Honma 747P Iron Review

[ShakeyT]

I recently purchased a set of the 747P irons with the Vizard 85 graphite shafts and wanted to provide some feedback.

About me: 50yo with a driver SS of 90-95, 7i carries 155. My index hovers around a 9, Weakest part of my game has been irons for years. My back swing goes past parallel resulting in a slightly OTT downswing & I have to fight to keep the club face square at impact. Somehow all this craziness is repeatable, but causes a slight draw when everything is timed well & a yank left with draw spin when its not. I generate plenty (probably too much) spin and produce a high ball flight. Due to my weak iron play, I used to switch irons often trying to find something that fit. But for the past 3 years, I've stuck with Callaway CF16s (with Matrix Program 130s) trying to develop some consistency and because they felt really good, provided enough distance and forgiveness on on center strikes and are the size/shape I like. The one thing I have grown to dislike though has been the offset. I know its my swing that causes most of the left issues, but staring down at the offset always made me think I was going to fight the lefts.

After a particularly dismal showing in our Club Championship a couple of weeks ago, I came home from the course & immediately started shopping online for irons. I'm budget conscious, so the leading candidates were the Sub70 699 Pros, but then I stumbled across a review of these irons that peaked my interest. Jumped on eBay and won a new set of 5 - 11 (Gap Wedge) for a ridiculously low price. They came with the Vizard 85 shafts, but at the price I got them for, I intended to have them reshafted with Recoil 110s & have them bent 2* flat as my past fittings have suggested. When they came in, I took them straight to the course with no warm up.

On course observations: Prior to buying, I had made up my mind that I wouldn't like the looks of these in the bag, but committed to playing them if they improved my game. I was pleasantly surprised to see them in person. While I still don't care for the orange accent on the badge and on the shafts, they look very nice. The quality of the finish is excellent. Very high end looking, especially for a cast club. But the absolute best thing about them was the lack of visible offset. The 1st club I hit was the 10i (PW). When I set it at address it immediately checked all my boxes for looks at address. Mid-size over all, thin top line & NO OFFSET! The swing produced a high ball flight that faded about a yard. Thinking it had to be an aberration, i dropped another ball & the shot produced the exact same result. The balls were 2 yards apart, but dead even on distance.

The next hole I pulled the 5i on a short par 4. Flushed it & it produced a towering shot that had the same little cut as the 10i & land pin high on the right center of the green. I won't bore you with a play by play of all the iron shots, but unless I purposely tried to draw the ball, every iron shot had a small fade. Despite the strong lofts, distance appeared to be almost identical to my CF16s. The 747Ps may have been a bit longer, but not much & I had zero issues holding the green, even with the long irons.

Eventually I plan on doing a side by side comparison of the irons on my SkyTrak. But my set up is in the garage & its way too hot in TX right now to be pounding away on the sim out there. I guess I could get it done if I did it early or late at night.

The only real negative I can find is that the 747s don't feel as dense on off centered shots as the CF16s. That's obviously because of the difference in materials, but I really like the feel of the CF16s.

[GC70]

Thanks for your review, keep us updated on the irons.

[iNeedMoreGolf]

I had them. They were great irons i must say.

[ShakeyT]

Played a couple of rounds this weekend & remain impressed.

The length of the blade has allowed me to get away with some pretty poor contact. There have been several that didn't feel flushed at all that end up making their way to the green.

Still getting used to setting up dead at the pin or even a little left. The lack of offset is awesome considering the type of iron it is.

[Freeze]

I picked up a set of these on a whim based on reviews and since they were so discounted by various sellers on ebay. My set has the Nippon 950 stiff shafts, which I have had in several prior JDM irons. Played first round with them yesterday and am pleasantly surprised: little to no offset, nice compact/mid sized head, good sole design, and strong lofts that still spin well for me. Feel, which is extremely subjective, is good for a cast head. Worth a shot if you are getting older, as I am, and desire a bit more distance out of your irons. Quality product.

[ShakeyT]

I'm surprised how cheap they can be had for a new set on eBay.

Shot 78 today due to a good day off the tee & better than normal iron play. It could have easily been 75 if I hadn't lipped out a few putts.

[ShakeyT]

Thought I would give a quick update since I've had the 747Ps over a month now & have played 9 rounds with them. 

 

My average score over the 9 rounds with them has been 80.7. My average score with the 9 rounds prior to the 747Ps was 82.3. If I throw out the high & low rounds for each set of scores to normalize the data, that makes the difference even more noticeable. 80.5 with the 747Ps & 82.8 with my old irons.

 

Now I'm not saying everyone would see these results, but the extra distance & height I get from them along with more forgiveness & less offset makes keeping them in the bag a no brainer.

 

[TheArtisf]

Glad you’ve been enjoying the irons.  I got a set last year after trying various competitors. Luckily even though it was right after their launch I still got a discount though nothing like what you see now.    For kicks and giggles I bought a barely used set of 7-P mizuno 919 Tours a couple months ago.  Found that they went pretty much the same distance as the Honma despite the loft differences which I thought was really strange (so did the sales rep at a local golf store when I brought the two 7 irons in to compare them on their launch monitor)  Ended up adding a 747P 4 iron since I was hitting the 5 so well.  My hybrid hasn’t seen the course ever since.  These Honma irons look good, feel good despite being cast, and perform great.  

[ShakeyT]

TIme to retract one of the things I said in my initial review... "Despite the strong lofts, distance appeared to be almost identical to my CF16s. The 747Ps may have been a bit longer, but not much". Now that I've gotten used them, my carry distance is up at least a club, probably more, over the CF16s. 

I'm loving these irons. I had the best GIR in a round for me in a long time. I was 12/18, but only 3 of the 6 misses were with irons. The other 3 were with a 54*, 3H & 3W.

Highly recommend these irons to someone needing distance, height, & forgiveness in a midsized head with very little offset.

[Freeze]

I've got about 5 rounds with these now, and my experience mirrors ShakeyT's: probably a club longer, but more importantly, they don't lose distance on off center strikes to any great degree. I'm a believer: these are a great set of irons. I'm very surprised they are so under the radar.

[threefortheshow]

Can anybody compare these to the 737p. I have a set and love the way they looked but just couldn’t get along with them. Seemed to be really low launch and not as forgiving as you would think they would be. Even had them reshafted with a shaft I’m comfortable with but didn’t make much difference. Maybe I need to revisit them. 

[anjoga]

Found a used set of these with the steel shafts in like-new shape at my local shop for a great end of season deal.  I’ve played G25 irons for the past 7 years, and these are a great change of pace for me.  I feel very confident standing over the ball with these irons so far.  They address the ball so cleanly compared to the g25’s I’ve had for so long.  They offer much more feedback as well, can really tell the difference between good and bad strikes, which I think will really help my ball striking going forward.

[ShakeyT]

I can't compare them to the 737P, but I can tell you that I can launch the 747s into the stratosphere. The combo of the Vizard 85g shaft & these heads sends rockets.

[thed0n]

ShakeyT, great minds think alike!

 

I, too, got these off the Bay.  Ridiculously low price, like sub $300 before tax and shipping.  I came from Apex CF16s (XP 95) to Mizuno 900 HMs (Nippon Modus 105).  I bought the Honma's because I've been experiencing some nagging wrist pain lately, and the graphite would provide some relief.  I have about 6 rounds with the Honma's, and my experience is similar to yours.  The Honma's are at least a club longer than both the CF16s and HMs, with the HMs a half club longer than the CF16s.  The thinner top line and less offset on the Honma's are impressive.  No discernible loss in stopping power on the greens.  I've been playing a combo set up for better gapping: 5-8 in Honma, 9-PW in HM, and GW-LW in Vokey SM6.

 

They don't feel as nice as the CF16s and HMs though, a little too muted for me.  Colors are blah as well.  But in terms of pain relief (and performance), they delivered over the CF16s and HMs.  Best deal I've had in a long time.  

[ShakeyT]

I plan on getting on the sim tonight in the garage since the weather has cooled off enough to be out there. Will be fun to get some numbers on the launch monitor to see if they match what I think I'm seeing on the course.

[ShakeyT]

I passed on the simulator this afternoon because the course was actually open. I expected it to be closed due to the rain we've had.

I didn't stick anything close this afternoon, but did hit half my iron approaches on the green & the rest were near misses that led to easy chips & makeable putt attempts.

I had back to back approach shots that I thought I mishit that ended up on the green. It was pretty dark by that time, so I had no idea where they were when I hit them. I was thrilled to find both shots on.

[iNeedMoreGolf]

i had them they were great.. and a club longer... but they are stronger lofted... very accurate.. loved the barely offset and thin thin thin topline.. i mean thin like a blade. Only thing that bugged me.. slightly the looks  but mostly the feel. I know they were cast but they just felt either dead or a tad harsh to me and that was the deal breaker... switched to mizuno mp 20 mmc and am very happy.

[ShakeyT]

Had my 1st case of the lefts with these irons yesterday. Missed 4 greens due to over cooked short irons. Still hit 50% GIR which is pretty good for me.

I think I was swinging too hard causing the Vizard 85g shafts to whip thru the ball with a more active tip. Either way, I still managed to put up a 1 under round from a shamble format.

[ShakeyT]

Just got a text from one of the guys I play with regularly. It was just a picture of the set of 747Ps he just got & a line that said "Time to fight fire with fire". 

I guess he got sick of me draining his golf funds every week since I got these irons.

[TheArtisf]

Here’s a pretty good review on these irons. 

 

[flushem]

I am waiting for TR20P irons to go on sale.  They are forged.  

[stoneydukes]

have a set of 747P on the way. Thanks for all your info and reviews. I'll post my impressions here as well as info on these is pretty hard to come by.

[ShakeyT]

Still enjoying these irons. Every now & then I get tempted to try something new, but inevitably I end up having a great iron day & those thoughts just fade away.

 

For anyone looking for a midsized, distance iron with a thin top line, plenty of forgiveness & little noticeable offset, these are the ticket. They don't feel endo forged, but they feel good enough when you're peppering flags.

 

 

[mikex]

What flex is the Vizard shaft and how do you feel it plays?

[ShakeyT]

Mine are 85g stiff. They feel a lot like Recoils to me.

[Quasimoto]

I just bought a set of 5-11 with Vizard 85g R, discounted heavily. I will put them in the bag tomorrow and see how it goes.

[metallica86]

Where did you guys find this set at discount? I'm in Canada but unable to find any decent deal.

Thanks.

[Quasimoto]

I got mine at Golftown Red Deer. The set has been in that store for about 18 months so it got discounted 40%. BTW there are lots of sets for sale on EBay, some are priced really high and some low, both new and used but in $US.

 

I played with them today but is was raining, windy and about 4* out so I still need to get some quality time with them.  They did all right though considering the weather.

3 hours ago, metallica86 said:

Where did you guys find this set at discount? I'm in Canada but unable to find any decent deal.

Thanks.

 

[metallica86]

Thank you so much, unfortunately we are in lockdown here in Toronto. 
mai I ask whats golftown original price for the set?

[Quasimoto]

I think it was $1649 or 1699? Not sure