TourSpecGolfer

Right On! that was you.

( via golftoimpress.com ) I forget who it was but a couple of weeks ago someone in the forum was asking about where to get fit for putters in Japan, then another member followed up suggesting it had a SAM studio, well i would like to thank both of you whoever you are because it got me thinking and searching for SAM studio's in Japan. and this is what we found. Callaway Odyssey SAM Putting Lab! The SAM process is an analysis and training system based on accurate ultrasound measurements. It analyzes the 28 most important parameters of your putting stroke and displays the results in easy to understand graphic reports. Helping the player discover your individual strengths and weaknesses for a better and more efficient putting style and putter. Within seconds the system gives you individual feedback on your putting stroke. The analysis reveals even the smallest details of your movements and allows you to develop improvements and training strategies. SAM PuttLab utilizes ultrasound sensory analysis and therefore is far more exact than any other similar system on the market. An Updated Version of SAM Callaway's version of SAM has been refined over the original version not only in software but also the hardware used. Let's go over the categories that the Odyssey SAM system measures at their new fitting studio. Then with the help of the certified SAM Odyssey putting specialist they move into the putter selection portion of the analysis which is based on 5 key areas which consist of 3 direction elements such as sense of distance, alignment, stroke type+ ball position. The other 2 are feel and impact location. The goals are to find the optimal putter for the particular players results. Less Complicated than You Think I know it all sounds complicated so to put it in a nut shell this is what happens during your visit a the new Callaway SAM fitting center: It all starts with a nice introduction of your personal specialist, The specialist then takes a bunch of measurements to figure out what type of length you should be using for the testing you are about to begin. You will recieve a putting questionare ( in Japanese! ) after you make your reservation so you can spend time on your answers and bring it to the fitting session. Your assigned a specialist that will have you hit about 7-10 balls using your normal putting stroke, dont get all fancy here use what you normally use on the course or your results will vary. After analyzing the measured data the specialist will propose a recommendation putter based on the 5 putting elements I covered previously. Following that the choosen putter is measured in SAM's 7 categories once again then once again in the 5 elements. If the result are not to your and the specialist's liking they will retry this process with other models that may also provide aid to your putting weaknesses. We plan to being working with the putting lab to secure an english version for TSG and GTI members that plan to visit japan on business or pleasure. We will keep you posted but so far this looks to be the most detailed and preciese fitting experience found anywhere in the world. Now all we need is one in the U.S that is this complete. The Callaway Odyssey SAM Putting Lab is located at: MG Shirokanedai Building Minato-ku Tokyo 0120-300-147

A lot of people are excited about the U.S release of the Ping G15 and i15 golf clubs but rumor has it a Japanese version of the G15 irons will be released around or shortly after the U.S G15 release. I have not heard any specifics yet about the differences but I am guessing we can expect a higher launch lower CG face potentially made out of Titanium like the Ping Rapture V-Spec was.

Hey Marty, Epon AF-Tour by a mile. I would personally get a set in black custom finish with the words TOUR laser engraved on the sole. I would have Epon custom change the paintfill to match the color of my grips. Epon has the most insane custom options ever, just released 1 week ago. PM me for details there are to many to list!

2010 Srixon Z-TX Driver & Irons Here you have it first images found anywhere of the Tour Issue Prototype Srixon Z-TX Driver and Srixon Z-TX Iron's. I haven't heard anything about these two new products from any source until a few days ago when our JPGA friends sent us images of what appears to be Srixon's next generation of golf clubs for 2010. Off the bat it doesn't appear to be sporting typical Srixon Japan aesthetics and based on that hunch we do think that the new Srixon Z-TX will show up early 2010 in Japan and mid 2010 in the United States. No players had the new Srixon Z-TX clubs in the bag at the U.S open or any other recent PGA Tour event so it's still hard to confirm. It sure does look like a good fit in the U.S line up though. Wider Sweet Spot Our reports tell us that the first images of the Tour Issue prototype will debut in next months Golf Classic magazine and in regards to the performance and design aspect it is gem, the testing shows the new Srixon Z-TX has more distance and a better optimal spin rate than any other Srixon driver ever released. The face depth has been reduced and the heel to toe length increased creating a wider sweet spot. This has been the design philosophy of XXIO which is also under Srixons umbrella but geared to the average golfer so it's nice to see Srixon implementing that technology and design into a Tour level product. Srixon Z-TX Irons Now take a look at the Srixon Z-TX Irons, very similar to their last offering in Japan with it's cut away sole area's but this one appears to be even more compact and blade like. from above it also has a thinner top line and less offset. I think a lot of golfers in the United States will be excited to see the improvements over the last models. I still think Srixon USA should also release the current Japanese ZR-600 model in limited numbers in the states to select accounts. It would be good for them and great for golfers. Click Here to keep your friends updated via Email about the Srixon Z-TX.

These are still at the top of my list of all time best driving iron. I have a decent swing speed and I was shocked how I could hit the stock mach line shaft with a smooth swing much further than my old go to UT-85 shaft. I have yet to try some of the Diamana, or ozik hybrids in this particular head but i believe you guys when you say it rocks.

As many of you know from my signature I have been pushing our new blog www.Golftoimpress.com. It's layout is based off of another one of my web communities ( mmafightstage ) in a different industry but we have been getting slandered by mygolfspy.com with allegations that we stole his entire site and copied his content and entire business model. I am sorry I have to air the dirty laundry but Adam from mygolfspy has been emailing just about everyone about the alleged theft of his entire business concept. As many of you know I was blogging before mygolfspy existed remember TourSpecBlog? ProDivisionGolf? then MGCR, and now GTI. So now the go to software is wordpress and of course I am going to use what's the best like hundreds of other golf blogs do. Here is the weird part he was cool with me and we were supposed to work together until I posted 2 things: the Taylormade Raylor and Mizuno MP-68 both found from members on WRX which we credited in our blog. Just moments posting after those cool and worthy topics on our blog I get a very vulgar email telling me i'm stealing his content, business model, and entire website. Worse part is I get a bunch of emails this morning and he is going around emailing this to everyone on our blog roll. All the while he is the one taking the images out of our forum and watermarking them with his logo. I dont know what his problem is but from our many contacts over the last 7-8 years no one can confirm he was a golf club designer for major OEM's and no one could confirm that he sold two successful golf e-commerce sites as he claims. We tried to level with him asking what exactly do you mean, how do you want to resolve this matter, eventually I just began telling him to focus on his site and not ours.. I have recieved dozens of emails from him saying stuff like " he doesnt deal kindly with pieces of S**T like me", "I made a big mistake", "I'll see you soon", "Where do you live" and much MUCH worse. We have a post on this written by Jacque of TSG voicing the fact in a fair and honest manner here: www.golftoimpress.com **UPDATE** If you read the comments in the blog post all of his replies are coming from false email's and the same IP address. In our stats th IP matches his. Sorry again for airing the dirty laundry like this.

We have many real images and instructions on how to "transform" Honma's New Perfect Switch Putter at if you Click Here GolfToImpress.com first saw it at the 2009 Tokyo Golf Show and now its been released into the retail market. Check it out, looks pretty good to us. I kinda wish the colors were more subtle.

We do know them and speak with them each year also if you are interested in the product we can get it. It isnt very expensive and is used quite a bit for Japanese long drive events. I have hit it on a few occasions but I didn't take note of the performance. About the only thing I do remember is that they are fairly loud and hollow feeling which is usually the case for many long drive drivers.

Also if you guys have any questions for Master Sasaya please post them in the comments section of that blog post on GTI. I forward the questions to him, he responds, I translate and put it into the reply on the blog.

We recently posted an Interview with Master Masayuki Sasaya of Gold's Factory and Included some High-Definition Video of the CNC milling of the circle G logo into an irons head. Keep in mind this is not computer controlled CNC milling it is Hand controlled which requires true craftsmanship and experience. Click Here to Check it Out!

I personally think they are not made in Japan but the company and their followers will say otherwise. How else can defects come out of Asia at time of each and every new MP release months before retail? Its the same product but the tolorences are way off.

The new Mizuno MP-68 Iron pics have been floating around for several days now. First we saw the MP-68 Prototypes and now the final release version. Their are a couple sets already on the PGA Tour. I have to warn you guys that the ones on Ebay and being sold as heads only are most likley defective. We have seen dozens of sets sold on the bay or in forums a good while before the official announcement or release has been made of all previous models. Its weird because they are supposed to be made in Japan but these heads have been seen coming out of Asia and the UK in the past with previous models like the MP57,62, etc.. Anyway we have the full blog post on the Mizuno MP-68 at www.GolfToImpress.com

Here is a short intro to the shaft coming out June 28th : GolfToImpress From what we were told by Mitsubishi it was designed for the better than average golfer yet not pro level player. It appears to be spec'd accordingly as well. We have 2 G53's in Stiff currently on the way we will be testing shortly.

80T for that price is insane. Almost unfair for the othr shaft companies to compete.

Come to think of it, the feel does remind me a bit of the Epon 460ZR. They should release something similar in the U.S Imo, its time people feel this sensation for themselves.

There is a guy we know of named Tomi who does putter fittings but It's more for fine tuning, custom work and specifications not hitting a variety of putters.

The fitting will be in Japanese, do you speak?

I have a brand new #3 & #4 CB-2006 model heads only if interested.

Wow thats a stunning putter. I have not had the chance to hit a GF putter with the slit & PZ milling. Let us know how it feels and rolls man! Is it solid feel or tink/mute, how would you describe it?

The R is such an awesome driver for the player who wants a lower ball flight, stable and straight dispersion as well as boring low spin penetration. I was planning on getting this for myself but the loft and trajectory is too low. Im sure this would fit me well in the wind but I'll leave this gem to the hard hitters as its those it fits best.

Feel is also determined by sole grind, loft, and design believe it or not. The material does make a big difference and there are indeed ultra soft castings that purr when hit but Keep in mind that we each have our own sense of feel and feedback, some peoples more sensitive than others. Tom Wishon is only one designers opinion, his opinion and words are well documented online and in books, he markets his message better than other designers but that doesn't mean they are all facts. There are dozens of other designers that you have never heard of especially in Japan & Asia, they don't need to market their opinions like Tom does but we have to give them credit they are producing today's most advanced clubs and shafts with massive R&D budgets working daily on high tech projects current and future. Each designer has their own opinion and I can tell you first hand that those who I consider to be best still feel forgings are the top choice, they just don't have the need to come out and convince their case to the people. Some designers create 5 new clubs a year while others 50 new original designs, it's pretty interesting and big brands like Tourstage, Srixon, Yamaha, and others are always looking to steal them from a competitor. Another thing to take into account is that producing forgings are still more expensive than high quality castings, If the research showed that cast vs forged doesn't matter then the OEMs would save a ton of money producing their clubs with castings. All that said, forgings are better IMO but I would play a soft cast set if it had everything I wanted in it.

Yup I love it when Rep's need to ask you questions about their own brand of gear. The feel he loved so much was the superior Endo Forging. You should show him the Custom Mizunos or the Limited Black wedges we just received.

We actually sent in a Titleist TVD head for them to reproduce and this is what they came up with. Hard to tell exactly due to the black finish but I can see the similarities.

I forgot to order one for me These are one of those clubs that will eventually sell out before the masses learn of what a gem it is. By Then it will be to late. Looks like a great club, I loved the 460ZR by Epon and this face does remind me of it. If necessary I will have to adjust the head weighting to give it a higher ball flight. I wish it was available in 10.5. In regards to the apparel. It's tough because TourStage ProSpec fits me smaller than Paradiso, and certain TourStage Athlete shirts fit much larger than ProSpec as well. It's hit and miss. I cross my fingers hoping the size i get fits me perfect. I also highly suggest Japanese Golf Umbrellas and Rain Suites they are made very well compared to most offerings in the states.