ranghips

You have done it again Plus 1! That putter looks absolutely beautiful, you say it works as good as it looks, if it does I have to have one, my Premium Zone #0 is as good as I have ever tried, but you say the Golds proto is better! Tell us how the two compare, I seem to recall that you were using a G - Field Premium Zone, I have owned all sorts of putters (still have most of them - lol) but the #0 is the best that I have used in terms of pure roll. I am also intrigued that you opted for the EMB rather than the AF101 - why?

'Does Europe have any local brands', that got me thinking because not that many years ago we had a thriving golf manufacturing industry here in Britain, particularly in Scotland. I haven't done any research into this but the only brand that I can think of is John Letters and I'm not sure that their clubs are still manufactured in Scotland! The rise and rise and rise of Golf club manufacturing in China has seen production move from everywhere, including the USA, to China where costs are so much lower. Back to the original thread, I have tried nearly all the new drivers from the OEMS (at demo days and from friends), still have not found anything that can match my Alpha V5 Axiv V combination, the closest was the Cobra L4V, even my PRGR T3 with the same shaft cannot compete with the Alpha, which is a component head from a company who specialise in Long Drive equipment. Mate this head (460cc 15-3-3-3 Titanium, adjustable weights) to a Axiv or GD shaft (p9003?) and you have a bomb!

I agree with Blader X, the p9003 in X-stiff looks just right for you, IMO GD shafts are the best out there, I am seriously contemplating repacing my Axiv V's with them, so they must be good! Lol!

I may have to try this ! I have tried virtually everything else including the two thumb grip (or whatever it was called!) and still fail to find any kind of consistency on the putting green. Maybe I am my own worst enemy when it comes to putting, I do keep swapping between putters which could be scranbling my head even more. I used my G-Field Tera for every round for nearly 3 months and my putting (and confidence) greatly improved, I swapped to my Premium Zone #0 and couldn't sink anything over 4 feet, swapped back to the Tera with the same results! 3 and 4 puts are ruining every round for me, could this grip be the Holy Grail????

If you play like that (similar to myself), you would not regret buying the Miura MB 5003's, they look gorgeous, they feel as soft as butter and for a decent ball striker they are very workable and controllable, almost forgiving for a blade, certainly I find them no more difficult to use than my CB1006's, but a lot nicer and more rewarding to play with. I am a confirmed Nippon addict, I absolutely love the feel, controllability and ball flight of my 1150's, but shafts are a very personal thing and other posters have suggested that you try as many as possible and find what feels best for you - that is really good advice! Good luck in your quest, just as a pistscript, I am experimenting with hybrids to replace my 3 and 4 irons and am playing the 5003's from 5 to PW, seems like this is how my bag will stay for quite a while!

Merry Christmas to you ClubHoUno, The leading edge of the MB's is slightly rounded but it is sharper than the Mizuno MP 32's and yes it could dig a little more than MP's. I have always taken a nice shallow divot and digging has never really been a problem for me, for someone who comes into the ball very steeply I suppose the Miura's may well dig.

I can't comment on the Ping S58's because I have never tried them, but I have used the MP32's extensively, indeed they were my favourite blades untill the MB5003's came along. In my opinion the MB 5003's are actually easier to use and have a softer, sweeter feel than the Mizuno's, but this comparison may not be totally accurate because of the difference in shafts in the two sets, my MB's have Nippon NS Pro 1150 Tours in them and my Mizzy's had the TT S300's fitted.

I have now played half a dozen rounds with my new MB5003's and all I can say is WOW! They are absolutely fantastic, I thought my CB1006's had superb feel, but the new MB's are even better. I have always loved the purity of a true blade, and over the years I have played many different blades, but the Miura MB 5003's are by far the best feeling and the easiest to use that I have ever owned. I can understand why a medium handicap would get on with them, they do seem very easy to hit. I had a deal of trepidation about using mine when they arrived, I have had a couple of injuries recently which have badly affected my game and thought that putting my new blades into play with only one bucket of balls at the range beforehand was asking for trouble! I have never had a problem with striking the ball, my weakness has always been my short game, putting in particular! The new MB's are so easy to hit, so accurate and so controllable that I cant see any point in going back to the CB's even when my game is not at it's best ! I played better with the MB's than I had the day before with the supposedly easier to use CB's - in short the best clubs I have ever owned!

I absolutely love my new Epon technity wedges, superb feel and controllability. I use Nippon NS pro 950's in my irons but have NS Pro 1150's in my wedges, the slightly heavier shaft does seem to offer better control and accuracy in any wedge.

I'm getting old and have suffered from too many injuries lately!However my clubmaker has persauded me to go for a mixed set of AF301's/AF501's this he says will give me the most benefit in the longer irons on those days when my leg (knee) and back (slipped disc) are causing my swing to go off!

Try miura CB 1006 with Nippon NS Pro Shafts, Miura quality coupled with a great lightweight shaft. Or look at the Epon 301's or 501's.

I think that there are many good suggestions in these replies, the one that I would endorse is the move to Nippon NS Pro shafts, I have these in my Miura CB 1006's and I have no problem getting good ball flight with the 3 and 4 irons. I have a set of Miura MB 5003's on order which will also be shafted with the Nippons, I am also thinking of buying a combo set of Epon 301/501's (501 3 to 6, 301 7 to PW, this maybe the ideal solution for a good ball striker, these will also be fitted with the Nippon shafts - now if only I could putt a little more consistently!

Spoon, could you explain what you mean by choose an appropriate shaft, are you saying some shafts don't work with these heads? I am currently looking at the Epon KZG in Black Gold, do you have any experience of these? Nick

Hello Claus, As you can guess I voted for the Miura CB1006, my set have been absolutely perfect, so good that I have a set of the new MB 5003's on order, I have always prefered blades and I cant wait to get my hands on these beauties! My back up set for next year will be the Epon AF501's, they should give me that little bit more forgiveness for those days when my swing is off! I have a couple of the limited edition Epon wedges and am very impressed with the quality and performance of them, so I am looking forward to the AF501's next spring - having said that I could still change my mind if enough TSG'ers can convince me that there is something better out there! Nick

Not sure that you are going to get an answer to this, the MB5003's are very new, I have a set on order and am expecting delivery soon. I have tried the Tournament blades here in the UK but it was over a year ago, so when my MB's arrive I will try to give a comparison. I am sure that Gochin will be able to provide a better insight into the differences between the two models, but my understanding is that the Tournament Blades and the old MB 5002's were virtually identical, the 5003's have a slightly thicker bottom edge and slightly thicker face specs.

I have the CB1006's and have tried both the other Miura offerings, IMO if you are a decent ball striker the CB1006 is the model to go for, they are relatively small heads, but for a players CB they are suprisingly forgiving and if you can hit the sweet spot most of the time they are just awesome. I have had mine for nearly a year and my handicap is now down by 4 full shots ( 12 to 8), and I,ve had a niggling injury for most of the season! Not sure about your choice of shaft, my clubmaker persauded me that the Nippons work best in the Miura heads and I am inclined to agree with him, the NS Pro's are just superb! Good luck with whatever you choose.

Same for me ( Premium Zone #0), slightly inside the sight line towards the heel - PROVIDING that the lie is correct, by this I mean that I have a bad habit of raising the toe slightly and this can affect putts quite badly. I absolutely love my #0, it is certainly the nicest putter that I have ever used, but I do have to be careful to make sure that I dont get lazy at address, which is why I pull so many putts!

Could be quote of the century! How many times have we all had that thought? Back on topic - choosing between fairway woods and utility/hybrids has to depend on two main factors, firstly your own preference as to what looks and feels better to you, and secondly what sort of course conditions you encounter. I have never been a great fan of the hybrid clubs, having owned at least 6 or 7 different ones, but I have to admit that the big advantage they have over FW's is in their ability to get the ball out of bad lies in the rough. Maybe it is the shorter shaft and heavier head weight but they do have a performance advantage out of the rough! My bag now contains a hybrid club, and to quote 'it's in the bag for good ---I think---maybe---possibly!' Having used my Alpha V5 Hybrid for about 3 months now, I can honestly say that I have at last found a truly versatile utility club, 220 to 230 yards off the tee, 200 to 210 off the fairway with a nice high flight and a soft landing, excellent out of the rough ( I know that I shouldn't be there in the first place!), you can even put with it!

Once again I find myself in agreement with your views, my driver shaft at 62 gms ( Axiv V 6070) feels too light, my 3 wood has a heavier, stiffer shaft as does my hybrid/utility and I much prefer the feel and balance of the heavier clubs, possibly because my swing is relatively slow and smooth. The trend towards heavier shafts in FW's and Hybrids started when Driver heads started to grow beyond the 300cc mark, which resulted in significantly heavier head weights, so it was nescesary to reduce shaft weights to bring the overall SW down. In this age of ultra light Titanium driver heads, with changeable weights, the need for ultra light shafts may not be as important! I am contemplating going to a heavier driver shaft, as I am getting better results from my three wood than from my driver, has anyone else experience of this?

I used to favour carrying 3 wedges ( plus PW), but have recently moved to 53* and 58* only and have found that my short game has improved as a result. I am now having to be more adventurous and 'manufacture' shots around the green, wether this has made me concentrate harder, or think more about the type of shot I need to play I don't know, but I do know that my game has improved and I now shoot in the 70's consistently rather than the mid 80's that I was achieving!

I absolutely agree! I have two G-Field/Guage Design putters, a Premium Zone #0 and a 'Tera', they are both gorgeous to look at, put the best roll on the ball and are superb quality. I briefly had a GFT 16* wood, (it was stolen from the boot of my car!), I only played three rounds with it but it was so impressive, I would like it back, how can I find a replacement if they are no more? I cannot believe that this company can be allowed to go out of business, their products are so good that someone HAS to rescue them, surely there is a big enough following of loyal customers to make that viable!

Your last statement is very true, and wouldn't it be nice if the OEM manufacturers were so altruistic that they preserved our dignity by stamping a lower loft degree on the heads of drivers just to make us feel better! My own, somewhat cynical, opinion is that OEM manufacturing tolerances are so poor that a discrepancy of 1.5* is commonplace, one of the inevitable consequences of building a product to a predetermined price point rather than the JDM philosophy of trying to build the most technically and aesthetically perfect product and then working out what it cost!

PM Chris (Tourspecgolfer), he should be able to help!

The clubs were securely locked in the boot of a car at my girlfriends golf club, an exclusive, members only club! The thieves targeted 3 cars, smashing window glass to gain entry, then stole a car to get away in, smashing through the car park security barrier. JDM clubs are very rare in my area, Sheffield, England, all the clubs apart from the GFT had been made for us by adt69 (Allan Taylor), Driver was a Snake Eyes Titanium Composite 420cc with Mamiya Axiv V 6066, GFT 4 wood with AD Tour I 65, 5 to PW Tourstage X-Blade CB's with Nippon NS Pro 950 GH Weight Flows, Tourstage X Blade 58* wedge with NS Pro 950 GH WF, Cobra Utility 22*, SeeMore Black Blade putter, Ping discovery stand bag, plus a couple of spare drivers which were also in the boot of the car. Most of these clubs are pretty unique as they were custom made, if anyone in the UK is offered them please PM me with details, I just want them back!!!!!!!