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After playing the Callaway ERC III for a while, a new Epon Technity 460ZR hs arrived. Two of the hottest USGA conforming drivers on the Japan market square off for a place in my bag.

Callaway ERC III 450cc
Loft: 9.5
Face: square
Swingweight: not known
Shaft: Axiv-V 8072 46.5 in (118.1cm) total length
Face height: 2.25in (5.71cm)

Epon Technity ZR 460cc
Loft: 9.5
Face: 1* open
Swingweight: D5.2
Shaft: Axiv-V 8076 45.75 in (116.2 cm) total length
Face height: 2.5 in (6.35cm)

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS:

Headcover of the Epon is black and gold. Pittsburgh Steelers colors. Out of the box, the Epon already has the edge on the Callaway. The ERC headcover is a looker itself. The crown of the Epon is a beautiful gloss black while Callaway's gloss has a tinge of brown in it making it lighter in color but still very nice. No sight line on the Epon (a plus in my book), while the ERC III has the Callaway arrow logo. Edge for looks: Epon

Face height is higher on the Epon at 2.5" vs the ERC which is 2.25". Epon has a more compact look to it in address than the Callaway does, however, when one measures the crown length, the Epon is slightly longer than the ERC III, 4.25" versus 4" respectively. I really like having ordered the Epon in 1 degree open. It has the right "look" to me and thats a plus as well. Edge for setup: Epon

The Epon comes with cord grip. It has a sweet feel to it like others have posted previously. Callaway stock grip is just that, stock. Edge in grip: Epon

I realize that the shafts are not completely the same but I wanted to go slightly stiffer in the Axiv. After a couple months with the V-8072, I just felt I could go with the V-8076 and see better results. I know I may be splitting hairs but as I've written in the past, its all about feel for me. I wanted to go 46.5" in the Epon but after getting some initial specs from Chris@TSG, we decided to go 45.75" which gives a D5.2 swingweight. I like the feel of that. I could have gone longer having really gotten accustomed to the 46.5" in the ERC III. My irons are a little over a D5. Heavier clubs again, feel better to me. Edge: none, both are Axiv V specs, great shafts.

Just had to add that Epon's ferrule has very, very nice detail.

I have a net set up in the backyard and after having taken a few swings with each club here are some initial impressions. Of course like any club ho, it was straight into full swings with no warm up. I had read about all the great feel of the Epon. I took some swings; was like okay, and then I got into one with the Epon. I had to stop for a second after that one because I had never felt that kind of feel in a driver before. All I can say is that it just felt silky pure. I can't really describe how good it felt. I took a few more swings with both drivers.

I can tell both are great clubs but the Epon is really making me want to get to the range and out on the course.

So I went to the range where my swing coach works out of. It's good range. all grass and a place where I can hit tons of balls. I hit about 100 balls with each club throughout the day. I really put the ERC III up against the Epon and was really a little surprised.

At the range both clubs perform (for me) fairly equally. There really was no one that stood out from the other. I had pretty decent day and striped many a ball. I had been expecting the Epon to just eat up the ERC III but the ERC III would have none of it. Overall, the feel the Epon had a slight edge, but only slight. I like the 8076 shaft a little better but even then, not really much difference.

Trajectory of both are very similar. Again this is just one day and it needs more time. I just wanted to share some more initial impressions on two really wonderful clubs. I think its as Chris@TSG says, tech wise, drivers are pretty maxed out. You just need to find a club to suit your personal preferences. Both these suit me fine but my testing is not over yet.

Edge: Jury is still deliberating!

FIRST TIME OUT ON THE COURSE:

Played a full round with only the Epon Technity 460ZR on a course I play on a consistent basis. I know this course well so I can do a fair comparison. Again, this is only my result so far, but the Epon/Axiv V8076 combo is working out very well for me. I hit mostly gentle draws with this combo but needed a hard draw on one hole, and big 20 yard fade on another. Hit both shots exactly as needed. Found 9/14 fairways. Of the ones I missed, one was through the fairway, three were my standard left pull (my personal miss) and one was missed to the right rough.

In terms of distance Epon beat the ERC by an average of 12 yards. This course I play is mostly an all carry kind of a course with limited roll. I was carrying the Epon 265 yards on average; with a couple of drives which I really got a hold of close to 280 yards (carry). The ERC III on this course hasn't been as good.

I must say after the range sessions, I wasn't overly impressed with the EPON but, today really changed my thinking. The Epon was simply beautiful. I'm very happy with the shaft, the feel of the clubhead, how it sets up; just everything about it.

I have at least three rounds scheduled for my next stretch off of work and I'll make my final comparisons during then. I'm thinking of shortening the ERC III to 45.75" which is what the Epon is playing. That might be the optimal length for my swing. The Epon really outperformed the ERC III on the course and like I've stated previously I've been very happy with the ERC III. I'm even happier with the Epon but its early yet.

Edge: Epon takes the lead, analysis still in progress. If I get a chance, I want to take both to somewhere where I can get some launch stats.

FINAL DELIBERATIONS ARE IN!!

I put in several rounds and a couple of hard-core five hour range sessions. I failed to get any swing data but I know my swing well enough and just didn't have time to get it done. Sorry, maybe another time. Anyways, here goes.

Looks: The Epon takes it for me. I like the way it sets up, the slightly taller face and no sight line markings on top of the crown. Its has beautiful deep black-green tint in bright sunlight.

In terms of feel, I love the Epon over the Callaway. I know some have said it feels "spongy", but with that Axiv-V shaft the feeling just emanates from the clubhead, through the shaft, into your hands and all through the body. Its pretty magical, at least for me!!

Performance: Don't get me wrong. Both are very excellent drivers and you couldn't go wrong with either. For me however, the Epon was always just a little better than the Callaway. In range sessions, they were fairly equal. On the course however, the Epon was the better performer. Longer, by about 10 yards, but more consistent and probably more forgiving. Definitely, more workable. I would be more inclined to try different shape shots with the Epon rather than the ERC. Why the Epon, than the ERC III? It just works for my swing. I can get in my own way sometimes and I think the Epon is just a tad more forgiving for that than the ERC III. Having said that though, I've hit some piercing bombs with both drivers.

Final result: Epon solidly takes this challenge. Just a final note though. Both drivers are really wonderful and a joy to put in play. I do believe, the Axiv-V shaft played a huge part in the feel and performance of both and I couldn't be happier with that shaft. I went with the the 8076 and I feel very strongly its the right shaft for me and my swing. I like the heavier weight and whatever flex it is its obviously the right one. I hope this helps some of you out there in choosing between the two or just in reading more about these two very fine drivers. Have fun everyone and keep posting your experiences.