gocchin

Definitely a neo blade, less of a focus on feel but more of a focus on ease of use. (not to say the feel won't be good) They have positioned this between the MB5003 and CB1007 for the player who likes the look and set up of a blade but wants the forgiveness closer to a CB.

Chris links his pics from golftoimpress.com can you access that site Carl?

I played them and liked them. The way the cavity is designed creates a pure feel at impact. RC does not reveal where these irons are forged and RC is one of those companies that does a mixture of manufacturing in Japan ie through Endo and also some work overseas. There is some offset with these irons but the top line is thin and the grind very good. Good looking iron with good feel and great control. I snapped some pics back in early 2013

There was also the RC Proto FW at the show which is part of RC's new custom program, It is a compact head made for the better player and built by the RC tour van on order with most JDM shafts. 147cc deep head 14* 3W, 135cc 18* 5W!!

Initially yes but after they also released 9* and 5*. original price was 949.00!!

Yes they all do, as you see in the photos the DSI Technology badge is there.

Hi Guys, PRGR has asked us to help them move some of their Seven driver stock. I reviewed the driver here: http://www.golftoimpress.com/prgr-2012-egg-seven-driver-review/ They only have 7* and 9* drivers left all with stock M-43 (around 92mph to 100mph I would say) Price for forum members 285.00 + 35.00 shipping!!

Stronger ball flight producing more spin. CG is higher in the face. They worked to create perimeter waiting in the sole without tungsten to try and keep the forgiveness up. Shingo is a huge believer that one cannot ever have too much forgiveness, he is even a strong advocate of graphite iron shafts and was one of the first many many years ago to play graphite on tour. These will be popular but they will be hard pressed to be the best sellers as they are Labospec limited editions and will only be available ins small numbers. I am waiting for our ONOFF rep to give pricing. They are all custom order so builds at Labospec begin April 1st.

The Special TUNING along with the lefty model Maxima's and new Ryoma Ti utility will all be released late March. We will begin pre orders in March as well. The UT will be available in 21 24 27. I told Ryoma's president that customers would really love an 18* but he told me the 21* pretty much hits it as long as other brands 18* UT's and this is when compared with the same shaft. They shafted the Ryoma Utility against other top UT's in equivalent lofts and exact same shafts and specs, and the Ryoma on average was 15 yards longer and more forgiving (which helps the average distance up). As for the new fairway woods, as many of you know the F2 and F3 in the current D1 Fairway woods are huge heads at 220cc. This new fairway wood will be more compact shaped and a Spoon (3 wood) made for distance for the better player and will probably be more mid sized at around 170cc but it shape will make it look even more than 50cc smaller than the D1 FW.

Fe is marketed in Japanese golf as mild carbon steel but really IRON as the Fe symbol in Chemistry stands for. So as tourstage marketed their Fe wedges, they were pure iron (99%) with 1% carbon alloy. I think at one time Gold's had an Fe putter. SUS304 is actually softer than SUS303 but many manufacturers don't use it as it dings VERY easily, old Gauge Tour Zero One and Two were SUS304. If I remember correctly G-Field Premium Zone inserts were SUS304 matched with a SUS303 body. SM490a is used mostly in construction but found its way into putters (rarely) as it produces a unique feel at impact. SM490a is actually a JIS (Japan Industry Standard) term which is probably why its not seen elsewhere much. It is considered a low alloy steel meaning it's easy to harden and anti corrosive which is why it's used in construction.

Athene is sitting right behind me!

Here is Erebos! Damascus insert exposed! Another M.A.C. putter complete!

I spoke to our Titleist Rep this morning and he said he could supply us with a few sets of last year's VG3 Forged iron at a special price so we will offer them here. We only have 6 sets and all 5-PW - Please do not ask me for a 4i as there are none. We have 3 sets with S200 3 sets with 950GH Stiff. 660.00 a set + 75.00 shipping. They will not last long so email me at [email protected] if you want a set.

He is a Romaro Slut.... red bag is perfect! (^_^)

Similar in shape to the EMS but maybe more so the XXIO 7.

Available in 14 16 19 21

Romaro was holding its annual invitation only event to launch its new 2014 lineup so I took some time to visit and check out the new models. 2013 had seen the launch of a new Type R lineup, focused on ease of use and distance performance to compliment what had mostly been an athlete/better golfer type lineup in the past. At this years event the trend continued with the Type R line but saw only a few releases geared towards the better golfer. After snapping pics of all the new clubs and accessories I sat down with Ayumu Abe, Romaro's main club designer to talk about the new 2014 line. The long awaited Type R driver took center spotlight at their launch. Abe-san's goal was to create a driver easier to use than any other driver Romaro had ever made. What Romaro had realized is that many average golfers ie the biggest market in Japan were passing over Romaro drivers due to the perception that they are difficult to hit and for better players. They designed the Type R to show average and recreational golfers that a Romaro driver could also be easy to launch and hit for max distance. While aesthetically the Type R head is similar to all Romaro heads with it's black IP finish, Romaroesque logos, the shape and internal design of the head has been radically changed with a focus allowing golfers to reach their max distance potential. Follow the read more to find out more! The first obvious change can be seen when looking at the face of the driver. It is CONSIDERABLY shallower than any Romaro driver of past. Shrinking the height of the face accomplishes a few things, it widens the sweet spot heel to toe thus decreasing lost distance on toe and heel strikes, areas where most average golfers miss. The longer and shallower face also allowed Romaro to use a newly designed Forged W Cup face. This variable thickness face allows for the Type R to have a thinner but stronger face creating more elasticity and higher ball speeds at impact. In Romaro's testing with average golfers, the shallower face allowed them to more consistently strike the sweet spot more consistently and misses towards the heel or toe saw minimal distance and directional loss. The shallow face AND shallow head allow for the CG to line up more directly with the sweet spot ie it is pretty much right behind the sweet spot resulting in a launch with optimal spin creating maximum carry and run. We are looking forward to getting some demos for testing out in the next few weeks. Romaro also introduced a new Type R version of the SX wedge, slightly wider sole, larger head for very easy use and forgiveness around the greens. Two new Alcobaca wedges were also introduced, a Scoop model and a Stream model with different head shapes and grinds depending on the golfer's playing style. We had found out last year Romaro had discontinued the very nice Ray H irons so we were looking forward to the replacement for the Half Cavity. The new H is more of a cavity than the previous model but still sets up like a blade with a very thin topline and less offset. The perimeter weighting of the new H has been increased creating a bigger sweet spot to add some forgiveness over the previous model. Romaro also introduced a new iron called the Ray MC which stands for Mid Cavity. It slots in between the Ray CX and V Type R irons as a forgiving cavity back for the mid capper who wants balance in a forged iron. The weight is lower in the head and the face area is braced with two fang like lines reminiscent of Yamaha's V Forged from a few years back. Like the driver we are very much looking forward to hitting both new irons. The very popular original i-brid or Iron Hybrid has been upgraded to what they call Chapter 2, featuring a forged cup face to improve feel. People love the i-brid as it is like an ultra forgiving driving iron all the way down to 16*. And what is Romaro without some colorful accessories. New bags! New Colors. Let's all hope for a good year from Romaro in 2014! Stay tuned as we will provide more in depth reviews as each product officially becomes available!

That's exactly it. Truth is majority will not care how special it is at that price but there are those who will appreciate the work and can afford it. I love the FW. It is compact and deep and uses that crisp and hot 455 custom face. And a few more of the cnc iron. You can even see the machine marks on the sole which Modart left purposely (or it would look like the sole of any other iron).

As Chris said, Modart clearly knows the irons at 600.00 a club are targeted at a very narrow and tiny market. Suda-san himself acknowledged this to me as I even told him initially 600.00 was crazy (before he told me it was cnc machined). However, there are those hardcore enough (and rich enough) to want something different and appreciate the work that is put into each single head. Because each head is machined from the block with thousands of mathematical calculations, each head is perfect in shape, weight, density and feel. Modart will be available to us stock shafted or as components (the woods at least). As you can see in the images the wedges are also from the block.

You surely had already seen that on the blog. http://www.golftoimpress.com/craig-excellent-japan-adventure-part-2-crazy-factory-and-buchi-fittings/

The reason P-tune is on those buchi blades is Tabuchi-san made them for a player (T.A.) contracted to P-Tune. This is similar to when Yururi had to put Kasco on their Flat Backs, cause Dineesh Chand was a Kasco staffer but played Yururi blades. Just to be clear, Buchi has no relation and was never part of Solid Contacts. Buchi now falls under the Fuso Dream umbrella which houses former Solid Contacts founder and chief designer Kusaba-san. Kusaba-san focuses on custom fitting (for all Fuso brands) and designing the Shephard line. Buchi has always been Tabuchi-san alone though it never became its own brand "Buchi" until coming under the Fuso group. Tae owns the MT202. More pics of the 203 and 202 here from last year http://forum.tourspecgolf.com/topic/35208-buchi-mt203-ws-forged-iron/ http://forum.tourspecgolf.com/topic/35231-buchi-mt202-forged-cavity-back/

As I posted on golftoimpress.com The Japan Golf Fair is of course a place for brands to show case their newest products and while many larger brands use the show as a huge marketing launch for the year's new product line, smaller and unknown brands take the opportunity to be discovered. To be totally honest, this can be the most exciting thing about the show. Every year when we cover the show at TSG, we go into the show pretty much knowing already what the big names will be doing and releasing so its most fun to "discover" the new brand on the block and meet the new people involved in creating these new brands. We spent a bit of time at the Modart booth as we were immediately drawn in by the very nice looking clubs on display. Speaking together with the president and founder, Mitsuru Suda, I was able to learn more about what Modart is and its background in the golf industry and its vision moving ahead with its products. Modart was created by Suda-san last year and is really only picking up steam now. All the clubs offered by Modart are made completely in Japan featuring a full line up of woods and irons and wedges and putters. Follow the read more to find out more! Suda-san having spent more than 10 years in the golf industry had long had a dream of making his own brand. He spent years honing his grinding and club design skills at Fourteen Golf where under the guidance of Grind Studio master and former top Fourteen grinder Masahiro Tomaru. When Tomaru-san left, Suda-san became the top grinder and focused on grinding Fourteen wedges for top Japanese pros on tour. Besides grinding for tour pros, Suda-san was also in charge of up and coming releases which include the very popular MT-28 V5 wedge in his portfolio. Finally last year, Suda-san decided the time was right to start his own brand so he tried to envision what he wanted his brand to be. The final concept and brand name was decided to be MODART. Modart stands for Modern + Art. Should golf clubs focus on the evolution of performance or the visual and aesthetic. Suda-san decided it would be both and thus Modart was born. So what makes Modart stand out from other smaller boutique brands. The first thing that caught our eyes was the quality. The clubs all look amazing, from design, to workmanship and finish. Modart clubs have a very premium aura to them. There are a lot of small brands in Japan and many of them cannot match this level of quality. Suda-san chose carefully in not only design, materials but also in manufacturing in deciding that the clubs would be made in Japan (shafts and grips too!). The two drivers, the deep head MA01D and the shallow head MA01S feature beautiful IP black finishes and classy lines. Suda-san told me that these drivers are different from many drivers in Japan in that unlike most drivers which are anti slice, the Modart drivers are more anti hook. He designed their CG placement so that players would not fear the left side. Both drivers feature forged Ti cup faces and are available with stock shafts made by Fujikura or custom made with any shaft available in Japan. The one biggest difference in Modart is when it comes to their irons and wedges. They use S25C soft carbon steel BUT they are not forged. Each head is CNC MACHINED from the block!!! Suda-san explained that this creates the most pure iron when it comes to materials. The pressure and heat from a forging press can create inconsistancies in the steel including cracking and weakening of the material ultimately degrading he feel. With each Modart iron and wedge being milled straight from the block, there is no contamination of the steel and you get S25C in its original pure form. Suda-san himself will also grind custom wedges similar to the one you see above. Custom grind, shape, offset, engravings and finish are all included. He is currently grinding custom sets of muscle backs which we will feature very soon. Overall we were impressed with not only the products but also with Suda-san's passion and abilities. Like Buchi and Gold's Factory, knowing there is a highly skilled master behind the works you receive make those works even more attractive and in demand. Over the next few weeks TSG will work with Modart at introducing more of their products and more about Suda-san's background and abilities. As the International Dealer for Modart we will soon start offering Modart products through the pro shop as well as via custom order. So stay tuned and we hope you are as excited about Modart as we are!

Yup you are right Michael so it is official! 3000 pieces!

http://www.golftoimpress.com/day-1-from-the-japan-golf-fair-2014/ Posted a short update. Maxima Special Tuning!

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