TourSpecGolfer

Finally a new model from Miura for the Global Market and one that begins to give us a peek at the brand’s future design language. A lot has happened for Miura over the past year. The most significant news was when the distribution rights everywhere outside of Japan were purchased by Howard Milstein a billionaire who runs the largest privately owned, a family-run bank in the U.S. To be clear they do not own Miura factory but rather the distribution rights worldwide, outside of Japan. Miura Giken the plant that produces most of the Miura’s products still has rights over the Japanese market. There were a few years before the purchase that Miur Global was left adrift with no new products on the global side and indeed what appeared to be a stagnation of the brand. Once Mr. Milstein and his team got their hands on the company an immediate restructuring started and while it has taken some time the fruits of their labor are coming to fruition. We expect things to improve drastically. Here at TourSpecGolf, we have promoted the Miura (Giken) side from Japan but never any of the global releases, and this goes back since 2003. We were also vocal about the use of spin welded hosels. Through all that, we always promoted Miura products as quality and maintained good sales. Miura clubs are unique; most are handmade and importantly in high demand from our customers. When Howard Milstein purchased the company, I decided to reach out to his team and use the opportunity as a re-introduction. Thankfully the new team at Miura is running things in a completely different and more positive way with big plans in effect now and even bigger plans for the future. I read online that some are saying the brand will lose its soul because a Billionaire purchased the rights to global distribution outside of Japan. I understand why they would think that, but at the same time, it is an ignorant opinion. The reality is that the products are still outstanding and made by the same great factory and that the group of people behind Miura that are working at their brand spanking new headquarters in Scottsdale AZ are as game as it gets. All of them have extensive knowledge of golf, and now with buku dollars backing them, we should not expect worse when a better version of Miura is on the horizon. Needless to say everyone at Miura has an upbeat vibe about the company, and so do we. This is a not our official review, that is to come but I have hit this club and so have a few of our most trusted testers in both the USA and Japan. Here at TSG, we don’t rely on launch monitors numbers; this isn’t rocket science. We are talking about a one-piece forged iron head. Well technically it’s two-piece (spin-welded hosel) but whatever the case if your buying this type of iron your concern is not distance. People who are purists or the ideal customer are after particular traits specifically shape from all angles, address, sole width, the way the toe, face, and neck set up and so on. People, who are shopping blades want to know how does it feel and how workable it is. After that, they start considering forgiveness, lofts, and distance. So let’s start there. The Miura MC-501 is modern. The cut-outs on the back face are an attractive way to move weight around. This contemporary shape allowed them to move nearly 20g’s lower toward the sole. We should not forget the club heads heel to toe length, sole width, slight offset and grind help it a lot too. TSG gets a ton of user feedback from customers, not anonymous randoms who inject their 2 cents. We know their complete purchase history of our customers and know what they have hit and what stays in the bag, this validates what works and doesn’t. To put it bluntly, our customers usually know their S**t. I am saying this because not every new model was excellent. Take the 5005, for instance; our customers were able to acquire it from TourSpecGolf years early, so we knew how it performed and what our clients switched to and how soon. That info is revealing; it tells us whats decent vs. great despite the many variables in this game. I will take that feedback over launch monitor data any day. When the U.S released the 5005 the feedback was far more positive than what we observed from our clients. I think this is confirmation bias or possibly a honeymoon period and as I expected the glowing reviews faded and in many cases, the 5005 was replaced by something else, often quickly. In my opinion, It did not feel as good as other Miuras, and people don’t keep harsh feeling blades around for very long. The 5005’s small cavity didn’t give it any extra forgiveness. Why am I talking about the 5005? Well because it was Miura’s first entry into what we call the Neo-Blade category and the MC-501 picks up where it left off, Thankfully the MC 501 does a much better job. We still believe the best classic blade Miura JPN or Global has ever made was the MB-5003 and MB-001. This new MC-501 in my eyes is up there as well. It really depends on what you are looking for in a blade. It surprised us on how well the MC 501 reviewed with our testers. Feel – It’s pretty good, softer than most especially when hit center or low on the face. Higher on the face both toe and heel side suffered and that good feel tapered off a bit but still when struck decently you feel the classic Miura mojo in a neo blade package. The MC-501’s vibrations reverberate through the lower portion of the head more than the middle and top; the feel is semi-soft without much harsh. The 501 will let you know when you nut it yet on the poorly struck shots it was decent at hiding the shock. I give the MC-501 4/5 stars! Or a score of 8/10. It’s all subjective, but I know my shit…lol Above – a slightly wider sole than most blades with a pronounced killed leading edge grind for the steeper descent. Forgiveness – This is why you would buy this blade, it is easier to hit than most others. Crazy Sbi-02 forgiving (almost) but it looks worlds better than the Sbi-02. If you like the CB-1008, this reminds me of a blade version of it. For Miura die-hards allow me to try to put it in words, Think Miura CB-1007 vs. CB-1008, 1008 is a touch softer, it is for sure easier to hit and went a bit higher. The same thing with the new MC-501 when compared to the 5005, The 501 has that same lower center of gravity situation that 1008 has going for it. So if you like the 1008’s and you are wanting to go blade give it a try. How about this: Dear Miura, please make a combo set of 1008/501 but please custom grind the sole, top line, shape, and aesthetics of the two designs for proper consistency. Also while you’re at it keep the heel to toe length equal and give it progressive FP with more in the long irons than short. Required are matching loft/lie/bounce/camber too. That is their roadmap to victory using what traditional tech they have and maximizing it. I am sure they are listening. The MC 501 is workable and has a good shape. Its top line is very thin; it has a little bit offset which I am happy about. Miura slightly increased critical dimensions for an noticable improvement in forgiveness. Its a sweet feeling and forgiving blade thanks to that. The toe is not the usual rounded it squares off with its peak about a millimeter past the top groove. Something else I appreciate is what is called a clear top blade meaning there is no bead blast on the top line. TourSpecGolf now has the Japan versions available in our pro shop but expect us to make the transition to the Miura global products sometime this year. From our perspective, the future looks bright for the brand. This blog post is an introduction, we have a scratch player’s feedback coming this shortly, and this is a person who hits nearly every top Japanese blade that comes to market. Stay Tuned for more! Above – A very thin top line, longer heel to toe face length and a flawless neck transition.

The global version's stamping looks so much better than the Giken stuff.

yes same like the kamui works driver but they use a different sole plate. The best thing about buying kamui works is the custom options.

None are 100% made in Japan. Epon was waaay back. Modart is part made in Japan Even Kamui Works uses non Japan made parts but is built in Japan. Modart and Kamui works are the closest.

Mizuno developed a new carbon material. Next-generation carbon shafts pursuing "no rampage even if it is light", you can feel the distance increase with swing with stability. Mizuno has realized the complexization of carbon nanotube (CNT) and carbon fiber (CFRP), which has been considered difficult until now, by improving dispersibility of CNT. This result was obtained as a result of the grant project of the National Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). With this technology it became possible to raise the impact strength without increasing the wall thickness, and the MFUSION shaft pursuing "lightweight but not rampant" was born. * Offered from the University of Tokyo (Department of Engineering Department: Sakata Laboratory) and Nano Summit Co., Ltd. Carbon nanotube (Carbon Nanotube) is a combination of three words "carbon = carbon" + "nano = nanometer (nm)" + "tube = cylinder". As its name suggests, it is a structure in which carbon atoms are connected like a mesh like a mesh, and a diameter of 1 nanometer (1 / 10,000,000 meters) is 1 / 50,000th the thickness of a human hair. Taking advantage of its carbon performance, Mizuno manufactures products in various fields such as industrial robot arms, medical equipment parts, radio controlled helicopter parts, as well as sporting goods. Like the High pressure hydrogen tank for Toyota Motor Corporation "MIRAI" Tow prepreg with high strength and high accuracy The world's first sedan fuel cell car "MIRAI" as mass-produced model released by Toyota Motor Corporation. Mizuno's "toe prepreg" is used for the outer shell of the tank that stores the hydrogen of automobiles symbolizing this "MIRAI". "Toe prepreg" is a bundle of thin carbon fibers in the shape of hair called "toe" and impregnated with resin in the tow. We are producing high quality products that are required for high strength and high precision enough to safely store dangerous hydrogen. Both flexibility and high accuracy are compatible Casio's "G-SHOCK" which built a new concept of toughness on the watch. Mizuno's carbon products are used for that watch band. It is thought to be unsuitable for the material of the watch band, but Mizuno's carbon technology enabled the trade-off characteristics of high strength and flexibility.

These will be offered with some Yoro options including lie angle and face angle!

Introducing the Dragon 402 Putter by Benock Golf! One of my favorite mallet designs it is pure and simple with tons of options to make it unique and your own. What you see here is part of the Benock World Series. Benock World is the introduction of the Benock company to the global market. The Drago 402 made for BW has a cleaner stamping configuration and a traditional sight line versus the standard Japan model. It features a short neck and a thick channel on the sole not for aesthetics but to promote the ideal balance and cg locations for an end over end roll. The type of address this supports is both a forward press and straight setup. Benock categorizes its models to help the player understand who should play it. The Dragon 402 is actually one of the designs produced to fit every swing type. We will have to do a completely separate post to classify the different types of classifications benock uses to fit putters. From address its appearance is clean. the lines flow perfectly. the top line is thick but not chunky. As usual with Benock you get the very best quality materials and manufacturing that surpass even the biggest putter makers and PGA tour players, putters. The Dragon 402 can be heavily customized and you would have to email us directly at [email protected] to do that or you can order it as seen here – Benock Dragon 402 Putter

Introducing the 2018 Mizuno GX golf clubs !! Early in 2017, Mizuno released the MP Type 1 and Type 2 drivers. With the MP drivers, Mizuno set out to challenge the global competition in the driver space. “Taking distance performance to the limit” was the focus of their design. While distance performance was in fact good, they could not completely part with the “players” club aspect being an “MP” driver. To most players out in the market, the MP range of clubs have an established reputation of being hardcore or reserved for better players. As such, when your audience is limited to only a portion of the market, you are not really challenging the global competitors. The big boys like TM, Cally, Titleist and Ping have flagship products that target a wider audience including beginner players. You might say Mizuno’s JPX series have covered those players… Umm… unfortunately I don’t think that is the case. Anecdotally speaking, most of the JPX users I see out on the course are mid-handicappers or better. JPX900 Driver, which was a good performing driver for a mid-handicapper, was by no means the most forgiving driver out there. Then a full sized 460cc ST-180 driver came out. Is this the global model that could in fact compete with the major US brands from a performance and forgiveness perspective? Only time will tell. Personally, I would not use a blue colored driver but that’s just me. Do you like blue? Enter the 2018 GX series, Mizuno claims to have consolidated all existing innovation, craftsmanship and renown high quality manufacturing technology into a single range of clubs and they are going all out to capture the attention of a larger user base. Looking at the GX clubs, it’s not hard to recognize that the design of each club can be intriguing for a wide range of players, beginners to die-hard Mizuno MP followers alike. Mizuno is putting a big bet on this new line-up. I think this is a product range that truly fits the need of the market. GX Driver First thing I noticed with the GX driver is that the profile is very shallow. Possibly one of the most shallow shapes I have seen from Mizuno. The one feature that I was pleasantly surprised with is that the hosel is NOT adjustable!! Bonded hosels are becoming such a rare thing these days especially with drivers. I think adjustable hosels are aesthetically distracting and, sorry to say, but make drivers look ugly. The other thing that I really love about this head is that it has a beautiful gloss black crown with no ugly alignment aid or logo. A very nice appeal to the traditionalist who just cannot tolerate drivers with “stuff” on the crown!! Thank you, Mizuno! The driver is packed with many performance enhancing features starting with their patented Coretech face design where they place a thicker section in the middle for stronger impact and very thin section in the perimeter to allow more face flex at impact. Face material is my favorite SP700 titanium but they have their own proprietary name and call it “Strong Forged Elite Titanium” which they claim is 10% stronger than your typical 6-4 Ti which allows the face to be made thinner while retaining the required rigidity. Moving to the sole, the Wave Technology sole is well and alive. It creates more flex to the face at impact compared to a flat sole. From a forgiveness perspective, the MP Type 2 already had a fairly large sweet spot but in the GX they were able to further expand that sweet spot by a whopping 17%!! This will translate in slight off center hits still producing near optimal distances. For the weight distribution, they utilized a dual weight system where they placed 6g internal weight at the very back end of the sole but also a 6g weight screw at the front. The effect of this approach is that the back weight will help with easier launch while the front weight will keep the backspin performance in check. Simple but highly effective. With the Mizuno GX series golf clubs, Mizuno is introducing the MFUSION graphite shafts as standard offerings. In case you haven’t noticed, many of the Japanese shaft brands including the familiar JDM boutique brands have been releasing lighter but more stable/stiffer shafts in the last couple of years. Mizuno MFUSION shafts follow this trend. Traditionally, lighter shafts tended to be too soft and difficult to control which resulted in greater dispersion. In order to solve this problem, Mizuno developed a new carbon fiber material that uses Carbon Nanotube technology. We won’t go into the details of “Carbon Nanotubes” at the moment but MFUSION is an innovative manufacturing process to bond traditional carbon fiber material with carbon nanotube material. With this innovative process, Mizuno was able to produce a light weight shaft ( 39g for R and 49g for S ) which is also significantly more stable and controllable. GX driver comes in 9.5 deg and 10.5 deg lofts with MFUSION shaft as standard. GX Fairway Similar to the driver, Mizuno GX fairway woods adopt a shallow head profile to inspire confidence and to optimize forgiveness for a wide range of players. Mizuno GX’s 180cc for the 3 wood actually sits midway between a Ryoma F3 at 205cc and Modart MA01F 3 wood at 155cc. The face is made of Forged High Strength Maraging Steel and the body is cast stainless steel. You can expect good sound and feel from these fairway woods. It’s actually hard to find a shallow fairway with just the right size. My recollection of previous Mizuno fairways has been small and deep. Together with the traditional but confidence-inspiring look at address, these fairways will appeal to MP fans who seek additional forgiveness as well as beginner players who are looking for a set of clubs that they can keep and play for a long time. The shallow profile is sure to boost confidence with your important second shots on a par 5 hole and the dual weight design will also help you hit shots with good height and optimal spin for maximum distance performance. The GX fairway woods come in 3 (15deg), 5 (18deg) and 7 (21deg) with MFUSION shafts as standard. GX Hybrid Continuing with the flow, the Mizuno GX Hybrids feature a slightly shallow head profile. With hybrids, you really need a versatile club that you can rely on to deliver the shots that you envision from 180+ yards. And then in times of trouble, to be that trusty rescue club to get you out of the situation quickly and safely. The GX Hybrid will provide just that. Hybrids are one category where the shape of the head can vary significantly from one brand to another. Some are so unique and unorthodox that looking at it takes getting used to. No worries on these Mizuno GX Hybrids. These GX Hybrids are shaped very traditionally so that literally anyone can get used to the shape on the first try. There is a forgiveness factor that will welcome beginner golfers to give it a go. A shallow profile combined with a forged maraging steel face, the GX hybrid promises to deliver controlled high trajectory shots that easily stops on the green with just one hop. You will start to look forward to longer approach shots. GX Hybrids are offered in 3 (19 deg) , 4 (21 deg) , 5 (23 deg)and 6 (25 deg) with MFUSION shaft as standard. GX Forged Irons At first glance, the GX Forged Irons look very similar to the 918 from their Mizuno Pro line up. The 918 irons are the most forgiving of the Mizuno Pro forged irons but the new GX Forged Irons are even more forgiving. When you look at the lofts, they are about 2 clubs stronger compared to their MP-66. At approximately 84.5mm, the length from toe to heel are the longest yet for a full forged Mizuno iron. The undercut on the pocket cavity goes deeper and wider than its predecessor by using a new pocket called “Dual T Slot. ” For the longer irons 6 & 7 , they also embedded a 10g tungsten weight low in the toe to help create a larger sweet spot. They incorporate a forging technique to abruptly cool only the face which produces a harder face section allowing them to make the face thinner and generate higher COR while maintaining the mild feel at impact signature to Mizuno Grain Flow forged Irons. Highly forgiving, improved distance performance, signature Mizuno forged feel… I’m not seeing any weaknesses to these irons. If you are currently a Muscle Back player … sure these won’t look anything like them and you may not like the larger size or the slight offset of these irons. But for many of you who seek consistency in their game but don’t like the feel of cast stainless steel Game Improvement irons out there, look no further, Mizuno GX Forged irons are for you. Standard shaft offerings are the MFUSION graphite shaft and Nippon 950GH HT steel shafts. The GX Iron series also offer a 49 deg GW and a 55 deg SW as part of the series. These wedges feature a full 1025 Boron Grain Flow Forged heads with lofts that match nicely with the rest of the irons. There is also some offset which transitions nicely from the ironset. The wedges can be ordered individually or together with the irons. MFUSION and NS 950GH HT are the two shaft offerings for these wedges as well. I believe Mizuno has a very exciting and well thought out set of clubs with these new GX. A wide range of users would sure to be happy with these clubs. Mizuno GX clubs can now be ordered thru the TSG Proshop! Follow the links for the product pages: Mizuno GX Series Mizuno GX Driver Mizuno GX Fairway Wood Mizuno GX Utility Mizuno GX Forged Irons Mizuno GX Forged Wedge

WINTER GARDEN, Fla. — The sun is starting to set here at PGA Show Demo Day, at the circular five-acre driving range at the Orange County National Golf Center, and it’s coming not a moment too soon for Tario Cham, a Canadian of Japanese ancestry who works in marketing for a Japanese club company called ONOFF. "We started this morning at three-thirty," Cham said, a smile still plastered on his face despite the late hour. Still, he was sunburned and wind-whipped and looking forward to dinner. If the driving range at Orange County National was a clock, with TaylorMade representing 12 o’clock, ONOFF was at 5:30, in a Demo Day section Cham referred to as "Little Tokyo." ONOFF was sharing a cramped bit of green with two other Japanese golf companies, PRGR and Yamaha. They were bookended by Miura and Yonex, two other Japanese clubmakers with global views. Cham and some of his colleagues are staying in an Airbnb rental house in ChampionsGate, his first experience in an American gated community. At dinner on Monday night, 13 men and three women representing different Japanese manufacturers gathered at the house for a communal dinner. They started at seven and finished three hours later. They spoke Japanese and some English. They smoked, the few smokers there, outside on the patio. They drank Stella Artois. They ate korma they cooked themselves. "Japanese korma," Cham said, refining his answer for me. Korma, of course, is a dish most associated with India. "That’s what we do in Japan," Cham said. "We take something from another culture and make it our own. That’s what we’ve done in golf!" You could see a light bulb rising from his hatted head. The purpose of Demo Day is to get people in the golf business — tastemakers and thought leaders with PGA of America money clips — to get with all that is new-and-improved in golf equipment, apparel and technology. Each of the giants — your TaylorMades, your Titleists, your Callaways — makes some grand gesture to set it apart and invite you in. An appearance from a long-drive champ. A draft beer. But in Cham’s neighborhood, the differences were subtle, vaguely Eastern. A Yamaha representative who spoke modest English motioned me to a newly vacant hitting bay with a grand sweep of his hand, then gathering the broken tees in what we would call a catcher’s squat. A recording device measured swing speeds not in miles per hour but in kilometers per hour. (Japan has been metric for almost 100 years.) All the representatives I spoke to were versed in the histories of their companies. One person explained to me how it came to be that Yamaha made pianos, motorcycles and golf clubs. (Different chairmen with different interests.) How Yonex went from badminton to tennis to golf — you can see that progression, right? Cham told me that ONOFF was a "lifestyle brand," one that wanted to preach the message of being a golfer whether you are on the course or off the course. That really struck a chord with me because I have observed in recent years that our Tour heroes (some of them) will do what they can to distance themselves from the game when they step off the 18th green. T-shirts in the airport, tattoos in discreet places, tailgating on Saturdays, in the parking lot at fill-in-the-blank State hours before game time. Golf is their job but not their life. That’s all foreign to Tario Cham. "Our motto is ‘Golf matters,’" he told me. "We believe golf is about having fun, trying hard, playing by the rules, having good sportsmanship, loving nature." He was rattling off this list, and I think I might have missed an attribute or two. His smile never died. "How did you do that?" I asked. There was something almost poetic — certainly timeless — about what he said and the passion with which he said it. "I wrote it!" Cham said. We spoke of various other things. He said the different manufacturers from Japan all got along well. No fist fights. Not even close. Japanese korma. Italian beer. Clean Indoor Air Act smoking. "We all try to learn from each other," he said. "We all use each other’s products. We’re all doing the same thing. Japan is a small country. We’re trying to take our Japanese golf products and find homes for them elsewhere in the world. We’re selling our technology, our commitment to excellence. Made in Japan!" by Sports Illustrated senior writer Michael Bamberger for Golf.com at the PGA Show.

Same as black boron but we bead blast the entire head first. Now Available it cost 75.00 per head.

Introducing the all new 2018 JBeam G-FW Full Titanium Fairway Wood! Designed for two key areas, forgiveness and distance. Its pretty clear that full titanium fairway woods dominate the rankings at TSG in most cases thanks to the extra distance they produce. Using titanium also allows the designer to redistribute weight more efficiently, provide thinner wall structures and larger head volumes. The downside to using Titanium is the price. Its similar to manufacturing a mini driver when it comes to cost. In the case of JBeams new G-FW Full Titan Fairway Woods, these are produced using a 2-piece method. JBeam is tight-lipped about their face materials and construction, but TSG believes its a forged Ti cup face with a full Ti body. Only three lofts are sold 13/15/18. The two three kinds of wood are identical 185cc head volumes while as usual, the five gets a little smaller coming in at 165cc’s. The G-FW also has two adjustable weight ports to fine-tune not only head weight but also workability and MOI. The face is semi shallow to promote a more natural launch into the air. JBeam also incorporated a new pocket channel on the sole for slightly better ball speeds. One of our favorite things about any Jbeam woods are the custom options. Choosing between a closed or open face angle or even going as extreme as a hosel reem to reach very open or closed or flat specifications can be had.

Blog post coming soon. For now check out the stock pics.

Yes that stamping looks much better except for it is tilted no? Perhaps that was done intentionally?

Yes we have 10 of them made for almost a year now Just have not had time to post them or take pics. Will get around to it sorry! Outside of that VS-R standard version has been sold out for a while. New putter models from same manufacturer as CB and MCB are coming.

email me [email protected]

Nobs, Maybe the Tour Wedge isnt as Tour as your wedge. 1. Is your sole this wide? 2. The top view pic shows a poor neck to top blade transition kinda very Japanese if ya know what I mean. high in the neck.

Also FH Forged Heritage Wedge, probably a great wedge just too much stamping!

You can even order custom options on these... camo anyone?

Driving Iron is ICL. New Iron is IC. Yes the new iron is based on the driving iron design. New Blade - Made in Japan New Wedge - Made in Japan IC/ICL of course made in Taiwan

I will ask Okuda-san what the ramp helps.

I do not use the lessons. I just have this setup to have fun with and it has helped my putting.

For those of you who hit the 5005. What do you think of it compared to other Miura blades? Did that pocket on the back face really make it more forgiving? What did you think about the feel compared to MB5003 or Global Blades?

This is not a players blade fellas. 1. It has a gooseneck 2. The sole is same to wider than CB-1008 3. They needed to lengthen the neck compared to 1008 to compensate for the back face design. They took off too much weight to make it look cool now gotta bring it back elsewhere.

This neck how far back it is was done custom for someone's stroke.

yes same like urs