Honma Driver Help

[jin001]

Hi i dont really know much about golf but my dad wants some Honma drivers.

I said i would buy it for him for a present(i know its pricey ) but i was wondering if anyone could give me some more information about them.

The 3 Honma drivers i had in mine was ;

Twin Marks 808RF (newest one in japan apparently)

-this was the newest one so i figured this one was best but wasnt the most expensive so i was not sure.

Twin Marks MG410(newest one in america?)

-This one was most expensive and it was 2nd newest in the japan honma site so i dont know if this is better or worse than the 808RF.

Honma 500RF(im not sure of the exact name)

-This one was 500CC(i think) and my dad wanted this one but I couldnt find any information on it, on any of the Honma sites. Is it a custom made? I think this was about the same price as the MG410.

Also the drivers had 1-5STARS next to their names, can someone give me more insight on what it means besides 1star is bad and 5star is good?

The MG410 was 3 star and the 808RF and 500RF was 2 star.

(im not all that sure on prices either, im just going by what people posted on ebay)

Any information would be appreciated thanks :)

EDIT: Does anyone know any information on Carbonium, if it's better than Titanium and if it is what are the pros/cons for both? thanks

[rsvman]

Nobody here knows anything about Honma drivers? C'mon, you gotta be kidding me! :-D

Tourspecgolfer, Joe, anybody, help a guy out. If he's gonna spend that kind of money on a driver, at least let him know which one is the best.

(Besides, if you don't help him out, I'm gonna feel bad, on account of the fact that I sent him here from FGI. I told him you guys know your Japanese equipment. :sad: ...Sheesh.)

[joey3108]

Hi i dont really know much about golf but my dad wants some Honma drivers.  

I said i would buy it for him for a present(i know its pricey  ) but i was wondering if anyone could give me some more information about them.  

The 3 Honma drivers i had in mine was ;  

Twin Marks 808RF (newest one in japan apparently)  

-this was the newest one so i figured this one was best but wasnt the most expensive so i was not sure.  

Twin Marks MG410(newest one in america?)  

-This one was most expensive and it was 2nd newest in the japan honma site so i dont know if this is better or worse than the 808RF.  

Honma 500RF(im not sure of the exact name)  

-This one was 500CC(i think) and my dad wanted this one but I couldnt find any information on it, on any of the Honma sites. Is it a custom made? I think this was about the same price as the MG410.  

Also the drivers had 1-5STARS next to their names, can someone give me more insight on what it means besides 1star is bad and 5star is good?  

The MG410 was 3 star and the 808RF and 500RF was 2 star.  

(im not all that sure on prices either, im just going by what people posted on ebay)  

Any information would be appreciated thanks :)  

EDIT: Does anyone know any information on Carbonium, if it's better than Titanium and if it is what are the pros/cons for both? thanks

It's been a while for me not dealing w/ Honma stuff. My good frriend use to be a sole rep here in the US.

As far as i know, Any edition that you mention above can be special order w/ a 5 stars shaft on it , but you need to check on the shaft option to.

Be care full w/ fake honma, there are a lot of them out there. Make sure you buy it from a reputable dealer.

To bad the last honma full catalog i have was 2002, so i can't tell you much on their newest line. Sorry!

Don't get fool w/ how they call their material, a lot of them are pretty much the same w/ everything on the market. Their % of mixtures when they cast the metal is pretty much the trick mostly. A lot of time are just their fancy words for marketing purpose. ( Like German Stainless Steel which actually nothing really special about it IMO , yes it's a good stuff but common stuff :smile1: )

good luck!

Joe

ps: I'm sure Chris can get some more info from the dealer in Tokyo.

[hornyjuan]

The 808RF "Carbonium" is their new composite driver similiar to the Callaway ERC Fusions. Personally, I think composite drivers blow...way too light, terrible feel, very expensive. The 500 ti is their big gun at 500cc, high cor and goes for 1000+. Personally I have not had the opportunity to hit these but have played the old LB's. Honma makes a good product, but more along the lines for the slower swing speed/executive player. If your father is looking at Honma's as a status symbol and game improvement then they will work. The drivers are very easy to hit...especially if your talking about a 500cc high cor driver. The star ratings indicate higher end shafts and more gold plating on the drivers. The higher the star rating the more strands of fiber are placed in the shafts and you get more gold emblems :whistle: If you want exclusivity and functionality I suggesting looking at the XR-05 limited edition, JC371, SRIXON 404. Honma is more for looks as you can walk into a course and showoff that you own Honma's. I mean even some people in the US know that a full set of Honma's can cost upwards of $35,000. Functionality wise they are not worth the money but if it makes your father happen then go for it. I suggest going to a couple local shops and testing the drivers out. I know there are at least a dozen shops in the LA area.

[+TourSpecGolfer]

Just get him the 400RF, 420RF, or 460RF. they are very long but closed face with stock whippy shafts. I used to own one and noticed its face feels very hot but the ball seems to spin a tad much.

[rsvman]

Thanks, guys. I knew my faith in you was not misplaced. :smile2:

For the life of me, I can't imagine why anyone would want to buy a Honma driver, though. :money:

[primo]

I would go with the 420 RF. It's really really long, a little hard to control for higher swing speeds, but probably ok for your dad. I got my dad the Big LB about 5 years ago and he loves it. One thing everyone should remember, Honma's target market is typically older asian... So it's designed for people with slow swing speeds. The stars from what I understand relate to the quality of the shaft. The higher the quality of shaft, the more Shock absorbtion. Again this is a feature for the older executive golfer where this is an issue. I got my dad a set of 5 star big LB CB irons which again he LOVES. He was playing PRGR blades before. His handi just dropped another 5 strokes and he's kickin my ass again. Oh well... But I have hit his irons and I must say that you can really feel them kick and when you hit it fat it doesn't send any kind of shock up your arm. Which for an older player makes a big difference. (This also applies to the CRIPPLE... THIS MEANS YOU ARI) Anyway to sum up, for the younger player this probably does not apply to you. Hope this helps

I also just wanted to add that Honma are far and away the best damn feeling clubs I have ever hit. There is nothing that comes close. I would love to own a set of twin marks Honma CB's. My friend has a set with Nippon shafts and they are exquisite. The drivers and woods feel about as close to persimmon as you will ever get. There really is no comparison with an American offering. I can tell you that I have seen significant differences with respect to game improvement with both of my parents. I got them both full Honma sets :love: I think the shafts are really great for slower swing speeds. Think of the amount of R&D Fujikura put into the tour, well that's how much Honma has put into it's shafts for swingspeeds 70-90 mph

[primo]

One last thing, if you are in the LA area check out New Seoul Golf on Olympic blvd in Ktown. The have far and away the most selection of any store I've seen in the area.