TourSpecGolfer

Used to be the U.S rep till i found out about the truth, I dont work for Gauge Japan at all just support the real company over the fraud product.

not to sure yet and perhaps precept will come out with somthing similar. Lots is going on with Tourstage right now even in the U.S.

I suggest just doing a search on google for the basics of the steel, I would love if someone could do a researched golf topic article on this but I'm no expert. I do know that SS303 is different depending on who you buy it from and what form it arrives in. Some companies have strict mineral requirements while others provide a more cost effective alternative. I too like SM490A, its not too expensive and is actually used in low grade form for building frames etc. Your SM490A is a gem and I found another one hidden in a box at gauge, it had a sticker price of 180,000yen :surprize: :surprize: thats 1700.00 I did some bargaining to take if from them for a lot less cause it has the Golds Factory stamp on it and they are trying to get away from association with Sasaya of GF. Good stuff so far its a better feel than any GSS I have putted with.

No these Irons will wear but not rust.

I should have some pretty intense putters coming in this Wednesday. I will post pics and throw a few in the B/S/T.

Yes the FHT has a more shallow face than the ST. nothing new yet, but I do think they will make a new MR-23 Driver, FW, Cb's etc in the fall of 2005.

Well I'm going to answer because I know what they do first hand, but first I am going to say I am bias in regards to Gold's Factory and Gauge Japan. Lets not confuse Gauge U.S with Gauge Japan its obvious who is the creator and who produces the fakes. Here are some reasons why I love these putters so much: - They are 100% made in Japan, The Japanese are meticulous people in regards to their work and take a lot of pride in what they do, At the moment Japanese salary's are high and the people who make these putters are well trained not out sourced employees to save a buck. - The steel is purchased from Sumitomo or if forged, from Himeji, This means it costs more than and it has a better quality than your average Chinese, U.S, or Mexico purchased materials - Most of them have CNC milled flat faces, This is an extra step, they all have milling marks first but then they are removed to provide less variables and a more solid click feel with the putter. I was once told by David Whitlam, Just use a cast putter if you want flat faces, that is the mentality of GD U.S.A compared to Japan. save money and besides you cant get the exact proper loft if the putter is casted :) - Due to the quality of work only a certain amount of putters can be made per month, no two designs can be made in the same month unless they train another team/maker from scratch how to do this. this month black M2 center shafts, next month more Tour Zeros & Iron heads the month after that Eldik-N type and the month after that the proto Tubu adjustable weight putter - The Designs are built on Auto Cad first then a plaster mold is made and the final changes are hand cut with an exact knife to produce the perfect design, Also GD Japan always sends the protos to several schools and research facilities to do stress testing and quality assurance inspections for several months before the production model is made or it is given to a pro. - The little things like putter lofts made for todays modern ball, a Teflon coat instead of a black dye, neo mallets with a degree open face, metals selected with a standard of mineral content that only sumitomo can provide, or when the heads come in they all have the date made, the exact weight down to the . , and name of the person and employee number of the who milled or grounded the head. - They also put a sticker on the face if the putter is nano casted and not forged SS304, SS303, SM490A, or GSS. Some of you already know this because the retail eldik has a nano cast sticker on it brand new over the plastic. - The Tungsten they use is high grade and only a limited amount can be purchased in Japan with a license to obtain. Tungsten in the U.S is severely low quality and highly regulated by law due to people making cop killer bullets and weapons. Military grade tungsten is what GD Japan uses, the only other company off the top of my head that uses this grade quality is Never compromise Voodoo because its purchased and built in China where tungsten laws are different. Many companies built in the U.S or Mexico etc use Heavy or Hyper metal instead of tungsten. In regards to GSS putters they are ordered from Germany as a huge block costing a ton of money then shipped to Japan, sent to get cut up to the proper size, then shipped to Himeji to be milled and manufactured. buying by the big slab is the only way to ensure the high grade GSS, strange part is they have no interest in selling the GSS material putters they would rather give them to the pros for free in japan. In regards to feel, my opinion has a lot has to do with the finish of the putter, the shaft type and grip, because feel is for the most part vibration and sound while these three variables affect it most. GD Japan uses NS pro 130g, 150g, with Ion grips to get best success. What I have personally found is that milled flat faces provide more of a click and crisp feel while milled faces feel softer or a crunch feel. I do offer the choice of milled or flat when ordering a completely custom putter from me, Its actually easier for them to do a milled face putter because its one less step to go through. When comparing a G.D Japan to Scotty Cameron, More work and better materials go into them than even the Ct's. S. Cameron makes the Ct's with his own hands, that is great! Gauge Japan's owner who is also a master at hand crafting putters does the same except that they are not for sale and for pro's use only because he can only do 1-2 a month with the level of quality he expects. The retail Scotty's are all made in China with low quality materials and shipped to the U.S to be stamped, finished and assembled. Scotty and Gauge Japan are very close and have been since scotty worked for Mizuno years ago in Japan. Scotty is making a killing with his markup vs cost. good for him. Having an item made in Japan costs almost double than what it would in the U.S and much much more than if made anywhere else. To end this I would like to say what each of us already knows, a putter is still a putter it really depends on the stroke and line, If your really into quality I highly suggest Gauge Japan or Gold's Factory putter but if cost is an issue you can easily get the same outcome with almost anything else. Spend the money on putting lessons and it will pay off more than a new putter or be a Ho and drop me a Pm :whistle:

for the black it takes about 2-3 weeks and would cost only 50.00 more at 1200.00. I could only get two for the month of August in any finish so I choose two black with Rifle 6.0's. They will sell quick as do all the GD irons I get so let me know before they come if you want to secure a set.

Well as far as black Irons go I think that they are the most durable by far, for example with the Teflon putters you can dip it in paint thinner and rub it down and nothing comes off. I use a ton of paint thinner when changing my own paint fill and so does gauge, It has no effect on the Black coating. This is the same finish as the Gold's Factory Irons. The feel is for sure softer, I bounced the ball on the face for a while and it was more muted while GD Irons have a great soft yet non mushy feel as it is already.

These Irons can be special ordered from me with any paint fill or shaft. Your looking at about 1200 - 1250 depending on what shaft you want. I'm going to swap out my set for a set of the blacks. The GD Irons feel better than the MR23 Cb's when struck on the money and with this Teflon finish I think it will just add to the sensational feel. I play PX 6.0's with mine. :love:

Any Lefties out there interested in a GD M2+ or M3+? I can get them special made if I order 10 or more.

3 Iron Teflon Finish the most durable black in the market. 7 Iron Teflon Finish Hand Grind Tour Zero, One, & Three, Softer more round edges. Gold's Factory Tuned GD putter M3 Black Teflon with Ingots Eldik-N ( completely new design face, ass piece, and neck ) Proto for Hoshino and Denis Chand.

Lots of new stuff coming from Tourstage in September and some of the pricing is a little strange. For example the new F/HT+ is the most expensive FW I have ever seen by TS, You would guess its the same price as the F-ST+ but thats just not the case. The FST+ retails at 40,000yen/380.00 the FHT+ retails at 58,000yen/565.00 :-D I don't get it? One thing it may be is the difference in the material used to make it. The F-ST+ is SS630 and the FHT+ is +SAT2041β. FST+ FHT+ Also there is lots for Lefty's to be happy about. The X-Drive, FST+, and XCB's with a lefty only special wedge. The strange thing is that the Lefty's are more expensive than the righty's :-D The Black Tourstage Limited wedges are sold out already each big shop in Japan is limited to only 1-2 sets and most small shops aren't getting them at all. I am sold out already so don't ask for the limiteds but the Satin finish X-wedges will be out in September for 18,000yen or 175.00. They Synergy Deep has just come out, It is 1 degree open and has some great GD shaft options like W70 and W60. Its a great driver longer than my retail R7 with the same W60 shaft, less forgiving though. There is also a new Tourstage X-01 ball 3 piece, same as the pros are using with 11 events in play and 7 victories of the 11 are with this ball. :surprize:

Id like to mention Mr. Breal has purchased 5 sets of Irons from me in the last 2 months and all the Irons were what in my opinion are in the top 5. I'm happy he has found a set he likes before taking a big money plunge into the Hiro Matsumoto's.

Super Bag! I like how you hit the sweet spot and it shows wear. You must play a ton of golf. I also love the shape of the tour scotty reminds me of the GD tour 3, longer heel to toe, slightly shallow face and not to long of a neck.

I have no clue? I dont care if anythings legal, Im no pro.

In a recent weekly golf mag it shows the Japanese gluing Turbo Rubber (same as ViQ & percussion Instruments) to the insert end of the weight screw. It is very easy to do but must be done with a very strong epoxy or glue because the rubber could fall off in the head, If that does happen just remove the shaft and it will fall out. From what was translated this process gives the R7 a muted feel and absorbs vibration. I am going to take pics when I try it on my retail R7 and post it. For now I must search for the rubber but the feedback from the magazine was extremely positive taking the best aspect of the ViQ and applying it to the R7.

These are very rare and expensive, an NCAA player I know had one and when he came to visit i got to hit it and its a good driving Iron. They go for about 1000 - 1250.00 head only brand new for the 504 & 508, I'm not sure about the 503 but they all sure do look nice. performance wise nothing compared to the new TP driving Iron. If anyone is interested in these drop a PM to magnolialane he has several for sale.

Is it conforming? Yes 100%

I believe the retail is around $900, but there are only two in the world. I paid a bit less but got package pricing for buying three putters at the same time. Really a gem; I hope it knocks the Bettinardi out of the bag; otherwise, I will sell it to someone who will use this beauty and not let it collect dust. There were 50 made of the SM490A but the Sasaya Tuned Golds Factory version had only 2 made.

Guys the JC 371 proto is all he says the real deal, what I loved most about it was the awesome feel and perfect setup and shape...but, I want to warn all that it is 1.3 degrees open.

Here are just four of the total 6 that these wedges can be custom ordered with.

The SM490A putter is the only Mid Slant putter from GD I have ever seen.

Takes a good 6 weeks and run about 180.00 Anything special to those wedges other than the look? Are those your standard spec wedges? Nothing really except the finish has some chemicals not legal in the U.S , It has no Mizuno text also only the M stamp. Just look at the quality of that finish up close, its so smooth and flawless. In person I have never seen another brand even come close to this type of quality. I wish I knew what their secret was.