neova

I was looking at Itobori website today and based on the translation it says TSG is selling fake Itobori products? https://www.itobori.com/新規ページ/ perhaps retaliation for exposing them?

Honma should be transparent and rename the stamp to "assembled in Sakata, Japan". Apple does the same "Designed in California, assembled in China" and it doesn't impact their sales one bit. At the end of the day golf club heads are made by machines, not hand forged, so a well trained machinist will be the same in china or japan. Personally I do not have an issue where the parts are manufactured as long as they meet stringent standards/tolerances. Clubmaking, however, is where the difference lies. The assembly and grinding/finishing of the club makes a huge difference and that's where i would be willing to pay a bit more. But i agree with the overall sentiment about JDM branding - if the club is not 100% made in Japan they cannot say it because consumers pays a premium for it. Having said that I still love my TW717 driver, 717MBs and TW-U. They are a quality product regardless if where it was made.

My best club setup over the years are as follows Driver: TRPX S-01 9.5* MRC Ahina 60x FW: RomaRo Ray Type R 17.5* MRC Ahina 80x Hybrid: RomaRo Ray Type R 18.5* MRC D+ 92x Driving Iron: Honama TW-U 21* PXi 6.0 Irons: Honma TW717M KBS CTL 115x Wedge: Seven 52/56/60 (Thanks Chris!) / RomaRo Alcobaca Tour Spoon (Thanks Chris!) / Williams GP-90 (now given to my wife as she finally found a wedge she loves) Putter: Bettinardi Queen Bee Model #6 & BB35 Grips: Pure Pro Grips No wonder they are still around....

for sure!

we will always have a part of our game that we atruggle with, and there are always solutions - that's why we keep more than 14 clubs to give ourselves options =) I'm originally from Richmond and my wife's folks live near langara. whenever I'm back visiting that's or McCleeey is usually where I go for a quick round in the morning. Will need to check out Morgan Creek next time!

great bag! very sensible setup with a lot of thoughts put in. with all the hybrid and FW options you have I see why you are selling the F5. BTW nice Eagle! Which course is this?

PM Sent

PM sent

beautiful bags! I think if your wife keeps the miura iron covers on, then it doesn't matter if her irons are miura =)

Sorry to hear about this and best wishes to you and your family as you cope with your father's illness. It's a tough thing to go through - and thanks for sharing your story.

Thanks Chris for the RomaRo Alcobaca 58* and now the yururi Gekku 61*!

$199? Must be a typo?

I was wondering where in Tokyo did you find low rises and people on bikes =)

I used to game the AGrind 18* so I know what you mean by wanting a 6-hybrid in similar size/shape - it's got the forgiveness of hybrids with the accuracy of irons The closest thing to a 6-hybrid i've tried is the Yamaha UD+2 (8 iron = 29* loft). It's a really strong lofted hybrid-iron and it was very easy to hit high, soft landing shots (on the indoor simulator anyways). http://global.golf.yamaha.com/en/products/iron/rmx_ud2/

that looks awesome! very classy, clean lines! Love the SEVEN logo integrated into the sightline... Replace BENOCK with SEVEN and it'll look even better! Does the "slot" on the sole do anything?

First, thanks Chris for this amazing contest! The clubs I would really like to have are the Seven Original Prototype CB’s I usually play blades because it gives me the control and the honest feedback I need without over-masking over my mis-hits. At times my game suffers as MB's lack the tiny bit of forgiveness needed. Approach shots would fall short and instead of hitting GIR and putting for birdie I'm chipping for up-and-down. I normally will have a few bogeys but offset by a few birdies here and there. Unfortunately it's not possible when I miss greens due to missed approaches from the tiniest of mis-hits. I shoot regularly in the 70's and even had a few par rounds over the years, but never underpar when playing from the back tees (7,000 plus yards). I could play CBs but I don't want offset (creates too high of a ball flight for me) or oversize heads (poor turf interaction and workability) so I've been looking for a blade design that includes a small cavity and subtle leading and trailing grinds with great feel - basically a complete package CB that performs like a true MB with the added bit of forgiveness. Another non-technical factor is desirability - when I look at my blades it just screams at me to take it out to the course and take a few swings, no CB's I've seen in person or in photos has ever done that to me, until I saw the Seven Original Prototype CB! When something looks beautiful in your hands and looks like you can hit good shots with it, it adds to confidence!!! When other people look in my golf bag, they are all drawn immediately to the SEVEN wedges and complimented how unique and original they look, and don't even notice the other JDM clubs like my Honma blades, Romaro FW/UT, or TRPX Driver! I have never seen the Seven Prototype CB's in person but having played the SEVEN wedges I'm sure the CB Prototypes will be the same complete package as the wedges - beautifully hand crafted, perfect shape and grind, and soft feedback without sacrificing distance! Should I be lucky enough to win these Seven Prototype CB's I will make a video blog and post it back here when I break par with these clubs! Best of luck to everyone else who is entering this contest!

update After 15 rounds with the Seven wedges I can confidently say they will remain in my bag for a very long time. I've seen some people replace their PW with a wedge so I decided to do the following: Seven 52 to 48* Seven 56 to 52.5* Seven 60 to 58* So far so good after 5 rounds with the Seven wedges after the adjustments. Time will tell if the lost of 4* bounce will start to dig on me.

No she was fine - it was others around me that were annoyed as it was a windy day so I created a mini sandstorm!

3 rounds of golf this long weekend but today is beach day as the missus wanted to do something different - not me as I brought along my Seven 60* wedge to practice my bunker shots (no ball). I almost never practice these days and couldn't remember the last time I practiced in the sand... Feeling a lot more confident now after an hour practice!

I re-shafted my TW-U with a 3-iron length Project X PXi 6.0 as I play PX 6.0 in my irons and wedges. It has a more piercing flight than the NS Pro 950. I played a round with the 950 in the TU-W and it is excellent for approach shots with a higher flight that drops down but I need that club to run out more as I use it more off the tee or I like to run my approach onto the green so PXi fits better

I can't speak for the difference between the RomaRo Ray FW vs the Type-R FW, but I do have the RomaRo Ray UT and Type-R UT. The Ray UT is slightly more forgiving with a hotter face, and the Type-R is more workable and more versatile in different lies. The Honma TW-U is the easiest Driving Iron I have gamed. Previously tried a Titliest 712U, Srixon Z U45, Fourteen HI-660, Fourteen Type-7, and the Honma TW-U is the most forgiving, controllable, and playable DI. I have it in a 21* to replace my 3-iron as the TW717M is very scary to hit in 21*. It's my perfect alternative to UT or FW on tight par-4's, and very easy to hit solid off fairways and 1st cut of rough (deeper than 1st cut of rough i find DI sucks and you need UT or mid irons to escape).

I have similar driver swing speeds as you and only started JDM path in 2014... Here are the 3w I've owned and played with more than 10 rounds - all with Ahina or ili'ma 80x shaft at 43" Off the Tee only (220cc +) 1) Baldo 8C Brassy (Ahina 70x at 45") thriver 2) Geotech SP2 Better off the Tee than Deck 3) SYB W422V (current gamer) 4) Bridgestone X-drive GR 2009 5) PRGR Spoon 2013 Great All Around 6) Fourteen SF714 7) Romaro Ray Type R 5+ (current gamer) 8) Royal Collection JP 104 FW As you can see I have two FW in rotation one better for Tee shots one more all around. It depends what I courses I play and a good excuse to keep a couple JDM sets!

Very interesting read Chris thanks!

very interesting - forged blade with CB forgiveness and dampening technology and hot maraging steel face....

"We-own-less"? It still has the George spirit branding near the hosel... lol