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

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

17 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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