CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA – Honma, one of golf’s most prestigious and enduring equipment brands, continues to make a decisive statement to the North American market with its TR20 (“Tour Release 2020”) iron line. Known globally for beautifully-crafted, versatile and playable equipment, Honma’s approach with its new TR20 V and TR20 P iron sets is to provide serious players the look, set-up, feel and performance they have come to trust and expect in a players, and players distance, iron.
Both the TR20 P and V irons showcase modern player-preferred profiles with sleek lines and shaping, and are built to be fast and forgiving so that golfers can achieve desirable distance and accuracy– even on misses. Reviewers on Golf Digest’s 2020 Hot List panel had this to say about this innovative line:
“These are hot. Trajectory penetrates the wind. My mis-hits weren’t penalized too badly, either.”
“These are already long, but I love that I could swing harder and they’d go a whole iron longer.”
“The sound was one of speed. The ball was motoring.”
In GOLF’s Club Test 2020, a tester said:
“Working this one both directions was no problem. Buttery feel is what you’d expect from something that looks this good.”
“It’s no surprise that discerning players who prefer reliable performance and uncompromised feel of a players iron are enjoying testing the TR20 P and TR 20 V,” said Honma’s President John Kawaja. “Our Carlsbad-based team has had a hand in delivering golfers many of the most proven and iconic iron designs of the past 20 years for other prestigious OEMs. The work they’re doing here at Honma is a brilliant culmination of industry-leading experience, relentless creativity and cutting-edge ingenuity and design.”
THE GOODS: TR20 P
TR20 P is a players distance iron that incorporates game improvement-like playability with beautifully-crafted performance with hand-shaped profiles and tour-caliber response. An S35C forged steel body and thin L-cup face help generate ball speed. A generous sole width and tungsten-weighted pocket cavity (the P in TR20 P stands for Pocket) on the rear of the club head help create speed-enhancing forgiveness. The pocket cavity puts weight around the perimeter of the iron, not just in the heel and toe, but also in the back of the club head. It literally creates a pocket of perimeter weighting. “The 3D pocket cavity allows us to create a strong lofted iron that launches fast and high without excess spin” McGinley said.
The low center of gravity, created by the optimized position (heel-to-toe and front-to-back) of the high-density tungsten weight, promotes higher MOI, higher launch and longer carry distance. Honma’s experienced Takumi combine a traditional blade shape with modern topline and sole proportions and high-performance back designs to pack versatile playability into the TR20 P.
“The blade length on the TR20 P is small enough to be accepted by a tour pro, but large enough to be forgiving and market-playable,” said Honma Vice President of Global Product Chris McGinley. “We used CAD to position the tungsten weight in the ideal spot to create speed on both on- and off-center hits as well as the right amount of launch for the TR 20 P’s strong lofts.This iron hits a wide target audience from competitive golfers and low handicaps, all the way up to mid-teen handicaps.”
THE GOODS: TR20 V
The TR20V is a true players iron that delivers impressive distance. Showing off a handsome, traditional one-piece cavity back head design, the TR20 V is forged from soft S20C carbon steel and helps launch shots quick and high, but with control. It features a slightly shorter blade length and thin topline that better golfers prefer, as well as a recessed electroform Honma mole logo in the cavity as a nod to the great forged irons of the company’s past. The TR20 V’s sole is wide enough to promote desirable launch with enhanced camber for crisp turf interaction.
The responsive feel in the TR20 V comes from the combination of material, construction and design. S20C carbon steel delivers preferred feel, while the blade size, shape and cavity design- including the ideal combination of face thickness and perimeter weighting- create the soft, but solid, feel.
“The TR20 V also has players distance lofts, which are one degree weaker than on the TR20 P. This is a really good traditional forged cavity iron,” said McGinley. “A slightly narrower sole width helps yield good overall playability. It’s an ideal iron for competitive golfers and low handicaps, yet suitable for higher single-digit handicaps, as well.”
A COMMON LANGUAGE
The common design language between the TR20 V and TR20 P irons allows golfers to consider a combination set with familiar profiles. Combined set configurations with TR20P in the mid/long and TR20V in the mid/short irons are becoming popular with Honma customers. “In both iron sets, the confluence of Honma hand-crafted looks with tour level performance, modern constructions and expert designs provide the sound and feel that golfers will love,” said Chris McGinley. “In Honma Experience fittings, we’re seeing a lot of golfers opting for a blended set of TR20 P and TR 20 V for optimal feel, trust and performance.”
Honma TR20P and TR20V are available with VIZARD TR20-85 graphite and Nippon Modus 105 shafts as a standard option. VIZARD TR20 shafts are designed with a stiffer tip section for trajectory control and are built with ascending weight to increase speed with longer irons and increase control with shorter irons. One other commonality to both irons: The counter taper grip reduces tension in the lower hand while sporting a new soft-feeling compound.
An additional set of TR20 irons called TR20B, a classic blade-style iron for skilled players, will be launching in the coming weeks.
TR 20 P and TR 20 V irons ($199.99/club with graphite shaft, $174.99/steel) are now available in stores and online as well as by appointment at a Honma Mobile Experience custom fitter.
For more information about Honma Golf visit: https://us.honmagolf.com.
About Honma Golf
Honma is one of the most prestigious and iconic brands in the golf industry. Founded in 1959, the Company utilizes the latest innovative technologies and traditional Japanese craftsmanship to provide golfers across the globe with premium, high-tech and top-performing golf clubs with state-of-the-art heads and proprietary shafts built by master artisans to perform together holistically. Renowned for creating the world’s highest quality and most beautiful golf clubs, Honma offers equipment (including balls, apparel and accessories) to fit all golfers, with the families aligned to suit the preferences and abilities of various segments of golfers: the world-renowned luxury BERES series and the Tour-validated T//World line, which includes the new game improvement XP- 1 line and the new Tour-inspired TR20 series.
The premium golf club manufacturer and lifestyle brand was founded inside a small Yokohama workshop six decades ago and now holistically designs all products in Sakata, Japan. Honma operates as the only company that handles every step from design to final production in-house to create the highest-quality products on the market today. Honma’s products are sold in approximately 50 countries worldwide, primarily in Asia and across North America, Europe and other regions. To learn more, visit www.HonmaGolf.com.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Honma Golf
Brad Holder
Honma Golf, Vice President Marketing
(760) 579-8280
bradholder@honmagolf.com
Kevin Frisch PR
Kevin Frisch
(989) 614-0241
kevin@kevinfrischpr.com
Joanne Miller
(815) 603-5119
joanne@kevinfrischpr.com
