Equipment
Titleist’s 718 Irons Offer Endless Possibilities, “Surprising” AP3
The biggest surprise of Titleist’s 718 iron lineup? It’s the AP3, an all-new design that has the potential to redefine what golfers expect from a Titleist iron.
In creating the AP3 irons, Titleist’s design team sought to blend the best features of two of its most popular irons: AP1 and AP2. It wanted to combine the distance and forgiveness golfers expect from game-improvement irons like the AP1 with the feel and consistency of PGA Tour-approved irons like the AP2 irons. The name of the new irons shows Titleist’s confidence in its work: AP1 + AP2 = AP3.
“You bring new technology to the [PGA Tour], and you wait to see what happens,” says Marni Ines, Titleist’s Director of Product Development for Irons.
The AP3 irons were first made available to PGA Tour players at the Quicken Loans National in July, along with the company’s new AP1, AP2, T-MB, CB, and MB models. “We expected a few players to use [AP3], but the tidal wave we saw was surprising,” says Josh Talge, Titleist’s Vice President of Marketing for Golf Clubs.
In a discussion about the AP3 irons, Ines recalled the response PGA Tour players had to Titleist’s AP2 irons when they were released 10 years ago. At the time, the vast majority of Titleist’s PGA Tour Staff was using the company’s CB and MB irons. The AP2 irons were significantly different from those irons, with a larger size and new technologies, namely an internal cavity and tungsten weighting for increased forgiveness. Despite the differences, PGA Tour players switched to the new irons at a much faster rate than the company anticipated. AP2 is now the most popular Titleist iron model globally on the professional tours.
“To see [tour players] stretch their perspective as to what [irons] they can and should play is cool,” Ines says. “They’re starting to see the benefits of faster, more forgiving irons, especially in their long irons.”
Possibilities for golfers within the 718 line go beyond the AP3. It includes six distinct models that can be mixed and matched to suit the specific needs of golfers throughout their iron sets. According to Titleist, more than 90 percent of its tour players used “mixed sets,” including the winners of the last two major championships: Jordan Spieth (T-MB and AP2 at the Open Championship) and Justin Thomas (CB and MB at the PGA Championship).
Learn more about each of the new Titleist 718 irons below, which are available for fittings beginning September 1 and in golf shops on September 29.
718 MB Irons
Titleist’s 718 MB irons are the company’s shortest-flying, least-forgiving model in the new line, and the company makes no apologies for that. “The majority of our PGA Tour players are saying, ‘Hey, I love the MB performance,’ Talge says. “We take that to heart.”
The back of the 718 MB irons looks slightly different than the 716 MB irons they replace, but the changes are purely cosmetic. The head design and shape is the same, relying on a one-piece, 1025-carbon-steel construction that gives golfers the ultimate in workability.
Purists will appreciate that the 718 MB irons maintain the company’s traditional lofts (the 6-iron is 31 degrees, the pitching-wedge is 47 degrees), as well as a minimalistic design that is unencumbered by medallions or badging. These irons are pure, which is what your swing better be to play them.
The 718 MB irons ($1299.99 for an eight-piece set with steel shafts) are available in 3-PW. The stock shaft is True Temper’s Project X.
718 CB Irons
The players iron category is brimming with forged cavity-back irons that look a lot like Titleist’s 718 CB, but to call the new CBs “yet another forged cavity back” is to miss the complex construction the company uses to squeeze more performance out of its classic CB shape.
Like the 718 MB irons, the bodies of the 718 CB irons are forged from 1025 carbon steel. That’s where the similarities end. The 718 CB long and middle irons (2-7) employ a 2.1-millimeter face insert that’s made of 17-4 steel. The thin, strong face insert isn’t designed to flex to increase distance; rather, it allowed designers to remove mass from the middle of the club head and reposition it to the corners where it enhances forgiveness.
In those corners of the club heads (the low heel and low toe), two high-density tungsten weights are added through a process called “co-forging.” It’s a secondary forging process that merges the steel body and tungsten inserts into a precisely-shaped iron head. It also maximizes the concentration of the higher-density material. On average, nearly 71 grams of tungsten are added to the 718 CB long and mid irons.
The co-forging process also has the advantage of placing the center of gravity (CG) of each iron closer to the true center of the club head than previous models, which creates more consistent distance on off-center hits across the club face. Another benefit is that it lowers the CG of the long and mid irons, helping golfers boost their launch angle and ball speed for more distance from the long end of their set.
The 718 short irons (8-P) are made with a one-piece, 1025 forged construction. Ines says the shape of short irons inherently gives them a higher MOI, as well as the higher CG better players prefer in their short irons. For that reason, a multi-material approach was unnecessary.
The 718 CB irons ($1299.99 for an eight-piece set with steel shafts) are available in 2-PW. The stock shaft is True Temper’s Project X LZ.
718 AP2 Irons
In recent years, Titleist’s AP2 irons have come to occupy a unique space in the players iron market. Competitive models have increasingly been given fast-face technologies to help the irons create more distance. Despite the peer pressure, Titleist has continued to focus on feel and consistency above all else with the AP2, opting to launch entirely new models like the T-MB and AP3 to offer golfers more distance.
“We’re being honest about what [AP2] is and who it’s for,” Talge says. “It’s our bread and butter tour product. [Tour players] like that size. They like that loft package.”
With fast-face technologies and stronger lofts off the table (the 6-iron is 30 degrees), Titleist investigated new ways to improve the AP2 recipe. The result was a new main ingredient, a high-strength steel known as SUP10, which is used to make the forged bodies of the 3-6 irons. Titleist also used SUP10 to form the face inserts for the 3-6 irons. Because SUP10 is stronger and lighter than the 1025 carbon steel bodies and 17-4 stainless steel face inserts Titleist previously used to create the AP2, designers were able to move the CG of the new irons lower in the club heads for higher ball speeds and a higher launch angle.
Like the 718 CB, the 718 AP2 irons are also co-forged to concentrate high-density tungsten weights in the corners of the club heads to improve MOI and exactly center the CG of the irons. “This is the Tour iron that’s really in reach [for most golfers] because it’s so forgiving,” Ines says. “The MOI is now pretty much at the level of the 714 AP1 irons.”
Another change, which could be just as important as the structural changes for discerning golfers, is the addition of a pre-worn leading edge to the soles of the 718 AP2 irons. The sole grind is inspired by the shaping of Titleist’s MB and CB irons, and it has also been added to the 718 T-MB, AP3 and AP1 models. It can help golfers make cleaner contact, particularly from tight lies.
The 718 AP2 irons ($1299.99 for an eight-piece set with steel shafts) are available in 3-PW, 50. The stock shaft is True Temper’s Dynamic Gold AMT Tour White.
718 T-MB Irons
“[The 716 T-MB] is what allowed us to feel like we can go forward with fast-face designs and give our players what they’re looking for,” Talge says. Which is to say, if you’re happy to see more fast-face irons from Titleist, you have success of the T-MB to thank for that.
Like the original 716 T-MB irons that marked Titleist’s entry into the fast-face players iron category, the 718 T-MB irons have a hollow-body construction that makes them longer-fliers than the AP2. That has made them particularly popular as long-iron replacements on the PGA Tour due to their higher launch and faster ball speeds.
Like the 718 AP2 irons, the new T-MB long and mid irons (2-6) use SUP10 club faces, but they’re made with an L-shaped club face that encourages the head to flex at impact for increased ball speed. Their cast construction also contributes to improved distance and forgiveness, enabling an average of 91.5 grams of tungsten to be welded inside the club heads to optimize the launch angle and spin rate of each iron.
The 718 T-MB irons ($249 each, $1,999 for an eight-piece set with steel shafts) are available in 2-PW, 50. The stock shaft is True Temper’s Project X PXi.
718 AP3 Irons
More distance, more forgiveness. That’s what golfers should expect from Titleist’s 718 AP3 irons when comparing them to the company’s traditional players irons. In Titleist’s robot testing, an AP3 4-iron offered an average of 6.4 yards more carry distance when compared to an AP2 4-iron at a moderate swing speeds.
According to Ines, higher-swing-speed golfers should see an even larger distance increase, a realization that has had several of Titleist’s PGA Tour players to swapping their current long irons for AP3s, including Jimmy Walker, Bill Haas, Byeong Hun An, and Jason Kokrak.
To create the additional distance, Titleist gave the AP3 a size that falls roughly in-between the AP1 and AP2 irons. Compared to the 718 AP2, the AP3 long irons are between 3-4 millimeters longer from heel to toe. The AP3 short irons are only fractionally larger than the 718 AP2, however, creating a progressive design that merges longer-flying, easier-to-hit long irons with short irons that could be mistaken for AP2s.
The internal design changes, on the other hand, are unmistakable. Titleist gave the 718 AP3 irons what it calls a “hollow-blade” design. The bodies of the irons are cast from 17-4 stainless steel, and they’re given L-shaped club faces made of 455 Carpenter steel to boost flexing at impact. The result is not just more distance, Ines says, but more “playable distance.”
Ines’ emphasis on playable distance has to do with consistency of the irons, which is boosted by an average of 84.9 grams of tungsten in the 3-7 irons that’s positioned strategically to optimize the trajectory of each iron. It ensures that each AP3 iron is not only as forgiving as possible, but that the irons also offer golfers enough height and spin to stop their shots on even the most demanding greens. The playable distance promise extends to the feel of the irons, which were fine-tuned to create an AP2-like sound at impact.
The AP3 irons ($1299.99 for an eight-piece set with steel shafts) are available in 3-PW, 48. The stock shaft is True Temper’s AMT Black.
718 AP1
Titleist’s 718 AP1 irons offer golfers the most distance and forgiveness of the company’s new iron line. They accomplish the feat with a cast, hollow construction and thin, unsupported club faces that boost both ball speeds and MOI.
The 4- and 5-irons in the set are designed to be particularly lethal from long range, with a fully hollow construction and club faces that measure just 2 millimeters in thickness. They also use an average of 57.4 grams of tungsten (4-7 irons) to lower CG for higher, more consistent shots. According to Ines, the 718 AP1 irons are about 5 yards longer than the 716 AP1 irons, but as with the AP3 irons, the faster golfers swing the more benefit they’ll see.
“If you have more speed, all technology is going to be even better,” Ines says.
The 718 AP1 irons share the same sole design as their predecessors with the exception of a pre-worn leading edge that can improve turf interaction. The club heads also have a lower profile than previous models.
The AP1 irons ($999.99 for an eight-piece set with steel shafts) are available in 4-PW, 48, 53. The stock shaft is True Temper’s AMT Red.
The stock graphite option is Mitsubishi’s Tensei Pro Red AMC (Ascending Mass Concept). Like True Temper’s AMT White, Black, and Red steel shafts, the shafts gradually increase in weight from long iron to wedge to help golfers maximize the performance of each iron. With graphite shafts, the 718 AP1 irons sell for $1199.99 for a set of eight irons.
Discussion: See what GolfWRXers are saying about the 718 Irons in our forum.
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Whats in the Bag
WITB Time Machine: Scottie Scheffler’s winning WITB, 2022 Masters
At the 2022 Masters, Scottie Scheffler delivered a steely Sunday performance to capture the green jacket in the 86th contesting of the tournament. Beginning the final round with a three-stroke lead, Scheffler was steady all day, tallying a final-round 1-under 71 to finish three strokes ahead of Rory McIlroy.
Here’s a look at what Scheffler had in the bag two years ago.
Driver: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (8 degrees @7.5)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (16.5 degrees @15)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X
Utility: Srixon Z U85 (3)
Shaft: Nippon Pro Modus3 Hybrid Tour X
Irons: Srixon ZU85 (4), TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW)
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (50-12F, 56-14F, 60-06K)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Special Select Timeless Tourtype GSS Prototype
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
More photos of Scottie Scheffler’s WITB in the forums.
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Equipment
Best irons in golf of 2024: Most technology packed
In our effort to assemble the 2024 best irons, we have again compiled an expert panel of fitters to help you find out which of the 2024 irons is best for your game.
Ultimately the best way to find your personal best iron set is to work with a professional fitter using a launch monitor. The difficult part is a lot of people don’t have easy access to fitters, launch monitors, and club builders — so at GolfWRX, we have done a lot of the work for you.
We are in the era of not just maximizing distance but also minimizing the penalty of common misses for each player — this applies to irons just as much as it does with any other club in the bag. And of course, proper set makeup and gapping is essential. This is why, now more than ever, custom fitting is essential to help you see results on every swing you make.
We want to give you the tools and information to go out and find what works best for you by offering recommendations for your individual iron set wants and needs with insight and feedback from the people who work every single day to help golfers get peak performance out of their equipment.
Best irons of 2024: The process
The best fitters in the world see all the options available in the marketplace, analyze their performance traits, and pull from that internal database of knowledge and experience like a supercomputer when they are working with a golfer.
It’s essentially a huge decision tree derived from experience and boiled down to a starting point of options—and it has nothing to do with a handicap!
Modern iron sets are designed into player categories that overlap the outdated “what’s your handicap?” model, and at GolfWRX we believe it was important to go beyond handicap and ask specific questions about the most crucial performance elements fitters are looking at.
These are the best iron categories we have developed to help you determine which category is most important for your swing and game.
Best irons of 2024: The categories
- Overall performance
- Easiest to launch/Slower swing speed
- Pure enjoyment
- Shotmakers
- Most technology-packed
- Best blade
2024 Best irons: Most technology packed
This is the “give me everything you got” list. These irons are the cream of the crop for offering technology to improve feel, distance, and ball speed. The great thing about the technology category is it’s not reserved for higher handicap golfers — it’s for anyone looking to get everything they can out of their game in an iron that also suits their eye.
Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke
Their story: At the core of Callaway’s new Ai Paradym Smoke irons is the Ai Smart Face. With the Ai Smart Face, these irons are designed to promote exceptional distance, tight dispersion into the green, and optimal launch in a modern construction. The new shape consists of longer blade lengths, thinner toplines, and optimized sole widths in a bid to create a forgiving, yet streamlined look at address. In addition, an all-new Dynamic Sole Design features a pre-worn leading edge with variable bounce that cuts through the turf with efficiency.
Fitter comments:
- “That thing is an absolute rocket launcher. For the guy who flips at it, it’s perfect. It definitely launches lower spins less. it just goes forever compared to, you know, compared to a lot of them that we, that we tested.”
- “I mean, it’s actually probably one of the cleaner-looking kind of game improvement irons. You know, some of them, they can get kind of beefy, but the look of that one that’s very appealing to the eye. The AI technology that Callaway has been using for a couple of years now, it’s generating a ton of ball speed for guys, but also at a point where they’re still getting a lot of peak heights on it. So it’s not like you feel like you’re just hitting bullets out there.”
- “If a guy is looking to just hit it far, that’s probably the best thing out there. Callaway’s always had like crazy hot iron faces in that mid-size game improvement-type club. And this is just the next version of it. This thing is crazy fast. Shockingly, for how strong the lofts are, the ball still gets up in the air pretty good.”
- “When it comes to pure technology the Paradym Ai Smoke iron has it all. Super computers helping engineers design the back of the face based on over 250,000 shots make it an amazing tech iron alone.”
- “Classic Callaway story with face variability that is AI-driven along with material and design. Tons of tech. With Ai Smart Face and a hollow body design, they make it to the top as far as technology goes.”
For more photos/info, read our launch piece.
TaylorMade P790
Their story: Engineers utilized the variables of tungsten weighting, SpeedFoam Air, and internal mass — with an assist from AI — to precisely give golfers what they need in each iron. For example, launch and forgiveness in the long irons. More specifically, TaylorMade is using what the company calls FLTD CG (flighted CG) to strategically position CG throughout the set (lower in the long irons, higher in the short irons). CG is positioned almost a millimeter lower in the long irons compared to previous generations. In the shorter irons, the higher CG positions allowed engineers to dial in spin and promote accuracy.
Fitter comments:
- “Best combination of everything. The amalgamation of all irons on the market blended into one mathematically perfect design.”
- “I think people recognize the name. It’s a very popular club. It stands up to every model in a category.”
- “That’s the staple in the players distance category. It’s year-in, year-out. It’s tough to beat TaylorMade — they don’t go wrong with that iron, for sure. They make little refinements, but it’s almost like, yeah, just keep making little refinements. Don’t kind of mess that up just because the, I mean, it, it fits such a wide range of players and it’s just such a good iron that fits a wide, wide range of handicaps.”
- “I think where TaylorMade kind of struggled over the past is getting that spin on the golf club, and I think each generation it just keeps getting better. I think they did an awesome job.”
- “If it’s not our best-selling iron in the fitting center, it’s always like number two. It’s such a great, great performer across the board. And yeah, it just keeps getting better every year. It’s really awesome; crazy distance on that thing too.”
For more photos/info, read our launch piece.
Titleist T350
Their story: The new T350 irons are still built for maximum distance and forgiveness, but they were redesigned with a hollow-body construction that’s inspired by the T200. Like the T200, the T350 also uses Max Impact Technology behind the face to maximize speed and forgiveness, and dual-tungsten weights in the back cavity. The T350 irons are noticeably larger, and with thicker toplines, than the T200 irons for golfers who need the additional surface area and stability.
Fitter comments:
- “The T350 is super good. They definitely cleaned it up, cleaned up that topline a little bit and made it…a little bit more compact, a little bit smaller for sure.”
- “You know, I think is one of those irons that maybe sometimes can get overlooked. I don’t know…some guys, they think ‘Titleist,’ they can’t hit it. If someone’s in this category, it’s always a club you’re gonna have.”
- “So like this is the first one in that model that’s had like a forged face and, and, and, and I think that just improved the feel of it. Topline to me looks a little bit cleaner and, they do a nice job of hiding the offset doesn’t look quite obnoxious when you look down at it. I don’t know if it’s like the chrome that they put or whatever, but it looks a lot cleaner at address. The iron’s always been super easy to get up in here.”
- “That type of customer, I know they all want to do is just hit it nice and far. But we’re seeing so many guys come in that just need help getting it airborne in that moderate kind of clubhead speed category. And this thing is probably, if not the easiest, one of the easiest irons in this category to launch. And I think that’s what makes it so great.”
- “High launch is a key component to this iron. Clean look, with reduced offset and a better look for a players game improvement iron. Players are surprised that this is a game improvement iron based on the looks and package size.”
For more photos/info, read our launch piece.
Srixon ZX5 Mk II
Their story: MainFrame v2 was developed with an Automated Intelligence process, flex-maximizing variable thickness pattern of grooves, channels, and cavities carefully milled into the backside of ZX5 iron faces for high ball speeds. Not only does MainFrame boost COR, but it also repositions mass away from the face and into the toe and sole for a lower CG for easier launch, more consistency, and forgiveness.
Fitter comments:
- “I’m a big believer in the V-Sole. For high-speed guys who want a little forgiveness and are steep, it just doesn’t stick in the ground. Super soft and high launching. Not a ton of offset. It’s also been a good fit for moderate-to-high handicappers.”
- “So I would say it, it kind of stands out in its category because it does launch higher than its competitors. It also sits in between some of the models, like, it doesn’t directly compete with a hollow cavity and it doesn’t compete with, like the Cobra King Tour. Like, it’s a degree stronger. For a forged iron, it performs great for us. The only problem is that it is a little bit light in a swing weight, so we have to be careful of who we fit.”
- “It’s definitely one of our more popular irons for sure. You know, you get a guy who wants to play something small but still wants something more forgiving, and they don’t want kind of that full hollow body iron. I mean, that’s definitely one of our best sellers for sure. We’re seeing that a lot of combos — that’s a one iron that you can definitely combo with the ZX7 for sure.”
- “I think a lot of guys like the concept of the V-Sole with them…If you’re talking an overall package, you know, for the guy that is looking for something clean. That’s a spectacular golf club. Good looks and good feel and great, you know, great performance, and it fits a lot of categories.”
- “I think the one struggle a lot of companies have with that category is getting something to spin, so to try and give like guys so they don’t get those knuckleball shots or that fly out of the rough that goes 20 yards longer. I kind of think that that’s what I think makes that item so good is you get some spin on it, and I think it, it looks and feels good enough that like it, a guy that’s a mid-single digit can play it and be like, yeah, that’s good enough for me. But it’s also forgiving enough that a guy that’s in that kind of 12-to-15 kind of category if he wants to reach a little bit and play something that might look a little bit better. It just fits such a huge, huge range of players. I think it’s just awesome.”
For more photos/info, read our launch piece.
Ping G430
Their story: Billed as Ping’s “longest iron ever,” the G430 irons combine a lower CG with stronger, custom- engineered lofts and a thinner face that delivers up to two more mph of ball speed, per the company. At the heart of the new addition is the PurFlex cavity badge, an innovation that features seven flex zones that allow more free bending in design to increase ball speed across the face. In combination with a lower CG, the badge aims to contribute to a solid feel and pleasing impact sound.
Fitter comments:
- “The best G.I. iron on the market. Easy to hit and launch while making great ball speed for distance.”
- “The best iron in the game improvement category. High launch and packed with forgiveness on those off-center hits. It’s one of the easiest irons to hit. So easy to hit and look at for the average golfer.”
- “Yeah, I mean, that’s definitely a go-to and in the matrix for sure. I mean, it’s just super easy to hit, super forgiving. They don’t mess that iron up.”
- “Ping does a great job of building golf clubs. Their design is fantastic and it’s not for everybody, you know, it’s not the lowest-spinning club…but it sure is one of the most forgiving golf clubs and most consistent golf clubs. Ping G430 in that category of club, you can have something that a good player who needs a little help maybe can use because it’s consistent across the face, and you can’t do that with some of the other clubs because they’re not as consistent across the face for the ball speeds. It is a monster for us.”
- “The best iron in the game improvement category. It’s one of the easiest irons to hit.”
Best irons of 2024: Meet the fitters
- Adam Rathe: Club Champion
- Adam Scotto: Club Champion
- Adam Seitz: Club Champion
- Aidan Mena: Club Champion
- Alex Dice: Carl’s Golfland
- Alex Praeger: Club Champion
- Ben Giunta: The Tour Van
- Blake Smith, PGA: True Spec
- Bo Gorman: True Spec
- Brad Coffield: Carl’s Golfland
- Brett Ott: Club Champion
- Brian Riley: Club Champion
- Cameron Scudder: Club Champion
- Carmen Corvino: True Spec
- Christian Sandler: Club Champion
- Clare Cornelius: Cool Clubs
- Dan Palmisano: Club Champion
- Dane Byers: Club Champion
- Darren Joubert: Club Champion
- Dennis Huggins: Club Champion
- Drew Koch: Club Champion
- Eric Touchet: Touchet Performance Golf
- Erik Gonzales: Club Champion
- Evan Morrison: Club Champion
- Gus Alzate: True Spec
- Jake Medlen: Stripe Show Club Fitters
- Jake Woolston: Club Champion
- Jake Wynd: Club Champion
- Jay Marino: Club Champion
- Jeremy Olsen: Club Champion
- Jim Yenser: Club Champion
- Joe Stefan: Club Champion
- Joey Simon, PGA: Club Champion
- Jonathan Kaye: Club Champion
- Jordan Patrick: True Spec
- Jordan Rollins: Club Champion
- Kevin Arabejo: Club Champion
- Kevin Downey: Club Champion
- Kirk Oguri: Pete’s Golf
- Kyle Lane: Club Champion
- Kyle Murao: Club Champion
- Marc Roybal: True Spec
- Mark Hymerling: Club Champion
- Mark Knapp: Carl’s Golfland
- Matt Miller: Club Champion
- Matt Rish: Club Champion
- Matthew Gandolfi: Club Champion
- Mike Martysiewicz: Club Champion
- Mike Weis: Club Champion
- Mitch Schneider: Club Champion
- Nicholas Barone: Club Champion
- Nick Sherburne: Club Champion
- Nick Waterworth: Haggin Oaks
- Preston Vanderfinch: Club Champion
- Rick Lane: Club Champion
- Rob Anderson, PGA: Club Champion
- Russell Hubby: Club Champion
- Ryan Fisher: Grips Golf
- Ryan Grimes: Club Champion
- Ryan Johnson: Carl’s Golfland Bloomfield Hills
- Sam Kim: True Spec
- Scott Sikorski: Club Champion
- Scott Felix: Felix Club Works
- Scott Trent: Club Champion
- Sean Pfeil: Club Champion
- Shaun Fagan: True Spec
- Steve Harrow: Club Champion
- Tad Artrip: Club Champion
- Thomas Mattaini: Pull the Pin
- Tony Rhode: True Clubs
- William Buse: Club Champion
- William Cho: NovoGolf
- William Fields: Club Champion
RELATED: Best driver 2024
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Equipment
Why Tony Finau is planning to play 2 drivers at the Masters
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt of a piece we originally filed this piece for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. You can read the full piece there.
Now, for the 2024 Masters specifically, Finau is planning to put another Ping G430 LST driver into play, in order to help him on the right-to-left holes at Augusta. The second driver, which is set to replace his 3-wood, will measure about the length of his 3-wood, and it has 10.5 degrees of loft, according to Ping Tour rep Kenton Oates.
“Tony Finau, most likely, will be playing two G430 LST drivers this week; his gamer, and a new shorter 10.5 headed option,” Oates told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday. “In the ramp-up towards The Masters, Tony and his team discussed options to optimize his performance off the tee. In discussing the tee shots around Augusta and second shots, Tony realized he would never hit 3-wood off the ground, minus maybe 8 if it was soft and into the wind.
“With that in mind, we felt it would be worth exploring a driver built to more 3-wood specs – shorter, more loft, etc. We build the driver in Houston and Tony carried it to Augusta to test. Right away it was giving him the performance he was looking for, allowing him to hit a straighter shot off the tee, or even draw it easier than his gamer driver, along with the added forgiveness benefits of using a driver instead of a 3-wood. Tony potentially could use the little driver on 2-7-10-14-17-18, pending course and wind conditions.”
Since Finau’s stock driver swing is grooved for a cut shot, maybe it’s unrealistic that Finau will hit big sweeping draws with the new, second driver option. But, according to Finau, it’s still a useful option, especially since he won’t need the 3-wood much this week.
“The [second] driver really goes straight, so there’s just no fade on it,” Finau told GolfWRX.com. “The draw holes out here, you don’t really have to turn it over, you just can’t hit a fade. But yeah, I’m going with two drivers.”
Read the full piece on PGATour.com.
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Dr. Freud
Aug 25, 2017 at 3:26 pm
AP3 = APE subliminally. Are you a gorilla golfer?
Dodo
Aug 25, 2017 at 6:24 pm
No, but you are, obviously
Dr. Freud
Aug 25, 2017 at 9:59 pm
I see what’s subliminal, therefore I am smarter than you, you Dodo.
Fhfuv
Aug 25, 2017 at 3:58 am
Do the ap3 and ap1 get progressively longer because they have genuine technology or is it because the lofts are stronger?
Anyone know uk prices?
luke
Aug 27, 2017 at 7:04 pm
ap3 are 1 degree stronger than ap2. and ap2 are 1 degree stronger than cb and mb.
i think this contributes to the length but they will have a lower cg so they should produce the same apex height.
luke
Aug 25, 2017 at 12:25 am
I need offset, swing weight and bounce specs. im looking into a ap3/2 combo with a tmb driving iron
Derrick
Aug 25, 2017 at 12:20 am
Effortless power built into those AP-3s……… they ooze with power…… they even “empower” me. They go in my bag asap.
Jerry/SwingMan
Aug 24, 2017 at 7:01 pm
I predict AP1 sales will plummet as golfers go to the AP3. Just on looks alone…
bill kerplowsky
Aug 24, 2017 at 6:34 pm
so 6-7 yards further for the ap3….actually further or did they just jack the lofts stronger? Pretty soon we’ll all be hitting 21 degree pitching wedges
Derrick
Aug 25, 2017 at 12:21 am
No, it’s the Magic of Tungsten weights in the heel and toe for massively more MOI….. the good stuff.
Joe
Jan 7, 2018 at 11:16 pm
They are 2 deg stronger on the 4 5 and 6 and then 3 degree stronger on 7 8 and 9. Mmmm doesn’t come across in the article …. 21 deg pitching wedges coming soon
Terry (TMAC)
Aug 26, 2017 at 2:38 pm
I’ll bet the lofts are stronger than the AP2’s.
rymail00
Aug 24, 2017 at 6:26 pm
Has anyone seen a list offset specs for the 718 line?
Donald Trump Rules
Aug 24, 2017 at 6:10 pm
Need to release a single length iron set.
Brian
Aug 24, 2017 at 10:00 pm
NOooooooooooo
Dodo
Aug 25, 2017 at 6:24 pm
YESssssssssssssss
Harry
Aug 24, 2017 at 4:16 pm
Having played titleist clubs over the last 8-10 years irons woods wedges at various time I have no desire to play the new irons as I agree not enough change to make me a better golfer
jgpl001
Aug 24, 2017 at 3:42 pm
Agree that the AP line is getting a bit fussy looking, but that does detract from their performance and that’s what really counts
Moaning about MB on the blades is really petty…..
ALL Titleist clubs perform and these will be a no different
Good to see all have different stock shafts and delighted to see PX in the MB’s
Allan A
Aug 24, 2017 at 2:16 pm
Clubheads cannot “give you speed”. They are inertial mass that resists speed. Only by reducing the weight of clubheads can you gain speed. Light weight clubheads are problematic.
Otherwise the cosmetics of these Titleist clubs are fantastic.
Ccshop
Aug 24, 2017 at 2:01 pm
These look fantastic! Can’t wait to hit them!
fmaxturbosi
Aug 24, 2017 at 1:31 pm
Would have considered looking into the ap3 IF……….they were forged, and if they weren’t chrome.
Holly Sonders
Aug 24, 2017 at 12:34 pm
+1 to what Johnnylongballz said, would love to get back to an old school MB head that doesn’t have NASCAR-esque Stamping on it. Less is more people.
Gazonkas
Aug 25, 2017 at 7:49 pm
Show us yer tatas Holly
Scott
Aug 24, 2017 at 11:55 am
I think the reason why the ap2 doesn’t look like a “classic club” because it’s not a classic club. There’s a lot of technology going on there behind the scenes I personally cannot wait to put that club in my bag Wasn’t thrilled w the look of the 714s
Travis
Aug 24, 2017 at 11:09 am
Not too thrilled with the direction of Titleist clubs. The MB’s are fine, but they’re just a rehashed design… would’ve loved to see a little creativity there. The CB’s I think are going in a solid direction, but again, nothing different from the 714 line.
Unfortunately, I think Titleist is really losing their way with the AP line… 714 was the last solid year of AP2 design, and these 718’s are trying way too hard to look robotic and futuristic, instead of air on the side of classic club design Titleist is known for…
I know there’s not all too much we can do in club design anymore. Year over year are just going to produce cosmetic changes. But now more than ever I have no desire to play the new Titleist lineup…
Raider Fan
Aug 28, 2017 at 12:58 pm
“losing their way on the AP line”? Did you miss this: “AP2 is now the most popular Titleist iron model globally on the professional tours.”. When a 10HC can play the same clubs (understand the mods Ppos get) as Jordan Speith, kind of hard to think Titleist has a problem.
birdy
Aug 24, 2017 at 10:55 am
would love to see a head to head review of Mizuno MP18 MMC and AP3.
May boil down to fact Mizuno offers so many other shaft options at no upcharge.
Scott
Aug 24, 2017 at 10:27 am
Talk about closing the deal wow that was easy. 9/1 can’t come soon enough. Boo ya!
Johnnylongballz
Aug 24, 2017 at 10:19 am
Why do they insist on stamping that “MB” on the blades. Other than that they are pretty perfect!
Hatch
Aug 24, 2017 at 11:05 pm
Agreed. I have the 716 and would love to see them without MB and forged. Just the Titleist script.
Tcann32
Aug 24, 2017 at 9:20 am
Some of the purest looking MB’s out there.. They’re gorgeous.
The AP2’s keep getting busier-looking unfortunately. This isn’t exclusive to Titleist, as many of the “Players CB’s” seem to be going that route, which I don’t understand. You’re either a minimalist and play an iron that people will say is outdated, and not a good fit for your game, or you’re swinging a golf club that looks like a spaceship.