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.