as the name suggests, the ball wanted to go really high. Almost too high. Unfortunately these two things are the reason I moved on to other fairway woods. The Ping G20 which I still have as a backup club, has the perfect shape and size. Very shallow and mid size footprint to inspire confidence. Only possible negative is the sound of the 17-4 stainless steel head is not the best. Feels kind of cheap. As for shafts in my 3W, I used to have 80g range low launch stiff flex shafts. I like a lower controlled flight with my 3W. However, the aging thing kciked in in the last few years and an 80g 3W shaft is just too much for me now. So I started putting in 60g range x flex shafts and they are working really well for me. Helps with getting the lost distance back, yet no significant change in dispersion. MA01F 14 deg / Diamana 'Ahina 60X Since late last year I have been using the Modart MA01F in 14 deg in my primary bag. In case you didn't know, out of the 14, 16.5 and 19 deg lofts that they have in their FW line up, the 14 deg is the only head that uses a cup face construction. The effects of the cup face supposedly is to create a bigger sweet spot on the face and provide added forgiveness on miss hits. A welcome feature on a 3W for sure. The MA01F 14 deg is pretty compact to a point that it almost looks intimidating even for low handicap players, the traditional looks and very shallow face are a unique combination of features found in a 3W. Having said that, the size issue is pretty much forgotten after a while and I feel comfortable as I ever will be standing over the ball with this club. As for the current shaft, it is my 2nd shaft, first I had a Fire Express BX70 in F3 flex which I really liked but 1. trajectory was higher than I wanted 2. dispersion was not so good. As an experiment, I decided to go lighter but stiffer since that seems to be the trend in JDM shafts these days and I knew that lighter shafts will help with a bit more distance. 'Ahina 60X was what I got as a replacement and BINGO! it was a great match from my first range session! With this combo the trajectory is lowered and I have regained about 15 yards (to about 220 carry) which sits midway between my driver and 19 deg hybrid. I don't seek big distances from my 3W. Controlled, fairly accurate 225+ yards is all I am looking for. The feel of this head which uses 455 stainless steel cup face is really nice. It has a spongy feel signature to 455 and the sound pleasing as well. Doesn't sound cheap like the Ping G20 ( which I still adore BTW ). Jbeam G-FW 13 deg / Diamana 'Ahina 60X For this one, I was actually looking for a mini driver type fairway which I was going to put in a driverless Sunday bag set up. With regards to head material may of the JDM brands have come out with Titanium fairway woods which is almost becoming a standard these days. Past problems with Titanium fairway woods have been that they launch higher than how I like no matter what type of shaft I used. So initially I had a steel head in mind. Namely, the Mystery C-HT 411 in 13deg was what I had in mind.... I actually had this club for a while in my bag that I keep at my in-laws' place in Japan. It's big (195cc) and mid-shallow profile but uses 455 steel on the face. Really good club both from the tee as well as off the deck. Unfortunately they are not current models and I believe the 13 deg loft is no longer available. Due to the difficulty in locating one, I started to look for other choices. Ryoma F2, Baldo Brassy, Ping Rapture '13 were among other candidates. Then I remembered about a club that I tested earlier in the year.. JBeam G-FW. I had good impression of this head when I tested but did not realize they actually made these in 13 deg loft. It's a 185cc full Titanium head. From a size perspective it's right about the largest size for using it off the deck. The shape of the head reminds me of the Grandsita LS-001 driver. Shallow and round and looks easy to hit. I was a bit concerned about the full Titanium construction where CG is so low that it possibly launches the ball very high. Well ... my concerns were a non issue. I had them had pick the lowest available loft which was exactly 13 deg. measured loft which helped in this case. I first shafted this head with a Diamond Speeder 5X that I had in my Grandista RS-D after finding out that the shaft was actually a 3W length shaft!@ I decided to give it a try in this G-FW. Unfortunately, the 5X shaft was too light and a bit whippy. I ended up generating big slices and hooks which I haven't done in a long time. On to another 'Ahina.60 X ... Luckily used 'Ahina shafts ( proper Ion finished ones ) are easy to come by and are very affordable by now. The launch I get with this 'Ahina combo is still a tad higher than with the Modart 14 deg but I guess that is the effect of the lower CG in this all Ti head. On a positive note, the ball speed off the face is quite a bit faster than the Modart. I'm getting about 230 carry with this one. Anymore distance and I will be closing in on driver distance. Not sure that I want that. Sound and feel are pretty good. Not as good as the 455 steel stuff but for Titanium it's not bad at all. Not hollow, just a pleasing metallic sound at impact. I hope to one day find out what kind of Ti material is used on the face. but for now, JBeam has this information completely hidden from the public. I think this G-FW is a hidden gem that I would recommend to anyone looking for a 3+ fairway wood. It's good looking, it's forgiving and it has the performance to equal or surpass any 3W on the market. Highly highly recommended! Oh and some pics of my beloved back up Tour Issue matte black Ping G20 3W... this is paired up with a Tour AD TP-6X

This is one driver that I really wanted to try before my SP700 thing kicked in. One of the best looking heads with mid shallow profile. GLWS!!

Glad I can contribute!! Next are reviews of my two fairway woods and three hybrids. ?

Thanks!! Just trying to share my experience to see if others may join me in sharing about their toys!! We want to knooooow !! right? ?

After getting the Grandista RS-D earlier this year, I've gone down the path of seeking additional driver heads that have SP700 faces. I wanted to share my experiences with these three SP700 heads that I settled with. Grandista RS-D 9 deg Low launch / mid to low spin, slightly draw biased with open face. Mid shallow face - mid shallow back profile. I love the shape of this head. I mean all Grandista heads of the past had really nice traditional shapes and this one is no exception. really beautiful to look at. The one improvement to the shape in my opinion is the bulging crown. With the previous models, since they were carbon crown, it looks a lot flatter, ( not sexy ? ) I believe the bulged crown used in the RS-D also has functional benefits to help with launching the ball higher and faster. The sound and feel of this head is perfect in my opinion. This is why I love SP700 faced heads. Slightly muted but not completely dead and my opinion is that it has a soft and springy feeling off the face. Sound and feel will vary greatly with the type of ball you use. As an FYI, I use Tour B XS, Srixon Z Star or Titleist Pro V1 and they all produce different sound at impact. The low launch of this particular head may be because of the loft I chose. I typically go for 9.5 deg loft on most of my drivers but I think the real loft that I need is like 10 deg.. Boutique brands can use real loft measurements. so 9 deg may actually be 9 deg. I am thinking about designating this driver for Summer use. Because of the lower piercing trajectory, I get tons of roll with this driver on harder fairways. The slightly draw bias helps me hit baby draws all day long. I can hit it straight or a slight fade as well. It's a very workable head. While workability is good. It seems like Grandista did a really good job in building in a lot of forgiveness in this head as well. With the right shaft, wild misses are kept to a minimum and dispersion is really good. Obviously, results will vary from one player to another. As for shaft selection , I have gone through a few shafts in this already. Basi AAA 2015 60S, Diamond Speeder 5X and Diamond Speeder 5S. Out of these shafts, I felt that the Diamond Speeder in 5X worked well for my swing. However, after learning that the used shaft that I bought actually had a butt extension by the previous owner I wanted to replace it with one that is not extended ( fine, call me anal! cuz I am wit my clubs ) . I took the opportunity to try a Diamond Speeder in 5S thinking that 5S would get me more distance because I'd be able to load the shaft more. BIG MISTAKE!! I haven't made this big of a mistake in shaft selection in a while. Arrrrgh! I guess the flex in the 5X vs the flex in 5S is very very different. With the 5S my ball has been all over the place with big big duck hooks and block shots etc.... The timing is waaaay off. Time for more experiments!! Since I know that I need a tip stiff shaft based on the swing analysis at Seven Dreamers I'll be trying a few tip stiff shafts soon. Just picked up a used Fujikura Atmos TS Black, a used Miyazaki Kusala Black and used Miyazaki Kaula Black... Hopefully I can find a shaft that will maximize my distance with this head. Modart MA01D+R 8.5 deg Mid to High Launch, mid spin, just a tad of draw bias with a straight face. Mid-deep face, deep back profile So this is my second MA01D+R head, I first had a 9.5 deg which I thought launched a bit high for my preference. So I got this 8.5 head hoping for a lower launch. Unfortunately, this 8.5 still launched like a 10 deg head. However I have a Diamana W in this head now and the launch is well in check. Feel and sound are exquisite. When you hit the middle you get sort of a sensation like dropping your face into a very fluffy pillow. "Puff!" Though the head shape is very playeresque, this head is still very forgiving. Overall shape of the head as viewed at address seem to emphasize anti left. After playing the head a while, I've learned that striking the ball in the middle of the face or lower will generally produce very piercing flight that I am accustomed to with my other drivers, but when I strike it higher on the face, it launches like a 10.5 deg head with a high boring trajectory. for maximum carry, I just need to tee a bit higher than normal. Though I generally like low piercing flights with my drives, I think this Modart head gives me the versatility I need for actual course play and it provides forgiveness that I can rely on. As for shaft, I have had my 7D shaft in it but it just launched too high. I have since switched to a Diamana W 60 S tipped 0.5" to keep the flight lower. Depending on how my shaft test goes with the Grandista, I may try other shafts in this Modart as well. I initially thought Modart was a brand that was all about fancy looks designed for rich people who can spend endless amount of money for their golf equipment. Not so.... not at all. Their stuff is generally designed for mid to low handicappers who like to play in competitions. I have Modart driver, fairway and hybrid in my main bag now. Romaro Type R 2017 9.5 deg Mid launch, mid spin, slightly closed face , shallow face mid-shallow back profile I've always liked Romaro's products but unfortunately nothing actually have stayed in my bag for longer than 3 months. The original Type R driver had SAT or TVC faces (can't remember which now) and Romaro drivers somehow were not known for distance performance. For me, their drivers were not the best sounding or feeling. Luckily the 2017 version Type R came out with an SP700 face. I had to try it. First impression was that the shallow profile kind of reminded me of the Epon AF-153 that I used to play and loved. I tend to do better with shallow faced heads. This head has a nice pleasing metallic sound that is very well behaved, feel is soft but has good pop off the face. I paired this head with my Seven Dreamers shaft which is my second one from them. The first shaft was a bit too stout for me and felt dead so on the second one, I had them mimic the profile of a Kurokage Prototype 2013 60S which is probably on the softer side of stiff flex from a CPM perspective. Result is the straightest easy swinging driver I've built to date. Only issue is that I do need to swing this club rather quietly and not too aggressively. With easy swings, I am confident that I can put the ball on the fairway 80 to 90% of the time. Trajectory wise, surprisingly this combo has a mid trajectory that will not go that high. Distance is pretty good, but since I need to swing easy with this shaft, I can't quite get to my max distance. I personally don't feel like these Romaro's are inferior to other drivers from a distance perspective. I use this driver when I just want to do an easy walking 9 hole round on a warm summer evening. The sound, feel and the controlled quiet flight is perfect for those occasions.

More to come.... I'm in the review mood. ?

That's very interesting. The stock Miyazaki shaft are supposedly no good but the aftermarket Miyazaki shafts, I think, are actually pretty good. I had the first Kusala Black in a ZR30 head for a while and it was a great combo.

The X Blade 709 limited combo they had, appearance wise looked like it was designed for a combo but in fact they just slapped 3 different models in one set... colored them the same and called it good. The hosel length transition was really bad, the shaft set that I used for this set could not be re-used in another normal ironset 4,5 were CB , 6,7,8 were MC and 9, PW were MBs. Hosel length varied quite a bit from one model to another with the MB hosel being significantly longer than the other two models. Hopefully they thought about those things in the new XBLs.

Ah yes... the CB 2006 looks to be 3 to 4 mm longer than the CB 1008 from heel to toe. They don't exactly list the overall blade length on their site so it's hard to tell the actual difference.

My understanding is that there are two challenges to producing Fe 99.3 heads. 1. Material availability and cost? not verified but Miura claims that additional steps required to achieve this level of purity adds time ad cost. 2. Miura claims that grinding the 99.3 heads are more difficult due to the material being a bit more "sticky" on the grinding wheel. Takes a highly experienced grinder/craftsman to do them right. May all be marketing hype but I'm loving these heads so far.

I have not seen a 1006 in person ... but based on the dimensions shown in their website, I think they are about the same size. I don't consider CB1008 to be too big at all. The PP 9003 on the other hand is a bit too big. From the Miura line ups, I believe MB and MC series are the most compact and then the CB 1000 series followed by CB 2000 series and then you have the PP series that are what Miura calls "Mid Size"

From the Tourstage range, I've gamed the X-Blade 709 Limited Combo a few years ago and the Bridgestone J015CB last season. 709s were pretty soft but the J015CB were so so... with the 709s I had Nippon 1150GH and then in the J015CB I had the Shimada K's 8001 in them. Neither of these combos were as soft as the SUS316 or the Miuras. The 709 limiteds and the J015CB both had dark finishes. Not sure what type of finishes they were but perhaps that had to some effect on feel? not sure..

Oh ... they're nothing special ... just two sets of Crazy CBI-80 limiteds in the Stiff flex and Regular flex. ? I think they would work awesome with the SUS316 and the CB1008s

The head shapes on these are okay. ideally want less offset and slightly pointy toe shape. The Seven x Shinagawas have the ideal shape for me. But I'm not gonna use them for money my games at the weekend Men's club. I do have a new old stock set of IDBLs which actually have the ideal shape in a cavity back. Perhaps I should rip them out of the shrink and put it in my rotation.

The SUS316s are as soft or softer than the AF Tour CBs in my opinion. I believe I had graphite shafts in the AF Tour CBs so probably not a fair comparison. With steel shafts, I started installing Pro Soft inserts in all my irons as well as my putters. The inserts remove unwanted vibration upon impact. I think it makes the impact feel a bit muted in most cases. I also think the heavier Modus 125 also contributing to the denser feel at impact. I've always thought heavier weight steel bring out the best feel in forged heads. DG S400s would probably feel awesome in these heads, but they are also too heavy for me. At my age, it's probably another 5 years or so that I get to keep playing these heavier steel shafts. Gotta enjoy them while I can! ? Once I get to a point where I can't swing these shafts any longer, I'll switch to graphite. I've already saved a couple of "unobtainium" graphite shafts for that purpose!

Haven't done a comparative review in a while ... We've been lucky here in Washington this fall and weather has been dry thus far. Got quite a bit of 9 hole rounds after work. I've built both of these sets in the last 3 months and now have a good idea of their differences strength and weaknesses. The builds: 1. Epon AF-505 / SUS316 Combo, NS Pro Modus 125 S ( #4&#5 are AF-505 ) built with Prosoft inserts 2. Miura Giken CB 1008 99.3% pure iron, True Temper Monaco Stiff Soft Stepped x 1 built with Prosoft inserts While I have owned and tried many forged carbon steel irons, most have been either S20C or S25C in one form or another. These two irons I have now are sort of unique in that they are neither S20C or S25C. The SUS316 as the name suggests is made from forged SUS316 Stainless Steel. From a physical property perspective, it is supposed to be softer than S20C... The CB 1008 is what Miura claims as "99.3% Pure Steel" Carbon in typical carbon steel material is considered "impurity" in steel. 99.3% Pure Steel contains a lot less carbon and supposedly a lot softer. I've come to learn over the years that physical hardness of the material isn't the entire story when it comes to the feel at impact... the ball, shaft and grip also play a vital role in the overall sensation transmitted from ball to face, face to hosel, hosel to shaft, shaft to grip, grip to hand. Looks: From address, they look awfully similar. Both have a players cavity profile but with thinner top lines than your typical CBs. I like that about these two irons. There is some offset on both sets. Not significant enough that they bother me. For all I know I think it's helping me hit it better. The Epon have the standard Chrome plated finish. I believe these came in non-plated finish as well but I have heard they turn dark after a while ( probably from oxidization ) and are more susceptible to chatter marks. I am happy with the Chrome finish. Perhaps the raw ones are a touch softer feel? not sure. The Miuras have a beautiful Satin Chrome finish. I'm thinking Miuras Satin Chrome finish is by far the most durable finish. After several rounds, I typically start to see tiny dots of rusting on the face but I just don't see that much with Miuras. The back cavity side design is all preference but the Epons look much like the Titleist 695 CBs. the Miura CB-1008 on the other hand is a lot more classic simpler design but the cutouts added give an updated look. Feel: Both irons rank at the top when it comes to how soft they feel at impact. By a significant margin, I believe these are the two softest irons I have owned. The Miuras feel a bit more denser. and the Epons are lighter feeling impact if that makes sense. Both are marshmallow soft when you hit the middle. I really don't have the urge to try other irons at the moment. I do have the Seven x Shinagawas which I love playing, but the feel at impact goes to the Epon and Miuras. The Shinagawa MBs do look 100 times better though!!! Performance: The Miuras are slightly stronger lofted with a 45 deg PW all the way to a 22 deg 4 iron. The Epons are 46 deg PW and 24 deg 4 iron. It's interesting that Miura put stronger lofts on these players profile cavity backs. It is said that the 99.3% Pure Irons are so soft that there have been reports that distance is somewhat shorter on these irons and so they had to compensate by making the lofts stronger. I have not yet validated this in detail but I pretty much use the same club for the distance I need on both of these irons. So perhaps the claim is true. One aspect that is quite different is the flight on these two irons. I do believe the difference comes from the shafts. Epon/Modus 125 has a mid to high trajectory and the Miura/Monacos have low trajectory. Where I see the ball flying after impact is significantly lower than anticipated for the Miuras. From that, I think the Miuras would be a great choice for windy conditions. The Epons are a good all rounder. Accuracy is a bit better with the Epons. Possibly because of the slightly heavier shafts.　Distance wise, Interestingly I seem to be getting a little more distance out of the heavier Epons/Modus combo. The differences are slight but noticeable. Two great sets of irons that I will rotate and keep playing. I am enjoying iron play more than ever thanks to these two sets!!

No golf today so I dropped off my wife and kids at a shopping mall and headed to a nearby golf shop to try the new Srixon Z785 and Z585 drivers. They are both 460cc but one is fully adjustable and the other is a bonded hosel. Being a bonded hosel fan, I started testing out the 585 first. Stock shaft was a HZRDUS Red in 65g 6.0 flex... Somehow these HZRDUS shafts have never worked with my swing. They feel heavy and kind of loose. I was hitting everything left and high with this combo.... averaging 250 yds total. Moved on to the 785 ... I wanted to try a different shaft but the guy there said they did not have any other shafts to try... "but what are these things?" Duh.. I pointed at a bunch of fitting shafts from the previous Z765 fitting bag .. they have the same adapters as the current ones. One of the things I hate about these golf shops is that I know way more about the products than they do. They know nothing. Oh well. In the fitting bag I found an Atmos TS Black 6X, Miyazaki Kaula Black 6S, Tensei CK Pro Blue 60 S that I would consider mid or low launch that could work for me. The Atmos Black 6X was going to be too much shaft but wanted to try anyway. Started with the Miyazaki Kaula Black at 9.5 .... but still going a bit high. Went down to 8.5 deg setting and now the club started singing!! Miyazaki felt the best and gave god numbers but I actually had the longest shot with the Atmos ... 280 yards. And that was the distance with my 98 mph or so swing speed and 143 mph ball speed. The head is really good with a carbon crown now. I believe the new face material is the same as what they used for the XXIO 10 driver. The sound and feel were really dialed in well. Reminded me of the soft yet lively feel of the Titleist 913 drivers. An explosive metallic sound that is pleasing to the ears. seems like Srixon has caught up with the other drivers in the market form a performance perspective. The dislike of this driver for me is the alignment mark on the crown. They really didn't need one. I like this Srixon more than the M3 , Rogue or G400 ... If you are in the market for a new driver, definitely take a look at these. Srixon did something really good on these! On the contrary, the FW and UT looked hideous because of the Cleveland High Bore step crown that Srixon used on the FW and UT. Why did they do that!? ?

If I win the Mega Million jack pot I’ll buy a couple of LFAs

Engine sound produced by our favorite JDM brand, Yamaha!! I’d be happy with one of the V8 “F” models Even the LC500 looks a bit to flashy for casual around town use.

Happy to help out where I can.

The heads sure look like Kyoei blades but don’t know enough about these.

Feel of the STPs are dependent on weight range. I initially had the 100g but they felt a bit boardy. I currently use STP 85 Iron shafts in my hybrids and they are very very good. Works similarly to the Crazy Black UT shaft. Back to irons. Though the STP 100 are boardy and somewhat dead feeling, they do go very straight. Almost hard to work the ball. If you normally use Stiff flex shafts, I recommend the 85 over the 100. If you are a hard swinger who does well with X100s, then perhaps 100 or the 115 could work. I don’t use graphite shafts now, but still to this date, Crazy CBI 80 Limiteds were the best feeling graphite shafts for me. Other graphite iron shafts I’d recommend are Roddio i10 or MCI Blacks. Mitsubishi OT Tour might be good ones to try as well. Had the OTi 95 but a bit too light and whippy for me. Feel was really good.

Very cool!!

I imagine R11s would have stronger lofts for sure. If those Moritas are older they are likely less strong lofted.