Cameron Posted July 7, 2007 Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 These look sweet! Not too much offset Going to an airshow today and dinner with da Wife... so I may not get to hit them until tomorrow I'll take some pictures when I get a moment. Thanks Chris! That was FAST delivery! Cameron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igman Posted July 8, 2007 Report Share Posted July 8, 2007 Looking forward to seeing the pictures. Congratulations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameron Posted July 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 (edited) Here are the first pics! Note how much less offset compared to a Big Bertha 4 iron. Rapture is on the right. Edited July 9, 2007 by Cameron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duffer19 Posted July 9, 2007 Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 What is the main difference between the domestic Rapture vs Js besides a slightly stronger loft in one? The heads look the same (casted in China?) and same shaft options on the respective website. Same dot system right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali_g Posted July 9, 2007 Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 The heads are not cast in China. All of Ping's Iron and Putter heads are cast/milled in their Dolphin Foundry in Pheonix. Their driver heads are cast in China tho'...apparently the technology for vacuum-centrifuge casting titanium is better in China. If they could make them at home, they would, but they can't! They say it's not a cost thing.... Same colour code 'dot' system, as for all their irons. Lofts are stronger, offset is less. cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameron Posted July 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 Take a closer look at the two websites. The shaft options are not the same, the lie angles are slightly different, bounce is different, and the lofts go from a half of a degree to two degrees stronger. Plus, there is no 3 iron (ASIK) nor a lob wedge in the J. And, interestingly, the J sand is 56 (whereas the US sand is 54), leading to a 6* gap between the "A" J wedge and the J sand. There is only a 4* gap between the US "U" wedge and the US sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gocchin Posted July 9, 2007 Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 According to Ping Japan's website, the Rapture design was indeed re-engineered for the Japanese market as a forgiving athlete model. As Cameron said, this includes stronger lofts, different lies and less offset. A 3 iron though is available as an extra club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBone Posted July 9, 2007 Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 Those look good! What shaft did you get? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammo57 Posted July 10, 2007 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 I love my Ping G2 but sick and tired of huge offset. Why cant Ping make less offset in irons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameron Posted July 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 I got the ZZ65s, though I am likely to at least try out some graphite shafts. I just won an ebay auction for some prototype Aldila 65gram shafts, so they will be my first experiment. Ping CAN, and does, make clubs with less offset. See the i5, Rapture J, and S58. Interestingly, Ping will also custom make a set for you with whatever offset you want. It costs more, but they will do it. So, you can have your G5 with i5 or S58 offset. They will not reduce the offset of the Rapture iron, however, apparently due to the multi-material design. That's why I went with the Rapture J. It was the only way to get a Rapture with a reasonable amount of offset. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBone Posted July 10, 2007 Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 Are the Rapture J's much more expensive than the U.S. Rapture? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameron Posted July 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2007 For me, they were a lot more expensive, as I could have purchased the US model at wholesale. But, that is not the club I wanted, so I got mine from Chris. Not sure if I should list the price, but you can PM me if you like... or just PM Chris. I didn't get any special discount that I know of. This was not an item that he usually carries. I have played with them twice now. I like them a lot! Certainly, they don't have that special feel of an Endo forged club. I didn't expect that. What I did expect, I got. And that is the most forgiving, and easy on the arms, club I've ever hit. Plus, as an added bonus, they feel pretty good AND hit the ball high and a long ways. I'm going to order the US sand and lob wedges to complete the set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igman Posted July 13, 2007 Report Share Posted July 13, 2007 Can you order the bounce grind on these "J" spec irons? Set looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameron Posted July 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2007 Can you order the bounce grind on these "J" spec irons?Set looks great! Don't know. Ask Chris. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBone Posted July 21, 2007 Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 Do the J-Specs have thinner soles compared to the U.S. model? They appear to in your first pic. So how are the working out for you so far? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameron Posted July 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Do the J-Specs have thinner soles compared to the U.S. model? They appear to in your first pic.So how are the working out for you so far? I'm pretty sure the soles are the same. They are working out just great. That tungsten weight on the toe really makes the club incredibly forgiving. And there is no other club on the market with that much weight that far off toward the toe and yet back from the face. Also, the Ti face gives the club a softer feel than you usually get with stainless steel heads. I love them, big time. So much so that I'm going to sell both my MR-23 CB sets and my Hogan Edge Pros. I may get another Endo forged club, but it will have a head approximately the size as my Raptures. I'm getting some Aldila (Tour Van) Prototype shafts installed in a couple of days. We shall see how I handle these tour shafts. In any event, these will be the coolest irons in town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBone Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 [i]"In any event, these will be the coolest irons in town"[/i] Yea, but Ann Arbor is a Small Town! JUST KIDDING - Great Set! I'm in Columbus, OH. I've hit the raptures a few times, I like the feel and they are super forgiving. Let's us know how the shaft experiment goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameron Posted July 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 [i]"In any event, these will be the coolest irons in town"[/i]Yea, but Ann Arbor is a Small Town! JUST KIDDING - Great Set! I'm in Columbus, OH. Yup. And the football players have really tiny... ah, you know whats! I'm a Spartan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBone Posted July 31, 2007 Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 Cameron, Just curious, I assume you purchased a "Stock" set with the ZZ65's - what was the swingweight? I wonder if the "Stock" swingweight is @ D0.....similar to the US Specs. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameron Posted August 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2007 Cameron,Just curious, I assume you purchased a "Stock" set with the ZZ65's - what was the swingweight? I wonder if the "Stock" swingweight is @ D0.....similar to the US Specs. Thanks! I requested D1 and D3 in the wedges. That's what I got. I can't recall what Chris said was standard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod1 Posted August 4, 2007 Report Share Posted August 4, 2007 which color codes are available ? i can`t find a way to order different codes in the tourspecgolf online-shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameron Posted August 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2007 All custom options are available. You will need to PM with Chris to get the deatils ironed (no Pun intended) out. I'm thinking very seriously about getting a second set as a backup. I really believe they are the best design on the market for ULTIMATE forgiveness in a reasonably sized head. You will love them. Cameron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod1 Posted August 5, 2007 Report Share Posted August 5, 2007 (edited) All custom options are available. You will need to PM with Chris to get the deatils ironed (no Pun intended) out. I'm thinking very seriously about getting a second set as a backup. I really believe they are the best design on the market for ULTIMATE forgiveness in a reasonably sized head. You will love them. Cameron I like forgiving heads. Recently i got back to my very old Callaway Big Bertha 2002 irons. I hit them VERY well. Only thing i dislike is the rather big offset. So i wonder if switching to the Raptures is worth the investment. I only hit the "normal" Raptures on a demo day and loved them. I only hit 30 balls though, so i dont really have a good comparison. Can i expect another advantage than reduced offset over my Callys when getting the Raputure J`s ? Thanks Edited August 5, 2007 by zaphod1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameron Posted August 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 I like forgiving heads. Recently i got back to my very old Callaway Big Bertha 2002 irons. I hit them VERY well. Only thing i dislike is the rather big offset. So i wonder if switching to the Raptures is worth the investment. I only hit the "normal" Raptures on a demo day and loved them. I only hit 30 balls though, so i dont really have a good comparison. Can i expect another advantage than reduced offset over my Callys when getting the Raputure J`s ? Thanks Yes. Several, actually. The first is the tungsten toe weight on the Rapture. No one else in golf is doing that, and it makes a huge difference in forgiveness. Second is the rather "trick" sole employed on the Rapture. It is fairly wide, to give a low and deep center of gravity, but it is also "relieved" towards the back, so only a portion of the sole ever comes in contact with the ground. This makes the club much more playable from a variety of lies and surfaces. Third is the appearance at address. It looks much more like a "players" club than the BBs. Fourth is the fact that the Ti face inserts soften impact, considerably. Fifth is the fact that the Ti faces are milled, so the grooves are perfectly formed and sharp. Sixth is the fact that you can get any lie angle you need, whereas Callaway can do +- only 2 degrees... I play white dot (3* up) and no one else can do that without the club owner taking the risk of breakage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod1 Posted August 7, 2007 Report Share Posted August 7, 2007 (edited) Yes. Several, actually. The first is the tungsten toe weight on the Rapture. No one else in golf is doing that, and it makes a huge difference in forgiveness. Second is the rather "trick" sole employed on the Rapture. It is fairly wide, to give a low and deep center of gravity, but it is also "relieved" towards the back, so only a portion of the sole ever comes in contact with the ground. This makes the club much more playable from a variety of lies and surfaces. Third is the appearance at address. It looks much more like a "players" club than the BBs. Fourth is the fact that the Ti face inserts soften impact, considerably. Fifth is the fact that the Ti faces are milled, so the grooves are perfectly formed and sharp. Sixth is the fact that you can get any lie angle you need, whereas Callaway can do +- only 2 degrees... I play white dot (3* up) and no one else can do that without the club owner taking the risk of breakage. Wow thanks for the detailed answer. That sounds good :) I got fitted for the normal Raptures last year. Can i transfer those results to the Japanense Raptures or will they need seperate fitting ? Edited August 7, 2007 by zaphod1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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