Justin Rose to Honma

[Golfingfanatic]

Is Morgan Stanley a new sponsor also? Surprised Honma isn’t a hat sponsor.

 

I think it’s in that golf digest article that mentions that.

 

It is indeed, honma will be either side of the hats. Fascinating that he's signed for ten clubs though another article points out he's been testing Honma gear since early July. He's obviously been told early on that his Taylormade deal would not be renewed.

 

Is he staying with Adidas' adipure range for the time being? I'm sure I read somewhere that he had been working on a clothing range with them right through 2017 to establish the brand for the "mature" golfer.

 

Driver too... shows that it's all much of s muchness really in terms of performance.

 

Any ideas on who the other PGA Tour player to sign will be?

There were some rumors going around that it was paul casey.

[JonnyKrasnodar]

I wonder if Casey would sign a similar deal or if it would be for irons only? Think he's playing Taylormade woods and Mizuno irons at the moment.

 

The other name I wondered about although not sure that he fits the profile Honma are looking for is Tommy Fleetwood. He was with Nike a long time but he tends to be a but left field.

 

He was demoing Titleist clubs last August though over two days.

[Nic1972]

Is Morgan Stanley a new sponsor also? Surprised Honma isn’t a hat sponsor.

 

I think it’s in that golf digest article that mentions that.

 

It is indeed, honma will be either side of the hats. Fascinating that he's signed for ten clubs though another article points out he's been testing Honma gear since early July. He's obviously been told early on that his Taylormade deal would not be renewed.

 

Is he staying with Adidas' adipure range for the time being? I'm sure I read somewhere that he had been working on a clothing range with them right through 2017 to establish the brand for the "mature" golfer.

 

Driver too... shows that it's all much of s muchness really in terms of performance.

 

Any ideas on who the other PGA Tour player to sign will be?

I think on his right sleeve one can read Adidas, but not sure. Do we know which glove he will wear?

[Lesmond]

Maybe a Honma glove? Probably their top of the line one.

[andrieddle]

He's playing a combo set and not a whole muscleback set on his irons.... Interesting considering he played 730 iron set.

 

Can't wait for the pictures

[JonnyKrasnodar]

Yeah interesting that he's gone for a combo set however he traditionally played TMs Tour Preferred CBs thru 6 iron and MBs in the rest. He did go all MB in 2016 I'm sure.

 

One of the other articles note that the final make up is still being worked on. Might be going combo just until he can trust the performance of the Honma muscles.

[Lancj1]

The bag label is TW747 - the highest club on the website is 737

 

His tweet indicates the clubs look like he wants them....I wonder if the 747 is a proto (other words are available)

 

Doubt his iron play will be noticeably better or worse.

 

Slightly perplexed at the passive aggressive tweet - not really necessary ?

[Lesmond]

@justinprose99

 

Hello 2019.... I’ve been waiting for you! Excited to move into the new year with @honmagolf equipment! New Years resolutions.... 1) play a club that looks exactly how I want! ✅ 2) play a club that feels and performs exactly how I want! ✅ #Team #TeamHonma

[JonnyKrasnodar]

 

Very un-Rose like Tweet. Wonder what the story is there? Was he contractually obliged to move to P730s after he was P750/TP MB in 2017?

 

Very strange start to the year.

[Lancj1]

My bet is the irons were designed for TW and Rory and the rest fitted in. All the efforts to get Tigers irons from nike etc etc and the Rors proto nonsense. Then the putter attention for the red spider the Day got......Rose maybe felt a bit sidelined despite being the more consistent performer ?

 

Not good for spirit or motivation in the camp. Probably doesn't bother DJ

[Golfingfanatic]

The bag label is TW747 - the highest club on the website is 737

 

His tweet indicates the clubs look like he wants them....I wonder if the 747 is a proto (other words are available)

 

Doubt his iron play will be noticeably better or worse.

 

Slightly perplexed at the passive aggressive tweet - not really necessary ?

747 is out in Japan already. Should release over here early 2019.

[MakersMarsh3]

Excited to see what driver he games!

[TheMoneyShot]

I hope JR doesn’t decline with this move. It will be interesting to see his new complete bag makeup.

[lonscicles]

Well well we’ll, he didn’t waste any time signing that deal.

[TheMoneyShot]

It will take awhile before I get use to seeing JR without TM branding.

[JonnyKrasnodar]

I hope JR doesn’t decline with this move. It will be interesting to see his new complete bag makeup.

 

It's strange that there's always something of an adjustment period regardless of how good the player is.

 

The good thing is he's been testing Honma on and off since July so you'd hope he would transition fairly well, especially if they are what he wants to see and feel down by the ball.

 

[TheMoneyShot]

People are saying that this is a 10 club deal only?

[jll62]

My bet is the irons were designed for TW and Rory and the rest fitted in. All the efforts to get Tigers irons from nike etc etc and the Rors proto nonsense. Then the putter attention for the red spider the Day got......Rose maybe felt a bit sidelined despite being the more consistent performer ?

 

Not good for spirit or motivation in the camp. Probably doesn't bother DJ

 

There's absolutely no way this move was about equipment. The Rose protos were made to the exact shape, specs, and performance he wanted, as were the protos for all the other guys. It was never a situation where he was forced to play a club designed for someone else. And putter attention? Huh? Were they supposed to promote the ARC more when he used that, or the Ardmore 2 after that? I don't understand that comment at all.

 

Look, it's pretty clear that this was a business decision. Rose likely wanted #1 in the world, DJ/Rory type money and TM was unwilling to pay that. Their endorsement strategy has definitely changed since the divestiture from adidas. Mark King has a past relationship with Rose and wanted to make a big splash for Honma, so he brought in someone with whom he has a prior relationship...and just happens to be one of the best players in the world over the past few seasons.

 

I wish JR nothing but the best. I hope he gets what he wants out of this deal.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

The bag label is TW747 - the highest club on the website is 737

 

His tweet indicates the clubs look like he wants them....I wonder if the 747 is a proto (other words are available)

 

Doubt his iron play will be noticeably better or worse.

 

Slightly perplexed at the passive aggressive tweet - not really necessary ?

 

Some of the 747 line has already been released. I've hit the wedges and a couple of drivers, but I haven't seen the irons yet. It's interesting that he has a photo blade in the bag, as the last line, the 737, didn't have one. The TW-BM was a cast blade and not branded "737".

[Holy Moses]

People are saying that this is a 10 club deal only?

 

That's what Honma is telling the media.

[JonnyKrasnodar]

People are saying that this is a 10 club deal only?

 

That was the number in Honma's press release. Other sources have said he's still testing the remaining clubs so it might eventually increase.

[Holy Moses]

We don't have any indication what putter he'll be using? Will be interesting to hear how much he's getting paid by Honma. $5 million?

[JonnyKrasnodar]

Nothing on the putter confirmed but PGA Tour and Golf Magic said the final number isn't confirmed and that some TM clubs may remain in the bag for the first few tournaments of the year.

 

If he is that particular about Honma looking, performing and feeling the way he wants he would surely put them in play right away. You can't replicate tournament pressure and you can only test and practice with new clubs so much before having to bite the bullet and see what happens.

[Konklifer]

I hit some TW forgings last year and they were as good as any other brand. I especially liked the wedges. The 58* felt awesome and was easy to open up. Looking forward to the 747 line.

[ZBigStick]

It will take awhile before I get use to seeing JR without TM branding.

 

No adidas logos present either, but I suspect they were just positioned as to highlight Honma for this promo pic.

[MK7Golf21]

Goodbye Rose from top 5 in the world, hope it was worth it

[TheMoneyShot]

Goodbye Rose from top 5 in the world, hope it was worth it

 

That’s what I am afraid of too. At least it’s not a full bag switch for him right out of the gate.

[OldTomMorris]

10 year deal!

 

I suspect he'll use a bag that has his name in English rather than Japanese. I actually really like the bag.

 

It will be interesting to see how Honma's presence in the UK evolves.

[Holy Moses]

Nothing on the putter confirmed but PGA Tour and Golf Magic said the final number isn't confirmed and that some TM clubs may remain in the bag for the first few tournaments of the year.

 

If he is that particular about Honma looking, performing and feeling the way he wants he would surely put them in play right away. You can't replicate tournament pressure and you can only test and practice with new clubs so much before having to bite the bullet and see what happens.

 

Maybe Rose is a little unhappy on how the P730s were supposedly primarily designed with Tiger and Rory in mind. But he was part of the design team for the P730s: https://www.golf-mon...wlhmIVVD5h2.99. Rose went to #1 in the world playing them, so how disappointed could he really have been or is he just a little mad that he wasn't given a new deal with TaylorMade?

 

So I looked over his stats and his SG: Approach has "suffered" playing with the 730s the last couple of years compared to his last 5 or 6 years on Tour (from a top-5 ball striker to a top-20). Rose's putting is what brought him to #1 in the world.

[getair23]

The bag doesn’t look too different from the new TM bag with the orange. I think we know what will end up under those head covers.