Honma TR21 X Iron

Joel Tadman gives his verdict on the Honma TR21 X iron

Honma TR21 X Iron Review
Golf Monthly Verdict

If you’re after a distance iron with a traditional, elegant look and a soft feel then the Honma TR21 X iron is certainly one to try if you're will to pay a premium price for the privilege.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Offers bags of distance in an iron that looks like a blade and feels a bit like one too.

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Fairly pricey. Some may want a more powerful feel.

Why you can trust Golf Monthly Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

In this Honma TR21 X iron review, Joel Tadman tests out this hollow-headed game improvement iron to assess how it plays out on the golf course

Honma TR21 X Iron Review

The Honma TR21 X is a hollow-headed distance iron that looks like a blade but is in fact aimed at the mid handicapper.

Much like the impressive XP-1 iron, which we would say is comfortably one of the best distance irons on the market, the TR21 X provides a healthy amount of firepower in a relatively sleek, compact package.

honma-tr21-x-iron-address-web

At address, this more traditional profile and size with a mid-to-thin topline certainly suited our eye and while that wasn’t as much the case with the significant offset, we know this feature is there to help the target audience produce straighter iron shots.

The heads of the longer irons (4-7) are filled with a foam material and as a result have a very different feel to most other game-improvement irons.

honma tr21 x iron hero web

The sound off the face is very quiet and understated to the point where it was actually difficult to tell the difference between centred hits and slight mishits. You could class this as a good thing - the performance certainly seemed to be very uniform - although some golfers may want more feedback on the strike.

The 7-iron has a loft of 30°, so not super strong, and the average carry we achieved of 177 yards was the least we would expect from an iron specced this way.

honma-tr21-x-iron-testing-web

A pleasing combination of very high launch and low spin provided the carry distance, but not to the detriment of stopping power. A descent angle of 47.5° would suggest these are very playable irons, even for the slower swing speed player, producing a strong flight without the ball getting away from you when it lands.

Forgiveness is undoubtedly one of this irons strengths - the head generally felt very stable - you’d have to put an especially bad swing on the ball to miss the green short.

Joel Tadman
Technical Editor

Joel has worked in the golf industry for over 12 years covering both instruction and more recently equipment. He now oversees all product content here at Golf Monthly, managing a team of talented and passionate writers and presenters in delivering the most thorough and accurate reviews, buying advice, comparisons and deals to help the reader find exactly what they are looking for. So whether it's the latest driver, irons, putter or laser rangefinder, Joel has his finger on the pulse keeping up to date with the latest releases in golf. He is also responsible for all content on irons and golf tech, including distance measuring devices and launch monitors.


One of his career highlights came when covering the 2012 Masters he got to play the sacred Augusta National course on the Monday after the tournament concluded, shooting a respectable 86 with just one par and four birdies. To date, his best ever round of golf is a 5-under 67 back in 2011. He currently plays his golf at Burghley Park Golf Club in Stamford, Lincs, with a handicap index of 3.2.


Joel's current What's In The Bag? 

Driver: Titleist TSR3, 9° 

Fairway wood: Titleist TSR3, 15° 

Hybrid: Titleist TSi2, 18° 

Irons: Ping i230 4-UW

Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8, 54°. Titleist Vokey SM9 60° lob wedge, K Grind

Putter: Evnroll ER2V 

Ball: 2023 Titleist Pro V1x