Equipment
Titleist 718 AP2 Black and AP3 Black released in limited quantities
Titleist has unveiled new 718 AP2 Black and 718 AP3 Black irons in limited black finish that will be available to purchase from March 1.
Previously only available in a traditional chrome finish, the new Titleist 718 AP2 Black and Titleist 718 AP3 Black irons are finished with a sleek, high polish black PVD coating. The irons feature True Temper AMT Onyx shafts stock. The shafts’ powder coat matte black finish aims to minimize glare (in addition to looking cool). An all-black Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grip is standard as well.
Speaking on the move to release the irons in black, Josh Talge, Vice President, Golf Club Marketing said
“One request we heard from both tour players and amateurs, particularly those who have gravitated toward our Jet Black Vokey SM7 wedges, was if they could have these same irons in a darker finish. Our team spent a lot of time making sure the aesthetics were done just right. It’s a look that you just have to see.”
A quick refresher on the two models, below.
Titleist 718 AP3 Black
The 718 AP3 iron is a players distance iron which features a hollow-blade design with high-speed face technology. According to Titleist, the company merged the technology found in their AP1 and AP2 irons to create the AP3, which the company are calling their longest and fastest players iron ever.
Commenting on the AP3, Talge stated
“AP3 truly represents the best of both worlds. We’re giving you the distance and forgiveness of a game improvement iron packed into the look and feel of a player’s iron.”
The set is made up of 4-iron through 48-degree wedge. The AP3 Black irons, which are available for right-handers only, are available to purchase from March 1 and will cost $187.50 per club or $1,499/set of 8.
Titleist 718 AP2 Black
The 718 AP2 iron features a co-forged cavity back design which aims to provide consistent distance and forgiveness, while also delivering excellent feel to all golfers.
Speaking concerning the AP2 iron, Talge had this to say
“AP2 is the most popular tour iron globally because it combines the look and feel tour players demand with the precise distance control they need to consistently hit their target, shot after shot. For everyone else, it’s the tour iron within reach, because it is so forgiving.”
The set is made up of 4-iron through 50-degree wedge. Also available for right-handers only, the irons are available to purchase from March 1 and will cost $187.50 per club or $1,499/set of 8 as well.
See what GolfWRX Members are saying about the irons in the forums.
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Equipment
Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage
Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.
It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.
When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”
“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”
View this post on Instagram
According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.
Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:
“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.
“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.
“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.
“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.
“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”
So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.
His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.
See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here
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Equipment
Spotted: TaylorMade P-UDI driving iron
It seems like the RBC Heritage is full of new gear to be spotted, and you can add TaylorMade’s P-UDI utility irons to that list.
We spotted a 17-degree P-UDI 2-iron in Nick Dunlap’s bag yesterday, and now have some photos of both the 3- and 4-irons. Nick has his P-UDI 2-iron setup with a Project X HZRDUS Black 4th Gen 105g TX shaft.
From what we can tell, this new P-UDI utility iron looks to have some of the usual TaylorMade technology as we can see the Speed Slot on the sole of the club for additional face flexibility. A toe screw is usually used to close off the hollow body design that will probably be filled with a version of TaylorMade’s Speed Foam that is present in the current iron lineup. This hollow body, foam-filled design should offer additional ball speed, soft feel, and sound, as well as an optimized CG for ball flight.
“Forged” is etched into the hosel, so we can assume that either the face, body, or both are forged for a soft and responsive feel. The club looks good from behind and at address, where we can see just a little offset and a topline that I would consider medium thickness. We don’t have the full details on what is under the hood or how many loft options will be available yet.
TaylorMade P-UDI 3-iron – 20°
TaylorMade P-UDI 4-iron – 22°
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
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Whats in the Bag
Collin Morikawa WITB 2024 (April)
- Collin Morikawa what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. More photos from the event here.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX (45 inches)
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (4), P7MC (5-6), P730 (7-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid 115 X100 (4-6), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (7-PW)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-SB09, 56-LB08), TaylorMade MG4 TW (60-TW11)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: TaylorMade TP Soto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0
Grips: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
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Joe Dante
Feb 9, 2019 at 12:38 pm
does project x have a black finish iron shaft?
Andy LaCombe
Jan 18, 2019 at 9:46 pm
Damn – I love black irons and just got a set of AP3 irons in the fall 🙁
Steve Cantwell
Jan 18, 2019 at 12:36 pm
While on vacation I rented a set of clubs that had a dark finish. I really liked the look. Aside from the Cheap PVD coating, is there a reason manufactures don’t offer this option more often? Or do they just see it as an opportunity to jack up prices?
Tiger Noods
Jan 17, 2019 at 7:30 pm
I’m more excited by the AMT in onyx…
Ryan
Jan 17, 2019 at 4:10 pm
I don’t understand. If it is known that the PVD will wear off almost immediately, then why use it? Is it that much cheaper?
BIG T
Jan 17, 2019 at 2:49 pm
Its widely known that PVD is cheep and doesnt hold up. So why do people spend the extra few hundred on it???
dat
Jan 17, 2019 at 1:23 pm
PVD? That finish is toast in a few rounds. For that kind of money, I’d expect a DBM finish like the rest of the industry is using.
JP
Jan 17, 2019 at 12:23 pm
Tight!
Chris
Jan 17, 2019 at 11:25 am
Id buy these in a heartbeat…If I had an extra $1,500 laying around haha
Dosh
Jan 17, 2019 at 9:46 am
Why
C
Jan 17, 2019 at 10:42 am
Why not?
Dosh
Jan 17, 2019 at 9:17 pm
Because PVD is shyyyyte??
Gunter Eisenberg
Jan 17, 2019 at 9:37 am
Those things will sell really well but the PVD coating won’t last long. Look at other past black irons using that same coating and you’ll see what I mean.