What is Up with Honma?

[jda]

Friend who is a good player talks highly of them, yet I do not see many play them.  Got a used 757 3 wood for the cost of a meal and it is amazing.  It crushes the ball and is at least as good as my TSR 3 wood and anything else that I have ever gamed, if not better.

 

Do people stay away from them because their shafts are in-house/made-for black boxes without any ability to customize?  Got the FD-8X in mine and it appears to be really good shaft.  ...or is it really just brands that advertise and make the Hot List?

[vegashack44]

I had a set of TW737V irons that I loved and regret selling to this day. Honma is in a weird spot because they’re known for the high price Beres line more than anything else imo. The Justin rose experiment didn’t do them any favors either. 

[pdxhak]

1 hour ago, jda said:

Friend who is a good player talks highly of them, yet I do not see many play them.  Got a used 757 3 wood for the cost of a meal and it is amazing.  It crushes the ball and is at least as good as my TSR 3 wood and anything else that I have ever gamed, if not better.

 

Do people stay away from them because their shafts are in-house/made-for black boxes without any ability to customize?  Got the FD-8X in mine and it appears to be really good shaft.  ...or is it really just brands that advertise and make the Hot List?

Honma clubs can be customized just like any other brand. I recently reshafted my TW-X irons. And previously reshafted their fairway woods and driver.

Their clubs are underrated and would expect many people do not purchase them because they do not have the opportunity to test them.

[phizzy30]

Honma is a niche brand, IMO.  It's mainly the asian segment that gravitate towards the brand as Honma appeals to that demographic with the materials used and lighter weight clubs.  The Beres line is more of a status symbol, IMO that alot of asian golfers covet.  They're very underrated, IMO.  My father who's in his 70's has always had Honma clubs in his bag in some capacity.  He still rocks Honma irons and has XXIO woods and hybrids. 

[dmeeksDC]

The 757 fairway woods are very well-regarded. Retailed for more than $400 US when they came out. Reviews on these from buyers are very positive. Traditional compact look with a nice speed slot and forgiveness. The 7 wood has a nice shape and flight. It was popular and hard to find for a while but by now should be more on the used market. 

 

I remember being in South Korea for the 2018 Winter Olympics. A lot of people play on simulators in restaurants and clubs. (Signs advertising “Screen Golf” are common.) Saw a lot of Honma clubs there and on the local cable they had two 24 hour a day golf channels and there were plenty of Honma and Callaway ads running. Honma was definitely popular in South Korea. 

[third-times-a-charm]

Lots of reasons why they arent popular in the NA market from cultural reasons to technical ones - but they make fantastic equipment.

 

Their TW irons are equal or better than the "big 3" in the USA's top sellers - and the woods arent far behind. Brand power is a big thing for NA consumers and it just isnt a thing here.

 

I had the TR20P irons in the bag for a while and they beat out the Apex line and P770/790 line all day long. My wife still loves her TW-X irons as well.

[jda]

Seems weird to me that most WRXers who will believe any dumb thing related to tech would scour the earth for better equipment.

[WristySwing]

8 hours ago, jda said:

Seems weird to me that most WRXers who will believe any dumb thing related to tech would scour the earth for better equipment.

 

It comes down to ease of access. Say I hit the 757Vx at a huge demo for 15 minutes and really liked it, but wanted to get fit for it. Where can I get fit, it's difficult. There's only so much you can do to a golf club.  Sure, different brands and specific clubs will fit one player better than another, that is what fitting is for, but once you get it down to head profile, CG, loft, lie, and sole camber, you could pick any one of the 3/4 models that are very close in these numbers and play equally as well.

 

Therefore, people are going to gravitate to the clubs they can usually try before they buy and also are available almost on demand when everything is roughly equal.

[Ger21]

I've played a TW-X 3 iron for the last 3 years, and the stock shaft is really good.
Picked up a cheap TW747 7 wood last fall, and swapped out the stock 50g senior flex shaft with a more suitable shaft I already had, and love it.
I liked it so much I found a matching 3HL.
On the second hand market, Honma's are a tremendous value.
I wouldn't hesitate to put any Honma clubs in the bag.

[grochol17]

15 hours ago, jda said:

Friend who is a good player talks highly of them, yet I do not see many play them.  Got a used 757 3 wood for the cost of a meal and it is amazing.  It crushes the ball and is at least as good as my TSR 3 wood and anything else that I have ever gamed, if not better.

 

Do people stay away from them because their shafts are in-house/made-for black boxes without any ability to customize?  Got the FD-8X in mine and it appears to be really good shaft.  ...or is it really just brands that advertise and make the Hot List?

 

I think in the US it comes down to accessibility and cost.  There's only one golf shop in my area that carries them and the price was stupidly high.  Beyond that, I've only ever played golf with one person that had any Honma clubs in their bag... a guy on my high school golf team was from Japan and he had a Honma persimmon driver for a while.  Beautiful club and I would have bought one if they were in the US at the time, but that is literally the only time I've see one of their clubs in the wild.

[GHIN n Juice]

Honma makes quality irons.  For a long time they were really limited to the Asian market so they don’t carry that name cache more known OEMs have.  I think most of their irons fit quite nicely against the Mizuno MP line.  The only other thing that kinda hurts them in the US, and WRX I guess, is they lack strong resale value for people who like to change clubs like underwear.

[pdxhak]

The TW-X irons are awesome. I want to purchase some of their vintage irons just for fun. I play a couple rounds a year with my old FG-17s and would love to have an older set of Honma's to play with.
 

[bellken]

Honma made a push for the NA market with the TR line, but, seem to have dropped that to focus on the higher end Beres lines, where the margins are bigger. They make some nice stuff, but, they are not targeting the wrx crowd. A few members at my local golf course have Honma golf clubs.

[T Creer]

eBay has stupid low prices on new/hardly used Honma iron sets.

Buddy has a set of 747V irons with factory Modus 120 shafts. Paid around $300 3 years ago. They are very solid clubs. 

[Drivingrangehero]

I have a Honma TW/World Gap wedge, that is 🔥 

 

I think Vega is overlooked as well

 

 

 

[jda]

How can you not love irons that say 10 and 11 on them?

[TiScape]

I can’t be the only one that read this as ‘What is Up with Homa’!
😂 

 

*GO MAX!

[wam78]

I’ve owned Honma irons multiple times and absolutely loved them.  Did the Honma fitting van experience a few years ago outdoors and it was great.  I had 747v for a minute and then tr20 irons along with the tw-w4 wedges.  747v had one of my favorite shaped irons ever along with that wonderful pre-worn leading edge.  TR20v were pretty amazing as well.  Such a solid yet soft feel bordering on very soft on perfect contact.

 

Agree with the comment about the fairway woods.  The 747 3 wood was awesome!  Felt very similar to the m6.  Their simple design on the woods are fantastic!  Just need a little more advancement on the driver to make some noise in the market.  It was the only thing I tested that did not wow me with performance.

 

Plus, you can get a smoking deal on the secondary market!

[jda]

Got my eye on some TW902 with x100 on eBay.  Ridiculously cheap for Japanese Steel, IMO.  x100 is my jam so takes the shaft unknown out of it.  I wish that I could find specs on these.  I don't imagine that they feel terrible or anything.  Playing Miura made Titleist blades from mid 2000s right now and these look like a easy switch.

[Aucaveman]

Happened upon the honma tr21x irons and after reading some reviews and watching a few videos, I purchased sight unseen and had never hit a honma club. They are by far the best hollow body irons I’ve ever hit. They’re consistent, look phenomenal and spin more than any other “hollow body/players distance” iron I’ve used. 

[Multipass613]

You could say the same for any of the non-big four brands. Although I suspect the price makes lots of retail golfers shy away.

 

John Daly plays Sub70 irons, the best golfer I've ever known uses Maltby/Golfworks, lots of good gear out there, only so many advertising dollars.

[Lemonde]

On 4/17/2024 at 6:02 PM, jda said:

Friend who is a good player talks highly of them, yet I do not see many play them.  Got a used 757 3 wood for the cost of a meal and it is amazing.  It crushes the ball and is at least as good as my TSR 3 wood and anything else that I have ever gamed, if not better.

 

Do people stay away from them because their shafts are in-house/made-for black boxes without any ability to customize?  Got the FD-8X in mine and it appears to be really good shaft.  ...or is it really just brands that advertise and make the Hot List?

What’s the Hot List 😂 

[lefthack]

I had XP-1 3 and 5 woods that were incredible. The shaft felt crazy flexy, but hits off the deck were solid and straight. Only reason I got rid of them was Global Golf offered me 30% more than what I paid on trade in.

 

I never found a driver, but I really want to try one. 

[ldchristopher]

I had a set of TW747v’s and their TW wedges and really enjoyed them. Compact head in the irons, stock shaft was Modus 120 or 105, Modus 125 in the wedges, performed great. I wish more people would give them a shot but the inability to demo their stuff unless it’s on a used rack really hurts. 

[vinny_land]

Been playing with a set of Honma XP-1 irons (5i-11i) after upgrading from old Adams A4. Strong lofted and good feel. Got them dirt cheap through RockBottomGolf. I added the 4-iron with graphite Vizard shaft to test out getting into long irons (potential driving iron). The whole set is strong lofted with the PW being 43*. 

 

IMO I think the brand overall gets overlooked by big name since tour players are not using them. People want to play with what the pros use right?

The failed project of Justin Rose didn't really work and that's why for a short time, there was a flood of Honma clubs even at Costco. 

[gemo]

When people say the Justin Rose project hurt them what do they mean? The TR line was fantastic, he had a hand in all of those clubs, and I still game them (although for Irons ive moved to even more niche brands like onoff). Sure he split but that was honestly more of a Rose being a WRXer at heart and not being able to club swap as much as he was accustomed to. Do people actually attribute his performance issues to Honma gear? He won on his first outing with them.

 

It is a shame that they put all of their sponsorship dollars in one fickle basket, and failed to adopt the wine-and-dine methods of amecian business dealings to break into more retail locations. They definitely mis-spent their budget for breaking into the NA market, to that I will agree.

 

The 757 and TR clubs especially can be had for a song on the Japanese market used, via proxy purchasing services like ZenMarket and Buyee

Edited August 23, 2024 by gemo

[rama5]

starting second year of world xp-1 irons awesome love the look and work well for retired golfing amateur who likes to stick you with non-mainstream clubs 

[V1nc3nt]

Own tw901 irons, tw901 wedges, tw727v and tw757b. I used to play Titleist cbs but Honma irons are simply in different league, in manufacturing quality and feel.

 

I like the Beres S-03 three star driver. Recently bought tw757d driver, still trying to get use with it.

 

Honma is a brand very anchored is Asia.