Instead of a countdown, we have a Jump-Off. Instead of a volume or an installment, we give you a slice a week for the next ten weeks. BuffaloGolfer.Com offers up ten fantastic holiday gifts of a golfing bent, that can be purchased all the way through the new year. Our Jump-Off begins with a great set of wedges (or irons, or metals, for that matter) from Miura Golf.

Miura Wedges

Miura Wedges

The Miura logo, stamped into all company products, is the Japanese letter kanji, which translates on a typical day as striving and noble effort. There might be a bit of a gap between the two terms, but both offer an adequate sense of what Miura company is about.

Katsuhiro Miura began making golf clubs in 1957, or 55 years ago. He looks good for his age. His factory is located in Hyogo Prefecture, in the city of Himeji. The forging of steel into a weapon (in this case, not deadly) has precedent in his city, which for years was the seat of Samurai sword making. The Miura family hand-grinds its clubs for precision and produces them one at a time. If you don’t believe this writer, check out the coolest, interactive web page in golf and learn more about the start-to-finish process of Miura manufacturing.

Since they built that stinking development in my backyard green space, I have been forced to take my club-testing efforts on the road. Today I was at the Sheridan Park practice field, then the Diamond Hawk chipping green. What I learned about my 51 degree Miura wedge is this: initially it felt heavier than my Ping i20 U-wedge. I hit the two clubs the same distance and had incredible accuracy with both. I would want to lighten the wedge in some way (counterbalanced with lead tape?) before putting it in my bag. So now it is in my bag…wait, what? You just said…

I know what I said. I went to Diamond Hawk and chipped the heck out of the place. I could not get over how solid the Miura wedge is for a chipping club. So I says to myself, what if you put it in your bag for the sole purpose of chipping? After all, if you miss 6 to 12 greens a round, it stands to reason that you’ll be chipping a fair number of those. If the Miura is money, it pays for its spot in the bag. I did a quick review of the clubs that take up residence in my satchel (1 metal, 3 metal, 1 hybrid, 2 hybrid, 3 hybrid…that’s five clubs. Putter makes 6. Irons 4 through SW make 9 more…whoops, I’m one over the limit already. So I take out the 1 and 2 hybrids, or the 1 hybrid and the 4 iron, and put the Miura in.

Nod, handshake, pop the cork…the deal has been closed.

Breaking It Down!

Contact Point: Miura Website

Is It Worth The Money: Depends on your cash flow and your wedge situation.

Would I Put It In Play: You bet.