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Pushing it past the limit: TaylorMade M5, M6 drivers with Speed Injected Twist Face technology

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In a market where distance seems to dominate the conversation, TaylorMade has always been at or very near the top year in and year out. It’s no secret that some of the most popular offerings from the past 10-15 years have come straight out of the Top Secret “Kingdom.”

With the 2019 TaylorMade M5 and M6 drivers, it looks like this will be another year that the company sits right near the top of that mountain, with its most aggressive push in regards to tech advancement since the SLDR in 2013.

taylormade-speed-injected-twist-face-technology

Speed Injected Twist Face technology

Marketed as “taking speed to the limit,” TaylorMade’s next generation of the M family of drivers, the M5 and M6, feature a Speed Injected Twist Face, building on the Twist Face technology the company debuted with the M3 and M4 drivers last year. The M5 and M6 club faces are designed to initially exceed the USGA’s COR limit.

In simple terms, speed injected face technology is where they take all of the heads they produce, push them all past the USGA limit in regards to COR and work backwards to ensure they fall within the parameters — the algorithm-driven process of resin injection into the clubs via the two ports on the face brings the figure just inside the acceptable range.

“It was an engineering challenge to be sure and 4 years in the making but we knew if we could nail the injection technology, we would really have something special.”-TM Metalwoods Director, Tomo Bystedt

The Carlsbad-based company boosts ball speed in the M5 and M6 drivers through the interplay between a reengineered, more-flexible Hammerhead 2.0 slot, an ultra-thin titanium face with redesigned Inverted Cone Technology (ICT), internal support foam with variable amounts of injected resin, and, last but not least, a proprietary algorithm to tune each head.

TaylorMade M5

The popular T-Track TaylorMade debuted with M1 driver (which evolved into the Y-Track) further advances with this year’s offering. M5 and M5 Tour drivers feature an Inverted T-Track that allows for 1,770 unique CG configurations via the two 10-gram weights, as well as a range of MOI options. Golfers are afforded up to one degree of launch angle and 600 rpm of spin change adjustability, in addition to 25 yards of left-to-right adjustability. As with previous M Series drivers, the 2-degree loft sleeve allows for the adjustment of the loft, lie angle and face angle of the driver.

With a 10 percent smaller carbon composite crown footprint, TaylorMade’s fourth generation of carbon composite technology furthers the aim of efficient mass distribution and an optimized center of gravity. The new M Series club face is also 20 percent thinner with a 66 percent larger sweet spot than last year’s M3.

In addition to the 460cc M5, TaylorMade is launching an M5 Tour model, which features a 435cc head.

TaylorMade-M5-face

Director of Original Content Johnny Wunder was on site at “The Kingdom” in early December and had this to say on the key first impressions of the new M5/M6.

M5 look
“I actually preferred the look of the M3 overall BUT this driver is built for speed and the red paint and carbon fiber inspire that.”

M5 feel
“In my experience as a TM loyalist the feel has always been the determining factor, this is no different.” “It feels meaty out of the sweet spot and heel strikes still feel solid.”

M5 sound
“The sound reminded me of the SLDR oddly enough which has been my gamer for 5-6 years. Not as thumpy (a sound I like) as M1/M3.”

M5 overall
“Haven’t put it thru our typical ringer of testing, so I don’t want to comment on distance and spin, but at first sight, it’s another really solid, good looking, fast TaylorMade driver…these guys do that as well as anybody year in and year out.”

Related: 2019 TaylorMade M5 & M6 pictures

TaylorMade M5 specs, availability, and price

M5

  • Available for preorder on January 18, retail on February 1
  • MSRP: $549.99
  • 9, 10.5, and 12 degree lofts

M5 Tour

  • Available on March 1
  • MSRP: $549.99
  • 9, 10.5 degree lofts

Stock shafts: Mitsubishi CK Tensei Orange 60 and Project X HZRDUS Smoke 70

Stock grip: Golf Pride MCC Decade

TaylorMade M6 & M6 D-Type Drivers

2019-TaylorMade-M6

Likewise “injected to the maximum legal level of speed,” according to the company, TaylorMade’s M6 and M6 D-Type drives also feature the Speed Injected Twist Face.

“Injected Twist Face delivers a hot, yet accurate performance package in the new M6 driver. When you add optimized CG and MOI through the use of a full carbon crown and sole, the result is a complete driver that delivers on all fronts.” – Brian Bazzel, Vice President Product Creation

Equipped with the same six-layer composite carbon crown as the M5, the M6 also features a complete carbon fiber sole that is 54 percent lighter than in the M4 (its predecessor). This allows engineers to move even more discretionary weight low and back in the club for maximum forgiveness and a lower CG.

taylormade-m6-driver-face

TaylorMade M6 D-Type

The M6 D-Type the company’s draw-biased offering. A high-contrast topline masking makes the face angle appear more open than it actually is, leading to the golfer producing a more closed face at impact. The D-Type’s CG is closer to the heel, as well, giving the club 20 additional yards of draw bias than the M6.

Johnny Wunder on the M6

M6 look
“At address it does feel a bit more forgiving then the M5, it sits a lower profile or at least appears that way.”

M6 feel
“Not as meaty as the M5 for obvious reasons BUT its very stable and if quite solid no matter where on the face you catch it. It seems like the M6 will lend it self a bit more to the higher handicap, its very forgiving.”

M6 sound
“Surprising that I prefer the sound of this to the M5, it had that thumpy sound which I prefer.” Both sound great but if I was blind testing, the M6 acoustics is what I would chase.”

M6 overall
“Its definitely a winner for the player looking for something stable, forgiving and fun to hit. I’ll be surprised if the TM staff that were M2/M4 loyalists will stay in the M6, seems like this model won’t be as workable for the better player, but we will see. We have seen this for years with TM. They launch a “Tour” driver and a more forgiving driver at a lower cost, and the tour players migrate to the more forgiving of the two. Counterintuitive, yes, but reality. Will the more forgiving M6 (over the M5) find its way into tour bags and follow in the footprints of the 2016 M2 (over its M1 counterpart?)”

taylormade-m6-driver-crown

M6 specs, availability, and price

  • Available for preorder on January 18 and at retail on February 1
  • MSRP: $499.99
  • 9, 10.5, and 12 degree  (RH only) lofts

Stock shafts

  • M6: Fujikura Atmos Orange 5, Fujikura Atmos Black 6 in S-, R- and A-flexes
  • M6 D-Type: Project X EvenFlow Max Carry 45 in 6.0 (S), 5.5 (R) and 5.0 (A)

For women: the M6 and M6 D-Type drivers will be offered in 10.5 and 12 degree lofts (RH only) and comes equipped with TaylorMade’s Tuned Performance 45g L-flex shaft.

The stock men’s grip is the Lamkin Dual Feel. Stock women’s grip is the Lamkin Comfort Plus Dual Feel.

Related: 2019 TaylorMade M5 & M6 pictures

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56 Comments

56 Comments

  1. Jerry G

    Feb 10, 2019 at 9:36 pm

    Ever since Rocketbalzs 2 and SLDR, I don’t believe anything TM says …

  2. Darryl

    Feb 4, 2019 at 7:30 am

    The Emperor’s New Driver.

  3. Fast

    Jan 26, 2019 at 9:23 am

    So….if you took the injected foam out of the face, it would be faster/illegal?!?

    • BP

      Jan 29, 2019 at 6:28 pm

      As soon as I heard about it my first thought was how to get it out… with a SS of only 60mph due to physical impairment I look for every advantage I can get

  4. Speedy

    Jan 23, 2019 at 12:06 pm

    I could whack the non-draw biased M5, nice look. But not at its price tag.

  5. TAYLORswiftMADE

    Jan 6, 2019 at 4:05 pm

    Um hmm, bob parson would Beg to differ, PERIOD.

  6. orv

    Jan 6, 2019 at 2:29 pm

    You convinced me. TM make superior clubs and they are tour tested. I would love to own the latest TM clubs but they are too expensive. If TM people are posting on this forum please lower your prices so that I and many of my golfing buddies can afford and buy your wonderful products.

  7. Bill Parker

    Jan 5, 2019 at 6:10 pm

    I got a M5 driver and it developed a rattle in the head. The store said they would send it back to TM to inject a bit more resin to stop the rattle. I hope it doesn’t depress the driver performance even more with the extra resin.

    • NWO4Life

      Jan 5, 2019 at 9:18 pm

      The M5 isn’t available to even pre-order until January 18th?

    • Simms

      Jan 6, 2019 at 1:31 am

      So if they inject more resin to stop the rattle they will be decreasing the COR…I would bet over time, just as happened in the past with some clubs, the injected product will break off and you will have a rattle, and if it breaks off enough you now will have a non-legal club as cor will go back up…RIGHT? What is the playing life of this $550 driver…only time will tell playing out on the course in different weather…

  8. ogo

    Jan 5, 2019 at 5:56 pm

    “It was an engineering challenge to be sure and 4 years in the making but we knew if we could nail the injection technology, we would really have something special.”-TM Metalwoods Director, Tomo Bystedt
    That’s not only ludicrous, it’s a bald-faced lie. This is a 30 day max engineering solution. Marketing mendacity…. sooo obvious.

    • Satan

      Jan 5, 2019 at 11:05 pm

      I have a nice bench on which for you to bend over when I spank you

    • Simms

      Jan 6, 2019 at 1:33 am

      Do you really think the golf engineers are really good, look at Wilson 2 years ago their engineers gave us the Triton driver…

      • ogo

        Jan 6, 2019 at 1:39 am

        I doubt OEM golf companies hire graduate engineers for piddling golf club cosmetics. Besides real engineers cost too much and you can get an engineering technologist for half price and halfazz solutions… which looks like TM club designs.

  9. Daniel Green

    Jan 5, 2019 at 2:48 pm

    Has there ever been a bad product review in any major publication about any club? Looking at reviews has to be the most pointless thing ever.

    • ogo

      Jan 5, 2019 at 6:01 pm

      Gearheads live off Pinocchio stories and they are fed blatant lies which they eat up and believe. The M7 & M8 models are now in the product pipeline if the current c r a p doesn’t sell by June…. believe it…. and keep your money in your wallet.

  10. smz

    Jan 5, 2019 at 1:20 pm

    I want my driver injected so my dynamic loft is up there and ready to blast that ball into the hole. Foam is better than toking an empty can of air and playing stoned.

  11. Rich Douglas

    Jan 5, 2019 at 11:03 am

    I used to chase clubs…a lot. I got off that jag a couple of years ago with a radical approach: club fitting.

    Buying off-the-rack stuff for years, I was grasping in the dark. With irons I’d go from super-game-improvement to forged blades and everything in-between…then back through it again. It was stupid. Woods? Every time TM came out with something I’d get it, regardless of whether or not it was good for me. But….

    I finally got fitted for the driver. I was spinning the ball too much, ballooning my drives and getting insufficient roll-out. So I got fitted. Thinking I was going to purchase the latest Callaway (to replace the latest TM, natch), I instead went with the driver-and-shaft combo that got my RPMs down (by a thou). In my case, that was the Titleist 917D. I would never have come to that decision on my own, but I’m glad I did. I’d have to see a real, significant difference in performance before swapping it out. Money is no object, but performance is.

    Irons were the same issue…until I got fitted for single-length Wishon Sterlings. Now, I could be tempted with an upgrade there, but no one is coming out with anything better. Cobra and Edel have good products, but there’s no real reason to switch. And since I’m never going back to variable-length irons (after two years, I’m pretty sure of that), I guess I’ll be gaming the Sterlings for a very long time. Now, if Ping should come out with a set….

    • ogo

      Jan 5, 2019 at 6:06 pm

      You are an exception after gaining wisdom to get fitted. Gearheads live to buy and flaunt the latest model clubs so they can be the first to bag the latest greatest new clubs. Most gearheads who list their WITB ar senal of silly club-shaft combinations are simply a man-child who likely doesn’t have a game…. soooo obvious

    • Ripper

      Jan 5, 2019 at 11:08 pm

      Man you’re a great salesman Rich, but totally unconvincing

  12. Tom

    Jan 5, 2019 at 2:11 am

    Not going to the PGA Show, giving up the Driver Count, and this bee S marketing story for a new launch? This company isn’t worth what the current buyers paid for it, guess that’s why they haven’t flipped it. How the mighty have fallen.

  13. Tom

    Jan 4, 2019 at 6:31 pm

    Company was reportedly bought at fire sale price of $430 mil from adidas, probably worth a lot less than that now….this product line is just plain embarrassing….

    • ogo

      Jan 5, 2019 at 6:13 pm

      Let’s ridicule this ridiculous rube goldberg driver off the market. It’s an insult to the game of golf. Enough is enough.

  14. Matt

    Jan 4, 2019 at 12:29 pm

    All the TM bashing sustains me….

    Let the ‘true players’ keep buying the retread Titleist drivers every other year…

    The best players in the world are bombing TM drivers….

    Keep up the hate tho. It’s not tired or pointless just yet……..(eye roll)

    • Travis

      Jan 5, 2019 at 11:47 am

      The best players in the world are hitting TM drivers because they get paid to use TM drivers. Once other companies pay more (like Honma for JR) then those players will go elsewhere.

      • smz

        Jan 5, 2019 at 8:47 pm

        Recreational gullible golfers will buy these “tour tested” drivers because if it’s good enough for the pros it must be good enough for them. Those who buy one of these drivers will sing the praises of their recent purchase even though it does nothing for their game. Golfers are pathetic c l o w n s, laughing on the outside and crying on the inside. Yuk yuk… boo hoo …. 😮

    • james

      Jan 6, 2019 at 8:23 am

      watch the driver count this year. TM have pulled the budget for players. For the last 10 years they have paid everyone, even the lowest tour players in Europe were getting 18k per year for the driver. The driver count will flip this year. TM bought driver count and Titleist buy the ball count. You don’t need to dig very deep to understand that.

  15. HDTVMAN

    Jan 4, 2019 at 11:51 am

    Kind-a looks like the SLDR! The sliding weights do work, but when I originally saw the pics I thought the screws on the face would adjust the “twist-face”!!! Bottom line…bought a driver in the past 4 years? Compare your’s to the new one on the same monitor, same balls, at the same time. You’ll probably find the carry and dispersion similar. If so, save your money, until the next generation comes out, or save $100+ and buy the 2018 model. Remember, USGA numbers are maxed very closely by ALL manufacturers every year, so don’t expect 10-15-20 yards further with a 2019 model (maybe 1-3yds). Plus the prices are out of sight! Two top drivers for 2018, the Ping G400LST (and SFT) is now $299 and the Callaway Rogue is $399…why spend $549+ for a driver that definitely won’t out-perform either of these? Plus, check out different shafts–your driver’s engine. High-medium-low trajectory & higher & lower spin…are you hitting the shaft best for your game? Probably not!

  16. Tmagfag

    Jan 3, 2019 at 8:04 pm

    Mizuno with the classiest looking driver of 2019, lol

  17. Charles

    Jan 3, 2019 at 3:46 pm

    This club doesn’t look USGA legal

  18. Patrick

    Jan 3, 2019 at 3:41 pm

    That’s what we need. 30% thinner! The engineers at Taylormade don’t care if we fill the landfill with cracked heads…..they must “innovate” or become unemployed!

  19. JP

    Jan 3, 2019 at 2:36 pm

    You gotta have screws for brains to buy into this latest marketing ploy

  20. Steve

    Jan 3, 2019 at 1:46 pm

    This brings new meaning to “hitting it on the screws”…

    • DJpga

      Jan 4, 2019 at 7:57 am

      No it doesn’t. Wooden driver heads had screws around the sweet spot.

  21. HKO

    Jan 3, 2019 at 1:27 pm

    screw holes on the face? what a great engineering decision. more cracked drivers will directly sell more heads sorta math? LOL.

  22. Blake

    Jan 3, 2019 at 12:21 pm

    I just dont like the look. The squared toe and screws in the face are just too much

  23. Tom

    Jan 3, 2019 at 12:16 pm

    USGA equipment rules limit manufacturers from producing products with any meaningful performance improvements, this is more marketing bee S from a company that sold for a very low price to an investment company that is now trying to peddle it to another owner…. Save your money!! Sellers Be Sellin!

  24. William Davis

    Jan 3, 2019 at 11:41 am

    Madness.

  25. orv

    Jan 3, 2019 at 11:05 am

    Resin foam… twist face… inverted cone technology… carbon fiber crown… this has got to be the ultimate in driver technology.

    • john

      Jan 25, 2019 at 12:48 pm

      Don’t forget that ‘proprietary algorithm’, Orv. That’s the clincher for me!

  26. orv

    Jan 3, 2019 at 11:01 am

    This is beyond belief!! Injecting Speed Foam resin into driver and fairway heads will blow away the competition. Why didn’t others think of this first?!!

  27. dat

    Jan 3, 2019 at 9:59 am

    Just charge $1K, they’ll still sell. PXG may sue for all those screws, but whatevs. Not like people are leaving the game or anything.

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Equipment

Masters gear roundup: Limited-edition bags, balls, and more

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The Masters in itself is a huge tradition in the world of golf, but it also brings its own traditions with it. One of the big ones for us golf equipment fans is the limited edition gear that is influenced by the season’s first major championship.

Around tournament time, companies big and small offer bags, balls, and accessories that are designed with the colors and history of the Masters Tournament.

Here is some of the gear that we will see this weekend out on the lush, green grass of Augusta.

Callaway

The land Augusta National sits on was once a nursery. Callaway looks to be celebrating that history this year. Colorful flowers are used all over the side panels on the staff bag and on top of the headcovers. Callaway also did some limited edition Chrome Tour golf balls with azalea patterns.

Mizuno

There might not be a green bag here for Mizuno, but they know how to celebrate the Masters! This year, Mizuno is offering Mizuno Pro 241 “Azalea” irons to a limited number of lucky customers. A new green iridescent finish is applied to the heads and some beautiful colored ferrules bring some floral color to the irons. If you are lucky enough to grab a set, you will be impressed by the green display box the irons come in as well!

TaylorMade

This year’s staff bag goes a little heavier on a metallic green color to pay homage to the first major of the year. If you look closely at the details, you will notice shiny gold accent pieces, a small Amen Corner, and an inner lining with Georgia peaches. The headcovers are made from matching metallic green fabric and feature “88th” embroidery for the number of Masters tournaments that have been played. TaylorMade’s TP5x Pix golf balls come in a case that looks, and feels, like a peach!

Srixon

Srixon’s bag for the 2024 Masters goes heavy on green and white with a more simple and classic design on the outside. When you unzip the pockets you will treated to a hidden inner lining that has Georgia’s state fruit, the peach, printed all over. Heck, Srixon even included the pit! Headcovers are matching white and green but have a look that reminds you of the iconic Masters scoreboard.

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Whats in the Bag

WITB Time Machine: Tiger Woods’ winning WITB, 2019 Masters

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At the 2019 Masters, Tiger Woods famously ended an 11-year major championship drought. When Francesco Molinari faltered during the final round, Woods pounced. With a Sunday 70, he captured his fifth green jacket and 15th major championship.

Check out what Tiger had in the bag below.

Driver: TaylorMade M5 (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ White 60 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade M5 (13 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ White 70 TX

5-wood: TaylorMade M3 (19 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ White 80 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P7TW (3-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: TaylorMade Milled Grind Raw (56, 60)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS

Ball: Bridgestone TourB XS

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

 

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Equipment

Best irons in golf of 2024: Pure enjoyment

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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

2024 Best irons: Pure enjoyment

We continue to see an overlap in the way fitters in this category define the top irons. The most playable irons are the most likely to be higher launching, and shots that fly higher make the game more enjoyable for everyone. This reiterates our belief that your iron selection should not be defined by your handicap but instead by what gives you the best opportunity to play your best — and most enjoyable — golf.

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.”

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.

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 Z 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.

Mizuno JPX923 Hot Metal

Their story: “With the JPX923 Hot Metal, Mizuno introduces “4355 nickel chromoly,” which is 35 percent stronger than the original Hot Metal material and allows for an eight-percent thinner clubface. Cup face construction works in tandem with a deep center of gravity for high launch with stopping power. Mizuno developed Hot Metal Pro, Hot Metal and Hot Metal HL (High Launch) from 175,000 real golf swings recorded via Mizuno’s Swing DNA system.”

Fitter comments:

  • “These are great for a player who flips at the ball but also needs some help and forgiveness. The strong lofts help reduce a player’s launch and spin.”
  • “Great forgiveness with the feel that Mizuno is known for.”
  • “Great looking and great feeling irons.”
  • “If I had a player come in, that’s just your, you know, your average golfer. It’s one that is like, “Hey, this is, this is one to try.” This is gonna produce a lot of ball speed and is super forgiving. You can combo it really well. Mizuno does a great job where you can do combo sets just with lofts.”
  • “It’s very good. It’s one of the most popular. Always in the mix of game improvement irons when people come in and they want to hit something that’s forgiving and that also still feels less clicky.”

For more photos/info, read our launch piece.

Titleist T200

Their story:  If there were gripes about the previous generation of T200 irons, it was probably because of feel and sound at impact. Titleist heard your feedback on the previous T200 irons, and it listened. The new 2023 T200 irons have a reengineered chassis to create a stiffer structure and create a more stable feeling and muted sound. They also refined the Max Impact Technology within the head to sit closer to the L-face, further solidifying the feel.

Fitter comments: 

  • “Best overall for us. Great looks, workability. Plenty of forgiveness.”
  • “I like the great look of these and they are easy to play for the average golfer.”
  • “That’s a big combo iron for sure, especially, but it’s also, you know, in that player distance category, it’s one of the higher launching ones, and it’s gonna spin a little bit more. I would say some of those irons in that category they launch, you know, they’ve launched a little bit lower and they don’t spin, which it is great for some players, but also some still want to play a smaller package.”
  • “I think it was definitely a big jump from the previous one. Yeah, I mean, one thing I’ve noticed is compared to some of the other irons, even kind of equal loft, it tends to get a little bit more height on it.”
  • “It’s great for one of those guys that if I get in there that’s kind of hitting a little low. It’s one to kind of throw in my hands…you’re seeing that initial launch kind of pick up a little bit compared to some of the other ones.”

For more photos/info, read our launch piece.

Best irons of 2024: Meet the fitters

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