Tag Archives: Sean Hanafusa

Cleveland Golf, Srixon, Wedges

Cleveland Golf – All-new CBX Full-Face 2 wedges, with the largest CBX face ever

January 18, 2023 –  Cleveland Golf, an industry leader in wedge design and innovation, announces the release of the all-new CBX Full-Face 2 wedge. The CBX Full-Face 2 is scheduled to launch in Europe on the 15th of March 2023.

The CBX Full-Face 2 is designed to be more forgiving with a larger face, along with added HydraZip, ZipCore and UltiZip technologies. It is a wedge built for golfers looking for the right balance of forgiveness and versatility to unleash their greenside creativity.

“Our new CBX Full-Face 2 wedge allows golfers the freedom to get creative around the greens and in tight yardages, with the perfect amount of spin control,” said Sean Hanafusa, CEO and Chairman at Srixon Sports Europe. “With the biggest face ever on a CBX wedge, you’ll be able to strike the ball anywhere on the face with more forgiveness, while enjoying controlled stopping power in any conditions.”

With a high-toe profile, CBX Full-Face 2 has a 13% more contact area than our RTX Full-Face wedges, helping players feel more confident when presented with open-face shot opportunities. Joining this new generation of CBX wedges is ZipCore, a unique, low-density core designed to expand the sweet spot and upgrade MOI for ultimate forgiveness. Combined with a hollow-cavity design, ZipCore helps push the Center of Gravity (CG) directly behind the impact zone, while Cleveland Golf’s Gelback vibration-absorbing insert improves feel.

The striking areas on the CBX Full-Face 2 are integrated with new HydraZip technology, which uses dynamic face blasts and laser lines that maximize friction for improved spin consistency in dry and wet conditions.

Cutting through debris more consistently requires a specialized sequence of grooves. That’s where UltiZip technology comes in. New to the CBX Full-Face 2 line, UltiZip grooves are sharper, deeper, and tightly spaced for enhanced spin, control, and consistency.

This generation of the CBX Full-Face wedges also feature reshaped sole grinds. The Full Sole design offers more bounce on lower lofts for stable, full swing shots. The C-Shaped Sole on higher lofts provide added bounce in the center, along with relief around the heel, designed to optimize the balance between forgiveness and greenside versatility. All sole grinds feature a new bounce chamfer that helps the wedge get in and out of the turf from a variety of attack angles and help prevent chunked chip shots.

The CBX Full-Face 2 Wedge offers premium high-spin shaft options, including the True Temper Dynamic Gold 115 Spinner Tour Issue and the Project X Catalyst 80 Spinner. The Lamkin Crossline 360 grip comes standard on all CBX Full-Face 2 wedges.

KEY INNOVATIONS INSIDE THE CBX FULL-FACE 2 WEDGE

 HydraZip: A new, dynamic face blast and laser-milled line pattern, designed to friction for improved spin consistency in wet or dry conditions.

 ZipCore: Set in the heart of the Wedge, ZipCore is a lightweight, low-density core technology that reduces vibrations, optimizes CG location, and boosts MOI for increased feel, control, consistency, and forgiveness.

UltiZip: Sharp, deep, tightly spaced grooves help maximize spin performance and cut through debris at impact. These grooves help deliver more consistent spin, control, and consistency.

Larger Full-Face Profile: The larger face helps players hit more open-face shots thanks to the largest face ever on a CBX Wedge. More face equals more grooves, offering heel to toe forgiveness and versatility

Forgiving Sole Designs: A new Full Sole design on the 50-52 degree lofts helps enhance performance on full-swing shots, while the C-Shape Sole featured on 54-60 degree lofts adds bounce in the center. All lofts feature a new bounce chamfer near the leading edge, designed to reduce chunking around the green.

Launch Date: 15th of March 2023

RRP: 189€ (steel); 199€ (graphite).

Equipment, Golf Companies, Golf Shops, Srixon

XXIO – Celebration of 20 years as leading golf club brand in Japan

March 27, 2020 – Srixon Sports’ XXIO brand is celebrating two decades of dominance in Japan after picking up the title of best-selling clubs in the country for the 20th consecutive year. XXIO has been the top-selling range of clubs in Japan since 2000, while it is also the fastest-growing premium brand in Europe.

Sean Hanafusa, CEO of Srixon Sports Europe, said: “We are grateful to all of the XXIO fans for their continued support. At the same time, Sumitomo Rubber Industries – Srixon Sports Europe’s owner – is committed to developing XXIO into a brand that helps more and more golfers get even more enjoyment out of the game of golf, so we hope that you will look forward to what the future holds in store for XXIO.”

The new XXIO Series Eleven and X ranges introduce two new features to enhance enjoyment of the game. Weight Plus technology concentrates more of a golf club’s weight in the grip to reduce the amount of force needed to support the club during the takeaway, which makes it easier for golfers to attain the ideal top-of-swing position. Meanwhile, a new Flat Cup Face design further enhances overall rebound (i.e. COR) performance. XXI0 also recently introduced a new logo as part of its overall brand strategy.

Lionel Caron, Srixon Sports Europe’s President, said: “The quality of the products and XXIO’s technological innovations is recognised by golfers and our retailer partners. The brand has established itself in a reasoned way in Europe, where we have favoured selective distribution. The objective is to establish a closer collaboration with our selected customers in order to offer a unique experience to golfers who purchase a XXIO club.”

Benjamin Routhier, SSE Marketing Manager, added: “Faithful to the brand’s slogan – ‘Experience the Difference’ – we are increasing the number of our XXIO Experience Days, particularly in UK, Spain and France. In Spain, we are launching a XXIO community programme, with a dedicated consumer website that will ultimately offer many benefits to our end customers.”

An XXIO Europe Instagram account has also been launched to share exclusive stories, product information, videos and images with brand followers from all over Europe and UK.

More information at www.xxio.eu.