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Please tell people they are not on sale yet but will be here when they do officially go on sale... the flood of emails just keeps coming!

The entire new Yonex line will be in the shop this week. Hope to have in hand pics soon!

I have gotten over 20 emails today about Shingo Katayama's new Asics golf shoe he is wearing at the Masters and that I posted about on my blog. They are brand new and have not gone retail yet. We are already working with Asics on carrying them here. You can be sure when they go retail in Japan you will be able to buy them from TSG in the Pro Shop!!

I doubt there are any fake Epon clubs floating around. Chinese counterfeiters go after the big names and common brands people know. Hey it costs them money to even make fake clubs so they will target ones that make them profitable, because Epon is widely unknown outside of Japan, I highly doubt there are counterfeits.

There is no black available for the TR500, I think it is just the way they took that photo as it is a dark nickel finish.

Great feedback T. No 2i unfortunately. You mean there is actually someone in your family who is better than you!!?? (^_^)

We've also got the PRGR is3 500BL Forged Neo Blade on clearance if anyone is interested. http://www.tourspecgolf.com/proshop/p2566/...oduct_info.html PRGR premium forged S20c steel is3 500 BL iron is made for the better player. A neo blade forged from soft steel, the 500 BL is made for accuracy, control and feel. A horizontal center of gravity across all irons at 35.5mm and vertical of 20mm aims to allow a player to acheive a constant impact feel with all irons. A special white chrome finish that actually reduces glare but maintains feel and durability is used. The 500 BL is geared towards the low handicapper and competetive players looking for a thin topline, thin sole and little offset. Available in two flexes, M-43 (SR) and M-46 (S) 105g low torque steel with midkick in the long irons and high kick in the mid and short irons. As played by PRGR's top pro Hideto Tanihara.

For those of you who always wanted the M3 Hit Tour FW which has a very flat 56.5* lie and 70+ gram Inspec low launching Tour shaft we are clearing out remaining inventory now at a good price 259.00 from 420.00. One if the best FW's of the past few years. The M3 Hit Tour Fairway wood is based on PRGR's best selling M3 Hit FW. The Tour version is made for the better player and faster swinger. With a smaller more compact head and 2* flatter lie than the standard M3 Hit, the M3 Hit Tour is for the player wanting to work the ball and looking for more fade biased trajectory. The crown uses a carbon fiber reinforced resin and the head is SUS630 steel with tungsten weights placed in the head for optimal trajectory. As used by both top PRGR Pros Hideto Tanihara and Azuma Yano. Available in M-46 (Stiff), M-43 (Stiff/Regular) and M-40 (Regular) flex 70+ gram Inspec tour shafts with high kick points for a lower trajectory and 15, 18 and 21* lofts. http://www.tourspecgolf.com/proshop/p2565/...oduct_info.html

It's a touch larger than taper tip. So Taper will fit in just fine, if you want to go parallel it may require very little boring out.

We are sold out of 9.5*! A few 8.5*'s left and some 10.5 and 10.5HT!

I'm going to hit both the Vega and Honma today a bit to compare. Will post back.

Honma is releasing their new MG813 driver for the athlete golfer. A beautiful looking driver which has move a bit away from the traditional shape featuring a longer shallower almost triangular shaped head, made for high MOI and distance. The face angle is square and the driver is shafted with a high end ARMRQ UD54 shaft. As with all Honma drivers a very high quality and hot feel off the face at impact.

They always have been available... every model from Honma in the pro shop is available as a 5 star rating meaning it would be built by Honma's top master in Sakata and only T1000 carbon used which is higher grade than ANY shaft maker in the world and the highest grade of graphite available commercially anywhere in the world. Also 5 Star means you can do ANY of the following included in the price. One can pretty much create their own golf club. Woods 1. Changing head color. 2. Changing head finishes 3. Putting name or Original logo on end 4. Changing face angle 5. Changing face finishes 6. Choosing conforming or nonconforming head 7. Changing center of gravity placement in head Irons 1. Changing head finishes 2. Putting name or Original logo on end 3. Changing face finish 4. Changing face thickness 5. Changing blade thickness 6. Changing center of gravity on iron Shafts 1. Changing kick point 2. Changing torque 3. Changing flex and stiffness distribution/bend profile 4. Changing weight 5. Putting name or Original logo 6. Changing color Grips 1. Putting name on grip end.

Took some pics today of the new prototype forge iron Alkaios from Vega Japan. Based on their V-201 iron, the Alkaios is a mid sized soft forging that has the face and back cavity completely cnc machined resulting in perfect weight distribution. The sole is also very interesting as the width is wider towards the sole and slightly narrower towards the toe. It has a very forgiving leading edge, some offset and a very small milled pocket in the cavity. There is not much info on this iron yet but Vega has said they will answer any questions we have.

Honma has worked hard over the last few years to shed the reputation of being an "old mans club" and "rich man's status club". When they launched the Beres line a few years ago they wanted to show they could be mainstream and create clubs that not only look expensive but perform as good as any club from Japan. I just got the new athlete model MG803 and I believe watching Honma now in the 3rd generation of Beres, that they are accomplishing what they set out to do. The iron is fabulously designed and the workmanship is fantastic as is expected of something in this price range and 100% made in Japan by Honma masters in Sakata. The MG803 is high tech featuring a very small pocket cavity and nickel tungsten weight in the back towards the heel and toe (5g x 2). The 3-7 irons features this pocket 2 piece design while the 8-SW are a 1 piece design for feel and control. The one I have is shafted with Honma's new ARMRQ UD54 shaft, a very high end carbon weave that is as good as any shaft in the Japanese market. This iron is aimed at the better golfer and fits between compact and mid sized. Judging from its size, low handcappers can definitely play this performance oriented iron and mid cappers who are good ball strikers would be proud to own this hot rod... This iron gets released later this month but in the meantime here are some pics I took as it was a beautiful day today!

People sure do buy those. Don't forget a set of Honma 5 star cost over 20,000 and people do buy them. This is why I always tell everyone Japan's golf market is so different from the rest of the world. The ultimate in golf ho's live in Japan.

Odyssey is releasing Japan only Black Series iX Tour Prototypes as you may have seen in our golf fair post. These look pretty good and will be released soon. Callaway Golf introduces their all new line of Japan Only Black Series iX putters. The Black Series iX is based on Tour Prototypes off the Japanese Tour with pro player input and testing done on tour. Odyssey has decided to make these putters available to the average golfer with three models shipping in late April 2009. There was a lot of emphasis placed on the insert of the Black Series iX based on feedback from the pro tour and testing done with a tour prototype insert. The Tour Prototype face was developed for touch and feel increasing the players sense of distance and control with a firmer face thar provides great feedback, thus increasing the probability of the ball ending up in the cup. The tour black PVD finish eliminates glare and creates a great contrast between the face insert and body. This is aimed at increasing concentration during putting. All Black Series iX heads are precision machine milled and feature a tungsten flange for low and deep center of gravity producing instant roll. Odyssey considers the Black Series their premium line of putters and are limited in number. Available in #1, #7 and #9 with 33 34 and 35" lengths. All putters come with Odyssey original headcovers and have head weights of 350g (33 and 34", 35" is 340g).

I know there are a lot of Nowon fans here. They have released a new Expert grip for the player wanting a firmer feel for control and stability after consulting with YE Yang. Nice looking grips! Here's my description from the pro shop! Nowon Grips became more popular than ever in 2008 rivalling even big brands Iomic and Golf Pride in Japan. Nowon through consultation and feedback from pros and amateurs is releasing the new 2009 No.1 EXPERT Grip. With the same amazing grip and tacky feeling of the 50 and 48 series, the new EXPERT has a slightly firmer feel to them as requested by pros and harder swingers who want stable control and feel in their hands and less twisting sometimes associated with softer grips. The EXPERT has extra ordinary tolerance and only a variance of plus or minus 1 gram allowing for a consistent build in sets. The EXPERT will retain its feel even while wet with sweat or rain. A simple wipe returns it to its original feel and grip strength. The firmer feel actually allows the player to grip more relaxed without concern of any twisting. Available only in Red, Blue and Black M60 standard size round or ribbed (back line for your finger placement).

Yes Jack he will do any brand. If you have pictures of the current condition of those putters to send me, I can send them to the master to see what he thinks.

Sasaya-san is also doing a lot of modifying and refinishing these days as golds owners love tweaking and even a sound slot removal! Now you see it Now you don't!

Keeping in mind that the aF-701 is one of TSG's best selling irons I'm sure a lot of people are still playing them. I played them all the way up to last week and I tried every other iron in Japan last year and none could compare in performance and forgiveness. I only changed for the sake of changing. Compared to the Yamaha and TS the AF-701 are considerably more forgiving and longer. Very much an automatic point and shoot iron.

In Japanese.... kai'li is pronounced ka ee lee ali'islei is ah lee slay Say them both fast and all together. (^_^)

Checked with Crews and they have limited number of all lofts with stock shafts left. Running especially low on 8.5 and 9.5* lofts. 245.00 as TSGer mentioned plus shipping for forum members. Pro shop has them for 275.00 and details are here: http://www.tourspecgolf.com/proshop/p2526/...oduct_info.html Forum members PM me for the special 245.00 price. And yes they are conforming... pretty much 95% of JDM drivers are these days.

Standard ONOFF Driver. ONOFF Fairway Arms. New ONOFF Plus Forged Iron. ONOFF Forged wedges. At least that was what was in his bag at the press conference.

One of Japan's all time great golfers and still among the great active Japanese golfers Shingo Katayama has left Nike for ONOFF. He was the face of Nike in Japan (besides Tiger that is) and now this is a big boost for ONOFF which has lacked a standout pro on the men's tour in Japan. He will now play ONOFF clubs and wear Dance with Dragon, Asics shoes and play Titleist balls.