In the great words of Dr Bob Rotella (a leading sports psychologist), golf is not a game of perfect. There is no perfect swing, no perfect technique, shot or decision, just Vclubshop the best we can do. However, Japanese club makers Honma (for over 50 years) do their utmost to defy this statement. They continue to strive for perfection from their clubs, and by using the best materials possible and arduous dedication to their craft, they get pretty damn close.

I wanted to fully discover why Honma clubs are held in such high esteem and why it took some time to find any information about how they make their equipment. I started at their main centre of operations, a factory based in Sakata (in northern Japan, just north of Shonai airport).

Honma employs around 500 staff at different levels Vclubshop ranging from Assistant to Master Crafter. Club making is an elite profession in northern Japan, its workers extremely devoted to maintaining their own high standards and doing so with unprecedented pride. To be accepted into the industry, particularly by such a company as Honma, is a great honour. People join as young apprentices and plan to stay there and hone their skills for life hoping one day to be titled a master.

The skills of the master craftsman are honed to such an extent that the difference between his level of ability and that of an apprentice starting out appears vast. The most impressive skill that the apprentices are expected to develop on their journey to master craftsman is an ability to, as they say, “feel” the club. A master is able to hold a club, close his eyes, make a few swings and actually feel the club striking a ball. He can feel the imperfections and faults in the club and thus rectify them. This coupled with rigorous testing using the most modern and efficient tools produces some truly magnificent clubs.

Honma are also surprisingly advanced in their construction of shafts. When I first looked into their methods, I believed them to be traditionalists who Vclubshop refuse to use modern technologies but insist on hand crafting everything, contrary to that, they have been at the leading edge of shaft technology ever since the composition of carbon and titanium shafts. This means that not only are their club heads at a high standard, but they set the standards

These clubs are made from the finest materials available. Gold, Copper, Brass, Titanium, Graphite, Boron, Persimmon, and a multitude of other materials are incorporated into the production of clubs that some consider to be the finest in the World.