Honma cl-708 professional

[mattchoo69]

Hello my first post here even though I’ve been using this site for all the info I need on anything!! I have just had these irons and persimmon woods re finished here in the Uk ?? but know little about them! I assume Forged head, does anyone know of the vintage? And what does the +2 mean on the irons! They have Boron ref/stiff shafts and play amazingly! Got them for £60 so thought they deserved a face lift as the they were in quite poor condition on the faces!!

many thanks look forward to any info!! ???

[baloo]

I know nothing about them, but they look amazing!

[mattchoo69]

Thanks they are kind of stunning! ? So I bought these from a guy who claimed to be the nephew of a famous club maker/golf coach called Lambert Topping, Lambert spent a good few years being the coach to the king of Morocco apparently the king never liked them and gave them to him him as a gift! Wether it’s true or not we’ll never know but I love them and have invested in getting them back up to scratch, just want to find out a big about them! ??

[deejaid]

Beautiful set!

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

CL-708s are from 1985 Specs are here (scroll down a little): 旧モデル(スペック)一覧 | 本間ゴルフ日本公式サイトThe irons are probably not forged but cast soft steel. The Japanese just says 軟鉄 (nantetsu) which means "soft iron/steel". If they were forged, the Japanese would be more likely to say 鍛造 or 鍛造軟鉄 (tanzou/tanzou nantetsu, with tanzou meaning "forged"). I have some PP 737s from the same era (listed right above the CL-708s), and they are cast soft steel.

The +2 referred to stronger lofts, which should mean your 11i is 48*. Seems a bit over the top to me, so maybe worth checking your lofts, anyway.

I think they retailed for about 400,000 yen back in the day, which is nearly 3,000 quid in today's money.

I would guess the persimmons date from the same time, but I don't know much about the dates of Honma woods. I have a High Powered 3w with the same insert, and I really like it. Their persimmons were really good quality, and, judging by the amount available on second hand sites today, very popular back in the day.

What's the flex designation on your shafts (R-1, R-2, S-1, S-2, X-1, X-2 etc.)?

[Christen_The_Sloop]

Great backstory though. Every time I sell a used set I tell whoever it is that bought them I'll have them blessed by a shinto priest before I send them out, so they've always got that going for them.

[mattchoo69]

Wow thanks very much for that info, I thought the 2+ was lofts, someone said it mean 2deg upright which seemed odd! There the S2 shafts which I believe is reg/stiff..

[Jiggered]

That's a great link NCN.

The picture of the CL-708 in the link also has +2 on it and lists the lofts as shown below, do you know if this club was only produced as this +2 version, so these would be the actual lofts of this set?

[mattchoo69]

Amazing thanks, I have only seen the +2 version just need to get some new grips on them now and go play them! ??

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Yes, S-2 is reg/stiff. I put it more on the stiffer side, though. Honma's S-1, which is stiffer, is pretty stout. You've better eyesight than me! I thought those lofts were pretty strong. If they are the +2 lofts, then that makes more sense. For reference, my PP-737 11i has 54* of loft, so 50* for the CL-708 +2 seems reasonable.

I just did a quick google image search for CL-708 irons, and a bunch of pictures came up of them without the +2 stamping, so it looks like they had regular lofted versions as well. In fact, there seemed to be a few different models.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Edit to a previous post: I just checked my Honma 3w; it's an Extra 90, not a High Powered, but the insert is the same.

 

[mattchoo69]

Yes I saw this also, I just assumed they were an older or newer model! ?

[elwhippy]

A stunning set of irons and a sand iron. Sooooooo many 80s and early 90s Japanese sets had sand and lob wedges that looked like they came from a different company never mind set. I had a set of SPSS Marumans. Lovely square toed blades with thin soles and mid to low bounce. Sand Iron was bigger, had a rounded sole and about 20 degrees of bounce.

Those persimmon woods are magnificent. A match for Powell and MacGregor any time.

[elainefreeman]

Hello,

I was interested in the “soft steel” reference in Japan meant that they are cast and not forged. Do you know how the “soft steel” cast feels co pared to forged clubs like Mizuno?

 

I know that it is someone subjective and up to personal preference, however, cast irons feel and sound so differently than a forged iron.

 

thanks for any feedback you can provide.

 

regards,

E.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

5 hours ago, elainefreeman said:

Hello,

I was interested in the “soft steel” reference in Japan meant that they are cast and not forged. Do you know how the “soft steel” cast feels co pared to forged clubs like Mizuno?

 

I know that it is someone subjective and up to personal preference, however, cast irons feel and sound so differently than a forged iron.

 

thanks for any feedback you can provide.

 

regards,

E.

 

Bearing in mind feel is very personal, I would say that my PP737s do not feel as good as Mizunos of the same era. Faldo famously compared the feel of Mizunos to butter; I don't necessarily agree with that, but they do feel sweet. A centre-strike feels really pure, and it's like the blade sings through impact. My Honmas don't have that at all. They feel kind of weak, or not quite solid for want of a better word. It's a pity because they look great at address, and the 10i and 11i are great for chipping and pitching. Unfortunately, the rest of the set is a bit underwhelming. 

Now, I'm not sure about other Honma irons of that period, but that's my take on the PP737s.

 

[Monrat Ratanavanich]

I start playing golf with Honma DC 700. My replacement was Honma Lb 708 R-1 flex and S-2 flex later. R-1 use DG R-300 while S-2 use DG S-200 shaft. While graphite shaft cames with 4-5 grade and price also difference. At that time, this set is Asian Spec. It come with 0.5 inch shorter.

 

For persimmon wood, extra 90 is the lower grade. Hero Honma is Top Line. In later model before switch to stainless material, Honma insert copper bar in the middle of graphite face to add more impact. This cal High Powered. That is in your picture.

 

Honma is high class brand while Mizuno is aim for professional market. Like Rolex compare With Mido at that time in Asia.

I put my woods and S-2 iron set in the Show Bag because to stiff for my ages. For R-1 set, I renew shaft to DG SL- 300 and graphite shaft later. I still use them in practice-range while use New model LB 708 cavityback S-2 graphite in golf course.

 

Your Pictures, made me cry. The conditions is so beautiful, like the day unboxed them 37 years ago.

 

 

[rhdmd]

 I have been hitting the CL-708 since the 80's. I loved them so much I bought 3 sets just incase they stop making them. I paid over US$3000 for a set. The CL-708 2+ later came out as CL-708 Great Distance. To me they are still some of the sweetest irons.  I have tried many modern tech. forgiving irons (including the PXG when they first came out)  and I would go back to the CL-708 every time. 

[Babydraw88]

I use the FE7000 professional w r-1 shaft.  Made 41 years ago and still deadly accurate.  I play 9, 10 SW.  Cannot make like this today.