Take a Chance on Honma

You’ve heard of Honma certainly but seldom see them. The new TW767 line is worth checking out, though.

By Tony Dear

It’s generally agreed that, in the U.S. at least, Honma Golf relies heavily on word-of-mouth rather than big advertising campaigns and aggressive marketing. That seems to go against the grain in today’s screen-heavy, on-demand, gotta-have-it world, but there may be something to it because if you follow up on someone’s recommendation of hitting a Honma iron, or even looking at one, there’s a good chance you’ll end up buying it.

Who wouldn’t be sorely tempted to purchase after hearing of the company’s reputation for quality craftsmanship and seeing some of its better-player irons of the last decade or so – TW-BM, TR20B, TR21X, TW717M, TW727M, and so on?

The trouble is, of course, word-of-mouth is only any good when there’s someone to talk about them. And finding someone in North America with Honma irons in their bag hasn’t always been easy.

You’ll not have to look too hard to find an online forum or message board where someone asks if Honma, whose website currently lists the Beres brand 5 Star 09 irons at $47,700, is still active in the U.S. Elsewhere in that same forum, however, you’ll likely find multiple people saying the Honma irons they own are the best clubs they’ve ever hit.

Honma Golf’s story goes back 65 years to 1959 when Yukihiro and Hiro Honma established theTsurumi Golf Center – a driving range and club repair shop – in Yokohama. The brothers shared a passion for beautifully made clubs and had created their first by 1963. The company grew quickly and moved to Sakata on the west coast, 300 miles due north of Tokyo, sometime in the 1980s. It thrived for a while but was forced to file for bankruptcy protection in the early 2000s following the Japanese economy’s crash in the 1990s.

New Chinese owners saved it and the company became prominent in Japan again. But, though it continues to release top-quality clubs in the U.S., its presence on this side of the Pacific never seems quite certain.

Don’t let that stop you from checking out the new TW767 line, though. Besides the trio of drivers, two of which – TW767 and TW767 MAX – offer 10k MOI which means they are very forgiving, the fairway woods and hybrids (or “Utility-Woods” in Honma-speak) and all of which feature Honma’s own Vizard shaft, the recent release includes four new irons that will certainly make those golfers adventurous enough to find them very happy.

Looking at it, you may be surprised to learn the Hx is the game-improvement model. Possibly the most attractive of the quartet, (a subjective thing, of course, but it’s the only one without a cavity back), the Hx is hollow-bodied with a maraging steel face, a weight screw, and internal weighting to keep the Center of Gravity (CG) low, creating a higher launch. Its lofts also indicate the Hx is a game-improvement club.

The Px has a larger profile, an L-Cup face, and is a multi-material construction with a high-strength steel face and a soft S25C steel body. Slightly weaker lofts than the Hx, suggest it’s a player’s distance model. The Vx could also be considered the player’s distance. Forged from S20C steel, it features tungsten weighting in the 5-8 irons.

Though it has a cavity back, the compact Tour V is for the elite player. A single-piece forging from soft S20C steel, it features added mass behind the sweet spot to give it the feel of a blade, and a sole whose shape is designed to improve turf interaction.

TW767 Tour V
$1,050 (5-PW)
Loft – 7-iron – 32˚
Shaft – Nippon Modus Tour 115

TW767 Vx
$875 (6-PW; 4, 5 and GW are $175 each)
Loft – 7-iron – 30˚
Shaft – Nippon Modus Tour 105

TW767 Px
$875 (6-PW; 4, 5 and GW are $175 each)
Loft – 7-iron – 30˚
Shaft – Nippon N.S. PRO950 neo, Vizard EZ-C

TW767 Hx
$1,050 (6-PW;  5 and GW are $210 each)
Loft – 7-iron – 28˚
Shaft – Nippon N.S. PRO950 neo, Vizard EZ-C

Pre-order at us.honmagolf.com. Product ships on December 1st.

Colorado AvidGolfer Magazine is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it, publishing eight issues annually and proudly delivering daily content via coloradoavidgolfer.com.

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