Blader-X

OH MY GOD, MAGNUM!!! Those are some of the sweetest wedges I've seen yet. Absolutely stunning!! I know some may not like the graphics, but I think they work quite well.

Better yet, Black KB Tours on the new/hopefully soon to be released Epon Blades in black as well. Chris, any latest news you can release to us about when they are to become available? I'm dying here waiting for their release.

Chris, Where are these forged at?

Update for those interested. Like I stated previously, when I read this from Brett it was very intriguing to me as I have a constant fight with my right knee "feeling" solid since two ACL surgeries. Although its been almost 9 years since the last operation, I still experience laxity in the knee. The ACL itself is fine, its just because I had so much damage to the knee the secondary supporting structures have all been stretched out. What it feels like is balancing upon a ball and pean hammer on my right side. It doesn't so much affect me going back but more so coming through. And its something that varies from time to time so you just never know how it'll react. After having played a few rounds by turning my feet as Brett suggested, I no longer experience that instability. What this move has allowed me to do is to actually slow my swing down and still experience no loss in distance. In fact I really believe I'm at least 5-8 yards on average longer than I was. Because my right side isn't breaking down, I can really just turn fluidly back and then let it go on the way through without over swinging. It took some adjustment visually as I felt I would just massively slice everything. I also discovered that my left-side misses which can be huge from time to time were reduced and in fact I found that I was able to work the ball both ways once again. My accuracy has improved by a fair amount. An additional improvement which this helped me with was limiting my backswing. I'm blessed with a good amount of flexibility and in my golf swing this would sometimes hurt me. I still get a great turn, but now I'm not overturning. However, if you struggle with turning in your swing, this will only make matters potentially worse. I'm actually using this set-up and pretty much all types of swings, except for greenside bunkers. I found that this set-up produces very crisp contact of the ball and I was catching it very clean from the greenside bunker. Great from a fairway bunker, but not so hot if your greenside as I'm sure you all can imagine. I'm going to continue to groove this as I really think this will help me tremendously. I've played some very good golf the past few years but always felt my knee was holding my back as it would always feel different depending upon the day. However, with this set-up there is no instability at all and I can't tell you how good that feels after all this time. The best thing about it all is how smooth I feel now. I've always been very aggressive in my swing and its by biggest limitation. With this set up, I don't need to be so aggressive but yet I'm more accurate and have no decrease in length at all. Like I said, my drives are a bit longer, and a couple have been massive. I'm really hoping to continue honing this move and enjoying my game more. Brett, thanks very, very much for sharing this. I'm very grateful. I owe you a beer or something!!

Any chance that you're selling one of those, T? As I'm getting a little older, its getting a little more tiresome lugging the sticks especially the last three holes!

Hey T, Any chance of getting the KBS wedge shafts in their new black nickel finish in the Epon wedges?

That's fantastic news. I'm very interested in their new smoke black color in their wedge models and I contacted the company to see if they might offer their regular irons in that as well and was told they're planning for it next year. Chris, might you know if the new blades will offer different finish options as well much like their wedges?

I absolutely love the weathered look of wedges like you're describing. Enjoy them as their performance isn't determined by how they look. Besides, it is golf, clubs are meant to be used.

So T, did you ever get this camera? I did; and its phenomenal. Got it for pics of my kids' hockey and skating lives but also took it to Alaska recently as well. Just a great camera. You can take pics, then switch to video at a touch of button instantly. Also filmed in 1200 fps and its just unreal. The pic quality is amazing as well. After taking a shot, you can even zoom in on what you just shot and get an even closer view. I've never really seen anything like it before. Very happy with its performance.

You and me both because both of those current options don't suit me. My current set up with the X-blade 2's have 1150's and those were not stock options back then. I do really like the look of the new 901MB's and maybe these might become a reality for me in the upcoming year. However, still very interested in seeing what Epon might be bringing our way for '09 as well and I'm hoping and praying that it'll be a new line of blades, Epon style.

Brett, I'm going to give this a go and report back. This might work very well for me as my right knee continues to give me problems here and there from two previous ACL surgeries. I did play around with this with some short game shots and I was unbelievably so stable. I can really feel the load into the right side immediately. Let me put this into play for a few days and I'll report back.

Hey T, Any idea if TourStage will be offering various shaft options, or will they continue to offer minimal choices as they have in the past?

I could get very used to the black color as well. It really looks sweet. Chris, I see by your sig that these MB5003's are still in your bag. They must be very solid irons to still be holding the top spot in your bag!

Along with making their own line, Nippon Shaft also makes "custom" versions of their shafts for various companies. This is probably what they've done for TaylorMade. However, I do not know what the specific specs are for each company.

No, but looking very much foward to your review. I've been actually thinking of trying these shafts but I'm also wanting to try out the new KB wedge shafts in the smoke black color. So right now I'm between both and may have to give both a go in the next couple of months.

Great review and I must agree with the points you made. I will say that I absolutely love this driver and would give it even higher marks. I have the Graphite Design P9003X and its the best combo I've hit to date. I've no want for another driver.

I'm asking all you fellow TSG'ers to chime in and let me know what kind of finishes you've got on your Gold's Factory or George Spirits putters. Here's the deal. I'm currently considering picking up the GS LT-1 putter. However, I'm worried about the finish holding up since this putter will definitely see quite a bit of play. I'm thinking of having the finished changed after I get it to something a little more durable and I wanted to see what others here have found with their own putters and what finishes you've liked/disliked and such. Many thanks in advance for your opinions/inputs.

I must say, I really like these. All three for me please!! C, T when will these be out?

Great review and a very interesting concept. That must've taken some time to accomplish. Keep us posted on how your success continues.

May I ask why you didn't like the KB Tours? I've been playing the 1150's x-stiff for a couple of years now and while I do like them very much, I am intrigued by the new KB Tours, especially since next year they will be offering them in a black color which is now offered in their KB wedge shafts. I want to try the KB's but still want to hear more feedback on them. As far as the 1150's for yourself, I agree with the previous post of just playing them as straight x-flexes. I'm 39 and my swing speed is slightly higher than yours and I'm very happy with the 1150's at the x-flex.

Hey Mjr. D. Just an opinion on the shaft, but I really think you need to give the P9003x from Graphite Design a serious look. I can't say enough good things about it. I'm very certain it could handle the strain you would put it on it. Good luck.

Don't visualize a scoop. All shots need to be hit down upon. As far as roll goes, it all depends upon how I'm playing the shot and where my ball position is. Normal ball position, no I don't get much roll at all. However if I play the chip off or even behind my back foot I get to roll as much as it flies if not more. It really all depends upon the shot I'm playing. If you're trying to get a lot of roll on a shot, experiment using irons such as the 7, 8 or 9. Much better in many instances to chip with these instead of the wedges, IMO.

I just may have to try one of these out. Has anyone seen the new lineup from Srixon in the Proshop? Their utility iron has a lot of similarities to the Epon.

If you say you're hitting it thin, it could just be ball position. Try playing it up slightly from where you have it now. IMO, chipping is really nothing different than a full swing as far as the hands are concerned. It still needs to hit with some conviction. The feet should be closer together than a full swing. This will help to prevent swaying which could lead to inconsistent contact. I believe there is some slight weight shifting going on but it should be natural and not something you think about. I believe rhythm is very key in the short game. Try a slightly longer swing with smooth rhythm. Make sure you're not stabbing at the ball. Try to let gravity play a role on the downswing rather than keying in so much on the hands or any other body part. I'm sure Brett could chime in as well but take a look at his a few of his videos and I believe he talks about this in chipping. I believe its the same one as flat left/bent right.

To my eye, it looks like you're using a regular swing. When I hit a low, stinger type shot, I try to really use only the shoulders and along with that saw off the finish while keeping the hands extending through to the target. Much like what some have been talking about with the flat left/bent right. In your video, you like you're really releasing to a full, high finish. I would suggest slowing things down a bit on the range and thinking 3/4 back and then only shoulders on the downswing, finishing with the hands about half to 3/4 through, extending down the target line as long as possible. Good luck and let us know how it goes.