Ohio Golf Journal October 2019

A year ago, golf industry executive Mark King former TaylorMade Golf CEO was hired as a “strategic advisor” fo r Honma Golf. T he Japan- based golf equipment company wanted a bigger presence in the equipment industry. King has since moved on to the top spot at Taco Bell, but he left his imprint on their view of the equipment business. The most obvious marketing move by Honma was the signing of Olympic Gold Medalist, then world number one, Justin Rose to an endorsement contract in January. Rose had been endorsed by TaylorMade, King’s ex-employer, for over 20 years. Honma has been making a big splash in the golf club business and their newest game-improvement club family is the XP-1. The new clubs have some interesting features and retail in the upper end of the golf equipment pricing spectrum. TheXP-1driver has a double slot in the sole to allow THE FACE TO ÛEX OVER WIDER AREA WHICH OF COURSE is helpful when impact is not exactly dead center. Acknowledging that 80 percent of recreational players slice the ball, additional weighting has a built-in draw bias to assist squaring the club for straighter shots. The super-light ribbed crown, one of the thinnest in the industry, means the center of gravity is lower in the head, closer to the sole, promoting a higher launch angle, plus additional forgiveness. The XP-1 driver has an innovative through-the- head design that does not require the shaft to be rotated when dialing in a loft and lie setting. This is especially important since for best results the high response Vizard shaft is spine-aligned in the factory and when adjustments are made that alignment is retained. The XP-1 FairwayWoods and Hybrids have a clean look similar to the driver and the 3-wood uses the LIGHTWEIGHT CARBON ÚBER CROWN CONSTRUCTION "OTH Honma’s Newest Game Improvement Clubs-XP-1 By ED TRAVIS Ohio Golf Journal NEOH Golf News