It's time for the TSG Best of 2008 Contest!

We've got a list of items we want you to tell us what you thought was the best of in 2008.

All we need is for you to post in this thread what you thought was the best and a brief reason why.

Everyone who posts will be entered in a random draw to win one of many prizes!

Here are the items you need to tell us your best of 2008:

Best JDM Driver in 2008.
Best JDM Iron of 2008.
Best JDM Wedge of 2008.
Best JDM Shaft of 2008.
Best Course you played on in 2008
Best shot you made in 2008.
Best Pro player in 2008.

That's it. Give us your best for a chance to win!

The contest will end Friday Dec 5th and winners will be announced that weekend.

Prizes include:

1 Epon AF-201 5 Wood 18* w/ Mach Line FW65 R Flex
1 George Spirits GS Wedge 56* with DG S200
5 Como!Come! Democrat Covers
5 Como!Come! Republican Covers

(images are examples only and may not be the exact spec of of prizes offered, we ask that winners kindly pay shipping costs.)

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Of course I can't win anything but here's my example of how to post:

Best JDM Driver in 2008: Epon EMB
Why: Loud, obnoxious, large and simply very long and straight! Built to your specs with all the best shafts.

Best JDM Iron of 2008: Epon AF-701
Why: Awesome multi piece design forged iron with great feel and amazing performance. A pleasure to hit and as forgiving as anything out there!

Best JDM Wesge of 2008: Yamaha Inpres X Black
Why: Super soft and biting S10C in really nice black finish. Not too big and not too small. Great feel and spin. An all around winner.

Best JDM Shaft of 2008: Graphite Design's Tour AD MD Series
Why: It didn't work so well for me but there is no doubting its success as tour usage in Japan was widespread as well as a choice upgrade by all major OEM's.

Best Course you played on in 2008: King's Bay Golf and Country Club, Seagrave, Ontario, Canada
Why: Nice and cozy 9 hole course nestled along Lake Scugog (wish it were 18 holes), in pristine condition and to top it off my wife loved it and wants to go back! Absolutely beautiful!

Best shot you made in 2008: Chip in birdie on 13 at Bowmanville Golf Club
Why: Over hit the green on par 3 into the backing woods. Chipped through dirt and leaves from 25 yards out. Ball lands rolls hits pin and drops in.

Best professional player in 2008: Arimura Chie
Why: Super cute player finally (haha she's only 20!) came through this year with some great play including her first tour victory on the JLPGA showing she will be a force to be reckoned with... okay so she's my best pro player of 2008 but probably no one elses. (^_^)

Best JDM Driver in 2008. Epon EMB. Still want one.
Best JDM Iron of 2008. TM TP Forged. Offically brought sexy back. Not too much offset and quite forgiving. Workable too!
Best JDM Wedge of 2008. Epon 208KGX The looks alone are killer. Add Endo forging (IMG:style_emoticons/TSG_Smileys/tsg_smiley_drool.gif) Versatile bounce as well.
Best JDM Shaft of 2008. GD Quattro Tech. Very good dispersion. Looks aren't too distracting either.
Best Course you played on in 2008: Quarry Oaks (Steinbach, MB). It was not a good year golfwise for me (IMG:style_emoticons/TSG_Smileys/atsg_smilie_roll.gif)
Best shot you made in 2008. Hole out in a tourney qualifier for eagle. Just after I had made a snowman on the previous hole....
Best Pro player in 2008. Padraig for sure. 2 majors. 'nuff said. Stared down the best and won.

Best JDM Driver of 2008: I have always been a Tourstage fan and the new TS 2008 X-Drive 445cc did not disappoint me. A stealthy black head, 9.5 degrees, shafted with a stiff Ozik Xcon 6. This combination launches the ball lower, longer, and with less spin (rolls more.)

Best JDM Irons of 2008: Was playing Gauge Design NC-1 irons and just kind of skeptically decided to try the Fourteen TC-1000 forged irons and...........wow, they are wonderful. They are shafted with softstepped X100 shafts and this leads to low boring shots into the greens. They set-up very square and are extremely soft to hit. Have been tempted to buy a set of the new Epon blades so have these up for sale, but if I do not sell them I won't be disappointed at all.

Best JDM Wedge of 2008: Now this is an easy question to answer....the Geotech Special Grind Forged head of course. So inexpensive yet so solid to hit and the spin is amazing(must be those U-grooves). This club is shafted also with the softstepped X100 wedge shaft and the trajectory is perfect to the pin. How can Geotech produce such good quality clubs for so little money?

Best JDM Shaft of 2008: Two reasons for picking this shaft, the Ozik Xcon 6, as the best. First, the shaft looks great, launches the ball lower with less backspin, and seems to kick right as the club head meets the ball (cool feeling!) Second, I have a workshop at home and a close friend wanted me to put in a new Graphite Design YSQ shaft in his driver, which I did, and for payment he gave me the Ozik Xcon 6!!! Amazing, an Xcon for free!

Best Course I played in 2008: That course would have to be Torrey Pines South in San Diego. I have played this course many times since I live in San Diego, but NEVER play it like it played after the U.S.Open this year. The conditon was perfect with tee boxes that looked like greens. The fairways were mowed to perfection but were just a tadbit narrow, and as for the rough, OMG! I was afraid that if I dropped my club accidentally in the rough I might lose it. The greens, yeah right, might have been easier to putt with a pool cue as the speed was off the charts. BUT, even though it was a looooooooooooong day, I enjoyed every minute of the five and a half hour round.

Best Shot I made in 2008: It happened just a week ago in a senior tournament I was nervously playing. On the 10th hole, which is a long dogleg right par 5, I smoke a drive, lay-up short, and hit my GT wedge to the center of the two-tiered green. And zip, the ball spins back 20 feet off the green and down the hill for a short distance. There goes my birdie.... Not sure how to chip it so I decide on an eight iron to just run it up to the hole since the green is fast and the pin is on the upper tier. Pressure of course, so I skull the chip, it takes off across the green, hits the concrete stairs leading up the hill to the next hole, rebounds off the bottom step onto the green and.........yup, trickles down into the hole...for a birdie. Who was it that said, "I'd rather be lucky than good?"

Best Professional Player in 2008: My vote goes to the new spark plug on the U.S. tour, Mr. Excitement, Anthony Kim. When Tiger went down with an injured knee at the U.S. Open, we needed someone to take up the slack, and I think AK did a heck of a job. He is bold, brash, and just plain fun to watch. How can someone who chokes up hit it so far? He saved the Ryder Cup not only as a player but as a cheerleader, motivator, for the other members of the team. I hope he plays for many years.

These are my best for 2008 and please forgive me for being so wordy.

Doc

Best JDM Driver in 2008 - EPON EMB - although the 08 OnOFF Plus comes pretty darn close IMHO.

Best JDM Iron of 2008 - I switched to Mizuno E500s and have not been disappointed. Stronger lofts add 5 extra yards for me. Pured shots are like butter. Only dislike is not too big of a fan of the NS HT shafts.

Best JDM Wedge of 2008 - Fourteen MT-28 V4.

Best JDM Shaft of 2008 - XCON - 5. By far.

Best Course you played on in 2008 - Riviera Country Club. Lives up to all the hype, although I wasn't a fan of the Kikuyu rough. Definitely a personal top-5.

Best shot you made in 2008 - 35 footer, double breaker on the last hole of my weekly skins game two weeks ago. All presses called and claimed..by me.

Best Pro player in 2008 - tough call between El Tigre and Paddy. I'll go with Paddy.

November 5th ah? I have plenty of time until 2009. (IMG:style_emoticons/TSG_Smileys/tsg_smiley_old.gif)

Best JDM Driver 2008: Geotech GT455 Black driver
It's long and straight even for slow swingers plus the price is very very reasonable. Maybe that's why it's one of the best sellers.
Best JDM Irons 2008: Fourteen TC-1000 Forged Irons
One of the best irons i've played in terms of feel and playability. Also, it really looks nice.
Best JDM Wedge 2008:Geotech Special Grind Forged wedge
I've lowered my score using these wedges. So easy to control the ball even in tight lies or rough.
Best JDM Shaft 2008: Nippon NS PRO GH 950
The best shaft i've used since shifting from graphite. I never lost the distance and yet i can control the ball flights much easier.
Best Course i played: Sun Valley Golf Club ,Antipolo, Philippines
Not a very long course but very tricky and hard. But the thing i like about this course is the scenery. It's very relaxing and breathtaking. You seldom see courses carved from a mountain and with waterfalls as backdrop.
Best Shot I Made 2008:Birdie on 13th hole VGC
Made the third shot from green side bunker that rolled slowly to the pin and stopped on the edge for about 4 seconds then it dropped on the hole.
Best Professional Golfer 2008:Padraig Harrington
Won 2 Majors and really a hard working professional.

Here is my choice

Best JDM Driver in 2008: Epon AF-101
Why: Easy to use, Long, and Soft feel.

Best JDM Iron of 2008: Epon AF-701
Why: Easy to use, Nice Design, Butter Soft Feel.

Best JDM Wesge of 2008: Epon 208KGX
Why: Super soft and biting S10C in really nice black finish. Not too big and not too small. Great feel and spin. An all around winner.

Best JDM Shaft of 2008: Axiv X
Why: very long, stable, easy to use and great feedback on hands.

Best Course you played on in 2008: Angel Park, Las Vegas, Nevada
Why: Desert Course gives different feels to the game and its in Vegas!

Best shot you made in 2008: Second shot in Long par 5, hole 17 Graha Family Course
Why: second shot over the lake using 3 wood, the ball fly over the greens which about 240 yards in distance.

Thanks!

This post has been edited by ksiswanto: Nov 24 2008, 08:06 AM

Best JDM Driver in 2008: Epon EMB
Why: Straight as it can be. No more pull hook. A bit loud (aluminum bat) but easy to get used to when you hit it that straight. Straighter than my 4+ RC BBD Type H which is scary.

Best JDM Iron of 2008: George Spirits CB
Why: Nicest feeling irons I ever came across. Softer than any of the blades I have used in the past also. Minimum offset with medium size heads.....which you don't see that often. I can control the trajectory easily like the blade. Love it. I would buy this again, and again.

Best JDM Putter of 2008: Gold's factory Answer
Why: From what I have seen and heard from this site. Don't own one yet.
My current gamer is either the Gauge A3SP or the Byron TCB.
I got tons more but none of them are going in. I need to find 'the one'.
May be GF is the one.

Best JDM Wedge of 2008: George Spirits SW
Why: Like a extention of you hand. The head sits so nicely and the head shape is perfect. Easy to control spin.

Best JDM Shaft of 2008: n/a. Haven't tried much this year.

Best Course you played on in 2008: Blue-Monster. Why ? because of the 18th hole.

Best shot you made in 2008: 195yd par 3 at Jacaranda golf course at Plantation FL. Left to right wind. 4i GS-CB, slight draw to hold it against the wind. Landed softly to 1ft. Easy Birdie.
It was the first 4i I hit in more than 5 years.

Best professional player in 2008: Shingo. I don't think he is all that ... but he keeps on winning on the JPGA. Amazing.

Best JDM Driver in 2008: Callaway Legacy
Why: Feel as good as any driver I have picked up in years combined with a nice balance of control and forgiveness.

Best JDM Iron of 2008: PRGR 500BL
Why: One of the best looking irons from PRGR in years, one of the best off the shelf grinds I have ever tried, and an absolute gem to swing when you are on top of your game.

Best JDM Wedge of 2008: Golds Factory wedge with a liquid chrome finish.
Why: I only saw these in passing but the Golds Factory wedge with a liquid chrome finish (like the 2007 Clevelands and X-Tours) may have been some of the best looking wedges I have ever seen. T/Chris, is this finish an option from Golds Factory?

Best JDM Shaft of 2008: Graphite Design Quattro Tech Series (MD and the Green 2007 version)
Why: While the MD didn’t fit my swing, this is a fantastic shaft and as T noted, it has gained quite a following on the JPGA. Combined with the Green 2007 Quattro Tech which work like magic in a fairway, this has to be one of the most solid shaft lines in golf imho.

Best Course you played on in 2008: If my schedule isn’t flipped upside down again I plan to try my luck at Blue Canyon in Phuket, Thailand: solid conditioning for the most part and a killer layout that kept the Johnny Walker Classic field entertained for several years.

Best shot you made in 2008: Chip in birdie on 7th, Galloway in Memphis, TN.
Why: After not playing for months I managed to put together the best round I have had in more than 5 years thanks in no small part to some positive momentum gained from a tricky chip that snaked its way across the green for a nice birdie.

Best professional player in 2008: Ji-Yai Shin
Why: This young lady has made some waves winning the Women’s British Open and giving the field of the Mizuno Classic a preview of things to come, leaving her nearest competitor six strokes behind after a fantastic week in Japan. She just capped off the year with a win at the ADT Championship down in Florida.

You know what I mean... (^