Introduction
It’s no secret that I love golf equipment. I’m a gear junkie. I love seeing and trying the latest and greatest technology to see how much the gear advances. But I also have a special place in my heart for cool, classic gear with an interesting story to it. If there’s one guy I can count on to uncover that kind of a story for me, it’s Chip Usher. Years ago, Chip Usher first approached me with an amazing barn find of a putter and we had a lot of fun diving into its past. Well, Chip’s done it again with another great barn find – the Miura Giken M07 putter.
Maybe you’ve never even heard of the Miura Giken M07? Don’t worry, neither had I prior to Chip emailing me and saying, “hey, I need to talk to you. I found something and I think you’re going to want to see this. Call me.” The Miura Giken M07 was a rare high-end forged putter released only in Japand and Korea and are fairly difficult to run into at all these days. Master craftsmanship and an interesting story make the Miura Giken M07 putter a killer find by Chip, and worth the attention from putter enthusiasts everywhere.
Who is/was Miura Giken?
Before we dive further into the putter, let’s cover the name Miura Giken. While I’m certain plenty that read this will have heard the full Miura Giken (MG) name before, I would guess that few know the difference between them and Miura Golf. The truth is, they’re the same company, but due to some legalities around naming rights, Miura had to distribute under the name Miura Giken in Japan and Korea. All of the products for the two “brands” were still made in the same locations by the masterful hands of the Miura family. Clubs just had different names stamped on them, and maybe the odd different product offering from time to time. Fast forward to current day and that story is changing a bit, but that’s where it all started.
The Find
A key in understanding the “cool factor” of the Miura Giken M07 find is that Chip Usher is one of the original distributors of Miura Golf in the USA. Chips first exposure to Miura came from US-based customers that were ordering Miura heads from Japan and having Chip build their clubs. In 2003, Chip officially signed on with Miura Golf and began fitting, selling, and building Miura clubs out of his shop (Usher Golf) in Savannah, Georgia. So now you know the back story of Chip being in the Miura business…
Finding early Miura Giken products in the US, and especially at a reasonable price, is virtually unheard of due to the Japan/Korea-only distribution. Should you come across any, it’s likely used or in rough shape. Well, if you’re Chip Usher – the king of the barn find – you never know what you might find. For this particular find, the barn happened to be his own shop.
In 2010, Usher Golf relocated to its current location. Like any good move, you can imagine there were boxes everywhere! While recently “rummaging through boxes” in his storage room, Chip’s attention was drawn to some dusty club boxes in the corner. These boxes were mislabeled during the move and contained a handful of rare Miura Giken M07 putters that he had acquired sometime well before the move. Every M07 putter head and classic Golf Pride cord putter grip were still wrapped in the original plastic! While older models, these Miura Giken M07s are a classic piece of Miura history.
The Miura Giken M07 Putter
As Chip puts it, “the Miura Giken M07 has all of the cool buzzwords going for it.” He’s not wrong. First and foremost, the M07 putter is forged like any good Miura would be and comes in right around 340 grams. It wouldn’t be a Miura if it wasn’t forged by the Miura family themselves in their Himeji, Japan shop. As a result, the Miura Giken M07 has that signature solid and smooth feel that Miura’s famous for. While the M07 has some vintage qualities, you never get the feeling you’re putting with dated technology.
Next is the long neck. Though not as common these days, “putter guys” still yearn for long neck putters from this era. The use of a longer neck makes the blade more “face balanced.” What does that mean? It means the putter has less toe hang and less of an arc during the stroke. Players looking for a more “straight-back-straight-through” putting stroke will benefit from a long neck. Unsurprisingly, the Miura Giken M07 has absolutely perfect balance. It is a Miura after all.
The term “tri-sole” refers to the sole of the putter having three distinct surfaces. As you can see, the tri-sole of the M07 is very pronounced. That tri-sole is a classic mark of early 2000s #2-putter shapes and its a neat feature of the M07. The question is, does the tri-sole provide any performance benefits? I personally feel that’s up for debate, but I do have a soft spot for how they look. Maybe it’s the Tiger influence, but I don’t think there’s much cooler than a #2-shaped putter with a good tri-sole.
Final Thoughts
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t unreasonably excited when Chip first contacted me about his latest barn find. The fact that Chip even came across any of these M07 putters in the first place is a miracle. It’s difficult to say how many of these were made or how many are still out there. Knowing this was a rare piece of the Miura story not common in the US, Chip knew he found a gem and gave me the opportunity to tell the story. If you’re lucky, Chip may even have a few more sitting around the shop so you can add one to your collection… All I know is I can’t wait for Chip’s next big barn find.
