K2_2

T, The X-Drive 445 looks alot better in person than it does in pictures imho, nice club. Another nice club I stumbled upon was the Yamaha 425V driver... this thing feels very, very solid, despite the fact that it gets little play on the JPGA.

Polymer, thanks for the advice, as the Club Glove plus S. Arm sounds like the way to go. As for airlines, I`ll not say anymore for now. Cheers.

Hey guys, I`m in the midst of JDM golf heaven, but one minor snag in collecting some gear from TSG. All of the hard travel cases I`ve found have non-TSA locks, and the soft cases, while nice, all have one thing that leaves me worried; no full length support like a rod or other backbone to protect the longer clubs if something comes crashing down on top of the clubs. Toby, I really should have grabbed a case before coming up here, I know! Any suggestions? Cheers, Kyle

I happened upon a PRGR demo yesterday, so, naturally, I had to test a few irons! Most of my time was on a short range above the shop, but there happens to be a small field nearby where a person, should they be inclined to do so, could look at longer shots off of some grass. PRGR 501 - I would say this is a cross between a player`s CB and a moderate game improvment set. The topeline is similar to the OnOFF Plus while the PRGR is a bit more rounded, and it is a touch longer heel to toe. Fantastic grind and feel! Hitting nice TS balls or old range balls, these felt quite solid, and although I haven`t been able to take a set out on the course, the slight bevel and rolled leading edge should work wonders out of different lies. The PRGR 500 BL is as above, but even better. Narrow topline, smooth look, and a similar grind wth a slight bevel and then a gently rolled leading edge. They are a little smaller, and probably less forgiving, but if you are considering a player`s CB (Miura CB-1006 et al) you should definitely take a look at the 500 BL. Finally, as I put it in my dream bag, I wanted to test the Mizuno JPX. I`m not the world`s biggest Mizuno fan, but this is a fantastic club for a mid or high handicap golfer. The view from above is different as it has the slight scoop seen on a few other hybrids today, but it is nicely done and there is a distinct lack of that two-tone paintjob that some companies love to put on their hybrids. Performance wise, I don`t know if it is draw biased (Chris?) but I didn`t have a problem with any big looping shots out to the left. Just for fun, I tried to work the ball to the right, and managed to do so with little fus. Finally, and this was the big surprise for me, I really like the stock Mizuno Quad shaft; it is lighter, ~ 60 g and mid-kick, but I was still able to get a nice penetrating ball-flight with the 19 degree 3U, and while I was swinging a bit over 46 m/s with the driver, the SR shaft worked out great. Hard-hitters would probably want to change it out to something stiffer and heavier, but for the rest of us, this is probably one of the better out of the box hybrids that I have tried.

Amen to graphite irons! I tried out a few sets yesterday (separate post to follow), and although the Nippon and PRGR steel shafts were impressive, the best feeling set-up had a Tour AD installed. Ben, thank you for the feedback, I`m glad that your initial results have been promissing, and I hope that the shafts work out well, especially in competition!

True, but I`ve played in some `other` weather as well :-) I have fond memories of slogging through a round or two in sleet... Ping weges are great for that type of weather, and man, I put them through their paces.

In addition to trying both the R and S flex in the shaft that you choose, you might try an 80-85 gram Aerotech (or other model) shaft in the mid and long irons, and use the 95 in your wedges.

Wow, I have never seen a wedge rust during a round, crazy! But, I`m happy to see that they cleaned up so well.

T, you`re more than welcome, and yes, they are cool looking shafts. As you posted, these have been in play on the JPGA throughout much of the year... any idea what sets them apart (other than weight) from the AD 65-95 and AD Pro? Cheers.

Miura has some forgiving irons; the PP-9001 that I am going to try is supposed to be forgiving, and the 3002 and 3003 are also pretty easy to hit. Someone can correct me if I`m wrong, but I think that the main difference between the two is offset/face progression. To follow on what Claus said, I wouldn`t pick up the smallest blade I could find, but the most forgiving iron in the world from the tee or a plush lie in the fairway might not be the most playable from all of the other lies that you encounter (side hill, up/down hill, out of the rough, and especially from a tight lie or trying to pull off a delicate chip).

T, sent you a PM with a bit more info. Cheers

I asked about new shafts awhile back, and Graphite Design has delivered! This week they just released the Tour AD 105 and 115. Supposed to be an evolution of the AD Pro, very smooth yet solid/strong (ie anything but a whip). You can also pick one of three color combos; blue stripes from the PT series, green from the Quatro-Tech, or a new black color scheme (same pattern as the others, just a black and silver/grey stripe and section towards the grip. Although they have been `released` I don`t know if they are actually showing up in any shops yet, so I don`t know if I will get to demo them with a Roddio and the AD Pro, but I will see what I can do.

Thanks T!!! I was so busy looking for that issue of Golf Classic that I forgot you posted Shingo`s set u, cheers! On a related note, have you and Chris seen the new Tour AD 105 and 115 irons? I`m not sure what all of the material differences are between the Tour AD, Tour AD Pro, and these new 105 and 115 shafts, but they don`t come cheap!

I can`t say much about the shaft as I haven`t tried it, but the putter looks tight!

Did anyone ever find out if these are the same club with different branding? Onto a more important questino though, any chance of Yururi or Vega doing this finish on a cb?

Thanks for the quick reply! I`ve been hunting around for that issue, no luck yet as it seems to be sold out here. Anyway, I was curious about the shafts as I thought they might be the older Black-G.

As to the original question, man, that is tough! I think that so many of those things would depend on the model of iron (as stated, Endo has done so many clubs for so many manufacturers, it is a little difficult to generalize). Secondly, I will hazard a guess that not too many people have sought out the best Endo club (from any manufacturerer) and the best Miura iron (any model) for their game and proceeded to spec them out with a good round of fittings. Without doing that, I think a great deal of opinions (mine included, for sure) will be based on finding an Endo or Miura club with a setup that suited their swing at the time. Right now I`d lean towards Endo because my favorite irons of the past have been Endo/TS forged clubs, but these were more forgiving than the Miuras that I compared them to. Right now, I`m thinking about TS Viq Forged (Endo), the PP-9001 (Miura) and the OnOFF Plus (not sure who puts these together). While I would love to try each with a few different shafts and for a few rounds, that`s not going to happen (time and not-quite unlimited budget... shogunai). Without comparing all three with the same shafts, on course, I will be taking a bit of guess as to what would truly be the best, however, I think all three are solid clubs, and with a good setup, I think I would be happy with any of the three.

After watching Shingo play this past weekend, I noticed that he is playing graphite in his Ignite `irons` although he still has steel in the wedges. Does anyone have a guess (or better yet a good idea ;-) as to what graphite shafts he was using? They were all black, so not AD-Pros, Axiv, or Roddio, which leaves the Rombax, Black-G, or a prototype; someone I was trying to chat with over dinner said Axiv has a new iron shaft coming out, but the only thing I have seen in a magazine is the new Axiv-X.

Blader-X, I heard about that... did the article say what happened? I didn't realize that Sonartec was big enough to drop their R&D support from RC, but with so much work being done in China, maybe it is not as difficult as it seems.

I am glad to see that these wedges are now available to the rest of us who haven't wandered onto the JPGA!

I'll vote after hitting a few more, but after my initial reaction (not too enthused) I have to say that I am warming to the look of the new Tourstage iron.

Friend here 'confirmed' that... ie he read something online and said 'hai, tungsten desu.' Actually, these pictures of the iron and utility make them look a bit more appealing. However, have you guys seen pictures of the top of the driver? From the photos I found this week it looks a bit like the top of the new TM Burner... a bit less traditional than I was hoping for, although I'll reserve judgement until I can actually see one.

No one said anything about that lol, although it is tempting... I really think the ViQ Forged is a gem though. Hmmm more things to compare .

Lots of great advice here... I haven't tried the G-fields, but I can vouch for the Tourstage X-UT and Srixon AD if you are after a smaller hybrid. For a more 'wood-like' one, the XXIO's and ViQ utilities are nice, and I'm going to try and do some testing with the Mizuno JPX as well. For USDM, I have limited experience, but I think the Adams Pro Series hybrids are quite solid, if a little lacking in the looks department (XXIO, as discussed, I don't know what they were thinking with the two-tone top).

Hi BB, Glad to hear that the information everyone threw out was helpful, and you made a fantastic choice! I haven't built a set myself, so I can't help you out on that end, but if you get them set to your specs for lenth and swingweight, they should be nothing short of spectacular when you put them into play!