Having been fortunate enough to have recently tested the JCM-01 0-iron from Japanese artisan club builders Bose Iron Factory, I was extremely excited to hear that a full set of its Hayabusa irons were on the way to my house. Looking to sit alongside some of the best blade irons, the Hayabusa has some stiff competition in this category, so let’s see how they fared…
Starting with the technology story, master craftsman Falcon Matsubara has forged the Hayabusa iron from extremely soft SS400 steel, and the very unique indentation on the back of the head is designed to increase MOI by spreading weight to the perimeter, creating a cavity back-level of forgiveness in a blade package. Furthermore, the sole design has been specifically shaped to eliminate flyers and improve turf interaction with a very rounded leading edge.
From a visual perspective, I think these irons are staggering. In hand, the quality of the finish is nothing short of perfection. I might be in danger of overstating this, but to me, they are almost closer to individual pieces of sculptural art than golf clubs. The less is more approach to the engraving and paint fill is always welcomed by me, there is just something about leaving engravings unpainted that gives off a classy, premium vibe to my eye at least. I will say, however, that the indentation on the back won’t be to everyone's taste. For example, one of my fellow gear testers at Golf Monthly, Sam De’Ath wasn’t taken by this unusual shaping at all, but I felt that despite being very different, it added to the bespoke, intriguing personality of the iron, and the type of character shopping in the lesser known, crafty, artisan underworld of club manufacturing is likely to welcome this level of individuality.
Down behind the ball, I would defy any blade lover not to be smitten with the Hayabusa iron. Every single head profile is excellent, with a terrifyingly slim top line and barely a hint of offset, they are exactly as I would want them to be. They have a very straight leading edge and frame the ball beautifully.
Another very individual quirk of the Hayabusa irons is the lack of individual iron numbers on the clubs, instead Matsubara has opted to engrave the lofts on the sole. Again, as a feature of individuality, I love this touch, although I must say it takes a little getting used to remembering the correct loft of the club you intend to pull. At this stage I should tell you that I was sent a full set from 1-iron to pitching wedge, so looking into your bag and seeing a knife-like blade staring back at you with 14˚ engraved on the sole is a little intimidating!
In terms of the performance, I was suitably impressed with the Hayabusa irons. The careful shaping of the sole has really paid off, and despite being very narrow, they glide effortlessly through the turf which is a lovely sensation.
I was expecting a soft feel based on what I read, and they didn’t disappoint. A buttery yet deep impact feel greets well-struck shots, but make no mistake about it, you can certainly feel when your strike is less than perfect which I would both expect and hope for in any bladed iron. What I will say, however, is that despite the very apparent change in feel on misstruck shots, the performance in terms of distance didn’t suffer too badly, which I would imagine is a testament to the effectiveness of the indentation on the back in increasing MOI.
They were as workable as anyone could ever need and a practice session on crisp, links turf, manipulating ball flights high and low, left and right, was an absolute joy. As you will see from the images, the 1-iron (sorry 14˚) is a pretty intimidating prospect down behind the ball but was far more manageable than I’d anticipated. It produced some absolute bullet flights for me and I was seriously impressed with the distance output.
Testing golf equipment is always fun, and there are some fantastic products out there, but once in a while you come across something that offers just a little bit more, and that’s what I feel about the Hayabusa iron. Not only do you get a stunning, unique aesthetic, strong feel, and performance, but I felt a genuine sense of joy using these beautifully crafted tools. You can feel the craftsmanship and personality in every strike and I thoroughly enjoyed testing them. I could 100% happily game the Hayabusa iron, but my dilemma is that I am terrified of marking up and ruining something so perfect, which has left them in a bag next to my office desk for the last couple of weeks. While I wrestle with that problem, I would implore you to take a look at the Bose Iron Factory website for some of the most interesting products in the game.
