jimmieboi

Demo the Af-205 today. Initial impression is very good. Very classic head profile. Unlike other JDM FW, this 205 lie angle isn't too upright and has a square face angle. Made from premium forged titanium so you'll get softer feel than a steel head. Performance is like AF105. Very forgiving and long. Stock shaft, fujikura speeder Evo II, is very stable and works well with this head. AF205 still retain the signature soft feel from Epon. Who need a driver when it can go 280-290yards off the deck. Another premium FW JDM has to offer. I'll get mine on 17th so an in depth review is coming soon.

Dustin Johnson is gaming the new Speeder Evo shaft in his M2. From what I have heard from those that have played, it's the equivalent to the KuroKage.

Use the same head you have or get the ones that you are comfortable visually. Want higher launch!? Use lighter active low kick shaft.

That putter surely cost an arm and a kidney. Top notch quality. Anything from Gold's is the best.

I think the wedge finish in the P2 is not the same as in new Tour wedge. Finally the new FW. Hopefully it's easier to hit than the current 203.

I think I used the wrong word. By stable I mean consistent. If your swing not the same most of the time the 7D might not be right. Better get a lessons till swing is consistent. I would love to try the Crazy 9 series but ultimately I'll probably get fit at 7D in Tokyo soon. I play with some of the pro from Asian tour. Some, very very few, get endorsed by Epon and use their clubs on tour. Most pros same that tech aren't in the head anymore. As long as they look visually fine, they focus more on the shaft. By that I assume tech is in shaft rather than head.

With proper fitting, you don't have to sell anything. They mostly sell cuz they didn't get fitted and can't game the clubs. For Crazy shaft, I find that the Crazy-Abe era was better. I have the LY-01 Hot, CB-80, CB-80 LS Nior, CB FW-50 Sigma, FW-80. Post Abe that I have demo are Regenisis CB 80ii and FW-80. The older crazy are a little more stable. Some may find the newer ones are more user-friendly but for tighter faster swinger will find them less stable. Premium quality nonetheless. I never get along with Baselius. Too whippy for me. TRPX is better IMO. Good shafts don't have to be in 80T, 90T. Almost all the brand supplies from Torray. It's the design that's more important. If you have an ultra stable swing, go for 7D. Otherwise go for the big three, they are great at a fraction of the boutique brand's price.

TourCB is more of a bladed club compare to the 302. Both aren't blade so they don't feel pure like the AF Tour or the P2. I rather prefer feel of the blade as I grew up playing my first set of club a blade. There are many good shaft out there especially from the big 3, Mitsubishi, Tour AD and Fujikura. I find KuroKage the only shaft I can hit at full speed and controllable. Aldila Rouge also a very shaft almost identical to KuroKage. I haven't try New speeder series yet, heard lots of good stuff about it. Tech can improve in shaft especially with today's manufacturing tech. Now that we have push CT/COR to the limit of USGA rules, I don't think tech can go any further. It's more of a finding an optimum ball characteristic for your swing, thus the weighting/loft/lie adjusting system we see in modern club. Or just do a proper fitting with the pros. Saying Epon is outdated in their tech is an understatement. Their manufacturing process is a pinnacle in golf. Take P2 for example. No other golf industry can make a club like P2 nor have I seen one like the P2.

I had my Yururi irons loft check and it turns out gap between each loft varies so much and lie angle as well. Your right, tech is max out from USGA regulations on clubs. I have hit a lower spinning head. Just not that forgiving that the 105 has. 105 is as forgiving as 504d but workable as the Zero. Replacing staffs without any drastic change is a good thing. Take Crazy for example.

Okay. I have launch monitor so I did lots of comparison between Epons and other JDM driver I have. The 105 and I repeat, is by far the lowest spinning driver I have ever tested. It's not wild either. Placing CG low and forward will inturn results side spin on off center hits. This 105, maybe due to its hard-soft face, counter act this. None of you ever mention the stringent tolerance of Epon head. Try taking OEM head or main stream head (JDM or not) to a club fitter. They would scratch their head trying to keep all the club the same swing weight. Epon's head are in the exact 2 grams (for instant) increment from long iron to pitching, thus building clubs is easy without using hot melt or lead tape. The Yoro craft in Mizuno need to hand pick. They can't take from a random batch and have same tolerance as Epon. I think other reason why companies move away from Epon is the manufacturing price. I see that non-Endo forged, Bridgestone for example, have lower qualities. Fancy weighing tech or hollow back are just a gimmick. Also, I hold ground to disagree that Epon lacks tech. Just because it's minimal doesn't mean that it's absence.

The 105 doesn't need DAT55 or SP700. It out performs those that have the tech face. I can never get more than 25xxrpms on the 105. Ultra low spin yet doesn't punish on excessive side spin. If you have 100 swing speed or more. 105 is for you. Post Kobayashi design is while lot better.

Oh. I have to disagree that modern Epon lacks tech. if you were to cut one open, you would see as much as tech as any other brand. They don't do the fancy weighting cuz there are array of series to choose from to suit your game. For instance, 15x series is a shallow driver which suits those that benefit more from extra spin compare to a deep face in 10x series which are for those that want ultra low head. The newer 504d series are for those that seek for ultra forgiveness. List goes on and on for the non-conform for seniors. They do there clubs by custom fitting only to ensure you get clubs that suit your game most. And older vs newer doesn't apply to Epon as well. Epon is as timeless as Rolex or Patek watches. The Chujo Craft brand still adopts lots from 301 and Tour blade design from Epon. The Tour blade is still being manufactured and is one of the best selling Epon irons depite being release a decade ago. I have hit a blade back in my youth (power bilt blade 20 years back). Believe it or not, I get almost identical distance as any other modern blade. It's miss hit that makes the newer ones outshines the old ones. IMO

P1 and 103 are no where a crap clubs. They are great. P1 is a beauty but did not perform well as a blade. Lack in distance and not user-friendly. There are better blade out there. You would have to sacrifice workability to forgiveness. Cannot be extreme in both. P2 improves drastically in these two areas. It's a bigger head profile blade compare to my Mizuno Yoro mp69 and more forgiving as well. Nobody is looking for a distance gain in blades, they want feel and workability and forgiveness on a slight miss hit is a big plus. The P2 cracked this issue. Not that P2 is long but it's not short either. As for 105. It solves the Epon nemesis in lack in distance. 105 is one of the longest JDM driver available in the market right now. Big plus is it's Epon which possesses its signature feel that no other golf brand can duplicate. Now for wedge. The Personal wedge is by far the best feeling wedge there is right now. It doesn't spin ball as much as Kekku raw but decent enuf to stop the ball on a dime. If you think p2 is pretty, this Personal wedge is on another level. The only weakness for Epon IMO is putter. They are not that special except the Zen. Too bad it's no longer being manufactured.

AF tour is too I unforgiving for me. I like in this order. P2, Tour CB and SUS 316. P2 is just super special. Work of art, a blade but forgiving enough that it doesn't trade off workability. Standard distance for a blade. On a side note, the 105 disguise its 460 cc very well. Good looks prefer by better player.

103 feel a tad softer (more butterly) than the 105. This could be the harder face material in the 105. Not that the 105 is harsh, it still retain the signature of Epon feel. 103 spins ball too much for me. I get around 3000+ rpms. I couldn't recall what shaft was in the 103 so a direct comparison would be unjust. I have my 105 in 9.5 degree shafted with KuroKage (best performing shaft for my swing right now) in XT model 60g in X flex. Built mine in 45.25 inch at D2.5 swing weight. I launch the 105 around 10-12 degree launch angle. The Zero Kai spins even less (due to small head profile and CG close to the face) and less forgiving than the 105. I would choose 105 over anything Epon has to offer right now. Before Epons are known for their feel but lacks distance, now with the 105 they are able to incorporate both. One other most important aspect for me choosing the 105, it's one of the very few JDM drivers to have a square face angle at address (most are close even the specs say it's open!). Not that the 105 is the longest driver out there. It's long but not the longest. I'm talking about +- 5 to 10 yards difference here so it doesn't bother me at all. I'm looking for a club that's workable enough and doesn't punish me if I miss hit a little. An analogy for the 105 to 103 would be the comparison between the Personal 1 and Personal 2. The P2 rectifies every wrong that the P1 has. I don't know if it's just me, but I find that post Kenji Kobayashi designs are much better than before. 103 to 105, P1 to P2, Zero to Zero Kai.

I average about 300+ with the 105. Longest/accurate driver I have ever play. ive tested 103 on LM and this 105 spins ball lower. I get around 2200rpms in AF-105.

Best Epon driver to date in terms of feel, distance and forgiveness.

Mizuno Yoro is your answer. I have a set with as little offset as possible (still there's offset presence but non visually). Believe me, offset is good. I've been playing the Personal 2 for so long now that I can no longer hit Mizuno Yoro that consistent anymore.

I game P2s 100%. Shafted with Modus system 3. It's the most forgiving blade there is with soft Epon feel. I'm a single digit handicap so not really seeking for forgiveness. My favourite blade so far comparing to the Yoro or Kyoei forged irons.

I do listen to turntable. The one I use is Rega RP40. Very good turntable that produces lots of details.

It's the Legacy line, i guess.

Maxima head has an extreme back CG, hence the forgiveness. Shaft matching for the Maxima is very difficult. I just paired it with Diamana X (high kick shaft) and has good results with it. It gives me avg 1900 rpm of ball spin. It's very forgiving, meaning it tends to go straight even on mis hit with minimal distance lost (due to back CG) so working the ball with this head might be difficult. Overall, the one of the most high-tech driver available on the planet right now.

Want the ultimate RAW wedges?!?! Try looking at Grindworks wedge. They will never ever rust but has all the property of the raw wedge.

Go JBeam Glorious. IMO, the best JBeam driver there is.

Then I'll give it a go with the Glorious. This head performs great in any shaft I've demo, Aldila NV, Rougue, Diamana S and Kurokage. It should be best in 7D.