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Custom Shafts have now been announced by Titleist Japan. Not too much change from last year save for MCI 60. I have requested they consider doing all models of MCI. DG Tour Issue DG DG SL PX KBS Tour Modus3 NS 750 NS 850 NS 950 MCI 60 Rombax 60 Rombax 70 Motore 6.0i

Got a chance to try out the new Geotech RF800 series. The RF series has always been more of an entry level priced line but Geotech has tried very hard to improve its overall design and technology. The new head looks very good and is quite an all around performer. For those who prefer a deeper face and higher back head, more traditional shape and square to open face, the RF800 gives you those specs in a 9.5 and 10.5*. (59* lie angles) The sweet spot is right in the middle and the it creates a boring trajectory for balanced carry and run. The crown features a variable thickness like webbing which strengthen's the head but also makes the top lighter allowing for more weight to be distributed around the perimeter. The RF800 is a step up in feel and performance and looks over the RF700 driver which I found a bit bland. Not only does it look better but its much better designed which gave me better all around performance, ie lower spin, better trajectory, better run out. It's a 240.00 head for conforming and 280.00 for Hi Cor. Geotech's high cor heads unlike many brands today are created for all swing speeds including faster swingers.

Here is another beauty of a Seven SM490A head tuned and modified by Gold's for Gold's putter collector Lisong. Great color combo of Soft Black finish, purple and gold accents, with a beautiful brass insert.

The new Tourmodel CB is probably the most forgiving of all the Tourmodels ever made. I would say its comparable to last years V Forged. It is not on the same level when it comes to distance and forgiveness as the 2014 Forged but those are aimed at a different audience all together. The Tourmodel CB is just a great all around iron much like the standard V Forged has always been.

I already posted pics and initial feedback for the CB Review is coming up.

Yes thats right, custom shafts as always, light weight shafts for now include MCI 60! They are contemplating heavier MCI models as well.

Titleist's first forged wedge for the Japan market, 2012's Vokey Forged was perhaps one of the best selling wedges here at TSG. Buoyed by Titleist and Vokey users and enthusiasts all around the world, they jumped at what was a great wedge and forged from S20C at Endo. The new 2014 Vokey Cold Forged models have even more lofts and more grind options and are now cold forged. Bob Vokey again worked with Titleist Japan and the many Titleist Tour pros here to create a wedge that would provide performance up to their specs. This time Vokey chose a cold forging process to help increase consistency in manufacturing and reduce thermal contaction during the cooling process from traditional forging processes. This create more consistency across the wedge head resulting in more consistent feel and performance. When the Vokey Cold Forged were announced, I figured they were no longer Endo and asked our Acushnet rep where these were made. He immediately said, its a secret but... they are made in Japan. They sent me 6 wedges for testing and among the wedges were the 4 grinds that are featured on the new Vokey Cold Forged. The thing about thes 4 grinds is that they are not "optional" grinds in other words, customers cannot choose what grind is in which loft. The grind of each loft is predetermined by Titleist depending on the purpose of that wedge/loft. Here are the available loft and bounces with grind designation: 46/08F 48/08F 50/08F 52/08F 54/10R 56/08K 56/10R 56/14F 58/04K 58/08R 58/12S 60/07R 60/10K 62/09R For me here in Japan, the best grinds were the K and the R grind as conditions here are lush and soft when it comes to both the grass condition and bunkers. The right grind for each individual will depend on conditions and swing style. There is a very good balance of low and high bounces and I took some photos of the grinds with explanations from Vokey. Sole Width: Wide Camber: Enhanced Turf Conditions: Average to Soft INSPIRATION The TK Grind derives its name from Voke's work with a US Open champion and former Titleist Brand Ambassador. FEATURES The TK features a wide sole with moderate camber. BENEFIT The width and camber of the TK sole grind enhance effective bounce of the wedge making it very easy to use out of bunkers. SUITABLE FOR The width and camber of the TK sole grind make it very effective for driver / diggers and for soft turf conditions. It is extremely forgiving out of the sand and high rough. Please note Japan's K grind is a variation of the TK and very close. Sole Width: Medium Camber: Moderate Turf Conditions: Average INSPIRATION The S grind was developed from Voke's work with long-time Titleist Brand Ambassador Steve Stricker. FEATURES The S features a relieved trailing edge ribbon and heel sole grind. BENEFIT The S grind is very stable from full shots, but also allows you to hit a variety of shots around the green with an open face or a square face with the shaft leaning away from the target. SUITABLE FOR Due to its versatility, the S Grind is generally found on mid-bounce wedges. It is suitable to players with a neutral style and can be used in a variety of turf conditions. Sole Width: Medium Camber: Slightly Enhanced Turf Conditions: Average INSPIRATION The Full Sole is inspired by the classic 200 Series sole design. FEATURES The Full Sole Wedge features a full sole with moderate camber and a small trailing edge ribbon BENEFIT The Full Sole makes for a very stable wedge. The stability of the full sole allows for consistent contact and turf interaction from full shots, along with a higher level of forgiveness than other grinds. SUITABLE FOR The Full Sole Wedge is suitable for a wide range of players and is best for full shots and square faced chips around the green. Sole Width: Medium Camber: Moderate Turf Conditions: Average to Soft INSPIRATION The R grind was combined with the TVD series wedge to help with the unique playing conditions found in Japan. FEATURES The R Grind features a pre-relieved leading edge often found in combination with one of Voke's other grinds. BENEFIT Relieving the leading edge of the wedge allows the club to travel through the turf or sand smoothly without digging or driving into the turf. SUITABLE FOR The relieved leading edge can be combined with a lower bounce wedge to reduce excessive digging. It has been used as a Tour Grind for links conditions as well as for thatchy turf. Vokey's forged or cast are very good wedges, even the cast wedges already feel pretty good. I have always found Vokey's to be one of the most balanced wedges around. A wedges feel and spin is not only attributed to its materials and how sharp the grooves are. Though those two characteristic can certainly help BOTH feel and bounce. The design of a wedge, its shape, and grind dictate how the club interacts with the turf and ultimately how well an impact you make on the ball. The better your impact the better your feel AND spin. As I had mentioned the previous Vokey Forged were big winners. They combined great design, grinds, material and a spin milled face for awesome performance and feel. While the shape of Vokeys are always very well praised, one knock on the previous Forged model was that it was perhaps a bit larger and chunkier than many might have liked. While the new Cold Forged are by no means tiny, they have trimmed the size down and taken away a lot of the roundness... resulting in a much more tear drop like shape. I spent a few weeks with the Cold Forged and I have to say I like them even better than the Vokey Forged. Fantastic feel, great spin and playability around the greens. They set up wonderfully and the grinds work for me. There is very little offset though it is progressive meaning offset shrinks as the lofts increase. Titleist Japan actually provides offset number in inches this time around which is quite rare. The overall design of the Cold Forged is a winner and being forged and with multiple grinds makes it even better. I have no doubt the Cold Forged will again challenge for the best wedge of 2014. You can't really complain about a forged Vokey that not only looks good, feels good, but also performs well in all types of conditions. I tried to think about how I could be more detailed with this review but there really is not much to say when I can sum it up with, looks good, sets up great, feels great, spins great, versatile.

Gonna post a thread on these today or tomorrow so please wait a bit!

I agree a meatier head not only provides more confidence but also more pure feel!

402g is massive but it doesn't feel head heavy at 31", this combo produces a very nice stroke!

578g which is usually too heavy for me but because the swing weight was kept at D2, it did not feel heavy at all... I really liked the feeling and I think I will make one with similar specs.

It is a balance of both. You need the right head weight as well. It cannot JUST be a heavy shaft which is why Carl's head is 402g.

We recently offered some of our customers rare SM490A heads supplied by Seven for modification by Gold's Factory. Carl (mygreenaliem) was one of the members who jumped at one of the heads as its shape resembled the no longer available Gold's Factory Private Stock No.1. SM490A used to be a very popular choice on limited edition Gauge Design Japan putters of yesteryears... it is a cross between SUS303 and Carbon Steel, not mushy soft like Carbon Steel but not as firm as SUS303/GSS. It gives the best of both worlds, in a soft feel with feedback. These heads are sourced by Seven for Gold's so the Seven logo was placed on the toe and these unique one of a kind models have been deemed the limited 1st edition. A couple of things Carl wanted was a very soft feel - so we opted for the original PZ Milling from Gold's and he wanted it super clean looking. One challenge was that he wanted the length at 31" meaning we would have to make some adjustments to bring the swing weight to a respectable number. We decided on a satin chrome finish, and orbit around G weights in the sole but with black translucent paintfill. The face would also have weights in the form of silver orichalum. Finally no sight line or dot and just a single Kanji in the cavity, for Ninjitsu. At 31" we needed the head to be quite a bit heavier so Sasasya-san machined thicker than usual sole weights to help the head up to 400+ grams. Carl and I discussed heavy shafts and we opted for an NS Pro Purple heavy putter shaft which is 149g. This is about 30g heavier than the typical putter shaft and also aids in not only bringing up the swing weight but also the feel of the putters weights in the golfer's hands. I have spoken to both Sasaya-san and George Takei (formerly of Gauge Design and now of George Spirits fame) and they both believe that a heavier head along with a heavier shaft improves accuracy and feel in the hands. I was at George's office a few months ago and I mentioned to him I wished the Mono M1 heads were heavier and that I was thinking of modifying the putter with added weights on the head. He suggested I instead increase the weight of the shaft. His explanation was that too heavy head in fact can cause the putter to go offline especially for amateur golfers with a less than perfect stroke. Both he and Sasaya-san say a heavier shaft puts the weight of the putter in you hands and reduces the vibration and flex of the shaft (albeit flex is not very much in a putter anyway). George does this for his current tour players, instead of adding weight to the putter head he adds weight to various areas of the shaft. A putter is all about balance, so a sum of all its parts, the right weight head plus the right weight shaft. Carl's Putter came to my house last week for me to snap some photos and I have to admit, I putted a few around the house and the putter felt awesome in my hands. I have never used a 31" putter but... I think I should! I am only 162cm and stand more crouched over my putter. Have always used 33" and even then choked down. In the past I owned Gold's carbon steel putters with PZ milling and I found the feel way TOO soft (if there is such a thing as too soft!). I was very impressed with the feel of Carl's SM490A with PZ Milling. Soft but still with feedback. All these Golds Tuned SM490A heads come with certificates and specs from Gold's Factory. Carl I hope you like it as well. Here are the pics... very very clean!

That's right the driver sounded hard and felt hard off the face, but the numbers said otherwise as you carried as far as your Crazy driver with Crazy shaft. I think there is only one club of yours that has sheep and its the UT.

The woods are not customizable in that way. Stampings cannot be changed on metal woods. Topline was done as you see above as Tabuchi san grinded its thickness to maintain balance. The driving iron needs a certain thickness to match the overall thickness of the head. The wedges were even bigger initially.

As many of you know we introduced Buchi early this year around the golf show and people made fun of the sheep logo and all the stampings. We then reintroduced them in June along with custom options maybe only matched by Yoro Craft and suddenly there was more interest in the products. Craig was the first to go to Buchi for a custom fitting as I reported back in July on the blog: http://www.golftoimp...buchi-fittings/ Craig was fit for a full set of clubs with driving iron, irons, and wedges hand made from scratch by Tabuchi-san. After Craigs fittings other customers followed suit to order Buchi clubs.... Months later we were all still waiting for sign of the finished products PLUS Buchi suddenly made a decision that it did not want to sell heads only. We were of course not happy about this as we understand many of our customers want their clubs head only and built by their own clubmaker. Unfortunately because of this, several customers cancelled their orders. Buchi continued with Craig's set as well as wedges for several other customers. Buchi does have a custom work shop and is able to build their heads with all the top Japan shafts and grips. Well I am happy to say Craig's set is finally done! And it turned out pretty good. Buchi listened to my recommendations and straightened the top line and sharped up the toe of the blade, they reduced the size of the wedges and also altered it's roundish appearance to a more teardrop style head. They reduced the offset on all clubs, and they finished the clubs with a satin plating and minimal stampings along with Craig's initials. Craig also got a Sheppard Air driver and utility. The Air driver has been getting lots of accolades lately as it focuses on aerodynamics by streamlining the head. The face is in fact larger than the body and you can see this in my photos below where the top line of the face forms a ridge above the crown. Air carries over this ridge and clears the back of the crown for less resistance. I think the new set looks great. If there are people willing to wait 3-4 months for a custom grinded set by Tabuchi-san, then Buchi is definitely an option, especially if they want the set built to complete specs with choice of shafts and grips. I've sent the set off to Craig so we will wait for his feedback on how they play and feel!

Ash I am happy it all turned out well. You are a pleasure to work with as always. It helps a lot when the customer is easy to work with on projects like these.

Yes that is right, there were a handful of wedge sets. I may take them for myself.. I can't let Craig own more sets then everyone else! (^_^) I already stock piled LY01 Nero's for myself.

They were not actually leaving en masse. Just a small handful left. But after the troubles with the president they were forced to trim staff to cut costs. So the other staff leaving first may have actually helped in this case.

EDIT for UPDATE: April 1st 2014 (no its not April Fools here in Japan). The last few months has been a roller coaster for Crazy as they tried to match up with several suitors for the company including overseas investors. Several months went by and they could not find the right fit. After the golf fair however, several local Japanese investors decided that Crazy was an asset worth having and negotiated with the company on financial terms as well as future direction of the brand. We were told over a month ago that a potential buyer had risen from the pack and today it became official as Crazy company was absorbed under a new moniker called SINGLE B. The bulk of Crazy's staff remains as well as the Crazy Factory. At this point it appears as if the Crazy name itself will still exist in some form and all of its products carry over. Moving forward new products are in the works including new shafts, woods and irons and wedges but at this point we their branding and image has not yet been decided. In case people are interested, what we found interesting is that the investor who took on Crazy is Red Wall Japan who runs All Japan Pro Wrestling, Japan's version of WWE in America. https://www.all-japan.co.jp/ We are not sure what this means for the brand but it could mean they keep doing cool and crazy things. So the next few months will be exciting and I am sure we will all follow with curious eyes. -------------------------------------------- What we originally reported in Dec 2013: For some of you this may come as a big surprise and for others no surprise at all. Crazy is a company whose quick rise to stardom in the Japanese golf market is well noted by many. Many things attributed to its success including fantastic brand image and marketing as well as solid, premium quality products. Crazy not only made golf shafts but created an image and a lifestyle. This influence was not only prevalent in Japan but also overseas where Crazy enjoyed much success. However this year, Crazy has run into some difficult and hard times and at this point their future is very cloudy. Earlier in the year, several key staff, designers and craftsmen left the company to form TRPX, in a way this may have been a prelude to things to come. Then back in June, Crazy's charismatic president and primary owner and founder, Tachibana-san, was arrested for insurance fraud. Tachibana-san's personal wrong doings began the decline or should I say downfall of what had become a very good company with very good staff and products. Here in Japan (and probably every where else in the world but especially here) pride, honor, respect and image is everything. Japanese shops and businesses began cutting ties with Crazy even though Tachibana-san who acted on his own had been removed from the company. Toyoshima-san was promoted to the role of president and tasked with turning things around however the momentum and tide were and still are surely against him. Many of you know TSG is a big supporter of Crazy. I personally love their products, the quality and performance and I feel very sad about what has happened. I feel bad not only that we will potentially lose a great brand with great products but also for the remaining staff there, many of whom we have befriended over the years and all of whom had nothing to do with Tachibana-san's lapse in judgement. I have met with Crazy twice over the last few weeks to discuss their situation going forward, and things are not looking bright. Their domestic sales have plummeted and with their flow of income drastically reduced they have been forced to let go of staff and downsize people wise and building wise in order just to manage costs. Crazy has told me they are trying to do everything in their power to keep the company afloat but financially it is getting harder and harder as each month goes by. Here in Japan the name Crazy has been tarnished by Tachibana-san so, another idea they are exploring is resurrecting the brand under a new name and new image. What all this means is we could very well be nearing the end of Crazy's existence. Sooner or later we were sure most golf enthusiasts would find out so Chris and I decided it would be only fair to let everyone know. It is very unfortunate to see Crazy go down, and not because of bad products, or poor company management, but because of the sole actions of their former president. In the end its everyone else who suffers for what he did and I feel sorry for the remaining staff and the many customers and enthusiasts who truly love the brand and at this point can only cross my fingers that they can recover. I should note though for those still interested in Crazy products, they are still operating and still very much in business.

Feel is obviously subjective but I like the way the TRPX heads feel and sound. There are drivers to me that sound and feel considerably worse. There are many drivers that feel harsh and sound much louder but the TRPX is not one of them. It is not muted or quiet in any way either but for me personally if a driver is too muted I cannot tell how I hit or feel like I it it well. But again it is all personal.

I would not say they are a bust but they made the decision to no longer sell heads only. This of course affected half our orders. It was an inexperienced move on their part which is too bad. My only concern with Buchi is the length of time it takes. They offer more options than Mizuno Yoro but unlike Yoro which has many many craftsmen, Tabuchi-san is one person and I cannot figure how he can handle the load. That said, Craigs set is here! Will take pics soon.

RMX Forged Iron and Maraging Iron are both made in Japan but not at Endo like the Tourmodels. Woods, that is a good question.

Michael has already contacted me... it will be on its way back to Japan soon. (^_^)

The Geotechs are actually quite compact head to toe. They are definitely smaller than the Fourteeens. The length of the face is 76mm