Randy Posted April 8, 2008 Report Share Posted April 8, 2008 (edited) I have been playing a few different sets of irons recently including Titleist AP1 and AP2 and several different models of Pings. All are good irons sets, but not quite, IMHO, up to JDM forged feel so decided to get a few sets of JDM irons that peaked my interest. Taken a while, since I wanted to get used sets as only one will make the bag. The irons I have decided to try are: OnOff + forged = currently have these irons and they are shafted with 950 GH Fourteen TC 550 forged = currently have these irons and they are shafted with 750 GH wrap tech Epon Technica (like J spec) = in the mail and should have them any day. They are shafted with BG stiff OnOff CB 247= Friend is supposed to be sending me a set from Japan, but not sure of the shaft and will hopefully have them in a couple of weeks Don't know how interesting this shootout will be for anyone else, but I have no preconcieved expectations of which set will end up in my bag, so this is going to be very interesting to me to see which one does. Some of my likes and dislikes that will influence my decision: - I am a 13 capper and need a little forgiveness, but have never done well with GI clubs - I like a iron that has a solid but somewhat soft feel, but not real mushy. Also don't like irons that produce a click sound. - Some offset is okay, but not a tremendous amount - Medium width topline and sole are okay, but thinner is better and nothing huge. I am a picker of the ball so thinner sole seems to work better for me. We will see how it goes. Aloha Randy Edited May 25, 2008 by Randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gocchin Posted April 8, 2008 Report Share Posted April 8, 2008 Look forward to the results Randy and don't forget the pics! (^-^) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xchangmanx Posted April 8, 2008 Report Share Posted April 8, 2008 Hey Randy, Great post and can't wait to hear the results as I'm very interested. I want to see pics of the Epons!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbenz Posted April 9, 2008 Report Share Posted April 9, 2008 Sounds like a fun test... Although, the different shafts in each iron set might skew your results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+TourSpecGolfer Posted April 9, 2008 Report Share Posted April 9, 2008 Thank you for doing this Randy. Keep in mind guys that different swings work differently for different designs of clubs, also ideal method is to have them set to the exact same L/L/L grip size, swing weight, and shaft. All of the list and the clubs mentioned in the test are made in Japan true JDM clubs except the ONOFF forged plus which is built by Nelson. Look forward to your update Randy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonlui Posted April 9, 2008 Report Share Posted April 9, 2008 i'm interested in how the cb247 compares to the rest. Is there a list or matrix of JDM irons that fit a certain type/style of swing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoon Posted April 9, 2008 Report Share Posted April 9, 2008 arent the cb247's forged by miura? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xchangmanx Posted April 9, 2008 Report Share Posted April 9, 2008 arent the cb247's forged by miura? I think so, you are right spoon Says forged by miura in the proshop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonlui Posted April 9, 2008 Report Share Posted April 9, 2008 supposedly, the 247's is the same club as the 202 except it has the selective metal used in the miuraism line of clubs. very expensive. the grind might be different, i don't know.. a bit deep for my pockets. the only thing that's keeping me away from the 202s are the shorter irons, they are too bulbous and doesn't flow well into the mid to longer irons. too bad TSG doesn't sell just the 4,5,6 separately at a good price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BostonHack Posted April 9, 2008 Report Share Posted April 9, 2008 interested how the CB247s play out, a bit out of reach...but nonetheless a great design Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gth1017 Posted April 9, 2008 Report Share Posted April 9, 2008 supposedly,the 247's is the same club as the 202 except it has the selective metal used in the miuraism line of clubs. very expensive. the grind might be different, i don't know.. a bit deep for my pockets. the only thing that's keeping me away from the 202s are the shorter irons, they are too bulbous and doesn't flow well into the mid to longer irons. too bad TSG doesn't sell just the 4,5,6 separately at a good price. Ah, beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder, grasshopper. I think the 202 short irons are as pure looking as it gets, and for those that know me, there aren't many I haven't tried. And the feel....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+TourSpecGolfer Posted April 9, 2008 Report Share Posted April 9, 2008 supposedly,the 247's is the same club as the 202 except it has the selective metal used in the miuraism line of clubs. very expensive. the grind might be different, i don't know.. a bit deep for my pockets. the only thing that's keeping me away from the 202s are the shorter irons, they are too bulbous and doesn't flow well into the mid to longer irons. too bad TSG doesn't sell just the 4,5,6 separately at a good price. 247 is not the same as 202 when it comes to design but feel is just about the same. Material is 100% the same, nothing different. W.D.D accurate forged is a fancy selling point they use in Japan and not in the states. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted April 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2008 The OnOff CB 247s are becoming when and if, so thought I would post pics of the other 3 irons sets. PW pics. Sorry, but my picture taking skills are pretty limited and haven't tried posting pictures before. I'm sure you all probably know, but Epon Technica Pro 1 Left or top, Fourteen center or middle and OnOff Forged Plus right or bottom Aloha Randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted April 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2008 6 iron pics. Aloha Randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xchangmanx Posted April 12, 2008 Report Share Posted April 12, 2008 Thx for the pics R, I love the Technicas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted April 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2008 The OnOff CB 247s are becoming when and maybe if, so decided I will limit this iron shootout to the 3 sets I have in hand and winner will take on the 247s should I get them. Over the past week I have taken the three sets to the driving range, practice geen and course every day. Play late in the afternoon when hardly anyone is around and have my big staff bag loaded down with 3 sets of irons. First of all, let me say that all three sets are really excellent and would play any one of them if I didn't have the other two. To play the Fourteen 550 forged I would have to change out the shafts, but more on that in a little bit. Following is how, IMHO, the clubs rank in specific catagories: Looks 1st - Fourteen 2nd - Epon 3rd - OnOff Very close between 1st and 2nd with both having fairly simple looks, but I liked the Fourteens just a little better because of the more satin look. To each his own, but OnOff Irons have a little to much going on compared to the other two sets. Forgiveness 1st - OnOff 2nd - Fourteen 3rd - Epon All are similar and have decent, but not lots of, forgiveness. To me OnOff were some what noticeably better in forgiveness and it was pretty close between the other two sets, but again nothing significant been the three sets. Set up 1st - Epon 2nd/3rd - tie between Fourteen and OnOff All three set up nicely behind the ball. When you look down at them, none have what you would call blade like topline, but none of them had toplines that I couldn't look at with out thinking game improvment iron. All have some amount of off-set, but again nothing huge. What really set the Epon apart from the other two was the darker colored face. It really frames the ball nicely. Sole width (for me less is better) 1st - Epon 2nd - Fourteen 3rd - OnOff I did not actually measure the width of each sole, but visually Epon has the least and OnOff the most. The course I play doen't have significant rough, but didn't have any trouble getting through it with any off the irons. Feel 1st - Epon (by a lot) 2nd - Fourteen 3rd - OnOff Starting with 3rd place, the OnOff irons have just a little click sound to me when hit. Not that is bad as a lot of irons do, I just happen not to not like it. Fourteens irons had N.S. Pro 750 GH wrap tech shafts and they were just not for me and if I change out the shafts it may have improve the feel. The Epon irons have a feel that I have been searching for a long, long time. Not sure where I got the term from, maybe I picked it up from a post or maybe I got it from watching Batman show when I was a kid , but I would describe the feel of the iron hitting the ball as a "ker-thunk". Extremely solid, no click, not to hard and not to mushy. Overall 1st - Epon 2nd - Fourteen 3rd - OnOff Although the Epons may not be quite as forgiving or be 1st in looks (although close), everything else, especially the feel, makes it the overall winner by more than just a slim margin. I was debating if I should put a different set of shafts in the Fourteens, but decided even if I did it wouldn't get them into 1st place, so going to save the money and they will be a great set of irons for someone that has a swing for the shafts that are in them. This has been fun and glad I did it with the highlight being finding out how awesome the Epons feel and play. If the CB 247s never show up I am now not going to be disappointed as they would have a really hard time dethroning the Epons. As a side note, there was one thing I didn't like about the Epons and that was the grips. I like ribbed grips and am now off to change them and get ready for tomorrow's round of golf. Aloha Randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xchangmanx Posted April 12, 2008 Report Share Posted April 12, 2008 Kudos on the review, BG shafts are great w/the epons also. I got my 301s w/1150gh stiff, Randy let me know if you want to try to hit them, we can meet at the driving range. I also have R7 forged w/950gh stiff. I enjoy playin these two sets because of the look at feel. This season I'm going w/the heavier shafts and epons, to see the difference from the 98g shafts w/the r7 heads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idrive Posted April 12, 2008 Report Share Posted April 12, 2008 I need to plan a trip to Hawaii... you guys available to play if I do?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBone Posted April 12, 2008 Report Share Posted April 12, 2008 Randy, First of all, thank you for taking the time to post your reviews and pictures. One question, when you say the following: "but OnOff Irons have a little to much going on compared to the other two sets." Are you referring to the cavity or in the playing position? Thanks again, very much appreciated and extremely helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marty Posted April 12, 2008 Report Share Posted April 12, 2008 Great review on the 3 sets, they all look great!.seems somewhat puzzling why On-Off would would forge their irons for their oversea market in Japan,. and their irons of their Japanese market in China,. how could you possible tell the difference? They look identical, would the feel be any different? This from their english site: *Remarks Our website in English being designed for overseas market, country of origin for each club in English website is different from that in Japanese website. The clubs for overseas market are “made in Japan” and those for Japanese market are “made in China”. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbenz Posted April 12, 2008 Report Share Posted April 12, 2008 Thanks for the write-up! Good to hear you found "THE" set! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted April 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2008 "but OnOff Irons have a little to much going on compared to the other two sets." I was refering to the cavity. You can't see the cavity when addressing the ball, but for me it counts in the overall looks category. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted April 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2008 (edited) "I need to plan a trip to Hawaii... you guys available to play if I do?" I travel quite a bit, but if I am around I am available to play. Aloha Randty Edited April 13, 2008 by Randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer2 Posted April 13, 2008 Report Share Posted April 13, 2008 Onoff 247s vs Epon 301s... Both have a terrific feel... soft and buttery smooth ...edge here to the 247s as they feel a tad bit more solid... but both at the top in feel... the 247s have a thinner sole and topline but are a bit longer from heel to toe-- I like a bit longer, sleeker look. The 301s are more compact with a bit thicker sole and topline. Both play great. They are pretty close in terms of foregivess, edge maybe to 247s but both are remarkable in how foregiving they are for a players cb. The 247s look alot like the tour only Nike Splits, with a longer sleeker look. 247s in the bag... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBone Posted April 14, 2008 Report Share Posted April 14, 2008 Randy, Could you expand a little bit on the offset of the 3 models? which has more, less, progressive, etc. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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