NORTHBERWICK: JAMESMURRAYO’SULLIVAN; INSET: COURTESYMIURAGOLF (2)
GOLF
CavityBackstartsat$275per
club.Bycomparison,atop-line
CallawayorTaylorMade iron
sellsatroughly$100apiece.
Thus,Miura’saudience isquite
limited—evenmoreso in
Americathan inJapan,where
expensiveclubsarerevered
bygolfersasasocial-class
sign. “Yes,ourclubsarepricey
—wetrynottobeapologetic
orarrogantaboutthat,”Barr
says. “Whatwedeliver isagolf
clubwitha long lifeaheadof it,
made largelybythehandsof
hold itsshapethroughplay.
Golfersgenerallydeem
that forged ironsaresolely
forhighlyskilledplayers.But
Miurabucksthatmythby
making itsproductswithout
anabilitybar. “There isa
Miura-forgedmodel forevery
skill level,”Barrvows. Its latest
iron, forexample, isthe forged
Series1957LimitedEdition
CavityBackwithaprogres-
sivelysizedweightmass inthe
cavitythatenhancesperimeter
weightingandsolidity,aper-
fectgame-improvementcombi-
nation formid-handicaps.
Butbecauseof itshighqual-
ity, the1957LimitedEdition
companiesacceptasmuchas5
gramseitherway, I’mtold.”
AnotherreasonMiura irons
resonatewithgolfers isbe-
causeof thehigh-qualitysteel
fromwhichthey’remade.Mr.
Miuragrewup inthesteelre-
gionofcentralJapan—where
samuraiswordshavebeen
crafted for600-plusyears.He
knowshissupplierswell,and
thosepersonalrelationships
meanthecompanyacquires
cleansteelwithacarbon
contentof lessthan4percent;
thismakes foraclubheadthat’s
malleableenough forthebend-
ingdemandsof theclub-fitting
processbutstoutenoughto
SCOTTKRAMER
is a freelance writer based in the golf-equipment hub of Carlsbad,
California. The former senior editorof
GOLFMagazine
may lackdrivingdistanceon the
course, but healways swings for the fences inhis columns.
realpeople.”
Nodoubt, it’sathrowback
concept intoday’sworldof
hightechnologyand fast-
pacedproduction.Anda far
cry fromthecalendar-driven,
shareholder-pleasing, rapid-
fireproductreleasesofmost
competitors inthegolfmarket.
ButBarrstressesthatacertain
groupofgolfersstillwantsgolf
equipmentthat’sbeenmade
withsuchcare. “The ideathat
youcanhavethatwithagolf
club isviscerallyappealing.”
Yes,ourclubsarepricey… .
Whatwedeliver isagolfclub
witha long lifeaheadof it,
made largely
bythehands
ofrealpeople
.
To learnmoreaboutMiuraGolf, visit
IRONWILL:
According to Japanese
media, KatsuhiroMiurahas
the “handsofGod”when
craftinggolf clubs.
WINTER
AA.COM CELEBRATEDLIVING
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