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New photos bring clarity to TaylorMade Tour Preferred iron rumors

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The forums are buzzing with a nearly 30-page thread ignited by spy photos of TaylorMade’s soon-to-be-released Tour Preferred iron series.

The thread exploded three weeks ago when a photo surfaced of a TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC iron (pictured below) with TaylorMade’s “TP” badging. Since that time, many sources have confirmed that the iron was a prototype and the new Tour Preferred irons will not feature the logo.

Tour_Preferred_badge_TaylorMade

New photos from TaylorMade’s Japan site and insider info have brought clarity to some of the other questions about the irons that have been floating around the forums.

  • The muscle backs (MB) irons will likely be a fully forged set, and will not have TaylorMade’s Speed Pocket technology, a.k.a a slot in the sole.
  • The MC irons will be partially forged, with the 8 iron through PW featuring a one-piece forged construction and the 3 iron through 7 iron being cast to accommodate the Speed Pocket.
  • The CB irons will be fully cast, and like the MC irons they will have a Speed Pocket in the 3 through 7 irons. The 8 through PW and AW are expected to be cast from a slightly softer stainless steel.

Lofts from TaylorMade’s Japan Site

Tour Preferred MB: 3-21, 4-24, 5-27, 6-31, 7-35, 8-39, 9-43 and PW-47

post-104759-0-13713800-1385828026post-104759-0-22777500-1385828027

Tour Preferred MC: 3-20, 4-23, 5-26, 6-30, 7-34, 8-38, 9-42 and PW-47

post-104759-0-39735100-1385827959post-104759-0-65871800-1385827960

Tour Preferred CB: 3-18, 4-21, 5-24.5, 6-28.5, 7-32.5, 8-36.5, 9-41, PW-46 and AW 51

post-104759-0-02744800-1385827874post-104759-0-99803500-1385827885

The release date for the CB and MC irons is rumored to be Jan. 15, with the MB irons launching in February. Stay tuned to the TaylorMade Tour Preferred CB, MC and MB iron thread for the latest developments.

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45 Comments

45 Comments

  1. jake aston

    Dec 26, 2013 at 10:19 am

    hi everyone just to let you all now that the new TaylorMade Tour Preferred iron are now out in shops you can only but the cb but i pace an order, and i have now got the mc i have tryed all of the best irons out and these had the best fill and consistently a good strik.

  2. bellsy13

    Dec 11, 2013 at 3:10 pm

    The looks of the club won’t improve your game. TP badge or not they’ll still perform exactly the same. All blades are very similar, there’s only so much you can do with the looks of a club head. Go hit ’em and hope they suit your game.

  3. Mike

    Dec 3, 2013 at 6:37 pm

    Could as well say Mizuno on above irons. Pure copy IMO

  4. jason

    Dec 3, 2013 at 3:11 pm

    I see lots of comments regarding this or that OEM copied Mizuno with respect to the std blade with the toe notch. If you dig through the Faldo equipment thread on here you will see that Mizuno actually modeled their late 80’s blade, the TN-87,and blades thereafter, after the 1958 Ben Hogan Precision and the 1983 Ben Hogan Personal. As far as I know it is those particular models that started it all and what so many others have duplicated because it works. The gold standard in muscleback design wasn’t started by Mizuno,
    Ben Hogan happened to get it right, decades earlier.

    • DB

      Dec 12, 2013 at 1:49 pm

      Couldn’t have said it any better myself Jason.

  5. FatRick

    Dec 3, 2013 at 2:14 pm

    They should have painted in the “preferred” in black for the mb, mc and white for the cb. The red for some reason just doesn’t look right. The cb looks like the a “tour version” of the speedblades.

  6. Vinny

    Dec 3, 2013 at 1:42 pm

    Those MB’s look like dead ringers for Mizuno MP14/MP29. The development folks at Taylor Made must have spent all of 5 minutes designing these irons!

    • jason

      Dec 3, 2013 at 3:07 pm

      I see lots of comments regarding this or that OEM copied Mizuno with respect to the std blade with the toe notch. If you dig through the Faldo equipment thread on here you will see that Mizuno actually modeled their late 80’s blade, the TN-87,and blades thereafter, after the 1958 Ben Hogan Precision and the 1983 Ben Hogan Personal. As far as I know it is those particular models that started it all and what so many others have duplicated. Just get all your facts straight before assuming Mizuno invented the gold standard in musclebacks.
      Ben Hogan did it, decades earlier.

    • Jon

      Dec 3, 2013 at 11:34 pm

      all blades look the same…

  7. Troy

    Dec 3, 2013 at 1:28 pm

    forge the MC and CB, mill out a speed pocket and pour in some polymer. I know, mind blowing 🙂

  8. Lazza

    Dec 3, 2013 at 1:01 pm

    Been playing the 2011 TP MB irons for a long time now and even with the peculiar tungsten weights, I personally prefer their look. Always funny though when I play my 39° 8-iron following which someone hits their 40° 9-iron about as far, asks me what I played and then quietly sniggers at my lack of distance.

  9. Regis

    Dec 3, 2013 at 12:31 pm

    I played forged irons (Mizuno,Miura,Wilson Staff) for close to 40 years. Age and arthritis in my wrists have put those days past me. In the last year I purchased and gamed a bunch of Game Improvement irons with little satisfaction. Finally got the rocketbladz on closeout.I can’t speak to those of you with 105 mph swing speeds but for me the TM speed pocket and “jacked up lofts” are the best inovation since the graphite shaft.Great top line, ball flight and as close to a “forged” feel as you’re going to get in a GI iron. You call it a “gimmick”. For me it’s satisfaction in a well designed product

  10. David Smith

    Dec 3, 2013 at 11:58 am

    @Jon, it is a gimmick, it’s been proven already. I’m not going to argue about it because raw data overrides your false claims which you’re basing purely on what TMaG has told you and the public. Infact, JPX bent to the same jacked lofts of the RBZ out performed the RBZ WITH the speedpocket. I have tried them and they are definitely not doing anything more to the iron based on my own experience and testing as well.

    See, you’re exactly the type of people TMaG market too, they just love your type 🙂

    • Jon

      Dec 3, 2013 at 11:37 pm

      when you tried them were you comparing them by eye or were you on a trackman or flightscope?

      if you were doing them by eye i would suggest going to a golf galaxy or golfshop where you could compare spin rates, ball speeds, and distances, to your current set

      • Jefe Colderon

        Dec 8, 2013 at 9:07 pm

        Good advice, Jon. We wouldn’t want people going to a real golf course and hitting real shots under real conditions and seeing real results. What backyard do you teach out of?

  11. Tyler

    Dec 3, 2013 at 11:27 am

    They look OK. TP badge would have looked better.

  12. Ian Bainbridge

    Dec 3, 2013 at 10:56 am

    TP badge is a must, they look like cheap knock offs without it. If it comes with lettering on I’ll pass.

  13. Mizuno Zeke

    Dec 3, 2013 at 10:56 am

    Not a big TM fan, but the blade looks pretty good

  14. Tom

    Dec 3, 2013 at 10:50 am

    I like these and I am not an TaylorMade fan. Question; These photos are from TayloMade Japan site, were are these heads forged in japan?

  15. homats

    Dec 3, 2013 at 10:42 am

    Reason Taylormade continues to release product at such a dizzying pace, in case anyone does not understand product marketing, is products die on their own. A lot of companies (Titleist is prime example) will allow a product to die over two to three years (910 vs 913), but Taylormade would prefer to make their own product obsolete by introducing a new line bolstered by their staff pros playing in tournaments.

    most people are upset by this, but it actually creates better product. prime example – R1 vs SLDR. Or R7 vs SLDR for that matter. I upgrade nearly every release after the prices drop and I like what I get.

    • Scott

      Dec 3, 2013 at 12:26 pm

      Was the R11s that much better than the R11 or the R1 that much better than the R11s ? Same for the RBZ and the Stage 2 ? Doubt it……..actually scratch that. I know they werent. Titleist outsold every other driver on the market in our shop this season. Just two models with a variety of good quality stock shafts.

  16. joro

    Dec 3, 2013 at 10:31 am

    like that new stuff, not better but new and expensive. Keeps em in business.

  17. joro

    Dec 3, 2013 at 10:30 am

    Again, something new, not necessarily better, but new. What a great company.

  18. Mike M

    Dec 2, 2013 at 8:07 pm

    This actually isn’t a bad looking iron. better than the other crap they have (speed blade, RBZ)

  19. David Smith

    Dec 2, 2013 at 7:47 pm

    What a load of garbage this is.

  20. CW

    Dec 2, 2013 at 7:25 pm

    They ruined the mb with the tour preferred stamp, imo.

  21. gocanucksfan123

    Dec 2, 2013 at 7:19 pm

    MCs look exciting! Can’t wait to give em a hit and compare them to the Bridgestone Combos and the Nike Combos

  22. gticlay

    Dec 2, 2013 at 5:08 pm

    46* PW in a TP set, LOL Please just shoot me now.

    • brian

      Dec 2, 2013 at 6:25 pm

      its not that big of a deal. I dont think it will prevent you from playing on tour. Bend it weak if it bothers you so much. Relax bro

      • gticlay

        Dec 3, 2013 at 12:01 pm

        You mean 2* weak bro. I don’t need to hit a 160 yard PW and it messes with my gaps and bounce.

      • Jefe Colderon

        Dec 8, 2013 at 9:08 pm

        HAHAHAHA. well put.

    • Alex

      Dec 2, 2013 at 8:00 pm

      Maybe you should write Mizuno. They’re MP-69 and MP-4 both have a 46* PW.

      As someone who hits the ball outrageously high, I welcome the stronger lofts.

  23. jgpl001

    Dec 2, 2013 at 4:45 pm

    Nothing special here, though the MB looks like a solid blade with a nice head shape and muscle at the back. I am sure the MC and MB will gets lots of tour use

    Hopefully all the Rocketbladz and Speedblade nonsense is thing of the past

  24. Mat

    Dec 2, 2013 at 4:44 pm

    Got that?

    Martin says so!

    Glad that’s all cleared up.

  25. Martin V.

    Dec 2, 2013 at 4:38 pm

    2014 MCs are not forged therefore they’re no good as the original 2011 TP MC.

    The Speed Pocket is useless, it’s just marketing strategy.

    • Patrick

      Dec 2, 2013 at 6:57 pm

      I can’t believe that the MC is not forged… Need a forged version

    • Jack

      Dec 2, 2013 at 7:05 pm

      Half the set is forged. I’m not sure why they went with that, but if you want to hit cbs mighty as well go with titleist.

      My question is do the cbs replace the speed bladez? They look very similar.

      • Alex

        Dec 2, 2013 at 8:02 pm

        I thought I saw a TM rep or someone say the CB will effectively be the “SpeedBladez Tour”

      • Jon

        Dec 2, 2013 at 9:47 pm

        The reason the 3-7 are forged is because you cannot put a speed pocket into a forged iron, you have to cast the slot. That is why the rocketbladez tour is cast. The CB’s do not replace the speed blade, the speed blades are more forgiving and easier to hit.

        • Mc

          Dec 2, 2013 at 11:01 pm

          It’s possible to possible to have a slot in a forged iron… Adams xtd forged iron, they are unreal!

          • Jon

            Dec 3, 2013 at 1:36 am

            no but the adams XTD forged irons are not a one piece forge, they are actually 2 forged pieces put together.

        • David Smith

          Dec 3, 2013 at 11:16 am

          The speed pocket is a gimmick anyway, they should do away with it and stick to the traditional sole and use a forged head instead of this nonsense speed slot/pocket gimmick-#ier thing.

          It’s already been tested against and proven the speed pocket does NOTHING except dampens the sound a bit giving the “softer” feel as it was well known the RBladez are very loud, if the irons were forged the softness would be natural so the speedpocket/slot-#ier thing is not required.

          I can’t stand the route TMaG has taken, I have loved their stuff for so many years but they’ve lost me as a loyal custom since after their 2011 TP line-up. They just produce plain old garbage now and unfortunately this TP line up isn’t any better; sad day 🙁

          D

          • Jon

            Dec 3, 2013 at 11:29 am

            Its actually not a gimmick. The speed pocket allows the face to flex, which kinda turns it into a trampoline. You will actually see a 5-10 yard difference with the speed pocket. Maybe if you actually try their products you will see how they perform.

          • markb

            Dec 4, 2013 at 9:15 pm

            Ever since the days of Old Tom Morris, golf has been rife with both gimmicks and innovations. TMag is certainly responsible for some of each.

            IMO, I the face angle “dial” on the bottoms of the R11-R1 drivers was pure gimmick. Unless you sat the club on a flat hard surface (unlike a grass tee box) it told you NOTHING! This fact was immediately evident to me after 15 minutes with the club.

            What was also immediately evident to me is the fact that the Speed Pocket is real. I’ve seen it with my own eyes and felt its effects with my own hands. The results were so dramatic that it caused me to question whether the slot was actually legal and could remain that way in the future. Its affect on the golfball is certainly more dramatic and quantifiable than anything I’ve ever experienced with a belly putter or square-grooved Pings.

            It’s also in its 4th generation and spreading to nearly every product in the TMag-Adams lines. If it’s a gimmick, gimme more!

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Equipment

Q&A: Martin Trainer on his Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers” putter, 6.5-degree driver, and “butter knife” 2-iron

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As unbiasedly as I can put it, Martin Trainer has one of the coolest club setups in professional golf. (At some point soon, I’ll put together a top-10 list of “coolest club setups on Tour,” but I know that Trainer will be in the top-10)

What a lineup. He plays a 6.5-degree Wilson prototype driver, a 13-degree Wilson prototype 3-wood, a true blade Wilson Staff Model 2-iron, and a Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers Commemorative” putter!

 

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I mean, look at this 2-iron from address…

To quote the great author R.L. Stine: “Goosebumps.”

On Wednesday at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open, I caught up with Trainer to learn more about his bag setup.

Here’s what he had to say:

You have the Internet going crazy over your bag setup, and your putter. Where’d you pick the Bobby Grace-Greg Chalmers putter up? How long have you had it?

MT: This was from when Bobby Grace came to my course in California: Cal Club. And for whatever reason, they just started having them in the shop. So then I took my buddy’s, started using it, and made, like, a million putts in a row, which is how every putter story begins, I guess.

And then, I bought a couple of my own, used it for years, got to the Tour with it, won on Tour with it (the 2019 Puerto Rico Open). Then, about a year later, started using another putter, did that for a couple years, but now it’s back in the bag.

When did it come back in the bag?

MT: December of this past year. So a few months ago.

What year would you say was the first time you threw that in the bag, or, like, when you bought it?

MT: God…Probably, 2016, maybe? 2018?

Do you remember how much you paid for it?

MT: I don’t know, actually. Maybe $100-150 bucks or something. I think that’s the only golf club I’ve bought between high school and now. Well, two, since I bought two of them.

The driver is interesting, too. What went into the prototyping process?

MT: That was a version of the current driver, but it was the prototype that they first came out with for Tour guys to try. And for whatever reason, I just never switched out to the new one.

It’s just 6.5 degrees, right?

MT: Yeah. Very low loft, yeah.

What kind of ball speed do you have with that these days?

MT: Like high 170’s.

Yeah, that’ll work. And then a 2-iron blade? We’re seeing fewer and fewer of those out here.

MT: Yeah. The butter knife.

Very cool thing to have in the bag. Have you done any testing with driving irons? 

MT: Yeah, I used to have a thicker one, but it was a little offset, and I never hit it that well. And then finally, I started messing around with the butter knife. And I remember the first time I looked down at it, I was terrified. And then I ended up getting used to it, putting it in play, and it’s been in place since. It’s a pretty good club for me.

How far do you carry that? 

MT: Like 235.

A good little wind club, I’m sure.

MTL Yeah, exactly. I can hit it very low. It’s great.

I love it. You have people shook looking at that. Thanks for the time, man. 

MT: Absolutely.

To see more photos and discussion of Trainer’s bag, click here.

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Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (3/28/24): L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft

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At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick putter with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft.

From the seller: (@hibcam): “L.A.B. GOLF Mezz.1 Max Broomstick- LA Golf Paige Spiranac Shaft- 44″/79.5. Brand new, never used brown leather cover. The head was professionally anodized from Orange to Blue (Orange looked bad with the Pink shaft so I had it changed). Only a few rounds on this combo. Please see last pic- slight ding on back corner. 8.5-10 condition. THE SHAFT COST $475/ THE PUTTER $625. $799 shipped in the US. ONLY $699 SHIPPED.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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Spotted: Tony Finau’s driver shaft change at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open

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Tony Finau has always been known as one of the longest players on the PGA Tour, but he has recently been working on adding a little more distance. Last year, Finau averaged 118.3 mph club head speed and 178.08 mph ball speed, all while playing a Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX driver shaft. This year, he has increased his club head speed to 123.93 mph and his ball speed to 183.32 mph.

However, Finau’s overall distance has decreased by two yards in that time. From a fitting perspective, something was amiss. We asked Tony about the shaft change at the Texas Children’s Hospital Open.

“[I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin. My driver’s been a little high spin for me over the last month or so, and so I just figured it was time to probably check out the equipment,” Finau said. “And it definitely showed me that I was using a shaft that’s maybe a little too tip-stiff for me, the way I load the club now. [I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin.”

Finau switched from the Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX into the Diamana GT 70 TX. The newer Diamana GT has a slightly different profile than the D+ Limited with the stiffest handle section in the Diamana lineup. The mid sections between the two are similar stiffness but the tip is just slightly stiffer in the Diamana GT. Both shafts are within one gram of each other in the 70 TX. The torque rating on the GT is 0.1 higher than the D+Limited’s 2.7 measurement.

Mitsubishi lists the Diamana GT as a shaft between the mid-launching Diamana TB and the new low-launch Diamana WB shafts. For most players, it would be considered a mid/low launch and low-spin shaft option. Mitsubishi’s Xlink Tech Resin System makes sure the maximum carbon fiber content is there for smooth feel without reducing the strength of the shaft. MR70 carbon fiber is used for reinforcing the shaft and boron is used in the tip for its high strength and compression properties.

Finau is still using his trusty Ping G430 LST driver in 9 degrees and has the adjustable hosel set to -1 degree of loft (standard lie angle). Finau’s long-time favorite Lamkin UTX Green grip is installed. He definitely has a few extra wraps of tape under that grip as you can see the bulge down where the grip meets the shaft.

One final note: Per Ping’s PGA Tour rep Kenton Oates, Finau’s driver is also adjusted to play with an additional degree of loft to help dial in his desired launch.

We’ll see how he fares with the new setup this week in Houston!

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