TaylorMade Burner 2.0 Irons - Forum Testing Review

[tomahawk18]

I hate to hate, but I KILLED it this weekend. I played in my father in law's 40 man golf weekend and walked away with the decision to ditch my Cleveland CG Gold irons for good. With the Burner 2's (5-SW), I won 2 closest to the pin contests and shot my best 2 scores of the year. I still had a few nasty hooks when I was in between clubs and really step on one, but I soon learned to be smart and take the longer club and choke down. I played so well, I will be promoted to the higher flight next year.

My best shot was a 6 iron up hill par 3 from 178. Pin was tucked back left over a bunker. I started it right side of the green with a draw, hit middle of the green rolled to 5'. Won me a skin and a closest to the pin. We played in humid Indiana, so I need to go back on my previous thinking that the VDR grips hold up well in humidity. They are more like the Tour Velvet than I previously thought. I just had to towel them off and wipe my hands b4 each shot.

I'm heading to Northern Ohio this weekend for a wedding. I'm scheduled to play a course I hear is pretty tough (Sawmill Creek), hopefully my game continues to pleasantly surprise me.

No hating here... We all hope for fellow forum members to kick butt. I am happy for you. I am very frustrated with my struggles though!

 

[Josh_Ross]

I went to the range last night, and the results are getting better and better with each session. My new swing is still developing, but the results are already showing. I can hit any iron on the money, and I can work the ball with a draw, cut, or straight. I was also hitting with my roommate's MP-60s and I was hitting great shots with them too. But, I was liking the Burner 2.0s better. The feel was about the same for me, but I just hit better overall shots with the Burners. These Project X Flighted shafts can't be beat in my opinion. Every shot I hit has the perfect ball flight, and the clubs are just so easy to hit.

 

[War Eagle]

Well, a couple things I need to post up...

1. Have been following this thread for a while now, and appreciate all the thoughts, reviews and testing everyone has done to provide the rest of THP with quality information on these irons.
2. This thread drove me to go to the store and hit the clubs, multiple times. As well as getting to demo them out on the course. I loved them.
3. I have been looking at these irons for a while now, reading the reviews, looking some more. Finally over the weekend my wife told me "Quit staring at them and buy the damn things."
4. Went by my Edwin Watts shop tonight, and pulled the trigger. 4-PW, picking them up tomorrow!

Thanks again for all the info you all have shared over the weeks, provided me all the information I could have ever needed, and then some!

 

[Hitman]

I have not tested these irons or for lack of intrest not tried them at all until Saturday I went to Golfsmith in Indy and was walking around the hitting bays thinking I wanted to try out the TM Cb irons and all I could find was a 2.0 6 iron that someone had stuck a new impact sticker on and I thought what the heck I'll give it a try . I hit 8-9 balls with this club with a reg shaft, comared to my r7 tp stiff and this i what I got.

http://s243.photobucket.com/albums/ff154/Archerguy1/?action=view&current=impacttape.jpg


Thinking maybe I need to look into these irons a little more , not sure

 

[Josh_Ross]

Well, a couple things I need to post up...

1. Have been following this thread for a while now, and appreciate all the thoughts, reviews and testing everyone has done to provide the rest of THP with quality information on these irons.
2. This thread drove me to go to the store and hit the clubs, multiple times. As well as getting to demo them out on the course. I loved them.
3. I have been looking at these irons for a while now, reading the reviews, looking some more. Finally over the weekend my wife told me "Quit staring at them and buy the damn things."
4. Went by my Edwin Watts shop tonight, and pulled the trigger. 4-PW, picking them up tomorrow!

Thanks again for all the info you all have shared over the weeks, provided me all the information I could have ever needed, and then some!

So glad that we could give you the info you needed man! Congrats on the purchase, and I'm sure those sticks will bring many, many good shots to your game!

 

[War Eagle]

So glad that we could give you the info you needed man! Congrats on the purchase, and I'm sure those sticks will bring many, many good shots to your game!

That's the plan my friend!

 

[yorkem]

Well, a couple things I need to post up...

1. Have been following this thread for a while now, and appreciate all the thoughts, reviews and testing everyone has done to provide the rest of THP with quality information on these irons.
2. This thread drove me to go to the store and hit the clubs, multiple times. As well as getting to demo them out on the course. I loved them.
3. I have been looking at these irons for a while now, reading the reviews, looking some more. Finally over the weekend my wife told me "Quit staring at them and buy the damn things."
4. Went by my Edwin Watts shop tonight, and pulled the trigger. 4-PW, picking them up tomorrow!

Thanks again for all the info you all have shared over the weeks, provided me all the information I could have ever needed, and then some!

If anything I said helped you in your decision, then I am so glad to have helped. That is the most gratifying part of testing and writing reviews. I hope you enjoy them. I am sure you will. Congrats on your purchase!

 

[War Eagle]

If anything I said helped you in your decision, then I am so glad to have helped. That is the most gratifying part of testing and writing reviews. I hope you enjoy them. I am sure you will. Congrats on your purchase!

All 5 of you guys had great reviews, with quality information. Reading the initial reviews is what drove me to demo them out on the course, and thats where I knew I needed to get these in the bag. Who knows why I delayed my purchase for a month, but just couldnt pull the trigger, but really excited that I finally did.

This is what THP Testing/Reviewing is all about, thanks again for all the insight you all have provided to the rest of us!

 

[Hankster]

I hate to hate, but I KILLED it this weekend. I played in my father in law's 40 man golf weekend and walked away with the decision to ditch my Cleveland CG Gold irons for good. With the Burner 2's (5-SW), I won 2 closest to the pin contests and shot my best 2 scores of the year. I still had a few nasty hooks when I was in between clubs and really step on one, but I soon learned to be smart and take the longer club and choke down. I played so well, I will be promoted to the higher flight next year.

My best shot was a 6 iron up hill par 3 from 178. Pin was tucked back left over a bunker. I started it right side of the green with a draw, hit middle of the green rolled to 5'. Won me a skin and a closest to the pin. We played in humid Indiana, so I need to go back on my previous thinking that the VDR grips hold up well in humidity. They are more like the Tour Velvet than I previously thought. I just had to towel them off and wipe my hands b4 each shot.

I'm heading to Northern Ohio this weekend for a wedding. I'm scheduled to play a course I hear is pretty tough (Sawmill Creek), hopefully my game continues to pleasantly surprise me.

The 6i has already been my favorite club, but with these burners the 6i is near deadly. A few days ago I was playing a 208 Par 3. I used my 6i and it was probably the best i6 shot I've ever had off the tee. The ball landed literally three feet before the hole - dead straight shot off the tee. I was shocked, for a 6i to go 200 is nuts, my old irons my 3i would go 190-200. My group's jaws dropped

I sometimes have to do that too guys. Sometimes a range session starts out horrendously, so I'll just step back and get things together. Then I step up and it all feels better, and I continue normally. It's kind of weird, but it happens to most of us I would think. I'm hoping to get to the range this weekend, because the next week will be hectic since it's the first week of school. Nice updates from you all though.

I did this a few hours ago at the range. I always start my range session with my 9i. The first four balls I hit sliced hard right. I was like, "...okay...interesting...". After the fourth one I stepped back and stretched a little bit, then walked back up and smacked one dead center for about 120.

 

[Kurt]

I did this a few hours ago at the range. I always start my range session with my 9i. The first four balls I hit sliced hard right. I was like, "...okay...interesting...". After the fourth one I stepped back and stretched a little bit, then walked back up and smacked one dead center for about 120.

Yep...that's what i kind of find as well - although always start with my PW and work my way down. Once my swing is dialled these clubs are just insane.....absolutely love the feel of them. You just need a nice easy, consistent swing and the ball hammers along.

 

[tomahawk18]

All 5 of you guys had great reviews, with quality information. Reading the initial reviews is what drove me to demo them out on the course, and thats where I knew I needed to get these in the bag. Who knows why I delayed my purchase for a month, but just couldnt pull the trigger, but really excited that I finally did.

This is what THP Testing/Reviewing is all about, thanks again for all the insight you all have provided to the rest of us!

Thanks man and congrats! Enjoy your new sticks!

 

[BamBooBender]

Well...it was bound to happen. I had a terrible weekend with the burners, but it was definitely a swing issue, or multiple swing issues. After shooting a 42/40 for an 82 last time out, on Saturday I shot a 48/61 for 109. That is the worst I have played in a long time. I could not hit anything in the bag well, and it could have been a lot worse, but I managed to putt pretty well, with 14/18 for 32. I will not bore you with the details, but I was pissed, and after I finished, I immediately made a tee time for Sunday. Went out Sunday, and hit every single iron shot fat. It was incredibly frustrating. I didn't putt well on the front finishing with 20 putts, and a 45, but my putter saved me on the back where I only had 14 putts, and still shot a 47 for a 92. Bad, bad, weekend. Even though a 92 is not horrible for me, the fact that I did not hit my irons well on either day, and considering how well I had been striking them, it was terrible. I can put Saturdays round behind me, but Sunday I could have easily gone low (for me) if I had just hit a couple of solid iron shots. I will be taking a couple of days off, and maybe hit the range Wednesday. Then I will be out of town from Friday to Tuesday, on a no golf trip, so I can come back, and hit the range again, Wednesday or Thursday, and then get out again. Hopefully, the little mini break will get me back, because, it sure was a lot more fun when I was just striping the heck out of these.

Happens to all of us man, well at least most of us, some people do seem to "have it all", don't let it get you down. I'm sure it will come back around for you, just a temporary funk.

 

[ddxu]

All 5 of you guys had great reviews, with quality information. Reading the initial reviews is what drove me to demo them out on the course, and thats where I knew I needed to get these in the bag.

Glad we can help, hopefully there are others out there that have followed this thread and it led them to pick a demo up to try for themselves.

 

[Arkie_3_fan]

Well...it was bound to happen. I had a terrible weekend with the burners, but it was definitely a swing issue, or multiple swing issues. After shooting a 42/40 for an 82 last time out, on Saturday I shot a 48/61 for 109. That is the worst I have played in a long time. I could not hit anything in the bag well, and it could have been a lot worse, but I managed to putt pretty well, with 14/18 for 32. I will not bore you with the details, but I was pissed, and after I finished, I immediately made a tee time for Sunday. Went out Sunday, and hit every single iron shot fat. It was incredibly frustrating. I didn't putt well on the front finishing with 20 putts, and a 45, but my putter saved me on the back where I only had 14 putts, and still shot a 47 for a 92. Bad, bad, weekend. Even though a 92 is not horrible for me, the fact that I did not hit my irons well on either day, and considering how well I had been striking them, it was terrible. I can put Saturdays round behind me, but Sunday I could have easily gone low (for me) if I had just hit a couple of solid iron shots. I will be taking a couple of days off, and maybe hit the range Wednesday. Then I will be out of town from Friday to Tuesday, on a no golf trip, so I can come back, and hit the range again, Wednesday or Thursday, and then get out again. Hopefully, the little mini break will get me back, because, it sure was a lot more fun when I was just striping the heck out of these.

You are no alone in your swing woes! My iron game just seems to keeping getting worse. Over the past two years, I've lost 10 or more yards of distance with my irons and have been so inconsistent.
The 2.0's have really caught my interest and it's good to see all the great reviews they are getting. Hopefully I can get my swing in order and perhaps demo some 2.0's, hopefully in the not so distant future!

 

[jefrazie]

I plan on going out this week and hitting the range a couple of times to see if I can work on my iron contact a bit.

 

[yorkem]

Happens to all of us man, well at least most of us, some people do seem to "have it all", don't let it get you down. I'm sure it will come back around for you, just a temporary funk.

You are no alone in your swing woes! My iron game just seems to keeping getting worse. Over the past two years, I've lost 10 or more yards of distance with my irons and have been so inconsistent.
The 2.0's have really caught my interest and it's good to see all the great reviews they are getting. Hopefully I can get my swing in order and perhaps demo some 2.0's, hopefully in the not so distant future!

Thanks guys. I am sure you are right. One good range session will get me back in the groove. I appreciate the good thoughts, and knowing I am not alone in my recent struggle.

 

[Bobby Burner]

Thanks lcsmrtn

When you say reshafted and cut, I assume you mean you're now playing shorter than the stock shaft? How tall are you? Did you find the length of the driver just plain unhelpful? I have a sneeking feeling the stock shaft lengths for the driver and long irons in the 2.0 set are finding favour with tall golfers who have never had a proper fitting. I'm 5'10 and find the 5i and 4i are noticeably less easy to handle. I did once very briefly swing a 2.0 driver at a demo and it felt like playing massive baseball.

Bobby, I'm currently gaming both the 2.0 driver and 4 hybrid. I love them both.

The driver is the most accurate drivers I've played(reshafted and cut though). For me, I need to put a really bad swing on it to lose the ball. It's really forgiving on mishits in terms of distance. A small miss for me usually results in a slight push with good distance (260-270) with solid hits averaging around 290. I've seen myself hit it high off the toe and still see 230-240 in the fairway.

As for the hybrid, it's draw biased and near impossible to fade, slice and that's ok for me. Key to this club is a smooth swing, if you go at it too hard it turns into a hard draw/hook and sometimes that's good if the hole calls for it. Anytime I'm on a tight hole, this is my go to club off the tee. I get between 210-220 on average and around 190 on misshits off the toe.
It's also really good out of the rough as the shape allows it to cut through the thick stuff really well.

Hope this helps!

 

[lcsmrtn]

Thanks lcsmrtn



When you say resafted and cut, I assume you mean you're now playing shorter than the stock shaft? How tall are you? Did you find the length of the driver just plain unhelpful? I have a sneeking feeling the stock shaft lengths for the driver and long irons in the 2.0 set are finding favour with tall golfers who have never had a proper fitting. I'm 5'10 and find the 5i and 4i are noticeably less easy to handle. I did once very briefly swing a 2.0 driver at a demo and it felt like playing massive baseball.

Exactly, I put a different shaft in it and cut it down to play at 45". I'm 6ft. The longer shaft length is there to offer more distance plain and simple. For me I already have good distance but found the club much more forgiving when cut down, I may lose a few yards on perfect hits, but overall I'd say on average I get more distance due to better contact.

 

[ddxu]

I know the finish wear was of interest for several folks, so here is another pic of my PW. This is my most used club, prob 250 balls struck between play and range. Hope this helps....

Yes, my misses are always toe misses.

 

[Bobby Burner]

What do all the testers and anyone else gaming these irons think about their weight (swingweight)? All the testers seem to have hit a bad patch simultaneously. Any discomfort from playing these clubs? I certainly had a honeymoon period but then crashed. I was comfortably playing a couple of times a week but have done something odd to myself and have struggled to be physically comfortable for the last three rounds, with fortnight breaks in between. It's probably just me, I know I'm unfit. But I also think these clubs are heavy. Especially when trying to hit the ball, rather than taking a smooth and steady swing.

 

[SW]

Question time!

I've been playing the 2.0's for about 2+ months now and also trying to improve through lessons at GolfTec, as a result my swing has gotten better. I spoke to a fitter about reshafting my fairway wood and fitting me for a 7W or hybrid, he wanted to reshaft everything into a stiff flex, including my irons.

We jumped on the mizuno optimizer and it fit me to the KBS tour in stiff or Project X 6.0. My question as it relates to the 2.0 is how much will the stiffer shaft (staying with the TM burner shaft) bring the ball flight down? I'm not balloning anything now, actually like the flight I have currently.

 

[War Eagle]

Question time!

I've been playing the 2.0's for about 2+ months now and also trying to improve through lessons at GolfTec, as a result my swing has gotten better. I spoke to a fitter about reshafting my fairway wood and fitting me for a 7W or hybrid, he wanted to reshaft everything into a stiff flex, including my irons.

We jumped on the mizuno optimizer and it fit me to the KBS tour in stiff or Project X 6.0. My question as it relates to the 2.0 is how much will the stiffer shaft (staying with the TM burner shaft) bring the ball flight down? I'm not balloning anything now, actually like the flight I have currently.

I just got my 2.0s yesterday, but had the opportunity to demo them multiple times out on the course, and spent over a month hitting them at my local shop. I went with the Stiff TM Burner shafts over the KBS Tour. Personally, I preferred the feel of the Burner shafts, and felt that my ball flight was where I wanted it to be with these, than over the KBS' shafts. I felt that I had more of a ballooning ball flight with the KBS, so decided to go with the stock stiffs.

Im sure the testers/reviewers will be able to provide more information than I, but wanted to share my thought process after hitting/demoing these clubs, then purchasing.

 

[tomahawk18]

Question time!

I've been playing the 2.0's for about 2+ months now and also trying to improve through lessons at GolfTec, as a result my swing has gotten better. I spoke to a fitter about reshafting my fairway wood and fitting me for a 7W or hybrid, he wanted to reshaft everything into a stiff flex, including my irons.

We jumped on the mizuno optimizer and it fit me to the KBS tour in stiff or Project X 6.0. My question as it relates to the 2.0 is how much will the stiffer shaft (staying with the TM burner shaft) bring the ball flight down? I'm not balloning anything now, actually like the flight I have currently.

I do not have an apples to apples comparison for you, but I can relate my results with my R9's with a KBS 90 gram Stiff shaft to the 2.0's with the KBS Tour Stiff 120 gram shaft. The lofts are 1 degree stronger with the 2.0's so there is a slight difference.

I had a problem with hitting the R9's too high. Not all the time, but there were days that the ball flight was way too high. Most of those days were struggles for me. Lost distance, leaked shots, and if there was any wind I was in real trouble.

With the heavier shaft and higher kick point of the KBS Tour, along with the 2.0 head, there is no doubt my ball flight is lower that I had with my previous irons. I would say it is 10-15% lower, but it is tough to calculate. All I can say is that the difference is noticable to the naked eye. How much of it is the the shaft? Or is it the lower lofts of the 2.0 heads? I'm not sure I can accurately tell you. If I had to guess, I would say it is 70% shaft and 30% head. A 1 degree diffence in loft is something, but it isn't enough to make the noticable difference I am seeing. This is why I say the shaft has more to do with the lower ball flight than the head.

I haven't had a chance to game the 2.0's with the stock shaft, but I have hit them on the range. To the eye my ball flight was a bit higher with the stock, but not terribly. The stock stiff shaft for you shouldn't lower ball flight a ton. It is still a higher launching shaft.

 

[tomahawk18]

What do all the testers and anyone else gaming these irons think about their weight (swingweight)? All the testers seem to have hit a bad patch simultaneously. Any discomfort from playing these clubs? I certainly had a honeymoon period but then crashed. I was comfortably playing a couple of times a week but have done something odd to myself and have struggled to be physically comfortable for the last three rounds, with fortnight breaks in between. It's probably just me, I know I'm unfit. But I also think these clubs are heavy. Especially when trying to hit the ball, rather than taking a smooth and steady swing.

I personally love the extra weight with the 120g shaft and 2.0 head. I feel that I have a better idea where the club is at all points through my swing. I am not sure I will ever go back to a lighter shaft, until I have to. Just a personal preference. My struggles are due to lack of practice and reverting to bad habits during rounds, not the clubs.

 

[yorkem]

What do all the testers and anyone else gaming these irons think about their weight (swingweight)? All the testers seem to have hit a bad patch simultaneously. Any discomfort from playing these clubs? I certainly had a honeymoon period but then crashed. I was comfortably playing a couple of times a week but have done something odd to myself and have struggled to be physically comfortable for the last three rounds, with fortnight breaks in between. It's probably just me, I know I'm unfit. But I also think these clubs are heavy. Especially when trying to hit the ball, rather than taking a smooth and steady swing.

I actually do not think these are heavy at all. I was gaming the G15's before this, and have hit a bunch of Callaway clubs that a buddy of mine has been going through, and they all felt heavier to me. I hope that I just had a little glitch in my game, and I will get right back to it. I will probably find out tomorrow because I think I will be hitting the range then.

Question time!

I've been playing the 2.0's for about 2+ months now and also trying to improve through lessons at GolfTec, as a result my swing has gotten better. I spoke to a fitter about reshafting my fairway wood and fitting me for a 7W or hybrid, he wanted to reshaft everything into a stiff flex, including my irons.

We jumped on the mizuno optimizer and it fit me to the KBS tour in stiff or Project X 6.0. My question as it relates to the 2.0 is how much will the stiffer shaft (staying with the TM burner shaft) bring the ball flight down? I'm not balloning anything now, actually like the flight I have currently.

I am gaming the 2.0's with the stock stiff shaft, and I am not seeing a lower ball flight by any means. I hit these very high, not ballooning mind you, but no one would think I was getting a low trajectory.