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Found the AF302's, still looking for 210KGX wedges in very good to near new condition.

Would like to make a run at Epon again. Still playing my AF301/208KGX setup on occasion. Unfortunately, with the cost of new so ridiculously high, got to look at the used market. Prefer other finishes except chrome. Heads only preferred also, but will consider shafted irons/wedges. What do you have available? Brian

When will these be available for order thru TSG?

Although they are not currently my gamers, I feel my Epon AF-301's are still one of the single best irons made in the player's CB category. I still look out for Epon irons in good used condition and at a reasonable asking price, but they are rarely available. This could well be indicative of the quality of the product, or simply low adoption and supply in the States. Can anyone elaborate on what has happened to Epon's presence in the US? Have they divested from this market due to low penetration or some other business driver. The website has been taken down, and several of the US resellers seem to be gone.

I really like how these grips feel, but don't know who makes them. They remind me of Golf Pride Dual Durometer grips, but can't confirm if they are. Does anyone know who manufactures their grips? Brian

Jeff (idrive) has been kind enough to let me demo the AF-302, which has been on my radar for purchase. The temps are just starting to climb here in Nashville (up to 40's). Hopefully, I can get this out to the range tomorrow or Thursday. Anyway, I thought I take a few comparison pictures alongside the primary irons that I gamed this past season, and the irons the AF-302's would be moving out of the bag if purchased (except the Mac Pro-C iron demo). I gamed the J36 CB most of this past season, and compared it to the AF-Tour in a post on TSG. This setup just works for me, and has been consistently solid. However, they share bag time with the KZG ZO blades late season when I'm less concerned about forgiveness, and the AF-301 when the weather begins to turn. My hope is to find the AF-302 more visually appealing, close in size to the J36, and less offset than the AF-301. I believe it does all 3. The lone caveat is what appears to be alittle more toe than I like to see at address. In comparison, the AF-301 appears to have alittle more heel, the 302 alittle more toe. The difference in offset is noticeable to me, in a good way. Next, I'll have to see how it does when it meets a golf ball. Brian Topline comparison (KZG ZO, AF-301, AF-302, Mac Pro-C, J36 CB) J36 vs AF-302 AF-301 vs AF-302 KZG ZO vs AF-302

New products are up on the Epon Japan site. AF-302 looks pretty good. Less offset, though not visibly much. AF-301 still is my favorite iron among my clubs, though it doesn't get much play. Guess I'll have to find a local dealer to get at the new stuff now. Brian

I played KBS Tour 5.5 softstepped once as well. In comparison to a set that I demoed installed with 4.5's, I didn't find much difference. Slightly lighter weight, but the playing characteristics were pretty similar to softstepping the 5.5 IMO. Brian

Final update of my on/off-cource demo added to original post. Brian

Actually, the 901 was very well received. It would be easy for me to transition from my J36 to the 901, only sacrificing alittle bit of forgiveness. The J36 Black wears faster than the Epon 208KGX Black wedges. I believe the intent was for the Black to raw. I like the lighter patina that I have on the Black's now. Rusting has been minimal due to clean, dry and WD-40 treatment. I'm going to play another 1-2 rounds with the AF-Tour and 901 before providing a final update on my comparison. Brian

Thanks to Jeff (idrive), I finally have the opportunity to demo the Epon AF-Tour blade (range and on-course). Add to the comparison the Tourstage 901 Blade and Bridgestone J36 CB Black, I've got a good cross section of players irons to compare. DISCLAIMER: The AF-Tour and Tourstage 901 are not built to my spec, so this is not quite apples-to-apples. Ranked in descending order of preference. FEEL: J36 Black, TS901, AF-Tour - The J36 and TS901 are similar in feel, typical Bridgestone. Both are soft, but solid, alittle clicky. AF-Tour produced some shots off the clubface that seemed to "disappear." It was both exhilirating and disturbing at the same time. It made me say, "wow!" But it was followed by "where did it go?" Maybe this is the nirvana of feel, but I don't know if I could get used to the disappearing act. TRAJECTORY (Highest to Lowest): AF-Tour, J36 Black, TS901 - The differences weren't markedly different, but I felt like the trajectory and carry were higher and longer with the AF-Tour, the others not far behind. Trajectory is important to me because I'm a naturally low-ball hitter. WORKABILITY: AF-Tour, TS901, J36 Black - In fairness, I don't work the ball. Simply not in my game right now. I can hit a fade on command, so that all I tried to do to compare. The AF-Tour was the most predictable in hitting a deliberate fade. Much more controlled that the other two irons. Kept a very tight 5 yard fade to the flag provided I setup consistently with each shot. My longest iron in the bag is the 5i, which is usually what I use to determine how playable a set is for me. Initially, I would suggest that the AF-Tour might be more club than I can consistenly hit well through a round. My accuracy would probably begin to drop off at the 6i. I would suggest the same for the TS901, though it more closely resembles the playing characteristics of my J36 Blacks. I believe the better player, or the player most comfortable with blades, would truly enjoy the AF-Tour and TS901 Blade. All things considered, and given the fact that the overall size and shape of the J36 Black is as close to blade-like that a CB can get, this is a club that the "tweener" could play happily. Curiosity is probably going to get the best of me, because I'd love to hit the AF-Tour with my favorite DGSL300 shaft installed. This shaft changed everything I felt about my AF-301's, so I'd have high hopes for them installed in the AF-Tour. Weather permitting, I'm going to take these out one more time before returning them to confirm what my initial take is. FINAL UPDATE: I added another iron to the comparison, Tourstage Z101 w/KB Tour 5.5. I wanted to try to give the AF-Tour, TS901 and Pro Preference Blade as much of an apples to apples comparison with something that I'm familiar with. All of my above comments are unchanged. The one notable addition is that I was really impressed with the Pro Preference Blade. The feel was very soft. The only downside to this blade is the offset. It's not what I would expect in a true blade. On course, I was most impressed with the AF-Tour after a couple of rounds. Its very playable at my hcp level. Not quite the ultra-forgiving blade that a KZG ZO Blade is, but a close second. With the right specs, I could put these in the bag and not miss a beat. I believe my Tourstage Z101's are going to bump the J36 Black's from the bag in the near term. Still an awesome iron from Bridgestone. More forgiving than the MR-23 CB, and equally pleasing to hit. The Pro Preference Blade would be third, largely because of its predictability on the course. The trajectory on this iron was very consistent. Damn, the offset though! I could probably get over it, just as I did with the AF-301's. Fourth would be the J36 Black. They've been my primary irons for months, and have allowed me to play well enough to drop 3 strokes off my hcp over that time. Last would be the TS901, largely because they're not much different from the J36 Blacks, except they sacrifice alittle more forgiveness. I now have a good idea what my next iron purchase will be. The immediate benefit of this on/off course demo is that I now will be changing my shafts back to KB Tours. Shots with each KB shafted iron had tighter dispersion, higher ballflight, predictable trajctory and alittle more carry distance compared to my favorite DGSL300. To Jeff, I say, "thank you." Nothing could have been more valuable than actually demoing the AF-Tour alongside my own clubs and the other awesome JDM irons. I truly appreciated it. Brian

Though I'm not playing my AF-301's right now, the AF-Tour is still in the forefront of purchase consideration. I haven't seen many posts from TSGer's that actually bought these irons. Anyone have experience with this blade? Brian

I've seen the standard chrome, satin finish and the gold finish. However, can these be ordered in the black finish (sames as the wedges)? Brian

Epon Japan Forged 208KGX 52-12 and 58-11 Black wedges w/DGS200, stock l/l/l, Epon grips - finish is worn, mild rust - head condition is 8.5/10 - $100 each shipped US

Chris, will we be able to order a combo set from Epon? I don't want to change anything about my current AF301's, but would like a new custom set to include a mix of 301 and blade short irons. Possible? Brian

Very few finishes of this type maintain over the long term. My KGX's faded after the first week, but I have to say that I like the look. Personally, its been a long time since I had a somewhat rusty wedge. Nonetheless, its wear that should be expected.

Pulled from a Japanese blogger who apparently favors Epon. Like everyone else, I'm waiting for the finished product, but thought this was an interesting post. http://taoten55.exblog.jp/9751724/ Brian

I've now got several range sessions and 5 rounds in with the black 208KGX wedges. I love my 301's, and was simply tempted to add the wedges as a compliment. My hope was that I would achieve the same exceptional feel in the wedges. I was concerned with the higher bounce, as I typically play my wedges in a lower overall bounce. Feel: Exceptionally Epon! Nothing more to ask in this department. Playability: Great from the fairway, rough and sand. I'll need more time and practice to learn how best to use the dynamic bounce on these wedges. I can't seem to open up my 58 as much as my MP-R grind allowed. Accuracy: Out of the box I was able to reliably hit 55, 75 and 100 yards shots with very little variance in distance. That's great because I don't have to adjust to distance control with new wedges. The only comment is the black finish wore off in the sweetspot after one range session. I was quite surprised I didn't get more range time and course play bedore the finish wore. I rarely hit more than 60 balls in one range session, and by the time I hit all 60 I had a nice smoke gray wear spot on the wedge. No problem, but not expected. Also, I didn't feel like the wedge chewed up the range and gamers more than any other new wedge. Actually, I was happy to see the Epon were far more easy on the covers than my KZG wedges. Here's recommendation for a great wedge. Brian

Froggy10, I'm not a regular walker, so the weight is less an issue. I've had no QC issues with this bag. The dividers allow the clubs to work easily in and out of the bag with no friction on the shafts. That's the reason I avoided the Bag Boy bag. The only thing I have to manage is that I carry 3 hybrids, 4W and driver. The hybrid slots are only on the cart bag, not the stand bag. I love the bag, but am looking at a new one for walking. With the build quality and full length protection of the slots, I don't know if they can make the bag lighter without sacrificing some degree of quality. Brian

I don't have any experience with the bag boy locking system, but have read reviews that they tend to be a bit hard on shafts coming in and out of the bag. I liked the idea, but chose to go with the Bennington Lite Organizer. It's on the heavy side, but I can carry as much, or as little as I need. Having the individual iron slots protects from bag chatter better than any other system. I haven't had any issues with use or QC. Might be worth checking out. http://www.benningtongolf.com/litequietorganizer.html Brian

KB Tours feel and perform well in Miura clubs. I've hit the KB Tour, PX and Tour Concept in the different Miura heads, and preferred the KB Tour most. I also played these in my Scratch irons with success. I believe they are available in a 4.5 flex, which can be tweaked. Since you're in the area, call Mike Fix at High Launch Golf in Fredericksburg and ask for a demo 6i of the Blade/KB Tour to try. Brian

My experience and intentions with every club is to achieve a certain feel in the clubhead and to find a shaft that accentuates that feel. Sometimes I get a performance match, sometimes I don't. I find 100-115 gram, stiff flex, high-bend steel shafts to perform best for my swing, but that hasn't guaranteed a match for performance and feel. Example, I felt the same excitement about PX HL 6.0 in the Epon head, which is a different profile from DGSL300. Nonetheless is accentuated the feel and performed consistently. I just didn't have a full set of those shafts laying around. So for me, shaft profile is a consideration and good start, but not a guarantee for performance and feel. I started with DGS200 because they fit my profile. But, they did not fit for "feel" in the Epon head. Brian

Just a quick update to say that the AF301's are firmly seated in the bag. Getting the right head/shaft combination took a bit of work, so these never really saw any play since being purchased. I've come somewhat full circle in that I ordered these with DGS200 and didn't like them at all. Several reshafts later, they are now shafted with DGSL300 and I love them! The difference is a better feel. Swing and clubweight that is better balanced and easier to control. Distances are consistent. This is what I had anticipated. A few sets later, including custom Mizzy's, Scratch AR-1's, and RC Blades, and I'm back to where the high-end hoing started...Epon. They are worth getting right. Brian

My 301's have been an interesting challenge to shaft properly. DGS200, Black Gold, Nippon, TT GS75 and Wishon Series 5 shafts have all been tried. The winner, PX HL 6.0. Unfortunately for me, I only attempted different shafts in the 5i and getting this shaft setup correctly was a challenge. See, the hosels have been reamed to accept .370 shafts on the most recent attempts. Golf Galaxy only had 1 PX HL 6.0 in satin finish left, which happened to be .370. The weight, balance and performance are perfect. I get a higher trajectory than my former Scratch AR-1/KB Tour combo and the dispersion is point and shoot. My biggest issue is that I can not find the original satin PX HL in 6.0 and .370 from a reputable source to finish the set. BTW - I let several friends hit this setup, who've also hit my other 301 combo's, and everyone agrees this shaft makes these irons standout. Brian

Good lookin' out. No one was pushing the YO1 brand on WRX. The pics of the irons and wedges were posted on the PGA Show photos, and no one could identify who or what they were. No one knew anything about the brand, which sparked a few exchanges about the product. There doesn't appear to be interest, but as a Zodia wedge player, my interest was sparked. Thanks for the value statement. Brian