Experimental WITB - Custom Japanese Forged Irons

[nicklaminator]

Hi GolfWRX, long time lurker, and I've finally decided to start getting more active on the forum. I figured since entering the WITB contest to be featured on the homepage, I might as well make a post here too! My bag is full of experiments, hence the title. From shafts to the actual clubs themselves, none are fitted - they're all trial and error. Story time behind it all after the photos and details. Without further ado, here are the bag specs and photos :Full Bag Shot:

Driver: Ping G30 LST (9 degrees - set neutral)

Shaft: Tour AD MT-7x

3-wood: TaylorMade Burner Superfast 2.0 TP

Shaft: Project X PXv Tour 52 6.5

2-iron: Titleist 712U (18 degree)

Shaft: Tour AD DI-105x

Irons: Titleist 712 CB (3 iron)

Kyoei raw forged blanks (4-PW)

Shafts: Project X 6.0 (3 iron)

KBS Tour X (4-PW)

Wedges: Kyoei Raw Forged Blanks (52-14, 57-08 degrees)

Shafts: KBS Tour Custom Black Pearl X

Putter: Scotty Cameron California Del Mar

Grip: Iomic Standard White Putter Grip

Golf Ball: ProV1x

Grips: Driver & 3 wood - Golf Pride ZGrip Cord

2-iron - Lamkin ST+2 Hybrid

3-iron - Lamkin Crossline Full-cord

4-PW - Pure Pro (White)

Wedges - Pure Pro (White)

Golf Bag: Titleist Linksmaster Members Bag

Story time! Background: I'm a 4 handicapper who previously played competitive golf (university & national level, albeit poorly). My game has always been relatively iron strong, hence the blades. I have no sense of direction of the ball, but I tend to not miss the middle of the club face or miss contact (just really open or really shut club face). I also hit it a decent way, at least enough to not struggle on most courses. I don't have any actual good club data as it's been a little while since getting on a monitor, but driver ball speed is somewhere around the 165 mph - 170 mph area from the winter. My playing distances (carry) look something like this from the last time I checked:

Driver - 290

3 wood - 260

2i - 235

3i - 21* - 220

4i - 23* - 210

5i - 26* - 200

6i - 30* - 190

7i - 34* - 180

8i - 38* - 170

9i - 42* - 160

PW - 46* - 150

GW - 52* - 135

SW - 57* - 110

As far as the bag goes, I've titled this as an experimental WITB as everything from the driver to putter was just a trial or testing before ending up in my bag. I wasn't fit for anything in the bag and I've simply tried things out, either out of pure boredom or interest in the process. Here's a breakdown of each item: Driver: After playing a Titleist 910D3 8.5* (X 'Ahina 80) for a while, I finally got around to switching it up to a Ping G30 on a pure whim of seeing a great used price. I've tried 3 other shafts before landing on the AD MT (Ping X stiff stock shaft, Tour AD BB, Oban Kiyoshi Black). With switching to this shaft, I now hit the ball as far and as straight as I've ever hit it. Definitely something new, because for the first time in my golf career, I'm not losing balls off the tee. Since it's provided me with so much success, I haven't had any intention of switching. My plan is to see the next iteration of LST (after Ping 410) before starting my search for a new driver.3 wood: Similar to many golfers, 3 woods seem to have a special place in the golf bag. This one, despite it's ups and downs, has stuck around with me for the longest. A friend of mine frankensteined this together many years back, and since then, it has stuck in the bag as a staple off the tee. Sadly, this no longer fits the bill just due to the fact that I hit the ball far enough with my 3i for most controlled tee shots. I very seldom hit approaches with the club as it's original intention was to be an off the tee club, so I'll be retiring this soon.2 iron: Originally, this 2 iron had a X100 shaft in it. I intended to have it to "only be able to turn right", and I over-executed. I could ONLY turn it right, without any ability to control distance or flight. So as a result, I saw a random deal on the shaft, and decided why not give it a try. The AD DI turned out to be perfect and I gamed it ever since! Sadly, similar to the 3 wood, I have found myself reaching for it less just due to the nature of my golf game, so I'll likely be switching this out for something.3 iron: This 3 iron is a staple in my golf bag. I've had this club by my side since 2012, and I don't know what to do without it. I use this for most tight par 4s and I hit some of my best shots ever with it. Quick story about the club: I played an invitational and on the first tee there was a skins game of $40 for the two rounds of the day ($20 each). Being a cheapskate, I decided not to play. On my tee shot, I hit a low fade stinger that followed the middle of the fairway on a tight par 4. Without my knowing, the starters of the tournament saw that shot and thought I would be a dark horse in the tournament and spotted my position with their own cash! I proceeded to shoot two of my worst rounds that year with birdies only on par 5s. I'm sure those two starters must think back and regret that decision, but ever since then, the low stinger has been deemed "the $40 golf shot " among friends.Irons and Wedges: After gaming 712 CBs for 6 years, I figured it was time to switch. Originally my search began with more game improvement irons, as my golf game was going down hill after starting work and life without competitive golf. As quickly as my search began, I stumbled upon TourSpec. From there, my intrigue to Japanese clubs deepened, and I came across a set of Kyoei blank raw blades. This popped an idea into my head and I figured, it would be a great experiment to try something new! So I ordered them (along with wedge heads) and went to a local club maker to grind and finish the irons/wedges. Lo and behold, after an arduous process, I got them back and they were pristine. I now game them and they are by far the best irons I've ever played. I've never struck the ball as well or hit it as far as I have than with these irons. They're the pride and joy of my bag, and are low-key without being flashy. They also come along with a great story and hopefully ball striking to merit owning them. The lofts on each of the irons are 1* stronger than the 718 titleist MBs. Not sure on the swing weight, other than the fact that they're just slightly heavier than 718 MBs.Putter: My putter was a prize I won as a junior golfer. It was my first Scotty, and it has simply stayed in my bag since winning it. I've since removed the honey dip finish, as well as the sight line. Boredom has gotten the best of me, and I've also repainted the putter 3 times already. As of late I haven't been putting all that well, but here's to hoping that changes.

Conclusion: That covers the current state of my golf bag! Some things I'm considering in updating in my bag are my 3 wood, 2 iron and putter. As of right now, for replacing the 3 wood and 2 iron, some things I'm considering are perhaps a 3 wood + 2 hybrid, 4 wood + 3 hybrid, 1 hybrid + 2 driving iron, or a 2 hybrid/4 wood + 62* wedge. A lot of options, but I have yet to decide just based on the fact that I don't even reach for these clubs now (I play with 12 clubs essentially). The putter I'm considering switching out simply because I've been trying to learn 3D modelling; if I'm able to mill one from scratch, I'll game it, regardless of score . Apart from that, I hope to continue with these clubs for a long time, and hopefully this was a good read!!

Additional photos:

When the irons were new/in build + old WITB photos:

 

4 iron sight line and at address:

Grips:

Additional WITB Photo:

[DE-ILLINI]

Fantastic looking bag. Great story behind each club.

[hurley999s]

That’s awesome. Thanks for sharing that - very cool! Glad to have you on board here.

[nicklaminator]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed!

[short and straight]

Love it all. Great setup. Thanks for sharing.

[dpatti]

Those blades are sic

[wam78]

Now that is a proper looking 4 iron!

[OsnolaKinnard]

beautiful clubs. That putter is my all time favorite...and I love the look and shape of it, but I unfortunately, cannot put worth a darn with it!!!!!

[Guest]

Very cool & diverse bag!

[nicklaminator]

Thanks everyone for the kind words!!

[DaRiz]

Damn those irons + wedges are so sweet looking! I've been wanting to try Kyoei wedges for a while now, they are pretty pricey at retail, but the blanks on TSG seemed too good to be true, I am seriously considering grabbing a set for experimentation

Can you share any more info on the story of the grind/finish process? Curious what input you gave the builder.. just some loft/lie specs, or did you have a vision in your mind of offset, topline, bounce, etc..

[nicklaminator]

Sure thing! No more photos but I basically started off of my previous wedges. I used vokeys in 54 & 58 and I had a lot of success with those so I just stuck with what I knew in lie and bounce. As far as shape went, I left it to the builder to decide for the most part. I had a couple atypical asks: thinner topline on both wedges and a straight edge on the 52*, as I could use it for full shots. Bounce/lie/loft were simply adjusted to my specs.

As much as I love the clubs, the wedges are definitely not exactly what I asked for. There's a decent bit of offset for a wedge, and the shape is inconsistent on the hosel. Reason being, is that these clubs just have a lot more "bulk" than initially expected. I worked with a pretty skilled person locally and he noted was that there was a surprising amount of club still to be ground down. This made the wedges way harder to work with in terms of getting things to the right spot. He quoted a much lower price thinking it would be a relatively quick job, but realistically, it took far longer and far more effort than he imagined. All I'd consider is checking in with whomever you're planning to work with, and chat it through with them!

[DaRiz]

awesome, thanks for the insight! Good to know going into it.

[Yoda555]

looks really great. love the raw look and the simplicity/cleanliness of the irons. 

[phizzy30]

I like the setup.  I loved the way the Kyoei blades felt when I had an opportunity to try them years ago.  But seriously,  you need to wash your balls bro.  😉

Edited October 16, 2020 by phizzy30

[Santiago Golf]

Wish those irons came in lefty

[Flippa_]

Wow bag looks great

[Ivyguy]

For the first time... ever, the text was better than the pictures. 
 

super happy about your success with the sticks.  

[cjrobertson]

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the custom blades cost? I'd love to do something like this but its hard to start. 

[nicklaminator]

On 12/25/2020 at 2:14 AM, cjrobertson said:

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the custom blades cost? I'd love to do something like this but its hard to start. 

Unfortunately I can't give you a solid number. This was a first for the builder, so the actual cost was probably lower than expected cost of someone experienced willing to do this. I can say the heads are from tourspec, and are only $350 right now. As far as shafts, those are just some used ones I bought for cheap. It'll really depend on your builder, which I would recommend be local. Sorry I can't offer more information! 

[cjrobertson]

13 hours ago, nicklaminator said:

Unfortunately I can't give you a solid number. This was a first for the builder, so the actual cost was probably lower than expected cost of someone experienced willing to do this. I can say the heads are from tourspec, and are only $350 right now. As far as shafts, those are just some used ones I bought for cheap. It'll really depend on your builder, which I would recommend be local. Sorry I can't offer more information! 

No worries. Thanks for the info!

[j_giesler]

Those irons are incredible