FrankThong

Yeah, I can never estimate the run that well to play a chasing ball game. Easier to carry it to the pin. ;) The zex-eeeee-ohhhs are not too good for that for me. :(

I'll sure give the Pentas a try. Thanks!

After reading Stew's review of balls from a recent thread, I picked up a box of XXIO Premium, the Brill balls, on sale and tried them this weekend. No doubt they're longer than the Pro-Vs, my regular balls, which were not so surprising -- I knew the Pro-Vs were not the longest ball in the market but the all-round performance make them my favorite. The salesperson, whom I know and who also know my game, was shocked that I wanted them, emphasized (at least 3 times) that they were balls for 'senior golfers looking for distance' and not for me. So how did the XXIO Premiums measure up? First off, how is the name supposed to be pronounced? Ex-ex-ai-oh? Or Ex-ee-oh? I thought the feel off the driver was ok; maybe I was expecting a great difference from the Pro-Vs. It wasn't radically different. Off the Kamui, it's a tad more muted than usual, nothing that I would have noticed if I wasn't looking for it. What was noticeable was it's performance off the fairway wood and other long clubs -- the XXIO felt real hot off the face. Springy even. For me, this is the real advantage of the XXOI. What would usually take a good drive and good 3-wood to reach one of the par-5s became a usual drive and good 21° ute to get there. Other balls might give the same results but not the soft, nice feel of the XXIO. That's a huge and real tangible benefit that I suppose is the premium you pay for the XXIO Premium. If distance and feel off long clubs were the boons of the XXIO, then the approach off the scoring clubs would definitely be the bane. The greens here are nothing like the hardpans of the NSW courses that Stew talks about; in fact, it was drizzling a little yesterday and I thought the green was just that little bit softer and grass was a hair longer than usual. On some of the holes I played the Pro-V1x, I got some impressive backspin even. BUT, the XXIO was appallingly bad inside 120m. Forget about backspins, I couldn't even get it to drop and stop with a wedge. That, to me, is quite unacceptable. Needless to say, I also didn't get the 'usual Pro-V bite' from half pitches and chips -- not a biggie, just take a bit of getting used to. Off the putter, I must say, it's nice. Not like it rolls better or straighter or anything, just feels nice. I can't really quantify or describe it. No question that golfers with slower swing speed looking for more distance would love this ball. With the soft and nice feel, they're worth much more than the marbles found in the budget shelf (and of course, you'd be paying for it too) that flies a mile. Maybe it's psychological but I thought the XXIO might be better for my tendonitis. Dunno. So. I'm quite baffled how/why Stew would love this ball. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad but it's far from ideal for the low handicap golfer who has no need for more distance (maybe I'm sandwiched between 2 groups of golfers that the XXIO appeals to?). Again, don't get me wrong, I am neither that low a handicapper and I would certainly welcome a few more yards but would I swap my Pro-Vs for the XXIO? Only for select par-5 if/when I need to get on in 2. Would I get another box when this runs out? Not at its current price, not even at Pro-Vs prices. Sorry. I might pick up some Srixon Z-Star XV and Bridgestone B330-RXS, which were recommended (cheaper) alternatives to the Pro-Vs, and also on sale; maybe I'll post another report next week. ;)

I have found that head weights of putters make a difference, especially when you have to suddenly adapt to lightning fast greens; I remember the shock I had when I first played on a course in Brisbane/Gold Coast. I was like a circus doing 2-on, 3-off! Even in Singapore, when I play a course with notoriously faster or slower greens, I would play a different putter. Don't need much, 20g (+/-) with the same stroke would yield different results. These days, you can adjust the head weight of Scottys by changing the weights affixed to the sole, which makes it even easier to make the necessary adjustments. ;)

Don't you carry different putters for different greens, ie heavy/light head for fast/slow greens? ;)

Tell me about it! ;)

With only 14 clubs in the bag, an Utility often have to serve both the functions of a rescue and gap club between the fairway woods and irons. But there is a point about having a lofted rescue club. I just found its usefulness over the weekend and looking at the 26° TRC with renewed interest.

Just get something around 20°. Here's why I think: 1. 3-wood = 15°. 4-iron = 23°/24°. A 20° ute would be around 15-20m shorter than the 3-wood but 15-20m longer than the 4-iron, give or take a few. At distances of around 200m (+/-), I'd say that pretty much fills the gap. After all, even the pros wouldn't expect to stick it to the pin at that kind of distances. 2. You can build 2 utes to give to 10m spreads but how often are in the region of 180m to 210m that you absolutely have to get it on and close? I would say it is a waste of a club allocation and would rather spend it on an 'get out of trouble' club or a scoring club, eg. another wedge. 3. Consider the 26° TRC. If you were ever caught in a fairway bunker that's deeper than normal or the ball rest up too close to the face, a 26° might come in handy. High and long. 4. Alternatively, a 3rd wedge would be a good 14th club to bag.

Nooooo, I'll never pay those crazy prices for a golf bag, even though it is CRAZY! ;)

Looks like I beat you to it, just booked my set. ;)

Stew, have you tried the SDJs? How do they rate?

That's exactly my sentiments. I so want to get that extra 5-10m off the Ryoma but just can't squeeze it out. If anything, the Kamui is longer off the sweet spot.

It seems so ha! Yeah, except I think the LY01 on the Kamui is a little older than the LY01 on the Ryoma. It says SR Flex on the Kamui shaft and 6.9 Flex on the Ryoma. But according to T, the specs of these 2 shafts were identical.

The 456 Silver (conforming) 9.5° with Crazy LY01 (SR). Very happy with it. :)

You mean the Toyoshimas? Did you try the milled face or not? How would you rate them overall? I'm soooo tempted, but dropping a grand for a pair and then subject them to the kind of abuse my wedges take would make my heart bleed.

You wouldn't notice chunkiness on wedges at address though. I'd rate the Epons easier to hit than the Miuras I'm presently using but the if you hit them sweet, the 49° y-grind and 56° k-grind are quite unbeatable, I'd imagine. Both spin a lot; I'm getting serious bites even on half pitches inside of 10, 20m. Heard all kinds of good things about Sky Dream Jump and ordered a couple; you might want to check those out too.

After many rounds now with both the Kamui and Ryoma, if I had to choose only ONE, it'd be the Kamui.

But there isn't a 19° TRC.

A very timely post. For me, that it. ;) I was going to replace my current utility clubs and the TRC was highly recommended to me. Frankly, I was already sold on the TRC but your post made my choice feel like an excellent one! Problem is I'm finding the loft combinations a little hard to work with. I carry a 3-wood and my next longest club is a 4-iron, so there's a gap from 15° to 23°. I was thinking of a 17° and 23° TRC but how practical is a 17° utility? Is it going to give me enough height to get out of trouble or fairway bunkers? Would it be hard to handle as a 2-iron? Then I thought about the 20° and 26°. But how useful a 26° utility? 26° is the loft of a 5-iron; in what circumstance would I not be able to hit a 5-iron and need a utility club? I didn't find much use for a 5-wood before, would a 26° utility become the same white elephant? 20° and 23° seem like the only lofts for me but they're too close to be bagging both. Yet, having just either 20° or 23° would not be enough. Any ideas, anyone?

Ever since the Pro V1, and later Pro V1X, I've never bothered to look at another golf ball. Now this. Thanks a lot, Stew, for complicating my life! ;)

Comparatively speaking, the Kamui (my conforming one, that is) is certainly more mute than the Ryoma. Not sure I'd say it's springy though. It doesn't feel or sound bad really, just perhaps not as nice as the Ryoma. What courses are you planning to play in Singapore? Bring the Ryoma for tighter courses and the Kamui for wide open ones. ;)

Nah, not so much rain now, mostly in the late afternoon if at all. Play in the morning if you want to stay dry.

T, I've found the Kamui not to be too far off the consistent track than the Ryoma under normal circumstances. However, my tendonitis is getting worse and I am not hitting the ball as well -- it is this experience that made the Ryoma better than the Kamui for me. Which brings me to the conclusion that good strikers of the ball would benefit more from the Kamui than the Ryoma. Conversely, for the Tarzans of the tee box, the Ryoma would be driver of choice for keeping the ball long and on the short stuff.

That would be my opinion of the Epon 502 and Miura 501. I too have never hit the 2006, but the Miura 501s are presently my playing irons. I got them after testing the Miura 202 and 301 as well; and felt that they were easier to hit than the 202s and felt nicer than the 301s. Not sure if I'd call them a 'player's club' -- they're more like 'ex-players' club', decent golfers who want to use easier equipment but can't handle those big chunky performance enhancing things. The 501s are not the easiest irons to hit but they are far from being difficult too, and getting a shot off the sweet spot is like [let me try to put it in words for you]... a small orgasm? Haha! I was looking for a set of Epons recently and tried the 302s, 502s and 702s, and found them all to be easier to handle than the Miura. The Epons are bigger and thicker (at the topline) than the Miura. The balls seem to rocket off the 502's, though not as hot off the face as the 702s. The patented 'filling' of the head may have something to do with it, not sure, but they do not feel as nice as the 302s or the Miura 501s, nowhere near, in fact. I chose the 302 in the end. I'd recommend the Epon 502s to players who wish to move up from chunky-monkey performance enhancing irons to a set of 'real' golf clubs. On the flipside, the Miura 501 is more for the better players who wish to move down to easier-to-play irons for some less-stress golf.

T convinced me to get the conforming version, which I did. Imagine how much longer the non-conforming would be, hmph! ;)