Yonex Carboniron

[Eric Ono]

I hope this is the correct group to post this thread in.  If not, if there is a vintage clubs group that I failed to find, please let me know.

 

So I am hoping someone might have some details on these old clubs, Yonex Carboniron.  I believe they are from the late 80s/early 90s.  I remember seeing this in my local pro shop and thinking they were cool (I was a teen and liked things that were different).  I think I even had a brochure for these, but it is long since gone.  I also remember them being crazy expensive, like $2k range.

 

Remembering these, I found a set on the bay (pics attached) to try out and play around with.  I don't have high expectations, but still curious how they perform.  By way of comparison, the irons I am currently hitting are Lynx Parallax BeCu so it's not like I'm sporting bleeding edge tech anyway.

 

What little I think I know about these is that they are supposed to be all carbon fiber, except the soles of the clubs, although I suspect there may be some metal under the carbon on the face and/or back.  I also remember a variant called the Boraniron, but don't know what the differences are other than color.  I think the Boronirons had a reddish tinge to them.

 

If anyone knows anything more about these, I'd love to hear more details.  I have searched online but can find next to nothing.  I don't even see Yonex owning up to ever building these.

 

Thanks,

 

Eric

Edited August 17, 2021 by Eric Ono

[Ger21]

Many years ago, Golfsmith sold some heads that were probably a knockoff of these. They were quite expensive at the time. I know I had at least one club to test with, but I don't recall if I had a whole set.
I remember the heads being quite large, and they were solid feeling, but that's about it. This was probably  ~30 years ago.

[metal_on_a_stick]

Yonex irons are severely underrated.  More golfers should game their irons, they make a great product. 

[84425]

I remember these from our pro shop as well (also early 90ies). One member at our club owned and played them (played of a 32 hcp or something, he just had a lot of disposable income 😄 ). I too remember them as being crazy expensive for the time (i think something like 6,000 Dutch guilders which was something like US$3,000 at the time). A chipped a bit with these clubs in the shop from tim to time (i used to do all repairs for our pro, so spend quite some time in that shop), and remember our pro saying that these clubs were very easily damaged: one little stone/pebble on the face and a big chuck of carbonfibre would break off (hence the metal soles). They looked very nice at address.

[Eric Ono]

Thought I'd add a follow up on these.  Overall I think they are pretty nice.  The metal soles give these a pretty low CoG so getting the ball up in the air is not hard.  My daughter, who is just starting to learn the game, played a few rounds with them and commented on that as well.

 

I love the look at address.  The all black shaft and head is really pleasing to my eye.  I still like my Lynx Parallax irons, but have replaced the 9 and P with the Carbonirons in my bag and love the feel of the Carbonirons in those higher lofts. I wish I had the 10 iron and will be on the lookout for one.

 

Thanks,

 

Eric

Edited October 22, 2021 by Eric Ono

[RSinSG]

I had the Yonex Carbonex driver and 3W when they were new. I thought they were really good clubs. Never had the irons as I was playing Eye 2’s

[Eric Ono]

Don't blame you, the Eye 2s were one of (if not) the best at the time.

 

I don't recall ever seeing the carbon woods, only the irons.  Were they similar in size to the persimmon and metal woods of the day?

Edited October 22, 2021 by Eric Ono

[RSinSG]

10 hours ago, Eric Ono said:

Don't blame you, the Eye 2s were one of (if not) the best at the time.

 

I don't recall ever seeing the carbon woods, only the irons.  Were they similar in size to the persimmon and metal woods of the day?

They were about the same size, maybe a little bigger. My buddy and I got them and we were considered super high-tech by our friends. 

[Rickolameister]

I owned a full set of the Yonex CarbonIrons in the early 90's. Played them for a week or two then returned for full refund. Hated them! The short irons in particular did not impart spin worth a damn. My impression could have been partly due to my playing Ping Eye2's before the Carbonirons.  They looked cool, but didnt live up to the marketing hype.  Oh, and I still play the Ping Eye2's!