Honma TW 757 Hybrid Review

Honma TW 757 Hybrid Review

Honma TW 757
Grade: A+
Teacher’s Comments: An easy swing sends the ball far and high. Very Consistent

Manufacturer’s Website

Honma recently sent one of their TW 757 hybrids for review. It is a fantastic club that has found a permanent place in my bag.

The model I tested is a 24° hybrid that is designed to replace the five iron. There is a good argument to be made that most amateurs should replace their longer irons with hybrids, as hybrids tend to be easier to hit and launch higher.

For the past decade, I’ve had Cobra Baffler XL hybrids (2-5 iron equivalents) in my bag and consider ditching the longer irons one of best things I have done to improve my scores. The two hybrid is perhaps an unusual choice, but I hit it nearly as far as I do a three wood, with greater consistency. Along the way, I replaced the three Baffler with a Tour Edge Exotics EX 10 hybrid that I think plays better out of the rough.

LOFT (°)	18 (3 iron)	21(4 iron)	24 (5 iron)	27 (6 iron)
LIE (°)	58	58	58	58
HEAD VOLUME	124	121	121	118

The TW 757 24° fits nicely between my 4-hybrid and my 6-iron. I get the same distance that I would with a well-struck 5-iron with much greater consistency.

It is all about consistency, isn’t it? In the end, what I really want to know is that if I make a smooth swing, I will get x distance out of a club.

The Honma TW 757 rewards a smooth swing with repeatable distance and ball flight. It is a club I have found I can rely on from any lie.

As a deaf person, I can’t tell you what a ball sounds like coming off the face, but I get the sense that there is quite a bit of pop. I am not a fast swinger, and thus not a long hitter, but the ball really soars off the face.

The Honma hybrid also is quite useful as a chipper. The face is hot, so all it takes is a small putter-like stroke to pop the ball up and send it running across a green.

On the mostly open front, old school greens at my home course (Washtenaw Golf Club, which dates to 1899), my strategy is: if I am going to miss, I am going to miss short. Left, right and long are usually bad. If I miss short, I just pull out the hybrid and use it as a “Texas wedge” to get it close enough to save par.

I really enjoy playing the Honma TW 757.

Honma TW 757 Technology

The TW 757 hybrid is constructed with a Maraging 455 Steel Cup Face.

Maraging steel is a low carbon, high nickel alloy that offers superior strength. Using maraging steel on the face lets manufacturers use thinner sheets for greater rebound. A “Cup Face” design helps to expand the area of flex across the face; that helps maintain distance on off-center strikes.

The body of the club is SUS 630 stainless steel (also known as 17-4).

Prominent on the sole is a slot which rises vertically toward the crown. This is designed to maintain ball speed on mishits along the upper and lower portions of the clubface.

On the interior of the club, is what Honma calls a “vertical rib face design,” which is supposed to increase ball speed and improve weight distribution.

Honma designs and manufactures both the clubheads and the shafts, with an eye toward perfectly integrating the two.

All of these are surely parts of the consistency that I value — and that I have found in the Honma 757 hybrid.

A final piece to mention is that the hybrid has an internal weighting cartridge that moves the center of gravity downward to improve launch conditions from a variety of lies.

One observation I have is that the TW 757 somehow feels heftier than my other hybrids. I was convinced that Honma had a higher swing weight than the Cobras — until I measured them. All of my hybrids are more or less in the D2 range.

Perhaps what I am feeling is the lower center of gravity. Probably.

At any rate, I like the way it feels, especially out of the rough (where I spend far too much time). I feel as though it will just cut through that thick, lush Washtenaw Golf Club rough.

	Length(“)	Swing Weight(g)	Total Weight(g)
#3 (R)	40.5	D2	347
#3 (S)	40.5	D2	350
#4 (R)	40	D2	351
#4 (S)	40	D2	354
#5 (R)	39.5	D2	355
#5 (S)	39.5	D2	358
#6 (R)	39	D2	359
#6 (S)	39	D2	362

A Sharp Looking Hybrid

From address, the TW 757 hybrid has a pleasingly compact, dark head.

I have never been one to buy into the club manufacturers’ marketing that a larger club head inspires confidence. I like a more compact look in every club but the driver.

Thinner toplines and a trim clubhead make me think that I am going to carve that ball off the turf like a knife rather than whacking at it with an industrial sized spatula.

In its shape and size, the Honma TW 757 looks like a precision tool. To me, exudes a player’s club vibe, even as it plays more like a game improvement model.

A Word About Honma

Honma as a brand is perhaps unfamiliar to US audiences. I didn’t know that they existed until I saw a curious mole logo on the bags of several players at the Ann Arbor Volvik LPGA Championship.

The company is well-known in Asia and is a top selling brand in Japan, its home country.

Folk who have heard of Honma usually associate it with the company’s Beres line of clubs. Those are extravagantly made with precious metals and have prices to match. A Beres hybrid, for example, sells for around $600. A single Beres iron is $399.

Fortunately, the Honma TW 757 hybrid is much more reasonably priced at $350.

Honma also has a mobile clubfitting experience to help you get into the correct club. I tried it with the Honma driver and was impressed with the quality and thoroughness of the experience.

Give Honma A Try

If you are in the market for a new hybrid, I think you owe it to yourself to give Honma a look. I particularly think older golfers should take the TW 757 under consideration; its consistency and performance with my slower swing speed are notable.

For my part, I would happily replace every one of the mixed set of hybrids in my bag with an equivalent Honma TW 757. I think I would even swap out my six iron for the 27° hybrid.

Recommended.