Honma Rose Proto Opinions please

[cb24]

Anybody bag them and what are your thoughts?  I love the way they look and am thinking of replacing my Mizuno MP 68s with them.  
 

Also, there are some cheap new sets on the bay, is it just honma liquidating to online dealers?  I get nervous because I have read Honmas are really counterfeited, although, I imagine this set wasn’t widely sold

[Vinsanity23]

I can only hope they work better for you than they did for him! 

[MattyO1984]

That Rose had them made for him and he still went back to Taylor Made tells me more than I need to know. 

[bnperrone]

Price is really just a function of negative perception based on Rose leaving Honma. They are very high quality and the set I had were produced with impeccable attention to detail and were perfectly spec in every measure. At least, that's what the professional clubmaker told me when he reshafted them for me. It was the first set he'd seen and he was impressed. 

 

That said, they didn't work for me at all. I'm a 3 and I'm absolutely not good enough to enjoy them. That's coming out of a mixed set of MP32 and MP60s. I know Honma touts this precisely located CG, but I don't know where that CG placement is and I suspect it's the opposite of what I gravitate towards. 

 

Thankfully they were so cheap that it wasn't a harsh lesson and I was able to bail out of them. If I were you I'd focus on the relatively cheap MP20 MB or MMC sets that are available these days given your current irons. At a minimum I'd recommend you have a chance to hit them and compare numbers rather than buy and try. Best of luck.   

[gators78]

They made the first cut when I was getting fit for irons but didn't make into my top 3, I'd categorize them as good-not-great. If you're coming from Mizuno, they (the Mizunos) will be extremely hard to beat.  

Edited October 19, 2020 by gators78

[cb24]

Thanks for the replies, I will definitely see if I can find somewhere to hit them.  The prices make more sense with Rose leaving Honma, I totally forgot about that!  

[Triple Putt]

Man. I bid on like 8 sets of these on eBay and always got yoinked by someone at the very last min. Ended up settling on Zforged z785 combos. All the reviews I read about them every seemed to have nothing but good things to say.

[cb24]

21 hours ago, KING246 said:

Man. I bid on like 8 sets of these on eBay and always got yoinked by someone at the very last min. Ended up settling on Zforged z785 combos. All the reviews I read about them every seemed to have nothing but good things to say.

thanks for the reply, yeah I was shocked that the sentiment was more negative in this thread, because I had read generic positives, but good to hear from actual users

[Triple Putt]

4 hours ago, cb24 said:

thanks for the reply, yeah I was shocked that the sentiment was more negative in this thread, because I had read generic positives, but good to hear from actual users

 

I'd say go for it if you're used to playing a blade. Some sucker on here will buy them if you end up hating them. 

[Oliver Klozoff]

I'm a +1.  Tried my friends for a couple of rounds.  Beautiful irons but too hard to hit.  Sweet spot is small.

[grm24]

On 10/19/2020 at 11:41 AM, vstensrud23 said:

I can only hope they work better for you than they did for him! 

Rose started out well with Honma right out of the box including a win. Rose is back playing his TM clubs since he dropped Honma and still isn't playing well. Seems Rose himself is the common denominator and not what clubs he is playing.

[flushem]

I bought two iron sets (747V & Rose Proto) from ebay dealer.  They are genuine and in good shape.  My recommendation is to buy used set (usually demo set) from them just in case you wanna sell them.  I also filled my bag with driver, 3w, and hybrids in addtion.

 

I mixed 747V (5-7) and Rose Proto (8 - 10).  I thought RP would be very hard irons to hit but they are as forgiving/hard as 747V for me.  IMO, RP irons are very playable, honest, consistent and soft.  Above all, they are dirt cheap so you can't go wrong.  Strongly recommended.  

[cb24]

16 hours ago, KING246 said:

 

I'd say go for it if you're used to playing a blade. Some sucker on here will buy them if you end up hating them. 

haha, that’s kind of what I am thinking :).  I have a 4 iron that’s coming soon, so I will be able to see how it performs on the course

 

16 hours ago, Oliver Klozoff said:

I'm a +1.  Tried my friends for a couple of rounds.  Beautiful irons but too hard to hit.  Sweet spot is small.

Thanks for the feedback, looking forward to giving it a whirl.  What clubs do you usually play?

 

12 hours ago, grm24 said:

Rose started out well with Honma right out of the box including a win. Rose is back playing his TM clubs since he dropped Honma and still isn't playing well. Seems Rose himself is the common denominator and not what clubs he is playing.

How dare you, it’s always the arrow and never the Indian, this is golfwrx sir! 😉
 

18 minutes ago, flushem said:

I bought two iron sets (747V & Rose Proto) from ebay dealer.  They are genuine and in good shape.  My recommendation is to buy used set (usually demo set) from them just in case you wanna sell them.  I also filled my bag with driver, 3w, and hybrids in addtion.

 

I mixed 747V (5-7) and Rose Proto (8 - 10).  I thought RP would be very hard irons to hit but they are as forgiving/hard as 747V for me.  IMO, RP irons are very playable, honest, consistent and soft.  Above all, they are dirt cheap so you can't go wrong.  Strongly recommended.  

cool, thank you much appreciated!  

[Kscarguy]

I’m a fool willing to buy a set of these irons if anyone looking to unload them.

Edited October 22, 2020 by Kscarguy

[flushem]

16 hours ago, Kscarguy said:

I’m a fool willing to buy a set of these irons if anyone looking to unload them.

go check ebay.  

[Shilgy]

21 hours ago, Kscarguy said:

I’m a fool willing to buy a set of these irons if anyone looking to unload them.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-HONMA-T-WORLD-ROSE-PROTO-MB-FORGED-IRONS-IRON-SET-4-10-Heads-Only-/333491608628?hash=item4da5a61c34

[Barracuda]

Last time Rose won was with Honma.

 

Only decent rounds right now are with his axis putter on fire. It seems Taylor Made isn't working for him either...

[endy]

I played with them a short time and got along with them pretty well. I really liked the look of them and they weren’t too difficult to hit in my opinion, it’s just the Z Forged were a little more forgiving and sole interaction was better for me. 

[JackpotJohnny]

Played with a guy Last week who has a set. I think he ended up shooting just shy of 130 

[Mookieb10]

I have a nice set of Rose Protos, 4-pw. They are a lovely iron. Everything you’d want in a true blade. For some reason, I’ve not gotten along with them though. I play x flex shafts all the time, but these C-taper Stiff+ are just too much shaft for me. I don’t know if it’s a swingweight issue, a total weight issue or what, but I just haven’t played well with them. 

[Mookieb10]

On 10/21/2020 at 9:48 PM, Kscarguy said:

I’m a fool willing to buy a set of these irons if anyone looking to unload them.

I’m in Vermont at the moment but will be home Monday evening. I never sell clubs... I just keep the stock expanding, although I’m probably willing to sell these. I’m an usual spec though, +1/2” off standard, meaning 38.5” 5-iron, Tour velvet cord, midsize, plus two wraps, 2.5* flat. 

[Kscarguy]

36 minutes ago, Mookieb10 said:

I’m in Vermont at the moment but will be home Monday evening. I never sell clubs... I just keep the stock expanding, although I’m probably willing to sell these. I’m an usual spec though, +1/2” off standard, meaning 38.5” 5-iron, Tour velvet cord, midsize, plus two wraps, 2.5* flat. 

The midsize grips and 2.5* is the downside for me . DM me your lowest price shipped to Kansas 

[cb24]

On 10/23/2020 at 7:32 AM, Barracuda said:

Last time Rose won was with Honma.

 

Only decent rounds right now are with his axis putter on fire. It seems Taylor Made isn't working for him either...

good point!  🙂
 

On 10/23/2020 at 2:21 PM, endy said:

I played with them a short time and got along with them pretty well. I really liked the look of them and they weren’t too difficult to hit in my opinion, it’s just the Z Forged were a little more forgiving and sole interaction was better for me. 

I’m really looking forward to getting my demo iron in.  The bummer is that it was supposed to be delivered yesterday and it never arrived, now we have 6 inches of snow hitting Fort Collins! 

 

On 10/23/2020 at 10:54 PM, JackpotJohnny said:

Played with a guy Last week who has a set. I think he ended up shooting just shy of 130 

haha, a true testament to how good the irons are 😉  

 

2 hours ago, Mookieb10 said:

I have a nice set of Rose Protos, 4-pw. They are a lovely iron. Everything you’d want in a true blade. For some reason, I’ve not gotten along with them though. I play x flex shafts all the time, but these C-taper Stiff+ are just too much shaft for me. I don’t know if it’s a swingweight issue, a total weight issue or what, but I just haven’t played well with them. 

Thanks for the feedback.  Hopefully I get along better with them if I pull the trigger on a set

[cb24]

Well I finally got the 4 iron in and it’s a bit of a mixed review.  I like it some but also hit some not great shots with it and those didn’t like the feel lol.  I am wondering if the grip might be throwing me off.  I usually play with CP2 standard with 2 wraps up top and 1 at the bottom,  but this has a midsize CP2 Pro which is quite a bit bigger.  For both hands especially the lower hand.  I am going to get it regripped and see how it compares then 

[cb24]

On 11/1/2020 at 8:43 PM, cb24 said:

Well I finally got the 4 iron in and it’s a bit of a mixed review.  I like it some but also hit some not great shots with it and those didn’t like the feel lol.  I am wondering if the grip might be throwing me off.  I usually play with CP2 standard with 2 wraps up top and 1 at the bottom,  but this has a midsize CP2 Pro which is quite a bit bigger.  For both hands especially the lower hand.  I am going to get it regripped and see how it compares then 

thanks everyone for your feedback and answers in this thread.  I love the look of the rose proto but just couldn’t get along with it.  Having the wrong grip got me off to a bad start.  It’s a beauty of a club but I am going to be going with a set of 2018 Apex MBs whenever I pull the trigger.  Sticking with my MP-68s for now.  
 

if anyone wants to give the 4 iron a whirl I will send it for a low price.  Just message me