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3WAY 18* hybrid testing EPON, ADAMS, WISHON


Spoon

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last tuesday i decided to make a little experiment as 3 of the clubs were not shafted. i have also been

wanting to do this type of experiment for some time now and decided now was the time as the wishon

head was going to be sold and my dad had his 18* re-shafted( had two additional days to play with the head

and see if my original assumptions were still valid) also wanted to see if my all time favorite hybrid head can

keep up with the old(wishon) and new(epon).

before i go any further let me introduce the participants.

#1 is an Old skool wishon driving iron 2i head. this is completely made of carpenter steel.

tough, rigid and very heavy. this is the same material used in the kasco clubs pre super hyten.

these are very durable and contain absolutely no composite parts. feel is on the hard side but

this one feels significantly the most iron like of the bunch. a good thing if you ask me.

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#2 is one of my all time favorite hybrids. the very much coveted and iconic adams PNT tour

issue. these never made it into retail and is for tour use only. they come in 16,18,22,24,26 deg heads.

in fact i had a 16* i sold to Goodsie and he absolutely swears by it. ive tried a lot of hybrids and this is

tops. very very small compact head, punchy, heavy. love the look at address( some may find it intimidating

and disconcerting due to the smallish size) but some would consider in a +. im one of those that love

the shape. nice and clean!

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as you can see, its significantly smaller than the epon hyrbid and deeper too. i would consider

the epon to be a cross between a fw and a hybrid, the adams is a pure hybrid. you can also

see that the sole of the epon has a flatter wider surface area , this is a great bonus for those that

are sweepers the adams has a cut away section which minimizes the sole, you can hit hard and down

on this baby!

#3 is the Epon 902. already much talk about this club so doesnt need much introduction.

now here is what i did, i reshafted the wishon 18 with a dynamic gold sl 300 XP shaft. this is basically

a lighter s300 with a lower kickpoint to effectively launch the ball higher. basically high launch. shafted

and played at 40.25.

the epon is playing longer at 41" and shafted with a machline fw75 fairway wood shaft.

the adams is also playing at 41" and shafted with a super heavy DI95S tour ad hybrid shaft.

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playing yesterday, alone in the rain, soggy damp fairways, wet weather gear on and very slippery

grips i made an interesting discovery. all three clubs performed stellarly but in the end i had the best

success with the 12 year old wishon driving iron. everything about it worked. i attribute this to the steel

shaft!

the epon was great off the tee, the longest of the bunch, ballistic missle, trampoline like effect paired

with the very smooth kicking machline fw75 shaft. i liked this the best amongst the bunch for pure

teebox sessions. of the deck i did not fair so well due to the wider sole. as i mentioned before i have a steep

angle of attack and need to work on my swing. for now any hybrid with a wide sole wont work for me. i dont

carry woods at the moment while im working on my swing.

The wishon and the Adams werent the longest off the tee but they were dead straight! the wishon straighter and

more stinger-ish due to the steel shaft. both were great from the fairway but i just hit the adams purer. no need to adjust the

swing, can basically play it like an iron and compress the ball. i however did not enjoy the tour ad di 95s shaft. it was very stiff.

almost too taught to be called an S, plays like an X. the steel s300 shaft felt like a marshmallow compared to the DI. i love steel

shafts on hybrids, absolutely love it! dont expect to get oodles of carry and height but you will most certainly be where you aim

your ball. i love my irons , love the feel of steel, made sense to do the same with the brids.

ive tried every multitude of graphite shaft, i actually like softer feeling heavier graphite shafts. anything in the 95-105gram region

is way too taught. steel of heavier weight will play softer which is the punchy feel i am looking for. i havent changed my epon 901 ever

since i shafted it with a high launching nspro 950 HT shaft.

months ago i reshafted my 17 and 20* trcs with nspro950, they were big improvements for me over the upgraded graphites i paid

for, in the end though the sole of the TRCS were still to wide for my tastes despite the twin rail cavities. i would love to give the TRCs another shot in the near future.

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for now though i love the PNT Tour issue proto i know its a usdm product, may not feel as

soft but i love the small compact shape and deeper face. i hope some JDM brands come out with

a similar sized head. i will be pulling the tour ad DI and pairing it with a Shimada tour LITE s flex shaft.

that would be an awesome combo! hope the weather clears for my weekend experimentation! Cheers!

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Edited by Spoon
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what a top post. great info

i too have an adams , the idea pro a12 model with the altus hybrid shaft in 23*

its good. results very very good, that tiny head shape suits my swing nicely.

but the differnce in feel is so marked between this and the JDM clubs.

i hit it ok so ill keep it in my bag for now.

the other nice one i hit recently was an onoff fairway wings, very tasty!

u think the epon will be a big hit?

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What a great review/comparison, I enjoyed reading this alot... One thing though C.... You haven't tried the Crazy ute shaft yet;).... I have always loved steel shafts in driving irons, and in some hybrids, but the Crazy just does everything that steel does well, improves upon them, then adds all of the positives of graphite... I recommend the Crazy ute more than any other shaft I have hit, it just wins, nothing in a ute or drivingniron can touch it in my opinion, If you grab one and don't prefer it to steel I would buy it from you for whatever you paid for it...

J.

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what a top post. great info

i too have an adams , the idea pro a12 model with the altus hybrid shaft in 23*

its good. results very very good, that tiny head shape suits my swing nicely.

but the differnce in feel is so marked between this and the JDM clubs.

i hit it ok so ill keep it in my bag for now.

the other nice one i hit recently was an onoff fairway wings, very tasty!

u think the epon will be a big hit?

i had the adams idea pro a12, it is slightly larger than my adams pnt proto, actually LARGER!

you gotta get your hands on a pnt and see what the fuss is about. 18* with a steel shaft is

an absolute fairway splitter. you will never ever miss another fairway i kid u not. this ones

a keeper.

the epon is great but it obviously is intended for a different segment of players, i also think

that price is too high but then again epon doesnt need to sell a lot of these as they make for others

as well. i like their strategy though.

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What a great review/comparison, I enjoyed reading this alot... One thing though C.... You haven't tried the Crazy ute shaft yet;).... I have always loved steel shafts in driving irons, and in some hybrids, but the Crazy just does everything that steel does well, improves upon them, then adds all of the positives of graphite... I recommend the Crazy ute more than any other shaft I have hit, it just wins, nothing in a ute or drivingniron can touch it in my opinion, If you grab one and don't prefer it to steel I would buy it from you for whatever you paid for it...

J.

as i was heading for equipment equilibrium you mention one word and all falls into chaos again Ahhhhhh :tsg_smiley_crazy:

hearing about the crazy ute shaft has left a little void in the back of my brain. that only means unfinished business to attend

too! oh what to do what to do. ive tried pretty much all the tour graphite hybrids from the states and they were all duds.

how does this crazy feel? stiff as nails as crazy is known for ? the tour ad di 95s felt stiffer than a px 7.0 steel. kid you not.

@Kokkee, the pnt2 is superior to the v3 imho. just like the compact shape very much.

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Great review Spoon....

I understand that you did not do the side by side, but where would you place the RC TRC in the rankings, based on what you remember?

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Great review Spoon....

I understand that you did not do the side by side, but where would you place the RC TRC in the rankings, based on what you remember?

i do remember, i sold the trc 17 a few months ago and the 20 about 2 weeks ago.

both had the graphites and eventually the steel. from my time with them i rate them

#2 behind the pnt. the rc was actually very very good. had excellent feel, great of the

rough, monster of the tee.

i just like the narrower sole of the pnt2. i could possibly be the only one who thinks this.

if i had not known about the pnt ( ive used them for 2 years) i would still be gaming the RC.

and for only $175 was worth every penny!

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i do remember, i sold the trc 17 a few months ago and the 20 about 2 weeks ago.

both had the graphites and eventually the steel. from my time with them i rate them

#2 behind the pnt. the rc was actually very very good. had excellent feel, great of the

rough, monster of the tee.

i just like the narrower sole of the pnt2. i could possibly be the only one who thinks this.

if i had not known about the pnt ( ive used them for 2 years) i would still be gaming the RC.

and for only $175 was worth every penny!

Based on that it would seem you rate the RC over the Epon, making my decision even easier... Guess I'll have to wait for a different club to try my first Epon....

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Hiya C, great stuff man! If u can get a hold of the matrix Altus, gr8 hb shaft. I pulled mine from an Adams Pro-gold.

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Hiya C, great stuff man! If u can get a hold of the matrix Altus, gr8 hb shaft. I pulled mine from an Adams Pro-gold.

ah i had those did not like the boxer shape of the head nor the altus shaft.

i find the altus one of the worst feeling shafts. even the f6/f7m2s on my woods

had the same brittle feel.

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Best hybrid I've found is the Taylormade TP 09 19 with a Fubuki hybrid shaft. Long and straight.

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ah i had those did not like the boxer shape of the head nor the altus shaft.

i find the altus one of the worst feeling shafts. even the f6/f7m2s on my woods

had the same brittle feel.

The boxer shape didn't agree with me but the shaft did. The peanut is something of interest definitely. Love the shape. The f*m2 series I haven't tried.

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The boxer shape didn't agree with me but the shaft did. The peanut is something of interest definitely. Love the shape. The f*m2 series I haven't tried.

I made the pnt 2heavier, playing the longer 41 shaft in 18 deg

Sw d3.5 wow. I did not need a 3wood at all. Was using it off the tee and the

Di95s feels like a different beast altogether. I could possibly be hitting this longer

Than any hybrid I have ever owned, maybe even longer than my 3w.

I may look for another head in 16 and use it as my 3w. Will play at 43 tour ad di8s,

Heavy head 230grams. Seriously if this works which I am sure it will, will be longer

Than any 3 w I have ever had BUT much much easier. Head is so so oh so small and

Cute.

Sold godsie my 16 and he absolutely swears by it. He's has it or 2-3 years? Can't wait for the

Combo! Got a RC 16 fw and a ryoma 15.5 coming and can't wait to do another 3 way shootout!

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I made the pnt 2heavier, playing the longer 41 shaft in 18 deg

Sw d3.5 wow. I did not need a 3wood at all. Was using it off the tee and the

Di95s feels like a different beast altogether. I could possibly be hitting this longer

Than any hybrid I have ever owned, maybe even longer than my 3w.

I may look for another head in 16 and use it as my 3w. Will play at 43 tour ad di8s,

Heavy head 230grams. Seriously if this works which I am sure it will, will be longer

Than any 3 w I have ever had BUT much much easier. Head is so so oh so small and

Cute.

Sold godsie my 16 and he absolutely swears by it. He's has it or 2-3 years? Can't wait for the

Combo! Got a RC 16 fw and a ryoma 15.5 coming and can't wait to do another 3 way shootout!

Looking forward to that shootout C. What u shafting the ryoma with?

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Looking forward to that shootout C. What u shafting the ryoma with?

Probably another di8. I absolutely love this shaft!

Or another contender would be the p9003x, I still

Have faith that that shaft will redeem itself

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Probably another di8. I absolutely love this shaft!

Or another contender would be the p9003x, I still

Have faith that that shaft will redeem itself

You gonna buy another P9003x?

I think you should go all out with the Ryoma and put a Crazy FW shaft in....

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You gonna buy another P9003x?

I think you should go all out with the Ryoma and put a Crazy FW shaft in....

Maybe, but most likely I will be happy with the di8. Its real heavy but has

The flex of a 70gram shaft. Perfect

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Really enjoyed reading your hybrid comparison. Keep up the great work!

By the way went through my old rejected clubs bag and found the same Wishon hybrid 321 18°! I will definately give it a revitalising try tomorrow and see if I can hit it better than I previously had been doing...

The shaft is a bit stout though - MFS Matrix in S - but I'll see how it goes.

Maybe, but most likely I will be happy with the di8. Its real heavy but has

The flex of a 70gram shaft. Perfect

Edited by zwan
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Based on that it would seem you rate the RC over the Epon, making my decision even easier... Guess I'll have to wait for a different club to try my first Epon....

actually come to think of it, i will give the Epon another shot. i cannot believe that all this tech

and RD did not work for me the first time around. will try the 20 with a crazy black utility shaft.

unsure wether i should go S or X. torques seem on the high side. would have preferred a 90grammer

the Di 95s i am currently using is low torque and 10g heavier than crazy black ute

specs-tour-ad-di-hybrid.jpg

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actually come to think of it, i will give the Epon another shot. i cannot believe that all this tech

and RD did not work for me the first time around. will try the 20 with a crazy black utility shaft.

unsure wether i should go S or X. torques seem on the high side. would have preferred a 90grammer

the Di 95s i am currently using is low torque and 10g heavier than crazy black ute

specs-tour-ad-di-hybrid.jpg

Can't talk the Ute shaft stiffness, but my experience is as follows with each being rated at 8.2 on the Crazy scale

FW 50 Sigma is the stoutest of the ones I play and seems similar to the P9003x in overall stiffness. I do not always need to go after the ball to get it square, but I cannot let off too much without watching the ball fade unexpectedly...

FW 80 Black is a sweet swinger and I do not worry about letting off or going at it. This has a higher ball flight the 50 Sigma in my opinion, but that might be because of the flex.

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ive been using those a12 adams with the altus shaft in 20 + 23 *

it feels awful tingy and just plain ugly

but

it gets the job done wonderfully

small draws, bang on 200and 220 yards

they are low tho, i cant hang off one , gotta swing thru ,right thru it or the results are catasrtophic

hate having these in palce of my JDM but i cant fault them

whats a man to do huh???????

i do have one GIGANTIC problem tho

i have 2 crazy ute shafts in some TEE utes in 16* 18* that i want to use. the utes arnt long enough to take the place of the 5w. and 18* is an in between club, doesnt really serve any purpose all thing being equal

do itake these out and put them in the adams heads

i guess i prob shud considering how well im hitting them.

but then agn the altus .. if its not broken . dont fix it.

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