Equipment

WRX Spotlight: Miura CB-301 irons

Published

5 years ago

Apr 1, 2019

Ryan Barath

Product: Miura CB-301 irons

Pitch: From Miura: “The CB-301 takes Miura’s world-renowned forging process and blends it seamlessly with a Tour-inspired shape. The CB-301 combines the feel and playability of a player’s iron with the forgiveness and distance to improve golfers of all skill levels. The full cavity-back design is engineered with a larger sweet spot to ensure greater control and improved performance on all shots. Each club is engineered with a variable sole and cavity thickness designed to optimize center of gravity.”

Our take on Miura CB-301 irons

Even in today’s world packed full of information about club fitting and technology, I can’t begin to tell you how many times when talking to golfers outside of the equipment “know,” that they believe forged clubs are only for lower handicaps and pros. Without getting off topic in the second sentence, all I will say is forging and casting are just processes used to manufacture and have no effect on the forgiveness of an individual design — mass properties do!

Now back to the review…When it comes to a forged iron that offers a traditional shape and styling, along with forgiveness, the Miura CB-301 is a great place to start. Launched at the beginning of 2019, the new CB-301 builds on the long legacy of Miura cavity backs, including the original CB-301, CB-201, CB-501, Passing Points, and the more recent CB57.

You’ve most likely heard the story by now — nobody forges a club the way Miura does. Well, they’re right, and for good measure, thanks to the company’s unique process of spin welding the hosel onto the rest of the head. By their, accounts it keeps the grain structure extreme tight in the head, which helps produce the signature “Miura Feel.”

Heres a great video from Miura on the history of the company and the process.

Here’s where the CB-301s separate themselves in the Miura lineup: They offer slightly more offset than the previous models in the Miura CB family, which helps create a look that is more appealing to a larger number of players looking for forgiveness without looking too “game improvement.” Along with the slight increase in offset, the appearance from the top line again fits right into the middle of the players CB and mid-sized cavity category. Add all of this together with the longer heel-toe length and thinner top line, and you have a club built for both distance and forgiveness without sacrificing looks.

Speaking to the distance game, the CB-301s are a bit stronger-lofted than what you would typically see from a Miura product, with a 44-degree pitching wedge and a 48-degree gap wedge available in the set. With these specs, there are plenty of options for adjustments that could take offset off. For example, bending them weaker or building a nice combo set with the MC-501s like shown below

CB-301

4-iron: 22 degrees
5-iron: 26 degrees (bent 1 degree weak)
6-iron: 30 degrees (bent 2 degrees weak)

MC-501

7-iron: 34 degrees
8-iron: 38 degrees
9-iron: 42 degrees
Pitching Wedge: 46 degrees

This is just one example since there are plenty of ways you could do a combo or not, along with making sure everything is properly gapped through a full iron fitting session. Whether you are looking for a forged distance iron set or some extra forgiveness into the longer irons in a combo, the Miura-CB 301s could be exactly what you are looking for.

And as a reminder, Miura irons are available through their extensive list of fitters and dealers around the world, as well as now directly through their website and e-comm platform.

More discussion about the Miura CB-301 irons in the forums.

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Equipment

Michael Block spotted with full set of TaylorMade “Proto” irons at Valhalla

Published

34 mins ago

May 14, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.

On Monday at the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club, Block had a full set of TaylorMade “Proto” irons in the bag.

Block is the first player of many on the PGA TOUR to bag a set of the mysterious “Proto” irons. Rory McIlroy first switched into a “Proto” 4-iron at the Valero Texas Open, and Collin Morikawa followed suit at the 2024 RBC Heritage. Block isn’t using just the 4-iron, though, he’s using a full set to go along with a TaylorMade Stealth UDI driving iron.

Speaking with GolfWRX.com on Monday at the PGA Championship, Block revealed the full backstory.

“I hit a couple super “Proto” irons when I was at the Kingdom (TaylorMade’s fitting facility in Southern California) a couple months ago, and it was a 9-iron that didn’t have any badges or anything on it,” Block said. “I had no idea what it was … It was very similar to what I was using back then, you know, my old MCs, and very similar from the top. I hit it and absolutely loved it. For me to even think about switching irons from the last 11-12 years is crazy.

“I got this set about two weeks ago, and I’m working my way into them. I hit them more solid; it comes off the face more solid. Much higher. I think they’re still slightly too upright for me, so they’re being bent a degree flatter, because they’re going a little too high for me and drawing a little too much. When that starts to happen, I start to drop the club under and compensate too much, so I’m getting them flattened slightly, and I’m going to test them on the range again, and hopefully have them in play on Thursday…

“They go further, and they go higher … that combination is kind of a no-brainer. If I can take a 5-iron from 204 rather than a 4-iron, it’s good on me. It’s going to help me out for sure, especially at a major with the pin locations. Having that height coming in, that descent angle is going to be huge.”

With such new irons in the bag, after using the same irons for over a decade, surely you’d think there will be a bit of a learning curve. Block, however, is finding immediate comfort with the new “Proto” irons.

Head over to PGATour.com for the full article.

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Whats in the Bag

WITB Time Machine: Rory McIlroy’s winning WITB, 2014 PGA Championship

Published

3 hours ago

May 14, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since Rory McIlroy outlasted Phil Mickelson at the 2014 PGA Championship. It’s even harder to believe McIlroy hasn’t hoisted a major trophy since his 2014 victory at Valhalla.

After a slow start to his final round, McIlroy tallied an eagle and two birdies on the back nine and his fourth major championship. Take a look at the clubs he played a decade ago in Kentucky.

Driver: Nike VR_S Covert 2.0 Tour (8.5 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage XTS 70X

3-wood: Nike VR_S Covert 2.0 Tour (15 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Rombax Pro 95 X

5-wood: Nike VR_S Covert 2.0 Tour (19 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Rombax Pro 95 X

Check out more in-hand photos of Rory McIlroy’s clubs from 2014 here.

Irons: Nike VR Pro Blade (4-9) Buy here.
Shaft: Project X 7.0

Wedges: Nike VR Forged (46, 52, 56, 60 degrees) Buy here.
Shafts: Project X 6.5

Putter: Nike Method 006 Buy here.

Grips: Golf Pride MCC

Ball: Nike RZN Black

Check out more in-hand photos of Rory McIlroy’s clubs from 2014 here.

WITB Time Machine is presented by 2nd Swing Golf. 2nd Swing has more than 100,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.

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