HONMA GOLF – A Six Decade Legacy of Beautiful Japanese Craftsmanship

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Honma golf equipment has increasingly been the first choice of many golfers throughout Asia.  Their home of manufacturing facilities in Sakata, Japan is located about a one-hour plane ride north of the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo and has operated one of the most prestigious and high-performance global golf equipment companies 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 brand’s lore runs deep.

The self-made Honma family has played an instrumental role in the success of the Japanese people and economy since the 16th century. In the 18th century, income from their shipping and banking interests enabled them to become Japan’s wealthiest landowners, which was later immortalized in Japanese folk songs. In 1813, the Honma family built a summer residence in the port city of Sakata. After World War II, the home was renovated and turned into a private museum, with many historic art treasures. It is now one of Sakata’s main tourist attractions. 

In 1959, brothers Yukihiro and Hiro Honma — in a manner true to the traditional Japanese craftsmanship that went into preparing a katana for the feudal samurai — began to produce some of the finest golf clubs in the world. The brothers were both avid golfers when they opened the Tsurumi Golf Centre in Yokohama more than six decades ago. From their single driving range and club repair business, they grew the company thatcrafts the world’s most prestigious golf clubs. Similar to the painstaking process of heating, folding and hammering of the katana blade along with careful water quenching and hardening, Honma has long trusted its master craftsmen, its “takumi,” to hand-sculpt the finest materials into clubs players would trust generation after generation.

In 1973, Honma introduced its 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.
Honma’s image has long been one of a luxury Japanese golf brand. Today, more golfers worldwide – including a growing number in North America and Europe – appreciate that Honma still designs and engineers its own clubs and shafts that endure Japanese precision, detail and craftsmanship, consumer trust and high satisfaction.
Honma employs more than 350 legendary tradesmen known as ‘takumi’ or ‘expert craftsmen’ who build and design BERES, TR, and T//World GS clubs with unparalleled beauty and technology. Hiroshi Suwa, the Head of Product Development and the lead Takumi with 42 years of service at Honma Golf  leads the team.
Honma’s uncommon beauty is born through a unique process. For example, every Honma driver and fairway wood starts out as a single block of Mississippi persimmon wood in the talented hands of a seasoned takumi. That piece is meticulously shaven and hand-crafted into the desired, actual size clubhead shape. Once the wooden model is perfected with precision angles, curves and lines, it is scanned digitally and brought into a CAD environment for engineering. Honma then employs state-of-the-art technology and cutting-edge materials to bring performance and beauty into its unprecedented design.
A picture containing athletic game, golf, sportDescription automatically generatedToday, the prestigious BERES line continues to turn heads with gold inlays and luxury pricing, and that will not change. The soon-to-be-released BERES Black is coming in the Fall of 2021. Complimenting BERES is the new T//World GS (Gain Speed) family of clubs, which are beautifully crafted, game improvement products designed with advanced technology to deliver more speed and exceptional playability for a wide range of golfers. Visit https://us.honmagolf.com
David Daubert

David has been writing about golf since the turn of the century. He was Managing Editor at a regional golf magazine for 11 years, published in Canada, the IAGTO and a Staff Writer for The Georgia Golf Trail. His insightful perspective brings golf to life.

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