Pinoy Golfer Blog

Since the Golfer’s Network lost the distributorship of TaylorMade golf equipment, news has been thin about the industry giant’s new products. This was a real shame since TM has come out with some really interesting product since then. They’ve found a new distributor and we managed to wrangle demos of two of their new irons; the R9 and Burner. R9 Irons I eagerly anticipated the arrival of these irons since I was very impressed with last year’s Tour Preferred set; they looked the business (as they say) and backed it up with soft feel at impact, a very versatile sole that performed admirably in a variety of conditions and a look that a touring professional would love. R9 5-iron cavity R9... Read More

Epon, the maker of what are arguably the finest forged irons in the world, introduce two new irons that round out its product line and reinforce its reputation in the golf world. The Epon AF-302 and AF-502 forged irons do not replace current models, but instead slot neatly into the line broadening the appeal to a range of golfing ability levels. The AF-302 is made for the competition oriented player seeking optimal feel and control. This super precision forged iron is made from premium Japan S20C steel for the ultimate in soft feel which has been enhanced by additional thickness in the cavity behind the sweet spot. This gives the AF-302 pure blade like feel and control allowing unparalleled... Read More

I recently went on a hunt for a new high bounce wedge; the 56*/14* Cleveland CG-14 that I had been using no longer fit my eye for some reason. I had grown uncertain with it in my hand. Not what you want when you’re in a spot of bother and need it to get up and down. I was very impressed with the Nike VR (Victory Red) line at Pacsports launch of the new line at the Manila Polo Club so I decided to give one a go. Nike’s Victory Red line signals the company’s return to more traditional iron line than in years past. No gimmicky stickers or fancy paint jobs; just the basics but very well crafted. In my opinion, these are the best irons Nike’s produced since the Pro Combo,... Read More

When we left off with the R9, I was impressed enough with how the head felt that I felt the urge to get another more appropriate shaft for me to fully explore the head’s potential. A sympathetic Pinoygolfer in Dallas was kind enough to step up and send me a spare sleeve without which, things would not have been as straight forward. Many options presented themselves. I’ve had great success with the Graphite Design Tour AD YS-Q. I’ve had lots of success with Graphite Design shafts. I like the way they feel at impact; lively and very stable. I considered getting another YS-Q for the R9 but then an upstart new shaft manufacturer caught my eye. Oban is a new company formed by one... Read More

I admit it. Freely, I’m a club ‘ho. What you ask? A club ‘ho is a golfer that is constantly obsessed with golf equipment. He surfs the internet constantly, patrolling E-Bay and the hard core golf boards searching for the latest, greatest and rarest for their burgeoning collection. What is it about golfers and their golf clubs? It takes 14 of them to play a round of golf and yet most of us have at least 3 times that number. I’m guilty. What blinds us so that we are willing to risk the children’s trust funds on future acquisitions? Whatever the spell, this obsession is born from passion for the game; we need something to connect us to golf when we are away from the course and our... Read More

The USGA has decided to adopt new regulations covering grooves on clubs. Under these revisions, most of the current rules governing grooves remain unchanged with two additional provisions: restrictions on groove cross sectional area and groove edge sharpness on applicable golf clubs. In February 2007 the USGA issued a Notice to Manufacturers regarding proposed revisions to the Rules of Golf governing grooves on clubs. This followed the publication of extensive research work on this subject by the USGA and The R&A. Since February 2007, additional research has been undertaken and published by the USGA and The R&A. A number of manufacturers and other interested parties have provided... Read More

I wanted to show off my bag. It’s been a real process to get to this point; I could go into a litany about how many sets of irons, drivers and putters I’ve been through but I won’t. This bag represents the pinnacle of my current experience. Every club in the bag has been tweaked, balanced and weighted specifically for me. So I thought I’d record the moment for posterity. It could be downhill all the way from here. The bag is an Oakley Skull Collection tour bag. I love how it has a hard case for my shades attached to it. Very handy when it rains. The fact that it looks so good is icing on the cake. The wedges (Mizuno MP-R, Nike VR) were chosen to suit a variety of conditions.... Read More

I admit it. I’m a forged iron snob. My last four sets of irons have all been forged. I just love the overall experience of playing them; the feel at impact is soft and responsive. You can feel the ball compress and leave the clubface and the aesthetics are what I prize above all when standing over the ball. So when a friend dropped off a set of TaylorMade Tour Preferred irons, I was prepared to dislike them. They were, after all, cast; and I just new that there was no way that cast clubs would ever feel as good as any of my forgings. None ever had and I was sure that these would be more of the same. Well, I was in for a surprise. When I first set the Tour Preferred iron down behind the ball,... Read More

Though hardly a household name, Epon golf clubs manufactured by Endo Manufacturing Company, Limited are forged golf clubs of the highest quality and are now available in the Philippines through the efforts of two young entrepreneurs with a passion for fine golf clubs. In the ultra-competitive Japanese domestic market, Endo enjoys a high degree of notoriety. The company was founded in 1950 producing screwdrivers for sewing machine assembly in Tsubame-shi, Niigata. The company soon developed a reputation for forging high quality forged stainless steel products expanding operations to produce kitchenware and automobile parts. Endo started manufacturing forged iron heads in 1968, but instead of... Read More

If you’re into fine golf clubs, then you’re probably aware of the fact that the best in the world are produced in Japan. The Japanese enthusiast simply demands the best and is usually prepared to pay for it. Unfortunately, the rest of the world is reluctant to do the same, which means that information about our objects of desire is difficult to acquire as most of the sites that carry them are in Japanese. No longer. Welcome golftoimpress.com a new blog from an old hand in the world of Japanese domestic market golf club, Tourspecgolf.com. I’ve only just discovered the blog and have yet to explore it fully, but it seems to be everything that fascinated me about Tourspecgolf in... Read More

In a world where technology has transformed our golf clubs, TaylorMade introduces what they’re calling the most advanced driver on the planet. The new TaylorMade R9 features full adjustability; it combines 3 moveable weights with the Carlsbad giant’s latest technology, Flight Control Technology or FCT. FCT gives the golfer the ability to adjust the club head to affect face angle and loft. The combination of MWT and FCT give 75 yards of left to right adjustability, 3 degrees of launch angle adjustability, and up to 1800 rpm of spin adjustability. The club head can be rotated into one of eight positions, giving the ability to adjust from 2 degrees closed to 2 degrees open. This is done... Read More

Choosing the right golf ball has always been somewhat of a black art. The average golfer is largely influenced by their favorite tour player and chooses the same ball as their hero. After all, who doesn’t want to hit 300-yard drives and stop the ball dead on the greens? But this isn’t always the best or even the correct choice. The average Juan rarely has the same clubhead speed as their favorite tour player and without the ability to compress the harder tour caliber golf ball, Juan will not be able to make the most of the tour ball’s considerable abilities. But the golf ball manufacturers have seen our plight and have responded with a range of tour quality golf balls for mortals with... Read More

I happened across this article by Tom Wishon a couple of years back, but the information here is so good, I kept it just to share with you all! Use it in good health! One of the most common misconceptions about custom fitting golf clubs is that middle- and high-handicap golfers are convinced they are “not good enough to be custom fit.” Last year I had the chance to read a survey on custom clubfitting conducted by the leading information clearing house in the golf industry. One of the bits of information that just made me shake my head in disbelief was that the vast majority of middle-to-high-handicap respondents said, “as soon as I get better, I’ll think about being custom... Read More

The wedges are the true specialty clubs in your bag. They are called upon to perform a variety of tasks; chipping, pitching, full shots, bunker play, even putting on occasion, in varying circumstances, most of them bad. Judicious applications of spin work magic around the greens allowing players to jerk the ball around, as if on a string. They are the instruments with which to salvage a good score from a poor ball striking round. To the accomplished wedge player, having to manufacture a shot from a dodgy situation, this improvisation, is like playing jazz. To optimize your performance with your wedge, three variables need to be considered: Wedge sole design variations Swing types (on half... Read More