The Honma Tour World 737 iron series is something to behold. Unique in more than just their build process, they have provided golfers with a slightly more finite than usual way of making the iron accommodate their particular nuances and preferences. On the surface it might seem like overkill, but Honma has provided subtle changes to the TW737 on three heads, the Vn, V, and VS. Once a golfer has decided the profile suits them, they have an opportunity to select between these three marginally different heads to get exactly what they want. Sounds fantastic, right?
For the purpose of this review, the TW737Vn irons were photographed and tested extensively. Honma took an interesting approach with the finish of the irons, combining a mix of brushed, buffed, and rough to draw the sleek lines of the iron head together. This provides that traditional shiny player iron look when reviewing them up close and in the bag, while avoiding some of the frustrations of glare on the golf course. The cavity portion of the TW737Vn is also quite limited, providing that sleek look while presenting the opportunity for a touch of weight allocation, which will ultimately maximize the potential of the head at this profile.
One aspect of the cavity that was appreciated early on and carried through the testing, was the isolation of material in the central location of the head. While sending weight to the perimeter can certainly improve the potential on poorer strikes, taking too much away from the central location seems to have an adverse result on the quality of sound on contact. Fortunately, Honma left a great deal of material in that location, and golfers are presented with a truly rich response on well struck shots.
On the top line, golfers are treated with an attractive player profile, with sleek narrow top lines, peaking in a slightly sharper top toe section and blending down into the toe. The hosel width is on line with typical shaping, but does extend further upwards into the shaft connection in comparison to some other player cavity backs. The slightly brushed heel and toe portions of the face contrast well with the groove section, allowing for a clean frame of the golf ball at address.
The TW737Vn irons have what Honma calls “V 3 Series Unified Face Progression.” Essentially, slight alterations to head design and loft to allow for a more granular approach to fitting. Rather than trying to explain them specifically, here is a graph that represents the changes between the three heads;
As you can see, there are changes in loft, depth of the face, and width of the head present. Being the weakest of the three lofted irons, it should not surprise anyone that the TW737Vn irons promoted some higher ball flight, especially being paired with the DG AMT steel shafts. Despite presenting like a compact player shape, the length of the head heel to toe is actually quite reasonable, opening the door to some flexibility in contact deviance from center. In many cases this slightly wider profile could increase the confidence over a traditional, small bladed iron.
One of the most subtle design elements of the Honma TW737Vn irons is the understated rolled leading edge. While hard to perceive when looking at the sole of the club, mat based testing showed a small ridge leading the contact area, taking on much of the green shavings of the mat, while the rest of the sole had a lighter green hue to it. This could be very telling for turf interaction, and during testing, the irons never seemed to be overly aggressive when producing divots. This subtle profile makes a difference when talking about the small elements of forgiveness that surround this head.
A secondary highlight from Honma is their new “W” forging process, which includes a cold and a hot forge that creates a much denser concentration of metal. This grain flow density is most predominant in the central upper portion of the face (where we all try to hit the ball) and spans outwards from there, being slightly less dense towards the toe and heel. This fascinating process certainly lived up to the hype during testing.
Golfers who hit the TW737Vn well could not take their focus away from the quality of the strike, especially as it relates to sound. While some golfers equated to a rich, complete sound, others suggested it sound/felt like almost nothing at all. It was as though the head was hitting nothing (in a very good way). In many cases, an iron of this design needs to reflect the quality of the strike and award the golfer with a positive sensation on center-face contact, and the Honma TW737Vn provide that much in a very effective way.
Strikes off center, naturally, leave much to be desired. With limited material in the heel and toe portions lower on the head, making subpar contact provided very responsive feedback to the hands and ears. It is a notable departure from center face contact, but this type of iron should leave golfers anticipating only marginal increases in forgiveness as compared to a traditional blade shape. It is the combination of the compact cavity, subtle leading edge roll, and weight positioning that set the Honma TW737Vn irons apart from others of a similar head shape.
For stronger players who are seeking a compact iron package with excellent feedback and small elements of forgiveness, the Honma TW737Vn irons are worthy of a spot atop the ponder list. With a new forging process and the hot/cold forge, they are bound to have a sound and responsiveness unique to their own, with consistencies in dense grain flow forging to promote potentially more accurate, better shots. For more information on the Honma TW737Vn irons, visit http://www.honmagolf.co.jp/en/.
Great review Dan! These irons are certainly lookers!
Enjoyed the review Dan. Interesting thoughts on the Honma. Your thoughts on the leading edge are interesting and look forward to seeing what you think of these going forward.
Thanks for the review, Dan! I’m a fan of the looks of this line, but I’d most likely be going for the Vs in the series – the “practical iron”.
Great thoughts Dan and they sure are lookers.
Great write up Dan!! They look great but appear to be a bit demanding for this old person! I would have to try the Vs version also!!
Nice review and great looking clubs.
Nice review Dan.
I like the Honma, and am very curious about the JDM offerings. I like the 3 different heads, I think I would probably fit into the V head.
The W forging process seems very cool. Hopefully I can find these to swing this year.
Great review and a good looking iron from Honma. The W forging seems to have achieved the level of feedback Honma wanted with this line if strikes feel like “nothing at all. I like the fact that multiple heads are offered to try and fit golfers in the higher hcap range or that are not consistent ball strikers with their irons.
Thanks for the review, Dan! These babies have a gorgeous look to them. How much will a set of these run me? It would be pretty sweet having a set of gorgeous irons like this that aren’t readily available to US consumers from the normal brick and mortar store perspective.
Thanks for the review, Dan.
Honma produces some great looking and performing clubs. Living where I do, I’ve been fortunate to have access to their clubs for awhile and I’m very glad to see that they are expanding into the U.S. market. The Vs “practical” iron on my must demo list.
Great review, Dan. Honma has released one handsome looking set of irons there. Sounds like these irons were made for a golfer of your skill level–a true player’s iron. As often as I miss the sweet spot, my hands would probably be numb from the feedback after about 3 holes. LOL
Hi Dan,
Where is the clubhead forged? Japan or China? This is because I have seen boxes indicating that the head is made in China (although all photos on the web have “made in Japn” in the hosel area).
Looked through Honma’s website, the company does not mention a word about the country of origin for the clubheads as well.
The new Honmas are now made in China, including threclubhead. I still prefer my japanese crafted older Honmas. I wiont be paying a premium price on the newer China made Honmas. I trust more the skills of a japanese craftsman. Its good there are still other Japan crafted irons like Miura, Fourteen, Onoff. Just
my thoughts and preference.
But if the newer clubs are now made in China, how can they laser the hosel “Made in Japan Sakata”? This is really strange.
By the way, don’t forget about Yonex, some of its premium irons such as N1-Mb and N1-Cb are also forged in Japan today.
Great review Dan, just curious though…been seeing honma tw737vn with single silver ring on the ferrule, and the word “made in japan sakata” lasered onto the hosel…this one has none of it..what is your take on that? Thanks!