Equipment

TaylorMade goes big with the AeroBurner irons

Published

9 years ago

Mar 11, 2015

Wide soles, thick top lines and long blade lengths. That’s not the recipe for a set of classic-looking irons, but when it comes to performance, it’s hard to beat.

TaylorMade’s new AeroBurner irons are designed to be the longest, most forgiving irons in the company’s 2015 lineup, thanks to their low center of gravity and extreme heel-toe weighting. Like TaylorMade’s other irons, the AeroBurners also have the company’s Speed Pocket, a slot in the sole that raises launch angle and improves ball speed — particularly on off-center hits.

[quote_box_center]”Over the years, TaylorMade irons have gotten smaller,” said Tomo Bystedt, TaylorMade’s director of product creation for irons. “We felt we were not meeting the needs of certain golfers, and wanted to make an iron that was as long and as easy to play as anything we’ve ever made.”[/quote_box_center]

According to Bystedt, the AeroBurner irons are for golfers who don’t hit their irons as far as they’d like. That’s why they have the stronger lofts that they do — the 6 iron measures 25.5 degrees, the pitching wedge measures 43 degrees.

[quote_box_center]”We don’t typically use handicap as a guide… but these are probably for golfers with handicaps of 15 or more,” he said. [/quote_box_center]

Noticeably absent from the design of the AeroBurner irons are TaylorMade’s “Face Slots,” which are two vertical slots positioned on the toe and heel areas of the club face. They are used in the company’s RSi 1, RSi 2 and RSi TP irons.

Face slots make a club face play “larger,” or more forgiving than it would otherwise without increasing the size of the head. Because of the already large head size of the AeroBurner irons, Face Slots were not needed for the AeroBurner’s design, Bystedt said.

Golfers interested in the AeroBurner irons should expect a ball flight with a slight left bias from the clubs.

: AeroBurner v. SpeedBlade

: At address: AeroBurner v. SpeedBlade (right)

: AeroBurner v. Ping G30

: At Address: AeroBurner v. Ping G30 (right)

[quote_box_center]”The RSi 1 irons are designed to fly dead straight,” Bystedt said. “But we gave the AeroBurner irons a CG that will create about 2.5 yards more left bias.”[/quote_box_center]

The AeroBurner irons (available in 4-PW, AW, SW) will be in stores March 27.

Stock Shafts: Available with FST REAX 88 High Launch steel shafts ($699 for an eight piece set) or AeroBurner REAX 60 graphite shafts ($799) in stiff, regular, senior or ladies flex.

Click here to see what GolfWRX Members are saying about the AeroBurner irons in our forum.

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44 Comments

Shawn K

Apr 2, 2015 at 8:57 am

Rented Speed Blades a couple of times on vacation. I’m an 11 with decent club head speed and couldn’t hit the 4 iron. Scrap the 3,4 for Hybrids. That probably costs more though.
Not to mention hitting the lip of a fairway bunker with my 6 iron, forgot it was a 5 iron.

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Jeff

Mar 20, 2015 at 11:08 pm

If the lofts are that big of a deal buy the 4 through AW set instead of 3-PW. I’m sure the slot thingy makes them an improvement on the 09 Burners and that’s a set I still see in play ALL THE TIME. I don’t see much difference between this year’s Callaway and Taylormade G I models, almost the same paint.

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KK

Mar 14, 2015 at 8:53 am

If you look at Maltby’s tests, you’ll see the CG on TM’s distance irons is nothing special. The classic Ping G5 has a lower CG. Big picture: there’s not much you can do to increase iron distance of cast clubs other than jack the lofts and lengthen/lighten the shafts. By the logic some of you guys are using, we should have 68 or 70 degree lob wedges right now to compensate for TM’s amazing tech developments. Stop

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Marcus Rogers

Mar 13, 2015 at 3:30 am

Wow. I saw this coming from a mile away. Soon enough your PW is going to be 38* and your 4 iron will be 15*

STOP RUINING THE GAME TSHWAG

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tailormade

Mar 12, 2015 at 8:32 pm

6 degree gaps in the scoring clubs and three irons (4,5,6) under 26 degrees of loft?

Surely someone at TM is having a good ol’ fashioned LOL. These are truly awful.

Reply Report comment
- Daniel
  
  Mar 13, 2015 at 3:22 am
  
  Word. These are unplayable for every category of golfers.
  
  Reply Report comment
James

Mar 12, 2015 at 3:13 pm

Jesus Murphy………..My 5 iron has 29* of loft. 22* is just preposterous. I imagine they are forgiving but Ping builds the most forgiving clubs IMO, they still manage to get decent distance out of slightly stronger then players clubs. These look basically like the 2009 Burner irons with a “slot” on the bottom that does nothing unless you have Clubhead Speed. Players from this category usually dont have the speed to get the bennies of the slots.

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- Jer
  
  Apr 4, 2015 at 8:18 am
  
  I’ll couldn’t agree with you more. I’m almost embarrassed for TMAG anymore. To me it sends a negative message when u can’t stick to the cycle of revising your clubs like other OEMS, and must release and market more and more “gimmicks?”
  
  My interest died after R7 425 , and there tour preferred from 2010-2011 (mc,mb,cb) I couldn’t even tell you what there offerings are anymore as it’s literally a couple months and a new way to gain 10yds. Anyone playing TMAG should be hitting the ball 40% further then us using “inferior outdated” products from6 months ago, our technology is dead. (Last line attempt at sarcasm)
  
  Reply Report comment
Bobby Cunningham

Mar 12, 2015 at 2:53 pm

Wow TaylorMade, great innovation. These look drastically different from the 10 previous generations of garbage you have put out.

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Daniel

Mar 12, 2015 at 12:15 pm

And in this case “hits their short irons just fine” means that they have reasonable length, decent ballstriking and, above all, the proper gapping with 10-15 yards between clubs.
Stretching these gaps to 20 yards does nothing but harm.
And if their distances in the long end are already cramped since they lack the clubhead speed to hit a 26° 5-iron, what good is a 22° 5-iron? It will have even shorter carry.

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Daniel

Mar 12, 2015 at 11:21 am

Just a guess but it can’t be far off.
My friends with 10+ handicaps hits their short irons just fine but struggles with anything longer than a 6-iron.
They don’t need stronger lofted short irons, they need easier to hit long irons, but what TaylorMade is offering them is the opposite.

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Shane

Mar 12, 2015 at 10:19 am

2.5 yards of draw bias in an iron? You’re kidding right? How’s this done by changing the CG? No thanks TM!! I’m sticking to my Eye2+!

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Long Ball

Mar 12, 2015 at 8:40 am

Can you explain the formula you used to come up with those yardage gaps?

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Daniel

Mar 12, 2015 at 4:28 am

Never mind the number on the soles, with those lofts no way the player will get reasonable gapping. 20-25 yards between GW and PW, 5 yards between 5-iron and 4-iron.
Good work Taylor Made.

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Long Ball

Mar 12, 2015 at 12:15 am

Trust me, the vast majority of people using these clubs are not “the fickle puma newbies”. Its the people who cant play the game without some help.

The game needs these people to stay on the course and needs these clubs on the shelves.

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- Simz
  
  Mar 12, 2015 at 8:33 am
  
  Truth
  
  Reply Report comment
gocanucksfan123

Mar 11, 2015 at 10:18 pm

Lol I love the people trashing Taylormade’s lofts when they haven’t got a clue about how physics works. Educate yourselves, then give opinions please.

Reply Report comment
- Jeffrey Trigger
  
  Mar 23, 2015 at 4:57 pm
  
  When I was a senior in high school, I had a set of MP-14’s. Of course I played a lot, and I loved those irons. I will also say that the MP-14 is to this day the most forged club I’ve ever played. As long as the strike was good (not fat or bladed), the ball didn’t waver off line very much on mishits.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Dylan
  
  Apr 8, 2015 at 10:43 am
  
  Am I the only one who thinks that high handicappers with stronger lofts would be the exact same as better players with weaker lofts because better golfers hit down on the ball which de-lofts the club, whereas high handicappers tend to sweep which doesn’t change the loft at all?
  
  Reply Report comment
Long Ball

Mar 11, 2015 at 9:04 pm

KK, I guess in short, I was suggesting the loft has to be adjusted to cater for the low CG. The end result being a 6 iron that launches like a 6 iron. If it launched like a four iron than they got the balance wrong. My experience with “shovels” as Mark puts it, (Im talking about “shovels” designed by club manufacturers with lots of coin), is they launch like the number suggests but go further and are forgiving.

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Long Ball

Mar 11, 2015 at 8:39 pm

Sorry, I assumed everyone would have realised I was suggesting the loft had to be adjusted so the trajectory was now back to a 6 iron and not an 8

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Mark

Mar 11, 2015 at 8:35 pm

Shovels.

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KK

Mar 11, 2015 at 8:18 pm

TM didn’t just work the back, they worked the front to hit like a 4 iron, lol. What % of the guys demoing these clubs will be able to hit the 6/4iron? Or even the 7/5 iron? That’s a small %. No wonder TM revenue is down.

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Long Ball

Mar 11, 2015 at 8:09 pm

Take a 6 iron, with a 6 iron shaft length & a 6 iron head weight, work the back of the head to make it much easier to hit for those who need that (isn’t this still the majority of golfers?). But now it has the trajectory of an 8 iron. Do you alter the number to 8?…. No! Its the length and weight of a 6 iron. Its a 6 iron that goes further and is easier to hit. Thank you TaylorMade!!!

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jgpl001

Mar 11, 2015 at 7:53 pm

These are ABSOLUTELY SHOCKING
A 25.5 deg 6 iron……….so what next from the great TM machine? I can’t wait- YAWN

Reply Report comment
KK

Mar 11, 2015 at 7:45 pm

Haha. The typical guy demoing these clubs won’t even be able to hit the 6 iron. They will have to club down to an 8 or 9 iron to get any consistency.

Reply Report comment
Rich

Mar 11, 2015 at 6:46 pm

Exactly. It ain’t about the number on the bottom, it’s about how far you hit ’em.

Reply Report comment
- marty
  
  Mar 11, 2015 at 7:23 pm
  
  It’s kinda about your score at the end.
  
  Reply Report comment
rgb

Mar 11, 2015 at 5:36 pm

Lemme guess. A+. I read a review from a couple of years ago about Miura irons….

“Miura irons don’t include plastics, carbon fiber, adjustable weights, “super expanded sweet spots cones of power,” or, well, anything invented after roughly 1957.”

Yea. That.

Reply Report comment
kloyd0306

Mar 11, 2015 at 5:17 pm

TMAG could have saved themselves the effort of a new design and its manufacture by simply reproducing the Burner 2.0 irons and provide the buyer with a Sharpie to cross out the number on the sole and write over it with a smaller number.

Reply Report comment
gwillis7

Mar 11, 2015 at 3:57 pm

True. Everyone does it, even mizzie and titleist. My goodness though, a 4 iron at 19 degree loft! Cally and Tm are the ones pushing the envelope with this. I have no problem with them coming out with clubs all the time, I could care less. But lofts are getting ridiculous now

Reply Report comment
pk20152

Mar 11, 2015 at 3:54 pm

I wish TM would put out more club options – said no one ever.

Reply Report comment
Golfraven

Mar 11, 2015 at 2:36 pm

For hcpers 15 and higher. Please raise the bar tiohcp 25 and above. Don’t see those flying if the shelves. those folks need those lofts to fly the bar any yards.

Reply Report comment
ABOMB

Mar 11, 2015 at 2:25 pm

Damn, that iron is fat! And I don’t mean Phat!

Reply Report comment
tim

Mar 11, 2015 at 1:24 pm

TM’s version of the Big Berthas.

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ArnoldD

Mar 11, 2015 at 12:55 pm

I guess TMAG proved you can redesign (AeroBurners), a redesign(SpeedBlades), of a redesign(RocketBlades), from a redesign (RocketBalls); while changing the name.

Reply Report comment
Ryan Stewart

Mar 11, 2015 at 12:01 pm

6 degrees of separation between the PW and the AW? that is a huge gap for scoring clubs. you could comfortably fit another club in between those lofts.

Reply Report comment
Todd

Mar 11, 2015 at 11:35 am

43 degree PW – WOW…that’s stronger than goat’s breath!

Reply Report comment
kess

Mar 11, 2015 at 11:35 am

I look forward to the day that my set is driver, fw, hy, 7,8,9,pw,aw,gw,sw,lw,superlw,flat wedge, putter. That way I can say “oh, you needed a 4iron to get it 200yds. Weak sauce.”

Reply Report comment
- tim
  
  Mar 11, 2015 at 1:23 pm
  
  LOL!
  
  Reply Report comment
kess

Mar 11, 2015 at 11:30 am

Woo-hoo! Almost made it to the 40* pw! Come on tmag, you can do it!

Reply Report comment
RobN

Mar 11, 2015 at 10:53 am

Oops, I thought I read that as 22.5°. But still, 25.5° for a 6 iron is nuts.

Reply Report comment
Greg V

Mar 11, 2015 at 9:32 am

A 6-iron with a 25.5* loft is almost as strong as my AP1 4-iron (which I don’t use – ever).

I am guessing that the target market for these would only need 6 to PW, and perhaps for many, only 7 to PW. Gap wedge(s) too.

Reply Report comment
Jengus

Mar 11, 2015 at 9:25 am

Time to dig a snow cave because here comes the Avalanche.

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Equipment

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

Published

5 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

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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

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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

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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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