Callaway Golf had a Lamborghini Diablo center stage at their booth this year evidence of its focus on the Diablo line. It’s a shame really as that black car drew attention away from what might be the most forgiving Legacy line ever. The Legacy is the premium forged Japan lineup which has long provided amazing performance matched with wonderful premium feel. Callaway showcased the new 2nd generation Legacy Forged iron. The original Legacy Forged is one of my favorite irons of all time. Soft, reasonably small with amazing lines and pretty good looks, the first gen Legacy provided superb all around performance with distance, accuracy and pretty good feel.
The new second generation Legacy Forged Iron has been redesigned but maintains several similar concepts. Premium forged with VAR to dampen vibrations (yeah you guessed it Vibration Absorption Rubber), the new Legacy no longer uses that milky pearl finish that the first generation had. The back cavity appears more boxy but the face profile more round. The sole grind is a bit of an improvement with a nice cut away trailing edge. The one thing the that stands out a bit too much for my liking is the amount of offset. For the average golfer this may not matter so much but there is obviously more offset in the new model.
The Legacy driver and it’s forged ELF Titanium hyperbolic face has been a best seller in Japan since its release back in late 2007. Since the first Legacy we’ve had the the Legacy Aero, Tour, Type L, Type S and this year the Legacy Apex. All these Endo forged models have been known for awesome soft feel and great performance and the new Apex is no different. Interestingly I got the sense that Callaway was shifting the Legacy line towards a more forgiving and performance image that would more suit the midcapper and improving golfer rather than the better player. Our tester sup067 (Stew), said the Apex was ultra forgiving, maybe the most forgiving he had hit all day. Plus it felt great. That forgiveness along with a forgiving FW, forgiving offset UT and forgiving forged irons equal more premium forged performance for the average golfer. Throw in the new Legacy Apex ball which is a distance performer and there you have it.
There have been a lot of Japan Market only Odyssey putters as of late especially since the first gen iX putters came out using the Japanese tour prototype insert which gives a firmer more responsive feel at impact. Odyssey showed off new Black Series Tour Designs iX putters as well as their Tri Hot iX 3 which again look to fuel sales for the number one putter in Japan. I’ve taken a liking to JDM Odyssey putters lately and I actually own 3. I guess there will be more to add this year around as well. (^_^)
Make sure you check back for our video as it will be added to this post once Chris finishes it up.
In the meantime please click on the album below to view the pics for Callaway from the 2011 Japan Golf Fair!
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