gocchin

This is a problem many people have... and yes it's a good problem... the Spoon is very very long. Most likely longer than the egg driver.

Rombo and Diarrow finally in the pro shop!!

Hit the GR Forged yesterday, forgiving and an easy swing gives the ball a nice high launch, good distance. Length of the head takes a little getting used to. I was hitting it side by side with the smaller VS Tour and I found the smaller head easier to pure. The GR will do well for mid cappers or even higher who want a forged iron with forgiveness especially with mis hits towards the toe.

Chris is working on a review of the Tour Issues. Geotech is a components company with reasonable prices. They have a long background in club manufacturing and have always tried to produce good designs with economical pricing (which would be even more economical for us if the Yen had not appreciate over 20% over the last year+!) You can read more about their background here: http://www.golftoimpress.com/2009/06/visiting-geotech-golf-a-brief-look-into-japans-leading-component-golf-club-company/

No hating on USDM here. If it works for you, that's what counts. Very nice clubs!

The JF10's are S25C and forged in Japan. I personally have not played them but they've been popular due to their compact size, less offset and clean looks thanks to no stamping or logos.

Greg, I returned the 703 demo a while back already to tourstage but I did compare it to the AF502 a few months ago. The 703 is more compact, smaller topline, thinner sole, less offset and better feeling. It is almost as forgiving but it's probably aimed at the more skilled player THAN the AF502 is.

Sorry they didn't reply yet and I just asked again.

Okay I quickly snapped a few before the rain gets heavy. Size is comparable, when we are talking about irons here, the difference is measured in millimeters or fractions of so for the non-discerning player it may not be noticeable but for the player with extreme attention to detail the subtle differences can be seen. The GR is noticeably longer heel to toe than the AF502 and much shallower in face height. More offset on the GR as well as a very slightly thicker top line. Sole wise the GR may actually be a touch thinner and this is also attributed to the tapered toe end of the sole as opposed to the AF502 which has a thicker toe area. Based on the cavity designs, the GR looks to launch higher as it has more weight in the bottom cavity though I still have to hit this tomorrow to confirm. the nice thing about the GR is that while the cavity has some chrome in it the face and sole are all satin unlike the AF502 which are also chrome mirror. Below AF502 on bottom and GR on top Below AF502 on the right GR on the left Below AF502 on the left GR on the right

Perhaps I was a bit harsh in my initial impressions. I took a better look at the iron today in the daylight and snapped some pics (excuse the quality as it is raining). What is throwing me off is the offset I think. The head is definitely long and shallow and matched with the offset it looks a little bit odd for me. It's profile lines are not bad, straight and sharper toe, the grind is more simple but does have leading edge and some trailing edge relief. As I said I must have been influenced by looking at it side by side last night with the RC Tour VS forged which is a beautiful all satin small but muscular looking CB with a very good grind. I just saw the request for an AF-502 comparison so I will snap a few more right now as I do have the AF-502 here as well.

I have the GR Forged here now. While the size of the iron appears similar to the last gen ViQ Forged, the topline and sole are a bit thinner. It actually appears though to have more offset. The face is long heel to toe. In my opinion the ViQ forged looked better and the GR C-1 Forged that this model replaces was also much better looking shape wise. Maybe I've gotten used to smaller cavity backs but I find the balance of the new GR Forged off a bit due to the high offset, attempted thin topline and long face.. I'm not sure what Tourstage is trying to do with the GR Forged but it appears as if it is filling the gap left by the ViQ Forged in other words pretty much an automatic iron for the average golfer now. I can't see any reason why better players would not opt for the much better looking and pretty much equally forgiving Yamaha V Forged or the very good looking and performing VG3 Forged. I received the new RC Tour VS Forged the same day as the GR Forged, and sad to say but I spent all day looking at the beautiful RC while the GR Forged stayed in it's wrapper upstairs. One thing the GR Forged may have over the others is price. I'll be hitting it this weekend to see its performance and finally finishing up the shootout results. T

Nope, released November 1st for retail in Japan.

Square back, center shaft weld, weighting change, stainless beads blast refinish (this putter is for sale - 869.00) Total Weight: 545g Head Weight: 357g Swing Weight: E1.5 California Monterey refinish to stainless beads blast California Del Mar Finish Fastback One milling, center shaft weld, refinish Classic 1.5 Refinish Studio Style Newport, insert refinish, head refinish, weighting added Studio Select Newport 2 weighting modifications, PZ Milling Gauge Design overhaul

It plays like the Black 50 except in a more lightweight package. It's focused on control and is for those players who thought the TJ-46 focused on too much distance and not enough control.

I'm just waiting for Ping to reply. It's the weekend so we should know later this week.

That wouldn't happen to be my good old M3 Hit with Crazy FW80 would it? I miss the pop that club had at impact. T

His is definitely authentic as it came straight from PRGR Japan. I've asked PRGR to clarify which of their shafts are made in Japan and China, even the new Mitsubishi Rayon made for PRGR shafts could very well be made in China. As I said above its for economical reasons, the shafts are still designed by PRGR.

Tour AD, Quadra 100i, Ozik Program and some NGS are all 0.355". You can buy only wedge or 3 or 4 iron shaft individually (not for Ozik though, only wedge)

How could you tell if it was made in China? I have a stock shaft here and I see no markings that tell me that. However, it's normal for some stock shafts to be made in China, as they are after all stock shafts. This is not to say all stock shafts are as many are also made in Japan. It depends. For example, non Tour AD Graphite Design shafts, this is even aftermarket non tour ad ones, were made in China while Tour AD is made in Japan. Bassara shafts are made in Japan but Bassara Nike stock shafts made in China. This also doesn't mean they are not a good shaft. All the designs, materials and manufacturing processes are specified by the brands and the shafts are made to their spec. They are made in China to reduce cost of the club and to keep prices down. If the shaft was made in Japan you can count on the cost being even higher. Many Japanese brands try and keep all their manufacturing in Japan but economically, with the strong yen and high manufacturing costs within Japan, it drives prices up. Many brand understand though that their heads need to be made in Japan however more basic, less technologically advanced shafts can be made in China with a cost savings.

Great pics Marc! The GFT UT is actually pretty small if I remember correctly so the 9W is really right in between.

S, the 9W is very comparable to a utility, and in fact probably easier to hit than some utilities. At it's stock length, it's a tad longer than most 22* utilities but not by much these days, I'd definitely try it at its length first. There are always many debates going on about #3 or 4 UT or 7W or 9W and many times people recommend a wood as it's larger has a sole with more area and typically a lower CG.

The face angle on mine is square, they don't list the face angle in the specs but I am pretty sure it's at least square as it is played by pros and top amateurs.

Tourstage used to produce almost everything exclusively in Japan but even they have moved SOME manufacturing to China. In many cases it is just assembly being done in China as labor costs are far lower than in Japan even factoring in shipping logistics. This is not saying that they are not good quality as all the designs and materials and even production of some of the heads are still done by Bridgestone in Japan. It's possible the old ViQ MX was made in Japan, I can't remember off the top of my head but during that time frame, pretty much all TS was from Japan.

I played again with the spoon yesterday and I have to make a point on the aerodynamic wind sound this club makes when you swing it... no other clubs makes a whoosh through the air like this one does... If I'm not mistaken the tip is 0.335" but I will double check as sometimes fW's are 0.350

The Brills have been huge in Japan, they were a huge breakthrough in the Japanese ball market especially on the distance side. I've played so many brands and models but one thing that stands out for JDM balls is feel. Drivers and irons aside, I always test a ball with my putter. I will put that ball pretty much 30 times a round, so how it feels and rolls off my putter is very important to me. I also feel that with the putter I can feel the most differences between balls. A cheap ball feels hard and harsh while a softer higher end ball is crisp but soft of the face of the putter. Another key factor is spin, Japanese designers have worked hard to create dual activation type balls ie balls that spin low off the tee thanks to a higher swing speed activating a deeper inner core vs high spin around the greens from that same ball because the swing speed is lower and the ball reacts differently with more spin since the speed is not high enough to activate the low spin core. For me finding the balance between distance and low spin off the tee, to high spin around the green and feel and touch has been the key for JDM balls and luckily there are many that do this in one package. The drawback is of course cost, but again, Japanese golfers are used to these prices as I'm sure supo is as well. I just hate losing a 5 - 10.00 ball so the key is to find the right ball that stays straight and in the fairway! (^_^)