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Irons: Hot New Picks for 2014

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What new irons are getting the most buzz early in 2014, and which ones are testing the best at fitters around the world?

You don’t have to poke around too long in our forums to find out what irons golfers are excited about, and which ones are getting cricket treatment. It’s still too early to tell what will be the winners of our 2014 Editors Choice awards, because some manufacturers still haven’t stocked retailers with heads or full shaft offerings.

That being said, there are some early reports about this year’s performers. Here is a short list of what is hot, and some early recommendations if you’re on the lookout for a new set of irons for 2014.

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Ping S55 Irons

Ping found a way to squeeze a little extra forgiveness and distance out of the new S55 irons. They look almost identical to the S56 irons — we think that’s a good thing — that have over 30 professional victories since fall of 2011. They’re still cast, but many golfers will tell you that these irons feel much better than previous models. Expect the S55 to be a top choice for many, and a contender for Editors’ Choice Iron of the Year.

[button color=”red” link=”http://www.golfwrx.com/148730/review-ping-s55-irons/”]Read More[/button]

ping s55

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Titleist 714 AP1 and AP2 Irons

Titleist engineers had a very difficult task: improve what many golfers believed to be the leaders in their respective segments. The AP1’s build on their strengths with the game-improvement crowd, giving golfers a set of irons with more distance, forgiveness and a cleaner look. And the changes to new AP2’s set the bar even higher for what just might be the best forged cavity-back irons in golf.

[button color=”red” link=”http://www.golfwrx.com/144023/titleist-714-ap1-and-ap2-irons-editor-review/”]Read More[/button]

titleist 714 ap2 review

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Callaway Apex Pro Irons

The Apex Pro irons are forged from the same 1020 carbon steel as Callaway’s 2013 X Forged irons, but their multi-material construction and new 37WV grooves bring modernity to the former one-piece design. In the long irons, Callaway engineers added high-density tungsten to the soles, which lowers the center of gravity (CG). That accentuates the irons’ CG height progression, a weighting scheme that gives the long irons a lower CG that launches the ball higher, and the short irons a higher CG that launches the ball lower.

[button color=”red” link=”http://www.golfwrx.com/147878/tech-talk-callaway-apex-pro-irons/”]Read More[/button]

callaway apex pro

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Ping i25 Irons

According to Marty Jertson, director of product development for Ping, the biggest challenge most golfers face is hitting their long irons high enough. That’s why Ping’s new i25 long irons are designed more like to the company’s G-Series irons: they have longer blade lengths, wider soles and more offset, which helps golfers hit them higher, farther and closer to the target line on mishits. The irons also have thinner, more narrowly spaced stability bars in their cavities that make their faces livelier than their predecessors.

[button color=”red” link=”http://www.golfwrx.com/165081/ping-i25-irons/”]Read More[/button]

ping i25 iron

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TaylorMade SpeedBlade Irons

At address, SpeedBlades are an absolute confidence booster with a thin(ish) top line. They have a great trampoline-like feel when flushed, and mishits won’t punish your joints. The ball flight with the long irons can look down right majestic. These irons are currently testing through the roof for distance and accuracy.

[button color=”red” link=”http://www.golfwrx.com/143879/taylormade-speedblade-irons-editor-review/”]Read More[/button]

jetspeed iron review

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36 Comments

36 Comments

  1. dwntnbrown

    May 18, 2015 at 12:59 pm

    if you want the best feeling irons order a set of raven forged iron with aeortech shafts and you will have the best feeling golf club you ever hit

  2. joro

    Jun 9, 2014 at 11:21 am

    Funny how it is always the same old ones.

  3. Matthew

    Feb 25, 2014 at 1:18 pm

    what about the Minzuno jpxz forged blade its awesome!!!

  4. Jeff

    Feb 17, 2014 at 9:56 am

    Best new club is Miura mb-001’s. Buttery and oh so long.

    • Jon

      Mar 20, 2014 at 11:29 am

      This article is about cavity backs not blades.

  5. killerbgolfer

    Feb 11, 2014 at 11:18 am

    anyone got any comparisons between the Titleist AP2s and the PING s55?

    Which is more forgiving?

    Longer?

    Other thoughts?

    thanks

    • James

      Mar 29, 2014 at 10:53 pm

      Today I hit both the AP2 714 and the S55 today. They were both similar in terms of forgiveness. However, the key factor I noticed was that the S55 although not forged but felt really soft like forged irons. The AP2’s felt soft but not as much as the S55, I was quite surprised? I currently play the. I currently play the Mizuno MP33 and the feel between the S55 and my MP33 were similar. If you want a combination of soft feel and forgiveness, try the Callaway Apex Pro. I was blown away by the performance. I will be replacing my Mizunos with the Apex Pro’s. Hope this helps.

  6. SBoss

    Jan 29, 2014 at 12:21 pm

    I’ve hit just about every iron (2013/2014) and it came down to two finalists: Callaway Apex Pro and Ping S55. I hit the MP-4, MP-54, all the TaylorMade’s, AP2/AP1, i20/i25, S56, MP-64…
    This is very personal and one guy’s favorite might be very different than mine. I chose the S55 in the end and I’m happy that I did, because it’s the best iron I’ve ever hit. It’s a lot longer than I thought it was (longer than S56) and it was amazingly forgiving…while at the same time keeping the smaller profile that I like.
    I’m blown away by the S55’s ability to be a club that you can move any direction…while somehow providing enough forgiveness and length.
    I didn’t care for the MP-54 (it was chunky and not as forgiving) but somebody else might love it. I spoke to a Mini-Tour player who loves Mizuno (plays MP-64) and he said he’d never consider the MP-4 because it makes no sense to play a club with a sweet spot that small when other clubs were available that were just as easy to move and more forgiving. That’s why he plays MP-64. His view was that the MP-4 was an ego club but the person playing it would be better served with another stick. Again, one player’s opinion.
    In the end, it’s best to hit every club and keep an open mind. Personally, I’d play any club manufacturer if I believed it was the best for me. I’m not loyal to anyone, I just want the sticks that I can play the best golf…for me.

  7. Tom

    Jan 28, 2014 at 5:10 pm

    Read the first and second paragraph’s guy’s.

  8. Suwitcha

    Jan 23, 2014 at 1:45 am

    I’m not agree on SpeedBlade. I use Ping i20 and then switch to RocketBladez and then speedBlade. Now I go back to Ping i20. SpeedBlade is not much different from previous model. Just new color.

  9. Always a Fan!!

    Jan 16, 2014 at 10:48 pm

    Mizuno deserves credit… MP4’s are the 2014 offering no matter what date they were released… Good god… Blatant commercialism.

  10. yo!

    Jan 15, 2014 at 10:01 pm

    Got the big 4 covered
    titleist, Callaway, ping, tm

    • livestrong

      Jan 15, 2014 at 11:47 pm

      They peg it. I work at a top 5 fitter in the USA and we are seeing the same thing plus the new Cobra Pros. All in the LM numbers.

  11. nik dallos

    Jan 15, 2014 at 7:17 pm

    Lets face it. Golfwrx is paid off by the big names to push their products. Everything is made in china and is assembled in the states. Show me something thats forged in pittsburg by a guy named joe and then i might buy your product. Till then, ill stick to my VIPs!

    • livestrong

      Jan 15, 2014 at 11:44 pm

      That is rubbish. Their sponsors are also Tour Edge, KZG, Fourteen Golf and Scratch golf. I dont see them mentioned. GolfWRX uses top fitters as their source if you did any reading or asked around. Read how they vote in the footer and go talk to them.

  12. Januany

    Jan 15, 2014 at 11:23 am

    You have the SpeedBlade but not the CB or MC? And what about the other Apex? X2Hot and X2Hot Pro? And the Adams XTD irons? This list is ridiculous.

  13. RAT

    Jan 15, 2014 at 11:13 am

    Why isn’t the FG M3 Wilson Staff shown?

  14. RAT

    Jan 15, 2014 at 11:07 am

    Good comment Rich!
    I notice that ping has been getting more exposure when they appear to be going to a walmart looking club.The colors are cheap & weak looking.
    TM is still searching because they keep changing colors .Can anyone tell me what TM’s primary color is? And TT you are right on the ball, prices fall tech doesn’t really change just appearences so wait and buy later.

    • Mike

      Feb 24, 2014 at 2:47 am

      Does it really matter what colour? It won’t make the ball or you perform any better!

    • Aaron Bieber

      Mar 4, 2014 at 12:11 pm

      If you’ve seen the PING S55s in hand, there is no way you could classify them as a Walmart club. They are the best looking clubs I’ve seen, the finish is amazing. I love Titleist and Mizuno, but when I saw the S55s I just said ‘wow’. And they play amazingly, too.

  15. trmarsh

    Jan 15, 2014 at 8:54 am

    Even though the MP 4’s and MP 54’s were released in 2013, I truly would like to see them on this list. They have a great combination of looks and feel.

    • Lee

      Jan 15, 2014 at 2:41 pm

      Best blade and forged cavity on the market IMO of course.

  16. TonyK

    Jan 14, 2014 at 9:31 pm

    I scrolled up and down twice. Where is MP4?

    • Billy

      Jan 14, 2014 at 10:06 pm

      and VR pro combo.

    • Lar

      Jan 15, 2014 at 12:02 am

      MP-4 has been out for a while now, so it’s considered 2013 and a half? I thought the MP-54 would be on here too but it isn’t. And what about the Wilsons?

  17. Craig

    Jan 14, 2014 at 9:18 pm

    I have the new Titleist AP1. And i love them. They are about the only company left that doesn’t release new clubs every 2 months. I think it is stupid for companys to come out with new clubs every 4 months. I have a Taylormade R1 white driver and they have already came out with 3 new drivers.

    • TT

      Jan 14, 2014 at 9:33 pm

      Since when are more product choices for consumers a bad thing? Also, if I am in the market for new clubs and eyeing a particular club (or set of clubs), I know if I am willing to wait a few more months I can likely get them at a lower price?

      • LiveWire

        Jan 14, 2014 at 11:48 pm

        TT, good point

        Six months is wonderful timing for price changes. I usually purchase last years models when they drop a lot in price. Even though the look of a cub line might change a little I think R&D rotates on a 2 to 3 year cycle on irons.

      • Rich

        Jan 15, 2014 at 6:41 am

        Since it makes a joke of the club industry. TMAG don’t give 2 hoots about what’s good for the game. They only care about what’s good for the bottom line and the shareholders hip pockets. Maybe I should buy some TMAG shares and get in on the rort……….

      • Andrew Park

        May 26, 2014 at 1:46 am

        It’s called Capitalism. If you want limited choices and companies that can only release certain products at certain predicated times, move to a communist nation. What do you think is the driving force behind innovation? It is competition, plain and simple. What essentially is competition in a Capitalist system? It is multiple companies vying for marketshare. How do they accomplish this? They constantly develop new technologies, no matter how small the change may be, so that at any given time, a company’s product might be considered more advanced and of better quality than a competitor’s.

    • Rich

      Jan 15, 2014 at 6:40 am

      Sorry man, it’s actually 4. R1 Black, SLDR 460, SLDR 430 and Jetspeed. TMAG are ridiculous………

      • zacjokier

        Mar 5, 2014 at 3:10 pm

        Actually R1 black is an extension of the r1 so it’s not “new.” And the sldr and the sldr 430 are the same technology in a smaller package. So taylormade has actually only come out with 2 new clubs. Sldr and jetspeed.

    • TJ

      Jan 15, 2014 at 12:07 pm

      hmmm Titleist the only manufacture that does releases every 2 years? when was the last ping i series released? I’m also pretty sure that Mizuno has a 2 year cycle as well?

      • ND Hickman

        Jan 15, 2014 at 4:15 pm

        Ping i20’s were out two years ago, and yes you are right. Mizuno do employ a two year cycle for their clubs.

        • Lee

          Jan 16, 2014 at 5:29 am

          Yeah that’s right the I20 irons were released 2 years ago however Ping had the I25’s ready 6 months ago but were told by their distribution network to hold their horses. It’s good to see that they listened to the guys on the street as from first impressions the 25’s aren’t a radical upgrade which 6 months ago may well have been viewed as a cosmetic blow over, given the extra time they will now attract genuine interest even from I20 owners.

          • paul

            Feb 19, 2014 at 2:35 pm

            As an I 20 owner, I have tried the new stuff, and don’t care. I20 looks better to.

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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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