Duffer19

For those interested in the JC606, I pulled the stock shaft and put in a Mach Line 5350 Proto in R flex. The stock was measured at 234 cpm at 45.5 inches at C9 (although the spec says 45'' @C9). The Mach Line proto is 3 gram lighter but also weighting in at C9 at 45.5 with 243 cpm, a flex firmer than the stock R. For those interested in the Mach Line Proto, the spec says that it is butt stiff and tip soft (a real good spec for seniors) . No chance to try out this new combo as it is -10 degree C outside.

Pardon my ignorance but what is a Smoothie?

I have seen a set a few years ago in Japan but have not seen one since then anywhere. Are they still in business selling irons or just wedges? Now I would look for it when I am in Asia next (5 weeks time). Last time I have found a brand new Gauge Tubu for only $250 in its original box.

I had a North America Sonartec but just cannot play the iRod. Junked the iRod on the 2nd week and shafted with a Tourstage v700 3 irons that I was not using. This experiment works out great. The club becomes more forgiving due to the shaft profile. If you not a particularly strong player, I would suggest stay away from iRod and Fuji Banzai. They could be good shafts for some but I am just not strong enough to load them. Using the 'unused' 3 iron shaft is the cheapest experiement (make sure tip sizes are the same before pulling.) Sonartec or RC's md is leaning towards more iron-wood design (i.e. Tour Edge) while the ViQ is more (fairway)wood-iron design, if you understand my distinction.

In the Fourteen site, both English and Japanese, I believe the reference is for .370 tip size with the graphite shaft and NSPRO 950GH. www.fourteen.co.jp

Looking at What's in your bag, you are already into the high end Japanese with the exception of Sonartec. The iRod is crap and you should either get a real RC or other Japanese utilities like TS, Honma, Fourteeen and definitely consider the XXIO. ViQ is very forgiving and tailor for mid to high hcp players. Honma makes a mean utility but expensive of course. It is all in the shafts.

Thank you for sharing this with us . It just brought up the image of watching crazy George on the Tonight Show while I was in college thirty some years ago.

This set must be purchased awhile back. It is no longer on their website. Are those ferreles originals? The father of the owner (of TNT golf in Toronto) is a member of my club but did not realize they carry forged clubs.

Can someone post some pictures of GD CCB irons? They are not even on GD's site. This is just for my personal information and knowledge. Found it. Thanks

I have never use iron covers except during travel hence never look for them. I suspect Mizuno would have their own stores in Tokyo as Honma. Victoria carries tons of accessories but just never pay attention to them.

Actually PRGR makses the best clothes and they are expensive in HK. You should pick up some while in Tokyo before the golfing season (sales) in Japan. I have golf shirts from them that are 6 years old and they still look new.

Is it Georgia, Nigeria?

Thanks for pointing this out and I would look out for a set next time in Japan this summer. I believe there are still some sets available in some specialty shops in Tokyo.

While most department stores carry golf clothes, Victoria Golf have a whole floor for Tourstage and Paradiso. You can check out their site for different store locations in the city. There is no deal for golf balls but do have some strange ones. Clubs are actually more expensive in Japan as compare to the same clubs in Hong Kong. There are bargain/discount places but difficult to find.

Is the 'Tour Issued' the same as 'Tour Preferred' (TP)? There are some difference in spec for North America 460 TP vs. Japanese 460 TP in terms of swing weight and length. Which one are you looking at, domestic or Japanese? TM is basically mass market even in Japan while the Epon is fully customizable. There are many review of the Epon here but not too many review of TM 460 TP (JDM).

I have some pictures of Gauge and G Field NC1 irons but could one of them be the Hand-Made? I don't know what the hand made looks like.

Are you going to live in Tokyo or just a short visit? While all department stores do carry golf clubs, they do not do any fitting. For a fact, I know Victoria does but you probably need to make an appointment. If you are looking for Epon or Gfield stuff, you really have to look hard as they are basically only carried by small specialty stores/club makers. If you dont know Tokyo, these workshops are not that easy to find and they are not in Ginza or Shinjuku either or more popular tourist areas. Keiyo-Golf is a fairly large club maker/fitter with tons of different shafts for demo. Niki Golf and Alpen are two of the better known chain. I am sure Chris can tell you more and in better detail.

In my attempt to find out more info on the stock shaft of my new JC606 from the SYB site, the SYB P5 looks amazingly similar to the JC406. Given the 'close' relationship of the two companies, I would not be surprised that they are basically the same club. From the spec of JC406, 606 and P5, I believe the stock shaft for JC is the SYB Ten Nines GDB-55. The Fourteen is on the left. Perhaps the TSGolfer can tell us.

Judging from pictures of the two clubs, they look very similar. I am fairly certain that Fourteen would not have its own foundary hence whether the 770 forged is an adaptation of Miura 3002 or 3003. This is just a silly question for a snowy Sunday afternoon.

I am just saying that if you are buy these gloves in Asia, beware the differences in term of appearance and performance. The 'cheaper' version (available in almost every other golf shops in HK) was purchased at Hong Kong Golf Club, a private club not known to carry 'fake' stuff.

Is your R7 460 Tour the same as the Japanese version of R7 460 TP? I have been using Fujis for years now and switching to AXIV, GD W and PT series and also NGS shafts from Japan. Epon is a good head (demo it in Sapporo in Oct.) and you can experiment with different shafts or you can find out who uses what in the forum and go from there. there is no perfection hence we all come back next month or next year for the newest and the latest.

Besides a great bag, I have one comment on the Fit39 gloves listed by Chris. I have been hooked on the Fit39 a few years now when I tried a few pairs in Japan. Evidently there are two types on the market that look very similar but not exactly the same. The one I just brought in Japan 2 weeks ago have the 'Fit39' logo right on the flap of the glove while the ones I brought in Hong Kong have a stylized logo of a letter 'M'. Almost same packaging and price and both say Fit39 but durability is day and night. The Japanese version would last 2-3 months (with normal use) while the other version would last 3 to 4 games before the rubberize material would be gone in the pad area. This is just a personal observation.

Ok Don't get all three but get at least two. Looking at your current bag, the majority of the clubs are domestic or Japanese North America except the 14. I say take a risk and go with all JDM particularly JDM shafts if you know your swing. You seem to know exactly what cpm you want. People in this forum, i have found out, like to experiment which I think that is the fun of it. You ask about the Yururi wedge under another thread but I brought it because I just like the looks of it and no idea how and why it would be the one. People in this forum are a bit nutty but very knowledgable, especially about imports. Take a Risk I say and go with the Epon. You can always sell it in this forum if you dont like it but do not ever put any NV or other North America shafts in it.

This is a 'specialty' driver from Team Yoshimura, a very small outfit in Japan. It only comes in 6 and 7.5 degree of loft and S and X flex. For h/s around 50 m/s it is recommending the 7.5 degree and 6 degree for h/s 60 m/s and over. It is both wacky and ugly. Their stock shafts are not all that bad though as they are made by Mamiya using the same AXIV technology.

Here are some more pictures: "T" I like the 558 as it is slightly lighter than the existing Speeder 603 (probably easier to load) and should give a old man of 60 a little more h/s. I need all my arrows turbo-charged nowadays as the Indian is not getting any better, just older.