Honma TW-X Irons

[GPF]

Thanks for your feedback. Are you using the steel or graphite in your TW-X?

[hanfrac]

I've got about 8 rounds in with my TW-Xs - clubs have lighter, softer shafts than my prior gamers (using Project X LZ 95's).  I love them.  I was a bit worried about the wide soles, but have noticed no playability issues at all and haven't thought about the soles at all.  Distances are good, gaps are good, no issues with offset.  Really couldn't be happier.  

 

I also pick up the TW747 5w, 4h and 5h because I got the Honma bug.  I haven't fallen in love with these the way I have with my irons (and driver, TR20, which is awesome as well).  They're nice and fine, but don't outperform what came before them in any noticeable way for me.

[localpar3guy]

@GPF I am using steel, stock Nippon 105 S. Driver/3 wood/hybrid are 60S, 70S, and 80S Vizard for 747 shafts for reference.

[LaymanM]

I picked up a nice used set a couple weeks ago. Haven’t played yet with them. 5-11 iron. KBS C-Taper 120s.  At standard lie with regular grips I was missing right and hitting out the toe. 
 

I installed my preferred GP Tour 2G midsize grip and had them bent 1 deg upright. Have 1 range season and wow they are long.  Hit 7 iron 170 yard carry on trackman.  Gonna have to get used to the distances. They are longer than what I’ve been playing. But so far so good. Can’t wait to get a couple rounds in. League starts on 4/7 and my game seems to be in pretty good starting out. I see a lot of good rounds with these in the bag.   

[GPF]

Thanks all. My order is on the way - 4-PW with graphite.

 

Are the 2 weight ports removable? Anyone taken them off, if so what's inside?

 

[LPSISCO]

Played my first round with the TW-X irons today, which was also my first round since December in NJ. I have the Vizard stiff shafts, previously playing CF-16s with Recoil 780 stiffs. 
 

Shot 77, best round ever on the new private course I joined. I’ve probably played the course 25 times as a guest, so I know it well. I’m a 12.9 cap, for reference.  I drove the ball well today, but I was very pleased with the irons. Distance was at least as long as CF-16s, especially considering the weather. But I bought them to try to improve my dispersion (their highlight in the MGS ratings) and so far they have not disappointed. I was short and long a fair amount today, but the left/right dispersion was excellent. 
 

One last point - I’m a picker, so the big soles were a bit of a worry for me. So far, no issue - I hit a couple thin today, but they stayed on line and weren’t punished too badly. 
 

 

[RodrigoNicely]

Pro clubs has a ton of these right now I am so tempted to try these

[localpar3guy]

@LPSISCO that’s great to hear! Glad you’re enjoying them already. I’m obsessed with these irons, I can’t believe how they have performed for me. I’m seriously thinking about buying a second set for the future.

[theothertwo]

On 3/29/2021 at 8:25 AM, localpar3guy said:

@LPSISCO that’s great to hear! Glad you’re enjoying them already. I’m obsessed with these irons, I can’t believe how they have performed for me. I’m seriously thinking about buying a second set for the future.

Had them in steel shafts and sold them, just got them again with graphite shafts and can't wait to try them.  I am a believer in the Vizard 747 shaft which I have in my TW 747 455 driver, very smooth and accurate for me.   Hopefully the 747 Vizard 85 shaft in the irons is just as good.

 

Update - received my irons yesterday - came in original box that says Made In Japan.  I weighed the clubs and very happy to see that they are either exactly or within 1 or 2 grams the published weight in their website.

Edited April 1, 2021 by theothertwo

[localpar3guy]

@theothertwo sounds great! do they look like the photos you posted before but just with graphite shafts this time?

 

I love the Vizard 747 in my 3 wood, still trying to get along with the 747 460 with the Vizard 60S shaft though. Good to hear everything got you properly.

[theothertwo]

1 hour ago, localpar3guy said:

@theothertwo sounds great! do they look like the photos you posted before but just with graphite shafts this time?

 

I love the Vizard 747 in my 3 wood, still trying to get along with the 747 460 with the Vizard 60S shaft though. Good to hear everything got you properly.

Yes, exactly the same just with graphite shafts. 

 

 

[GPF]

My set just arrived an hour ago. I also noticed it was shipped in a nondescript golf box with a sticker with both English and Japanese, and "Made in Japan" printed on it.

I also got the 85 gram Vizard shaft in stiff. The orange graphics kinda look funky but not too bold, would have preferred a more muted look to match the classic looks of the heads.

 

Off to the range this afternoon for a test drive.

[lefthack]

There is a lefty set in the heavy stiff shaft on eBay for $600. I am trying my best not to buy them, but damn.

[funkatation]

I picked a set up. Was hoping they had the 11 iron in the stiff set. 

[GPF]

Played my first round with TW-X (stiff graphite). Hit many great shots but more not so good ones - still getting used to the weight and lie. I need to bend them 1-2deg flat. The overall weight is fine for an 85gm shaft but the swingweight seemed lighter than what I'm used to. I weighed the set when I got home and found them hovering between C9-D0. I wished they were closer to D2. My other set with 85gm shafts were closer to D2 as they were low balance point shafts. Has anyone opened up the weight ports with the T25 torx screw? I'd rather go this route if possible than cover up the good looking heads with lead tape. Grips were on the small side and will try to blow them off and install my usual NDMC grips.

 

OTOH, the clubhead and shaft felt great. Flushed shots had that solid dense feeling but not buttery soft, I did not find it clicky like most other hollow-bodied heads. The graphite shaft seems to play as firm rather than stiff and takes the sting out of mishits. I didn't really notice any distance gains since the weather was still cold and heavy. But mishits held it's line nicely and went farther than I had expected.

 

I compared the sole width with my z545 and they are very similar. The TW-X is a hair wider on the widest section near the toe but tapers more towards the heel where it becomes much narrower than the z545.

 

If there's one thing I didn't like so much - it was the leading edge was a bit rounded towards the heel especially in the 9 and 10. I prefer a straighter leading edge like the z545. But once the head sits behind the ball, it's not so obvious.

 

All in all, a fantastic deal given the price tag. I had a set of Sub70 699 (not the Pro) and the TW-X certainly beat it in all aspects. I'm sure I'll eventually grow on this club after a few more rounds.

 

[bleda2002]

On 4/6/2021 at 6:42 PM, GPF said:

Played my first round with TW-X (stiff graphite). Hit many great shots but more not so good ones - still getting used to the weight and lie. I need to bend them 1-2deg flat. The overall weight is fine for an 85gm shaft but the swingweight seemed lighter than what I'm used to. I weighed the set when I got home and found them hovering between C9-D0. I wished they were closer to D2. My other set with 85gm shafts were closer to D2 as they were low balance point shafts. Has anyone opened up the weight ports with the T25 torx screw? I'd rather go this route if possible than cover up the good looking heads with lead tape. Grips were on the small side and will try to blow them off and install my usual NDMC grips.

 

OTOH, the clubhead and shaft felt great. Flushed shots had that solid dense feeling but not buttery soft, I did not find it clicky like most other hollow-bodied heads. The graphite shaft seems to play as firm rather than stiff and takes the sting out of mishits. I didn't really notice any distance gains since the weather was still cold and heavy. But mishits held it's line nicely and went farther than I had expected.

 

I compared the sole width with my z545 and they are very similar. The TW-X is a hair wider on the widest section near the toe but tapers more towards the heel where it becomes much narrower than the z545.

 

If there's one thing I didn't like so much - it was the leading edge was a bit rounded towards the heel especially in the 9 and 10. I prefer a straighter leading edge like the z545. But once the head sits behind the ball, it's not so obvious.

 

All in all, a fantastic deal given the price tag. I had a set of Sub70 699 (not the Pro) and the TW-X certainly beat it in all aspects. I'm sure I'll eventually grow on this club after a few more rounds.

 

The grips blow off super easy. A little bit of mineral spirits in the grip and 85psi or so and they come right off.

 

I also found the vizard shafts to be very high balance point original swing weight were all d0 to d1. I reshafted mine in to recoil darts in 75 gram stiff and ended up at d0.5-d1.5 even though I removed all the tip weights (which were 4 to 9 grams) and dropped literally 15+ grams of shaft weight.

Edited April 13, 2021 by bleda2002

[Sparky14]

On 4/12/2021 at 8:00 PM, bleda2002 said:

I reshafted mine in to recoil darts i

Are the Honmas 0.355T or 0.370P hosels?

[bleda2002]

10 minutes ago, Sparky14 said:

Are the Honmas 0.355T or 0.370P hosels?

.355 I reamed mine to .370 which was very easy as the steel is soft. I trust myself more with a hand reamer than I do trying to taper sand 7 shafts.

[pdxhak]

My set of TW-X 5-11 should arrive next Wednesday 🙂 It has been a 5 years since I last bought a set of irons and my gamers are from 2012. Really looking forward to seeing how these play!

 

[m4harrah]

Would still love to know if anyone has tried removing the weights on these?

[95124hacker]

2 hours ago, m4harrah said:

Would still love to know if anyone has tried removing the weights on these?

Why would you?

[m4harrah]

7 hours ago, 95124hacker said:

Why would you?

Because if it’s hollow and there’s access to the inside of the head,I could add hot melt to get the weight up to my liking instead of slapping lead tape all over them.

[dmeeksDC]

51 minutes ago, m4harrah said:

Because if it’s hollow and there’s access to the inside of the head,I could add hot melt to get the weight up to my liking instead of slapping lead tape all over them.

Not to mention hot melted clubs always sound better than hollow ones. 

[pdxhak]

My set is scheduled to arrive today and the wait is killing me 🙂

[m4harrah]

4 hours ago, dmeeksDC said:

Not to mention hot melted clubs always sound better than hollow ones. 

Reached out to Honma and this is what they came back with:

Hi Mike,

 

Thank you for the question, the TW-X irons are not adjustable.  The weight ports are not removable, the best option is installing tip weights or lead tape for swing weight adjustment.  This is a very common question, and it has been brought to the design team for future product, please let us know if you have any other questions.  Have a great day.

 

Honma Support

 

[pdxhak]

FedEx drivers are trolling me with the drive-bys. Just drop off my sticks!

[amish]

I became focused on buying these irons when they placed so well in the MGS testing.  Got some just in time to go on a golf trip earlier this month.  Had them bent 3 deg upright to fit me.  No extra length.  Got the 4-10 in stiff Vizard shafts. Moving on from Nike pro cavities which were 8 yo.  Those were not adjusted for lie angle.  Took some getting used to them as I pulled a number of shots, probably due to the lie angle change.  Also hit a number slightly fat as the bottom of the Honma's are slightly wider than the Nikes, or just early season lack of practice. When hit right they are fantastic. Good feel, height.  Distance didn't change but I was using them at sea level so that is still up for debate. I was hoping the hollow bodies would yield a few more yards as the TXG testing showed.  Wish I could get the matching 11 iron but no one seems to have them for sale individually.

[pdxhak]

My irons my be lost. FedEx is looking into it. They said if they cannot find the shipment they will pay for a replacement set so that is good.

[pdxhak]

FedEx has declared my irons lost. I have sent 3 messages and left 1 voice mail with the seller. If I do not hear back soon then I will share their name just to give everyone a heads up. I'm hoping the seller just submits a claim for a full refund from FedEx and just sends me another set.

[lefthack]

I almost bought a 6 iron to fill my current test set until I saw the lofts. It's the same as my 5 🤣