Irons – Page 9 – Syndication Server

Titleist T100•S irons

The new Titleist T100•S irons have the same classic look and feel, but offer better players more distance.

Gear: Titleist T100•S irons
Price: $137 per club with Project X LZ shafts
Specs: Stainless steel and tungsten heads
Available: March 27

Before the U.S. Open in June at Pebble Beach, Titleist made the T100 irons available to the game’s elite players for the first time. Designed to replace the AP2, the T100 was warmly received by pros who liked the compact blade length, thinner topline, cambered sole and touch of forgiveness the internal tungsten weights provided. Jordan Spieth, Cameron Smith and several other golfers soon switched into the T100, but some players were hoping to get a little more distance. For those players, Titleist just announced the release of the T100•S irons.

You can think of the S as standing for “strong,” because the main difference between the standard T100 and the Titleist T100•S is the lofts in the T100•S irons are 2 degrees stronger (or lower). For example, the T100’s 5-iron has 27 degrees of loft while the T100•S 5-iron has 25 degrees.

Titleist T100S irons — Internal tungsten weights in the heel and toe boost stability in the Titleist T100•S irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

If a player wanted more distance from the T100, couldn’t he or she take the clubs to a fitter and have the lofts strengthened? Yes, but shifting the faces downward and de-lofting them also changes the bounce angles, lowers the leading edges and changes the way the T100 irons work through turf. Most elite golfers liked those features, so golfers might would have had to choose between getting more distance and having the T100 irons play and feel better. With the release of T100•S, Titleist eliminated the need to alter the clubs.

Like the standard clubs, the T100•S irons are forged and feature a dual-cavity construction with internal tungsten weights in the heel and toe. The precise amount of tungsten varies by club, but the average amount is 66 grams, and it let Titleist design the T100•S with more stability and forgiveness than a compact club typically offers.

The T100•S also has progressive blade lengths, meaning the long irons are slightly larger than the mid-irons, which is turn are a touch bigger than the short irons. This helps to shift the center of gravity lower in the long irons, which players usually want to help hit the ball higher, while the center of gravity is higher in the short irons, which better players often like to flight the ball lower for enhanced control.

Callaway Mavrik, Mavrik Max, Mavrik Pro irons

Using a supercomputer to design each face, along with tungsten weights and urethane inserts, Callaway is delivering more distance and feel.

Gear: Callaway Mavrik, Mavrik Max, Mavrik Pro irons
Price: $799 (Standard, Max)/$899 (Pro) with True Temper Elevate or KBS Max steel shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet Soft grips; $899 (Standard, Max) with Project X Catalyst graphite shafts.
Specs: Cast stainless steel with cup face design, internal tungsten bar and urethane microspheres
Available: Feb. 6

A year ago Callaway released the Epic Flash driver family and touted that the faces in those clubs were designed by supercomputers that utilized artificial intelligence. Simulating how more than 15,000 prototypes would perform, the system revealed things to Callaway’s design team that would have taken years to develop.

For 2020, Callaway has used the same method to create a new iron family: the Mavrik, Mavrik Max and the Mavrik Pro.

Callaway instructed the computer to consider ball speed, launch angle and spin as it simulated prototype faces for the new irons. Not only did it come up with different face patterns for each of the three club types, it suggested unique faces for each club in all three sets too. Callaway said the suggested designs for the long irons produce more speed and distance while the short iron designs help golfers control spin and trajectory more effectively.

Each iron also has a unique tungsten weight that helps Callaway tune the center of gravity to benefit players most. Extra tungsten in the long irons helps produce higher shots, while smaller pieces of tungsten in the heads of the short irons help golfers keep approach shots down.

Tungsten is not easily welded to stainless steel, so Callaway encases each of the tungsten pieces in a urethane liquid infused with millions of tiny glass bubbles. After being injected into place, the urethane solidifies. The company refers to the material as Urethane Microspheres, and it not only holds the tungsten weight in place, it dampens vibrations and enhances feel at impact without decreasing ball speed.

All these technologies – the computer-designed cup face, tungsten weight and urethane material – work together to broaden the ideal hitting area and protect ball speed on mis-hits.

The standard Mavrik is the longest-hitting of the three new irons. It’s a game-improvement club that has a moderately thick topline and sole width with some offset. The lofts are stronger than those designed into many game-improvement irons (the 5-iron is 21 degrees and the pitching wedge is 41 degrees) because the tungsten weight helps get the ball up in the air. As a result, shots go farther and hit their apex farther downrange.

Callaway Mavrik Max iron (Callaway Golf)

The Mavrik Max is a super-game-improvement iron for higher-handicap golfers who struggle with consistency. The lofts are not as strong as the standard Mavrik’s (the 5-iron is 23 degrees and the pitching wedge is 43 degrees), but the heads are larger to make them more forgiving.

Callaway Mavrik Pro iron — Callaway Mavrik Pro (Callaway Golf)

The Mavrik Pro irons are the most compact of the three. They have the thinnest toplines and soles, and only moderate offset. The iron lofts are 0.5 degrees weaker than the Mavrik Max, but the pitching wedge and gap wedge lofts are the same as on the Max.

TaylorMade SIM Max, SIM Max OS irons

TaylorMade’s newest game-improvement irons feature a Speed Bridge, a new vibration-dampening system and a slot cut into the sole.

Gear: TaylorMade SIM Max, SIM Max OS irons
Price: $999.99 SIM Max (4-AW), with KBS Max 85 shafts and Lamkin Crossline 360 grips; $1,099.99 with Fujikura Ventus Blue graphite shafts; $899.99 SIM Max OS (4-AW) on steel, $999.99 on graphite
Specs: Cast 450 stainless steel and 431 stainless steel heads with polymer vibration dampener
Available: Feb. 7

The goal for every game-improvement and maximum game-improvement iron is to deliver more distance and forgiveness to players who tend to struggle with consistency. Golfers who rarely break 90 don’t think about controlling little draws and fades too much, but they do think about hitting the ball farther and getting it higher into the air.

Last season, TaylorMade’s M5 and M6 irons featured Speed Bridge technology, a bar designed into the back of the club to provide more distance and better feel. For 2020, TaylorMade is using that technology again as the foundation of the new SIM Max and SIM Max OS irons.

TaylorMade SIM Max irons — The Speed Bridge bar connects the bottom of the SIM Max iron to the topline. (TaylorMade)

The Speed Bridge bar connects the lower portion of the head to the topline, stiffening both of those areas, and that allowed TaylorMade’s engineers to make the face thinner (1.5 millimeters) and faster. It also allowed them to add a slot in the sole, which TaylorMade calls a Speed Pocket, and it goes all the way into the club in long and mid-irons (4-8). The company said the combination of a thinner face and the Speed Pocket allows the hitting area to flex more efficiently at impact, especially on low-struck shots, to give players more distance.

From a looks perspective, the SIM Max has the same blade length and offset as the M6, which it replaces, but a slightly thinner topline. However, to enhance the feel at impact, TaylorMade replaced the polymer block that was inside the M6 iron with a piece that runs the length of the blade. The company calls it an Echo Damping System, and it rests directly behind the face, visible from the outside.

The Echo Damping System’s ribbed design makes contact in more places to soak up more vibrations, but it does not inhibit the face from flexing at impact, so it will not cause a reduction in distance.

An added benefit of connecting the sole to the topline and then positioning a polymer piece in the cavity is it pulls more mass down and away from the face. This lowers the center of gravity and encourages higher shots.

TaylorMade SIM Max OS irons (TaylorMade)

For golfers looking for even more stability and ball speed, TaylorMade is offering the SIM Max OS. It has the Speed Bridge and Echo Damping System found in the SIM Max, but the blade length is slightly longer and the heads are larger. The oversized clubs also have a wider sole to make them more forgiving on fat shots.

PXG GEN3 T, GEN3 P and GEN3 XP irons

Thanks to a new dual-core polymer design inside the head, PXG’s newest irons deliver more distance with enhanced feel.

Gear: PXG GEN3 T, PXG GEN3 P and PXG GEN3 XP irons
Price: $425 per iron
Specs: Forged 8620 carbon steel body with a HT1770 maraging steel face, dual-core polymer insert, and tungsten and titanium weights
Available: Jan. 15

The first irons released by PXG, the original 0311 that were made available in September 2015, were touted as clubs that looked like muscleback blades but performed like game-improvement clubs. Just over two years later, with the release of the 0311 GEN2 irons, the company said that by changing the material inside the hollow heads, it was able to create more ball speed and give players more distance.

Now, with the release of the 0311 GEN3 irons, PXG thinks it has cracked the code and can deliver significantly more distance and better performance for players who can afford the hefty sticker price.

Each 0311 GEN3 iron is forged from a piece of 8620 carbon steel, then the back of each club is milled by a computer using high-speed cutters to create the precise shape engineers envisioned. Like the previously released irons, a series of tungsten and titanium weights ring the back of the head, lowering the center of gravity and pulling it away from the hitting area to encourage higher-flying shots that stop faster on the green.

The face, forged from a harder stainless steel, is just 1.5 millimeters thick. An internal channel has been milled around its perimeter to broaden the sweet spot, and it is laser-welded to the body. However, instead of keeping the club hollow, PXG has filled the internal chamber in a new way.

PXG 0311 GEN3 iron — The size of the dual-core Impact Reactor is different in each of the three 0311 GEN3 irons. (PXG)

A soft polymer insert is added to the space, then it is surrounded by a second, firmer polymer. PXG refers to this dual-polymer system as an Impact Reactor, and the company said the soft material allows a greater portion of the hitting area to flex at impact to create more ball speed, while the firmer polymer boosts the stability of the club.

The 0311 GEN3 irons are available in three styles:

The 0311 GEN3 T is for accomplished players who want a compact head, short blade length, a thin topline and a narrow sole. It produces the most spin and offers the most workability.

The 0311 GEN3 P is a game-improvement club designed to provide some playability, but it has a slightly larger head and a bigger inner chamber, so it creates more ball speed than the T clubs. It also has a thicker topline and more offset.

The 0311 GEN3 XP is the largest and most powerful of the three new irons. It has the longest blade length, most offset, thickest topline and is the most forgiving. PXG said the XP generates 5 mph more ball speed than the P, with 900 rpm less spin, yet it produces the same height. As a result, it typically produces about 12 yards more distance than the P and 18 yards more than the T.

Wilson Staff D7 Forged irons

Wilson’s newest irons for better players are designed to create more distance without sacrificing looks or feel.

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Gear: Wilson Staff D7 Forged irons
Price: $999 (4-PW) with KBS $-Taper Lite steel or True Temper Catalyst Black 80 graphite shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet grips
Specs: Forged 8620 carbon steel, urethane-filled inner chamber and slots in the sole
Available: Jan. 21

For elite golfers with powerful, repeatable swings, such as 2019 U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland, Wilson offers the Staff Model blade irons. For players with slow swings who struggle to hit the ball consistently, the company has the Staff Launch Pad irons.

There is plenty of middle ground between those clubs, and for golfers who like the look of a better-player iron but want enhanced distance, Wilson will offer the Staff D7 Staff Forged.

Wilson debuted the standard Staff D7 irons last season, and they are distance-enhancing, game-improvement clubs with good looks. Instead of placing the primary emphasis on distance in the Staff D7 Forged irons, however, Wilson engineers’ first goal was to make a club that would visually appeal to better players, then get more distance from it.

Wilson Staff D7 Forged irons — At address, the Staff D7 Forged has a traditional look. You can’t see the Power Holes designed into the sole. (Wilson)

With that in mind, when golfers look down at this cavity-back design in the address position, they will see only a touch of offset, a modest topline and a very clean look.

The distance-boosting technology is in the sole, where two rows of Power Holes were designed behind the leading edge. They are small slots, each covered by a polymer to stop grass and debris from getting inside the heads, that allow the face to flex more efficiently at impact to create more ball speed.

To enhance feel, Wilson created an area inside the lower portion of the back of the head and filled it with vibration-dampening urethane. It’s called a Power Chamber and should help produce a more solid feel when golfers strike the ball.

Designers also added extra mass to the topline, making it firmer to reduce twist and support the face more effectively. The extra mass pulls up the center of gravity slightly, but Wilson is fine with that because the Staff D7 Forged is made for more-accomplished players who have some speed and may be looking to shape shots. Moving the center of gravity fractionally higher and increasing spin will not be a problem for those players.

Being distance-enhancing clubs for better players, Wilson made the lofts of the Staff D7 Forged irons stronger than the Staff Model blades’ lofts but weaker than the standard Staff D7. The 7-iron is 30.5 degrees and the pitching wedge is 43 degrees. With that in mind, golfers may want to work with a custom fitter to ensure the gapping between their irons and their first wedge is appropriate to avoid excessive distance gaps.