Blader-X

Thanks for the updated pics. Those are some beautiful pics of some very beautiful sticks. Some of those clubs look awfully familiar. Ummm, I wonder why? Oh yea, have some of those in my bag!!

In the bag for good. . . . I think . . . Maybe . . . Possibly. Quote of the year!!

I have the 4 wood with Graphite Design TourAD PT-8 shaft in x-stiff. I really like this club and if it wasn't for the Epons I might have more. That being said, the 4 wood still holds a place in the bag for now. I like the rails on the club as I believe they make the club much more usefull from the rough and even the sand. The rails remind me of the Sonartec TRC utilities which I've had much success with over the years. Pity they don't make that club anymore. The G-Field utilities have the same rails and are just as useful. Good club and I would suggest to anyone to pick up one or two should you come across them. I think the PT series shafts from GD work very, very well with the G-Field head.

The Epon/AxivV combo I had was 45.75" and I just loved it. When I went with the Roddio, in order to achieve the same CPM's with a little more, Chris had to cut it down to 45". Feels great but haven't been able to take it out on the course yet. Let you all know when I do and how the results are.

I'm just the opposite. I tried going lighter as I've mentioned on this site before and it was just horrible. Went back to heavy and results have been great. I find it interesting how varied clubs can be for individuals in this game and similar results can be obtained with very different club/shaft combos.

Not to stoke the fires of hype any further, but; after hitting many shots into the net at home I'm liking the feel of the Roddio immensely. Its like the AxivV in that it supports the swing throughout the entire swing. At impact I think its more solid than the AxivV. Definitely less vibration through the hitting zone. Ball seems to rocket off the face. I can't wait until this next set of 8 work days is over and then I'll be able to put some serious time in with it. This club "feels" better than the AxivV but until I get out there won't be able to tell you anything about performance. The feel, though; is just excellent!

I prefer heavy. Current driver with the Roddio W-8WA is 81.5 gm. I went with an S-flex but only because the X wasn't available. The X is an 85gm shaft. Epon Technity 3 wood has the GD Quattro-Tech shaft 86gm. Utility not currently in the bag but my G-Field has the UT-85 85gm. That said, next utility will probably have a 95gm shaft in it. I like heavier shafts as I've mentioned before, as they just feel better to me and I think they allow to swing better. I find I don't swing lighter shafts very well. Not as much feel or whatever.

I've been using the Epon w/ Axiv V8076 for the last several months and have been just loving it!! However, I just sent it in to Chris to have it replaced with the Roddio W-8WA. Club will be arriving today but won't be able to put it in play until next week. I will post impressions after a couple of rounds but unfortunately it cannot be right away.

Its a matter of experimentation for my own personal knowledge. I'm not asking anyone to understand or buy into it. Had the 4 wood before the 3 and right now keep the 4 wood in the bag for whenever I feel like hitting it. I like the G-Field a lot as I've hit some great shots with it. However I don't like it off the tee and prefer the 3 for those shots. I can shape either one and I can even dial the distance if I want. The 7 wood is an attempt to lose the hybrids for awhile to see if it makes a difference as well as have another Epon wood. Never had a 7-wood before just wanted to give it a shot. I'm just playing around right now, having fun. Toying with the idea of throwing a 3-iron back in maybe getting a 5-wood. All this JDM equip is just too good not to try out. Again, its just about goofing off.

I don't think they can make enough wedges. Wedges are so highly valuable in the game (and I feel similar a putter) so critical to one's individual preference that you can never have too many on the market. When you find the right combo of wedges they can greatly affect your performance on the course. This is a very nice looking wedge. I like the shape it has to it but I think the finish while beautiful, doesn't suit my eye particularly well. But then, I am biased with the copper X-models.

Like Jack said its an individual thing. I've taken the hybrids out in place of the 7-wood. So far the jury is still out. To be quite honest the 3-iron is coming back into the bag as well, but an Epon 3-iron. Might replace the 4 and 7 wood with a 5-wood but still debating. I'm actually going to experiment with these set-ups over the next few months. My irons, wedges, putter, 3 wood and driver are all set, but I'm going to tinker around some with a "forgiving" 3 iron and see how things go. I will say I'm not completely sold on the 7 wood thing quite yet but its still too early. Utilities are great but I'm liking the look of irons right now so we'll see.

You know my vote. Black Gold's all the way. Very smooth, low trajectory. I used to think they were just hype until I put them in play. Very fine shaft. Stay w/ X-flex as Chris suggested. B

It has a nice look to it, I just wish they also made a version with no offset as well. Beautiful look the club, though.

I love Japan as well but I must say I'm not a huge fan of the cities. Fascinating they are, but I much prefer the countrysides and seasides. You won't see what Gocchin describes above. Kyushu area is my favorite part of Japan. The people are very friendly and very nice. My wife grew up in the Yokohama area but was born in on an island off Kyushu called Tsushima. I've been there once and actually fished for aji and ate sashimi right after catching it. Talk about fresh and good. Aji is one of my favorites when it comes to sushi/sashimi. Another great experience is the freshly prepared mountain trout called "yamame". Near the volcano of Mt. Aso in Kyushu, (wonderful onsen there by the way) there's this little restaurant in the hills. It actually sits over and next to a waterfall and they take these live trout, skewer them and then place them over a bed of hot coals and cook them. That with fresh soba overlooking this waterfall is like a scene from those beautiful scroll paintings Japan is known for. I've spent some time in different parts of Kyushu visiting family but have spent most of my time in Yokohama. My favorite food is ramen. My favorite kind is Hakata style which uses pork-bone as a base for the soup. A chain called Ippudo has unreal "Hakata-style" ramen. I ate there two years ago at a site in Hakata as well as Yokohama. They actually opened one up in New York. Still eagerly awaiting one to open in LA. There is this one place in Tokyo-area though that serves this really spicy, Chinese style ramen. Its a tiny little shop among all these other eating places in a mall. It seats maybe 12 people and you buy coupons outside in a vending machine and then wait for a seat to open up. In fact my wife's sister took us and we waited an hour for it to open up, but it was well worth the wait!! Just unreal. I don't eat fast food anymore but there is a chain in Japan I like called Mos burger. They put a sauce on it that seems to be a fresh tomato style. I just love it. The food is my favorite part of Japan, especially my mother-in-laws cooking. Breakfast consists of like 6-8 different things. Always fresh and always good. If one is ever in Japan and you see a line outside a restaurant, that's a good sign you want to eat there. If you go to a place and there's not a soul around. Stay away, probably not the best food. The one thing about Japan that I can say about the food is when its good, its really good. You don't find that kind of devotion to making food here. Well, not at least where I live. We just don't compare. Japan is just on a higher level when it comes to satisfying the consumer. I hope, with the newer generations, that does not change.

I know those grips very well and may I say they sure do feel nice!!

Oh, ohh, my friend. Just wait until you put them into play. Night and day. . . Night and day!

The only company that would do four would be one that does custom at the factory such as Epon. I know Idrive's wedges as well as mine are both 4 degrees flat. I'm sure you could bend them at least 2 degrees no problem since they are forged. Yes, you may get a little damage to the finish, but they're golf clubs right? They strike hard balls off of turf, they're going to get wear. I just had my TourStages bent two degrees flat and no noticable difference I can see in the finish. The only thing I would suggest would be to contact the company to see if you could possibly get a special order for 4 degrees flat, paying for the customization of course. Might be the only way to get what you want.

Thanks for that Gocchin. You must've been reading my mind. I was thinking of picking up a 3 and 4 iron of these to play around with. Offset looks to be a bit much for my taste but damn, if TourStage doesn't make some fine looking irons.

Some use sugar, some sand, but to keep it from flowing out one shoves a cork down the shaft to the top of the sugar. Here's the old link http://forum.tourspecgolf.com/index.ph...ed+putter+shaft

That's too pretty for Ebay. That club needs to become a gamer. Its just so pure!!

Just a friendly reminder to all.

I haven't hit the TourStage drivers (at least yet), but I remember Idrive giving the new X-drive 430 quite a glowing review. Believe he had the GD Quattro Tech shaft in there.

There's something to be said for TourStage irons. I really like mine as well and it seems there are quite a few around this site who feel the same. For as big as they are, TourStage does seem to get it right more often than not. Glad to hear you've found a driver that's working well. Always fun to hit a driver well. A lot of expectations on that Chikara wedge. I'm looking foward to seeing that one up close and personal as well.

Very nice. You've been through quite a lot of clubs in past months, huh? Of the clubs you're playing now, any that stand out for you that just rock? Besides, obvoiusly of course, the ones Carlton has had some time on!

Here's the truth as it applies to my game. Having played this game for going on 20 years now and having run the gammut of emotions and elations, set-backs and failures I can say without a doubt that having this equipment as helped me to realize my aspirations of becoming the golfer I have always wanted to become. I'm only now starting to really believe in it, and believe in me. I read this post the last couple of days this morning after returning home from work went to the garage to puruse through my old clubs. Titleist 990's and 690MB's (my last set before the TourStages), old Vokeys with a special grind I had done by my local clubfitter, a couple of Scotty's, a Nak driver, a 983 with a Speeder 952 shaft, some old Sonartecs and few others. I picked up these, felt them and I can say that not one of them had even an ounce of feel my current bag has. For me, having the clubs I now have, with the customization and the quality that they are, they are vastly superior to what I used to play. This has enabled me to become so much better. My enjoyment of the game is better. The feel of the shots. I don't hit everyshot perfect but I hit every shot with better feel and that gives me more joy. More joy translates to more confidence and just keeps going around in a circle. I am truly happy with my golf now and am even contemplating going back and competing again. I'm a different golfer now and have a much better attitude that now I just want to go back and compete from time to time and just enjoy it. I don't care if I win or come in last. I really don't. I just want to see how I do now that I have the clubs to match my game and have the attitude to hopefully match it as well. Who knows, but I just enjoy playing now more than I ever have and for me, that's saying a lot about these clubs because for me, golf is somewhat a way of life not just something I do. If I don't golf, I'm not happy.