EPON AF TOUR BLADE

[jamiejamster]

How does this blade look??

[rpmsooner]

This question must be rhetorical...that club is BEAUTIFUL!

[varsityhacker]

Wow that is one of the best blades I have seen in a long time. Do you have any other pic's and have you gotten to hit the new AF-Tour?

[Mekeni]

Is that a Nike swoosh in the cavity?

[jamiejamster]

NO Thats just the design

[jamiejamster]

NO not yet have the irons in about 6weeks time will show pictures then,they will be the same size as af-301

Cheers J

[ttank2610]

nice 1 m8!!

 

can't wait to see them!!

[Jack aMMo]

Gorgeous.

[apocalypsem3]

Is Epon producing 2-iron for AF-TOUR?

[xxio]

NO Thats just the design

 

 

What does it do from a design aspect?

[tariq]

what i see concerning the design

 

the "swoosh" looking at the start of it...removes weight from the heel and hosel thus relocating sweetspot to the center of thwe clubface.

 

thats my take...similar with tennis rackets...sweetspot always nearer to the yoke below the center of the racket face

[xxio]

I was thinking of that as well but we need confirmation. There are other ways to move the sweetspot. They chose this which I think takes away from the looks.

 

That is what attracted me to the TB1000s. A blade with the sweetspot centered. I don't know how they do it. I think there is a small cavity and/or weight repositioning within the muscle?

[slammer]

These look great. Kinda remind me (to some degree) of the way the Callaway X-prototypes in that the the back of the cavity is split into 1/2's. For what it's worth the Callaway X-Proto's are forged by Endo.

[jamiejamster]

YES they are forged by ENDO and so was trevor immelmans driver that he won the masters with and that was nike swoosh on the sole.cheers j

[jamiejamster]

Hi I will post more pictures of the club and show you what they mean about the centre of the sweetspot on every club from 3-pw but i will need the clubs to show you and then you will understand 1st week in december hopefully can post all the pictures then. Thanks J

[jamiejamster]

I will know by 1st week in december if they are bringing out a 2iron ive asked the same question but will let you know when i get the info. Thanks J

[Spoon]

will be testing mine in the range today shafted with KBS tour stiff softstepped 2x

 

 

 

 

[Jack aMMo]

I would say it is a real beauty, C.

 

Knowing the Epon feel, they should feel excellent and sooooft.

[Spoon]

i probably dont have the swing to utilize these beauties to their full potential but i was so curious and wanted to see how forgiving they were. will have updates soon

[jacksonlui]

that's awesome

would love to see a comparison to the typeS, love the TypeS!!

[GetinDAhole26]

sexxy

[TBone]

Epon Press Release:

 

Epon Golf is scheduled to release its new 2009 model AF-Tour Muscle Back Iron this November 20th worldwide.

 

The New AF-Tour Iron is forged by Endo of soft 1020 Japan Industry Standard Grade Steel and features a revolutionary new design to further improve upon forgiveness when compared to traditional muscle back designs of the past.

 

A special die was created to form a slight cavity which lowers the center of gravity and shifts weight from the heel area to the toe producing a center of the face sweet spot instead of traditional blade designs sweet spot located closer to the heel.

 

We are very excited to release Epon's first Muscle back We have worked long and hard to make this new product the Ultimate Blade for the low to mid handicap player.

[Spoon]

ok guys i officially have tried the AFTOUR, after several sessions in the range let me just say that these are so easy to hit. not as easy as the 701 but certainly not less forgiving than the af501 and 301. other golfers also unanimously agree.

 

had these shafted in dgs300 and kbtours, according to epon, the shafts were designed with the 110g and up shaft selection so it would be unwise to put a much lighter shaft.

 

what is surprising is that it plays easier than it looks. what was hard to adjust to was the lofting of the irons, they are approx 1 club weak and lofts seem to be weaker by 3-4*. so naturally my distance was way off compared to the af701 which naturally ahs stronger lofts to begin with. over clubbing certainly fixed that.

 

what makes the iron shine is that that it is extremely balanced, im not a consistent ball striker but i was consistenly hitting the ball in the center of the face and the marks will prove it:) there is certainly loss of distance compared to a same lofted 701 but not by much. the dispersion is very very tight. looked like around 5-10 yards compared to the very fickle 701.

 

they are not unforgiving at all, im a high capper and i can hit these quite well, those will lower caps will even be more amazed. for thsoe that think it is unforgiving i suggest you try or borrow a set, couple of hits and youl see why this is touted as the easiest blade to hit.

 

 

 

 

 

[Natee]

Thank you for the review, Spoon. How do they feel at impact compared to AF301? Do they feel more solid? Also, which shaft perform and feel better, DGS300 or KBTour?

[Spoon]

Thank you for the review, Spoon. How do they feel at impact? Is it much more solid than AF301?

 

defintely. what is weird is that the af301 is suppose to be much easier to hit on paper but testing the tours for real is that it seemed much easier to hit. its very weird. also do not that it is suppose to be more difficult to hit the sweetspot of the tours but i was more consistent than the larger faced 301. doesnt make sense to me at all.

 

i guess im quite surprised coz these are blades as easy to hit as cbs. maybe helps that i was concentrating more and using a smoother swing coz of the smaller face compared to my gungho style with the af501/701s. another feat was being able to hit a double dime sized sweetspot on face most of the time unlike with the af501/701 it was dicey this one was spot on. epon has something uber special here.

 

im sure there is a scientific answer as why i hit these better than 301/501, or maybe its psychological dont quite now. if its a love at first site thing then it should be shortlived. only time will tell as ive already pulled the triggger on this set

 

as to the better shaft, they both feel awesome, no one gets the edge, i could easily pick up either although im more likely going for the kbstour due to my curiosity more than anything else

[coops]

Sounds great - will stop by golfcraft tomorrow anyway for some queries.....

 

The loft of 8 iron is 40 degrees - which is more traditional - the 301's are the quite usual 'modern' standard of 38.... whereas there are of course some that market '8' irons of 36 degrees - ie a full club stronger.

 

Quite like the idea of a weaker loft for say 7 to PW especially..... as my swing has improved the 8 iron is getting a bit further than seems sensible.

 

I'll find out tomorrow, but hope Golfcraft have some KKBS TOur shafts in stock... want to change one out of my ProjX 301 set and compare.

 

 

Coops

[Spoon]

Thank you for the review, Spoon. How do they feel at impact? Is it much more solid than AF301?

 

defintely. what is weird is that the af301 is suppose to be much easier to hit on paper but testing the tours for real is that it seemed much easier to hit. its very weird. also do not that it is suppose to be more difficult to hit the sweetspot of the tours but i was more consistent than the larger faced 301. doesnt make sense to me at all.

 

i guess im quite surprised coz these are blades as easy to hit as cbs. maybe helps that i was concentrating more and using a smoother swing coz of the smaller face compared to my gungho style with the af501/701s. another feat was being able to hit a double dime sized sweetspot on face most of the time unlike with the af501/701 it was dicey this one was spot on. epon has something uber special here.

 

im sure there is a scientific answer as why i hit these better than 301/501, or maybe its psychological dont quite now. if its a love at first site thing then it should be shortlived. only time will tell as ive already pulled the triggger on this set

 

as to the better shaft, they both feel awesome, no one gets the edge, i could easily pick up either although im more likely going for the kbstour due to my curiosity more than anything else

 

 

Sounds great - will stop by golfcraft tomorrow anyway for some queries.....

 

The loft of 8 iron is 40 degrees - which is more traditional - the 301's are the quite usual 'modern' standard of 38.... whereas there are of course some that market '8' irons of 36 degrees - ie a full club stronger.

 

Quite like the idea of a weaker loft for say 7 to PW especially..... as my swing has improved the 8 iron is getting a bit further than seems sensible.

 

I'll find out tomorrow, but hope Golfcraft have some KKBS TOur shafts in stock... want to change one out of my ProjX 301 set and compare.

 

 

Coops

 

 

Coops,

 

they certaily will have kbs tour. anyway when you get to golfcrafts, give my regards to King from carlo of the philippines. he showed me around and must have spent the whole day hitting epons on the hitting bay. love that shop!

[Duffy19]

C:

 

I had problem with the 301 hence afriad to try the new blade. Did you test on mat or grass range? I think there is a major difference in testing any clubs on mat vs. real course condition. My scores really suffered when I had the 301 (inconsistent) and I am now sticking to my 501.

[Natee]

Coops, as I checked with King last week, the KB Tour was not yet available. With my request, King had ordered it along with Nippon Super Peening Blue for demo a few weeks ago, but they are still not available. May be, I will call him today too.

[coops]

No KBS Tour at Golfcraft today... but sounds like i can get my flat black 301's refinished in black chrome, which will be nice. Will check with Sarintr tomorrow about the KBS stuff and also MOI matching......

 

Duffy - for me the 301's are great , just a good honest cavity back to give you feedback along with forgiveness. I've heard the 501's are also very good so if you like 'em keep playing them! 301's on grass or mats are fine - but be sure to check if you're comparing same shafts - the shaft does make a big difference to feel and how you'll swing it.

 

Tried the AFTour briefly - no markings on the shaft so not sure, but was ok. Looks great.

 

Did try a 22degree 901 - with a machline graphite shaft. Very nice indeed - when i hand in my clubs for refinishing i'll be ordering the 19 degree one..... to replace my Ping G2HL 2 iron which is great but the 901 will have less offset. It's a perfect alternative to hybrids if like me, hybrids freak you out...

 

 

Incidentally - i know some have asked why so little changes to the 301's which have been named differently but are the same design...... recently seen the new Mizuno's - very nice but just how different is that 'dual muscle' weight in the cavity of the 62's fromthe 301's..... Epon are perhaps at the one extreme end with Taylor Made at the other......