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Epon AF-152 driver revealed!  It's set to launch March 11th, TourSpecGolf has it's samples on the way.  I will be attaching it to a Crazy longest yard HOT shaft most likely.  It appears both the AF-152 and the AF-702 has some sort of cut away feature.  Expect the Epon AF-152 to be slightly draw biased and come in at 450- 460cc's.  The AF-502 is manufactured using Super Precision Forging using a High Intensity Titanium Alloy. Its new design and forged 4 piece variable thickness face has superior feel and sound at impact and creates very high ball speeds coupled with low spin for an optimal trajectory and great distance performance.

The new Epon AF-702 irons will be revealed on March 11th as well and features a single cut away center sole.  Made for the golfer looking for a forgiving iron providing maximum distance, the AF-702 provides game improvement like ease and performance in a mid sized cavity back. Still possessing a relatively thin topline and small offset, the Epon AF-702 is precision forged from soft S20C steel with a high strength AsRoll Stainless steel face featuring COR over 0.8. The thin face produces high ball speeds and allows weight to be distributed to the toe and heel to provide a wider sweet spot and lower center of gravity.  The center of gravity is further helped by two tungsten weights placed in the sole towards the toe and heel. The forgiving undercut design and stronger lofts will help golfers of all levels reach longer distances even on off center hits.

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Fourteen DT111 Driver
We've  got the scoop prior to Fourteen's official announcement.  The New Fourteen Golf DT-111 Driver!  Specifics on the drivers exact technology and build have not been confirmed so I'm going to go out on the skinny branches to give my best guestimate based on what Fourteen does best along with what they have produced in the past.  I would assume Fourteen is implementing it's popular VL titanium cup face with a 15-3-3-3 Ti body material +KS100 parts to produce a 4 piece composite structure titanium head.  In the past most Fourteen drivers were released in 9* and 10.5* and it's my best guess that they will continue that tradition.

Compared to the ST-110 it appears the exaggerated scoop has been reduced in size and the back edge of the crown features a more pronounced drop than the previous design.  Looks like the same theory in general except the new DT111's approach seems a lot more straight forward if the goal is to lower the center of gravity.  Expect an MOI above 4100 and and a nice low center of gravity.  No specific's yet on the club head volume so I can only estimate it should be in the 435cc range.  Again another company that may be opting out of the full sized 460cc head design.

Next week we will have some initial testing impressions at the Tokyo Golf Fair and I will be updating this post to reflect any differences against my speculation.

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Chris aka TourSpecGolfer here... I've been somewhat missing in action for the last 6 months with Jacque (TourSpecGirl) and I out making a difference in the world for the less fortunate.  It feels great to be back in front of the computer again ready to contribute to our readers and members here at TourSpecGolf/GolfToImpress in time for 2011 & the up coming Tokyo Golf Fair.

OEM samples were Tario's aka (gocchin) responsibility while we were away and starting in the coming weeks more and more will be headed my way to take the load off of him.  Anyway great to be back!

Coming February 26, 2011 Cleveland will be releasing their all new Japan Only CG-F2 Wedge.  Every year Cleveland usually releases one Japan Only club which is usually forged and "Made in Japan".  If your a cleveland fan and want the best they have to offer for 2011 you can't miss this.
Tech & Sales data in the U.S for 2010 show one of every ten wedges sold in America & Japan is produced by Cleveland Golf.  Besides being produced in Japan some of the changes are more evolutionary than revolutionary.  Cleveland Golf has found a way to significantly enhance spin performance over the previous model by adjusting the stance and rounding the head shape.  The Cleveland CG-F2 Forged is geared to work for a wide range of golfers from average player to professional.

Sakura Yokomine one of Japan's famed female professional golfers (Srixon Sponsored Player) has just recently put the new CG-F2 into play. Translated her comments were " It's easy to be poised with its good sized face area, Even softer hitting feel that makes the ball rise and spin a lot. It can even handle the most difficult pin positions and bunkers."

By straighting the leading edge and neck it allows any player to square up their stance with confidence.  Forgiveness was key in the design creating a medium sized head and face with all the player qualities like minimal offset and top line to satisfy all levels.  It's wide spread sole is uniform for increased stability and direction which reduces the amount of duffed shots and silly mistakes.

Made in Japan of soft forged iron and utilizing Cleveland's face milling laser cutting recipe it comes standard with DG S200 or NS Pro 950. Available in 50/8,  52/8,  56/10/14,  58/8/12,  60/8 degree loft/bounce combinations  the NS Pro has a swing balance of D3 while the S200 comes in at D4.

Look forward to the pre sale being listed in the TSG Proshop this January!

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Taylormade R11 Driver

The New Taylormade R11 Driver will be showcased at the 2011 Tokyo Golf Show  and as usual you can expect GolfToImpress/TourSpecGolf to have plenty of HD Video and High Resolution Images as well as a Taylormade R11 Driver Review.  last year we revelaed the Taylormade R9 TP Forged irons along with some other Japan only tid bits.  Will it be the R11 DEEP or perhaps an R11 Max this year dedicated to the Japanese Market?

AST = Adjustable Sole Technology

The new acronym on the sole of the club is (AST) and it stands for Adjustable Sole Technology. Combine that with FCT and MWT and you got a lot of adjustments your able to make. It's pretty amazing stuff if you ask me.

R11 Ghost Driver?

Around the web people are chiming in with positive & negative opinions on the fact that Taylormades future flagship model may come standard in white.  This seems to be the flavor of the month or month(s) with Taylormade's Ghost putter series and recently Cobra's limited edition white driver.  Still no word on if Taylormade will label the new R11 "ghost", my guess is not.

Taylormade R11 TP Driver

Yup it's a safe bet there will be the R11 TP Driver not too far down the line as well.  We can figure the MSRP on the Taylormade R11 will be in the $399.00 range and with the R11TP coming in near $699.00 these are just my guesses, confirmation should be coming soon.

Were these Images Leaked too Early?

My take is that it was an intentional leak and that Taylormade knows exactly what they are doing by getting the pictures out there on the web then asking websites to take them down. It causes a stir getting websites to speculate and customers to get into a pre release frenzy.  Taylormade markets product behind the scenes like no other companies.  Will they ask GTI/TSG to remove the images while they spread like like fire on the web?  Only time will tell...

Taylormade R11 Forged Irons?

Let's keep going right?  It's not to far of a stretch to say the Taylormade will release R11 Irons with or soon after the release of the driver. R11 Fairway Woods, R11 Wedges, R11 TP Irons, R11 Bags & Hat's it's all coming!  It's also pretty safe to say the Japanese Market will be the first to announce R11 Forged Irons and R11 TP Forged Irons.

GolfToImpress will keep you guy's updated as news comes out ...

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New Mizuno MP CRAFT 425+
Mizuno is releasing a new Forged Ti Driver for the Japanese Market that appears almost identical to previous MP-Craft Models.  November 12th is the release date and what Mizuno's goal was produce a 425cc pear shaped driver with nearly the same forgiveness as a 460cc driver.  Mizuno has claimed to close the gap making this new 425+ Craft 10% more forgiving.

For those of you not familiar with the MP Craft it's without a doubt the best feeling Mizuno driver produced in recent years. The shape, simplistic design and fact that is produced of Forged Titanium makes a world of difference compared to what they offer state side.

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(Saqra Golf - New Brand from Master Niimi Kiyonari aka Doc Niimi)

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The Gold's Factory Tiger Woods Tribute putter has been a hot seller for TSG in recent months.  Master Sasaya has created a new version that includes adjustable weights on the sole.  These should be available in the next week in the TSG ProShop so keep an eye out. ( There is no weight adjustment being offered on this model, these are set in place weights that can only be removed by Gold's Factory). In the images below it shows some different translucent paint options at no extra charge.

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Pictures have surfaced in Japan of the new Supertri Ti Fairway wood for Japan. We don't have much info on the club yet but as with previous JDM Japan Domestic Market Taylormade models like the R9 Max Ti FW, Burner Ti FW, r7 Ti FW, they are releasing a Titanium model for the Supertri. As always cost will probably be higher for the all titanium model over the standard stainless steel head.

EDIT: When images of the R9 SuperTri Ti began making the rounds on the internet, we speculated that it might be the new Japan market FW. This made sense as TM Japan has typically always released a higher grade Ti model for the Japanese market. However as confirmed by TM Japan and discovered by many golf enthusiasts, TM Japan had no plans or intentions to release the above club and turns out those heads floating around are not from TM. Please stay away from these heads if you see them on the internet as they are NOT a Japanese release or a TM release for that matter.

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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2010 Ping Anser 2 Putter Revealed!

Lot's of new products are scheduled to be released by Ping including a 14 new putter models under the scottsdale name.  One of our content partners Toshi of the popular Japanese blog Anserfreak was recently able to visit the Ping Japan headquarters and warehouse to see first hand what was in the pipeline.

The new Anser 2 model features a durable blackish grey finish from top viewing angles while the sole has a dark mirror finish.  The new insert is made of a Thermoplastic Elastomer and we were told that it feels softer yet has a surprising and more apparent impact sound.

We are not sure about the differences between the U.S market models and the Japan market models yet but based on the early reports it appears Japan is only reporting on the blackish grey finished versions while the U.S has the traditional silver finish in their marketing aids.

We do however expect the entire U.S line up to be available in Japan along with some unique Japan Only models that of course TourSpecGolf will carry.

Ping today held  their annual sales meeting  showing off  official images of the entire U.S Scottsdale putter line up and we will have more info in pictures in the coming weeks. For now enjoy the gallery images below posted on their twitter page from the event.

New Products include the Ping K-15 series, Ping "Faith" women's series, Ping S56 Irons and the 2010 Scottsdale Putter line...Enjoy!

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Matt Kuchar was spotted carrying a New Prototype Hi-610 TS Driving Iron by Fourteen Golf at the British Open this week.  Two versions are expected a standard Hi-610 and a Hi-610 TS (Tour Spec). Fourteen Golf is not sure if both models will make it to the retail market but  stay tuned for more pics and info as they are now in play on the JPGA tour as well.

It's been a while since Fourteen Golf has released a new driving iron design their last was the HI-550 and HI-660 which both have been phased out for quite some time.

Based on the looks of the spy pic via Golf.com it appears this version has a more rounded sole and will of course feature a hollow body most likely with tungsten weighting inside.

Let's hope we see a resurgence of the driving iron.  In my opinion there are far to few on the market in recent years.

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New 910 Driver and 910 Fairway Official!
June 21'st the new Titleist 910 Driver and 910 fairway woods were approved for play in competition.  Reported directly from the Titleist Tour Blog that they have begun testing and putting the 910 metal line in Tour players hands at the Acushnet Ocianside Test Facility in California.  Next week near Philly the AT&T National is where we should be seeing the new 910's  in the bag's of PGA tour players.