I was always one who thought that the Titleist 695 Forged Cavity Back irons were about as good as it could get iron-wise. I was hopeful that these forged offerings were to continue on into 2008.

I was wrong on all counts. The 695 CB forged are no longer and in their place awaits the all new and snazzy Z Blend (ZB) forged irons. These are not true cavity backs like their predecessors, they are a blended set; the wedge, nine and eight irons are pure blade, the seven and six irons are neither blade nor pure cavity back and the five through three are almost all cavity back. At first glance I figured that a 18 handicapper like myself was dreaming and shooting for the moon.

Initially, I thought this was the case, but in fact, I think I can play these (almost) as well as anything else I own. In fact, compared to cavity backs that I played way back in 1993 (Lynx Parallax), these are more forgiving (and larger) and I am a much better player at 40 than I was at 26 years of age.

I am not listening to Titleist the least bit when they say, "for the highly skilled player." A pure shot is a pure shot, no matter the size or brand of club. Of course I do know that I may give up a small bit of distance with these sticks, especially compared to similar sized, cast irons. All in all, a poorly struck shot is still poor no matter the iron, so I say play what you like and be happy. In fact, the feedback of these irons is so much better that you might even groove your swing for the better. I know that you just may be less complacent with each and every swing, start to follow through. The short irons, although blades, are quite easy to hit and the distance is the same or better.  Shot dispersion was very nice as well. My ZB forged are shafted with the gold standard in steel iron shafts, True Temper Dynamic Gold S300 shafts. The design of these irons is insiring, the unique "Z" remains on each club, whether blade or cavity back. It provides an extremely clean and seamless transition between the different types of irons in the set.

According to the Titleist website, "the traditional profile of the ZB Forged irons includes minimal progressive offset for tour validated ball flight, trajectory control and workability. The high performance, narrow sole reduces skipping in firm conditions while appropriate bounce reduces digging. I thought that the soles on my Ping i10’s were narrow, they are compared to the G10, but not to these ZB irons. The soles are perfect for a picker of the ball like myself. Sleek and smooth is how I would describe them. Of course, if you take a huge divot, they’ll work great for you as well.

As with all Titleist products, the finish and quality is first class all the way. So nice that you may want to just sit and stare at them rather than get them dirty playing on the course. I don’t quite understand the dual hosel length dynamics, but Titleist offers that "the ZB Forged irons also feature dual hosel lengths with a shorter hosel in the long irons to bias weight low for improved launch and a longer hosel in the mid and short irons to manage flight. I haven’t tested these irons enough to actually be able to tell the difference in ball flight in the long irons.

I do know this, if you seek the best looking and high performing irons in 2008, check out the new ZB Forged blended irons set, you’ll be impressed, just as I was. Sure, I would still like to find a nice set of 695 CB forged irons, but until I break down and add them to my ever growing iron collection, the ZB’s will be tough to get out of the bag anytime soon! As soon as I have the opportunity to try them out for a few rounds, I’ll report on how they worked out. If they play half as good as they look, they’ll do the job quite nicely.