Honma 24K Gold Coin iron set, 4-Star, nine clubs

The Atlas of Japanese Golf: Makers, Methods and Why the World Collects Them

Japan is golf equipment’s other great workshop. Its forges shape irons that golfers on every continent describe in the language of wine and silk; its tyre and fishing-tackle companies built entire ranges around swing speed; its shaft makers fit the clubs of champions; and its domestic market keeps back models that the rest of the world must hunt for. This atlas follows those threads in twelve parts, and a second set of nine guides follows the clubs onto the course. It is written for players deciding what to buy, collectors deciding what to keep, and anyone who has held a Japanese iron and wondered why it feels the way it does. Every date and figure was checked against a named page, and where accounts differ the text says so.

The chapters

Playing golf in Japan

The chapters above explain who makes the clubs. A second set of nine guides explains how to carry them onto a Japanese course: who may play, how to book, what it costs, how to behave, where to go, when to go, and what to do after the last putt.

Twelve things worth knowing

  • Japan has half of the golf courses in Asia, and about 90 per cent of them are private.
  • Many of its best-known makers began in other trades: tyres, fishing rods, badminton rackets, carbon fibre, steel parts.
  • Mizuno irons are mostly forged at an independent forge, Chuo, and hand-finished at Yōrō.
  • Miura irons are forged in two pieces, with a spin-welded hosel, in Himeji.
  • The Epon brand belongs to Endo Manufacturing of Tsubame, which forges heads for other makers.
  • Honma grades its clubs by stars, and its history page dates the company to 1959.
  • XXIO has been marketed as the best-selling range in Japan since 2000, by the maker’s own account.
  • PRGR began in 1983 with a theory that the whole club should be designed to raise head speed.
  • Hideki Matsuyama won the 2021 Masters with a bag that was part Srixon group, part Graphite Design and part American.
  • From 1 January 2008, drivers under the Rules of Golf must not exceed a characteristic time of 239 microseconds, plus a tolerance.
  • In 2015 the Japanese trade body said it would support the sale of non-conforming equipment.
  • “Made in Japan” is a range, not a promise: read the stamp, and the maker’s own account.

A timeline

  • 1906. Mizuno is founded in Osaka by Rihachi and Rizo Mizuno.
  • 1917. The Yokohama Rubber Company is founded, on 13 October.
  • 1931 and 1935. Bridgestone’s parent produces Japan’s first rubber tyres in 1931 and a first golf ball for Japan in 1935.
  • 1933. Mizuno introduces the Star Line, by its own account the first Japanese-made golf clubs.
  • 1946. Yonex is founded by Minoru Yoneyama, as a maker of wooden floats for fishing nets.
  • 1950. Endo Manufacturing begins in Tsubame, Niigata.
  • 1958 and 1959. Honma’s origins: a driving range in 1958 in one account, a workshop in 1959 in the company’s own.
  • 1968. The Chuo forge begins forging Mizuno designs.
  • 1974 and 1979. Mitsubishi sets up a carbon-fibre division in 1974 and makes its first carbon golf shafts in 1979.
  • 1977. Epon is created within Endo, and Miura Manufacturing Co is founded in February.
  • 1981. Honma moves production to Sakata, and Fourteen begins as a design firm.
  • 1982 and 1983. Yonex enters golf; the Carbon Iron follows. PRGR launches in 1983 with Head Speed Theory.
  • 1989. The bubble economy collapses, and many courses cannot repay members’ deposits.
  • 1996 and 2000. Srixon golf is launched in 1996, and XXIO in Japan in 2000.
  • 2004. Mitsubishi wins for the first time with its own shaft, at the European Open.
  • 2005. Honma introduces the Beres series and, in the same year, files for bankruptcy, according to a trade profile.
  • 2007 and 2008. SRI Sports acquires Cleveland Golf in October 2007; the R&A driver limit takes effect on 1 January 2008.
  • 2009. Liu Jianguo buys Honma, and Daiwa Seiko becomes Globeride on 1 October.
  • 2015. The Japan Golf Goods Association says it will support non-conforming equipment, on 3 February.
  • 2016. Honma is listed on the Hong Kong exchange.
  • 2019. Fujikura launches the Ventus.
  • 2021. Hideki Matsuyama wins the Masters.
  • 2025. Katsuhiro Miura dies, in May.

Frequently asked questions

Which are the best Japanese golf brands?
It depends on the question. For forged feel, Mizuno, Miura and Epon; for finish and status, Honma and Majesty; for ease and distance, XXIO and PRGR; for tour pedigree, Srixon, Cleveland and Bridgestone. The comparison chapter sets them side by side.

Are Japanese golf clubs made in Japan?
Most are, but not all of every line. A 2017 profile found that part of Honma’s Tour World line is forged and assembled in China, and a reviewer expected Fourteen’s cast clubs to be made in China or Taiwan. Read the stamp.

Are Japanese clubs legal for tournaments?
Most are fully conforming. A few Japan-only designs, such as PRGR’s Egg range, are not. See the rule-book chapter.

Why are Japanese shafts lighter?
Several Japanese makers design for moderate swing speeds, and light shafts suit that brief. Japan also has carbon-fibre producers of long standing, Mitsubishi among them, whose carbon-fibre division dates to 1974. The buying guide explains how flex labels compare.

Which Japanese golf club is right for me?
There is a best fit rather than a best club. The decision matrix and comparison chart asks seven questions in order and narrows the makers to the houses that match your answers.

Can a visitor play golf in Japan?
Yes, though access varies: most of the celebrated names are private. The visitor’s field guide sets out the shape of the day, the booking chapter the routes in, and the cost chapter the fees reported.

Where can I read about a particular maker?
Each maker has its own chapter above, and the Directory of Japanese Golf Brands is the one-page index.

How this atlas was written

Founding years and figures were taken from the makers’ own histories where they exist, from named trade publications where they do not, and from the rule makers’ documents for the rules. Promotional and partner content is identified as such. Prices quoted are dated. Where two accounts disagree, both are given. The atlas will grow as new facts are confirmed, and we welcome corrections.

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