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holes are drilled in it. ari has another 53* w/o the holes and he reckons it plays about 1.5* stronger on full shots but not as much of a difference on chip shots. sounds really great to me!

Irons: Tourstage MR-23 US-Spec CB 2 Titleist 670MB Satins 3 - Pw Blueprinted with Project X 6.5s soft stepped once, specs based on 38.25" 5 iron. 2 iron has S-200, all with Lamkin Crossline Sof-Cord Round logo down +1/32" The clubwork was all done by Tourspec Refinishing and is top notch. The satin finish looks great and every iron is dead on spec. I got the 670s second hand initially and had them custom ground for me. grind on my 670s is flatter than the normal 670 grind with less camber and alot less bounce. The normal 670 grind has alot of bounce and alot of camber to suit a steep digger type swing. I have a flatter more sweeping picker type swing with my irons and need a sole grind that is flatter with less camber and low bounce. The flatter sole allows me to pick the ball off the ground. At address they set up great and are very understated. The trajectory from these irons really suit me. It is a lot flatter than my MP-33s without any hint of a flair. I probably have gained 1/2 a club which I am happy with (not the longest player in the world - need all the help I can get) The feel of these irons are really nice too, more solid feeling than my Scratch wedges but very nice nevertheless. They have the copper/nickel underlay which makes them feel noticeably better than the ordinarly Titleist forgings IMHO. As blades go they are prenty forgiving but certainly do idiot sticks. I would really recommend getting your irons refinished by TSG - I have a totally unique set now, they suit me more than any other iron could. 3 thumbs up! On a side note - the long irons are the best shaped in golf (along with the MR-23 CBs) but the Pw is fugly.

here goes the next lot: 3 wood - Sonartec SS-03 14* square face angle with Fujikura Speeder 869 Stiff at 42.625" D2.5 Lamkin Crossline Sof-Cord Round logo down +1/32" This club scares me. I have had 3 FW woods that have lasted a reasonably long time in the bag. Steelhead original, PT 15* and a V-Steel. I liked them all, but they had their faults. This club is not perfect for everyone, but it is for me. At address the deep face, lack of alignment aid, jet black finish, full score lines, size of head, shape all scream perfection to me. It is exactly what I looking for in a 3 wood. Feel - this club is up there with the PT in term of solidness. I think it feels realy solid, but a different kind of solid to a PT. It is more explosive which I would attribute in part to the shaft. It has a more "modern" feel to it, without sacrificing any feel IMHO - the ball seems to really scream off the club face. Distance - this club deserves to be deemed God like in this respect. I can honestly say it is the longest 3 wood I have ever hit, including any 13* (even the ERC!) The flight on the SS-03 is just unreal - the ball gets up reasonably fast but the flattens off and just stays up there. The trajectory on the SS-03 really out performs any I have played. Its easier to "get up" than the PT but with all the benefits of a flat trajectory. On a related topic, I can shape this 3 wood better than any including the PT. My favorite shot is a high draw, but all the shapes are available to me. The wind does not seem to effect this club unduly. Into the wind it just bores through it and cross winds dont knock any shot offline really. Downwind is where I am scared to use this club. Why do I have a driver? this club actually is like 5 - 10 yards shorter than my MARU downwind! Forgiveness-I would put this leaps and bounds ahead of the PT and on a par with the Steelhead. The V-Steel would be marginally better if you take it slightly heavy (I found) but thats it. Not a horror club by any stretch of the imagination. Last note - great club. All that I look for in a 3 wood and more.

I love them Ari! might get it down to my 54* actually. how much does it takeout of the head? ie SW drop I actually was thinking about this for a 49* wedge. i dont love the look of a 47* wedge. i think it looks a bit too small but at the same time, i need that for the distance gaps. so i could get a 49* and raise to COG to play like a 48* maybe. sounds like a plan!!

7.5 to 8.0 those are some really stiff flexes!! there could your problem right there. its playing an X and a XX

that is one cool stamp. i assume the difference between tour/retail forgings here is specs are on the ball as opposed to be +/- 1 gram. I really do love that stamp. DAMN!

While the NV might be a good choice in R flex I would be a bit afraid on the tip stiffness in a bore-true head. I actually would go with a Tour Release or a 652 Speeder if you want to go the Fuji route. plenty of feel, and the bore-tru will firm up the weakish tip section so you wont have excess spin.

Well I am giving you all the low down on my clubs. Specs are as follows: Driver - Tourstage MARU-Spec 8.5* with square face and actual loft of 8.75* handpicked from Tour Van.... with Fujikura Speeder 652 Black, Stiff at 44" D4 and Golf Pride Players Softie Cord Round +1/32" This club lives up to its reputation. It is the best looking and feeling club I have ever hit. It sets up perfect and everything about it screams quality. I will not go into superlatives too much here. I just want to write a note on performance: I can honestly say I could play this club for the rest of my life. Its that damn good & rewarding. It is the first driver I have every hit which allows me to really go after the ball without any fear of the ball hooking on me. I believe that is due to the weight bias (or lack thereof) I got to play Quinta de Lago over the Easter week - I played it from the Championship tees 4 out of the 5 times & its a Tour course (Portugese Open is played there) Its a true shot makers course with countless dog-legs. I loved it! For once I could fade the ball without trying to slice it... does that make sense? I did not have to alter my swing/setup unduly to get a 5 yard fade whereas with say a GBII I would really have to try and slice the ball to get the same shot (ie not as consistent) The trajectory of this driver is great too. It does not reach as high an apex as my old 983E (9.5*) but it is still very playable at 8.5*. I think I was very lucky to get this driver - a 3* open MARU would be unplayable for me. The wind does VERY little to any driver with this driver... this is a great thing for me. Crosswinds do not really hurt and into the wind the ball still went out there at easy 95% of what I can hit. Conversely downwind the ball did not go much further... but I can live with that. Forgiveness - this club is not Launcher 460 but it is definitely playable. I have always been a very good driver of the ball, chipping and driving are by far the strongest parts of my game. If you put an idiot swing on this club you will get punished - no question. However my misses are high on the toe and these were "punished" and did not look good, however they were still in play. Example - I hit the ball 265 slight draw on a normal day. I miss on the toe with this... the feel is awful, I know I have missed... the ballflight is not pretty - sort of dips... sets off down the right rough and maybe draws back to the light stuff.... ends up 250 in the light rough. still very playable! Distance - all drivers hit the ball close enough to the same distance provided you are fitted for them. The MARU got me 5 yards over my E on really pure hits. No huge difference though - a low spin deep faced driver suits me and that is what I got! Overall - this club is a bit special. I think the combination of a heavy head, light shaft and shorter length really suit me. I can feel in control of the club/head throughout my swing without sacrificing any distance. One provisio I would add is that you have to be a "golfer" to play this driver. No 12 handicap with delusions of gradeur will find this to be his miracle club.

glad to see your photo prowess has returned!!

great pics ari - glad to see you idndt take these youself :-P they really do justice to your irons. the first proto pics of the CBs did not knock me over, but these do. the finish & shape & stamping are all top notch. and i know from my own wedges that the feel is better than anything else out there. now you just need to get more sets out there! PCB Tours - really sweet irons. I had a friend with a set, and he loved them. Darren Clarke actually played them for a while, then went to the blades PMB I think, the MP-33s and now RAC Combos.

yeah I remember hearing about her using Tiger's wedge when she weas playing in the Skins game. interesting that she couldnt get her own...

that Wilson looks very like my Del Mar 3.5. and i love all the different paintfills on the newport 2. makes me think i should have gone for something more adventurous than white!

yeah i used to have a set of these. they are pretty common here in ireland, i got mine for £100 back in the day!

yeah i guess i could get use to the I but i dont really want to :-P the headsize thing is definitely a NO-go. my favorite headsize is 312cc (my old J) the E has a really deep face and does not look that much bigger at 350cc. the MARU is so well shaped at 370 it looks good. BUT its too big my a hair already, so 40cc more is just totally not going to happen.

so the jap issue do not have the I at address and US will?

I am thinking about trying out an Ignite but 2 things are holding me back. The headsizes available conforming and and I on the top. There is one on ebay atm thay does NOT seem to have the I, is it tour?

any update?

go with the MR-23 CBs if you like a small, refined, blade-like CB. I have the 2 iron and love it!

hope these look ok:

ok I have pics taken & e-mailed to a few friends. I just need them hosted!

yeah i hear what you are saying. I will not give up just yet, I have a week of golf in front of me now & I will certainly give it my all. However, I am not coming from the "easiest" to hit driver in the world (983E) and my current clubs, that I am hitting well, are hardly idiot sticks. read blades, MR-23 CB and SS-03.

Here goes the MR-23 2 iron. Again this club has some reputation & I can definitely see why. At address it is simple & elegant but in your hand there is a certain inherent class about it, almost a mystique. This one is at the same specs as the rest of my set, however I got S-200 in it. Feels really nice I must say, more lively than the Project Xs IMHO. One hole today set up perfect for my 2 iron, par 3 about 225 with a little bank short left. It was into a fresh wind from the left. I hit a beautiful flat strike, ball landed just short left & skipped onto the dance floor. Wind did not touch it at all & distance was as far as my previous 2 iron (MP-33) Feel - yikes. This club is pure. Best feeling iron I have ever hit, leaps and bounds better than my MP-33s and even the 670s now. Its soft + solid, actually quite comparable to the Scratches, except just a little harder. I love this club & its definitely a keeper!

to be honest I have not noticed an "amazing" feel with this club. solid hits feel good, but not much better than my old 983E. perhaps im simply not hitting the ball well enough... yet!

Here we go: I shall start on the 3 wood :w00t: Its a Sonartec SS-03 head 14* face angle is perfectly square, its shafted with a Fujikura Speeder 869 (nothing but the best) Stiff at 42.625" D4 Lamkin Crossline Sof-Cord Round +1/32" Logo down. At address, man does this club look sweet. Take the simplicity of the old Orlimars, the dark classy finish of the 983s and an absolutely ideal face depth. It does frame the ball beautifully & just sits perfectly square/true. I like the lack of alignment aid & the size of the head suits my eye too. Performance - this is my first 3 wood that I can honestly say I can do anything with. I have had PTs, Steelheads, V-Steels etc and while all had their +++ nothing was as well rounded as this. I get a lovely flat trajectory out of this club and its perfect! lol. See I am not long enough to hit a bullet low 3 wood, just dont carry the ball far enough for a 2/3 air 1/3 roll 3 wood shot. However, this club beats the wind just like that bullet yet still carries nicely. Today my 2 fav shots were totally different. I had 240 out on a par 5, (its a short one dont worry) I hit a pure strike - the ball just took off - flat high flight, wind was off the left but didnt really affect it. ended up just on the front of the green. YES! A few holes later there is a very short par 4 dogleg left & if you can cut the corner & shape your shot its great. I had a helping wind of the right & was not comfortable drawing the MARU so I decided to try the 3 wood. Hit this most perfect piercing draw, moved about 10 yards in the air, hit hard ran up onto the green & fell off pin high right. I was not looking forward to this 3 wood, as much as I was the driver. Boy was I wrong & in for a great surprise. I also found it reasonably easy to hit, not in the league of a PT tough for sure. Any questions - just ask! PS - shaft feels great, lovely weight, great kick, tons of feel and flat trajectory.

I am a tall person - about 6'4 and I play my irons at 1/2" longer. However I always found that I drove better when I gripped down a little bit. So when I was ordering my last driver (983E) I ordered it at 44" D4. What a club! seriously, I lost no distance & was even more accurate. I found I could turn the ball over more naturally & I felt in control of the head throughout the swing. Now I was not comparing EXACTLY like with like, ie a 45" 983 against a 44" 983 but I think I found my ideal playing length through an educated guess & sheer dumb luck. J340 - no never hit. This is my first really high end driver, but have played all retails & a few Tour TMs. Played again today & the MARU is still no even close to being where I would like it.