TaylorMade Burner 2.0 Irons - Forum Testing Review

[SW]

A lot of people have had issues with the grips in humid climates, myself included, but I hate corded grips, so I have to find another solution. I have been keeping a cold/wet towel with me, and that really helps to keep my hands cool, and, I have been toying with the idea of 2 gloves, but, if you know of a grip that you like, and will work for you, I say switch them out ASAP

On my current set I have the stock grips, and while I do like them I have noticed a few times that I didn't feel totally in control. I've started using tape on my right ring finger which has helped a little. I've just had good results with a certain companies grips.

Makes sense. Being from the Seattle area, humidity isn't an issue we often deal with. Thanks.

Lucky! And apologies for mistaking your earlier post, nice touch with the notepad!

 

[lemmiwinks]

Whoa. Great stuff in that range session Tomahawk.
20-30 yds distance gained with you 5i and about 20 with your 7i is incredible.

Great job by all the testers here.

 

[Chunkylover77]

Just a quick video I shot before my round Saturday. Unfortunately, I rolled my ankle and took a nice tumble down a hill leaving the 6th tee box so this is all I have in the way of video, but, I was striking the ball really well until that point. After that, I really couldn't follow through, so everything was pushed, and it was a real struggle to get around the course.

Very nice video. That topline does look a lot thinner than the G15's. Boy whoever owns that Pro Combo PW has nice face wear on that iron.

 

[lemmiwinks]

Whoa. Great stuff in that range session Tomahawk.
20-30 yds distance gained with you 5i and about 20 with your 7i is incredible.

Great job by all the testers here.

 

[ddxu]

TH - That is a great post, very well done. I love your thoughts on the difference in shafts and how much they have helped your game. The shanks squiggly lines humored me too, I've seen those pop up in my testing. Well done, glad you are so comfortable with your clubs.

 

[TRyan]

Thanks man, I saw that. Great vid! They are a great looking club, there is little debate about that. I get comments on how good the 2.0's look quite often.

Agreed on this beautiful looking set of irons. Also wanted to tell TH that these videos have been awesome. This thread is phenomenal and I have enjoyed reading all the hard work put into this.

 

[tomahawk18]

Agreed on this beautiful looking set of irons. Also wanted to tell TH that these videos have been awesome. This thread is phenomenal and I have enjoyed reading all the hard work put into this.

Thanks TexasHacker. That means a lot!

 

[Chunkylover77]

TH didn't want to quote the post because of sheer size of greatness. Damn dude that was awesome:clapp:

 

[mdbuschsr]

Just a quick video I shot before my round Saturday. Unfortunately, I rolled my ankle and took a nice tumble down a hill leaving the 6th tee box so this is all I have in the way of video, but, I was striking the ball really well until that point. After that, I really couldn't follow through, so everything was pushed, and it was a real struggle to get around the course.

Nice video Yorkem. That really showed how incredibly thick the topline of the G15 is in comparison. Well done!

 

[tomahawk18]

TH - That is a great post, very well done. I love your thoughts on the difference in shafts and how much they have helped your game. The shanks squiggly lines humored me too, I've seen those pop up in my testing. Well done, glad you are so comfortable with your clubs.

Thanks man! I really am starting to get in a groove with 2.0's. The shanks are the reason I am a 7 HC. I usually have a couple of loose strokes a round that cost me. . If I can get those cleaned up and be more consistent, I will be closer to scratch which has always been my goal.

 

[Thechosen1]

Just a quick video I shot before my round Saturday. Unfortunately, I rolled my ankle and took a nice tumble down a hill leaving the 6th tee box so this is all I have in the way of video, but, I was striking the ball really well until that point. After that, I really couldn't follow through, so everything was pushed, and it was a real struggle to get around the course.

Thanks for the video. But dude seriously you just blew my mind. I never knew you were a lefty!

 

[Josh_Ross]

Phenomenal videos guys. I wish I had a video camera other than my phone so I could get some quality video when I'm alone. My back is feeling better, and once I finish writing all of these lesson plans for school, I'll be sure to get out and hit these again. I think I'll have to copy that idea of the side by side testing and take some notes down for all to see. Good stuff.

 

[jefrazie]

Phenomenal videos guys. I wish I had a video camera other than my phone so I could get some quality video when I'm alone. My back is feeling better, and once I finish writing all of these lesson plans for school, I'll be sure to get out and hit these again. I think I'll have to copy that idea of the side by side testing and take some notes down for all to see. Good stuff.

Sorry for the week long hiatus everyone. I have been very busy at work and unable to play golf since last wednesday. I plan on getting out this upcoming weekend 2x and writing up an update. I'll try to get some video and pictures as well.

 

[yorkem]

Thanks for the video. But dude seriously you just blew my mind. I never knew you were a lefty!

HAHAHA! Yes sir...I am lefty. Until I got my TMex handicap, my handicap used to read I AM LEFTY.

Phenomenal videos guys. I wish I had a video camera other than my phone so I could get some quality video when I'm alone. My back is feeling better, and once I finish writing all of these lesson plans for school, I'll be sure to get out and hit these again. I think I'll have to copy that idea of the side by side testing and take some notes down for all to see. Good stuff.

You can pick up a flip, or something similar for like $50, and they work great and are really easy to use.

 

[tomahawk18]

Played a round on Sunday. It was a club tournament and the weather was perfect. 84 degrees, sunny and little to no wind. We played at Washington National, the golf home of the Washington Huskies. Great layout and beautiful course. We played from the blue tees (6420 yards, 136 slope). Not quite CC qaulity, but really nice. Here is a link.

BALL: TM Penta

http://www.okigolf.com/Courses/WashingtonNational/Pages/course.aspx

I struggled a bit on the front 9, but played very well on the back (42, 38) for an 80. I hit 10 of 14 fairways with the R11 so my driver was on. Unfortunately, I only hit 7 GIR's which is a little below average for me. This stat is a little misleading, as the course was set up tough and they had some real sucker pins that I went for. On at least 4 holes I fired at a tucked right or left pin and missed it by just a few yards. If the pin was in the middle it would have been GIR. I'm not making excuses, just pointing out that I felt so good after my range session that I was confident in firing at pins with the 2.0's no matter where they were set on the greens. Looking back, there is little doubt I could have managed the course better, and it probably would have saved me a couple of strokes. My other misses were not too damaging as the were struck well and close to greens, just not on them.

I was overall very solid with the 2.0's. I had one bad miss (fat) from a tight lie in the fairway with my PW which cost me a double bogey. Fat seems to be my most common miss with the 2.0's, although every once in a while I can thin one too. Obviously that isn't the club's fault.

4, 5, 6 irons - Hit only a few times as I was pounding my driver. Hit 5 and 6 twice each with good results. 2 were layups on par 5's that ended up at the correct yardages in the middle of the fairway. The others were missed greens (barely) from 200+. Hit 6 iron out of a fairway bunker from 188. Great contact great flight and it ended up just off the fringe right of the green (water left). Although it didn't hit the green I absolutely loved that shot. Got up and down on one, and bogeyed the other. Overall fairly happy with the long irons as I do not expect to be real close to the pin from 200+.

7, 8, 9 irons - Hit a couple of very quality shots with these! Had 182, slightly downhill and hit 7 iron. Ball landed about 2 yards short of the pin and spun back about 10 feet. Just beautiful ball flight and trajectory. Used the 8 a couple of times and had some mixed results. Mostly good, but these should be scoring irons and I really am not scoring with them. Hit one green from 165 and missed the birdie putt from about 15 feet. Missed two other greens with the 8 and this was the frustrating part of my round. If I am standing in the middle of the fairway with 8 in my hand, I expect to be putting for birdie after my shot. I hit ok shots, just not quite good enough. A little right, a little long... ugghh! Good contact, just not good enough accuracy. Hit 9 iron on two par 3's. One ended up on the fringe with a makable birdie (I missed), and the other ended about 20 from the pin on the green to the right.

PW, SW - Pretty good. Like I said earlier, hit a PW fat from 140 and ended up in a bunker 25 yards short. DOUBLE! I did hit the other two GIR opportunities with the PW. Both quality shots within 20 feet for birdie (missed both). Had a few bunker shots and was MONEY out of the sand with the SW. Out of 5 greenside bunker shots, I saved 3. The other 2 were quality, just missed the putts from about 8 and 12 feet. Had a 35 yard bunker shot that I clipped perfectly... landed about 12 feet long, spun back and lipped the cup, hit a little slope and ended up about 12 feet short. The spin was un real!

One problem I had was maybe a bit of over confidence during this round. Instead of recognizing sucker pins, I felt like I could be accurate enough to go at them, which hurt me. After my comparison range session with the R9's/2.0's, I feel more confident than ever that this setup is beneficial to my game. So now I need to reel in my Phil Mickelson style and try to manage the course. I am going to play Saturday morning at a course I am very familiar with and my goal is to play smarter. Go for middle of greens on sucker pins. Layup on some par 5's. I really think the way I was striking the ball with the 2.0's I could have turned that 80 into a 76 pretty easily. The technology is awesome on the 2.0's, but without course management, you are not maximizing the technology. I hit some quality shots that were not rewarded because of my strategy (going right at it). If I hit the same shot and started it in the middle of the green, 2 putt pars would have been a guarantee, instead of difficult sand shots or tough up and downs that often turn into bogey. I have been playing this game a long time, but still have a lot to learn.

 

[yorkem]

Great Post Tomahawk! I know exactly what you are talking about with your course management issues, and for the first time in my life I feel so confident that I am playing to certain distances and it is really paying off for me. A perfect example of this is a par 5 from Saturdays round for me. 520 yard par 5 and I am in the fairway 255 yards out. In the past I would have pulled 3 wood, or mashie, but instead I hit 8 Iron which is obviously more accurate to the middle and 100 yards out which is a perfect distance for me to hit gap wedge into the green. I never have felt confident enough to do this until I started playing the 2.0's, and always just tried to get as close to the green as possible. Slightly different than what you are talking about TH, but still course management.

 

[Josh_Ross]

Nice update tomahawk. I have to agree, for some reason, I tend to have much more course management since gaming these.

 

[tomahawk18]

Great Post Tomahawk! I know exactly what you are talking about with your course management issues, and for the first time in my life I feel so confident that I am playing to certain distances and it is really paying off for me. A perfect example of this is a par 5 from Saturdays round for me. 520 yard par 5 and I am in the fairway 255 yards out. In the past I would have pulled 3 wood, or mashie, but instead I hit 8 Iron which is obviously more accurate to the middle and 100 yards out which is a perfect distance for me to hit gap wedge into the green. I never have felt confident enough to do this until I started playing the 2.0's, and always just tried to get as close to the green as possible. Slightly different than what you are talking about TH, but still course management.

Totally Yorkem. I hit a 3 wood from 245 yards on a par 5 on Sunday that ended up in a hazard. Before the shot I was thinking "should I hit 9 iron to 110?". Par is almost a guarantee from there. The thing is: I am pretty accurate with my 3 wood, just pulled this one a bit. Ended up with bogey. I really think with the 2.0's I am good enough to hit to a yardage. 140 - PW, or 155 9 iron are pretty consistant and would almost certainly take bogey out of play! I am also very good with my 50* from 120-130. I know for me it would be tough to hit Driver, 9 iron, 9 iron on a par 5 as an example when I could Driver, 3 wood for possible eagle or even up and down birdie. I battle with myself as length is more of a strength than accuracy for me. With the 2.0's I am improving the accuracy, so I may need to adjust my game.

 

[yorkem]

Totally Yorkem. I hit a 3 wood from 245 yards on a par 5 on Sunday that ended up in a hazard. Before the shot I was thinking "should I hit 9 iron to 110?". Par is almost a guarantee from there. The thing is: I am pretty accurate with my 3 wood, just pulled this one a bit. Ended up with bogey. I really think with the 2.0's I am good enough to hit to a yardage. 140 - PW, or 155 9 iron are pretty consistant and would almost certainly take bogey out of play! I am also very good with my 50* from 120-130. I know for me it would be tough to hit Driver, 9 iron, 9 iron on a par 5 as an example when I could Driver, 3 wood for possible eagle or even up and down birdie. I battle with myself as length is more of a strength than accuracy for me. With the 2.0's I am improving the accuracy, so I may need to adjust my game.

Don't get me wrong, If I had the length to get home in 2 on a par 5 I may go for it, but for me that isn't very realistic on most par 5's. Even if I murder a drive and get it out there 270-280 I stand no chance of reaching a 525 yard or longer par 5 in 2 because I am only 215-220 max with a 3 wood, but, if I can go mashie into a green on a par 5 to get there in 2, I will go for it almost every time.

 

[ddxu]

As we approach the 3 month mark of testing, I wanted to dedicate some time to give a cumulative review of my thoughts thus far with the TaylorMade Burner 2.0 irons. I will be using a 1-5 scale, with 5 being the best. Hopefully this will give readers a better feel of the irons overall, rather than my possible overly positive / negative feedback based off a particular day or week's performance.

For reference, here are my specs:
4 - PW, SW
Project X 5.5 steel shafts
1* upright
1/4" shorter than Burner 2.0 standard
Golf Pride White VDR Grips

Feel / Playability - 4
One of my favorite attributes of the Burner 2s is how well they feel during impact. Well struck shots have little to almost no impact on the hands. They are so soft you barely know you've struck the ball. Toe misses offer a bit more of a tweak in your hands so you know right away if you've mishit the ball, but nothing to the point of being harsh.

The ball trajectory has consistently been a mid trajectory throughout the set. Both well struck and slight toe misses fly about the same height without any ballooning. While I don't intentionally work the ball right very often, I do play my natural draw pretty easily.

The multi functional sole makes it easy to play these irons from anywhere on the course. Shots from the rough cut through the grass like you're playing from the fairway and fairway bunker shots do not seem to skid or dig. However, I did see some digging on longer greenside bunker shots with both the AW and SW.

Forgiveness - 4.5
I have had very good success while gaming the 2.0s. I have increased my average GIR almost 2 per round. The biggest improvement I see in these irons is that my misses "miss less." To me, this means misses off the toe (my miss) fly farther in total distance and have a tighter dispersion than I see with my current set. For me, that usually means I now face a short greenside chip rather than a longer chip into the green from the rough. With my short game, I need as many easy up and downs as I can get.

My biggest improvement has been in the consistency of my wedge play on full & partial shots (PW, AW, SW). Not only do I hit fewer full shots fat compared to my Vokey wedges, I seem to have a more consistent flight trajectory. Like the other clubs, my misses are not nearly as harsh as misses with my Vokeys.

My least consistent clubs are the 4 and 5 irons. While well struck shots fly high and far, I just don’t seem to be as consistent with the long irons as I am with the rest of the set. I wonder if the Progressive Weighting could be a bit lower for the long irons to give just a bit more forgiveness. I do struggle with the long irons of my current set, but I haven’t seen a great increase or decrease in consistency with the long irons.

Distance - 3
The Burner 2.0s average 3-5 yards longer than my previous irons on well struck shots. As I described above, poorly struck shots are much less penal with the Burner 2s. I see this distance increase pretty much across the board throughout the set.

Unfortunately, I have seen a handful of shots that have flown 5-10% further than my other typical shots. While these shots are in the extreme minority, they do exist for me. These rocket shots could mean I fly a green into a hazard, rather than landing in the middle or back of the green.

Looks / Sound - 5
I love the look of the Burner 2.0s. They look technical enough to show real technical improvements over the 1.0 but not too techy where they appear gimmicky. I find the two tone face really helps frame the ball at address and makes it easier for me to make sure the face is properly aligned to the target.

The progressive top line of the irons also give me confidence because they are not all thin like a player's iron but not fall at like a super game improvement iron. To me, I love looking down while over an iron shot and not seeing a club as thin butter knife or as big as a house. The sole of the club is very clean with just the number and the 2 tone multi function sole.
The impact sound is one of the best I have seen out there. There is literally no loud ping or hollow thud during impact. Each strike produces a solid click that is easy to fall in love with.

Durability - 4
Coming into the testing, I was the most curious to see how the two tone face would hold up after play. I am a previous user of the Cleveland Gunmetal wedges, so I expected the Burner 2s to wear as quickly as the Gunmetals. I have been very impressed with the durability of the Burner 2s as the two tone faces still show great contrast. The grooves are still sharp and the multi function sole only shows light wear.

I carry my bag most rounds, so I am seeing a bit of 'bag chatter' on the backs of the irons. This is very minimal and barely noticeable. The one complaint I have about the durability is on shots that are just off the groove space. My horrible toe misses do scuff the black finish when I hit it way out there.

Overall, I am very impressed with the Burner 2.0 irons. They give me a great deal of confidence while standing over a shot and offer the amount of forgiveness I need in my game. I do not see the advertised "blown away with their distance," but I am not using the standard stock shafts either. I was so impressed with the performance of the wedges, I went out and ordered a customized AW to fill the PW - SW gap I had. With my positive experiences, I would recommend the Burner 2s to anyone struggling with consistency with their iron play.

 

[yorkem]

Awesome write up dubbledxu! I love the cumulative thoughts as opposed to just one round or range session. I have so enjoyed these that I didn't even realize we had them for nearly 3 months already.

 

[tomahawk18]

Nice job with the write up dubs. I agree with most of what you said except I am seeing major distance increases that you aren't. Outside of that, most of our experiences are similar. The one downside for me (like you) with the 2.0's is the occasional super pured shot that will gain me enough yardage to get me in trouble. I am gaurding against it a little and that has helped, but I know if I really need to nuke a club, and I hit it absolutely perfect, it will go a mile. It has hurt me on the course on a couple of occasions, but for the most part, if my worry is to be occasionally long, I can deal with that. Or, even better, I need to learn how to hit the pured shot more often! HAHA I would be Dustin Johnson like if I could achieve that!!

 

[yorkem]

I went to the range last night to work on my ball striking because I have just been hitting a ton of shots fat lately, and had an aha moment. First off, let me say that my ankle (if you have been following this thread you know I sprained it Saturday) was just starting to feel better. Still couldn't put all of my weight on it, but it was so nice out after work yesterday that I just had to hit the range at least. I juts grabbed 7, 8, 9, and PW and got a small bucket. Lossening up, I could tell follow through was going to be a problem, but not so much that I thought I couldn't get through the bucket working on what I wanted to work on.

I start hitting shots with the 7 iron and sure enough on the 5th swing I hit one fat. This is not a club issue, it is definitely a swing issue, and has been my miss for a while now. I lose a ton of distance when I hit it fat, although not as much as in the past because the turf interaction with these irons is so good, especially for a GI iron, it allows me to power through it. After the fat shot I take a nice 3/4 swing which basically resets me and gets me a nice clean and crisp contact with the ball, and then go back to full shots.

I do this throughout the bucket, and as I am walking off of the range thinking about my session it hits me. I don't lose that much distance on my 3/4 swings, and I always strike the ball well when doing it because it is a much more controlled swing for me. I grab another small bucket and go through the entire bucket doing nothing but 3/4 swings. I hit 2 thin, and 1 fat. The rest are struck crisply and cleanly.

I am obviously losing some distance, but not as much as when I hit one fat, and, if I am playing for it.....AHA! I will have to dial in distances, but if I do, and I am struggling on the course, and know I can go to this type of shot, why not. What is more impressive, crushing an iron and having people say "you hit that with what?" or, "you shot what?" I think I am going to go with option 2.

What do you guys think? I would love some feedback on this.

 

[tomahawk18]

I went to the range last night to work on my ball striking because I have just been hitting a ton of shots fat lately, and had an aha moment. First off, let me say that my ankle (if you have been following this thread you know I sprained it Saturday) was just starting to feel better. Still couldn't put all of my weight on it, but it was so nice out after work yesterday that I just had to hit the range at least. I juts grabbed 7, 8, 9, and PW and got a small bucket. Lossening up, I could tell follow through was going to be a problem, but not so much that I thought I couldn't get through the bucket working on what I wanted to work on.

I start hitting shots with the 7 iron and sure enough on the 5th swing I hit one fat. This is not a club issue, it is definitely a swing issue, and has been my miss for a while now. I lose a ton of distance when I hit it fat, although not as much as in the past because the turf interaction with these irons is so good, especially for a GI iron, it allows me to power through it. After the fat shot I take a nice 3/4 swing which basically resets me and gets me a nice clean and crisp contact with the ball, and then go back to full shots.

I do this throughout the bucket, and as I am walking off of the range thinking about my session it hits me. I don't lose that much distance on my 3/4 swings, and I always strike the ball well when doing it because it is a much more controlled swing for me. I grab another small bucket and go through the entire bucket doing nothing but 3/4 swings. I hit 2 thin, and 1 fat. The rest are struck crisply and cleanly.

I am obviously losing some distance, but not as much as when I hit one fat, and, if I am playing for it.....AHA! I will have to dial in distances, but if I do, and I am struggling on the course, and know I can go to this type of shot, why not. What is more impressive, crushing an iron and having people say "you hit that with what?" or, "you shot what?" I think I am going to go with option 2.

What do you guys think? I would love some feedback on this.

Interesting Yorkem... I'm glad you found something!

I have said this earlier in the thread, but I seem to struggle with 3/4 swings as a whole. I always have. Not to say I am not capable of it, but I lose a ton of accuracy and 90% of them leak right with a fade. I just don't need it that often so I don't practice it much. I am lazy though impact and leave the face open. I need to work on it!

For me, it's the exact opposite. My results are much better with the 2.0's with a firm swing. Not an overswing, but a nice aggressive swipe (like the course vids I posted). If and when I overswing, my miss is fat as well, so I understand your frustration. Nothing worse than taking a huge chunk of turf and the ball only going 60% as far as you had hoped! HAHA

 

[jefrazie]

I went to the range last night to work on my ball striking because I have just been hitting a ton of shots fat lately, and had an aha moment. First off, let me say that my ankle (if you have been following this thread you know I sprained it Saturday) was just starting to feel better. Still couldn't put all of my weight on it, but it was so nice out after work yesterday that I just had to hit the range at least. I juts grabbed 7, 8, 9, and PW and got a small bucket. Lossening up, I could tell follow through was going to be a problem, but not so much that I thought I couldn't get through the bucket working on what I wanted to work on.

I start hitting shots with the 7 iron and sure enough on the 5th swing I hit one fat. This is not a club issue, it is definitely a swing issue, and has been my miss for a while now. I lose a ton of distance when I hit it fat, although not as much as in the past because the turf interaction with these irons is so good, especially for a GI iron, it allows me to power through it. After the fat shot I take a nice 3/4 swing which basically resets me and gets me a nice clean and crisp contact with the ball, and then go back to full shots.

I do this throughout the bucket, and as I am walking off of the range thinking about my session it hits me. I don't lose that much distance on my 3/4 swings, and I always strike the ball well when doing it because it is a much more controlled swing for me. I grab another small bucket and go through the entire bucket doing nothing but 3/4 swings. I hit 2 thin, and 1 fat. The rest are struck crisply and cleanly.

I am obviously losing some distance, but not as much as when I hit one fat, and, if I am playing for it.....AHA! I will have to dial in distances, but if I do, and I am struggling on the course, and know I can go to this type of shot, why not. What is more impressive, crushing an iron and having people say "you hit that with what?" or, "you shot what?" I think I am going to go with option 2.

What do you guys think? I would love some feedback on this.

.

This is an interesting idea. If you are really having problems that day with ball contact, I don't see a reason that this wouldn't be a viable option. Yeah, you may lose 15 yards of distance, but you still have control of the ball and are getting more distance than a fat shot.