MoreBeerBetterGolf

I've played many acclaimed mallets and recently got a RomaRo barque and love it. Nothing fancy or super sexy but just a mean putting machine. It's nice knowing that even on the rough days it has your back. Toe miss? No problem. Heel miss? No problem. They roll more true and with proper speed than any putter I've ever tried. Not for everyone but for someone wanting a great feel putter with tons of forgiveness it's worth a look.

Tonight I'm going to go through all my gear and anything that doesn't explicitly say "made in Japan" is going on the EBay. This aggression will not stand, man. Uhhhhh....no

Am I missing the shaft flex somewhere?

Can you give us more details regarding your swing and specs and desired ball flight etc

Aside from the wedges and a select few of the putters I'm not big on most of Gold's stuff. Too gaudy and overdone for my tastes, this included. I am more drawn to simple elegant designs. That said, the work is top notch and expertly crafted.

I think my point was missed entirely and my wording taken out of context. The Yamaha almost certainly is an upgrade in both playability and feel over the Hogan, even though they are very similar in design characteristics in the way they distributed the weight in the head by use of the channel. Said improvements almost certainly come from more precise discretionary weight placement, CG placement, and physical dimensions of the head that modern technology allows. But when everyone is working with the same type of steel, similar head weights, computer design software, expert forging, etc., there can only be so much discretionary weight to be placed around the head, in so many combinations when dealing with a blade type iron. Computer analysis has been out long enough that iron heads have been optimized for MOI, CG, and feel for some time. The tweaks being made on blades especially may fit some players' swing profile or perception of better than the same company's previous models....but are hardly revolutionary. Even the aesthetics seem to be getting rehashed on certain levels. And it is ok to admit it. It's almost as if sales of JDM products rely on some notion that there is voodoo magic involved that allows manufacturers to somehow bend the rules of physics. Sorry kids, there is no Easter Bunny and Santa is your weird uncle John in a fat suit and a fake beard. No one wants to hear it but it's true. It's okay to acknowledge basic truths, be honest about the state of the art in our discussions, and still embrace the new offerings as incredible works of art that have been tweaked enough from year to year to keep us trying them in search of our "Holy Grail(s)." Everyone knows JDM is top notch stuff and the people here--myself included--are junkies for it. I was considering ordering a set and I'm a bit disappointed that they essentially look like an updated version of a ~20 year old Hogan design. PS: If TM had come out with the Yamaha design, called it "ChannelBladez", and someone posted comparison pics, all Hell would break loose. But since its Yamaha...OhNoYouDi'int!!!!

Wanting a Quadra FEX to try in my KPX driver. PM me

Having hit both sets a fair amount in all reality I would tell you to go 302 if you prefer less offset and 502 if you like a small amount of offset. They are both long, workable, easy to hit, similar in size. The 502 has a little more technology packed into it and the 302 is more the purists club as it is just a one piece forged whereas the 502 has a spring steel face I believe and the alpha gel. Can't go wrong either way but seriously those bits of information probably would make the decision for most people.

Man I'm not even iron shopping but I'd have snagged these had I seen them in time

How can people not see that aside from the lettering and finish that they're essentially the same design? I'm not knocking Yamaha and I'm a big JDM homer like everyone else here and there's no question there are remarkable design similarities. Not just these but the Personals as well. I'm curious also Chris what make them completely different from each other other than looks? I mean, a blade is a hunk of forged steel whose playing characteristics are mostly determined by the CG and club weighting, the positioning of the mass creates both the look and the performance of the club. Granted they are likely somewhat different in muscle thickness and weight placement, length of toe to heel, etc. using computer models that probably didn't exist when the Hogans were made. Physics are physics and I'm going to go out on a limb and say that there isn't much Yamaha or anyone else can do to drastically improve the performance of blade irons. At this stage it's just finding something you like to look at that feels right to you.

I took up golfing again in 09 after a 10 year hiatus and plateaued at an 8 last summer then fell to a 13 by seasons end this year after I tore my rotator cuff in the offseason. Just getting back to normal now. So I could believe a person with excellent athletic skills, time to practice, and the right mental makeup could certainly perform such a feat.

idrive, any further thoughts to ball performance? I played another 9 tonight with them and still get the "funny ball flight" feel. I hit 2 of them on the 295 yard par 4 at the home course tonight and put good swings on both of them...and I SWEAR they started a bit right, then "corrected" into a baby draw which is my normal drive ball flight. The balls came to rest within about 5 yards of each other left to right at equal distance. My first drive of the night when I wasn't warmed up was a HOT stinger off the bottom of the club face that started off about 3 feet off the ground and was like that for 100 yards then gradually rose to a mid-height ball that landed and rolled forever. Net drive distance was ~265 on a BAD swing and I haven't seen anything quite like it before. There is definitely something unique about the dimple pattern from anything I have played before in regards to lift. They certainly don't seem to need a 100MPH swing to get the most out of them. I really think they fly well even on sawed-off half swings with the driver when one needs a low perfectly placed ball in the fairway. They are sooooo soft.

I've got an fw80 in mine. Perfect combo of height and penetrating trajectory. Straight up rocket launcher.

Would love to have a pair of Crazy wedges someday but I wonder if I can get them to maybe put a scorpion or shark or even a honey badger on mine instead of a butterfly?

I honestly think ball performance has more parity than ever before. Titleist isn't doing anything spectacular tech wise with their balls...they dominate the marketing and perception categories and are the ball most every tour pro grew up playing and trusts the most. I rarely play Titleist because I've never noticed them to be any better than my other favorite premium balls and they cost more. If it gives you the warm and fuzzies to play them and you have confidence that's worth a lot. Personally they've never done that for me.

It could be reverse psychology

This "fanboy" posted a very honest review yesterday. One thing other forum members can count on from me is unbiased reviews and opinions. If something sucks I don't care if it was forged by Buddha, I'm gonna call it out. Likewise about something good.

Spongebob Whattya been living in a cave?

Lol no jack wagon there's no scratch on the top. There is one in the bottom nothing major. I tried to get out from under the giant oak trees so the reflection wouldn't show the limbs above me but some of the shots still have them in there. Nice cold cloudy gray rainy November day. I still can't figure out how to make the pics load the right way up.

Epon balls don't get lost.

I got mine at Costco

The tone of the conversation here just changed dramatically, and not for the better!

I noticed the stickiness as soon as I took them out of the box... I am just happy they seem to have something a little different here and not just another v1x clone.

The 7.7 is 280ish and it is considered an SX. I got some pics coming.

I think if you enjoy the original Penta then you will really like this ball. Now that you mention it, I harken back to the single dozen of that ball I played...For me it was too spinny off the tee for my swing and I didn't get the distance I wanted. I feel that this ball is longer than the original Penta but shares many similarities in regards to feel, short game spin, etc. Maybe that's the right way to describe this ball...a longer, lower driver spin original Penta.