Equipment

New Miura Golf President says quality, pricing “will stay the same”

Published

7 years ago

Jan 11, 2017

New Miura Golf President Hoyt McGarity confirmed to GolfWRX that a new group has made a significant investment in Miura Golf. True Spec Golf will now act as a management company that deals specifically with the worldwide sales and distribution of Miura products.

The news of Miura’s sale, which was first reported on GolfWRX, created a flurry of discussion about Miura’s future within the golf equipment world — both the Miura family’s role, and potential changes to Miura products.

“At the end of the day, I want to get across to people that Miura Golf clubs are going to continue to be made at the same factory in Himeji, Japan,” McGarity told GolfWRX. “Mr. Miura and his family will have control over everything that goes on with production and development of Miura clubs.”

McGarity also addressed questions about Miura’s quality and pricing, saying that the company’s tolerances “have always been tight, and they’re going to stay tight.” He also said prices of Miura clubs “will stay the same.”

“[Miura clubs] aren’t for the mass market and are never going to be,” he said. “We’re an ultra-premium brand, and we’re going to stay ultra-premium.”

McGarity, 33, is also the CEO of True Spec Golf, a custom club-fitting company that was founded in 2014 and has expanded to 10 physical locations under his leadership. The company takes what it calls a “brand-agnostic” approach to club fitting, helping golfers find the best golf clubs for their game. McGarity is also the CEO of True Spec Golf sister company Club Conex.

“True Spec will always be brand agnostic,” McGarity said. “If [another brand’s clubs] are better than Miura’s, that’s a Miura problem. We’re always going to sell the best-performing clubs to our customers.”

True Spec will act as a “fulfillment center” for Miura, McGarity said, specifically as “a shipping and storage place.”

McGarity stated that the real advantage for Miura’s partnership with True Spec is True Spec’s ownership of Club Conex, a company that sells patented components that allow golfers to try the same golf shaft in a variety of different golf club heads, regardless of club head manufacturer. Club Conex is used by the vast majority of premium club fitters, opening up important distribution channels for Miura.

“Club Conex is primed to help Miura with distribution,” McGarity said. “With Miura, you’re going to see a company that’s heavily consumer-focused and dealer-focused.”

McGarity also cited the importance of improving the appeal of the Miura brand internationally. “The brand and its appearance have to be the same quality as the clubs themselves,” McGarity said. “Because no one makes better forged irons than the Miura family.”

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20 Comments

Faking-it-with-blades

Jan 14, 2017 at 11:06 am

Anyone notice a particular iconic Miura iron NOT featured in the glamour shot above? Is the Baby Blade literally “out of the picture” going forward?

Reply Report comment
rex235

Jan 12, 2017 at 8:16 pm

“Miura will remain an ultra premium brand…”
When Miura makes a LH forged model of the 1957 Cavity Back they made for Jack Nicklaus…

Reply Report comment
ZJohnson

Jan 12, 2017 at 4:21 pm

Ok, now this makes sense. Cool Clubs did fulfillment for Miura this time last year as they started to sell their product in brick and mortar stores across the US. They built approx. 100 sets before having to stop so they didn’t fall behind with their own customers. Cool Clubs distributes for KBS now as it is much more time and cost effective for them. Unless True Spec hires two/three guys to do nothing but fulfill Miura’s orders, it’s going to be tough for them to keep up.

Reply Report comment
- B. McKenna
  
  Jan 16, 2017 at 7:31 pm
  
  I watched this Hoyt guy try to bend a set of irons at Modern Golf and it was pretty bad. There are tons of industry guys with more knowledge than him. I’d give this relationship 6 months. If CC couldn’t pull it off with their facility, doubt Tour Spec will be able to handle it.
  
  Reply Report comment
LD

Jan 12, 2017 at 9:36 am

Talk is cheap.

Reply Report comment
Tom C

Jan 12, 2017 at 9:29 am

Well, at least he’s an Irishman.

Those new irons are already a clear indicator of a different direction. I appreciate the new Presidents words, but I just don’t see how it will happen. I’m sure there will be a clear view of things that a new owner would want to do to make money, and some of the current operations are cost prohibitive in terms of manufacturing, but some of those things are what make them such quality clubs. It’s contradictory to say that “we want to increase the brand recognition world wide”, but we aren’t going to make it a mass selling brand.

The brand and it’s appearance are already as good as the clubs themselves, they just want to sell more and more of them, which I understand, as the market is becoming more and more competitive in this ultra-premium market. That being said, it’d be like saying Koenigsegg needs to market better because they sell 20 cars a year, when Ferrari sells 100. Koenigsegg’s are made in an old airplane hangar, and make the fastest cars in the world, and much like Miura, most people have no idea what they are, but for those that do, they’re all you’d ever want, and you wouldn’t want them to change.

This is like Mercedes releasing the “Under $30k” renditions of their cars. Yeah, it’s nice. Yeah, it says Mercedes, but is it really a Mercedes? Meh.

The only consolation I find in this is that the buy out isn’t from a direct competitor looking to buy out their market share (and avoid questioning over patents), so it’s not going to be an Adams-Taylormade ordeal.

Reply Report comment
Daniel

Jan 12, 2017 at 9:26 am

Wasn’t their PP-9005 Genesis clubs that GolfWRX just reviewed made in some other factory?

Reply Report comment
- Zak Kozuchowski
  
  Jan 12, 2017 at 9:34 am
  
  The Genesis irons are made in Miura’s factory. That correction has been made in our review: http://www.golfwrx.com/419156/review-miura-neo-genesis-pp-9005-irons/
  
  Reply Report comment
- Adam
  
  Jan 12, 2017 at 9:35 am
  
  Absolutely correct:
  Production country “China”
  
  http://www.miuragiken.com/products/passing_point/pp-9005/index.html
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Daniel
    
    Jan 12, 2017 at 9:53 am
    
    The sentence in that review article was too specific to have been a typo IMO. Something about the geometries being too hard for that facility.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Zak Kozuchowski
      
      Jan 12, 2017 at 10:54 am
      
      Thanks for the questions and comments, guys. This response is directly from Miura:
      
      “All Miura irons start from a single billet of soft carbon Japanese steel at the Miura Giken factory in Himeji. (this is what will always distinguish Miura irons) The next step of the process is working with our partner in Taiwan to complete the manufacturing process (the 455 Carpenter Steel face) The clubs are then shipped back to the Miura factory for final inspection before making their way to market.”
      
      “With reference to the Miura Giken website, technically the club is “finished in Taiwan (China) and thus you are not able to say Made it Japan, however, the Miura family is involved in the process, start to finish.”
      
      Reply Report comment
      - gunmetal
        
        Jan 12, 2017 at 2:08 pm
        
        So the Japanese plant has lost capability to finish the heads? Or it’s just cheaper for them to ship them off to Taiwan/China, pay Taiwan/China labor rates, then ship them back to Japan or straight to True Spec or whoever than it is to just finish them in Japan?
        
        I know this is partly semantics, but when you play the “Made/Forged in Japan” card so blatantly sometimes the details can be a little muddy, lol.
        
        Reply Report comment
        
        Mark
        
        Jan 12, 2017 at 3:13 pm
        
        I do not think this is about cheaper labour rates. Taiwanese companies are, collectively, the world’s biggest producers of golf equipment. They own all of the major production sites in China and many of them have kept their specialist production units located in Taiwan (driver heads which require intricate casting tend to be produced there). I think Miura have simply chosen a high quality Taiwanese supplier to do what they are unable to do. If I remember correctly, Tom Wishon has used Taiwan based facilities for his advanced materials designs.
        
        Reply Report comment
Rich

Jan 12, 2017 at 8:55 am

There is no way Miura will not fall victim (to what degree is yet to be seen) to compromise when there has been significant investment. Whoever put the money in, will expect to see money back and that will not happen with significant change.

Reply Report comment
Adam

Jan 12, 2017 at 5:39 am

So has TSG bought or invested in Miura Golf (which is the North American and International Sales arm of Miura) or have they bought the parent company Miura Giken from Japan who produces all the clubs for Miura and Miura Giken. So far in 2 articles it is still not clear!

Reply Report comment
- Zak Kozuchowski
  
  Jan 12, 2017 at 7:34 am
  
  Adam,
  
  Miura offers slightly different products under the names Miura and Miura-Giken (Japan), but all products are designed and manufactured under one roof. The deal encompasses all of Miura.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - S Hitty
    
    Jan 12, 2017 at 12:29 pm
    
    I don’t get why such information is so hard to obtain from their own website and why do you have to explain it all in the comments and not in the articles themselves.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Zak Kozuchowski
      
      Jan 12, 2017 at 12:40 pm
      
      We have added the detail to the body of the Genesis review for all future readers to understand and discuss.
      
      Reply Report comment
Tom

Jan 11, 2017 at 8:58 pm

+1

Reply Report comment
Chunkiebuck

Jan 11, 2017 at 8:36 pm

Hey, are those rear tail lights or turn signals on the back? I’m guessing they flash left or right depending on ball flight direction. You know, in case you missed the flight of your ball, you can
take a quick peek at the back of these clubs for confirmation.

Reply Report comment

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Whats in the Bag

Scottie Scheffler’s winning WITB: 2023 Hero World Challenge

Published

6 hours ago

Dec 3, 2023

GolfWRX Staff

Driver: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (8 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X

Irons: Srixon ZU85 (3-4) Buy here, TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW) Buy here.
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Hybrid Prototype 10 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (50-12F, 56-14F) Buy here, Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (60-06K) Buy here.
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Logan Olson prototype

Photo via Olson Putter Co.

Photo via Olson Putter Co.

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1 Buy here.

See the rest of Scottie Scheffler’s WITB in the forums.

The winning WITB is presented by 2nd Swing Golf. 2nd Swing has more than 100,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.

More Scottie Scheffler WITBs

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Equipment

Driver, shaft combinations of strokes gained: off-the-tee leaders

Published

2 days ago

Dec 1, 2023

GolfWRX Staff

‘Tis the season for, well, looking back at the previous golf season. Hopefully, you’re still able to put a peg in the ground where you live.

However, if you find yourself stuck on the couch, staring longingly at your clubs in the corner as they begin their period of forced hibernation, we’re here to offer you an always enjoyable (we hope) diversion: a look at the equipment of some of the best golfers in the game this past season.

More specifically, we’re taking a look at the driver head and shaft combinations of the best drivers of the golf ball on the PGA Tour (as measured by their strokes gained: off-the-tee metric) for the 2022-2023 PGA Tour season.

Let’s get to it.

10. Hayden Buckley: 0.611

Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees)

Shaft: UST Mamiya Lin Q M40X Blue 6F5

9. Luke List

Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees)

Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana DF 70 TX

8. Viktor Hovland: 0.741

Driver: Ping G425 LST (9 degrees @8.4)

Shaft: Fujikura Speeder 661 TR X (45.75 inches, tipped 1 inch)

7. Keith Mitchell: 0.743

Driver: Mizuno ST-Z 230 (9.5 degrees)

Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T1100 75 6.5

6. Kevin Yu: 0.803

Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond

Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro White 80 TX

5. Brent Grant: 0.806

Driver: Srixon ZX7 Mk II (8.5 degrees)

Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Black 75 TX

4. Patrick Cantlay: 0.852

Driver: Titleist TS3 (9.5 @8.75 degrees)

Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 60 TX

3. Rory McIlroy: 0.907

Driver: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (9 degrees @7.5)

Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 6 X

*McIlroy switched into TaylorMade’s Qi10 LS driver at the DP World Tour Championship.

2. Ludvig Åberg: 0.982

Driver: Titleist TSR2 (9 degrees)

Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X

1. Scottie Scheffler: 1.021

Driver: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (8 degrees)

Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X

There you have it, GolfWRXers. We’ll be back with more pieces of this nature as we X out the days in December.

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Equipment

Callaway Apex Pro, Apex CB, Apex MB combo irons – Club Junkie Reviews

Published

2 days ago

Dec 1, 2023

Brian Knudson

When Callaway released the new Apex Pro, Apex CB, and Apex MB irons in August, better-skilled golfers were very excited to get them out on the course to try for themselves.

The Apex Pro packs a ton of technology into a small head size with reduced offset and a thinner topline. Callaway updated the new Apex CB with a new sole design for better turf interaction and shot consistency. The Apex MB is the blade for elite players who are looking for precise distance control and shot shaping.

Callaway knows some golfers like to mix and match clubs from different sets to optimize their performance, so I was very intrigued to see how the Apex Pro Series Triple Play iron set combined all three irons.

Callaway Apex Pro Long Irons (4, 5, 6)

When you set the new Apex Pro irons down, you will be pleased with the look of reduced offset and a compact shape. The irons aren’t so small that you get intimidated, I think Callaway picked a good size. Being slightly larger than the CB and MB gives you a little more confidence that you don’t need to strike it dead center in order to get a good shot out of them.

The Pros use multi-material construction to add distance and forgiveness while the forged face and body give you soft feel and distance control. Urethane Microspheres are also used to dampen vibration and give the Pro irons a soft and solid feel. Now the GolfWRXer in me wishes the Pro had a touch less offset, but I like the overall shape and think the more rounded toe gives them a softer look.

Out on the course, the 4, 5, and 6-irons are easy to hit and do offer you a little extra firepower for those longer shots. The feel is soft and muted, even on mishits, and the turf interaction from the Dynamic Sole design resists digging in soft conditions. The 4-iron is a real cannon off the tee on short par 4’s and long par 3’s, giving you the distance as well as added height to stop the ball on the green.

Off the turf, you can easily elevate the 5 and 6-iron shots into greens, but all of the Pro irons offer better forgiveness than you might expect. My miss is generally off the toe and those shots still get up in the air and carry. When you miss, you can still carry that bunker or get the ball to the front of the green.

Apex CB Mid Irons (7, 8, 9)

These might be my favorite looking out of the three iron sets in terms of size and shape. They blend some of the roundness from the Apex Pro with a slightly sharper toe and more compact size. The Apex CB have very little offset, and the transition from hosel to leading edge is done well and without too much curvature.

The soles are more narrow, but you can see more of the angles in the Dynamic Sole. The pre-worn leading edge and trailing-edge relief stand out more and work very well. I play in Michigan, and you rarely come across a firm and fast fairway, so turf interaction is very noticeable in these softer conditions. Much like the Apex Pro, the CB gets into the turf immediately and wants to shallow out and exit quickly.

Solidly struck shots feel so solid and soft with a heavy “thud” at impact. When it comes to feel, these irons will easily hold their own against other popular forged CBs. Shots hit thin or off the toe will bring more vibration to your hands and produce a clickier sound.

Distance control with the Apex CB irons is very, very good. Well-struck shots seem to fly exactly the same distance and height every time. The launch is a little lower than the Apex Pro but you still can elevate them off the turf or tee. These irons also seem to spin a bit more as you notice shots having a little more curvature to them. Into the wind, you can see a touch of rise in the shot. You will notice a little more of a dropoff in carry when you miss the center of the face, but directionally the ball stays online well.

Callaway added MIM weights in the toe, and as much as they perfect the balance of each iron, they seem to add some forgiveness as well. Skilled players will love the shotmaking ability of the CB: You can hit them high, low, left, or right, and in any combination of the aforementioned.

Apex MB Short Irons (10, 11)

First, just having irons with a “10” and an “11” on the sole is flat-out cool. That little difference is fun to see and they always get comments from other golfers. While all of the new Apex irons blend well together, these have the most distinctive look to my eye. They are the edgiest look with a sharper toe and straight leading edge. There is a lack of softness and roundness to the me, but again, they blend in well with the set.

I only have the pitching and gap wedge in the set, but that is about where my skill tops out! The MB will demand your attention as they obviously are the least forgiving in the set. While well-struck shots will reward you with impeccably soft feel and a solid “thud” sound, off-center will be a little more harsh on your hands and ears. My misses tend to be the most dramatic and you will see a big drop off in distance when you hit it out on the toe. Where the Apex Pro will get you on the green, the MB can keep you just off depending on the miss.

For being such high-lofted clubs, they do keep a lower ball flight that carries a lot of spin into the green. You can easily fire at tight pins with confidence that the trajectory and spin will keep the ball close to its landing spot. And since they are MBs, you can flight those shots any way you would like with ease.

Turf interaction is good, but these will dig the most out of the set. But even with the deeper divot, the irons get through the turf very quickly.

Matching the gap wedge to the set is something I have liked in this set. There is just a feeling of consistency on full, or close-to-full shots that you don’t get with a sand wedge-style head. Those full shots kind of feel like you are just hitting a pitching wedge but at a shorter distance. The “11-iron” still works around the green, and you can hit little pitch and chip shots with plenty of spin, even with an open face.

Overall, Callaway’s Triple Play offers a little bit of everything for players who need a little help in the long irons but want consistency in the scoring clubs. Feel, distance, and forgiveness are all added to the mix in good amounts in order to balance out the set. If you are a single-digit handicap who wants a players look from address but needs a little help, Callaway’s Apex Pro Series combo sets are well worth trying out.