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WRX Spotlight: Epon AF-Tour MC irons

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Product: Epon AF-Tour MC irons

Pitch: From Epon: “A first from ENDO manufacturing. This fully hollow-body forged design utilizing stronger lofts screams maximum ball speeds and distance! A super low and deep CG combined with a super wide sole makes this the most forgiving iron in the EPON line up. A progressive body design lends itself to more traditional looking short irons. This particular model is a Limited Edition for 2019 (2000 sets worldwide).”

Our take on Epon AF-Tour MC irons

When you think of Epon you think of premium forged blades, players irons, and wedges. I don’t think many people think of super game improvement irons, but Epon might be changing a few minds with the new AF-Tour MC. The AF-Tour MC is a limited-edition model that is aimed for the higher handicap player who demands great feel and very high end-craftsmanship.

These irons provide tons of forgiveness and ball speed while still offering a soft forged feel. Now the look and loft of the irons are not going to appeal to the low handicap player or purist, but that is not who they are aimed at. These are meant to launch it high, straight, and very long!

Right out of the box, you notice the large sole and long, heel-to-toe shape of the AF-Tour MC. You can only see the sole from address on the long irons. The lofts are so strong (39-degree pitching wedge) that the set is 6-AW.

With those lofts, and the really hot faces, these irons scream distance. I am always nervous about the sound and feel of these hollow body irons, but the AF-Tour MC really have a solid feel and sound that I didn’t expect. If you didn’t know they were hollow body, the sound and feel would fool you.

The AF-Tour MC give a great sounding thud when you make contact that you rarely get from super game improvement irons. The height and distance of these irons is really where they shine. The ball just flies off the face and goes high and straight. Working the ball right and left isn’t easy to do, but again that isn’t what this set of irons is made for.

Shots hit off center still carry a ton of ball speed and the distance loss is very minimal. I think the only miss that didn’t come out how I expected was contact low on the face. Thin shots just didn’t get up as high and carry as far as I expected, seeing how well the other misses go. The extra-wide sole helps keep the club from digging on shots hit fat, allowing it to flow more freely through the turf. The bevel on the sole’s leading edge also offers steeper swings less digging in softer conditions.

Overall, the Epon AF-Tour MC is a really great set of irons. Players who require forgiveness and distance now can have that soft Japanese forged feel that was only for players irons. The AF-Tour MC should be on your list of irons to try if you need longer, higher, and straighter iron shots!

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Whats in the Bag

John Daly WITB 2024 (May)

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Driver: Ping G430 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Newton Motion 6-Dot

3-wood: Ping G430 LST (15 degrees)
Shaft: Newton Motion 4-Dot

Hybrids: Ping G430 (17, 22, 26 degrees)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold

Irons: Sub70 659-CB (6-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S300

Wedges: Sub70 TAIII (50, 54, 60)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S300

Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Milled One T CH
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0

Grips: SuperStroke custom

More photos of John Daly’s WITB in the forums.

 

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Toulon Golf collaborates with Valhalla Golf Club for latest Small Batch putter

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Toulon Golf has today officially announced its latest Small Batch putter — the Valhalla.

Discussing the putter, Preston Toulon of Toulon Golf said: “This putter is a collaboration with the club at Valhalla and incorporates three of the many things that make the state of Kentucky great – horseracing, bourbon and championship golf. The head of the putter and headcover have several allusions to a jockey’s silk and there are thoroughbreds on the sole.”

Inspired by Toulon’s classic tri-sole Santa Monica design, the company sought to modernize the profile and design leveraging its 904 stainless steel and 6061 aircraft aluminium across the sole. Toulon describes the Valhalla’s profile as “slightly oversized blade whose proportions are meticulously balanced to maintain the look and feel of the Santa Monica, while increasing the putter’s inertia to create one of the most forgiving putters we have ever designed.”

Throughout numerous prototypes, Toulon paid particular attention to the L-neck, with its full shaft of offset, adding a bit of length for better blending with the slightly wider and longer blade.

On the rear of the putter are homages to horse racing in the form of jockey silk diamonds and Churchill Downs-inspired font.

The sole of the putter features a large cavity covered by a 6061 aircraft aluminum sole plate. According to Toulon, this allowed for the addition length to the putter and improved inertia as well as moving more mass to the perimeter for greater forgiveness.

In another nod to Valhalla, Toulon uses a milled watermarked limestone pattern, a reference to stone featured widely on the property.

As with all the Toulon Small Batch putters, the team paid particular attention to the topline thickness and radius to achieve a desired look. “Soft yet crisp was the design intent,” according to the company.

Toulon Golf Small Batch Valhalla specs

  • Material: 904L Stainless Steel/6061 Aluminum Sole
  • Face Mill: Fine Double Fly with Big Tuna
  • Finish: Kentucky Bourbon PVD
  • Grip: Custom Toulon Collection Vintage Blue Pistol
  • Shaft: Chrome Stepless Steel
  • Headcover: Valhalla Custom Leather
  • Head Weight: 355 g
  • Toe Hang: 40 degrees
  • Loft: 3 degrees
  • Lie: 70 degrees

Pricing and availability

The Small Batch Valhalla is available for purchase today via the company’s website — ToulonGolf.com.

Supply is extremely limited. The price is $1,800.

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Max Homa is the latest to put prototype Titleist 2-wood in play

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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.

Titleist’s new 2-wood prototype first popped up on the TOUR at the 2024 PLAYERS Championship, in the bag of Cameron Young, who had been working with Titleist on the design since 2023.

Here’s what Titleist Tour fitter J.J. Van Wezenbeeck had to say about the design back at THE PLAYERS Championship:

“(Young) was looking for a certain ball speed and yardage gap from his driver,” Van Wezenbeeck said. “One of the things for him with the 3-wood is he wanted something with a little more volume that he felt more confident off the tee with, so he was looking for a little bigger footprint and something that was a little bit more penetrating than some of the 3-woods he’s played in the past. This will be a club he’ll hit 90 percent off the tee, versus the ground, so for the golf courses that set up for that, that’s what he’s looking for … this may or may not ever come to retail. It’s a chance for us to learn and put it in future products that may not be exactly this.”

Since the initial unveiling of the product at THE PLAYERS Championship, fellow PGA TOUR players such as Homa, Webb Simpson and Justin Thomas have also taken notice…

“[The new 2-wood) helps me draw it a little bit better,” Homa told GolfWRX.com on Monday at the 2024 PGA Championship. “I don’t draw the ball well, so left-to-right winds it’s quite helpful.”

Now, according to Van Wezenbeeck, Homa has two different options off the tee: A flat-trajectory cut shot with his TSR3 driver, and a “spinny draw” with his new TSR 2-wood, which flies farther than his former 3-wood.

Head over to PGATour.com for the full article.

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