Japan Golf Fair 2016 – CRAZY

Japan Golf Fair 2016 – Crazy Shafts,  it’s been a very long time since Crazy was at the golf show and while they told us they had a lot of new products in the works I had no clue their booth and the buzz around the booth would be so strong,  years ago their former president got into trouble with the law which cast a shadow over the company but now Crazy is running in full force and embracing the original concepts that made them one of Japan’s elite shaft brands years ago.  Welcome back to the dark side folks follow the jump to read on…

Regenesis,  it’s a word that is starting to make sense for the brand well technically it isn’t even a word but I get the point CRAZY is making a comeback.   Let’s start with their flag ship model the CB-80LS made of 80T using a proprietary manufacturing and weave design this shaft is geared to the strong hitter in SR flex its 69grams and in X it’s at 74 grams with 3.4tq.  Keep in mind that torque may seem high for those who are new to high grade carbon materials but with better materials new age shafts no longer rely on torque to square the club face but rather the material has the capability to spring back quickly from shaft deformation to do the job,  also higher torque + 80T = better feel.  This shaft is designed for a mid high launch and helps reduce the spin for big distance and in recent weeks we have seen a push on the Japan long drive tour of players using this shaft just like the good old days.  The previous CB-80LS was similar in spec but this new Regenesis model has more feel and a stronger kick almost feeling softer yet having the same performance as the original.

Above is hands down the straightest most accurate golf shaft I have ever experienced the STP series,  crazy paid big bucks to purchase the patent for an inner stepped carbon design from a non related golf company and it has paid off,  1 year ago I put the STP85 Stiff into a set of prototype irons made for me and they do nothing else but go dead straight it’s not normal in a good way,  these are high grade carbon shafts that feel and play very stiff so Crazy has taken the unique approach of assigning weight to flex i.e you can only get stiff in 85g,  you can only get SX in 100g and X in 110 and every 85g shaft I’ve played in the past felt too light and loose for me well not the STP85 if anything it’s feels very firm,  flex feels a bit numb but the result is straight,  medium/high trajectory shots all day I can really give these my 100% and they don’t deviate and I think I could go to 75 SR flex model with no problems,  to put this in perspective my normal shafts are in the 120-125g range all day.

Based on what I said earlier about the STP iron shafts this STP Utility has got my full attention if these are as straight and accurate as the iron shafts which I’m told they are we are all lucky they have released these,  I will be testing soon.

Overall what I’m finding is the new Regenesis shafts have similar design & performance as the classic crazy shafts but they feel a bit softer and fly a bit higher yet still with little spin.  Interesting is the heavier hard hitter models feel softer while the softer series like the Royal Decoration feel a touch firmer I think they tightened things up where needed and softened other shafts up where needed.

My all time favorite fairway wood shaft is the Crazy FW-80 and the classic version was in the mid 70g range while the new version is in the mid 60 gram range it’s an 80T shaft very stable and straight but I found the Regenesis FW-80 perfect for me except for weight so I jumped to the FW-50 which is a mid 70g range shaft made of 50T and it made all the difference and I know prefer this model to the old FW-80.

CRAZY – 9 is a new shaft I don’t have the full info yet or it’s performance characteristics but next week I’m headed to Crazy HQ to discuss and test this shaft on the launch monitor I will have more info then but Crazy is touting this one as their next gen design that will elevate the co.

With so many different designs it’s hard to tell who should play what and what type of profile each shaft has,  not to worry TSG is working together with crazy to make a more accurate chart and fitting system.

We also saw at the show limited edition colors I am a big fan of the simple matte black look with silver metallic writing.

The new Crazy CRZ-F3 fairway wood was announced it’s a compact players wood that will release next month more info to come after our meetings.

and for the average player the CRZ FTi fairway wood it’s a full Titanium head that has a shallow face and wider profile for a higher launch,  more forgiveness and crazy has said it is high launch low spin.  Made in 3,5,7,9,11 wood lofts.

The Crazy Black IP driver is back in the line up!  Great driver with great feel and a DAT55G face,  designed for the low to mid capper it naturally carries a mid trajectory and low spin with a good sound and feel.

The CRZ-435 is based on the Jbeam Blackout 435 it’s very similar except a different face material and sole stamping.  I’m interested to see how this new face material works out as the Blackout 435 is one of my all time favorites.

New accessories,  I didn’t snap pics of all the new products Crazy had,  the booth was packed with a lot of excitement about the return of the brand but they had some sexy new bags,  head covers,  and other items.  As mentioned earlier we have a meeting next week at the HQ and will take better profile pics and get all the specifics needed to help you make a better informed decision or simply to entetain you.  Hope you enjoyed the pics and coverage so far there is more to come from the 2016 Japan Golf Fair.