Honma TW777 drivers, woods, irons: What you need to know
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: For the new Honma TW777 lineup of drivers, fairway woods, hybrids and irons, more distance comes from new sole designs, faster faces, breakthrough materials and even subtle visual tweaks that can work for golfers across a range of ability levels. The collection includes two new drivers and a mini-driver that use a titanium carbon sole plate, fairway woods and hybrids with an updated classic sole design and a set of irons (P7CB Max) with faster faces, stronger lofts but a forgiving appearance developed from a long-ago grinding technique.
PRICE: Drivers: TW777 (9, 10.5 degrees), $650; TW777 Max (9, 10.5, 12 degrees), $650; TW777 360 Ti (11.5 degrees), $450. Fairway woods: TW777 (15, 16.5, 18, 21 degrees), $375; TW777 Max (15, 18, 21 degrees), $375. Hybrids (19, 22, 25, 28 degrees), $325. TW777 P7CB Max irons (7-iron: 28 degrees, 10-iron: 41 degrees), $225 per iron.
3 Cool Things
1. A better driver face with new soul, er, sole. The TW777 and TW777 Max drivers attack the pursuit of better performance by changing multiple elements of these designs. That includes using new materials and construction in the fully carbon composite body shell, and both a new titanium alloy in the face and a carbon composite-infused titanium sole plate. Guiding these changes is the idea of making the surrounding structure of the body to stiffer to prevent energy loss at impact.
Part of making the structure stiffer and lighter is the use of an internal carbon ring that to stiffen the crown region. The new titanium carbon material used in the sole serves a similar role, and it’s also actually an updated version of a material that was once used in shafts during the persimmon era. The new sole feature combines the attributes of the two materials, the rigidity of titanium with the lightweight ductility of the titanium. The end goal is to reduce the way the carbon body deflects at impact, compared to previous models, leading to more efficient energy transfer.
A new softer titanium alloy in the face (known as SJ221) joins a titanium wraparound frame in the front part of the body and features a new variable thickness pattern with thinner heel and toe regions for better flexing across a wider area. The frame provides structure for Honma’s familiar adjustable hosel, which is now lighter but still offers the capability of adjusting loft and lie without rotating the shaft from its spine aligned positon. The titanium section joins the carbon composite shell in the rear body, which accounts for 35 percent more volume than on previous Honma TW drivers.
The TW777 uses adjustable front and back sole weights (21 and 4 grams) to tweak spin while maintaining a flatter trajectory. The higher-launching TW777 Max features heel and toe adustable weights (16 and 4 grams) to provide a measure of slice or hook correction.
The lineup also features a mini-driver, the TW777 360 Ti, that incorporates the elements of the larger TW777 drivers, including the titanium carbon, internal carbon ring and carbon composite shell back half. Altogether those elements work to stiffen the body for the softer, springier SJ221 titanium alloy in the face., The 11.5-degree model also adds interchangeable front and rear sole weights to tweak launch, spin, trajectory and forgiveness. For comparison, with the heavier weight in the rear, the moment of inertia measures 35 percent higher than the TW777 3-wood.
2. A new look for an old soul, er, sole. The TW777 fairway woods (TW777 and TW777 Max) and hybrids employ an updated version of a sole design from Honma’s earliest days. Back then, it was called the LB-GET sole. Now, using a stainless steel body to go with a high-strength steel face (C300 alloy), the molded shaping on the bottom involves a flatter section in the middle of the sole. The more defined edges of that flat section provide two parallel rail-like features with added relief that makes for a smoother interaction with the ground.
The fairway woods feature a weight-saving carbon composite crown, as well as front and rear sole weight screws on the TW777 model designed to reduce spin (16-gram weight up front) or add launch and forgiveness (16-gram weight in the rear). The TW777 includes the familiar Honma adjustable hosel to tweak loft and lie without rotating the shaft. The larger TW777 Max model, which comes with a fixed hosel to free up more mass for more forgiveness, includes a 200cc 3-wood (10 percent larger than the TW777) that boasts a moment of inertia that’s 20 percent higher than the TW777. The TW777 Max also offers a bit more natural draw bias than the standard model.
The TW777 hybrid also uses a C300 high-strength steel alloy in the face insert. The internal weighting is geared to each individual loft with the lower lofts featuring a lower center of gravity than the higher lofts.
3. A new focus on old forgiveness. The TW777 PCB Max irons offer a slight departure from the typical Honma TW irons, which have tended to have a slightly better player’s workability demands in mind. The PCB Max uses its size and weighting to focus on straighter shots and more distance through its stronger lofts. But the PCB Max iron incorporates visual cues that make those stronger lofts, including a 28-degree 7-iron and 41-degree pitching wedge (or 10-iron, as the company calls it), seem more playable. Called the “Honma cut,” these irons utilize a beveling of the topline that makes the loft look more open for higher launch. It’s a technique the company developed for its forged irons from the 1970s.
Forging also is part of the design of TW770 PCB Max irons. The body and hosel are forged from S25C carbon steel. Then a high-strength steel alloy is used in an L-face that wraps around the sole to provide better flexing as well as lower the center of gravity. The alloy is AM355P in the 5- through 8-iron and ES235 in the short irons and wedges, and it features a variable thickness pattern to create more rebound at impact for more ball speed.