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So I've actually had a new Dance with Dragon 60* forged wedge here for the last couple of months. The new DWD wedge is made by one of Japan's true grinding masters, Masahiro Tomaru of Grind Studio. When I first received the wedge for testing I noticed that the 60* had a very high 10* bounce. I thought it would be interesting to try this "lob" wedge out as a sand wedge.

Just to give some background on Tomaru-san, he was an aspiring pro golfer and from 18 years of age to 22 he worked hard at trying to pass the pro test (as Q-school is called in Japan) to become a professional golfer on tour.  Tomaru-san came to the realization that making the tour was to high a mountain to climb so he instead joined Dunlop (Sri Sports as we know it today) in the golf sales department hoping to expand his golf background. As Sri grew, Tomaru-san wanted to move into golf club design, where his real passion lay however, Dunlop had no vacancies there so he left at age 25 and went to Fourteen Golf.  At Fourteen, Tomaru-san spent 11 years fine tuning his skills as a club designer and craftsman. He was responsible for most of Fourteen's irons designs as well as credit as the creator of the MT-28 wedge. In case you didn't notice, MT = Masahiro Tomaru.

Tomaru-san decided to leave Fourteen to start his own company called Grind Studio. At first he also lent a hand at designing wedges for other top Japanese brands including the still sought after Royal Collection DB Forged wedge (Double Bounce). This wedge has a cult following for its tour like grind and shape and was made in very few numbers, each hand ground by Tomaru-san and stamped with a small "T" on the toe face. Tomaru-san went on to focus on his Grind Studio brand and as a one man brand personally hand made every GS wedge and iron to spec. GS has a huge cult following in Japan as well as heavy top amateur usage as well as some pros on the Japan tour. Because of this, Tomaru-san spends more than 60% of the year grinding for pros and top amateurs only, so getting his services for a custom wedge is quite rare. Dance with Dragoj however wanted one of the best so they had Tomaru-san create and grind their newest wedge.

There are two finishes available, a satin and raw black, as well as 4 lofts. Lofts are marked on the sole and by a "fleur de lis" mark to indicate loft (the 60* above has 4 x fleur de lis). I received the raw black model and as you can see the finish will wear especially since I used the 60 in the sand. You can see the black finish rub off and the wedge does require minor maintenance like keeping moisture off and being wiped dry after shots. The wedge itself has a wonderful shape to it and Tomaru-san always does a great job on the grind and the neck and top line. It sets up wonderfully at address and opens up easily thanks to a lot of heel and trailing edge relief.

The top line is rather sharp and straight and the higher toe allows for more control and workability. The sole itself has a blunt and slightly rounded leading edge. The trailing edge allows for very clean exit from any turf and as you can see from the image below there is quite a bit of heel relief. With an open face, this wedge still points easily at the target.

Depending on who you are and how you look at it, a 60* wedge can be a very versatile club. There are players who rely on it as a complimentary club, for the occasional flop shot or as they are usually called lob shot, and then there are those who rely on it for everything including bunker play. Looking at the DWD 60*, its certainly a good looking club that sets up well. The back face may be busy for some especially on the 60 which has those 4 x fleur de lis marks that indicate the 60*.  I think they could have dropped these for a cleaner design especially since the loft is already marked on the sole. Feel wise the wedge is crisp and you can feel the ball compress on the face and spin off.  It is not mushy soft but soft enough and spin is on par with most conforming groove wedges. For bounce, many may think 10* is a bit high for chip shots and short approaches from the fairway but it really depends on the players type of swing and the course this wedge is used on. Most 60* wedges seem to have bounces that range between 4 and 8* to suit a variety of players.

Typically a 60* wedge used as a sand wedge might be considered for more advanced players however in the past few weeks I've learned to use the 60* out of the bunkers and it works. 10* of bounce is adequate for the soft sand conditions and still works on the lush fairways here in Japan.  Higher bounce can actually be more forgiving for average golfers especially ones who have a tendency to dig.  There are after all many 52* and even 50* Japanese model approach wedges that also have 10* of bounce.  For tight lies and hardpan it will be harder to keep the leading edge down to the ground due to the bounce so sweeping type players and more advance players may find the bounce too high especially if they play on those kind of courses with compacted soil.

Overall I've been happy with the wedge and it has been very versatile for me.  From 50-60 yards and in its pretty much the 60* unless I need to pitch and run.  I'm satisfied with the looks, feel and spin. The finish or lack thereof since it is raw does wear and some may not like the weathered look but I like it as it looks well "used".  Others can simply opt for the satin version.  Of course you can also go for the more traditional type of sand wedge lofts as a 56/10 and 58/10 are also available.  Everyone is different and there are so many possibilities when it comes to wedges and the setup each individual carries. The 60* worked for me even as a sand wedge but how about you?

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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We're proud to announce that TSG will once again be able to offer Dance with Dragon products to our members and customers.  DWD has grown to encompass even more products than ever due to its growing recognition thanks to the addition of sponsored top pro Shingo Katayama. DWD however still maintains its boutique style offerings and prices meaning quantity is limited and sometimes hard to get.

I've actually been testing their new forged wedge, designed and grinded by Masahiro Tomaru from Grind Studio. For those of you who don't know Tomaru-san, he is one of the great master grinders and wedge makers in Japan and I did do a blog post on a visit I had with him last year you can read here. The new DWD wedge, forged in Japan from S25C do have conforming grooves but honestly when I look at them they do look like sharp square grooves. Like Tomaru-san's own GS wedges, it has a versatile grind and very little offset.  It comes in either brushed satin or raw flat black and is available in 52/8 56/10 58/10 or 60/10 lofts with DG S200 or 950GH Regular or Stiff shafts. It also comes with one of those very nice DWD grips in Black. Swingweight is higher at D3-D4. I've been testing the 60* and even though its listed as 10* bounce it has worked rather well in all conditions and even out of the bunker.  Bite is fantastic.

We'll also be carrying all the new headcovers, caps, bags and accessories though it will take some time for us to get all the new products in the TSG Pro Shop.

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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It was a rainy day today in Tokyo but it was not enough do dampen my visit to Shinagawa where I went to visit the Dance with Dragon 2010 Collection Preview with Master Sasaya from Gold's Factory. Next years DWD collection has a Star Wars theme as you can see in the poster behind Master Sasaya and I. The Star Wars theme song played in the background as we spoke with DWD staff about their new collection, signing top Japanese Pro Shingo Katayama and how Dance with Dragon will take golf enthusiasts to where no golfer has gone before!

The large staging area was filled with racks of DWD clothing. Clothing is always the major focus of DWD especially for a summer collection where clothing sells the most. The displays had both the coming Spring Collection and Summer Collection and Dance With Dragon showed off its usual bright colors and daring designs for both men and women. Since TSG is now selling clothes and looking to slowly expand their golf wear offering we really wanted to pick out some of the hot items at this DWD preview launch. As always, the new caddy bags stood out with awesome design and quality. I have already decided I am getting one for the new season though a certain master also told me that he would have his own caddy bags in the new year... decisions decisions!

Other standout items included new Dance with Dragon putter grips to go along with their sticky wood and iron grips. There will be two new styles of putter grips and 6 different colors in all.  Dance with Dragon has a close relationship with Iomic and these do look very similar to Iomic's new Absolute putter grips.  The camouflage grips look very cool!

As always Dance with Dragon is releasing some of the best looking caps in golf. I own a few already and I can say they fit great and are always top quality. They have several new caps including integrated magnetic ball markers in a couple of their models. The white and black one below is definitely one I am targeting for the new season.

Finally comes the clothes. They have some really hot stuff for next season and a lot of it is definitely influenced by top Japan pro Shingo Katayama who will be wearing all of this collection. From very stylish polo shirts, to slick solid colored pants, to the brightest checkered pants, there is something for everyone, men or ladies.  This simple D and DWD logo is going into my clothing rotation for sure.

I took  quite a few pics for everyone to check out. Dance with Dragon is by no means cheap, in fact it is one of the higher priced premium golf wear brands. One thing you can be sure of is getting high quality one of a kind golf wear. You can bet that nobody in your golf club has the same clothes as you do if you are wearing DWD. Look for the new collection to make its way into the pro shop in coming months!

Check out the pictures!

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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I'm short and usually dress like a bum but I love golf clothes almost as much as I love golf clubs. Here in Japan even a very unstylish guy like myself, can become rather stylish (so I would like to think) with the many cool clothing brands here. The clothing market in Japan for golf, is probably as crazy as golf clubs themselves or in fact even worse. Most clothes sell out in weeks and are very tough to get because manufacturers make such limited amounts. Prices are not cheap but you get what you pay for and that's good looking and good quality clothing.

The fierce battle for clothing stock has been one of the reasons why we have been hesitating to carry clothing at TSG. It's hard to keep all sizes and colors on hand and if you don't it's hard to get any at all. But alas, customer demand and our desire to give everyone a shot at these cool brands has let us to into formulating a new clothing strategy.

We're looking at starting off with a few select brands since there are so many good ones. I've chatted with a few members of TSG and there have been requests for brands like Pearly Gates which I really love but is just ultra expensive and always selling out. We're probably going to start with the following brands:

Le Coq Sportif
Munsingwear
Adidas Japan
Mizuno Japan
and maybe Dance with Dragon if they can actually keep up stock for us.

If you have any suggestions or requests for brands just make a comment here.

Now if only nice golf clothes would lower my golf score, then they would be perfect. (^_^)

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.