Akira Golf Tour Wedge & H3 Prototype

It’s been crazy here at TSG,  the amount of new JDM equipment arriving with a shortage of club testers has really brought review capacity to a crawl.  The good news is that we have a lot on deck headed your way.  Today I’m doing an overview of the Akira Tour & Prototype Wedges.    The H3 series as seen above are labelled prototype.  They feature what’s called H design tapered grooves by Horie-san which are a varient of the legal V groove.  The grooves are USGA conforming and what makes these special is how aggressively they are milled putting them on the cusp of being illegal.

It’s made of 8620 mild carbon but feels very soft compared to other wedges produced of the same material.  It’s very similar to the Tour Wedges also seen in this post except the H3 has a little less bounce and a more rounded leading edge.  These are direct from Akira Japan’s Tour Department and will be sold at TSG until they are used up by the tour players.  The H3 wedges come in at around 298 grams and are available in 54/8, 58/10, and 60/10 lofts.  It’s available in two finishes a dark PVD black or a brushed satin.  Both of the finishes have a double plating of Cu (Copper) and NiCr (NickelChrome) which is why they feel superb.

The new Akira Tour Wedge is based on the H1 Prototypes above and features a compact tear drop shaped head with a long straight neck and versatile M style grind which provides trailing edge and heel toe relief.  The Tour wedge’s tear drop shape features a higher toe profile allowing for more control and direction especially when the head is opened up.  While bounce is on the higher side, the thin sole still plays well even on firmer turf while the bounce really comes into play with softer conditions and deep rough and sand.

TSG is offering a limited number of head only Tour Wedges directly from Akira’s Tour Department.  The Tour Heads are approximately 298g in weight and available in 50/10 52/10 54/10 56/12 58/14 lofts.  Click here to check out the product listing.  Only a few Akira products listed now, but many more to coming this and next week.

That sums up the H3 and Tour series of Akira wedges,  there is also the H1 and H2 series that we are still waiting for testing and evaluation samples to arrive.  Of the H1, H2, and H3 the H2 is the most compact and straight neck.  It’s most popular on the JPGA tour and was designed for Kenichi Kuboya who just qualified for the U.S open.  Another good way to look at it is the H2 is similar to a Tour Vokey in size and it’s boxier leading edge while the H3 is somewhat like a Cleveland 588.  Both the Tour and H3 Prototype wedges are now available in the TSG ProShop as head’s only.

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