Honma Golf. While the golf manufacturer from Japan isn’t widely known in North America that’s something that’s about to change. On New Year’s Day, Honma Golf announced the signing of current World Number Two golfer Justin Rose to a multi-year agreement.
The announcement puts an end to the rumors that Rose was leaving his former club manufacturer in favor of Honma Golf. These rumors have been churning since the fall as his previous contract was expiring (some time around the Turkish Airlines Open). The contract involves a 10-club agreement consisting of Driver, Irons and Wedges. Rose can round out the rest of his golf bag with whatever he sees fit. The same goes for his golf ball.
Honma Golf also happens to have current Women’s World Number Three golfer SoYeon Ryu and former World Number One golfer Shan-Shan Feng in their stable.
Honma Golf has three distinct product ranges available for golfers with three different price ranges. First they have the premium Beres range, covering the middle ground of the market is their Tour World line-up (these are the clubs that Justin Rose will be playing) and last but not least the BeZeal line. All of their equipment is of the highest quality. I visited their booth at the 2018 PGA Merchandise Show (Demo Day) and I was very impressed by my experience. I always figured Honma Golf to be pretentious however I couldn’t have been more wrong about that. As a matter of fact, their booth was probably the most laid back that I visited.
Photo Credit: Honma Golf
Honma Golf is about a lot more than just golf clubs. They also feature everything from apparel to golf shoes and several models of golf balls.
Thanks go out to Preston Toulon from Honma Golf USA for sharing the press release below outlining the details of the Justin Rose signing.
(January 1, 2019 – Hong Kong) Honma Golf Limited (“HONMA”, stock code: 6858.HK), one of the most prestigious and iconic brand in the golf industry, is pleased to announce that HONMA and Justin Rose, 2018 FedEx Cup Champion, have agreed to a multi-year partnership in which Justin Rose would lead HONMA’s worldwide tour presence. The Board sees this as an important milestone in HONMA’s efforts in global professional golf. Founded in 1959 in Japan, HONMA is one of the most prestigious and iconic brand in the golf industry, synonymous with intricate craftsmanship, dedication to performance excellence and distinguished product quality. According to a recent Nielsen research, HONMA ranks as the world’s number one premium golf brand in terms of sales.
Photo Credit: Honma Golf
Justin Rose, aged 38, is an English professional golfer and the Rio 2016 Olympics Gold medalist. Justin is coming off the strongest year of his professional career in which he captured the coveted FedEx Cup and helped Europe to a dominating Ryder Cup victory in France. He ascended to number one in the Official World Golf Rankings multiple times and is currently positioned as the second-ranked golfer in the world. “I’m extremely excited to be joining HONMA.” said Justin, “Coming off one of my best years professionally, I wanted to make it a point to get better. I believe HONMA equipment and the legendary HONMA craftsmanship can help make me better.” Mr. Liu Jian Guo, Chairman of HONMA Golf, commented, “when we thought about the ideal golfer that aligns with our company values, everything pointed to Justin Rose. Justin is a world-class player, and beyond that, a gentleman and family man. We are ecstatic to have him on the HONMA team. Besides, we strongly believe that with Justin’s local and international influence in the sport and his media coverage and social media following, the partnership will create an immediate and positive uplift of HONMA’s brand image and product awareness in mature markets such as North America and Europe which will in turn accelerate the implementation of HONMA’s growth strategies in these markets.”
About Honma Golf Limited
HONMA is one of the most prestigious and iconic brands in the golf industry, synonymous with intricate craftsmanship, dedication to performance excellence and distinguished product quality. HONMA Golf was successfully listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on 6 October 2016 (Stock Code: 6858.HK). The Company predominantly designs, develops, manufactures and sells a comprehensive range of aesthetically-crafted and performance-driven golf clubs, under 3 major product categories for clubs, namely BERES, TOUR WORLD and BeZeal, each targeting specific consumer segments. HONMA Golf also offers customers a complete golf lifestyle experience through an extensive portfolio of golf balls, apparel, accessories and other related products. According to Frost & Sullivan, HONMA ranked among the top ten golf product brands in the world and was the number one brand for premium golf clubs, in each case in terms of retail sales in 2015. It was also the fastest growing brand within the top 10 golf products brands as measured by year-on-year retail sales growth from 2014 to 2015. HONMA Golf’s products are sold in approximately 50 countries worldwide, primarily in Asia and also across North America, Europe and other regions.