Lord of the Hybrids: Miura’s new Precious Edition

Frequent readers of my admittedly less-than-frequent posts of late (darn you, accursed need to put food on the table for family of four!) may recall that some months back, I made one of the finest decisions of my golfing life, Scotch-taped the Visa card back together and took possession of a custom-made set of Miura CB-202 cavity-back irons.

These hand-crafted Japanese weapons, rare and beautiful and forged in the same tradition that spawned some of the finest samurai swords ever made, have been with me ever since. Fitted with 6.5 Project X shafts and recently installed midsize Golf Pride MultiCompound cord grips (now in white!), the only evidence that they dont spend their nights on silk pillows and a bed of perfumed rose petals is the paint missing from the sole of the 7-iron and the heartbreaking ding on the toe of my pitching wedge.

So imagine the excitement that this dandy little headline triggered when it landed in my inbox some weeks back:

Miura Golf Introduces the Precious Edition Utility Clubs

Now, Im already a bit of a sloucher, and not the best looking dude in the world, and pushing 40 means Ive got my share of wrinkles, blemishes and thinning hair up top. But no sooner had I read this subject line than I went into a full Gollum convulsion, curling up into the fetal petition and hissing a feral moan of desire.

My . . . Precious. We wants it. We needs it.

One utility club to rule them all . . . the Miura Precious Edition.

Sadly, of course, we dont haves it _ at least not at the moment. But we can gaze lovingly upon the Precious Edition _ yes, thats what its called, look at the photo _ and imagine the clean, flawless lines, the purity of the strike, the joy of effortless impact.

See, Im here to tell you, this is what the handiwork of Katsuhiro Miura can do to a person. This master craftsmans work will get in your head, screw up your value structure and mess thoroughly with your priorities. These clubs are things of such pure beauty that once they get into your system, they are very hard to resist.

We have not, of course, had an opportunity to demo the Precious, but we hope to rectify that before the end of the season. The custom options are essentially whatever you want, which is why Miura wont sell you a roll of grip tape until you get properly fitted by an accredited Miura fitter (contact the company at www.miuragolf.com for details on the nearest one to you).

Herewith, some of the juicy details:

The Precious is comprised of a carbon plate fused to the crown to create a lower center of gravity in the head, resulting in a mid- to high-trajectory ball flight and a very slight draw bias, even though the club sits square at impact with minimal offset. Miura describes the sound of impact as more low-pitched, like wood _ an indication of the quality of the head.

The club comes in lofts of 17, 20 and 23 degrees, which is essentially 2-iron through 4. The size of the clubhead is described as not overly large, but certainly big enough to be easy to hit.

Only buzz-kill: price point. The Precious retails for $239 with a standard Nippon NSPro 950 steel shaft,  with a number of upgrade options available from Graphite Design or Fujikura.

I can't wait to see what it looks like behind a ball . . .

After a few shots with the Miura Utilities, golfers will notice more of an iron-like ball flight, not the typical hybrid boring trajectory, vice-president Bill Holowaty, who runs the companys North American headquarters in Vancouver, said in the release.

This type of trajectory will help the mid to low handicappers with approach shots on long par 4’s and second shot par 5’s with a ball flight that will be able to hold today’s harder greens.  Golfers will be amazed at how easy it is to hit a draw or a straight shot with the Miura Utilities. The design of the sole radius makes those tough shots out of the rough far less intimidating.

Holowaty goes so far as to boast that the Precious does away with the often maddening inconsistencies in distance control so prevalent in modern utilities and hybrids. In other words, for someone already rocking Miura irons, the Precious would be a perfect fit.

Someone like . . . me? Stay tuned, hobbitses.

The party line:

Miura Golf Introduces the Precious Edition Utility Clubs
Katsuhiro Miura has created a utility which uses a carbon plate to the crown to create a low center gravity in the head. The mid/high trajectory with mid/low spin and a slight draw bias virtually guarantees performance. These utilities sit square at impact. The solid sound and feel of these utilities instill confidence in the golfer and allow him/her to take dead aim at the green.
The Miura Hybrids come in 17*, 20* and 23* degrees. The Tour Quality Hybrids launch the ball on a mid/high trajectory with mid/low spin and a slight draw bias. They are very solid and sit square at address with a slight offset. The feel and sound is more low pitched like wood (an indication of the quality of the head) The head cc sizes are not overly large, but are certainly big enough to be easy to hit.

Price $239.00 with standard steel shaft, other shaft options available with different price points.

“After a few shots with the Miura Utilities, golfers will notice more of an iron like ball flight, not the typical hybrid boring trajectory.  This type of trajectory will help the mid to low handicappers with approach shots on long par 4’s and second shot par 5’s with a ball flight that will be able to hold today’s harder greens.  Golfers will be amazed at how easy it is to hit a draw or a straight shot with the Miura Utilities.  The design of the sole radius makes those tough shots out of the rough far less intimidating”, says Bill Holowaty, VP for Miura Golf North American Operations.
“What will impress golfers the most is the consistency in distance from the clubs.  This was Mr. Miura’s vision.  He wanted the Utilities to flow perfectly into a set of irons.”
“After working with the Miura Utilities, golfers will have the ability to achieve a higher ball flight without any loss of distance.  From the tee box, rough or the center cut of the fairways the Miura Utilities will stand up to any hybrid on the market”,  Holowaty added.
Miura Golf’s corporate office is located in Vancouver, British Columbia and Miura Golf clubs are sold at the finest custom-fitting shops in North America. The Miura brand is marketed exclusively by Miura Golf Inc. in the United States and North America. More information on Miura products can be found at www.miuragolf.com.