FrankThong

You know exactly how I feel then! ;) What are you presently bagging?

Kamui 456 Silver 9.5° on Crazy Longest Yard LY01 SR Flex. Ryoma V-Spec 9.5° on Crazy Longest Yard LY01 Nero 6.9 Flex. As you can see, the drivers are built as similar as can be, other than the head -- identical loft, shaft, grip. Kamui Works lets you customize the lie on the 456, something that I consider very important, especially if your height/build makes you radically different from a 60° lie kinda guy. As far as I know, Kamui Works is the only company that offers lie customization for ordinary folks like me and in case you didn't know, you can't bend a driver after it's been made, which makes your personal Kamui driver even more special. The Ryoma packs a whopping 60g weight behind the face, which is supposedly a technological feat. Don't think I need to say any more about the Ryoma that's not already been said in recent times. I've heard/read about golfers of all skill levels experiencing tighter dispersions and distance gains anywhere from 5m to a mind-boggling 30m from their old drivers. However, I don't recall any of these old drivers was a customized Kamui. I was playing the Kamui for a few months before the Ryoma and hit some of the longest drives of my life. I don't think there is any extraordinary superiority about the construction, material, etc, so I am going to assume it's the custom lie that's behind the distance windfall. It wasn't difficult to hit; I needed only a couple of range sessions and rounds before getting really comfortable with it. The mis-hits were no worse than expected -- not particularly unforgiving in terms of distance loss or dispersion from other drivers. I have no complaints about the Kamui (other than the near unusable head cover) and honestly had no reason to get another driver. But I did anyway; don't ask me why, I don't know. When the Ryoma arrived, I was full of expectations from all the rave reviews. I fantasized about mis-hits being way long and straight and par-5s routinely within sight in 2! How quickly I fell back to Earth after the first couple of rounds. As forgiving as everyone has found it to be, I thought the Ryoma was harder to hit than the Kamui. I didn't experience any distance gains from the Ryoma off the sweet spot and I seriously didn't think the Kamui was worse off the mis-hits either. The only thing I thought the Ryoma was better -- the sound at impact; much better than the Kamui. Long story short, I have been using the Ryoma exclusively after shelving it after those first few rounds. I've sort of gotten more used to it; in fact, I now think it 'feels' better than the Kamui. That said, I still have not experienced any distance gains over the Kamui on the good hits, though some mis-hits are indeed longer (especially the balloons -- great carry, the Ryoma). I must also admit that the Ryoma makes ugly hooks and slices less aggravated. I've not gone OB or landed in adjacent fairways yet, which is a wonder in itself heh. My advice to golfers thinking about getting one of these drivers, first thing first -- either would be an excellent choice. If you are a good striker of the ball and a bit shorter/taller than Joe Average, go for the Kamui and get the full meal deal on the customization; face angle, lie and loft to 0.1 increments cannot be beat. At $600+ for the head, I'd say it's a frigging steal! On the other hand, if you are quite wild off the tee and want to increase your overall driving stats (length and fairways hit), Ryoma is your gun. I've not read a bad review of it yet, this is probably the worst. It's not cheap though; at $950 a head, it's at least 50% more than the Kamui but chances are, you will find it's worth it. Final word, if you do decide to get either of these drivers, invest in the best suitable shaft that you can afford. I can't stress enough how much a difference shafts play in the scheme of things. ;)

No, black. ;)

I went with the 302, 4-PW. It will be a quite unique set with a custom finish and interesting shafts, to say the least. I'll post some pics when I get them in a few weeks. ;)

The ones on TSG are non-conforming but they have some new models that are. You can find out more on their web site; just google for the address.

Recently tried the 301, 302, 502 and 702 in steel (KBS Tour) and graphite (Tour AD) at an indoor range to choose and build my next set of irons. They all looked good and felt great; I hit them all pretty sweet, as I seem to be only able to do at the range these days, so not sure how forgiving thet'd be on the mis-hits. They all looked larger than my Miura 501 from all angles, and I wouldn't necessarily say the Epons are better in looks and in play, just different. The 502 and 702 felt the same to me, with the 702 feeling like it will fly further. The 302 felt better than the 301 and was my choice in the end. I'd advise anyone looking to get a set of Epons to try out the different models out, and if possible, in different shafts, before making a decision. They feel and play quite differently. I thought the 302s was harder to manage for me from the reviews I've read, especially since I'm looking for easier-to-play-with equipment, and was more keen on the 502s until I tested them. With the level of customization available from Epon, I'd feel shortchanged if I didn't checked out and tried the different possibilities. ;)

I was also recently looking to build a 2-wedge system too and was recommended Sky Dream Jump. I checked them out and thought they were what I, or any golfer, would want in a wedge -- good looking, well made, available in a variety of loft and bounce, and most importantly, pack a loadful of bite. I ordered a pair, in fact, but strangely, I don't see SDJ mentioned in the last few forum threads on wedges.

Completely identical, other than lie, which is not applicable to the V-Spec. Otherwise, same shaft same flex same length same swing weight same grip. I have also not heard many, if any at all, comparison between the Ryoma with the Kamui, just the Ryoma vs other drivers. So don't know if it's just me or what.

The Miura k-grind (non-conforming, I suspect) spins like crazy but generally, I find Miura wedges harder to hit than the Epons. Don't know why.

Haven't heard anything about Kamui for a while. I have the 456 Silver (custom) and the Ryoma V-Spec, both on Crazy LY01. Granted I have not played many rounds with the Ryoma, but so far, I've hit longer with the Kamui. The mis-hits may be a tad longer and straighter with the Ryoma but I think if you're a decent golfer, a custom built Kamui could be more rewarding.

I probably have not handled as many as the guys here but my vote for best looking from all directions except at address goes to the black Yururi KM0107, aka Batman's irons. Best looking at address has to be the Miura CB202; thin topline with just a hint of offset. Best feeling on impact = Epon 302; I've heard it's buttery, it's sweet, but if I had to describe the sensation, I'd say it's satisfaction.

Thanks for the direction. How is it that I do not know about the BST section before?!

Eh, where/how can I get to this hot Quadra inventory sale?

Hi Craig, thanks for the tip. I'm sure T would give me no less an attractive deal. ;)

I've not tried any of these shafts so will have to rely on your experience and intuition to make a recommendation. My criteria for iron shafts are: light (70g+ max) and stable (perform like steel), good feel, does NOT launch high. I don't mind paying the extra for Crazy if they are going to make a difference worthy of its price tag. I get scared when I hear words like 'stiff', 'blades', etc. I think if there is SR or, anything like the Matrix's F, that should be good enough. I'd rather err on the soft side. Then again, these are irons, not woods, so I may not know what I am saying ha!

I am using the Matrix Radix now; no big deal really. I was going to consider the Programs but even the 95, at that weight class, I might as well be using the KBS Tour 90! The Tour ADs are off my shortlist; it's now Quadra, Crazy or Roddio.

T, what do you think are best sticks on the 302s for me -- Quadra, Crazy or Roddio?

Thanks for the recommendation; so it's now Quadra, Crazy or Roddio. I've not played any Quadras before but I love the Crazy LY01 on both my Kamui and Ryoma. I wonder if that would help me narrow the choices down further?

I heard there is Chrome Copper and then there is Black Copper. Are these options straightforwardly available from Epon? Do you notice much difference between the 301 and 302 in terms of spin owing to the grooves?

A 302 is a 302 is a 302; I'm sure any finishing would do. I'll probably get graphite shafts. It's now either the Tour AD, Quadra or Crazy. Are you familiar with or heard from players with those shafts?

Have you tried the k-grind wedge by Miura before? Those are as unforgiving as I have hit. But they spin like crazy; sometimes too much. I will test both the wedges again before making a decision.

Hmm, I'm already using the least forgiving wedge in the world -- the y-grind and k-grind. ;)

By the way, other than the grooves, any other notable differences between the 208KGX and 210KGX wedges?

Hey Spoon, thanks for response. Haha, why are you surprised that I don't own an Epon set yet? To be honest, I didn't much like the look of Epons before; they were chunkier than I'd like and never paid it much attention. Of course, I didn't know about this forum then and known no one who played Epons so had no idea how they performed. I'm very tempted to go for the Copper finish. I don't mind the fading so much, especially if it turns out sorta like a 'patina', you know. I've googled copper Epons and believe it or not, the only pics are those found here! Hopefully idrive can offer some first hand experience with it. I must say that I am still totally lost on the choice of shaft. Not surprising that you listed Quadras as the best on your list; after reading many threads here, it would seem the Quadras and Crazys are the most favored. I'm waiting for Tario's advice and hopefully I will learn more from others here.

After hearing nothing but good things about Epon, I decided to give the irons a test drive. I hit the 301s and 302s on KBS Tour and Tour AD 65 at an indoor range of a pro shop. I also tried the AF Tour, 502s and 702s on different shafts as well. Quick take: The top-line was thicker than I imagined and I was afraid with all the accolades, my expectations would be too high but they were all amazing, especially the 302s and AF Tours. The 502s and 702s felt a little 'harder' but felt like they would fly the ball a mile. The KBS Tour felt a little heavier and the Tour AD didn't feel any more 'spectacular' than steel. The pro and my friends were pushing me towards steel but I'm afraid they might feel like a burden after the 12th hole. Question(s): nothing much wrong with my Miura 501s but I think I gotta have an Epon set of irons. My heart is quite set on the 302s; the AF Tour is too scary to consider and the 502/702 didn't feel as good. I heard the satin finish is better than the NiCr. True? I know some people here have the Copper finish -- how is it, any difference in performance, worth the upgrade? I also heard that the Copper will eventually fade off. True? About the shaft. I was originally considering the Crazy LY iron shafts and then I heard that whilst their driver shafts were comparatively better with other driver shafts, the iron shafts are not that much different from other good graphites such as the Tour AD. True? Any advice, opinion and/or suggestions on heads, finishes and shafts would be gratefully welcomed. :)