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Did Justin Rose confirm his switch to Honma?

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Our Oct. 26 Forum Thread of the Day centered around Justin Rose’s potential defection from TaylorMade and move to Japanese luxury club brand Honma. Golf Digest’s Mike Stachura, the Morning Read, the Irish Times, and the Sun Times, have all added fuel to that fire.

And on the subject of fire, asked about the potential change following his Turkish Airlines Open win, Rose said

“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”

Speculation had been rampant in the GolfWRX forums for weeks, with several members with connections to the company indicating they’d heard Rose would soon be a Honma man. For example, mallrat said: “A teaching pro at our club is on staff with Honma and told me the same thing on Weds.”

Beyond the Englishman’s seeming admission that the rumor is true, his agent, Mark Steinberg is mum. Likewise, neither TaylorMade nor Honma has commented.

Suspicion as to why Rose, a long-time TaylorMade staffer and the No. 1 golfer in the world, would defect to a Japanese luxury brand with little presence on the PGA Tour centers around Mark King. The former TaylorMade president and CEO joined Honma as a consultant in August.

Per Golf Digest’s Mike Stachura,

“King, who was CEO at TaylorMade from 1999-2013, stood by Rose in his early professional days when he missed the first 21 cuts of his career and posted a stroke average of 75.18 in his 1999 European Tour season.”

Stachura also indicated King has brought several former TaylorMade staffers to the company. With TaylorMade from 1994 to 2014, King said in August that the company would be looking to establish a presence on the PGA Tour and debut new products in 2019 (per Golf Inc.).

Under the guidance of Chinese businessman Liu Jianguo, Honma, now publicly traded on the Hong Kong stock exchange, has seen sales growth over the past four years amid a reworked business model. The brand now looks to expand into the United States and establish a foothold in the luxury equipment space, which is presently dominated by the likes of XXIO and PXG.

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16 Comments

16 Comments

  1. Cameron Halkett

    Nov 20, 2018 at 10:13 pm

    I’m just reading Honma’s H1 Results. Within page 20 of their presentation they list that a “TOP PGA player as a global brand ambassador”.

    I would say that almost confirms it.

  2. Doug McManus

    Nov 9, 2018 at 11:12 pm

    They are great clubs, very nice quality. The Honma Tour World 737 driver is longer than the Callaway Rogue. I can’t say enough good things about the clubs, if you have the money and want the best buy a set!

  3. ogo

    Nov 9, 2018 at 12:14 am

    BREAKING NEWS***** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kuFf8cCQlg
    Hailstorm in New South Wales, Australia, hailstones the size of GOLF BALLS!!!
    Those Aussies really take their golf seriously !!!! 😮

  4. Tom

    Nov 8, 2018 at 7:22 pm

    Where did my previous post go?

  5. G-head

    Nov 8, 2018 at 12:48 pm

    Honma… Honma… Honmaaaaaa (Beres)

  6. Dave r

    Nov 8, 2018 at 11:50 am

    I always believed you got what you paid for, and the same is still true . Buying off the rack will get you nothing to buy properly you need to be fitted properly. The shaft is what makes a club work, thinking you are buying what the pros are hitting is nothing but b.s. Not one player on tour is playing so called STOCK . And it would be nieve to think so . Even weekend golfers would benefit from paying for a fitting . A good fitting pro can do it in 1/2 hour with all the proper fitting material out there today.

  7. Richard Tucker

    Nov 7, 2018 at 1:56 pm

    Very smart move by Honma. Anyone who has played their irons will know just how good they are I have for 25 years. They are the next step up from Mizuno and very much on par with PXG. I would imagine it would be a iron only contract as I cant see him changing drivers or putters anytime soon,

  8. Travis

    Nov 7, 2018 at 1:48 pm

    I dig it. I wouldn’t mind seeing more brands in play and popular in the US.

  9. TONEY P

    Nov 7, 2018 at 12:53 pm

    Players will endorse anything for enough money. And any true golfer knows, you can’t buy a golf swing no matter what your clubs cost.

  10. Clint

    Nov 7, 2018 at 12:10 pm

    “Luxury” clubs are a joke and a waste of money. They are literally just a status symbol because the performance doesn’t merit the exorbitant price tags. I could probably argue that with most golf equipment though. The need for the “latest and greatest” in golf is really unnecessary since equipment performance improvements happen so slowly.

    • Jed

      Nov 7, 2018 at 1:35 pm

      The Asians that buy them don’t really care how they hit them. $$$ is king to them.

    • Mbwa Kali Sana

      Nov 7, 2018 at 3:01 pm

      HONMA isn’t just a”LUXURY BRAND ” .Their irons are far better than competition ,if you choose their 4 Star or 5 Star shafts .
      I own a full set of HONMA clubs since 10 years :these were manufactured in JAPAN with much more care than the AMERICAN brands
      Their woods ,in contrast, are not better than the big “AMERICAN “(Made in CHINA !!!)woods

      • CaoNiMa

        Nov 7, 2018 at 10:35 pm

        Idiots will believe anything.
        Mizuno irons are far better and real players know.
        Just because you paid more money for something doesn’t make it better.
        It’s sad that the name of Honma has been raped to this extent. It’s owned by the Chinese. Honma no longer is the same company it was when it was the best at making persimmon woods. None of the original owners or designers are there. That’s why their new stuff look like everything else, instead of looking special like they used to.
        Now it’s just a joke.

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Whats in the Bag

Max Homa WITB 2024 (April)

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  • Max Homa what’s in the bag accurate as of the Masters. 

Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 6 X

3-wood: Titleist TSR2+ (14.5 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Red 80 TX

5-wood: Titleist TSR2 (21 degrees @19.25, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 9 TX

Irons: Titleist T100S (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 620 (6-9)
Shafts: KBS $ Taper 130 (4-9)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (46-10F, 50-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60)
Shafts: KBS $ Taper 130 (46) KBS Hi-Rev 2.0 135 X (50, 56), KBS Hi-Rev 2.0 125 X (60)

Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5.5 Proto

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

More photos of Max Homa’s WITB in the forums.

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Whats in the Bag

Bryson DeChambeau WITB 2024 (April)

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Driver: Krank Formula Fire Pro (6 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T1100 75g 6.5

Mini driver: TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver (11.5 degrees @10)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T1100 75g 6.5

  • Unconfirmed. We are working to gather details.

5-wood: Krank Formula Fire

  • Unconfirmed. We are working to gather details.

Irons: Avoda Prototype (5-PW)
Shafts: LA Golf Prototype

Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 (46-12S @45, 50-12S, 56, 60)
Shafts: LA Golf Prototype

Putter: SIK Pro C-Series Armlock/LA Golf Proto
Shaft: LA Golf C2L-180
Grip: JumboMax JumboFlat 17

Grips: JumboMax UltraLight XL

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash

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Equipment

Accra launches new GX wood and hybrid shafts

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Accra Golf shafts have long been synonymous with fitting, and the new GX line of driver, fairway, and hybrid shafts continues that legacy.

Since 2004, Accra has been making high-end performance golf shafts that use the latest in materials and design philosophy. Their group of around 350 fitters are some of the best and most highly ranked in the world. While you might see other brands on professional tours more often, there are plenty of touring pros using Accra products and winning.

Accra’s new GX line of shafts is designed to offer a consistent and accurate shaft to a wide range of players. The GX line consists of 3 different shafts in driver, fairway, and hybrid designs.

The Accra GX shafts are designed for fitters to dial in golfers to the perfect shaft for their swing. Accra included a ton of technology into the GX line including their S3 profiling, DyMatch, and Constant Flex technology. DyMatch has been Accra’s quest to ensure that all shafts in a family feel and perform similar from driver to hybrid or iron shaft. Typically shafts get stiffer as they go up in weight, but Accra’s Constant Flex keeps the flex of the shafts consistent so fitters and golfers can dial in the weight that the golfer need without have to work around a stiffer or softer flex. Accra worked with Cool Clubs to build out its S3 Shaft Profiling system that not only allows a quick and easy EI profile of any shaft, it helps with quality control to ensure shafts come out of production exactly as they were designed.

Accra GX Red 300 Series

GX Red is lowest launching and spinning option in the GX line. Driver shafts have fewer options with just the 360 and 370 models that come in at 63 and 71 grams. The GX Red is made for faster swinging, or stronger, players who require a stiff (M4) or x-stiff (M5) shaft for their swing. Fairway and hybrid models are also on the higher weight side with the fairway clocking in at 80g and 90g for the hybrid. Accra designed this series with one of the stiffest tip sections of any Accra shaft in the current line, and while it is built to control launch and spin, the Red 300 Series will still offer that smooth feel.

Accra GX Green 100 Series

If your swing usually works best with mid-launch and spin, then the GX Green 200 series might be the right shaft for you. Offered in more weight and flex options, you can get a GX Green in 52 grams and all the way up to 70 grams in regular, stiff, and x-stiff flexes. GX Green will give the player a smooth feel and transition from the handle down to the tip section while still providing great stability and consistency. Accra also focused on the energy transfer of this shaft, and golfers can see some increased ball speed compared to other shafts.

Accra GX Blue 200 Series

While the GX Blue 100 Series is the highest launching and spinning option in the GX lineup, it will still give golfers the control and consistency they need. Starting off at 40g, the GX Blue series puts an emphasis on lighter weight to allow players to swing the club faster, promoting more distance. Accra touts the stability of the GX 140 Blue driver shaft by stating that some long driver competitors have put it in play to try and gain every MPH they can. Matching fairway and hybrid shafts are both on the lighter side at around 60g for the fairway and 65g for the hybrid depending on the flex.

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