My visit to Miura North America HQ

[Dyno]

Big thanks to Mr Holowaty and Mr Cotter

Following up on Kiran's fantastic interview with Bill Holowaty of Miura Golf, I made the long and arduous 7 minute trek to the new headquarters of Miura Golf in Burnaby BC. Bill was invited as a special guest at Accra's dealer outing at the Windermere Golf Club so it was solely through Gawain's world class netwerking skillz that I was able to pay a visit to the North American headquarters of one of the most fascinating and mysterious brands in golf.



In typical Dyno fashion, I had only intended to stay for 15 minutes, snap some spy photos then boot outta there. Instead, we had an enjoyable discussion for about an hour and half about many topics including the business of golf, clubhead design and in particular, the Miura plant in Himeji and the family that runs it.



Kiran covered the informational side of Miura very well already so I won't reiterate what's already been reported. Here's a few nuggets that may or may not be well known:

• Typical headweights from most manufacturers fluctuate enough that a set can be handpicked for 7 gram increment on the heavy or light side. Typical Miura weight tolerance is so tight, it necessitates the ordering of heads 6g heavier than standard in order to produce higher swingweight sets.
• Certain dealers have access to 318g wedge heads that can be custom ground to customer preference. I believe Player's Edge has provided pics of these in the past. Incidentally he called while I was there :drinks: Below is a photo of the raw wedge head and a head ground by Trapper at Hot Stix (beautifully done I might add).
• Certain dealers have access to a limited edition head affectionately called "the Baby Blade". Very small, very deep muscle. Feel is like Jesus caressing the cheek of a newborn baby. Well apparently it feels awesome….a fact I intend to verify up close and personal some day.
• Model changes are infrequent and refinements are subtle. Each model update is a study in detail and subtle change. A great iron is made better rather than being reinvented. The industry is rife with 'the next greatest thing' phenomena. Miura stays the course with clean classic heads that stand the test of time.
• Each head is carefully wrapped with origami precision and bagged instead of being slammed into bubble wrap like everyone else.
  

In my time at Miura, the thing I very much noticed was the passion Ted and Bill have for the product and for service. They were fantastic to talk to and extremely accommodating. I was hoping to pay another visit to take more photos but alas, dynolife is a chaotic one lately. For certain, when the weather breaks, I'll be down there again to visit and hopefully have opportunity to range test their lineup.


Sorry pics are out of order:

1. Baby Blade topline
2. Cavities in a row
3. Trapper grind top, black production head, raw head for grinders
4. Forgiving cavities
5. Std blade, baby blade face
6. Raw wedge head, black production, Trapper grind
7. Std blade, baby blade back

[Warszawa]

Only at GolfWRX!

Thanks for sharing your trip Dyno. Much appreciated.

[gticlay]

NO WAY - I only live in Bellingham, WA... I'll have to go up there and say hello this summer.
gticlay

[wkuo3]

Thanks for the info Dyno, really great to know.
Is this new HQ of Miura the only representation of Miura in the whole North America?

[Dyno]

Miura is a very tight knit operation so the Burnaby HQ is indeed the only representation in NA.

Very cool guys, easy and fun to talk to. And they have great care and respect for the product and Mr Miura himself. He is always referred to as "Mr Miura".

[djhgolf]

Thx Dyno,

What a Honour to go there! I have no doubt, that im playing the best irons money can by!

[wkuo3]

[quote name='Dyno' post='809665' date='Dec 2 2007, 02:40 AM']Miura is a very tight knit operation so the Burnaby HQ is indeed the only representation in NA.

Very cool guys, easy and fun to talk to. And they have great care and respect for the product and Mr Miura himself. He is always referred to as "Mr Miura".[/quote]

I visit the B.C. area several times a year so, could anyone make an appointment to visit the Miura HQ or is it closed to dealers and friends only?

[sandy]

They have access to the Miuraism irons as well. They are also very honest saying that the short irons and wedges in the sets often are too big and contain offset that might put off a traditional golfer not used to this japanese design approach. I know this probably costs them some sales but nice when they are that complete in their information.

[Dyno]

[quote name='gticlay' post='809655' date='Dec 1 2007, 10:57 PM']NO WAY - I only live in Bellingham, WA... I'll have to go up there and say hello this summer.
gticlay[/quote]


WAY

[Dyno]

[quote name='wkuo3' post='809775' date='Dec 2 2007, 07:01 AM'][quote name='Dyno' post='809665' date='Dec 2 2007, 02:40 AM']Miura is a very tight knit operation so the Burnaby HQ is indeed the only representation in NA.

Very cool guys, easy and fun to talk to. And they have great care and respect for the product and Mr Miura himself. He is always referred to as "Mr Miura".[/quote]

I visit the B.C. area several times a year so, could anyone make an appointment to visit the Miura HQ or is it closed to dealers and friends only?
[/quote]

They are in a very convenient location now. Across the street is Starbucks and Tim Hortons. Down the block is the entrance to Riverway Golf Course, our local muni with range. It is a 'mat only' range as most are up here in the Pac NW but is a decent one nonetheless.

I think they would be pleased to provide you some demo's to take to the range. Just call ahead of time as they have a shipping deadline around 2 or 3pm.

[wkuo3]

[quote name='Dyno' post='809919' date='Dec 2 2007, 12:38 PM'][quote name='wkuo3' post='809775' date='Dec 2 2007, 07:01 AM'][quote name='Dyno' post='809665' date='Dec 2 2007, 02:40 AM']Miura is a very tight knit operation so the Burnaby HQ is indeed the only representation in NA.

Very cool guys, easy and fun to talk to. And they have great care and respect for the product and Mr Miura himself. He is always referred to as "Mr Miura".[/quote]

I visit the B.C. area several times a year so, could anyone make an appointment to visit the Miura HQ or is it closed to dealers and friends only?
[/quote]

They are in a very convenient location now. Across the street is Starbucks and Tim Hortons. Down the block is the entrance to Riverway Golf Course, our local muni with range. It is a 'mat only' range as most are up here in the Pac NW but is a decent one nonetheless.

I think they would be pleased to provide you some demo's to take to the range. Just call ahead of time as they have a shipping deadline around 2 or 3pm.
[/quote]
Thanks Dyno, I'll plan my visit in 2008, hopefully the currency exchange rate won't slip any further.

[theinsider]

Dyno,

This one slipped by me somehow. Great post. We appreciate your efforts to travel all 7 minutes!!

[mljones99]

good stuff!