Buying Golf Equipment from Japan: A Guide for Beginners and Advanced Players

Japan is the most devoted golf market outside the United States, and a remarkably deep one. Clubs are looked after, traded and replaced often, so the secondhand market is full of well-kept equipment, much of it made only for Japanese players. This guide explains how that market is arranged, what a new golfer should buy first, and what experienced players and collectors look for. Browse the pieces themselves in Japanese Golf, and read the makers' stories in The Atlas of Japanese Golf.

How the Japanese market is arranged

Japanese golfers shop by category first and maker second. Our rooms follow the same order.

• Clubs, divided by the player: men's right-handed, men's left-handed, women's right-handed and women's left-handed. Within each, clubs are sorted by type: drivers, fairway woods, utilities, irons, wedges, putters and complete sets.
• Wear for men and for women: jackets, shirts, trousers, inner layers, gloves and caps. See Golf Apparel.
• Shoes for men and for women, many with Boa dial lacing. See Golf Shoes.
• Equipment: caddy bags, Boston bags, shoe cases, club cases, head covers and balls. See Golf Bags.
• Practice aids for putting and for the full swing.
• Accessories: GPS units, laser rangefinders (called scopes in Japan), green forks, pouches, score counters and name plates. See Golf Accessories.

One number tells you a great deal: left-handed clubs are only around two per cent of the clubs offered secondhand in Japan, and left-handed women's clubs are rarer still. If you play left-handed, a good set is worth securing when it appears.

For beginners: building a first set

Start with a complete set or a half set

The rules allow fourteen clubs, but a new golfer needs far fewer. A complete set from one maker, with driver, a fairway wood or two, irons, a sand wedge, a putter and often a bag, is the simplest and most economical start. A half set of a driver, a five- or seven-wood, a utility, irons from seven to pitching wedge, a sand wedge and a putter covers almost every shot.

Choose the right flex

The flex of the shaft matters more than the name on the head. Japanese flexes run, from softest to stiffest, L (ladies), A or SR in some ranges, R, SR, S and X. A Japanese R is often lighter and softer than an R from the same maker abroad, which suits many players perfectly. As a rough guide by driver head speed:

If you do not know your speed, a soft flex is the safer mistake: too stiff a shaft costs height and distance.

Check hand, length and lie

• Hand. Confirm right- or left-handed before anything else.
• Length. Japanese clubs are made for Japanese players of average height. Players over about 185 cm (6 ft 1 in) may want longer clubs; a club fitter can extend them.
• Women's clubs are lighter and shorter, usually in L flex, and many come as full sets with a matching bag.

Read the condition

• Faces and grooves. Range use polishes the centre of an iron face. Light wear is normal; worn grooves reduce spin on wedges.
• Soles. Scratches on soles are cosmetic.
• Woods. Look for sky marks on the crown and dents on the face.
• Grips. Old grips harden and are cheap to replace; budget for new ones on an older set.
• Shafts. Check for bends, cracks near the hosel and loose ferrules.

Every piece we offer is graded on the Japanese scale, explained in Japanese Condition Ranks Explained.

What a beginner can leave for later

Muscle-back blade irons, X-flex shafts and very low-lofted drivers reward a repeating swing and punish everything else. Keep them for later; they will still be there.

For advanced players: specification, forging and the Japanese market

Japan-only models

Many makers build domestic versions of their clubs with different heads, lofts, weights and shafts. Japanese-market drivers often come with shafts from Fujikura, Graphite Design, Mitsubishi Chemical or Nippon Shaft, and many Japan-only models from makers such as Bridgestone, PRGR, Yamaha, Maruman's Majesty and Dunlop's XXIO rarely reach shops abroad. Japanese labels and stickers, and flexes marked R, SR and S, identify them.

Forged irons and the forging towns

Japan's reputation for irons rests on a few forging centres. Miura in Himeji, Epon, from Endo Manufacturing in Tsubame, Niigata, and Mizuno, whose irons are forged at the independent Chuo forge and hand-finished at Yōrō, Gifu, are admired for soft feel and precise shaping, and Fourteen is known for wedges. Forged heads can be bent a few degrees for loft and lie, which is why fitters favour them. Japanese Golf Brands Compared sets the makers side by side and defines the terms.

The specification to ask for

• Loft and lie for each club, and whether they have been altered.
• Shaft: maker, model, weight, flex and kick point.
• Length, swing weight and total weight; Japanese swing weights are often given as C9 to D2.
• Grip: model, size and age.
• Wedge bounce and grind, and groove condition.

Rules: high-rebound drivers

Some drivers made for the Japanese market are deliberately built to exceed the springiness limit of the rules, to help slower swings. They are sold as high-rebound drivers and are labelled as such. They are legal for casual play but not in competitions played under the rules. If you play in competitions, confirm a driver is conforming before you buy. JDM Golf Clubs and the Rule Book sets out the measure and what non-conforming means.

Collector clubs

• Honma Beres sets, graded by stars on the shaft, with 4- and 5-star grades using gold and platinum. See Honma Beres, Miura and the Star Grades.
• Honma and Mutsumi Honma are separate companies. Both make gold-trimmed clubs and the names are easily confused; check the maker on the head and shaft.
• Persimmon woods from the 1970s and 1980s, especially Honma, now collected for display.
• Japan-limited putters and milled editions, which keep their value best with their original head covers.
• Premium sets from Majesty, Katana and the forging houses, complete with covers and bag.

Wear and shoes

Japanese golf wear is playful and beautifully made. Pearly Gates and its sister lines, Jack Bunny, Munsingwear's Japanese range and the Japanese collections of the global sports brands are the names to know. Japanese sizes run small: a Japanese M is often closer to an American S, so always compare the measurements we give. Shoes are sized in centimetres; our shoe size table converts them.

Bags and equipment

• Caddy bags are measured by the diameter of the top, from about 8.5 inches for a light bag to 10 inches for a tour-style one. Larger bags are heavier.
• Boston bags carry shoes and a change of clothes to the club, a Japanese habit, and often match the caddy bag.
• Head covers are collected in their own right, from brand originals to character and luxury collaborations.

Accessories

• GPS units made for Japan come loaded with Japanese courses and may not have maps for courses abroad. Check before buying.
• Laser rangefinders work anywhere. Some include slope measurement, which is not allowed in competitions unless switched off.
• Green forks, ball markers, pouches and name plates are small and easy to ship, and make good gifts.
• Items containing lithium batteries travel under carrier rules, so we confirm the route before dispatch.

Shipping and import

Most golf equipment ships by express mail from Japan, which accepts parcels up to 1.5 m long and 30 kg, with a limit of 3 m for length plus circumference (2.75 m to the United States). That covers individual clubs, iron sets and most full caddy bags. Each head is wrapped and the set packed in a rigid carton; a complete bag is boxed whole. Import duties and taxes depend on your country, and are explained in Import Duties on Luxury Goods from Japan.

Questions golfers ask

Will Japanese clubs suit me?

Usually, if the flex and length are right. Japanese-market clubs tend to be lighter, which suits many players and can be adjusted for others by a fitter. Why the World Buys Japanese Golf Clubs sets out the case for and against.

Are premium Japanese clubs counterfeited?

Yes, especially Honma and limited putters. Buy examined pieces from a house that stands behind them. Every piece we offer carries our authenticity guarantee.

Can you find a specific set, flex or a left-handed club?

Yes. Our Hunting Salon™ searches for particular models, grades and specifications, and the curator desk replies within one to three business days.

Continue browsing

• Japanese Golf: every club, bag and accessory we hold.
• Honma, Majesty, Yamaha and Katana.
• Mizuno, Miura, Epon, Fourteen, Onoff, PRGR, Yonex and Bridgestone.
• The Atlas of Japanese Golf: twelve chapters on the makers, shafts and rules.
• Which Japanese Golf Club Is Right for You: A Decision Matrix: a decision matrix and a comparison chart of the makers.
• How to Play Golf in Japan: A Visitor's Field Guide: a visitor’s guide from booking to the bath.
• Directory of Japanese Golf Brands.
• Honma Beres, Miura and the Star Grades.

Index terms: japanese golf clubs · jdm golf clubs · buy golf clubs from japan · used golf clubs japan · japanese golf shaft flex · japanese r flex vs us r · honma beres · mutsumi honma · miura irons · epon irons · mizuno forged irons · japan limited putter · high rebound driver · japanese golf apparel · pearly gates · jack bunny · japanese caddy bag · left handed golf clubs japan · golf club shipping from japan · japanese golf atlas · how to play golf in japan · which japanese golf club is right for me