Henry Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 I seem to ask this same question every few months but in different ways to better undertand the Japanese market for clubs (my never ending quest). The question came about again after I listened to some media running on the Japan Callaway site for the Legacy Driver. The only english speaking video is from a Callaway Tech guy saying the Legacy Driver is specifically designed for the Japanese market. My question would be what makes a specific club designed and marketed only for a specific market, in this case, Japan. Who makes these stupid decisions and why do they think a club would only sell well in one market? Gocchin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+TourSpecGolfer Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 I seem to ask this same question every few months but in different ways to better undertand the Japanese market for clubs (my never ending quest). The question came about again after I listened to some media running on the Japan Callaway site for the Legacy Driver. The only english speaking video is from a Callaway Tech guy saying the Legacy Driver is specifically designed for the Japanese market. My question would be what makes a specific club designed and marketed only for a specific market, in this case, Japan. Who makes these stupid decisions and why do they think a club would only sell well in one market? Gocchin? It's the price IMO. If they come in lower lofts and square face angles with some pretty stout shaft options its for sure not the swing. Callaway Legacy and ERC Hyper are Forged Ti made in Japan. They are far more expensive to produce and this is what I think they mean by Market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gocchin Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 As Chris said it's totally price and different market demands... this is not to say that golfers outside of Japan don't want the best products, its a question of how much are they willing to pay for them. Truth is many golf clubs are made in Japan, even clubs sold in the States but that doesn't make them all the same quality. All the OEM's have budgets when it comes to the amount of R&D, materials, manufacturing process that they use. It just so happens that Japanese brands or those brands that sell in Japan pump more into those budgets because they charge higher prices. Japan is a very fickle market when it comes to anything, not just golf clubs. What's hot one day like the Tamagochi could be just as easily gone the next. Where else in the world can you find 200+ current models of cellphones for sale and an average of 3-4 new models released every week? Yes only in the consumer driven craziness known as Japan. Also if you're talking about the Legacy video I uploaded on the TSG Network, that isn't just a Callaway techie saying that "This is the best all titanium driver Callaway has ever produced", that's the Senior Vice President of R&D for Callaway Golf (not just Japan). And I believe him too. The Legacy costs a ton but Callaway has also invested a ton in it and opted for premium forged Titanium all made in Japan. As for the stupid decisions, I too wonder why some of these awesome products are only sold in Japan. And in the end I blame it on Economics. Would a Callaway driver NOT marked TOUR or LIMITED be able to sell for 900USD at Golf Galaxy.... probably not. And would Callaway want to sell it for less? Maybe if they dropped the grade of steel and cut some corners manufacturing it (please see Hyper ERC devolve into the Hyper X). It's too bad for those outside of Japan that don't either understand the Japanese golf market and for those who do but don't have access to the product (which is why TSG is here). Walking into a massive golf shop in Japan is like going into a shop with all your favorite Japanese idols... (well it is for me at least (^_^)... but you get what I mean)... It's like being in heaven. One way of experiencing just the atmosphere and impact of Japanese golf gear is to take a trip to Japan in February and join TSG at the Japan Golf Fair.... yeah I'll be waiting for you all and I'll even show you my favorite idols. (^_^) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herrsonic Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 AFter hitting with OEM offerings of Ping, Callaway, Nike, Cobra, Titleist in the U.S. for a long time and then hitting with some of the JDM stuff, I don't think I can go back. The average golfer in the U.S. just doesn't want to pay more than a few hundred bucks for a set of clubs. The other day, I was playing with my Miura 5003 and another golfer asked me how much I paid for the clubs. I said $400 bucks and he says that's about right. Then he proceeded to show me his "$200" Ben Hogan hybrid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gocchin Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 AFter hitting with OEM offerings of Ping, Callaway, Nike, Cobra, Titleist in the U.S. for a long time and then hitting with some of the JDM stuff, I don't think I can go back. The average golfer in the U.S. just doesn't want to pay more than a few hundred bucks for a set of clubs. The other day, I was playing with my Miura 5003 and another golfer asked me how much I paid for the clubs. I said $400 bucks and he says that's about right. Then he proceeded to show me his "$200" Ben Hogan hybrid. You're absolutely right. I once had a stat that showed out of the the average golfer in the US, only 8% of so said they'd pay more than $500 for a driver. There was another estimate that said the average Japanese golfer spends 3-4 times annually the average US golfer when it comes to equipment. That pretty much sums it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Backspin9 Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 Just look at Bridgestone and Tourstage. While the Bridgestone gear sold in the U.S. is very good quality and priced according to what the U.S. market will pay, it's not (IMO) on the same level as Tourstage, at least for the woods. I doubt an X-Drive in the $700 range would get many buyers because 1) few people have even heard of Tourstage, and 2) fewer still would pay that much for a driver. If only they knew what they were missing.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
advan038 Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 (edited) Regarding the problem about a certain piece is JDM ONLY, I must admit is not just golf related products, but in fact, pretty much everything you can think off. Yes I totally agree what's been mentioned above (market, pricing and econ.), and strange enough (that's only my personal thoughts!) perhaps that's one of their secret way of getting the attention and being famous for globally (of course the quality of JDM products is un-questionable). A prime example would be cell phones, mentioned by gocchin in earlier post. Another example would be vehicles and motorbikes being JDM ONLY. I guess this has to be one of the main reason why people like me always wanted to get my hands on JDM only, and thanks to TSG and team, I finally can now. Edited June 17, 2008 by advan038 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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