Who is considered the best JDM iron makers?

[chocolatte]

Hey guys, I am new to JDM clubs, I have been reading a lot about Epon and Miura on this board. I understand those two are considered top quality. I am wondering if there are other options. I am saving up for a new set for this year. Thanks!

[vanla01]

Yamaha and OnOff are two other options for high quality JDM products. Both companies I mentioned are ENDO forged, Epon is ENDO's in house brand.

[Badgergolfer2]

Most people would say Epon. Considering that Epon is Endo's in-house brand and Endo forges 95% of the forged irons on the market, I dont think you could really argue against them.

[Swisstrader98]

Uhm...not trying to be glib, but just spend some time reading through this forum. All the answers right there

[TheBoomer]

EPON

[BP5168]

Once you get to Epon, Miura, etc .... It's personal preference thereafter I believe.

[chiromikey]

can't speak about all the models but as far as blades go, epon and yururi both top miura imho.

[TheMoneyShot]

I would have to say Miura on this one.

[tbowles411]

For me, it's a toss up. I've played Vega, hit Miura, And researched Epon. All are very good. I have to give the nod to Miura...that is until I hit Epon.

[TheMoneyShot]

[quote name='tbowles411' timestamp='1343955435' post='5399160']
For me, it's a toss up. I've played Vega, hit Miura, And researched Epon. All are very good. I have to give the nod to Miura...that is until I hit Epon.
[/quote]

You know that your a Miura guy at heart...

[tbowles411]

[quote name='TheMoneyShot' timestamp='1343955613' post='5399178']
[quote name='tbowles411' timestamp='1343955435' post='5399160']
For me, it's a toss up. I've played Vega, hit Miura, And researched Epon. All are very good. I have to give the nod to Miura...that is until I hit Epon.
[/quote]

You know that your a Miura guy at heart...
[/quote]
Until...

[wizo]

Miura - personal preference and I just bought a set.

[freehb]

No question, epon. Keyoi forges some nice irons as well. Love my yonex nanov tour forged cb's....they are endo forged.

Not sure where all the Miura love is coming from....have owned both 202 and 501 sets and they can't hold a candle to my 302s...or even mizuno for my money...they are shorter and contact is harsher IMO than epon.

[chiromikey]

[quote name='freehb' timestamp='1344028202' post='5403412']
No question, epon. Keyoi forges some nice irons as well. Love my yonex nanov tour forged cb's....they are endo forged.

Not sure where all the Miura love is coming from....have owned both 202 and 501 sets and they can't hold a candle to my 302s...or even mizuno for my money...they are shorter and contact is harsher IMO than epon.
[/quote]
my thoughts exactly...

[potuna]

I'm going to say both Miura and Endo, I have a set of Onoff 2011 forged by Endo. Super soft with a good amount of forgivness, fantastic irons. My other set are Onoff 247 CBs, Miura forged with the purest feel of any iron I have ever hit. To me better than 201,202, 301 and 501 Miura's.

[BP5168]

[quote name='freehb' timestamp='1344028202' post='5403412']
No question, epon. Keyoi forges some nice irons as well. Love my yonex nanov tour forged cb's....they are endo forged.

Not sure where all the Miura love is coming from....have owned both 202 and 501 sets and they can't hold a candle to my 302s...or even mizuno for my money...they are shorter and contact is harsher IMO than epon.
[/quote]

Personal preference. I've owned Epon AF-501's, hit the 302's, and Miura CB-501's were longer for me, tighter, and the feel is soft yet solid. Epon's for some reason feel kind of "clicky" to me. Don't get me wrong, they feel soft yet ... Hard to explain. Maybe it was the sound?

I prefer Miura's but to be honest, the forgings are all top notch. I'd think shaft choice is pretty darn important.

[chiromikey]

i've hit miura tb's and epon blades with the the same shaft and epons felt better in every way by a long margin. not hating, just disappointed after reading all the miura hype and almost buying a set or three...

[freehb]

[quote name='BP5168' timestamp='1344058258' post='5405318']
[quote name='freehb' timestamp='1344028202' post='5403412']
No question, epon. Keyoi forges some nice irons as well. Love my yonex nanov tour forged cb's....they are endo forged.

Not sure where all the Miura love is coming from....have owned both 202 and 501 sets and they can't hold a candle to my 302s...or even mizuno for my money...they are shorter and contact is harsher IMO than epon.
[/quote]

Personal preference. I've owned Epon AF-501's, hit the 302's, and Miura CB-501's were longer for me, tighter, and the feel is soft yet solid. Epon's for some reason feel kind of "clicky" to me. Don't get me wrong, they feel soft yet ... Hard to explain. Maybe it was the sound?



I prefer Miura's but to be honest, the forgings are all top notch. I'd think shaft choice is pretty darn important.
[/quote]

For sure, shaft is huge. I did not like the nanovs with steel shafts but with Aerotech they feel great. In fairness, I had steel shafts in my miuras. Personal preference on feel is a huge factor. What feels harsh to some is butter to others. What I love about my copper 302s is the feeling that the ball sticks to the face and the sound as well. It's a shame that it's so difficult to try premium JDM forgings in the us. Once you find the right combo though it's a marriage for life....although I've been looking at the epon personals longingly...I promised myself no more blades but I think I could play them...

[freehb]

[quote name='chiromikey' timestamp='1344061531' post='5405390']
i've hit miura tb's and epon blades with the the same shaft and epons felt better in every way by a long margin. not hating, just disappointed after reading all the miura hype and almost buying a set or three...
[/quote]

I'm with you bro! I get BP's comment but what he calls "clicky" to feels like a ball hitting caramel...oh so deep, rich and soft..there really is nothing softer IMO. What epon model are you playing chiro?

[mozgolf]

Must be Endo I hear they forge Tigers clubs for Nike....


(WTF, was that my out loud voice!!!)

[idrive]

As a JDM ho I've hit all of them.

I keep coming back to my Epons.

I've tried every way possible to kick them out of the bag.

Most of the JDM's are fantastic, Epon is the pinnacle.

[mr.haha]

Ill go with Epon as well. My AF tours were the single best golf related purchase i have ever made.

ive also hit miuras (japanese version), vegas and yururis as well.

[MizzyMan]

I've had 302's, Miura TB's, Baby Blades (which I play currently), and 501's. The Epons are perhaps the "softest". The Baby Blades are close but what I prefer is the "solid" feel they give. Like a big hammer pounding a nail into a board. Pure bliss. For me, the most solid feeling irons I've ever hit. But still pretty soft. People are always touting soft, but soft without solid to me is no good. Like all these putters with these ridiculous inserts. Soft as hell but feel terrible (IMO). The 501's are less solid (by a hair), as are the TB's and the 302's. So I guess it depends where you place your priorities. To me, the BB's are miles ahead of the others I mentioned as far as combo of soft and solid.

[Vegaman]

Miura isn't really JDM, they are officially offered worldwide. Miura Giken is JDM. Epon probably sells more clubs internationally than they do in Japan, and are starting to be officially offered in the US and the EU if I'm not mistaken..Other "real" JDM brands offering great irons to consider would be Tourstage, Srixon, Fourteen, Royal Collection, Callaway Japan, Titleist Japan, Romaro and a host of others.

To just say "ENDO" is a bit weird because Endo makes irons for many many brands according to the specs the individual brands provide. So Endo can be totally crap if the design from the actual brand is crap. The actual forging will be top class of course, but a quality forging can't mask bad design.

[tsupo]

ive got them alll had them all . eveyr last one in every cavity ,blade, manifestation of grinding. blah blahblah

EPON is THE pinacle of club making .
it doesnt mater which model, EPON is better .

my clubbuilder also says epon is the best he works with, and he makes more clubs than u cud possibly beleive is possible.
the next step is the oems forged at ENDO funnily enough, ,then miura ,mizuno, kyoei... etcetc.

personal prefernece to shape is as much a factor as anything.
ive got shiiity srixon pro 100s made in china and they go damn well for a pop out set, bec the shape makes me hit hte centre more than most others,

nothing holds a candle to EPON, not even the ENDO forged OEMS clubs.

[swing981]

epon recently offered a limited putter for 1000 usd and it sold out..epon the best

[poorputter]

Fourteen tc 770

[MizzyMan]

[quote name='swing981' timestamp='1344238205' post='5414374']
epon recently offered a limited putter for 1000 usd and it sold out..epon the best
[/quote]

Oh, ok. So they make some goofy looking putter with dents all over it, and it was "limited", meaning there weren't that many made, and sold out. So that means they make the best irons? Gotcha...

[chiromikey]

i think we all know he was implying that it's because of epon's quality and reputation that they can sell out of a high dollar putter without most clients even needing to try it to know that it will be something special and worth owning. regardless, it doesn't change the fact that he's right...epon is the best.

[MizzyMan]

So by that logic, when Justin Bieber comes to town and sells out a 20,000 seat arena for $500 a pop and Pavarotti struggles to sell out an opera house for $100, Biebs is better? Hell no, it means a few zealots will pay anything for their Kool-Aid.

The OP was asking what other JDM irons were up in quality with Miura and Epon, as he was looking at these and other options. As I said earlier, I've had both and in my opinion Miura is better, but that's not a fact, but an opinion. I prefer the looks, feel,
consistency, and ball flight I get with their blades over the AF tours. And their specs were all dead spot-on, as with the Epons. "The fact is" that neither are better, it comes down to preference. Other options that are up there would be Yamaha, Tourstage, etc as Vegaman mentioned. It just bugs me to no end when someone says that "so-and-so is the best and that's all there is to it".