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The Renowned Japanese Brand Comes to North America
Honma has been one of the most prestigious and high-performance golf equipment brands globally since 1959. From victories on the world’s most elite tours to Honma’s most precious and brilliantly-crafted designs being gifted to dignitaries, the brands lore runs deep.
When the company chose to move into the North American market nearly a half decade ago, a fresh approach, including equipment geared toward the demands of low- and mid-handicap players became one of the focuses. In that time, Honma has quietly and consistently penetrated the North American market with award winning designs for level of player and every performance demand.
The brand has a rich history and a continuing legacy of beautifully crafted performance. If you have not heard of Honma, consider this your opportunity to get to know the company and the artistry and craftsmanship that goes into their clubs.
Honma golf equipment has increasingly been the first choice of many golfers not only in Japan but in Asia. Craftsmanship has long been valued in Japan. The making of a katana for the feudal samurai was perhaps the best-known example of this craftsmanship. The painstaking repetition of heating, folding and hammering of the katana blade along with its water quenching and hardening were some of the key elements that made the katana a much-sought item and the master craftsman that produced them were often revered for their skill.
The Honma brothers brought this same dedication to craftsmanship and combined it with a drive for innovation to produce some of the finest golf clubs in the world. In 1973, Honma introduced their first driver with a graphite shaft. At a time when drivers were made of persimmon wood with inserts screwed into the face, mated to a steel shaft, Honma could pair them with graphite shafts. In North America and Europe, it wouldn’t be until the early 1990s with the new generation of metal drivers that graphite shafts started to become common.
By 2000, the Honma brand started to become synonymous with the premium or luxury golf club market, particularly as celebrities and the very wealthy golfers started to buy them and put them into their bags. Even though the company was no longer owned by the Honma brothers, they still maintained the standard of excellence and sophistication that golfers wanted. Today, Honma is probably best known for their luxury line of golf clubs known as the Beres line. They combine gold plating in their manufacturing process producing a club that is both elegantly crafted with the cachet sought after by celebrities and those with money to spend on their favourite pastime.
The Honma Story
But luxury golf equipment is not all that Honma produces, they also take their technology and integrate it into other equipment lines and that is what the TR and GS line-ups are all about. Unlike the Beres line up, the TR and GS equipment appeal to those looking for performance within a more modest price range. And the older TR irons did not disappoint, combining quality forged clubs with both the feel and performance that many golfers want.
Honma has now brought that same winning formula to its new for 2021 T//World GS clubs. Aimed at the game improvement market, these clubs integrate technology such as tungsten weighting with sole slots, face cups and cavity back design to produce a club that most golfers will enjoy playing. With a price tag of $175 per club or $1,224.99 for a set of irons (6-clubs) , they are very well priced with similar offerings from the traditional North American brands. As if that wasn’t enough, our contacts at Honma have advised us to look for another exciting new development with their equipment by early 2022.