Proto Concept - New JDM Company

[easylittle5wood]

https://proto-c.jp/pages/clubs

 

Looks like some of their irons showed up in the tournament photos. Anyone know anything?

[BlakeWal]

Don't know anything specific, but forged in Thailand it says at the bottom of the pages.  I believe Endo is forged in Thailand so perhaps endo forged?  Not sure who else forges in Thailand but also possible open market heads make for this new brand.  Hybrid irons have a Srixon look to them so guessing Endo.

[Callaway96]

Has anyone tried them?

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

So with the blade, they claim that, for the 5, 6, and 7 irons, they insert titanium into the steel billet, and by some trick in the forging technique, get a low, CB-like CoG. Also means they can produce a "CB-like face" (think this means a slightly larger face, due to the titanium being lighter). OK....

What I found interesting is that they appear to mix the titanium with S20C steel (I think this is S1020 carbon steel in US terminology), but in the short irons where they don't use titanium, they use S25C (which I think is S1025 carbon steel in the US). Their reasoning is that titanium makes the steel harder so they use the softer S20C with the titanium, and in the short irons without titanium they try to match the feel by using S25C. 

That's a new one on me. Interesting.

[Golfingfanatic]

Blades look interesting. The lofts are a touch strong, but bending them slightly weak shouldn't be a problem.

[Kingcat990]

Pretty steep price, they also look like Eon offerings. Thanks for sharing. 

[littleprov1x]

No one has posted an in hand of these other than the tour photos. I just received a set of C-01 5-P with the 4 iron driving iron. They look really good in person. The chrome is only on the back of the blade, the face is satin. They are shorter heal to toe than I thought from the original pictures but setup really nice behind the ball. Pics below are of the 8 iron and 4 driving iron.

[mogc60]

Damnnnn those are very clean looking!!! 

[EaglesGolf99]

Yea. Both of those look pretty dang good at address. 

[Golfingfanatic]

not the biggest fan of the DI, but the C01 look gorgeous.

[omfs27]

Beautiful irons! I always wonder if there are huge differences in forged muscleback irons.  After playing MP-29s to now 620MB (over 20 year span), I don't see a true difference in score. Haha.  The difference in feel (maybe a placebo effect due to hype).  I think with forged muscleback irons, it's all in the setup and how comfortable you feel addressing them.  Its good that newer musclebacks are coming out with a technology difference.

 

[indianagolf2]

The markup jdm crazy high...I know prices for dealers miura....it would make you sick

Edited May 26, 2021 by indianagolf2

[Soloman1]

The sole looks better suited for Japanese thicker fairways, that can be higher cut korai or even Zoysia. The balls sits up more than on bent.

[TiScape]

The CO5 irons look really nice. Remind me of the old Tourstage 202s. 

[EaglesGolf99]

22 hours ago, indianagolf2 said:

The markup jdm crazy high...I know prices for dealers miura....it would nake you sick

That's not necessarily true. I know Miura Dealer Pricing too. Margins on Miura are roughly the same as Callaway and Taylormade. Not a fair assessment. 

[indianagolf2]

Most are making 100 plus per club retail...miura

[EaglesGolf99]

9 hours ago, indianagolf2 said:

Most are making 100 plus per club retail...miura

That's a broad statement for quite the landscape. 

[indianagolf2]

Well I can get epon a club 265..some charge 350 to 450...thats a huge markup. I'm not here to sell or refer any1 for epons..just making a point. Now thats a price bc I know someone..but still the markup seems huge. Anyways, enjoy golf..im not gonna go back and forth to clog up the thread. 

[EaglesGolf99]

18 hours ago, indianagolf2 said:

Well I can get epon a club 265..some charge 350 to 450...thats a huge markup. I'm not here to sell or refer any1 for epons..just making a point. Now thats a price bc I know someone..but still the markup seems huge. Anyways, enjoy golf..im not gonna go back and forth to clog up the thread. 

You make a point to mention MIURA'S cost and margin. And then utilize EPON to support your claim. And in your claim, EPON is CHARGING and MAKING MORE than the initial MIURA example. 

 

So if we are all getting ripped off by Miura.....

 

What would you call what EPON is doing to YOU?

[golftech]

Tested the CO3s earlier this week.  Great looking grind and as solid as any forged iron I’ve hit before. Felt like a combination of Miura solid and Mizuno soft!  Now I have a set on order!!

[Thayneil]

On 5/25/2021 at 10:33 AM, indianagolf2 said:

The markup jdm crazy high...I know prices for dealers miura....it would make you sick

The mark up on a TM Driver is pretty high too

 

The head costs around  $50 maybe?

[poppman2142]

On 9/22/2021 at 8:04 PM, golftech said:

Tested the CO3s earlier this week.  Great looking grind and as solid as any forged iron I’ve hit before. Felt like a combination of Miura solid and Mizuno soft!  Now I have a set on order!!

Did you try any of the other iron models or just the 03’s? 

[golftech]

23 hours ago, poppman2142 said:

Did you try any of the other iron models or just the 03’s? 

I also tried the 01 and was impressed, but looking for a little more game improvement.  The 05 was just slightly too thick topline and offset.  

Edited October 14, 2021 by golftech

[tical]

Been gaming the c03 since end of April. Prior to the c03, I was slinging PXG Gen3 0311P.  The PXG was def more forgiving but less feedback.  The c03 you know when you hit it well and you will get immediate feed back when you don’t. 

[LowAndLeft32]

On 9/22/2021 at 8:04 PM, golftech said:

Tested the CO3s earlier this week.  Great looking grind and as solid as any forged iron I’ve hit before. Felt like a combination of Miura solid and Mizuno soft!  Now I have a set on order!!

Did you get your proto c irons yet? Is so any feedback you would be willing to share? Thanks. 

[poppman2142]

So far I have only shafted up and hit the wedges they are a little bit bigger size wise but very little offset straight leading edge and a higher toe.  They are the softest wedges I have ever hit, spin is medium on chips not too high not too low. Trajectory is medium to low. I have high hopes for the C01’s. 

[golftech]

On 10/19/2021 at 5:36 PM, LowAndLeft32 said:

Did you get your proto c irons yet? Is so any feedback you would be willing to share? Thanks. 

I just went out for a round to test my new C03 irons and C01.5 4 iron utility.  I shafted them with MMT 105 shafts and the result is a very solid feeling, tight controlling iron.  I’m able to control trajectory quite well, and they’re a solid forged feel somewhere in between Mizuno soft and Miura dense feel.  They seem more forgiving than my Mizuno MP20 MMCs and about half club longer.  The grind is clean and balanced with just a slight offset and topline.  

[golftech]

On 10/18/2021 at 7:42 PM, tical said:

Been gaming the c03 since end of April. Prior to the c03, I was slinging PXG Gen3 0311P.  The PXG was def more forgiving but less feedback.  The c03 you know when you hit it well and you will get immediate feed back when you don’t. 

How is the trajectory on your C03s vs the PXG 0311Ps?

[golftech]

I’m several months into the ProtoC C03’s and the C01.5 utility.  These are some really impressive irons.  Not only has my iron play consistency improved, both trajectory control and also forgiveness on mishits improved.  Plus the Mitsubishi MMT shafts are really great.  Best combination and graphite and iron shafts!  I’ve played forged irons for over 40 years and these are the most solid forging, and a balanced design between control and forgiveness.  Endo nailed these!

[gm12673]

Thanks for the update. I see Joe Kwok is raving about these. That’s good enough for me. Hard work to track down a stockist in Europe but think I have finally managed to track down a proper builder who can get his hands on CO3 heads for me. Will be going with Steelfibers. Very excited.