Mashie "Tour" reviews...

[Mr3Wiggle]

Any reviews on the "tour" version of the Mashie?

[serveitup911]

[quote name='Mr3Wiggle' timestamp='1302547339' post='3142714']
Any reviews on the "tour" version of the Mashie?
[/quote]

I went to a multi-manufacturer demo day today, and had the opportunity to hit the mashie tour version with the 83g C. Kua stiff. I hit the 15.5, 18, & 20.5 lofts.
The range that the demo day was held at has very thin sandy lies, so if you can hit a club there, you can hit it absolutely anywhere. Very hard to get down to the ball, but if you hit a 1/2 mm fat, it is like a bunker shot that goes nowhere.
After seeing me hit some drivers, I told the Cleveland rep that I was interested in trying the Mashie. I expected him to hand me the normal Mashie with the 59g shaft that I knew about. But, he instead handed me the tour version with 83g shaft and said, "here, this one would be more for you, lower ball flight, less offset". I had no idea they made a tour version. The tour version has a similar look to the standard, but the head is more compact. The rail sole system looks very similar to the standard sole.

With that background out of the way, here is my review:

First, I tried the 15.5 - the results were very good considering how thin the lies were. It had an extremely hot, piercing trajectory that planed in the air and went forever. This would be a great club for someone who hits too high. If you threw in the C. Kua X flex, the ball would stay down no matter what.

Next up was the 18 - What a ball flight! It took off like a rocket on a mid trajectory and climbed slowly, but didn't come close to ballooning. I don't often say this about a club, but the accuracy really surprised me - I think a lot has to do with the Miyazaki shaft. The balls took off right on line, and stayed on line extremely well. I was hitting it so well that I started finding the worst lies possible, including dropping it into divots. The divots didn't even see to be there - contact was still extremely solid and the ball flight was almost unaffected. One shot in particular, I dropped into a pretty deep divot and aimed at a flag a little over 200 yards away, just as a reference point. The result made me, the two Cleveland reps, and about 4 other golfers around me laugh because it was so ridiculously good. I hit it just as well as if it was a perfect lie; the shot took off right on line and stayed on a string. It stayed in the air forever, but like I said, no ballooning with this. I thought I was going to hit the flag, but instead it carried directly over the flag, and carried by 30 yards. The most telling aspect was that it just felt like a normal shot; I didn't feel like a hero or anything.

Finally was the 20.5 - The results were very similar to the 18, but went a bit higher. It still had a piercing flight though, and it was still very long.

In general, I loved the retro finish - it really frames the ball well. The feel is best described as solid and powerful, as well as the sound. It makes a deep, solid thwack.
Even with how thin the lies were, I never fel like I hit one thin, so the sweetspot must extend to quite low on the face. The face seems very responsive, generating lots of ball speed.
I've hit many hybrids, but this head / shaft combo blows EVERYTHING else away. The playability of the sole, distance, accuracy, flight, sound, feel, and forgiveness combine to make this the best hybrid to date.

I promise I don't work for Cleveland, I just haven't been so excited about a club before.