TaylorMade Burner 2.0 Irons - Forum Testing Review

[tomahawk18]

Wow guys, great stuff over the weekend. Bobby, are you sure about those distances? That is incredibly long, and I could see why those gaps would give you trouble, I just don't know anyone that hits a 7 iron 200 yards consistently.

Yeah, that's a long ways!! HAHA. And the occasional 250 for a 5 and 6 iron? WOW. Dustin Johnson like...

 

[yorkem]

Yeah, that's a long ways!! HAHA. And the occasional 250 for a 5 and 6 iron? WOW. Dustin Johnson like...

I am happy with 250 of the tee with driver!

 

[tomahawk18]

I am happy with 250 of the tee with driver!

I am hitting the 4 iron 225ish and feel pretty darn good about that. Obviously I need some work! :act-up:

 

[yorkem]

Well...I didn't get a round in this weekend, but I did get to the range. My ankle is still really sore (I can't wait for this thing to heal), and getting my weight forward was difficult, but I was really working on hitting 3/4 shots. We have had a bunch of rain, so it was a little sloppy out there, but that just forced me to stay in control, and I have to say that when I stay under control, and keep my lower body quiet, I seem to make excellent contact every time. I swear, with the thinner face, and the turf interaction you get from the sole, when you make clean/solid contact with these irons, they just go! I am really starting to dial in distances on 3/4 swings, and for the most part I just have to go up one club, but it is so easy to get the ball up quick and high with all of these irons, that I am not seeing this as an issue at all.

 

[ddxu]

BB -
I'm honestly not very surprised you have seen some huge iron shots. I'm not a big guy or have a fast swing (iron swing speed was low 80s during fitting) and I can fly the Burner 2 6 iron 195 - 200 pretty consistently. That's without even trying to really step on it. I am abt 5 yards longer SW-9 iron, but match your 8 iron distance pretty well with the Burner 2s

I am hitting the 4 iron 225ish and feel pretty darn good about that.

Thats about the same distance I am with my decently straight 4 irons. Well struck shots go a bit farther, but poor shots a bit shorter. I am still not sold on the 4i versus a 3 hybrid, but the distances are about the same. Just about keeping these shots straight.

 

[jefrazie]

I am hitting the 4 iron 225ish and feel pretty darn good about that. Obviously I need some work! :act-up:

I'm usually around 215 with the 4I. I feel comfortable with that distance and I am getting pretty accurate with it as well.

 

[tomahawk18]

BB -
I'm honestly not very surprised you have seen some huge iron shots. I'm not a big guy or have a fast swing (iron swing speed was low 80s during fitting) and I can fly the Burner 2 6 iron 195 - 200 pretty consistently. That's without even trying to really step on it. I am abt 5 yards longer SW-9 iron, but match your 8 iron distance pretty well with the Burner 2s



Thats about the same distance I am with my decently straight 4 irons. Well struck shots go a bit farther, but poor shots a bit shorter. I am still not sold on the 4i versus a 3 hybrid, but the distances are about the same. Just about keeping these shots straight.

Yeah, my issue is a fade with the 4 iron. I hit it pretty good most of the time, but the occasional fade does come into play. I did hit a below average toe shot with the 4 on Saturday, yet still got nearly 200 yards out of it. The forgiveness is awesome! With my R9's, that same shot would have been 175 maybe!

 

[Josh_Ross]

These are my distances with my irons (bolded) in comparison to the rest of the bag. For the irons, these are well struck shots. If I'm sitting 150 with perfect conditions and I'm hitting well, the PW is coming out. Usually though, I like to back off a little and take a smoother swing, so you can take approximately 5 yards off of those on most days. My wedges and woods are pretty consistently in the areas I have them though. Like I said in my big review, I've gained about 5 yards of length with these over my Burner Plus irons. These numbers are about 10 yards longer than my Pluses, but my smoother swing gives me only a 5 yard increase. I hope that makes sense.

58* - 50 - 100
54* - 100 - 120
50* - 100 - 135
PW - 153
9I - 165
8I - 177
7I - 189
6I - 200
5I - 212
4I - 225
M2 - 250
4W - 275
1W - 295+

 

[Bobby Burner]

Really wanted to update with some pics to go with my distance marvels, but can't see how the upload manager works without an 'upload new images button' to click???? Very Odd. What am I missing? I've done it before.

 

[ddxu]

i use photobucket to host and its a breeze

Really wanted to update with some pics to go with my distance marvels, but can't see how the upload manager works without an 'upload new images button' to click???? Very Odd. What am I missing? I've done it before.

 

[yorkem]

These are my distances with my irons (bolded) in comparison to the rest of the bag. For the irons, these are well struck shots. If I'm sitting 150 with perfect conditions and I'm hitting well, the PW is coming out. Usually though, I like to back off a little and take a smoother swing, so you can take approximately 5 yards off of those on most days. My wedges and woods are pretty consistently in the areas I have them though. Like I said in my big review, I've gained about 5 yards of length with these over my Burner Plus irons. These numbers are about 10 yards longer than my Pluses, but my smoother swing gives me only a 5 yard increase. I hope that makes sense.

58* - 50 - 100
54* - 100 - 120
50* - 100 - 135
PW - 153
9I - 165
8I - 177
7I - 189
6I - 200
5I - 212
4I - 225
M2 - 250
4W - 275
1W - 295+

Wow...you guys all just hit bombs! I have never felt so short. I am literally 2 clubs shorter than you.

 

[Josh_Ross]

Wow...you guys all just hit bombs! I have never felt so short. I am literally 2 clubs shorter than you.

Well like I said, that is a well struck, full swing. Take 5-10 yards off, since I swing a little slower and smoother.

 

[Bobby Burner]

Hi Guys. I’ve thought to myself many a time, I’d now like a GPS to verify exact distances. Some former reports have indeed used GPS systems on buggies, but my claims yesterday were going by hole stats and features marked with distance on the scorecard… and measurements using Google satellite images seem to tally. (The scale measures 50m to 1.9cm on my screen, meters converted to yards for distances)

When I think back to the old set of clubs I used for a month at the start of the year, yes, these figures with the 2.0s are difficult to believe. But with the evidence of what great shots can be, I'm now disappointed if I don't shift the ball huge distances. I said in a recent post about getting my much better playing partner to try my 6i at a par4 he insisted required a 3i. He played his club, then mine, and the balls were about 3 yards apart on the green, some 230yards away, slightly downhill.

I'm posting some pictures of my exploits. Don't worry chaps, I don't feel pressured to! Just want to demonstrate with pictures (it’s also getting me up to speed on how to post pics!). The course was Ombersley in the West Midlands, UK. (I know most of you are USA) It's about 15 miles from where I live, and I never knew such grand scenery was on my doorstep. Not that my pictures show it. The course must be on high ground itself, with spectacular panoramic views of even bigger hills all around. I’m definitely going to play it again!

Notes:

#3, Par5, 514yards
Dire tee shot, A-B 175yard 5i punch through boundary hedge. (?) signifies I couldn't see around bend, no idea where the hole was going.

Followed by A-B 250yard 5i moderate uphill.

#6, Par5, 476yards
Dire tee shot, A-B 200yard 7i

#8, Par3, 178yards
7i into slight wind, A-B 160yards, frustratingly short!

#9, Par4, 331yards
7i slight wind assisted, A-B around 220yards, unfathomably long.

#11, Par3, 184yards
7i, tee shot way left, though a hedge (green line), through the 12th tee, to at least 210yards (although the ground drops down for the last 30 yards)

#12, Par5, 500yards
7i, A-B and B-C, both nearly 200yards (not the 175previously reported, as somewhat zigzaging fairway), 150 left C-D

#18, Par5, 494yards
Tee shot pushed onto adjacent fairway, A-B 200yards, making line to pin just visible around edge of pond.

Don’t worry, I won’t do this again, it’s taken an age!!!

 

[tomahawk18]

Wow BB. You got some length.

 

[yorkem]

Incredible length Bobby...WOW!

 

[Hanks]

great update jef!

Now that I know that I need my irons to be bent 1* up I sometimes wonder if I missed an opportunity to really get the full potential of thise irons when I was testing them. I never got comfy with these like I expected to and didn't see the results that others have seen with these. If it was because of one silly little degree well then that's just frustrating

Quick update from my round this past weekend.

Played at my normal course, Keith Hills, from the tips. It was a bit cooler out yesterday around 70* and 10-15 mph winds.

Some stats:
Score - 40/45, 85 total
Fairways - 8/14
GIR - 8/18
Putts - 34

Long irons (4,5,6):
I only hit these 3 clubs 4-5 times yesterday. I remember that I knocked a 6I 189 yards onto the green of a par 3. It had a perfect ball flight and one hop stopped about 15 feet from the hole. I also hit a 5I from 200 that landed on the right fringe. Again perfect ball flight and one hop stop. I knocked 2 4I's both on the same hole, a long, uphill par 5. I pulled my drive a bit left and it caught a tree about 150 yards out. The ball landed on the side of a steep hill so this gave me an opportunity to hit a "specialty shot". The ball was even with my waist and I still had 400 yards to the green. Not only that, I also had tree branches above my head preventing a full swing. I choked up and took a very quick half swing punch shot that performed beautifully. Ball popped up and went about 180 yards. I proceeded to hit 4I again from the fairway. I caught it a bit thin and off the toe. Since it was a bit colder out, this was the first time I have felt a sting from a mishit. It wasn't jarring like a MB would be, but it let me know that I sure hit it incorrectly.

Mid irons (7,8,9):
These irons were money all day. Every shot hit with them was crisp and had a wonderful ball, high ball flight. One occasion that stuck out in my mind was a longer 188 yard par 3. There hole is a little bit down hill and the pin was towards the front. Rather than take my normal 6I for this distance, I played a firm 7I. Knocked the ball to within 5 feet (missed the putt). I can't get over how accurate I have become with the 2.0's in the mid iron level. These used to be my problem irons, now I am firing at pins and complaining when I'm outside of 10 feet from 175 yards.

Wedges (PW, SW):
I didn't use these on too many occasions. I only used the PW on one hole from about 135 and had to draw it around a tree. Unfortunately, I found it pretty difficult to draw the ball 15 yards with a PW, but that's to be expected. I used the SW for a couple chip shots around the green and the club performed about average. I felt like I didn't have quite the spin that the forged wedges did and I had more problems with distance control. This may very well be from my lack of experience with the SW around the green though. I still like the feel and look of the forged irons around the green so for now, the SW will be used exclusively for sand shots.

Overall the day was pretty good. I played very well on the front and average on the back. The irons were the only constant in my game front to back. I can't stress how much consistency I have gained by gaming these 2.0's.

Let me know if anyone has any questions!

 

[jefrazie]

great update jef!

Now that I know that I need my irons to be bent 1* up I sometimes wonder if I missed an opportunity to really get the full potential of thise irons when I was testing them. I never got comfy with these like I expected to and didn't see the results that others have seen with these. If it was because of one silly little degree well then that's just frustrating

I can say the same thing about when I was fit for my set. 2* upright shouldn't make that big of a difference right? I used to have problems dragging the toe of my club and catching the ball of the toe end. After the 2* upright fitting, I started hitting the sweetspot SO much more. It was night and day for a silly little 2*.

Have you since bent the 2.0's to 1* upright?

 

[Hanks]

this was exactly my issue that wasn't discovered until my fitting at GolfTec. Now I'm hitting the sweet spot a lot more because of this.

No, the 2.0's were sent back to Taylormade before I realized that I needed to have this change made. It would have been interesting to have a shootout between them and the CG16's in my bag now that's for sure....

I can say the same thing about when I was fit for my set. 2* upright shouldn't make that big of a difference right? I used to have problems dragging the toe of my club and catching the ball of the toe end. After the 2* upright fitting, I started hitting the sweetspot SO much more. It was night and day for a silly little 2*.

Have you since bent the 2.0's to 1* upright?

 

[ddxu]

this was exactly my issue that wasn't discovered until my fitting at GolfTec. Now I'm hitting the sweet spot a lot more because of this.

This has me wondering how accurate my fitting is, as everyone of my misses are out on the toe. I always figured it was a setup issue (figured I was too far from the ball), but even stepping closer hasnt seemed to help much.

 

[tyno]

some impressive distances BB.
but your tee shots on the first two are horrible! lol. just kidding.
great upload on the pics...a very neat idea. was great to see where your shots went, etc...

 

[Bobby Burner]

tnolan, you're not wrong! There were plenty more shockers, after holes 2, 3, 4, 6 & 7 I wanted to go home! But then there were some outstanding saves too: 8i and AW close into pins from shocking positions. And some razor sharp lines with other shots. It's all or nothing for me at the moment. I'm just loving playing the game this year, because I live in hope that if more of my shots become like the better efforts I occasionally pull off, I'm gonna have a happy time on the course with these clubs!

 

[Budda_77]

HELP....I'm thinking about getting a set of new irons as i think its time for some game improvement irons. After reading some these reviews, I guess I should consider these but has anyone compared 2.0 vs Razr X irons and which ones do you prefer?

 

[ddxu]

HELP....I'm thinking about getting a set of new irons as i think its time for some game improvement irons. After reading some these reviews, I guess I should consider these but has anyone compared 2.0 vs Razr X irons and which ones do you prefer?

I know another forum member loves both his Burner 2s and his Razr X Tours. TC was one of the 4 testers from the first wave of Burner 2 testing. I dont know if you are looking at the Tours or the regular Raxr Xs, but this should give you more info. See this thread he posted during his Morgan Cup prep as a Callaway staffer.

 

[tomahawk18]

HELP....I'm thinking about getting a set of new irons as i think its time for some game improvement irons. After reading some these reviews, I guess I should consider these but has anyone compared 2.0 vs Razr X irons and which ones do you prefer?

I have only hit the RAZR X on the range for a short while with the stock shaft, but I really liked them. I am bias toward the 2.0 because I know them much better (and love them), but you should hit everything! What works for us may or may not work for you. Also, get fitted! :act-up:

 

[jefrazie]

HELP....I'm thinking about getting a set of new irons as i think its time for some game improvement irons. After reading some these reviews, I guess I should consider these but has anyone compared 2.0 vs Razr X irons and which ones do you prefer?

I have only hit the Razr forged irons and while they were nice, I much preferred the 2.0's over the Razrs. Take this with a grain of salt though since I was hitting forged blade (razr) vs cast cavity (2.0)