In May of 2012, I made a return trip to China and Japan to play golf and work with the Miura team.  This time there were two main differences from the first time I visited. First, I had samples of the first production of our Miura design grip, as well as samples of the Miura KJ Choi Special Edition grips to share with the Miura folks, and second, we made a stop in Hainan to meet our new partners at the Hank Haney Academy at Mission Hills. 

The Miura grip is a unique and innovative design available only from Miura Giken. This grip is supple, sticky, and very cool looking - as you can see in the picture of my pink blades.  By the time I returned to China, we had also begun to make a custom Miura version of our PURE Pro for the Miura Golf team and their dealers outside Japan.  This led to our involvement with the KJ Choi Special Edition Miura CB 501 sets that Miura Golf produced to commemorate KJ’s win at The Player’s Championship using the Miura irons.  We were honored to be involved, and the clubs look fantastic! 

As you can see, the partnership between Pure grips and these two fine companies had really begun to grow. In one year we had taken a design concept and commercialized it for Miura Giken, and offered a custom option with Miura branding in a variety of 10 colors for Miura Golf.  I don't think that any other grips company could have done this!

While at the Hank Haney Academy, I met the head instructor, a fine gentleman named Kyle Brisch.  Kyle began to play around with my Miura irons and was instantly hooked. The first swing he made was a flushed 7 iron on an uphill par 3 that covered the flag and prompted an odd exclamation from Kyle on impact.  I was unsure of the meaning of his exclamation when it happened, but in a lengthy conversation that followed I learned that it was a remark of pure joy.  In fact, Kyle played my clubs the rest of the trip!  As I began to pack up and prepare to leave China, a couple of thoughts jumped into my head: Kyle is a great guy who is doing awesome work in a remote place, growing the game in a hugely influential market, and Kyle lies in an awfully remote place.  So, I decided that my Miura CB 501s had found a new home and I handed them off to Kyle and left for Japan knowing I had my pink blades at home waiting for me. 

Once the Miura team heard about this, they immediately offered me some new clubs to play - just another example of what an amazing group of people they are.  With a year of play and a handful of different clubs tested, I took stock of my choices before selecting my next set of Miuras.  This experience gave me a lot of information to work with, and I confidently chose a set of Limited Edition Black Forged blades.  As you can see in this picture, these blades are beautiful and make a dramatic canvas for some pimped out PURE grips. With a few months of play in this set, I can say honestly that I may never change clubs again.  These irons feel amazing, look incredible and will always be special to me.

 

In this day and age, it’s seldom that we find business partners who so perfectly compliment our company - which makes it even more astounding that we were able to find two in one place.  Miura Giken and Miura Golf both share our passion for the game and our dedication to creating the best equipment and delivering the best feel possible. We also share a commitment to service and excellence in how business is conducted.  

We are extremely proud to be making grips for both of these organizations, and we hope to partner with them for many years to come.  If you ever get the opportunity to try some Miura clubs, by all means take it!  Nothing compares to the feel of a perfectly struck Miura iron. In fact, I’d say they’re PURE pleasure. 

Read the first part of this story: Introducing Miura