Honma Golf... would you??

[JEBS]

Do you know anyone who has put these in their bag?? I have never heard a bad review of these (If I dropped 5- 35k on golf clubs I probably would not say anything bad either) Not that I intend to get any.. my wife would gut me then beat me to a pulp with the said mentioned golf club..

I just wanted to know if anyone has experience with this brand, and how much of a golf nut do you have to be to drop that kind of $$$$$

[Grass Roots Tour]

Not a flippin chance. The stuff doesnt even look any good.

[TourIQ]

Not a flippin chance. The stuff doesnt even look any good.
A 'Filthy RICH' high handicapper might enjoy the look :rofl:
For 'Real Players' with game they go to a master clubmaker :D

[ryguy]

their really expensive, but I don't understand the technology that must be there to warrant the price!!!

[XQSmi]

their really expensive, but I don't understand the technology that must be there to warrant the price!!!

Technology????? I thought it was just a lot of BLING!!

[simar]

well, techonology or not, i think they are geared to a different market.... not sure I'd be interested in them even if i won the lottery.

[SoNgMaN]

so who won the last PGA event playing homna?

yeah...

[justinn]

ive had the chance to play honma clubs for a round, not the greatest stuff. I would rather spend the money getting clubs customized and so on, then spend it on that.

[SW20 MR2]

I think it's pretty obvious that these clubs wouldn't suit the typical poster on this board. Those clubs are a status symbol and nothing more, and in Asia, having expensive clubs shows status and wealth. It's no different than when people where designer jeans instead of Levi's.

[gocchin]

They are not totally status symbols... that is just their perception in North America where they have had very poor strategy and marketing. In fact they have many models and lines that are more reasonably priced along the lines of mainstream J-Spec gear. They definitely do have a lot of bling stuff, but some of their drivers, irons and wedges aren't half bad. They also make fantastic shafts, with tour presence in Japan and here in North America, for a while there Michelle Wie was using their ARMRQ shaft in her driver (Honma has been using carbon weave technologies in their shafts for many years similar to Axiv and Roddio).

A lot of the reasoning for their high prices is that much of their equipment is handmade. The higher rated the master, the more stars the club gets and the pricier it is. Yeah and add in the gold plating and there you go (^_^).

Honma is also popular on the JPGA and LPGA and a few of the Korean pros have won with Honma ( 2 wins last year on the LPGA). The reason why they have no wins on the PGA is that they have virtually no presence there and cater more towards mid-high handicappers.

I would only consider their MG801 irons and any of the BERES wedges which all look and perform great.

http://beres.jp/english/wedge/index.html
http://beres.jp/english/wood/index.html

The BERES woods aren't bad and use a lot of high end titanium and multiple forgings and are priced pretty regularly. Their wedges are no more expensive than a vokey.

Unfortunately nobody in North America knows about these lines and thinks that they only sell $10,000 irons and $3,000 drivers.

[Duffer19]

I agree with Gocchin that Honma has clean up their act in recent years with their Beres line. The 700 series irons are stupid easy to hit and I guess it is not for low handicappers. If you are good enough, then goes with the 800 or 900 series irons. You get what you pay for in terms of quality and workmanship. If you guys are old enough or playing golf 20 years ago, the Honma's Persimmon woods were truly a work of art with its workmanship and detail and their blades were most challenging. I guess it is true that along the way they got lost with the gold and bling. They are now trying to get back to basic with the Beres lines. Unfortunately 100% of their stuff are still made in Japan (instead of China) hence the cost reflects that fact.

[SW20 MR2]

Interesting. I learned something today. :D

[dekker]

I played with two retired executives from Japan.They used Honma and Maruman blades.
These were gifts from the employees upon their retirement.
I was more impressed by the Maruman's.

[JEBS]

I just read an article on Honma (google) in Travel and Leisure golf, and this was part of the impetus behind this thread. I thought it was pretty cool with the different amount of stars (higher the master) but also higher up in the food chain the client, 5 stars= CEO 4 starts President or exec. VP. It was also interesting the draw of this brand to the Yakuza orginization. (If there are any Yakuza folk reading this I apologize :eek: )

This article led me to spend a few hours last night reading about Japanese golf equipment and how little of this world I knew. Pretty cool!!

Gocchin, It was your previous post last week and photos that started me on this path. Thanks you have opened my eyes to a whole new world of golf obsession!!:D

[gocchin]

Gocchin, It was your previous post last week and photos that started me on this path. Thanks you have opened my eyes to a whole new world of golf obsession!!:D

JEBS,

You'd be amazed at how many people I have met over the last year that have discovered JDM equipment and have proclaimed that a lot of it is night and day compared to US OEM and even Tour Preferred stuff. Many of them are scratch golfers who have suddenly discovered this quality and high prices :D from the far east. Check our this article that I posted here a while back... http://www.torontogolfnuts.com/showthread.php?t=15225

[XQSmi]

JEBS,

You'd be amazed at how many people I have met over the last year that have discovered JDM equipment and have proclaimed that a lot of it is night and day compared to US OEM and even Tour Preferred stuff. Many of them are scratch golfers who have suddenly discovered this quality and high prices :D from the far east. Check our this article that I posted here a while back... http://www.torontogolfnuts.com/showthread.php?t=15225

And if it wasn't for me buying that last putter off you, I would have jumped in on your latest purgings... So much JDM golf, so little money... At least the CDN is rising, so I might actually be able to afford a few things from TourSpec Golf. :D.

[gocchin]

And if it wasn't for me buying that last putter off you, I would have jumped in on your latest purgings... So much JDM golf, so little money... At least the CDN is rising, so I might actually be able to afford a few things from TourSpec Golf. :D.

Haha the stronger Canadian dollar is good for us golf club collectors... It's been helping me as the $ is stronger against the yen as well. ^^

[AnnikaFan]

i helped my dad/uncle bought an entire set of used Honma clubs on ebay (tho no bag...so no showing off there)...

saved lots of money and the quality is still good..looks pretty nice...and on impulse buy by him, he bought a 2nd SW because it was gold leafed entirely on the back of the club head...(but he hardly uses it cause it's too precious (even tho it's used))

He said that he's hitting a lot straighter with those clubs...

However, it is designed for asian players as asians have smaller hands...so their grips are a lot thinner than the typical golfclubs...not suitable for those with larger hand


btw, i thought Honma tanked/bankrupted just these recent years..no? I don't think I see them anymore in golftown

[Duffer19]

i helped my dad/uncle bought an entire set of used Honma clubs on ebay (tho no bag...so no showing off there)...

saved lots of money and the quality is still good..looks pretty nice...and on impulse buy by him, he bought a 2nd SW because it was gold leafed entirely on the back of the club head...(but he hardly uses it cause it's too precious (even tho it's used))

He said that he's hitting a lot straighter with those clubs...

However, it is designed for asian players as asians have smaller hands...so their grips are a lot thinner than the typical golfclubs...not suitable for those with larger hand


btw, i thought Honma tanked/bankrupted just these recent years..no? I don't think I see them anymore in golftown

They are still available in Toronto Golftown and bigger selection. If they dont have any item, they would order it from the States.

[gocchin]

btw, i thought Honma tanked/bankrupted just these recent years..no? I don't think I see them anymore in golftown

There were in dire financial danger a few years ago, secured new investors and created the Beres line which saved them in Japan.

[JoeldMtl]

I think it's pretty obvious that these clubs wouldn't suit the typical poster on this board. Those clubs are a status symbol and nothing more, and in Asia, having expensive clubs shows status and wealth. It's no different than when people where designer jeans instead of Levi's.

??? I thought Levis were designer jeans. What do I know? :rofl: :rofl:

[xander.uk]

i should really consider buying in stuff from JDM and even the u.s.a and canada because the english £ is strong at the minute.

problem is as gocchin said there are alot of products that just arent advertised outside of japan except the things like the gold honma's that cost a fortune.

problem is i have an itch to buy something but cant find anything to suit at the minute :D

i dont like changing whats working for me at the minute.
i am extremely impressed with my srixon woods and am thinking of trying a set of their irons as i feel i have evolved past my very helpful beginner mx17's.

but i am hitting them well sooooooooooooooooooooo...........bit scared of changing.....lol