gocchin

Done it's now in the proshop!

Site lists it for 12,800 yen and open price for the Software+USB connector.

You are correct dkats, in my excitement I skimmed the article and read that those are key points in measuring a users swing and assumed that the science eye measures those other items... I just read it more carefully and will correct my post... those features would indeed be too good to be true!! (^_^) Even the TS pros are trying it out!

Damn that looks awesome! Thanks R for pointing that out. PRGR had one similar to that a long time ago but it basically just gave head speed. It is available as of late Septmember. Key features: - Club head speed/swingspeed - distance (carry + run) - club head path - 3 measurements, straight, inside out, outside in!! - retains data for 100 shots (nice range session!!) - works for lefty's! - personal computer software/usb connector to analyze your shots and data is available at an extra cost (no price listed) Man it really is a $ 100 launch monitor!! You pretty much attach the measurement magnet to the toe of your club. It can also be attached to irons and putters! Based on the measurements it calculates carry and run! Rounds to the nearest yard. For putter measurements it measures to the nearest 0.1 yards. I gotta get one too!

tungsten inserts that lower cg help get the ball up in the air which can be a problem sometimes for average golfers and long irons. I finally pick up my set tomorrow or Thursday. Will take lots of pics and Type-X side by sides.

Yes that's correct.

Hehe I guess the language factor does put people at a disadvantage doesn't it! You are really missing out then on the electronics and computer magazines and sites then! The Japanese do indeed love Scandinavian countries. First of all they do love to travel but as you said the love the design and workmanship found in many products in Scandinavia, I think especially the design factor, everything from architecture to little art works. I've seen several Japanese documentaries on going to Sweden, Denmark, Finland... etc to look at design! My wife is Japanese born and raised. I'm a Canadian born but I have limited Japanese skills. (^_^) I need to communicate with my in laws and have always loved Japanese culture and gadgets. So I try and put my skills to use here. I'm going to pick up a new scanner this afternoon since my old one is not vista compatible and scan some awesome tests to show you. (^_^) there's this one test that was so thorough testing the aerodynamics of driver head designs, specificially the sumo squared ahd FT-i... very technical.

I don't think people forget that shafts are perhaps the most vital component of performance. If you look at ALL the Japanese publications they are very thorough in testing. The will gather 40 drivers and use the exact same shaft model in all of them and then to top it off use a robot hitter that swings with the exact speed everytime to test. They also use pros who are humans of course (^_^). I think you need to read some Japanese Magazine gear tests before you come to that conclusion C. the tests they do is out of this world. (^_^) In this case, it appears that RankingGate tests all lofts of a model thoroughly, all stock shafts thar are available are tested. It's what an average user can buy at the shop. If they factor in all kinds of upgrade shafts, it's just too difficult to test as they are a small independent tester. The epon for example was tested with 9.5 and 10.5 lofts and three stock shafts available 3041 5350 7080 all from Mach Line. The results were based on several testers all with different swingspeeds. 5 of them belonging to the JGTO. Besides the chart they give detailed writeups, on the club makeup, including manufacturing, materials, workmanship, and then cover feel, performance and all kinds of factors.

Fourteen has released two wonderful new forged irons. The S25C forged TC-550 and super soft S20C TC-1000. Please excuse my very rough translation as I did this very quickly. Available October 19th through TSG! Overview: 1. Head speed above 98mph - professional upper-class person et. al 2. A combination of forgiveness and playability for the athlete golfer. 3. Thin topline, soft iron forging, compact head Head summary 1. Super soft forging S20C steel gives the impression of the ball being absorbed by the face. 2. Compact head size, less offset for nice address 3. The sole is small 4. The straight neck which it is easy to set up 5. Easy Satin Finish Specifications summary 1. The center of gravity has been designed for those with swing speeds above 98mph 2. The center of gravity distance of 33.8mm which it is easy to control and adds playability 3. The long irons have the center of gravity placed lower and ideal spin 4. Moderate forgiveness with a moment of inertia of 2350g cm2 which gives room for mistake 5. There is no strange feeling due to the fact that the center of gravity decreases across the irons 6. It prevents hooking by making the center of gravity distance short improving stability Overview: 1. Easy to hit soft forging low center of gravity iron 2. Players with all head speeds can enjoy the trajectory and the hitting impression of a soft iron forging 3. Easy to setup at address and provides a sense of relief 4. Simple head design = high quality Head summary 1. The soft iron (S25C) with the forging material providing superior feel 2. As for head size , it's not to big not too small = mid- size. 3. Sole designed for various lies 4. A little bit of offset to help square the face 5. beautiful finished detail Specifications summary 1. The center of gravity distance optimized for players below 98mph 2. Moderately forgiving 2350g cm2 moment of inertia still allows for some playability 3. 18.2mm CG placement for high trajectory is strong (#5 iron) = low center of gravity design 4. There is no strange feeling due to the fact that the center of gravity decreases across the irons 5. It prevents hooking by without making center of gravity distance short even at the short count, strikes cheapness, improvement stability 6. It prevents hooking by making the center of gravity distance short improving stability 7. The short irons have strong loft settings to keep down trajectory and improve control efficiency

Just to clarify for people what factors they are measuring are, I translated the points:

Wedges and putters are fun C. By the way in case you didn't hit refresh I changed my avatar again. (^_^)

I myself cannot wait to get my hands on the putters... I am a putter addict... and the though of soft epon forged steel in a putter... (^_^)

Also one other thing is that the reviews are meant to give an unbiased opinion to the "Average" golfer which makes up the largest proportion of golfers in Japan. The recreational golfer or mid - higher handicap player probably has a large large percentage that swings under 105mph.... me included.... way under (^_-)

The reviews are done by pros as well as low handicap volunteers. The ratings above are just their recommendations for those swing speeds based on their evaluation of the driver performance, forgiveness etc. I'm not sure why there are not higher speeds, I will ask them about that. Yeah GeoTech is the component... some of their stuff is in the tokyo Golf Show forum...

Threre's a relatively new source of review info in Japan called RatingGate, a free independent golf club review source with a team of about 5 JPGA players who review gear. This is the first place I've ever seen review the Epon Technity driver and it got fantastic reviews for feel, finish and performance. They attempt to rate clubs for the average user all the way to scratch golfer and compare performance, and quality of the club especially to manufacturer claims. Here is their recent driver top 3 rankings in perfomance and quality for different clubspeeds: 86mph~ or less 1. GeoTech 455RM 2. Callaway Hyper ERC 3. MacTec NV NX 87~95mph 1. Epon Technity 460ZR 2. GeoTech 455RM 3. Callaway Hyper ERC 96-104mph 1. Epon Technity 460ZR 2. GeoTech 455RM 3. Burner TP 105mph~ and up 1. TourStage X-Drive 460 2. Epon Technity 460ZR 3. Burner TP This is based on in depth reviews done by RatingGate on the following drivers: TourStage X-DRIVE460 TourStage X-DRIVE 435 TourStage NEW ViQ MX J33R 460 Srixon ZR-600 Srixon W505 Sasquatch 460 Sasquatch SUMO2 Square Burner TP r7 425 TP r7 460 TP Kamui450 Mactec NX MacTec NVG2 TOUR 907D1 907D2 905T 905R HiBore JPX E500 MP-003 JPX E310 FT-i HYPER ERC X18 CF ERC III GPM TOUR 420 GT455RM GEOTECH450RM GPM415 TOUR RM GP455 PRGR T3 502 Silver Epon Technity 460ZR

As I mentioned in the first post R, that's the target audience of this club. It's made for pros and low cappers.

A truly beautiful head:

AJ that is one awesome collection of blades my friend!

After doing research on this club, it turns out that it's already in play on the JPGA by Hideto Tanihara and Yusuke Miyazato, Tourstage's two big young guns. The stock B07-05 Tour Design shaft is in fact the Tour Only Diamana BLACK prototype. Mid kick, low spin, 2.8* of torque with a bend profile right between Blue and White. Looks like a winner.

Yeah they were released about 6 months ago and I do like the design except the shiny enamal. They remind me of the G-field bags, not only the way the enamel scratches but as you cans see from the pics, how they easily lose their shape.

Yes T, it definitely has a lower profile and slight offset, it's also using that new SUP10 face which is supposedly high intesity and only 2.5mm thick. I've added it to the pro shop for anyone who's interested in trying it, though it won't be out till November so it'd be pre-order. http://www.tourspecgolf.com/proshop/p1445/...oduct_info.html

The rombax's will always play a little bit stiffer than the Axiv's but sammo is right, more kick in the axiv.

The Axiv CPM ratings are taken raw (with no grip) and unfinished with a 7" clamp (others measure with 5") and because of this the CPM numbers are skewed higher. My finished guess of that shaft at 45" is around 251-256cpm which would be similar to the 6W06.

Hi T, as you probably already know, the Hyper ERC is made by Endo which means super quality.... Almost every Callaway pro in Asia made the switch to the Hyper ERC as they consider it the best driver Callaway has ever made, the combination of feel and performance. The face of the Hyper ERC is Hot Forged SP700 Titanium and is the first club with Callaway's Hyperbolic face technology. The rest of the body is a 15-3-3-3 Titanium Crown + Ttitanium body + Ttitanium weight tip/chip = 23g which is called the Power Generator or what creates the low center of gravity that gets the ball up and on trajectory. As for the Hyper X, all I know is that it uses the Hyperbolic face technology but I'm unsure about the rest of it's design and materials used. T

The Black G's were an older model before Tour AD time... they are slightly lighter than the Pro's and have low kick points on the longer iron shafts. They also have higher torque and are parallel tip. The Tour AD's being taper is a massive plus for me. Every time I wanted to put the Axiv's which are parallel in a set of irons I had to bore them out to 0.370. The Axiv's were smooth and played much softer than the GD's but they just didn't feel right in my hands. Honestly the AD-65 and 75 for me feel like superlightweight steel with nice feel.