TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC Review Thread
Dr. Teeth
Well-known member
Have you thought about getting a blended set. TM will let you customize any way you want. So maybe the CBs in the long irons with MCs for the rest. That's the way I am going. I totally agree with you about the club lust!
Mark
Active member
I am considering a blended set actually. The MC are nice all around, but the added forgiveness in the 4&5 may help out. I am not going to get a 3 as I play a hybrid, soon to be rescue 11. I am going to get a cb AW.
I think many of us have the lust. These are totally a new beast for me. I was so impressed with these clubs! I am gonna get fit this week. My fav store does not have the heads yet, nor the clubs. I am all of a sudden getting a cold, cough, cough
INgolfer
Internet Golfer
I didn't know that TM offered blended sets that is so awesome! Do you just do that on the TM website? That would be awesome to be able to get the CB in the 3-4, MC in the 5-7, and MB in the 8-PW, similar to the Nike VR Pro Combo. I like the make-up of that set but just not a fan of the set itself. I would love to be able to do that with the new TMs! Thanks for sharing that guys!
Mark
Active member
Oh ya they offer that. Its all the same price! The TM rep told me I can do whatever I want. I just need to look at specs now to see if mix and matching will throw off some weight. The weight is one of the best things about this club. The worst, the grip, dont care for it at all. I have big hands and am a big dude. The TT S300 shaft was perfet for me. I had a great flight path. I never shot project x, but the rep said they may go a tad higher. I am trying to get out of higher ball flight too.
kurtcobainrulzz
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yea i got he project shafts in mine. thicker shaft lighter weight im a big guy to. with big swing speed. i hit the ball high an wanted to bring it down little. mine should be comming in the 25th or before. ill have pics up, project x was 20 more a club
- Staff
- #607
spent the last 3 days at the range with these. Today I even brought 2 of my Ping irons with me to compare. I will post a more complete write up after dinner. After every range session I've had with these irons I'm always left with a great feeling and always want to spring for that extra bucket. I've even improved so much on my 5 iron that I won't hesitate to hit it anymore.
Mark
Active member
Good to know the up charge for shafts. I am going to try this x's when I get fit. The TT worked fine for me. I am also a big dude so that option is good to know.
- Staff
- #609
I spent the last 3 days going to the range with the MCs. After getting to use them on the course last weekend I was really excited to work on a few different things. Since I knew I was going to be going to the range all 3 days I decided to use each day to work on something different with these irons.
Friday
After last weekend I was really excited with how I hit my 5 and 6 irons on the course that I decided to primarily practice the 4-6 at the range. In all honesty since I have a 4 Mashie I doubt the 4 iron would get much use in my bag, but nevertheless I wanted to hit it anyway. After warming up with my traditional 8 iron shot I moved to the 6 iron. I took about 20 swings with it and was happy with how I was hitting it. Of the 20 there were about 5 that were less then desirable. The one that sticks in my mind was one that I hit extremely high on the face and towards the inside of the club. Right away I felt the stinging in my hands. It seems that whenever I have a stinging feeling it comes when I miss high on the club face. I showed more consistency in the 5 iron during this session which excites me. No stingers with the 5 iron on this day. After a few really good shots in a row I tried to hammer a shot and that led to fat city, the ball went nowhere, probably 30 yards shorter than expected. When I went back to a nice easy swing the ball flew rather nicely. By time I got to the 4 iron it was hard to tell where the ball was landing. I probably only hit about a dozen balls with this club and half were punch shots that I was use to get out of the trees. I walked away Friday feeling good about the longer irons. I know they still need some work but I have already seen some improvement from a few weeks ago.
Saturday
Playing in the wind last weekend I had several opportunities to hit a knock down shot, however I had trouble with it. Since it was breezy I decided to spend a good chunk of my range time to that type of shot. I started with 8 iron and worked on taking the club ¾ of the way back and then cutting off my follow through just after my waist. I think I’ve developed some poor habits with this shot and it showed. A few shanks later and I was frustrated. I had to keep telling myself to accelerate through the ball. Once I got that through my head I was back in action. It wasn’t perfect or pretty, but after a while I was able to perform the shot repeatedly. Whether or not it carries over to the next session is any one's guess.
Sunday
Comparison Day!!! I brought some of my i10’s to the range with me to see how different everything feels and looks with them. When i set up to the ball with the MC the blade looks a tad longer then that of the i10. While I am a fan of the way the i10’s feel, the MCs just feel better. When I compared the ball flight of the 8 irons it actually looked as if the MCs were flying higher, which really surprised me. I have a g10 5 iron so that easily had a higher trajectory than the MCs. I would give a forgiveness edge to the i10’s vs the MCs, maybe not by as wide of a margin as I would have thought. When it comes to the sound, the MCs sound much much better.
I think the most effective way to hit these irons is to simply not try and overpower them. When I try and swing hard my swing gets wild and that never leads to anything good. However a nice smooth swing and these irons can definitely perform for you. It was a productive weekend and I cannot wait for courses to open up around here. Weather permitting it sounds like a couple may open its doors this week.
Friday
After last weekend I was really excited with how I hit my 5 and 6 irons on the course that I decided to primarily practice the 4-6 at the range. In all honesty since I have a 4 Mashie I doubt the 4 iron would get much use in my bag, but nevertheless I wanted to hit it anyway. After warming up with my traditional 8 iron shot I moved to the 6 iron. I took about 20 swings with it and was happy with how I was hitting it. Of the 20 there were about 5 that were less then desirable. The one that sticks in my mind was one that I hit extremely high on the face and towards the inside of the club. Right away I felt the stinging in my hands. It seems that whenever I have a stinging feeling it comes when I miss high on the club face. I showed more consistency in the 5 iron during this session which excites me. No stingers with the 5 iron on this day. After a few really good shots in a row I tried to hammer a shot and that led to fat city, the ball went nowhere, probably 30 yards shorter than expected. When I went back to a nice easy swing the ball flew rather nicely. By time I got to the 4 iron it was hard to tell where the ball was landing. I probably only hit about a dozen balls with this club and half were punch shots that I was use to get out of the trees. I walked away Friday feeling good about the longer irons. I know they still need some work but I have already seen some improvement from a few weeks ago.
Saturday
Playing in the wind last weekend I had several opportunities to hit a knock down shot, however I had trouble with it. Since it was breezy I decided to spend a good chunk of my range time to that type of shot. I started with 8 iron and worked on taking the club ¾ of the way back and then cutting off my follow through just after my waist. I think I’ve developed some poor habits with this shot and it showed. A few shanks later and I was frustrated. I had to keep telling myself to accelerate through the ball. Once I got that through my head I was back in action. It wasn’t perfect or pretty, but after a while I was able to perform the shot repeatedly. Whether or not it carries over to the next session is any one's guess.
Sunday
Comparison Day!!! I brought some of my i10’s to the range with me to see how different everything feels and looks with them. When i set up to the ball with the MC the blade looks a tad longer then that of the i10. While I am a fan of the way the i10’s feel, the MCs just feel better. When I compared the ball flight of the 8 irons it actually looked as if the MCs were flying higher, which really surprised me. I have a g10 5 iron so that easily had a higher trajectory than the MCs. I would give a forgiveness edge to the i10’s vs the MCs, maybe not by as wide of a margin as I would have thought. When it comes to the sound, the MCs sound much much better.
I think the most effective way to hit these irons is to simply not try and overpower them. When I try and swing hard my swing gets wild and that never leads to anything good. However a nice smooth swing and these irons can definitely perform for you. It was a productive weekend and I cannot wait for courses to open up around here. Weather permitting it sounds like a couple may open its doors this week.
golf4life
Grip n rip
I had one range session with the MCs this weekend... only half a bucket (took my son), but it was still a pretty productive time. I feel pretty dialed in on these irons, PW through 5 iron. Distance control on the PW to 8 iron is pretty solid for me at this point, and getting there on 7 through 5. I am hitting the 3 and 4 irons better and better, but I still don't think I can produce results with these clubs that could match a hybrid. Misshits with the 3 and 4 are too punishing for my abilities right now. I'll probably be picking up a Mashie 5 shortly for the gap between my 5 iron and 3 hybrid for when my golf league starts (and scoring starts to really matter).
I still believe that the feel, sound and ball flight trajectory of these irons just cannot be matched by anything I've gamed. Does that make up for the lack of forgiveness these have versus other sets? I don't know if I can answer that yet.... As the weather continues to improve here, I'm really looking forward to getting in more golf rounds with these.
I still believe that the feel, sound and ball flight trajectory of these irons just cannot be matched by anything I've gamed. Does that make up for the lack of forgiveness these have versus other sets? I don't know if I can answer that yet.... As the weather continues to improve here, I'm really looking forward to getting in more golf rounds with these.
golf4life
Grip n rip
DDec, I agree that the way to make these sing is to swing in control and ensure center face contact. The reward in feel and flight makes it an easier task for me to accomplish.
Glad you're hitting them better and better. You hit some sweet shots with them last weekend, particularly a 5 iron or 2 I saw.
Glad you're hitting them better and better. You hit some sweet shots with them last weekend, particularly a 5 iron or 2 I saw.
CraftyLefty
New member
ddec:
Do your i10s and the MCs have the same shafts? Flex and kick point? Might be a stupid question but I just want to make sure it's apples to apples.
- Staff
- #613
let me see if I can find the shaft specs for you. I know the shaft in the Pings were the stock AWT. I don't think it's a stupid question at all, let me look up some specs and I'll get back to you
- Staff
- #614
here is what I found on the Ping AWT: designed to have lighter longer irons for increased club head speed higher trajectory and heavier short irons for a lower ball flight and optimal ball control.
I use a stiff flex that has 1.8 torque
Dynamic Gold: high-flex, tour weight shaft is designed for skilled players seeking a low, penetrating ball flight for optimum control and accuracy. I have a stiff flex in these as well.
I think that if I were to compare 6 iron to 6 iron the Ping may fly higher because of the shaft design. I will have to check that. When it came to the 8 iron the MC ball flight was higher. Next range session, which will probably be Weds, I will bring the ping 6 - 8 - pw and compare them to the MCs.
I use a stiff flex that has 1.8 torque
Dynamic Gold: high-flex, tour weight shaft is designed for skilled players seeking a low, penetrating ball flight for optimum control and accuracy. I have a stiff flex in these as well.
I think that if I were to compare 6 iron to 6 iron the Ping may fly higher because of the shaft design. I will have to check that. When it came to the 8 iron the MC ball flight was higher. Next range session, which will probably be Weds, I will bring the ping 6 - 8 - pw and compare them to the MCs.
CraftyLefty
New member
Ok great! Thanks for the information. I'll be interested to see the results of the complete comparison.
CraftyLefty
New member
I am interested in the MCs. I currently play a knock-off of the x-18/x-20 line but am looking for something that is more workable and has better turf interaction. I have been through a golftec fitting and was recommeneded for the r9tps but have been waiting to order until the MC's come out. I don't want to leave any technology on the table as this is probably the only time i will ever get to purchase a new set of irons for a LONG LONG LONG time.
What sucks is that in the time i have been waiting for the MC's to come out the R9 TPs aren't available for custom order anymore in left hand.
Other irons on my list include the RAZR X Tour, Ping i15, and Adams CB2.
I probably wouldn't purchase the CB2 because they do not offer a 3 iron and I enjoy playing my long irons.
Hanks
On the Fringe
Great thoughts ddec! I see the same thing when trying to get too much out of the CB's as well....this line of irons makes you swing in tempo to get the max use out of them which is still something I'm trying to control on my end.
- Staff
- #619
I've hit everything you've listed. I haven't touched the Cb2s in a while but I remember them having a very nice feel to them. I've always been a PING fan, so naturally the i15's would be on my list if I was in the market. I hit the Razr X Tour the other day while demoing some Callaway Stuff for the Morgan Cup. I thought the Razr X Tour was longer than the MCs, but I preferred the feel of the MCs. I'm sure I will hit the Razr X Tours a lot more in the coming weeks. Coming from an x18/x20 club you would be giving up some forgiveness, but if you were fitted for the R9 TP's I think you already know that. These have fantastic turf interaction. Last weekend I made the trek down to Southern Jersey and Delaware so I could get them on the course. After only hitting them off of mats for a month I was really looking forward to taking them on the course.
CraftyLefty
New member
Yeah I was able to swing the RAZR (standard-non tour), i15, r9tp and CB2 at my fitting. I really liked the i15 and the r9tp. The tp came back with the best results as far as accuracy goes. That's what I'm most concerned with. Length isn't too much of an issue. That's why you have the next club up in the bag right?
I was not able to swing the RAZR Tour as they only had right handed models available at that time.
I'm hoping to get to my hands on an MC this weekend so I can finally decide and order my new clubs. The wait is killing me.
I appreciate your effort in doing the review. Keep up the good work!
- Staff
- #621
if you get the chance to hit them this weekend make sure you come back here and post your thoughts. I never hit the R9tp so I'm interested to see if these end up working for you numbers wise as well as those did.
CraftyLefty
New member
will do
golf4life
Grip n rip
OK, so I thought some of the testing DDec just completed comparing old and new now that we've had the MCs for a spell was a pretty good idea. I broke out the Cobra S3 PW and 5 iron and brought them along to the range to hit a bucket along side the MC PW and 5 iron.
Here's the Reader's digest version: The distance gaps between the 2 iron sets is not as large as I thought it was, and really the biggest difference is in forgiveness on less than perfect strikes. Well, that and the feel and sound of the 2 sets is pretty signficantly different too.
First I hit the PWs. Here's the makeup of the clubs: I have the DG X-100s in both sets of clubs. The Taylormade MC PW has a tour-like loft of 47* (that's old school, baby) while the S3 PW has only 44* of loft. The MC has a length of 35.5, while the S3 is 36" long.
After about 15 shots with each here were my averages on "well struck" shots. I would define well struck as center face give or take a quarter inch or so. Also, these were fulls wing shots too, not the 80% I have generally been hitting during a round of golf. Here are the averages for well struck shots:
MC: Average length 148 yards. Longest: 155 Yards
S3: Average length 155 yards. Longest: 162 Yards.
So really, on well struck shots, I'm only seeing a 7 yard difference in distance. With a 3* difference in loft, this is not suprising at all. Ball flight for the S3s was about the same as the MCs, probably even a little higher on average despite being stronger lofted. With the low Center of gravity, that makes sense too.
On less than well struck shots, the S3 wedge only lost about 8 yards on average, where the MC was losing at least 15 yards. This is where the S3 shined.
But on feel and sound, there is really no comparison. Even before we get to contact feel, just the feel of swinging the MC is so much more fluid and "right". It just feels like an extension of my body. THe S3s, while not unwieldy, do feel clunky in comparison. Part of that might be me switching in a much heavier shaft than the heads were designed for, I think. The feel and sound of the MC at impact is much more pleasing. It makes a great shot an even better experience with the whole package. The S3s sound a little hollow in comparison, and don't provide the same pleasing feedback in the hands at impact either.
After the distance showdown, I switched to an accuracy showdown. There is a small (20 feet by 20 feet) target green on the course that starts about 145 yards from where I was hitting, with the back of the green about 152 yards and the pin about 150 yards away. I took 5 shots each for this test.
Best overall dispersement in this test went to.... the S3s. This surprised me a little, but then I didn't have to hit the S3s 100% to reach the target, while with the MCs I had to go after it pretty hard. Out on the course, I would have used the 9 iron for the MCs in almost all cases and that would have probably been a better test in retrospect. The reason the S3s performed better here generally is in both sets of 5, I had 2 toe strikes. For the S3s, those came up just about 1 yard short of the green. The 2 toe strikes on the MCs came up at least 10 yards short. The best shot of the bunch was by far an MC shot that landed pin high 2 feet left of the pin, spun and stopped a yard behind the flag even though this green was artifical turf and it was a range ball. I landed one of the S3s pin high 5 feet right, it hopped and then rolled off the back.
Next I switched to the 5 iron test. Here are the specs: MC 26* of loft and 37.75 inches in length. S3 5 iron was 25* of loft and 38.25 in length.
Here, the distance gap was about the same. After about 15 balls each, I averaged about 200 yards on well struck MCs and probably only 210 yards with the S3s. Really, not a big deal at all. I was expecting a bigger gap here before the test. Ball flight here was pretty significantly higher with the S3s... at least 10 feet that I could tell, maybe 15.
Again, no comparison in sound and feel between the 2. The MCs feel like a Rolls Royce while the S3s feel more like a Mustang... lots of power, not nearly as refined.
Misshits though were even more pronounced. I chunked a couple MCs that didn't even make it to the 150 marker. S3s lost about 25 yards on similar misshits, much more manageable.
So in conclusion, I don't think I can answer yet which set of clubs will help me score better. I know which ones I enjoy hitting more, but in the end, I care most about my scoring ability. I think I will be playing both sets over the next month or 2 to see which ones perform where it counts. I find myself hoping the MCs come through as they are just a joy to play.
Here's the Reader's digest version: The distance gaps between the 2 iron sets is not as large as I thought it was, and really the biggest difference is in forgiveness on less than perfect strikes. Well, that and the feel and sound of the 2 sets is pretty signficantly different too.
First I hit the PWs. Here's the makeup of the clubs: I have the DG X-100s in both sets of clubs. The Taylormade MC PW has a tour-like loft of 47* (that's old school, baby) while the S3 PW has only 44* of loft. The MC has a length of 35.5, while the S3 is 36" long.
After about 15 shots with each here were my averages on "well struck" shots. I would define well struck as center face give or take a quarter inch or so. Also, these were fulls wing shots too, not the 80% I have generally been hitting during a round of golf. Here are the averages for well struck shots:
MC: Average length 148 yards. Longest: 155 Yards
S3: Average length 155 yards. Longest: 162 Yards.
So really, on well struck shots, I'm only seeing a 7 yard difference in distance. With a 3* difference in loft, this is not suprising at all. Ball flight for the S3s was about the same as the MCs, probably even a little higher on average despite being stronger lofted. With the low Center of gravity, that makes sense too.
On less than well struck shots, the S3 wedge only lost about 8 yards on average, where the MC was losing at least 15 yards. This is where the S3 shined.
But on feel and sound, there is really no comparison. Even before we get to contact feel, just the feel of swinging the MC is so much more fluid and "right". It just feels like an extension of my body. THe S3s, while not unwieldy, do feel clunky in comparison. Part of that might be me switching in a much heavier shaft than the heads were designed for, I think. The feel and sound of the MC at impact is much more pleasing. It makes a great shot an even better experience with the whole package. The S3s sound a little hollow in comparison, and don't provide the same pleasing feedback in the hands at impact either.
After the distance showdown, I switched to an accuracy showdown. There is a small (20 feet by 20 feet) target green on the course that starts about 145 yards from where I was hitting, with the back of the green about 152 yards and the pin about 150 yards away. I took 5 shots each for this test.
Best overall dispersement in this test went to.... the S3s. This surprised me a little, but then I didn't have to hit the S3s 100% to reach the target, while with the MCs I had to go after it pretty hard. Out on the course, I would have used the 9 iron for the MCs in almost all cases and that would have probably been a better test in retrospect. The reason the S3s performed better here generally is in both sets of 5, I had 2 toe strikes. For the S3s, those came up just about 1 yard short of the green. The 2 toe strikes on the MCs came up at least 10 yards short. The best shot of the bunch was by far an MC shot that landed pin high 2 feet left of the pin, spun and stopped a yard behind the flag even though this green was artifical turf and it was a range ball. I landed one of the S3s pin high 5 feet right, it hopped and then rolled off the back.
Next I switched to the 5 iron test. Here are the specs: MC 26* of loft and 37.75 inches in length. S3 5 iron was 25* of loft and 38.25 in length.
Here, the distance gap was about the same. After about 15 balls each, I averaged about 200 yards on well struck MCs and probably only 210 yards with the S3s. Really, not a big deal at all. I was expecting a bigger gap here before the test. Ball flight here was pretty significantly higher with the S3s... at least 10 feet that I could tell, maybe 15.
Again, no comparison in sound and feel between the 2. The MCs feel like a Rolls Royce while the S3s feel more like a Mustang... lots of power, not nearly as refined.
Misshits though were even more pronounced. I chunked a couple MCs that didn't even make it to the 150 marker. S3s lost about 25 yards on similar misshits, much more manageable.
So in conclusion, I don't think I can answer yet which set of clubs will help me score better. I know which ones I enjoy hitting more, but in the end, I care most about my scoring ability. I think I will be playing both sets over the next month or 2 to see which ones perform where it counts. I find myself hoping the MCs come through as they are just a joy to play.
Played a very casual round yesterday and my swing was a little off. Strangely enough, I was hitting my long irons better than my short irons. I was constantly off to the right on both high and low irons. I was coming across the ball with the low irons and creating a little cut and I was just misaligning myself with the long irons and hitting a dead straight ball. It was very windy yesterday so I think I was trying to hit my lower irons a little too hard and diving into the ball. I would still hit the green if the pin was on the left and I was firing at it, but I would be on the wrong side of the green. I guess you could say that my misses were not horrible and my putting skills were really put to the test. I need to take a break though, so I think I will not practice today and hit it again tomorrow.
On a separate note, I am going to cook some Portobello mushrooms and Venison wrapped in bacon for tonight's meal since I am taking a daycation from golf.
On a separate note, I am going to cook some Portobello mushrooms and Venison wrapped in bacon for tonight's meal since I am taking a daycation from golf.