gocchin

Well, in my quest for finding the ultimate in forgiving irons coupled with feel and performance I've rounded up the latest sets of irons for testing over the next few weeks. Four forgiving forged sets plus one ultra forgiving cast set. I wanted an Epon iron in here for their ultimate feel so I included the Type X along with it's undercut which probably makes it the most forgiving of the three Epon models. Yururi's Gekku iron is ultra soft and forgiving coupled with high end hand made "looks". Tourstage ViQ Forged 2007 is Golf Digest Japan's Iron of the year boasting ultimate forgiveness and premium Endo feel. Yamaha's Forged 460D undercut iron was a finalist against the ViQ Forged and coupled with it's good looks deserved a spot in my test. Finally the cast entry, G-Field's CCB-1 cavity back iron, as Chris puts it features good looks and XXIO easy type forgivness. I went 18 with these yesterday and they were fantastic. So over the next two weeks I'll snap pics and give feedback on all 5 sets of irons. Please forgive my sub-par preliminary carpet pics as it's too dark now to take them outside....

Yeah Izawa who has had two real down years with Tourstage seems to have made the jump, at least equipment wise to Titleist. This happened about 4 months ago. He still seems to be under partial clothing sponsorship with Tourstage though along with his under amour gig. Let me know if you need any help scanning. I have monthly subscriptions to Golf Digest Japan, Waggle, Golf Gear, Golf Style, and Choice. (^_^)

I'm not sure if there are any magnetic ones available from any of the JDM brands. The ones carried here at TSG are either velcro like the tourstage, mizuno ones or pull string like the adidas and TM ones. If you can find a JDM iron cover with magnetic type quick release, just let Chris know and he can get it for you for sure.

I played Hot Shots Golf for a year straight on my PSP on the way to work.... These days it's Tiger Woods on the Wii though it messes up my swing...

People in Japan seem to really like the original Eld**k... I've been wanting to try the M as well... It's definitely a high MOI mallet there.

It is pronounced mee-oo-ra as in mi-u-ra みうら (if you guys can see japanese fonts)

Looks good to me.... just as good as any set I've seen.

Yup just my opinion... there are many mallets I haven't tried... just too many out there... but owning 20+ Gauges/G-Field's I'm making a guess that with the Eld**k being older and based on it's materials I'm guessing it feelwise it won't be like like the Leap M which I do own and love. Feels just like the premium zone but in neo mallet form! But Carlo, you're right as I've always said before, a putter is so personal, you are not alone when you say you think the Leap is ugly. Robert (duffer19) thinks my leap looks like batman on a stick, haha, which it probably does but it works and feels great due to it's balance, weighting and soft feel. I personally like it's unique look! But to each his own as one person's love is another's hate. (^_^)

According to the Japanese way of writing it in katakana it is pronoucned ROAD-DEE-O. I just say that real fast so it sounds like rodeo....

Those irons that Tourspecgolfer mentioned are for mid to low handicappers. They aren't necessarily game improvement because they provide great feel and playbility while still being forgiving (and forged)! They all have pretty amazing reviews and are all very very good irons. You will learn quickly that there are so many choices from JDM sets that can be very overwhelming! ^_^

He's pretty fast.... wonder how much time he spends practicing!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq2R2DkCJoE

Chris is actually right as always, Carlo, if you like neo-mallets, NOTHING beats the Leap M in my opnion... feel on impact is like the Premium Zone but it's a neo mallet!!

Older model before the Premium zone time... High MOI type of putter. Never used one myself but supposed to be pretty good if you like neo-mallet style...

It sure is a Japanese brand... it's in use and being showcased especially now by the up and coming Saiki Fujita... wonderful wedges! I want one!!

It wasn't a bargain driver but since it's an older model they must be clearing out old stock.

Hi Spoon, As B and Mjr said, the Epon X is the best feeling wedge I have ever used. I've also been experimenting with wedges and still am but so far the Epon is still the king. As for shafts there are as many choices as there are wedges and a lot would depend on your swing speed and type of feel you desire. I've been seeing a mixture of Nippon 1150gh/1050gh and Black Gold's in wedges here, all with good success. I personally am experimenting with graphite in wedges for the feel factor and so far I like it.

I remember where I saw it now but I can't find the original listing, it was an online auction in Japan. Must be where that ebayer got it from.... Chris will definitely be able to shed more light since he is in direct contact with Sasaya-san.

I've seen that wedge before, I'm just trying to remember where.... it was definitely a limited edition put together by Sasaya-san... I just can't remember the Japanese site I saw it on so I can get you more info....

Sounds like you had a great round with them Ajay, very promising results to go on. Thanks for the great preliminary review~!

The face on that driver definitely looks awesome... Tsuruya makes amazing clubs!

Chris will there be other lofts besides the 56?

Though we have to keep in mind that on some of the Japanese drivers they have closed face angles on purpose, to help the average golfer in Japan square the face. In the specs on Srixon's site for the XXIO HR (which is not listed here), they do state that it is 4.0* Closed!!!

I measured my Epon at my clubfitter's and it was pretty much as ordered. 1.5* closed and 1* flat on the lie. Chris warned me that closing the face that much might increase the loft slightly and it did but nothing extreme as it is just between 10.5* and 11.0*. Epon quality is pretty good. (^_^).

GDO picked up a bunch of retail drivers of the rack to see how the lofts and face angles measured out. It's interesting how we always wonder if drivers are true to loft and how the face angle really plays out. Here are some results. Remember this is just a sampling and actual lofts may vary even between similar models duet to variance in manufacturing tolerance. Titleist 907D2 8.5* Measured Loft = 10* Face Angle = Open 2* Tourstage X-Drive 430 9.5* Measured Loft = 10.5* Face Angle = Open 2* Tourstage X-Drive 430P 9.5* Measured Loft = 10.5* Face Angle = Open 0.5* Daiwa ONOFF Plus 10* Measured Loft = 11* Face Angle = Open 2.5* TaylorMade Burner TP 9.5* Measured Loft = 10.5* Face Angle = Square Titleist 907D1 9.5* Measured Loft = 11.0* Face Angle = Open 2.0* Nike SQ Sumo 9.5* Measured Loft = 10.0* Face Angle = Closed 1.0* TaylorMade R7 425 TP 9.5* Measured Loft = 11.0* Face Angle = Open 0.5* Ping Rapture 9.0* Measured Loft = 10.0* Face Angle = Square Mizuno MP Craft 425 9.5* Measured Loft = 10.0* Face Angle = Square XXIO Hard Spec 9.0* Measured Loft = 9.5* Face Angle = Closed 0.5* Yamaha Inpres X 425V 10.0* Measured Loft = 10.5* Face Angle = Closed 1.0* TaylorMade New R7 XR 10.5* Measured Loft = 11.0* Face Angle = Closed 0.5* Nike Sumo Squared 9.5* Measured Loft = 11.0* Face Angle = Closed 1.5* Honma Beres MG712 10.0* Measured Loft = 12.0* Face Angle = Closed 0.5* Miura Precious Edition MD390 9.0* Measured Loft = 10.0* Face Angle = Closed 2.0* Mizuno JPX E500 10.0* Measured Loft = 10.5* Face Angle = Closed 1.5* XXIO 460 10.0* Measured Loft = 11.0* Face Angle = Square Yonex NanoV 10.0* Measured Loft = 12.5* Face Angle = Closed 1.0* Callaway FT-i 9.0* Measured Loft = 11.0* Face Angle = Closed 0.5* Callaway Hyper ERC 9.5* Measured Loft = 11.5* Face Angle = Closed 1.0* Tourstage ViQ MX 460 10.5* Measured Loft = 12.0* Face Angle = Closed 0.5* Cleveland Hi Bore XL 9.5* Measured Loft = 11.0* Face Angle = Open 0.5* PRGR T3 502 Silver 10.5* Measured Loft = 11.0* Face Angle = Square Srixon ZR600 9.5* Measured Loft = 9.5* Face Angle = Closed 1.5* Yamaha Inpres X 460D 10.* Measured Loft = 11.0* Face Angle = Closed 1.5* Callaway FT-5 9.0* Measured Loft = 11.0* Face Angle = Closed 1.0* TaylorMade R7 SuperQuad TP 9.5* Measured Loft = 11.0* Face Angle = Open 1.5* MacTec NV-nx 10.0* Measured Loft = 10.5* Face Angle = Closed 3.5*

Give the Tourstage X-UT a try or the Royal Collection Td+, both of those are geared towards better players aiming to take the left side out of play. A nice Graphite Design Tour AD UT-85 shaft helps too.