Honma Irons: TW757, Beres Aizu & Beres Black Iron Sets
Honma Irons Specifications: Beres and TWorld757
There is hardly a second manufacturer whose irons cover such a broad spectrum as those from Honma. With the Honma Beres, ladies and seniors will find particularly light 38g shafts. And with the TR20 Blade, tour players also get their money's worth. In between there are a lot of other irons like from the GS series or other irons from the TR20 series.
In this article we would like to compare the specifications and list them for the three current series: Beres, GS and Tour Release.
Honma Beres Ladies
| #6 | #7 | #8 | #9 | #10 | #11 | SW | |
| ArmRQX 38 | C-1 | C-1 | C-1 | C-1 | C-1 | C-2 | C-2 |
| Lofts in ° | 27 | 30 | 34 | 38 | 43 | 49 | 56 |
| Shaft Length in Inch | 36.5 | 36 | 35.5 | 35 | 34.5 | 34 | 34 |
| Offset in mm | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.5 |
Honma Beres for Men
| #4 | #5 | #6 | #7 | #8 | #9 | #10 | #11 | AW | SW | |
| ARMRQ X 47 R | C-9 | C-9 | C-9 | C-9 | C-9 | C-9 | C-9 | C-9 | C-9 | D-0 |
| ARMRQ X 47 SR | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-1 |
| ARMRQ X 47 S | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-1 |
| ARMRQ X 42 R | C-9 | C-9 | C-9 | C-9 | C-9 | C-9 | C-9 | C-9 | C-9 | D-0 |
| ARMRQ X 42 SR | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-1 |
| ARMRQ X 42 S | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-1 |
| Lofts in ° | 18 | 21 | 24 | 27 | 31 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 |
| Shaft length in inch | 38.5 | 38 | 37.5 | 37 | 36.5 | 36 | 35.5 | 35 | 35 | 35 |
| Offset in mm | 4.3 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 |
The Honma Beres are the gold standard for all players whose club head speed can be improved. These players find it difficult to accelerate the club. They therefore need particularly light shafts and a light swing weight. The special thing about the Honma Beres is that the shafts are very soft, but still of high quality. The unwanted twists in the shaft are minimal. The higher the number of stars, the less severe these twists are. However, the shafts are also more complex to produce and therefore much more expensive.
You can see that the swing weight for the ladies is C-1 for the irons and C-2 for the wedges. For men it is C-9 for the irons and D-0 for the sand wedge.
The lofts are very "modern", i.e. low, especially for the men's irons. The 7 iron has only 27° and the reason for this is that the launch of the Beres irons is optimised in such a way that a high ball flight is given despite the low loft number. Especially considering that most Honma Beres players tend to hit the ball in an upward motion.
Nevertheless, a 4 iron is practically no longer desired and even a 5 iron is usually replaced with a hybrid or fairway wood. For the ladies, the strongest iron is a 6 iron and all the rest are hybrids and fairway woods.
The standard shaft length is 36 inches for the ladies' 7 iron and 37 inches for the men's 7 iron. The wedges from #11 to Sand Wedge are built the same length. This approach makes a lot of sense in our view for several reasons.
Longer or shorter shafts are rarely used at Honma Beres because they throw the overall concept out of balance. Longer shafts increase the swing weight enormously - which contradicts the Beres principle. And shorter shafts lower the already light swing weight even more. Although it is possible to compensate for this somewhat, it is only recommended to a limited extent.
Honma GS
Honma GS Ladies
| Club | #6 | #7 | #8 | #9 | #10 | #11 | #SW |
| Loft in ° | 26 | 29 | 33 | 37 | 42 | 47 | 56 |
| Lie in ° | 61 | 61.5 | 62 | 62.5 | 63 | 63 | 63.5 |
| Face Progression | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Shaft Length | 36.5 | 36 | 35.5 | 35 | 34.5 | 34.5 | 34.0 |
| Swing Weight | C-6 | C-6 | C-6 | C-6 | C-6 | C-7 | C-7 |
| Total Weight | 350 | 356 | 363 | 370 | 376 | 378 | 385 |
Honma GS Irons for Men
| Club | #4 | #5 | #6 | #7 | #8 | #9 | #10 | #11 | SW |
| Head Material | 17-4 + Tungsten Mounting | 17-4+ | |||||||
| Loft in ° | 20 | 23 | 26 | 29 | 33 | 37 | 42 | 47 | 56 |
| Lie in ° | 60.5 | 61 | 61.5 | 62 | 62.5 | 63 | 63.5 | 63.5 | 64 |
| Face Progression in mm | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Speedtuned 55 Length | 38.5 | 38 | 37.5 | 37 | 36.5 | 36 | 35.5 | 35.5 | 35 |
| Speedtuned 55 Swing Weight | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-0 | D-1 | D-1 |
| Nippon 950 Neo Swing Weight | D-2 | D-2 | D-2 | D-2 | D-2 | D-2 | D-2 | D-3 | D-3 |
| Speedtuned 55 Total Weight | 361 | 366 | 372 | 378 | 385 | 391 | 397 | 399 | 496 |
| Nippon 950 Neo Total Weight - R | 396 | 402 | 408 | 415 | 422 | 429 | 436 | 438 | 444 |
The concept of the Honma GS is similar to the Honma Beres - only more for price-conscious players and not quite as high quality. This means that although the shafts were designed by Honma, they are not made in Sakata, Japan and drawn by hand like Honma Beres shafts. However, the overall concept of Honma GS is just as coherent as Beres and in terms of shafts and swing weights, it is also much lighter than irons of most competitors.
The swingweight of the Honma GS ladies irons is C-6, which is of course much heavier than the C-1 of Honma Beres. In this respect, the Honma GS series is rather intended for female golfers who do not have too much difficulty accelerating the club. Senior women, for example, are usually much better off with a Honma Beres.
For men, the swing weight is D-0 and the shafts are significantly heavier than Honma Beres and at 55g.
Honma GS is exactly between Honma Beres and the lightest Honma TR shafts (see below).
As with Beres, the standard lengths of the shafts are 36 inches for a women's 7 iron and 37 inches for men.
The Honma GS have slightly less offset than the Honma Beres.
In contrast to Honma Beres, the GS range is also available with steel shafts such as the Nippon 950 Neo. With this, the swing weight is already at D-2 and is therefore mainly suitable for amateurs with average club head speeds.
Honma Tour Release: TR20 and TR21
Honma TR21 X
| #3 | #4 | #5 | #6 | #7 | #8 | #9 | #10 | #11 | |
| Loft | 18° | 20° | 23° | 26° | 30° | 34° | 38° | 43° | 48° |
| Lie | 60° | 60.5° | 61° | 61.5° | 62° | 62.5° | 63° | 63.5° | 63.5° |
| Offset in mm | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 2.4 |
| Shaft Length in Inch | 39.0 | 38.5 | 38.0 | 37.5 | 37.0 | 36.5 | 36.0 | 35.5 | 35.5 |
Honma TR20 P
| Iron | #4 | #5 | #6 | #7 | #8 | #9 | #10 | #11 |
| Loft in ° | 21 | 24 | 27 | 31 | 35 | 39 | 43 | 48 |
| Lie in ° | 61.0 | 61.5 | 62.0 | 62.5 | 63.0 | 63.5 | 64.0 | 64.0 |
| Face Progression in mm | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 2.4 |
| Shaft Length in Inch | 38.5 | 38.0 | 37.5 | 37.0 | 36.5 | 36.0 | 35.5 | 35.5 |
| Swing Weight Vizard TR85 | D0 | D0 | D0 | D0 | D0 | D0 | D1 | D1 |
| Swing Weight Modus3 105 | D2 | D2 | D2 | D2 | D2 | D2 | D3 | D3 |
Honma TR20 V
| Iron | #3 | #4 | #5 | #6 | #7 | #8 | #9 | #10 | #11 |
| Loft in ° | 19.5 | 22 | 25 | 28 | 32 | 36 | 40 | 44 | 49 |
| Lie in ° | 60.5 | 61.0 | 61.5 | 62.0 | 62.5 | 63.0 | 63.5 | 64.0 | 64.0 |
| Face Progression in mm | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.9 |
| Shaft Length in Inch | 39.0 | 38.5 | 38.0 | 37.5 | 37.0 | 36.5 | 36.0 | 35.5 | 35.5 |
| Swing Weight Vizard TR85 | D0 | D0 | D0 | D0 | D0 | D0 | D0 | D1 | D1 |
| Swing Weight Modus3 105 | D2 | D2 | D2 | D2 | D2 | D2 | D2 | D3 | D3 |
TR20 B
| #3 | #4 | #5 | #6 | #7 | #8 | #9 | #10 | |
| Loft | 20 | 23 | 26 | 30 | 34 | 38.5 | 43 | 47 |
| Lie | 60.5 | 61.0 | 61.5 | 62.0 | 62.5 | 63.0 | 63.5 | 64.0 |
| Offset | 3.1 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 1.0 |
| Bounce | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Length | 39.0 | 38.5 | 38.0 | 37.5 | 37.0 | 36.5 | 36.0 | 35.5 |
The new Honma Tour Release series leaves nothing to be desired and covers a wide range of amateur and professional players. The TR21 X is a hollow construction iron that looks like a classic blade but is packed with technology. The lofts of the TR21 X are very modern, but this is offset by the increased launch. The 7 iron loft is just 30° and is 4° stronger than the TR20 B.
The TR20 P is a "Two Piece Construction" iron which is quite compact overall. The club head is therefore not too big and significantly smaller than the TR21 X. The 7 iron loft is 31° and is overall on the stronger side.
The loft of the TR20 V is also somewhat stronger than before at 32°. The TR20 B on the other hand is a classic blade with 34° loft.
This information is important because you should not leave a big gap between the pitching wedge and the other wedges. The pitching wedge is called #10 at Honma and the gap wedge #11. As a rule of thumb, it is worth taking the #11 iron with X, P and V and choosing two more wedges based on it (instead of 3). In the case of the TR20 P, recommended lofts would be e.g. 48° for #11, 54° for Sand Wedge and 58° or 60° for Lob Wedge.
Only the TR20 B has no gap wedge and the pitching wedge ends very classically at 47°.
With the TR20 P there is no 3 iron and it is advisable to use a driving iron or hybrid instead. The same applies to the TR20 V and also the TR20 B. Hardly anyone still plays such long irons.