Epon versus Tourstage

[werthan]

Driver heads

I have been doing some research on Japanese drivers. At this point, I am not actually sold that they are better than plain domestic U.S. drivers or tour issued drivers, so please feel free to jump on that comment if you wish.

However, it does appear that the Epon AF-101 and the Bridgestone (take your pick - J33 or 701R) have a pretty good following as far as heads go. People can't seem to speak highly enough about the feel.

I was thinking of picking one of these up (and plan to call Mr. Kwok regarding shafts). Can anyone compare these heads or have any opinions on other heads I should be considering?

Also, one follow up - is now a bad time to buy a driver head? In other words, is it better to wait until after winter? Just curious. Thanks.

[joey3108]

IMHGO, Driver is the most technology OEM's R&D Dept spend their money on due to lots of factors and the nature of the competition. The bigger the budget is the better the result ( most likely ). They even have their players tested them all before they release them to public.

Second, Think about value to your own budget...in case if you don't like it.

LaST but not least, Try a bunch of them and take a look your own swing tendency to match it with the head character for easier time finding the right shaft.

Good Luck!

Joe

[werthan]

Thank you very much for the response. I did not really mean to get into a topic of whether people waste money on buying Japanese drivers instead of OEM drivers since OEMs spend so much R&D money on them. However, it does raise the question to me why so many prefer Japanese drivers? If the R&D theory is true, presumably everyone would just buy TM, Ping, Titleist etc. because they are longer, straighter and feel better. (I do realize it is all relative to the shaft, but leaving the shaft out of it....).

Putting aside money for a moment and the "to each his own" argument, should people just skip Japanese drivers because they are expensive and do not provide any better performance? I have a TM R510 now and love it, and I have Vega irons think they were [b]well[/b] worth the money, so I am not arguing either side. But I am now curious whether you should just stick with the major manufacturers when it comes to drivers, maybe focusing on tour drivers instead of Japanese.

Joe, would definitely love to try all these drivers, but really don't have any way to without buying sight unseen (i.e., no way to test Japanese drivers or even tour issue drivers since no one sells them near me). I will be calling you about the shaft and fitting though.

Possibly overthinking this, but oh well.

[idrive]

Why did you buy Vega irons?

My guess is because of the quality. It is no different with the Drivers. Quality, craftsmanship, materials. tolerances.

I find the most interesting part is you think a Tour issued Driver is better than an off the rack Driver.

The only difference is the Tour head has been checked for weight, loft, lie, etc. The reason they do this is because the manufacturing tolerances of the USDM's are so far off this is how they know what they are.

[n6jt]

I have had experience with the Epon AF-101 driver for the past couple of months. I find it to be an exceptionally smooth feeling club with a soft sound at impact. With the right shaft for your swing, it delivers superb performance. Quality of the clubhead is outstanding, and probably reflects use of highest grade alloys, forging in the most modern foundry in japan, and attention to detail in production. Highly recommended.

JTClubs

[werthan]

[quote name='idrive' post='1942433' date='Sep 9 2009, 09:41 PM']Why did you buy Vega irons?

My guess is because of the quality. It is no different with the Drivers. Quality, craftsmanship, materials. tolerances.

I find the most interesting part is you think a Tour issued Driver is better than an off the rack Driver.

The only difference is the Tour head has been checked for weight, loft, lie, etc. The reason they do this is because the manufacturing tolerances of the USDM's are so far off this is how they know what they are.[/quote]

Agreed. That is why I limited my comments to drivers. The Vega irons feel fantastic. Moreover, I was asking about drivers for the same reason, and from I can tell from the response above, Joe is saying that the commercial drivers (whether tour issues, off the rack or whatever) are just as good, if not better, because of the R&D money spent on them. Since I can't test the Japanese drivers, I have no way to tell whether they do in fact feel and perform better.

I really don't care if it is tour issued or off the rack, and thank you for the explanation of the differences. I really just mentioned it because those appear to be how people categorize them, not only in terms of the driver, but in terms of the forum itself.

[esinger430]

tried them all. bought them all. best feeling was epon and tour stage. however, i found that the shaft has more to do with it. i now use matrix shafts vs axiv and fujkikura.

the best driver i have actually hit is now the taylormade xr driver. the feel is different but the ball travels for miles before it hits the ground. i am a short hitter and think i gained an additional 10 yards on my drivers. the xr with fct system is worth a look. i am talking about the 2009 version.

[joey3108]

Cosmetic and feel are subjective IMO.

Set your priority correctly first with your [b]own[/b] budget, then get them fitted properly.

Fitting is not about one good hit, it's about calculating lots of factors to give us the most consistent MAXIMUM performance according to your skill level to give the most % in our scoring. To read the numbers is easy, to translate it with the right combination components is another different ball game. Not to mention building it correctly.

Joe