Equipment
Did Justin Rose confirm his switch to Honma?
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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- Callum McNeill what’s in the bag accurate as of the Texas Children’s Houston Open. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Mizuno ST-X 230 (9.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7 X
5-wood: Mizuno ST-G (18 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X
Irons: Mizuno Pro Fli-Hi (3), Mizuno Pro 243 (5, 6), Mizuno Pro 241 (7-9)
Shafts: Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 95 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (5-9)
Wedges: Mizuno T24 (46, 50-08S, 56-10D, 60-06X)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Odyssey Jailbird 380
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 3.0 17
Grips: Spada
Check out more photos of Callum McNeill’s equipment here.
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- Jimmy Stanger what’s in the bag accurate as of the Valero Texas Open. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist TSR2 (10 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: UST Mamiya LIN-Q Red M40X 6F5
3-wood: Titleist TSR2 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: UST Mamiya LIN-Q
7-wood: Titleist TSR2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: UST Mamiya LIN-Q Blue M40X 8F5
Irons: Titleist T200 (3), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: UST Mamiya LIN-Q White M40X 100 (3), KBS $-Taper 125 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (46-10F, 50-08F, 56-10S, 60-04T), WedgeWorks (60-A)
Shafts: KBS Hi-Rev 2.0 135 X
Putter: Scotty Cameron Tour Rat II, Scotty Cameron Tour Rat II
Grips: Lamkin Crossline Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Check out more in-hand photos of Jimmy Stanger’s equipment here.
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Project X let us into the world of HandCrafted shafts with the 2015 HZRDUS Black shaft, which was a big success on professional tours and at retail. Almost 10 years later, we still come across some of those original HZRDUS Black and Yellow shafts in bags on the PGA Tour.
The HandCrafted label on a Project X shaft was the mark of high-end, low-volume manufacturing where the shaft was hand rolled in the company’s San Diego R&D lab. Since then, Project X retired that label and moved on to the “Small Batch” nomenclature. Many golf shaft degenerates have begged for Project X to bring back the HandCrafted shafts, and now, the squeaky wheels are getting the grease with a brand new Project X HZRDUS T1100 HandCrafted shaft.
“We are beyond excited to be able to bring back a HandCrafted line of graphite shafts,” Don Brown, Vice President of Marketing and Innovation for Project X said. “When producing a HandCrafted shaft, each shaft is rolled by hand, painted by hand and the logos are even applied by hand, all in our San Diego lab, ensuring the utmost care is taken along the way.”
The newest HandCrafted shaft is a reintroduction of the famed HZRDUS T1100 from 2017 (View our original launch story HERE). The chrome ion finished HZRDUS T1100 was beloved by higher-speed players for its ultra-stiff profile with very low launch and spin. Toray T1100G carbon fiber was at the heart of the shaft and the strongest fiber available for Project X to create an ultra-stable shaft for the fastest swingers in golf.
The new 2024 Project X HZRDUS T1100 HandCrafted shaft will be low launch and low spin with a very stiff profile for the fastest swingers. 4D Optimized Carbon utilizes a spread tow weave that is used in specific parts of the shaft to enhance stability and control. This spread tow woven fabric is angled at 45 degrees through to increase torsional resistance in the shaft to control the twisting of the head during the swing. Each HZRDUS T1100 HandCrafted shaft is rolled in Project X’s San Diego Lab, like the original, and trimmed to final frequency to ensure consistent performance and precision.
Project X went with a graphics package that will pay homage to the original shaft with a HZRDUS logo done in silver with bright neon green outline in the middle of the shaft and the HandCrafted logo just below the grip. The shaft will have a silver sheen to it, but you will also be able to see the spread tow carbon fiber through the paint in the sun.
The new HZRDUS T1100 HandCrafted will be available in 60- and 70-gram weights with 6.0 (stiff) and 6.5 (X-stiff) flexes while the 80-gram model will only be available in the 6.5 flex.
We don’t have a retail date yet for these new HZRDUS shafts, as Project X can only create so many per day. The first ones have been sent to tour — we spotted them at this week’s Valero Texas Open. We will keep you updated on an official launch date.
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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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.
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!
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 !!!! 😮
Tom
Nov 8, 2018 at 7:22 pm
Where did my previous post go?
G-head
Nov 8, 2018 at 12:48 pm
Honma… Honma… Honmaaaaaa (Beres)
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.
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,
Aaron Smith
Nov 7, 2018 at 8:21 pm
It’s a 13 club deal with only the putter left out
Evan
Nov 9, 2018 at 12:41 am
“On par with PXG” LOL.
Nick
Nov 19, 2018 at 9:52 am
What Evan said.
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.
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.
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.