Some brands elevate making irons to an art-form. Miura Golf, Honma Golf and Epon are niche brands producing some of the most exquisitely designed and expertly forged – and expensive – irons in the world. Let’s take a look.
Miura Golf
Miura golf clubs are designed and manufactured at the Miura factory and forge in Himeji, Japan, an area renowned for the ancient Japanese art of samurai sword making. Miura was founded in 1977, but the family-owned company’s founder, Katsuhiro Miura, first began hand-crafting and grinding irons in 1957. The Japanese media claims he has the ‘Hands of God’. To this day, Katsuhiro continues to work in the factory with his sons, Shinei and Yoshitaka, who proudly carry on the Miura legacy.
Each club is individually handcrafted and will never be mass-produced, as generations of steel-making skill and passion bring us arguably the world’s finest golf clubs. Each club is individually made using Miura’s patented forging process.
To create the perfect iron, Katsuhiro recognized it was necessary to set a brand new standard of design. So he implemented distinct principles that after 40 years still lead the design process today. The patented process of forging, grinding and polishing are to incredibly exacting standards and innovation. Miura irons strive to achieve weight tolerances of +/- .5 g, a number that exceeds current industry standards. Their range of forged irons cost between $250-350 a club. Here are their latest sets of irons.
Honma Golf
Honma is a premium golf club manufacturer and lifestyle brand based in Sakata, Japan. Founded inside a small Yokohama workshop in 1959, their mission is to craft golf clubs as a form of artistic expression. They say they are operating as the only company that handles every step from design to final production in-house to create the highest-quality products on the market today.
They relentlessly pursue perfection in the design, development and engineering of premium golf clubs. 360 craftsmen work with research and development personnel to incorporate the art of making a golf club with the ergonomic and material sciences behind it.
They are famous for their gold-plated clubs which are among the most expensive clubs in the world, and the process of handcrafting each Honma club takes about a month. Irons can cost around €200 each, but can increase to over €1,000 each. Find out more about their latest sets of irons on All Square.
Epon
Established in 1977 as a subsidiary of Endo Manufacturing of Japan, a world leading forging house which has been forging irons for leading brands around the world since the 1960s, Epon prides itself on making high-quality forged irons for players of all skill levels.
Most notably when it comes to forging irons is their use of 3-D tooling which allows the manufacturer to produce a one-piece head, requiring less machining and minimal polishing. This one-piece forging process has been perfected through decades of manufacturing. Epon products are renowned for the buttery soft feel they provide at impact.
Epon offers a totally customized fitting experience (you can’t buy Epon off the shelf) for your irons. Their products are sold exclusively through a network of authorized dealers who have been carefully selected to represent the brand based on expertise and experience in custom club fitting. A set of Epon irons is going to set you back around €2,500. Here are their latest sets of irons.
After a ‘blind’ fitting session for a new iron set, Miura came out as the best. Combined with ArcSteel shafts, these clubs provide sheer golfing pleasure.
After a ‘blind’ fitting session for a new iron set, Miura came out as the best. Combined with ArcSteel shafts, these clubs provide sheer golfing pleasure.