Itobori Golf

[illmatik53]

Japanese characters are called "kanji" in Japanese. They are not called "kanji" in Chinese. They are also different. Japanese kanji was derived from Chinese characters, but they are no longer the same. These characters are Chinese, not Japanese "kanji." I can't read them and neither can any Japanese I asked.

 

Absolutely, the clubs look like they could be made in Japan. Who makes them? A small shop, I presume. As I said, it's strange that these are using Chinese kanji with a misspelled"romaji" for "ittobori." That may just be a look they're going for - an old hanko look.

 

It's easy to see how someone could be confused by this marketing idea.

 

So I actually took a little time and figured out what those characters mean. Reading from right to left, top down, it's "Takai, Mayuki" and is the name of the person who made the clubs. It uses the kanji characters that would usually be used in hanko stamps as you mentioned. That's why the company is MT and why the stamp looks like a miura giken icon but actually has a small 'T' at the bottom right section, showing MT, Mayuki Takai. Also, the instagram page they opened is under that name as well.

[golfasaurus]

Nice

 

[ksgolfguy007]

I would love to game some CB irons if anyone knows where I can try them out?

[F1pilot22]

sexy irons!

would love to game a set.

[jtarble]

Did anyone check these guys out at the PGA Show? I've seen pictures but no commentary.

[LionGolfer]

The driver is fantastic. Been gaming that for a few months now. Looking at the irons and wedges now

[Golfingfanatic]

These welded blade irons are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my entire life.

[gioguy21]

i think I'd want a set of the wedges -- but only to look at. they're gorgeous. as for the irons -- eh. the drivers no thanks.

[Petunia Sprinkle]

Itobori clubs look more like something you'd give as a gift to a future father-in-law than actually use (no idea what 'dad' would do with them, though).

[tcgolf22]

m sorry but we are actually stopping to sell Itobori now.

bottom line is these are open model heads, his cost is approx 1000 yen ($9 usd) per head, he then finishes the heads for less than $15 dollars. This is the lowest cost type of iron you can produce. They are called open model blanks made specifically so brands can stamp their logo on them to create a quick club. approx 30 + labor his cost. Then he marks up 11X and tries to sell it. How do you feel about that sir?

Do you want to buy open model heads that cost 30 bucks to make for 350?

Between the consumer and the cost of the product there is 11X markup.

You can go on Alibaba and buy the same raw blank heads yourself in bulk.

Also the verdict is not out yet from the R&A and USGA on his technique of flattening the face of pressed grooves to create sharper edges.

My suggestion is something like the Crazy Tour or Sky Dream Jump 115 Limited or CGS Orion Wedges.

The Modus 125 is coming out in april and will ship to you as soon as released.

Crazy weight kit can ship any time.

What would you like to do about the wedges? refund or change?

Thanks,

Chris Pierson

www.TourSpecGolf.com

 

I got that email above after I tried to order these wedges

[LionGolfer]

m sorry but we are actually stopping to sell Itobori now.

bottom line is these are open model heads, his cost is approx 1000 yen ($9 usd) per head, he then finishes the heads for less than $15 dollars. This is the lowest cost type of iron you can produce. They are called open model blanks made specifically so brands can stamp their logo on them to create a quick club. approx 30 + labor his cost. Then he marks up 11X and tries to sell it. How do you feel about that sir?

Do you want to buy open model heads that cost 30 bucks to make for 350?

Between the consumer and the cost of the product there is 11X markup.

You can go on Alibaba and buy the same raw blank heads yourself in bulk.

Also the verdict is not out yet from the R&A and USGA on his technique of flattening the face of pressed grooves to create sharper edges.

My suggestion is something like the Crazy Tour or Sky Dream Jump 115 Limited or CGS Orion Wedges.

The Modus 125 is coming out in april and will ship to you as soon as released.

Crazy weight kit can ship any time.

What would you like to do about the wedges? refund or change?

Thanks,

Chris Pierson

www.TourSpecGolf.com

 

I got that email above after I tried to order these wedges

 

Lol... sounds like he can;t get them anymore.... even if its true, such cheap slut tricks....

 

Don;t doubt the blanks but many do that...if you can find the same finished heads at alibaba, pls send me the link ... His seven irons and wedges... not from blanks? his anser putters, not from blanks? Glass house folly...

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

Those look really good, although I probably would only display them them.

[Bigmean]

m sorry but we are actually stopping to sell Itobori now.

bottom line is these are open model heads, his cost is approx 1000 yen ($9 usd) per head, he then finishes the heads for less than $15 dollars. This is the lowest cost type of iron you can produce. They are called open model blanks made specifically so brands can stamp their logo on them to create a quick club. approx 30 + labor his cost. Then he marks up 11X and tries to sell it. How do you feel about that sir?

Do you want to buy open model heads that cost 30 bucks to make for 350?

Between the consumer and the cost of the product there is 11X markup.

You can go on Alibaba and buy the same raw blank heads yourself in bulk.

Also the verdict is not out yet from the R&A and USGA on his technique of flattening the face of pressed grooves to create sharper edges.

My suggestion is something like the Crazy Tour or Sky Dream Jump 115 Limited or CGS Orion Wedges.

The Modus 125 is coming out in april and will ship to you as soon as released.

Crazy weight kit can ship any time.

What would you like to do about the wedges? refund or change?

Thanks,

Chris Pierson

www.TourSpecGolf.com

 

I got that email above after I tried to order these wedges

 

What?

 

First of all, 45% of that site is catalog heads. Second, I always thought that these were Kyoei catalog heads like yururi etc. is that it true? Also is it $9 plus $15 to finish them or $24 his cost or is or $30 + labor to equal his total cost? The answer to that is confusing as both were said and it is really important that I know his hard costs to the dollar so I can make an informed decision. I can tell you as the owner of a company that has a few CNCs and produces custom manufacturing, it is difficult for me to pinpoint project hard costs when you consider both fixed and variable and multiple projects being produced at the same time etc, so I am impressed that he knows seemingly more about this dudes company than maybe even the dude does?

 

I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but I would fully expect a hard cost on a $300 iron to be $30 before it is ground and finished. You think a raw Miura head hard costs more? Probably less since they are making it in house. I would bet the hard cost to the manufacturer of some of those seven items would sound alarming when compared to the sale price, So I am not really sure why that was the direction chosen for this instead of "we don't carry them anymore"

[LionGolfer]

m sorry but we are actually stopping to sell Itobori now.

bottom line is these are open model heads, his cost is approx 1000 yen ($9 usd) per head, he then finishes the heads for less than $15 dollars. This is the lowest cost type of iron you can produce. They are called open model blanks made specifically so brands can stamp their logo on them to create a quick club. approx 30 + labor his cost. Then he marks up 11X and tries to sell it. How do you feel about that sir?

Do you want to buy open model heads that cost 30 bucks to make for 350?

Between the consumer and the cost of the product there is 11X markup.

You can go on Alibaba and buy the same raw blank heads yourself in bulk.

Also the verdict is not out yet from the R&A and USGA on his technique of flattening the face of pressed grooves to create sharper edges.

My suggestion is something like the Crazy Tour or Sky Dream Jump 115 Limited or CGS Orion Wedges.

The Modus 125 is coming out in april and will ship to you as soon as released.

Crazy weight kit can ship any time.

What would you like to do about the wedges? refund or change?

Thanks,

Chris Pierson

www.TourSpecGolf.com

 

I got that email above after I tried to order these wedges

 

So here he sings praises of itobori and how their irons and wedges are forged in himeji.... Presumably when he was supposed to be their global dealer or something like that... Clearly that's not the case now so all of a sudden ito is crap. He's full of crap if you ask me.

 

The drivers are made in Taiwan though so the local dealer tells me but it is really one of my longest heads and can be the absolute longest.

 

http://blog.tourspecgolf.com/itobori-golf-clubs-partners-with-tourspecgolf/

[kingarthur]

m sorry but we are actually stopping to sell Itobori now.

bottom line is these are open model heads, his cost is approx 1000 yen ($9 usd) per head, he then finishes the heads for less than $15 dollars. This is the lowest cost type of iron you can produce. They are called open model blanks made specifically so brands can stamp their logo on them to create a quick club. approx 30 + labor his cost. Then he marks up 11X and tries to sell it. How do you feel about that sir?

Do you want to buy open model heads that cost 30 bucks to make for 350?

Between the consumer and the cost of the product there is 11X markup.

You can go on Alibaba and buy the same raw blank heads yourself in bulk.

Also the verdict is not out yet from the R&A and USGA on his technique of flattening the face of pressed grooves to create sharper edges.

My suggestion is something like the Crazy Tour or Sky Dream Jump 115 Limited or CGS Orion Wedges.

The Modus 125 is coming out in april and will ship to you as soon as released.

Crazy weight kit can ship any time.

What would you like to do about the wedges? refund or change?

Thanks,

Chris Pierson

www.TourSpecGolf.com

 

I got that email above after I tried to order these wedges

 

So here he sings praises of itobori and how their irons and wedges are forged in himeji.... Presumably when he was supposed to be their global dealer or something like that... Clearly that's not the case now so all of a sudden ito is crap. He's full of crap if you ask me.

 

The drivers are made in Taiwan though so the local dealer tells me but it is really one of my longest heads and can be the absolute longest.

 

http://blog.tourspecgolf.com/itobori-golf-clubs-partners-with-tourspecgolf/

to the best of my knowledge, Taiwan no longer produce club heads, mass production wise. The company that manufacture them is probably own by Taiwanese but production will definitely be in China.

[LionGolfer]

m sorry but we are actually stopping to sell Itobori now.

bottom line is these are open model heads, his cost is approx 1000 yen ($9 usd) per head, he then finishes the heads for less than $15 dollars. This is the lowest cost type of iron you can produce. They are called open model blanks made specifically so brands can stamp their logo on them to create a quick club. approx 30 + labor his cost. Then he marks up 11X and tries to sell it. How do you feel about that sir?

Do you want to buy open model heads that cost 30 bucks to make for 350?

Between the consumer and the cost of the product there is 11X markup.

You can go on Alibaba and buy the same raw blank heads yourself in bulk.

Also the verdict is not out yet from the R&A and USGA on his technique of flattening the face of pressed grooves to create sharper edges.

My suggestion is something like the Crazy Tour or Sky Dream Jump 115 Limited or CGS Orion Wedges.

The Modus 125 is coming out in april and will ship to you as soon as released.

Crazy weight kit can ship any time.

What would you like to do about the wedges? refund or change?

Thanks,

Chris Pierson

www.TourSpecGolf.com

 

I got that email above after I tried to order these wedges

 

So here he sings praises of itobori and how their irons and wedges are forged in himeji.... Presumably when he was supposed to be their global dealer or something like that... Clearly that's not the case now so all of a sudden ito is crap. He's full of crap if you ask me.

 

The drivers are made in Taiwan though so the local dealer tells me but it is really one of my longest heads and can be the absolute longest.

 

http://blog.tourspecgolf.com/itobori-golf-clubs-partners-with-tourspecgolf/

to the best of my knowledge, Taiwan no longer produce club heads, mass production wise. The company that manufacture them is probably own by Taiwanese but production will definitely be in China.

 

Won't be surprised. I'm OK with that too as the thing performs and I like the looks. Mine is the unpainted finish.

[Jwags]

i played with a guy the other day who had a lob wedge in the burnt copper finish. As stated before it was a total ball shredder. The finish shows some major wear on the sole after a few bunker shots. For the $700 AUD he paid for it in while on holiday in Thailand i would say they are not worth the hype. Unless your buying to show off to your boys.

[marmaduk]

These irons get a lot of hate and I get that.

I personally think they are gorgeous. I probably wouldn't go for the rainbow set but none the less great looking. I love the grinds.

As far as working from blanks go I was under the impression this is SUPER common for the niche Japanese market. Not everyone has PXG money when they start a company.

Finally, regarding the markup. As a business owner I say good for you. Value is subjective. How much does it cost to make a Gucci purse? If you're interested in buying these clubs your wife probably already owns $10 purses that she paid $500 for. It's all relative.

 

That's my 2cents.

[Swisstrader98]

m sorry but we are actually stopping to sell Itobori now.

bottom line is these are open model heads, his cost is approx 1000 yen ($9 usd) per head, he then finishes the heads for less than $15 dollars. This is the lowest cost type of iron you can produce. They are called open model blanks made specifically so brands can stamp their logo on them to create a quick club. approx 30 + labor his cost. Then he marks up 11X and tries to sell it. How do you feel about that sir?

Do you want to buy open model heads that cost 30 bucks to make for 350?

Between the consumer and the cost of the product there is 11X markup.

You can go on Alibaba and buy the same raw blank heads yourself in bulk.

Also the verdict is not out yet from the R&A and USGA on his technique of flattening the face of pressed grooves to create sharper edges.

My suggestion is something like the Crazy Tour or Sky Dream Jump 115 Limited or CGS Orion Wedges.

The Modus 125 is coming out in april and will ship to you as soon as released.

Crazy weight kit can ship any time.

What would you like to do about the wedges? refund or change?

Thanks,

Chris Pierson

www.TourSpecGolf.com

 

I got that email above after I tried to order these wedges

 

Typical response from Chris at Tour Spec. I recall some years ago where he went from singing the praises of some OEM and then they had some sort of falling out and he completely trashed them.

 

Totally unprofessional in my view and doubly so when my fitter in the US is now telling me these are some of the softest and most accurate forgings he’s ever seen and he knows his stuff as one of the Top 100 fitters in the US.

[IC3BURGH]

Lots of talk but not a lot of substance...

 

I hit the new CBs a couple weeks ago. I don’t have a lot of experience with other JDM stuff, though I hit these next to a number of Epon models. These were way more forgiving and softer than equivalent Epon models. They also looked 100x better though you can see that in pictures. I tried as hard as possible to legitimize buying them, but ultimately I just wasn’t hitting them well enough to plunk down the dough.

 

The guy from TSG can talk all the crap he wants, but I loved the irons. Also yikes, that business practice...

[IC3BURGH]

m sorry but we are actually stopping to sell Itobori now.

bottom line is these are open model heads, his cost is approx 1000 yen ($9 usd) per head, he then finishes the heads for less than $15 dollars. This is the lowest cost type of iron you can produce. They are called open model blanks made specifically so brands can stamp their logo on them to create a quick club. approx 30 + labor his cost. Then he marks up 11X and tries to sell it. How do you feel about that sir?

Do you want to buy open model heads that cost 30 bucks to make for 350?

Between the consumer and the cost of the product there is 11X markup.

You can go on Alibaba and buy the same raw blank heads yourself in bulk.

Also the verdict is not out yet from the R&A and USGA on his technique of flattening the face of pressed grooves to create sharper edges.

My suggestion is something like the Crazy Tour or Sky Dream Jump 115 Limited or CGS Orion Wedges.

The Modus 125 is coming out in april and will ship to you as soon as released.

Crazy weight kit can ship any time.

What would you like to do about the wedges? refund or change?

Thanks,

Chris Pierson

www.TourSpecGolf.com

 

I got that email above after I tried to order these wedges

 

Typical response from Chris at Tour Spec. I recall some years ago where he went from singing the praises of some OEM and then they had some sort of falling out and he completely trashed them.

 

Totally unprofessional in my view and doubly so when my fitter in the US is now telling me these are some of the softest and most accurate forgings hes ever seen and he knows his stuff as one of the Top 100 fitters in the US.

 

Bill at Novogolf?

[A.G. Pennypacker]

 

 

Totally unprofessional in my view and doubly so when my fitter in the US is now telling me these are some of the softest and most accurate forgings he's ever seen and he knows his stuff as one of the Top 100 fitters in the US.

 

This sounds fishy to me. How can something that has the entire sole randomly ground be one of the most accurate forgings ever? Unless I'm misunderstanding the comment...

[Bogey London]

I have a set of Itobori burning copper irons, 4-P, grip with brand new Lamkin midsize red, shafted with Nippon NSPRO 950 regular. 9/10 as used for 1 year. Spent a lot of money on it.

 

Priced to sell 1500$

[puresurfr]

m sorry but we are actually stopping to sell Itobori now.

bottom line is these are open model heads, his cost is approx 1000 yen ($9 usd) per head, he then finishes the heads for less than $15 dollars. This is the lowest cost type of iron you can produce. They are called open model blanks made specifically so brands can stamp their logo on them to create a quick club. approx 30 + labor his cost. Then he marks up 11X and tries to sell it. How do you feel about that sir?

Do you want to buy open model heads that cost 30 bucks to make for 350?

Between the consumer and the cost of the product there is 11X markup.

You can go on Alibaba and buy the same raw blank heads yourself in bulk.

Also the verdict is not out yet from the R&A and USGA on his technique of flattening the face of pressed grooves to create sharper edges.

My suggestion is something like the Crazy Tour or Sky Dream Jump 115 Limited or CGS Orion Wedges.

The Modus 125 is coming out in april and will ship to you as soon as released.

Crazy weight kit can ship any time.

What would you like to do about the wedges? refund or change?

Thanks,

Chris Pierson

www.TourSpecGolf.com

 

I got that email above after I tried to order these wedges

 

What?

 

First of all, 45% of that site is catalog heads. Second, I always thought that these were Kyoei catalog heads like yururi etc. is that it true? Also is it $9 plus $15 to finish them or $24 his cost or is or $30 + labor to equal his total cost? The answer to that is confusing as both were said and it is really important that I know his hard costs to the dollar so I can make an informed decision. I can tell you as the owner of a company that has a few CNCs and produces custom manufacturing, it is difficult for me to pinpoint project hard costs when you consider both fixed and variable and multiple projects being produced at the same time etc, so I am impressed that he knows seemingly more about this dudes company than maybe even the dude does?

 

I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but I would fully expect a hard cost on a $300 iron to be $30 before it is ground and finished. You think a raw Miura head hard costs more? Probably less since they are making it in house. I would bet the hard cost to the manufacturer of some of those seven items would sound alarming when compared to the sale price, So I am not really sure why that was the direction chosen for this instead of "we don't carry them anymore"

 

Its funny how Chris is using the same exact blanks for his new offering of Kyoei MB irons and offering a 5 way sole......Its still the same $9 blank but its supposedly perfect now that he is the exclusive seller. I play the Kyoei MB and yes they are indeed forgiving and long and the 5 way sole works perfectly for my very very unorthodox swing.