TourSpecGolfer

The Buchi is not as forgiving, the TW-U reminds me of a much improved version of the ol TM Japan DI's. Buchi is for someone who can hit a 3 iron well enough. Least forgiving compared to the bunch tested but best feeling, probably most workable. Buchi is not hollow inside meaning it has to remain small to make weight.

Yes it is!

Honma Golf has had gigantic success in decades past catering to the slower swinging wealthy segment of golfer, yet that very same success acts as a double edged sword as now there is a preconceived notion that Honma only produces blingy golden clubs for older ladies & gentlemen.. and that couldn't be further from the truth. I'm going to highlight one of their recent products that I just had to have the 2013 TW-U driving iron. I'm a driving iron junkie, lots of options have recently caught my eye but the #1 concern was always forgiveness & accuracy, so why not use a hybrid wood? Because of accuracy, I rarely ever go OB with a driving iron while with a hybrid I can from time to time. In a nutshell it's my belief that Driving irons are safer and more accurate with a tighter dispersion IF you excel in iron play over wood play. At the same time If you don't get the ball up easily, and have a slower swing speed I suggest considering hybrid woods. Over the past 3 months I tested Epon, Royal Collection, and SYB driving irons and of those the Royal Collection won big in all categories, then just a few weeks ago my Honma TW-U arrived and knocked the RC out cold, the TW-U gets up quick, it's long and very easy to hit especially if you opt for the vizard UT850 graphite shaft, it's simply accommodating all around and not only for me but for the TSG test crew which includes some really excellent ball strikers. I think this is the only CAST club in my bag, that's right it's cast by Honma of MS225 Steel and if I didn't know what I was hitting I would have said it's a damn good feeling forged club, I asked everyone who hit it how it feels and everyone came back expecting it was forged of soft carbon. Keep in mind Honma has perfected the art of casting now for a very long time and this club is changing my tune on how good castings can actually feel, that said most castings don't feel this good. The sole is wide but nicely rounded enough to have a predictable interaction with the turf, It's obviously designed to appeal to the better player as there is really no excessive offset or bulging anywhere on this head. Like all Honma golf equipment, clubs are hand-built to order in a single location – Honma’s Sakata studio, in northern Japan, where over 100 craftsmen work on every single club the company produces. Each club head is precisely finished, measured and balanced by hand this is a rarity now days as brands are doing all they can to reduce costs and manufacturing in China, Taiwan, and Thailand. For those of you who find the Honma line up a bit confusing, Tour World is for the professional and advanced player while the BERES line up spans from average to high handicapper. The Honma TW-U is designed for the better player as it's a part of the Tour World series. If you decide to go with steel NSPro has got you covered, but if your considering graphite like I did I suggest going with the Vizard UT950, I went with the UT850 and probably would go a little heavier if I could do it all over again. The shaft name vizard has a funny origin, VICTORY x WIZARD = VIZARD! The Honma Tour World TW-U is available in 18,21,24* lofts. It features a half cavity on the exterior but within it is hollow for increased forgiveness, It's size maintains workability while still easily flying straight. It is a great club for those who like utility clubs to play similar to their irons while having that extra room for error providing a strong medium trajectory with no ballooning.

Thanks for the write up, looking forward to your long term review. For me these are still in rotation, Very consistent and reliable set that I consider well rounded in terms of forgiveness, setup, feel, and results. Your praise of graphite in them makes me want to experiment.

Found out today they don't offer matte black for the crown, will go with metallic black. The great news was that they do offer black IP sole & face. So it looks like it's Vader's helmet again.

More Art

Sometime in May

Yup, GTD - George Takei Designs He is the designer not owner. The product looks promising.

Yes that's no problem. We can arrange copper that wears, copper that doesn't wear, CNC milled grooves instead of stamped, micro milling on the entire face, custom logo placement, you can add a kanji, and of course custom grind, offset, etc..

Custom wedges just added to the pro shop. CBC iron is going in soon, you can also drop one of us a PM if you need it sooner.

Drop Gocchin an email or PM he can get you sorted with a custom build at a good price.

These were done at the same finishing factory Tabuchi-san uses for most of his plating in Ichikawa. There are also some nickel under - copper over finishes that act as a plating and don't wear or rust.

Click HD

I know Fujikura is working on a prototype that is 25 grams which i think will be the lightest. I would also say look at the Honma ARMRQ in 40 & 45 grams attached to the BERES E-01 or 480cc non conforming amazing spec. For slower swingers seeking uber light and easy specs I've found the most success suggesting Honma. The 480cc high cor has me curious, imagine if it was available in 9.5, 199g, square face neutral bias it might be quite the toy.

This will be my custom build: - 9.75* loft - 59* lie - 0.5 closed face - non conforming face - draw bias - matte black head - pressure injected based on 100mph swing speed - 199g head - No paint fill on head Gonna put a seven dreamers haute design in it.

I've tinkered with a lot with Maxima's and found it needs shafts that really keep the spin down and dispersion tight, extra weight helps too I found. Interestingly the stock shaft works well too but I'm sure you would manhandle it. If you plan to part ways with that head another option is to take this shaft you love and try it in a more deeper face head, currently I rotate between Maxima & xXx but I've also got my eye on some new drivers like the Jbeam 535 440 coming so, the Modart MA01D driver, Kamui Works Air built custom, SYB Prelity 7. Just a few new options to toss into the mix.

TSG is now accepting normal spec orders in the pro shop as well as custom craft orders with more/less offset, many finishes, sole grind, etc.. Check it out:

For sure we can help, need a place to eat? - Crazy is by appointment only, honestly they are pretty far out in Adachi, kinda a pain. little english is spoken. - Anything you need we can get and for a great price, just because it isn't in the pro shop it doesn't mean we don't offer it. That mystery FW head no worries but interesting choice. - BST has better selection & pricing than most used shops but have fun there are golf shops aplenty in tokyo and surrounding areas.

haha! not against Zombies!

Yes it is, drop [email protected] an email or gocchin a PM.

It's one of the best FWs of 2013, simply special in feel, flight and dispersion. Goes to show we can have a penetrating and stable trajectory with such a shallow face.

Yup it's the same blue board I believe in a blue ion plated looking finish.

+1 on Works Ray, Now gaming this driver for the past couple rounds, It's stupid long and feels really good. We have had some orders for some pretty wild customized Kamui Works Air Drivers but no pics of them. I'll shoot mine but it's not custom. Guys if you have the chance go totally custom, this is the only driver I know of where it's possible.

I've played both shafts, I liked the 661 because it's more user friendly for my swing. Both shaft's felt similar to each other outside of weight and flex, a little numb but overall got results I could rely on. For my swing habits it helped keep me in play which I find very important. If there were anything to change I think both could kick or feel more lively. I would go a flex softer in the 661 @45" and see what a smooth swing could produce. My experience of dispersion and trajectory was very similar to the crazy boron. One thing I like about the entire new series of speeder shafts is the specs and abundant selection of models, a bit more complete than most brands. below a photo I snapped at the golf show where Fuji had custom speeder shaft colors on display.

Well rounded offering.