50 Words or Less
The Honma BERES Black driver is a strong performer with noteworthy consistency. Designed for moderate swing speeds. The premium price tag is commensurate with the high end materials and luxury status.
Introduction
Over the past several years, Honma has done a wonderful job expanding its presence in the U.S. market. That’s not to say that the average golfer has ever hit a Honma club, but they wouldn’t be shocked to see one in someone’s bag on the first tee. In fact, if you spot one and want to hit it, try this line: “Wow, Honma has been crafting premium clubs for over six decades and I’ve never hit one – do you mind?”
Now, if that club is the new Honma BERES Black driver, be prepared for the Heisman stiff arm. The clubs in Honma’s BERES family are the ones that would be displayed on the shelf above the top shelf. I picture the following statement from the Honma website as a plaque identifying the clubs at the royal palace:
BERES is simply the world’s most premium golf club line. Golfers lucky enough to play it appreciate the impeccable detail and craftsmanship; and treasure the prestige and status that comes with having BERES in their bag.
As you can imagine, the BERES Black driver’s price tag befits this depiction. But before we address that, let’s take a close look at the driver itself.
Looks
To start things off, the BERES Black driver headcover deserves a tip of the cap. I love the look of the contrasting materials Honma utilized in both the body and the trim. The slick, matte finished and pebbled panels combine for a distinctive high end look. The execution of the black and the gold stitching is flawless. There’s a wonderful suppleness to the cover and the plushness of the interior is heavenly.
In the address position, the BERES Black driver presents itself with a simple, sleek silhouette albeit slightly closed. The black crown has a gloss finish, yet the reflectiveness is somehow restrained. A gold arrowhead denotes the prime strike location – a helpful reference to for the toe centric shape.
The face of the BERES Black driver is mesmerizing. The fine milled lines radiating from the mole-in-the-hole logo are not only visually impressive, but also capture dimple impressions for tracking strike location.
Gold accents provide interest to the fairly simple sole. There are slots and geometric elements to the sole, but in comparison to most drivers, the BERES Black design is restrained. If you are looking for a flashy driver, check out the graphics on the BERES Aizu or the bejeweled 3-Star and 4-Star drivers.
Sound & Feel
The counterbalanced shaft, designed and manufactured in-house by Honma, had a wonderfully fluid feel. The clubhead felt like it was gliding effortlessly on a track whether with a slow practice swing or when leaving nothing in reserve. The head itself was immensely stable, even when my contact waivered from center. The Black is clearly built for forgiveness.
Powerful and pure sounding, the BERES Black driver produced a midtone, metallic ‘crack’ with a hint of resonance. My mind harkened back to a minor league ballpark with all the fielders hunched over waiting for the pitch and that ‘crack’ off the aluminum bat that made all the players stand up knowing that the ball was “yard” instantly from the sound. The beautiful thing about the BERES Black driver is that you get that sound with every reasonable strike.
Performance
After a few windy range sessions with the Honma BERES Black driver, I was anxious to see performance data in the controlled environment of Club Champion. I had been impressed with the high ball flight and solid carry distances I observed outside, but as any golfer will tell you – especially when explaining why their shot didn’t deliver the intended results – blustery winds can play havoc.
As I scanned the data, every field looked great. Smash factor, good. Spin rate, desirable. And the accolades kept flowing. The only parameter that was sub-optimal, but still very acceptable, was the landing angle, which was a degree or two high. Not reflected in the table above is the amazing consistency. All this was more impressive given that I had no warm up and hadn’t hit balls in two weeks.
Honma gives performance credit to four design features: the Triple Slot Sole, the Radial L-Cup Face, the Ti811 Thin Crown and the ARMRQ shaft. From my observations, there’s clearly a synergistic effect from the four of them working harmoniously together.
The Triple Slot is self-evident in the sole just behind the face. Not observable is that during contact the segments flex and return to shape “instantly,” boosting ball speed.
The Radial L-Cup Face is one amazing piece of metal, devoid of welding, that offers an expansive sweet spot. If you are intrigued by the radial design on the face, you should definitely take a look at the cool design on the back side revealed on the information sheet available on the Honma product page.
That same info sheet has a wonderful graphic that depicts the multiple segments that make up the titanium crown. And in true BERES fashion, Honma utilized titanium alloy 811, which has the highest modulus and lowest density of all titanium alloys. By shaving weight in the crown, Honma designers were able to optimize the COG of the head and promote high launch, low spin and a slight draw bias.
As I noted earlier, Honma designs and manufactures their shafts in-house. Honma is widely respected for their meticulous attention to shaft designs and use of advanced materials. For BERES shafts, only their most seasoned Takumi (expert craftsman) are trusted with the hand-rolled construction. The ARMRQ shaft utilizes a new 10 axis hybrid composite consisting of 4 axis of aluminum and 6 axis of carbon. The counterbalanced design allows for faster club head speed and consistent performance.
Conclusion
Initially, and unfairly, skeptical based on the high price, I must say I was impressed with the Honma BERES Black driver. The fairway finding repeatability is something all golfers desire. And the feel and flow of the BERES Black driver is perfect for those of us with non-tour swing speeds. But the $1,149 price tag is hard to justify analytically. Granted, with shaft upgrades, 2022 drivers from many brands can push $800, but that’s still a significant cost leap. I’d categorize the Honma BERES Black driver as a luxury item – a premium product whose desirability is enhanced by its premium pricing.
Visit Honma HERE
Honma BERES Black Driver Price & Specs
Matt Meeker
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Pretty pricey! But otherwise, nice looking driver.
I picked up a TR20 w/ FP-7 shaft and it immediately kicked my G400 max driver out of the bag. This driver is long and accurate as hell. And the cost I see online for them now is an utter steal for the quality
The only way I would like to try this driver and see how good it really is compared to the other drivers and show guys at my golf club seeing they would like to purchase anew driver
You could get a nice set of irons for that price. Seen one of the golden ones for about $4500 apiece, ridiculous. I reshafted my F9, which I bought “old “, but never used for $250. Put an Evenflow Riptide CB 50 gram shaft on it for less than $100 bringing my total to about $350ish. Lots of cash left over for other clubs.
Will fit in with most amateur golfers who’s quality of equipment far exceeds their game
Ha! 100% … still though, there is a reason for that – buying something is infinitely easier than getting better at this crazy game
I use a Big Bertha Warbird. 10.5 from 1997. I still rock it 280 plus yards and straight as an arrow. This is a gimmick for old men who can’t swing anymore
Not everyone is as superior as you John. What you think of as a gimmick may be the secret for some folks to continue enjoying golf.
– Meeks
Gorgeous looking Driver. Nice review. I’m intrigued by their shafts. I’ve heard nothing but positives about the Armrq shafts. I’ve bid on several Honma clubs on Ebay, but haven’t won any of the auctions yet. They seem quite affordable on the used market. Thanks for another excellent review!
Thanks !
“Old men that can’t swing anymore”…. Great honest review Meeks, you are always fair and spot on. We all can’t “rock it 280 yds and straight as an arrow”. And then again not everyone can afford the finer things in life.
Just imagine what John Claydon could accomplish with a driver that wasn’t 25 years old! He might be smashing drives 480 yards long, that make arrows look crooked! Just imagine all the triple eagle holes in one he’d get on par 5’s!!! 🙄
Nah, that wouldn’t be fun, right? Instead he intentionally handicaps himself by playing old tech, and he always plays from the black tees, because otherwise it wouldn’t be fair to the rest of us ‘old men’ lol. Why use a club that enhances your game, when he can play with his prized 1997 Callaway driver, and 3 putt every hole with a ‘bullseye’ putter that was ‘borrowed’ from a mini-golf facility in 1979, right?
While JC doesn’t need these advances in technology, bc he’s the god of golf, the rest of us can benefit from his refusal to evolve by posting better scores at the end of the round, and by taking his money on every hole. Just think about it. A couple of rounds a week, and dear John will pay for your brand new $1200 driver over the course of a single summer, simply bc he’s too proud to admit that his clubs aren’t as good as much newer ones. He probably doesn’t believe in anti-lock braking systems, air bags, or smart phones either. No, he’s probably proudly ‘rocking’ a Motorola Star-tac from 1995 too, driving a 1983 Camaro, and connects to the internet on his Pentium 3 computer using a 56k dial-up internet modem, while watching re-runs of Baywatch in a stunning 480i on his 27” tube TV & 4 head VCR. Anything else just wouldn’t be fair to us mere mortals. Sadly, JC still probably wears tube socks too, and is awaiting the next ‘world tour’ from Journey. I hope he isn’t holding his breath, bc if he is, he might only hit his 1997 Callaway warbird driver 275 yards next time, especially if his balls are as old as his driver. Insert joke about JC’s old balls here.
I have to admit that I’m grateful for upgrades in technology, or I wouldn’t be able to compete against the JC’s of the world. Sure, my short game is a lot better, but if it weren’t for these better drivers, I’d be ridiculed on every tee shot. Because of these better drivers though, not only can I keep up with players like him, but my scorecard has a much lower number at the end of the day.
My most sincere thanks go out to golf companies who continue to innovate, and make golf a more enjoyable experience for everyone who isn’t JC.
Snowpuppy – you deserve a prize for the longest comment. Wow, just wow.
– Meeks
Awesome Snow puppy 🤣🤣