Titleist T400 irons

Titleist is known for blades, but it made the new T400 irons to deliver loads of distance and forgiveness for slower-swinging players.

Gear: Titleist T400 irons
Price: $185 per iron with True Temper AMT Red steel shafts and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 Lite+ grips; $199.99 per club with Mitsubishi Fubuki MV IR graphite shafts
Specs: Hollow-bodied irons with forged SUP-10 stainless steel face and internal tungsten weights
Available: March 27

Titleist is known for making muscleback blades and cavity backs such as the 620 MB and 620 CB irons for elite ballstrikers like Justin Thomas, Adam Scott and Jordan Spieth, but the company also has offered game-improvement clubs.

Last August, Titleist debuted the T300 for mid- and higher-handicap golfers who want more distance and forgiveness. Now the company is releasing the new T400, a super-game-improvement club that is bigger, more powerful and more forgiving than any other club in Titleist’s stable.

Titleist T400 irons
The thick topline and offset should boost confidence for slower-swinging golfers. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

At address, golfers looking down at the T400 irons will see thick toplines and plenty of offset because these clubs were not made for pros. They were designed to help moderate and slower swings produce more distance.

Each T400 iron is hollow, and the 5-iron through 7-iron feature a thin, forged SUP-10 stainless steel face that is shaped like an L, wrapping under the leading edge and extending into the sole. It flexes easily at impact to create more ball speed, especially on shots struck low in the hitting area.

An added benefit of making the T400 irons hollow is Titleist designers were able to add large, internal pieces of heavy tungsten to the heel and toe areas. The precise amount varies by the club but goes up to 100 grams, which creates extreme perimeter weighting to boost the stability on off-center hits.

Titleist T400 irons
Tungsten in the heel and toe boost stability. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The internal tungsten weights are in the back of the split sole on the bottom of the club, and by adding that weight so far back from the hitting area, Titleist was able to lower the center of gravity. That in turn helps the clubs produce higher-flying shots. At the same time, the split-sole design reduces turf interaction.

Titleist T400 irons
The split-sole design reduces turf interaction and allows the center of gravity to shift farther back. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

To help golfers generate more clubhead speed, Titleist also reduced weight in other areas of the club. The stock Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 Lite+ grips are 9 grams lighter than the stock Tour Velvet 360, while the True Temper AMT Red steel shafts feature lighter long-iron shafts for extra speed and heavier short-iron shafts for more control.

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.

Titleist T100S irons
The soles of the Titleist T100•S irons were designed to work through the turf easily. At address, the clubs look like classic, better-player irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

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.