Honma Beres 2-Star Irons Review – What Handicap Are They for? Are They Forgiving?

“The Honma star system is pretty simple.”

The higher the amount of stars, the higher the quality and performance of the iron. The Honma Beres 2-Star is the entry-level iron set.

Honma Beres 2-Star Irons Overview

“The first thing that golfers should know about the Honma Beres 2-Star irons is that they come stock with counterbalanced shafts.”

Honma is known for making all of their own shafts and producing them in tandem with their clubs. That means that the counterbalanced shaft that comes stock with these irons was made specifically for these irons.

The Honma Beres 2-Star irons are considered entry-level irons…for Honma. But even at the entry-level, these are still exquisitely crafted, high performance irons. They sport forged 8620 soft carbon steel bodies and a unique interior and exterior sole slot design.

The forged construction gives these irons an incredibly soft feel while the sole slots allow for flexion across almost the entirety of the face. Without knowing too much about the Honma Beres 2-Star irons when I first got them, I wasn’t sure what category they would fall into.

But after taking a look at the progressive cavity design (the cavities get shallower as you work towards the short irons) and the modestly wide soles, I was able to safely place them in the game improvement category.

Are the Honma Beres 2-Star Irons Forgiving?

“The Honma Beres 2-Star irons proved to generate really good ball speed in almost all sectors of the face.”

As soon as I took my first swing, I could feel that the CG of these irons was nice and low. I also learned that the Honma Beres 2-Star irons feature an L-Cup face design that helps flexion on low-face shots.

The internal and external sole slots also cover mis-hits near the toe. When I mis-hit with these irons, I didn’t feel like I was missing big. That’s because the flight stayed incredibly stable and ball speeds were only meagerly affected.

In fact, there was only a 3 MPH difference between ball speeds on dead-center strikes and mis-hits near the toe or the heel. The moderate sole width counteracts the strong lofts of these irons as well.

These aren’t massive super game improvement irons by any means. But as long as you make contact with the hitting zone you can expect good accuracy and excellent ball speed.

Overall, I would say that the Honma Beres 2-Star irons are forgiving even as they play above their game improvement categorization.

Are the Honma Beres 2-Star Irons Good for Beginners & High Handicappers?

“One thing I really liked about these irons for high handicappers is that the shaft is remarkably light but still offers great stability.”

Would the Honma Beres 2-Star irons be ideal for beginners? I think that would be feasible but also a bit of a stretch even though they are loaded with forgiveness features. The heads are just a little too compact and they look more like blades at address.

Would the Honma Beres 2-Star irons be good for high handicappers seeking to increase ball speed? Absolutely. I have never swung a counterbalanced shaft that was this light in all my testing career. The weight to torque ratio of the stock shafts is nothing short of remarkable.

So not only do you get excellent control over the club head; you also get a golden opportunity to increase your swing speed. So this counteracts the challenge of the smaller heads for high handicappers – of only just a bit.

Like I said in the previous section, as long as you are moderately accurate with your swing, the Honma Beres 2-Star irons will take care of the rest. The counterbalanced, lightweight shaft will go a long way towards helping achieve that “moderate accuracy.”

Should you Buy the Honma Beres 2-Star’s or the Honma Beres 3-Star’s?

“I think the main differences between the 2 and 3 star irons are feel and shaft quality.”

The 3-star irons aren’t counterbalanced and are made with more advanced materials. They are easier to bend and adjust as a result. The Honma Beres 3-Star irons also had a softer feel across the board.

However, the 3-Star irons are certainly more expensive. So if you have the money to spend and really want that boost in feel and shaft quality, the Honma Beres 3-Star irons may be more worth it.

Why Are They So Expensive?

First of all, Beres irons are handmade.

Secondly, they are made of premium materials – the 4 and 5-star versions for instance  are made with 24-karat gold. Beres irons are also designed and produced in conjunction with their stock shafts which is an incredibly painstaking process that takes a lot of manhours.