New Brand - Crime of Angel (?!)

[mauvanilla]

Just bump into this:

www.coangel.tokyo

"Jointly developed with JBeam"

Any info?

Is this similar to the Jean-Baptiste brand? Or another spin-off of Crazy -> TRPX -?

Edited May 29, 2016 by mauvanilla

[mpbachman]

Virgin beat hugh, interesting name ;)

[Haovictor]

Very interesting.

[Spoon]

Crime of angel? Lol

[Mjr. D]

Tacky as hell.

[+TourSpecGolfer]

Abe formerly of crazy and trpx left or was let go and started this brand with an investor focused on gaudy apparel. He asked Jbeam to produce a driver for them, Jbeam is not connected to them in any way. This driver appears to be very similar to the glorious.

Everyone wants Jbeam to co-produce with them because their heads simply work.

Abe-san, contacted us several weeks ago for help and I agreed to take photos and let the members decide. I agree this name and the entire brand image is a wreck.

Speaking of wrecks...lol George Spirits reached out again to us to re-establish a business relationship, I will take photos of their recent driver and new irons and let our customers dictate their fate on TSG.

[bngolfer]

I feel sorry for George (and his spirit). Such a talented guy at designing golf clubs but not do talented at business...

Edited May 29, 2016 by bngolfer

[+TourSpecGolfer]

I feel sorry for George (and his spirit). Such a talented guy at designing golf clubs but not do talented at business...

Same here, Ive known him for 15 years and like him personally but stay away from his equipment ventures now days. He is not with GS anymore and just a designer at GTD, he is doing very well as a swing coach for female pros and amatuer players.

[jimmieboi]

Surprised to see Abe left TRPX. This Crime of Angel is like a rebranding of Crazy or TRPX. Seems nothing special.

[+TourSpecGolfer]

Surprised to see Abe left TRPX. This Crime of Angel is like a rebranding of Crazy or TRPX. Seems nothing special.

I'm not sure if it's left or let go but as such is business.

The original graphic artist for Crazy was Masaaki Fukushi who went to TRPX and now is with COA hence why they all look so similar in that gothic design.

I think the winner of the whole mess is LOOP as they walked with none of the BS and the true main actors Takahashi and Hashimoto they also have stable leader at the helm of the co.

My 2 cents:

Shaft Design - LOOP

Materials - Crazy

TRPX - I have their new shafts but their future is uncertain, I went to their HQ last month and it's less passionate enthusiast and more investor driven. They could never explain their shaft designs clearly to me.

COA - Only time will tell but that is horrible branding. Can't get a straight answer on the shaft designs.

We do offer custom fitting form services with LOOP & Crazy that just started which makes shaft selection a bit more certain for the customer, it's similar to the 7D form but we send it to the factory manager at both brands for their recommendation then follow up with our own to help the customer make a decision. What I like about this is I'm starting to see the fittings step away from flex and more toward shaft profile. For example based on my SS I should be playing the LOOP HD in Stiff. But because I require anti right they put me into a LOOP BW in SX. I tried both and experimented the same way with Crazy learning it's ok to step away from our normal flex in exchange for a proper shaft profile.

LOOP Forms are analyzed by Takahashi-san & the owner of the co for TSG.

Crazy Forms are analyzed by professional golfer Taka over at Crazy

[Mjr. D]

Gothic cheese ball Creed steroid gym douchebag artwork. Absolute crap.

[jimmieboi]

The lasted TRPX shaft that is top notch is El Dorado. As stable as the X-Line but easier to use. Like I said, Crazy before the scandals was at their prime. All their line ups pave the way for premium boutique JDM golf brand world wide. I haven't try Loop but heard lots of good reviews on it. IMO, this Crime Angel has nothing unique in both design and brand. Who knows, it could be good.

Edited May 30, 2016 by jimmieboi

[Spoon]

seems like the shelf life of top tier designers and personalities are as fast as the product cycles

of american clubs. can someone explain why this is so? clash of personalities and visions or business

related? seems its like the norm nowadays in these high end boutique brands.

[jimmieboi]

I think JDM boutique golf market is saturated. Too many of them out there yet so little in personalities and performance differences. Designers from one brand migrate to the next and carry his/her DNA along isn't good for the market. Now we have 2 Crazy-like brand, TRPX and Crime Angel. JBeam is now a major JDM boutique OEMs further confuses the market. Rebranding its head like the Glorious, makes its own product line even more confusing. Now we have the new Crime Angel head, aka Glorious, which is indeed a head that's a couple of years' model old. To be safe, can't go wrong with the big 3, Fujikura, Tour AD and Mitsubishi, they are and will always be in top of their tech and performance. Back in the days, almost all JDM brand uses "Prototype" and now the trend is Gothic artwork with everything JBeam head.

7D is a different beast, it doesn't fit into boutique brand. 7D is the top of the top golf shaft.

Edited May 30, 2016 by jimmieboi

[mauvanilla]

That is a very good point indeed; that the market may be saturated in Japan... However it may also be the case that these new brands marketing, approach, business strategy and financing are not effective at all. Maybe they are good at handcrafting the products but poor in executing the business (?)

Not sure if the comparison stands (and of course the budget is completely different and also does the market) but taking for example PXG; I think their launch and approach to the market can be considered quite successful.

Maybe C. can give us an idea on where the market in Japan stands at and what does he consider the flaws in these brands...

[jimmieboi]

PXG goes for the masses. They endorse top PGA tour players. They also marketed in where the US is lacking which is premium line up. Boutique JDM goes for the niche, I also find them kinda fall short on newer tech. Craftsmanship is without a doubt top class.

[+TourSpecGolfer]

That is a very good point indeed; that the market may be saturated in Japan... However it may also be the case that these new brands marketing, approach, business strategy and financing are not effective at all. Maybe they are good at handcrafting the products but poor in executing the business (?)

Not sure if the comparison stands (and of course the budget is completely different and also does the market) but taking for example PXG; I think their launch and approach to the market can be considered quite successful.

Maybe C. can give us an idea on where the market in Japan stands at and what does he consider the flaws in these brands...

Just my 2 cents but we have to remember there are not many equipment brands in the USA (outside of putters) period so we will hear less of these stories. There is no golf manufacturing base in the states so for a smaller company or designer having the resources to create clubs just doesn't exist, this goes for woods, irons, wedges the USA has little manufacturing capabilities.

Then take a look at Japan and even my experience here, I can catch a train anywhere meet with factories, meet with finishers, meet with companies that simply test CG locations in drivers, meet with agents from factories both in Japan, Taiwan and China and establish a network of accounts without having to do nearly as much. This is the big difference. If you count the amount of boutique driver brands in Japan it's unreal, boutique equipment brands period, the amount of shaft options etc..

It's like our food situation or shopping situation in the states, you see the same stores in the same malls and the same foods and companies in the same grocery stores, powerful brands take over in the USA and squeeze the small guys off the rack, then go to Japan and see every town and city and shop has something special and unique they are known for. Much more contrast and selection.

Take Blades for example, open face drivers, XXX flex shafts, the actual people who make the worlds best shafts, you would figure those types of things should all be more abundant in the states, they are not. Japan has more of everything, Brands, CB's, Irons, Drivers, Wedges, etc.. etc.. Nearly nothing is handmade or forged in the big box USA golf shops now days it's all mass processed like our foods. Same with our malls we go to Best Buy for electronics, compare that to Akihabara the difference is huge, similar products in multiple iterations with key differences for different types of consumers. Noodles, Beef, Water, we can take this a thousand ways.

Yes it can be seen as saturation especially in Golf as the Japanese market get's smaller as younger people are not taking up the game, but we can also see it as more options. Walk into a grocery store in Japan and compare it to our Ralphs or Walmarts and you will see how big boys take over in the states and squeeze out the passionate smaller producers.

PXG goes for the masses. They endorse top PGA tour players. They also marketed in where the US is lacking which is premium line up. Boutique JDM goes for the niche, I also find them kinda fall short on newer tech. Craftsmanship is without a doubt top class.

It's not easy to establish a brand in the USA like PXG has, it takes a bang and tons of cash. They are likely not profitable spending millions on the players with such low volume due to the high price point. Another thing is their expansion has come at a cost, PXG price lists are constantly forwarded to me for heads only coming from S.E Asia well before they had accounts established there. So with growth came uncontrollable headaches.

Establishing a brand in the USA is very different, golfers don't pick up on boutique, craftsmanship, and the personal story like they do in Asia. The flashy brand name advertising and endorsements take the cake and just spending habits are different. For example at private courses in the USA I see many bags of they same ol stuff, TM, Cally, Nike, and lots of really old beaters even from very wealthy members at private courses. In Asia and Europe the quality of clubs on the range are on a different level, I've seen a lot of full Honma Beres bags in public courses in Italy and across Europe but in Japan and parts of Asia the diversity of clubs in the bags of players is a lot of fun to see, I see the same brands we are so excited about here on TSG in the bags of many.

As for Technology, Big box Japan always rules imo. Main reason is price point. Because retail prices are higher we see the newest stuff in Japan first, even if it's fluff. They push the boundaries and I think PRGR, TourStage, and others are good examples of it. Truth is with USGA/R&A restrictions all this "tech" can't do much anyways. So we pick our favorite flavor ice cream and tinker and with changing heads with different launch, spin rates and mating things to some great shafts the gains are much more than those restrictive cavity soles, channels behind the faces, multi adjustable hosels etc..

again just me 2 pennys worth.

[artlu]

I think part of these brands' marketing /branding strategy is to project a coolness with their names that's contradictory to most people's idea of what golf represent. Also, the niche brands only have a very small clientele to attract, they are bound to run out of public interest. Just look at Basselius, waa the top trend for a little while, now no one talks about them.

[+TourSpecGolfer]

I think part of these brands' marketing /branding strategy is to project a coolness with their names that's contradictory to most people's idea of what golf represent. Also, the niche brands only have a very small clientele to attract, they are bound to run out of public interest. Just look at Basselius, waa the top trend for a little while, now no one talks about them.

I never thought of Baselius that way, my take was they never took off. AAA is great though.

Many of these designers in Japan are often not business or marketing savy people they are eclectic and interesting for sure often making for passion or hobby and following the beat of their own drum regardless of money or logic.

Its not the easiest thing to deal with.

[3leggedpony]

I kind of like the Crime of Angel driver head!