TourSpecGolfer

To many people want these wedges and we are down to our last 2 sets of 52/58. Its going to have to go to ebay this week to be fair to all.

Ok pull it apart guys what do you notice?

Yes i made those things with coral draw and took it down to my local sticker store and they cut and printed it out. all sorts of colors available. the hard part is getting them the right size in your program and putting them on straight with an exacto knife.

Many people have been waiting a long time for these, only problem is they didnt make todays favorite and most desired head sizes. Thats too bad, the new wedges do look pretty cool.

I dont think that was an accident. Quite Different IMO.

Flat black is more durable than the gloss but it will still wear.

I have a couple of each and enjoy the epon due to feel and how forgiving it is, the X-Drive 460 is their most forgiving X-Series to date and the feel is superb, just like the X-ST but bigger. Either one will work provided you can get the proper specs and shaft for your swing.

They are players cavity backs, I would say just as player as the Type J's and the XCB2 is right around that same ball park.

1018 is soft but it goes way way softer than that, there are even castings softer than 1018 in regards to hardness rating. The reason why more brands do not use 1018 is because it produces less spin than harder metals and it bends quite easy, In my last visit to Japan i was able to hit a 05C steel which was very soft but it felt like it bent at impact with the ball. I guess there is balance that has to be made between the playability and hardness rating. You guys may not be aware of this but there are many versions of the AR-1 style head not only from scratch as they have the 3 custom grind models, but Geo Tech Japan and Nano Power Japan also have similar models, not sure if those are done up in 1018. If there is a metal expert here let me know if FE99.9% is the same as saying 10.01C???

No pic's were allowed to be taken of the prototype MOI square driver, but that one in the pic isnt it. Supposedly all OEMs are working on creating a square driver that actually works. Currently they dont show a humanly noticeable difference. its something like 2-5% more stable through the swing which doesn't equal much in terms of distance or dispersion. The 380cc is still available in small amounts, its called the Technica and its the model before the Technity.

Hey how come you Hawaii guys are all diggin the weed covers?

The bags are insane, They are officially launching in the USA this year and have a killer line up. Is there a particular design you guys would like to see in the future on a Head Cover? Republican and Democrat? Kid Robot?

Most tour players want S400's in their wedges, even on the Japan tour. My personal best results come from heavier and stiff wedge shafts to improve accuracy but I play a graphite X flex shaft in one of my wedges and that has improved in distance control and feel for small chip shots from the fringe.

A ton of new things coming from ComoCome next month, they will be releasing their made in Japan staff bag. Could be the highest quality made bag on the market ever. New Sterling Silver accessories and more affordable wool covers for woods are just a few of the things in their new line up.

If those are the two you have narrowed it down to you are all good whichever way you go, just make sure they are proper lie/length/loft/grip/shaft/flex/Grip Size and swing weight for you. The type S is longer heel to toe, wider sole, less offset by a hair, and overall more forgiving. The 3-6 irons have an undercut cavity making off center hits more forgiving and giving long irons ease of use. The short irons feel better at impact than the long because of this. Custom options with epon are the best, shafts are tipped and prepped via robot, heads and ferrules are inserted by a machine, grips too, torsion testing done on the clubs shaft even before the install, there is a full quality inspection at the end as well. The 770 has a better feel at impact due to design being closer to a blade, the 770 is shorter heel to toe and imo has the perfect amount of offset. After market mods must be done at TSG as there is no custom options from the OEM. If you can handle the 770 you can handle the Type J, both feel unreal pure when you hit them well, both are easy to control and forged by Endo of J.I.S steel.

Shimada is the first steel shaft company, very good product but poor marketing. Epon uses these shafts stock, they feel like high end dynamic golds to me.

The Triax weave doesnt make it feel stiffer, it could be the fact that its a tad more butt stiff than the other shafts you have hit in recent. A softer butt section gives the impression of softer feel and more kick. Quattro Tech is a 4 ply shaft that is machine made, i love this shaft inserted untipped in my driver. Hey idrive, try the quattro in the epon and see if you get better results than the X-Drive. I think you like the XD due to the shaft, their is a reason why the Quattro Tech is the #1 played shaft on the JPGA tour.

Yes I understand but the simple truth of it is that there is no standard in the golf industry, so CPMs to one company will differ vs another, each brand must be using the same exact methods to ensure CPMs are treated the same way and I dont see that happening. For now we must treat each shaft line as unique and learn the tipping methods model by model, brand by brand if its CPMs your trying to adjust. In regards to your Axiv question, yes your correct he will have to add and subtract but the question is how much for the amount you mention. My mannual doest say CPM increases for any sort of tipping or butt trim so I suggest you be conservative and dry fit everything several times over and always leave extra length as mistakes do happen. Maybe Carlton can chime in here. We have also sent this question to Mamiya.

In the last 5 years I have been attending the show, I have never seen Miura, or Epon. This year G-Field is in bad shape so they were not there, notice Roma Ro, its the 4th take off on Gauge Design Japan from GDJ's former tour rep before they closed down their Shinjuku office. The 3 base models have original gauge tooling and are made in Japan by the same maker as GDJ used to have. Their entire line including clubs, bags, and grips are made by the same manufacutre as GDJ. Its sad but its evolution as it seems golds factory and roma are now pulling ahead. Usually the OEMs that attend have close ties to Japan. This year there was no Titleist, Crews, Nike, & PRGR, that sucked but on the other hand many small brands were able to get a spot. Large OEMs take 16 booth spaces, the small only need 1-2. Honma Beres, RmR, and many other small makers had a chance and signed on early.

Keep CPMs out of your head man, some shaft brands react different to tipping than others, Due to the clamp difference with axiv they tend to play softer than stated, when dealing with japanese shafts there are some quirks with tipping and frequency due to advanced manufacturing methods. With your swing speed in the driver you should focus on other factors like getting your launch numbers and spin rates perfect for you instead of the cpms of the driver itself. Get on the zelocity and see if your shaft is kicking with an increase in speed the closer you get to impact because if its not then your CPMs mean nothing. I would say 75% of golfers in America use shafts that dont increase their club head speed. Many are scratch players too. Please post your stats in the fitting threads found in the club makers forum.

Yes I sold that one. It was not for Matsuzaka, its for another Daisuke.

That is not the Type S, it is teh PRO II, different tooling and total design. The Type J and Pro I are the same and yes were designed in 2004. Keep in mind epon as a brand has been around for 15 years. Your always spot on XXIO, this was the Japan only Titleist Iron, 571?? Yes I have seen some prototypes, they had a few that looked even better than the TB-1000 and MR-23 Blades but problem is that we are the only ones asking them for a blade. Your a smart guy T but your wrong in this sense, its not matching materials its all about the heat treatment. I have seen their protos with full score lines like the X-Drive, and some with dark grey faces. Face thickness also has a lot to do with it, The heat cant be applied to the face the same way over the entire area. They make a ton of other drivers as you request so its not that they cant or dont want to do it, its because the club feels and performs better done this way. I can have a head hand built for you without this feature if you want. Yes Hand Built Driver, it doesnt get any better than that. 95% of the tour pros dont have access to that. Not at all sir. Ok so 90% of Endo made clubs come from the Thailand plant which is huge compared to the Japanese plant, they have all the same machinary and import the JIS grade steel to thailand. The only difference is that the care taken at the Niigata plant and the prototype production methods are a bit more refined. This is the only factory that re-builds tooling due to tool wear over time. This plant makes the clubs for the worlds best players. Epon is made in this same factory. You will not see a square driver from epon until it proves to provide real performance gains. Whats funny is that the Epon 380cc is what Epon claims to be their bestand longest driver, but the market wants 460...

There is to much to say yet we are not allowed to speak of what we saw. No Cameras or phones are allowed on the Compound and yes it is that huge. I don't get the opportunity to travel to manufacturing plants in Himeji, Niigata, and other locations very often, so its an honor to finally arrive at the #1 factory for all golf clubs in the world Endo Japan Factory. It started with a trip to Himeji, this was my first time to see some of the production facilities up close and personal. Himeji is a small town with about a dozen different golf club manufactures in one area, These are mostly hand made shops for forged product in Japan. Smaller companies that desire less output would prefer to do their work in this area. their machinery was impressive, the staff was a lot of older gentleman that look like masters of their trade. We then travelled up to Niigata and visited a factory that is known to be the best in the world. Our tour started with a look at history of clubs made by Endo, Let me say a ton of OEMS have used and currently use this factory for only their top players clubs. When I say top, I mean at the highest level starting back from the Ben Hogan days and even more in recent times. OEMs use multiple factories sometimes for the same product but the Endo factory located in Japan is used for the worlds best players and most precise designs that require special attention and delicate care. I wish I could tell you guys more about things we saw, OEMs dont care to have their manufacturing details floating about online. The factory needs to keep things hush too. Product Development Starting from the product concept, plans and specifications provided by the maker, Endo's expertise and technology are leveraged to refine the specifications for each product. Data from product specifications are analyzed in three dimensions using CAD systems, and then utilized to make the machine tools for the manufacturing process and to ensure that fine and precise products are made. Tooling Machine tools are made based on 3-D data from the product specifications. The shape is reproduced faithfully to the design drawings, and then goes through a series of checks and adjustments, eventually producing the tools that will be used to produce irons and metals. Endo has brought tooling work in-house, enabling rapid and detailed response to maker's requirements. Pressing The titanium alloy material for the metal heads is aligned with dies and press-formed. Titanium alloy is difficult to machine, but Endo has the metal machining technology and experience needed to form accurate shapes of the highest quality, developed through years of working with materials such as stainless steel. Precision Forging In the forging process, the soft iron material for iron heads is heated and struck to form the required shape. Endo's precision forging technology that has been evolved from ordinary forging is used to manufacture forging with the best performance in terms of both dimensional tolerances and surface finish. The complex shapes of iron heads can be formed precisely by forging, combining many of Endo's technical specialties in a single process. Welding The welding process is where the parts of metal heads (face, crown, sole, hosel) are welded together to make up the head. Precision is required because this process determines the basic shape. Irons and metals need even more precise and bimetallic welding, that is why laser welding technology is used. Machining Center The forged products are then cut using a numerical control machining center, tidying up the surface shape. Using a machining center for this machining process ensures the manufacture of high-quality products with little product variation. Polishing In addition to faithfully reproducing the head surface shape in the design drawings, this process makes the surface smooth. The polishing work actually divided into four or five individual processes. Polishing is largely a manual process, with workers using their well-developed skills and experience to finish each head individually, with the whole process reminiscent of the production of craft objects. Plating/Painting The head surface is plated/painted to produce the final product. Painting robots are used in the painting process to prevent uneven coloring and produce an even finish. Since this is the final process, there is a particularly strict quality control setup. The result is a beautiful product with an attractive sheen. Inspection and Assembly The heads are fitted with shafts and grips to assemble the club and complete the manufacturing process. The finished products are then checked very carefully by the hands and eyes of inspection staff. This final inspection covers all the different aspects, including checking for defects in each of the components, and checking the overall balance. This is not normal guys, all the factories in Himeji didn't do half this stuff, and the factories in Taiwan i have visited don't get close. Japan Industry Standard Grade Steel is the best in the world, put it together with in house tooling production, cold forging, 30 auto cad designers and the worlds most high end prototype lab and it doesn't get any better. Sorry no pictures of the factory, we were only allowed to take pics of the Epon facility.

Mizuno MP60 Mizuno S300 Driver Mizuno MP425 Craft DRIVER Mizuno TN-91 EPON 460 X-Drive 460 Epon Type J Epon Driver Epon FW Epon Wedges BRIDGESTONE JS PROFESSIONAL WEAPON Any Gauge Kyoei forged product Vega Irons There are loads more but thats just what i think has got the quality and design to toe up with just about anything. These clubs are the sort that feel soft or muted. Thats just what i like over crisp or clicky feels. IMO right now golf clubs are better than ever, I must admit them square drivers sure go easy, now all they need is one that feels pure. I cant wait to hit the PRGR and Mizuno High MOI Drivers.

That set is unreal, this guy knows whats good! Big Time!