IRVINE, Calif. – Proto Concept, the new ultra-luxury Japanese golf club designer/manufacturer, placed three of its products in Golf Digest’s 2022 Hot List edition, which was released Jan. 25. It is the first time Proto Concept products have made the Hot List.
“Proto Concept is elated that three of our products have been recognized to be among the best by judges of the 2022 Golf Digest Hot List,” said Yasufumi Kawasaki, Brand Producer of Proto Concept. “It is a very prestigious publication with judges who are highly attuned to providing objective advice to golfers seeking new clubs.”
Proto Concept is a collaboration between Japanese-owned Golf Partner Japan – the largest golf retailer in the world with some 400 locations – and fellow Japanese golf behemoth Endo Manufacturing, the industry standard in precision club manufacturing that is used by many of the world’s best-known OEMs. Kawasaki also is a managing executive officer of Golf Partner (www.golfpartnerusa.com).
The three Proto Concept clubs making this year’s Golf Digest Hot List are the:
- Forged Wedge – The Forged Wedge provides the optimal balance of ball speed, trajectory, and spin. It comes three shapes – Standard, Wide Sole and Cut Down – to accommodate all swing types. Endo’s face dot milling process is a precision forging (rather than normal milling) that impart face score lines more accurately than machining. Moreover, a series of mini-dots is milled into the horizontal areas between the grooves to help produce more consistent spin and improved control under all lies and weather conditions. $400
- C-03 (Players Irons) – The C-03 is a single-forged tour cavity-back iron crafted with precise forging using only soft iron. The center of gravity for irons 5-7 is optimized through a process called CNC undercutting, which provides a high trajectory and a crisp feel. Manufactured in Edno’s high-precision forging factory, the C-03 iron provides the combination of distance and forgiveness that golfers are seeking. No undercut is used on clubs 8-PW because of the need to maintain the proper spin rates. $350 per club.
- C-05 (Players-Distance Irons) – The C-05 features a tour pocket cavity engineered with a deep and low center of gravity along with a clubface that is slightly thicker than standard (2.7 millimeters) in the middle and lighter on the heel and toe (2.4 millimeters) to add ball speed on mishits. Designed to increase distance and to enhance maneuverability, straight line performance, forgiveness and feel. $370 per club.
“With Proto Concept, the goal of our design team at Golf Partner is to produce the highest quality golf clubs for avid golfers of all handicaps,” Kawasaki said. “The name Proto Concept is derived from the prototype-quality clubs that are developed for tour professionals.”
Proto Concept products may be ordered online at protoconceptgolf.com and through designated green grass club fitters nationally, which can found at https://protoconceptgolf.com/pages/store-locator.
Proto Concept was established in 2019 in Tokyo, Japan and is a part of Golf Partner Co. Ltd. www.golfpartnerusa.com. Yasufumi Kawasaki is Brand Producer for Proto Concept and is a managing executive officer of Golf Partner Japan.
