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TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC Review Thread
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Holy Spin Batman!
I am getting ready to head out to the course for some practice time, but first I have to give some feedback from my time on the course yesterday. I was playing the ZStarX. I hit a PW into the #3 green and I put it about 10 feet behind the pin and 5 feet to the right of it. The ball spun back to about a foot left of the pin. Spin with these clubs is not a problem.
I am getting ready to head out to the course for some practice time, but first I have to give some feedback from my time on the course yesterday. I was playing the ZStarX. I hit a PW into the #3 green and I put it about 10 feet behind the pin and 5 feet to the right of it. The ball spun back to about a foot left of the pin. Spin with these clubs is not a problem.
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- #553
Seth, do you know why you would be achieving more spin with these? I mean conforming grooves and all, I would think it might have been technique over equipment in that aspect right?
Not achieving more spin, but spinning the ball with the short irons is not hard to do in my experience. Someone asked a while ago about spin with the short irons and I told them that I would get some swings with a soft cover ball and then report back. I am not seeing any more spin than I did with my conforming Diablo Forged, but I am not seeing any less either. I am not nearly good enough to to say that the MC's spin more or less than (insert club here), but I have seen multiple shots with my short irons where the ball spun back anywhere between one and 10 feet (slope helped on some shots).
I guess I am not comparing spin, but just stating that I didn't find generating spin to be a problem.
- Staff
- #555
I was out on the course today with these clubs and once again I walked away impressed. Unlike yesterday I warmed up on the range before hand and by time I got to the 1st tee I was ready and confident. The weather was pretty windy today, at times a 3 club wind. On one hole OEM and I were sitting about 160 from the green dead in to the wind. We both hit 5 irons(Burner 2.0 for him) and both came up about 5 yards short. The closing hole was a 120 yard par 3 with wind in your face, normally I'd reach for my 52 or PW, but today I pulled an 8 iron and that was the right stick. I teed off with a 3 iron for fun at one point and hit it right off the toe. The ball went about 20-25 yards short and was just off the right side of the fairway. I tried chipping more around the greens with these today, mostly with an 8 iron. I had a little trouble getting the feel down for those shots. After the round I couldn't help but think to myself that I have enough game for these sticks. I think I hit enough solid shots over the weekend to give me the confidence I need going forward, and yes that includes the 5 iron which was hit great on multiple occasions today. I will have some more stuff over the next few days.
golf4life
Grip n rip
As DDec just posted, we got to put these to the test again today. I also got to take a few swings with Hanks CBs to compare performance. The CB is a fine club. From my limited experience with a couple CBs on the range, they launch the ball significantly higher than the MCs. Part of that I'm sure is the weighting in the clubhead, but I'm sure part of that is the lighter shafts in these clubs as well. The interesting thing is the length of the blades of the CB iron was the same as the MCs the best that I could tell. The top line is thicker, but not distracting.
Anyways, back to the MCs. They continue to perform well for me. In most cases, I had good success hitting these into greens, and continue to have most success when taking 1 extra club and swinging easy with them. The course was in good shape despite all the recent rain, but the fairways were all pretty moist. Despite the thin soles and rather sharp leading edge, I did not have any trouble hitting solid shots off the sloggy fairways as long as I was getting ball first contact. There was one case where I did catch it fat on the wettest patch of fairway I found, and it did dig pretty darn deep... in fact someone in our group yelled out "flying toupee" or something like that. That shot came up significantly short.
I did also hit a few shots with OEM's burner 2.0s. There is certainly no doubt that the 2.0s are a full club to club and a half longer than the MCs. The feel and sound on a well struck shot with the 2.0s is not as satisfying as with the MCs, but its hard to argue with high and long in many cases. I'm still torn about what the best type of club will be for my game long term. I'm going to enjoy continuing to test these to find that out.
Anyways, back to the MCs. They continue to perform well for me. In most cases, I had good success hitting these into greens, and continue to have most success when taking 1 extra club and swinging easy with them. The course was in good shape despite all the recent rain, but the fairways were all pretty moist. Despite the thin soles and rather sharp leading edge, I did not have any trouble hitting solid shots off the sloggy fairways as long as I was getting ball first contact. There was one case where I did catch it fat on the wettest patch of fairway I found, and it did dig pretty darn deep... in fact someone in our group yelled out "flying toupee" or something like that. That shot came up significantly short.
I did also hit a few shots with OEM's burner 2.0s. There is certainly no doubt that the 2.0s are a full club to club and a half longer than the MCs. The feel and sound on a well struck shot with the 2.0s is not as satisfying as with the MCs, but its hard to argue with high and long in many cases. I'm still torn about what the best type of club will be for my game long term. I'm going to enjoy continuing to test these to find that out.
RxGus
Argyle Warrior
So I was finally able to get into the sim today with impact tape and a bunch of time, in order to get some hard numbers on the forgiveness these irons are providing. Going into this week I was getting really consistent distances but they were almost a full club less than what I am used to seeing. I feel that I need to mention my distances were just fine in Georgia and my swing is the culprit. I am working on regaining the swing speed I had on a new swing plane with mixed results. Somedays on the SIM I hit my 7i 135 (carry) and other days I hit 165 (carry). Today was short for my distances last year, but I made a concise effort to not work on my swing... just hit the ball. The results are below.
7i (30 swings, 142 +/- 9, 1y L +/- 12)
...................................Heel (n=12, 141, 1y L )...........Center (n=15, 146, 2y L).......Toe (n=3,131, 0 y)
Fat (n= 2, 129, 4.5y R)........132,7y R................................126,2y R.............................NONE
Center (n=23, 143, 1.8y R)...142,5y L................................148, 0y..............................131,1y R
Thin (n= 5, 139, 3y L)..........141,7y R................................137,6y L.............................NONE
How to read my chart:
Each "cell" represents an area on club face and the average yardage associated with a ball strike on that area.
The numbers down the left represent averages across each category (Fat/Center/Thin) without regard to where the ball was struck.
The numbers across the top represent averages across each category (Heel/Center/Toe) without regard to flushness of contact
To determine distance changes across the club face compare the appropriate cell with the other cell in question.
Ex. Hitting "Center/Toe" results in the loss of 17 yards and a change in 1 yard of horizontal dispersion when compared to "center/center".
Observations:
1. I have a +/-12 yards on any horizontal measurement (standard deviation). What this means is that there was a relatively high variability in my shot shape. When I looked at the shot shapes I had an exactly equal number of draws and fades, and the distances balanced out resulting in pretty normal averages. Stated another way, 75% of my shots end up within 12 yards (horizontally) of where I aimed.
2. My ball flight is lower than my old set, by about one club. I took my 7i from the old set and hit 20 balls. I then compared flight paths to several shots across my iron set. My MC 8i flies roughly the same height as my RAC 7i.
3. I didn't really see much change in horizontal dispersion between ball strikes and this really surprised me. I don't have an explanation for this, but numbers didn't lie. I saw some large changes in either direction, but nothing that was consistent or repeatable like you would expect. (no systematic error)
Limitations:
This is based on a relatively small number of swings (n=30). Like all statistics, the more trials you have the better the data.
If you have any questions about what this stuff means, just let me know and I would be happy to explain it!
7i (30 swings, 142 +/- 9, 1y L +/- 12)
...................................Heel (n=12, 141, 1y L )...........Center (n=15, 146, 2y L).......Toe (n=3,131, 0 y)
Fat (n= 2, 129, 4.5y R)........132,7y R................................126,2y R.............................NONE
Center (n=23, 143, 1.8y R)...142,5y L................................148, 0y..............................131,1y R
Thin (n= 5, 139, 3y L)..........141,7y R................................137,6y L.............................NONE
How to read my chart:
Each "cell" represents an area on club face and the average yardage associated with a ball strike on that area.
The numbers down the left represent averages across each category (Fat/Center/Thin) without regard to where the ball was struck.
The numbers across the top represent averages across each category (Heel/Center/Toe) without regard to flushness of contact
To determine distance changes across the club face compare the appropriate cell with the other cell in question.
Ex. Hitting "Center/Toe" results in the loss of 17 yards and a change in 1 yard of horizontal dispersion when compared to "center/center".
Observations:
1. I have a +/-12 yards on any horizontal measurement (standard deviation). What this means is that there was a relatively high variability in my shot shape. When I looked at the shot shapes I had an exactly equal number of draws and fades, and the distances balanced out resulting in pretty normal averages. Stated another way, 75% of my shots end up within 12 yards (horizontally) of where I aimed.
2. My ball flight is lower than my old set, by about one club. I took my 7i from the old set and hit 20 balls. I then compared flight paths to several shots across my iron set. My MC 8i flies roughly the same height as my RAC 7i.
3. I didn't really see much change in horizontal dispersion between ball strikes and this really surprised me. I don't have an explanation for this, but numbers didn't lie. I saw some large changes in either direction, but nothing that was consistent or repeatable like you would expect. (no systematic error)
Limitations:
This is based on a relatively small number of swings (n=30). Like all statistics, the more trials you have the better the data.
If you have any questions about what this stuff means, just let me know and I would be happy to explain it!
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CharlieMoy
Well-known member
Whoa man. Whoa.
Epic science stuff.
Epic science stuff.
Chunkylover77
Proud JakeNation Member
The Doctor bringing the science!! Great stuff Gus. Great stuff everybody. Man you guys are killing it in here.
RxGus
Argyle Warrior
Thanks guys! I am an absolute dork and love this stuff.
I just hope that it helps shed some light on what I am personally seeing with these irons.
RxGus
Argyle Warrior
Three actually... I believe g4l is playing with us sat too!
Tapatalk- USGA non-conforming
CRucker300
New member
Man I found out today that the local golf shop that I deal with isn't going to have these til next week! I can't take it.
kurtcobainrulzz
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yea bro they come out the 25th i preordered mine early feb. but my guy said if they come in early he will call me ohhhh yea cant wait to get my mcs with upgraded shafts
CraftyLefty
New member
Nice job! You did a great job with this data/test. Interesting to see the variation between toe and heel strikes. I'm really getting impatient for the opportunity to swing these guys.
Some great feedback in here!
I am continuing to love these irons! I think they will stay in my bag for a long long time. I am hitting more greens than ever before and I partly attribute this to the fact that I don't try to make a club do more than it is supposed to do.
I got a lot of practicing in this weekend, but I have one cool story to tell. I pulled off a high cut on the course that I was super proud of. This is just a shot that I am not comfortable with so I never try it on the course, but I was in a situation where I could screw it up and still be ok, so I tried it and it worked very well! I am going to continue to work on shaping the ball and if I could add the accurate cut shot to my arsenal, then I would be a very happy camper indeed.
I am continuing to love these irons! I think they will stay in my bag for a long long time. I am hitting more greens than ever before and I partly attribute this to the fact that I don't try to make a club do more than it is supposed to do.
I got a lot of practicing in this weekend, but I have one cool story to tell. I pulled off a high cut on the course that I was super proud of. This is just a shot that I am not comfortable with so I never try it on the course, but I was in a situation where I could screw it up and still be ok, so I tried it and it worked very well! I am going to continue to work on shaping the ball and if I could add the accurate cut shot to my arsenal, then I would be a very happy camper indeed.
- Staff
- #567
awesome stuff Seth...glad you are seeing some great results with these sticks.
- Staff
- #568
there was some talk in the Wilson Staff Di11 thread about stock grips. I am not sure if I added this in the past or not, but I wanted to say that I have changed the grips on my clubs. The stock grip is a Tour Velvet grip with Taylormade printed on it where they normaly say Golf Pride. Some people like these grips, but for my they just don't work well with my hands. I did go to the range/simulator a few times before deciding to change. I have replaced them with a Winn PCI grip.
Dr. Teeth
Well-known member
great combo. These are the grips I am going to put on mine.
Dr. Teeth
Well-known member
I posted this on The Kingdom Thread, but I also thought this was a relevant place for this as well.
I really wanted to take the time and post about the irons we were able to hit. I knew that I loved the looks of the TaylorMade Forged TP irons, but wasn't sure how I would be able to hit them or which model would be for me. I was so happy that when I was able to pick them up I seemed to hit both the CB and the MC models well. Brian Bazzel was the fitter that was working with me on the irons, and both he and Alan Stone (Stoney) noted that my divots looked like I was hitting them toe down and that I would be better served with a more upright club. They found a 2* upright 6 iron in the MCs (Bazzel also said that I hit the CBs too high so I should go for the MCs since I was able to hit them equally as well). I hit some more shots off the lie board and I was still impacting on the toe. Bazzel suggested that we move from the S300 shaft to the X100. He said that on the downswing the club will not only flex back and forth, but it also flexes down, which would also contribute to my shots being hit with the toe down. So he switched the shaft to X100 and kept me at 2* upright and WAA-LAA! Straight at the target! These irons just feel sooo good and inspire a ton of confidence! The turf interaction felt so precise, and if you watch the video P4B posted talking about the forged irons it is easy to see why these feel so good going through the turf. I hit shot after shot at the target and I was just amazed. My ball flight was lower too, which I definitely need. Talking with Bazzel he suggested that I get a blended set. MCs from PW-6 iron and the CBs from 5-3. The CBs also come with the X100 XP shaft which is about 15 grams lighter than the standard shaft. He explained that this is another great feature of blending my set this way as it creates a smoother transition from the weight of the iron shafts to the weight of the hybrid shafts then to the FW and driver shafts. I am in LOVE with this set up and will be getting it ASAP! I was so grateful that Bazzel and Stoney took the time to fit me to these irons because never in a million years did I think I should be hitting X100 shafts. Here is a short video of me hitting the Forged TP MC 6 iron.
I really wanted to take the time and post about the irons we were able to hit. I knew that I loved the looks of the TaylorMade Forged TP irons, but wasn't sure how I would be able to hit them or which model would be for me. I was so happy that when I was able to pick them up I seemed to hit both the CB and the MC models well. Brian Bazzel was the fitter that was working with me on the irons, and both he and Alan Stone (Stoney) noted that my divots looked like I was hitting them toe down and that I would be better served with a more upright club. They found a 2* upright 6 iron in the MCs (Bazzel also said that I hit the CBs too high so I should go for the MCs since I was able to hit them equally as well). I hit some more shots off the lie board and I was still impacting on the toe. Bazzel suggested that we move from the S300 shaft to the X100. He said that on the downswing the club will not only flex back and forth, but it also flexes down, which would also contribute to my shots being hit with the toe down. So he switched the shaft to X100 and kept me at 2* upright and WAA-LAA! Straight at the target! These irons just feel sooo good and inspire a ton of confidence! The turf interaction felt so precise, and if you watch the video P4B posted talking about the forged irons it is easy to see why these feel so good going through the turf. I hit shot after shot at the target and I was just amazed. My ball flight was lower too, which I definitely need. Talking with Bazzel he suggested that I get a blended set. MCs from PW-6 iron and the CBs from 5-3. The CBs also come with the X100 XP shaft which is about 15 grams lighter than the standard shaft. He explained that this is another great feature of blending my set this way as it creates a smoother transition from the weight of the iron shafts to the weight of the hybrid shafts then to the FW and driver shafts. I am in LOVE with this set up and will be getting it ASAP! I was so grateful that Bazzel and Stoney took the time to fit me to these irons because never in a million years did I think I should be hitting X100 shafts. Here is a short video of me hitting the Forged TP MC 6 iron.
golf4life
Grip n rip
Dr Teeth,
Sounds like you and I have similar swings or something.... same shaft for the R11, same shafts and love for the MCs! I love the way the X-100s work in my MCs. They really help bring the ball flight down while maintaining lots of green hugging spin. I've stated before and I'll state here again. I'm very much looking into adding CBs in the longer irons at some point to get a little higher ball flight for the 4 and 5. For the short irons, the MCs fly just perfect for my taste.
Dr. Teeth
Well-known member
G4L I think we must! I just hope to be hitting the GIRs like you are right now. I am currently about 35%, which is about where you were before these clubs (if I remember correctly), so your success story gives me hope!
golf4life
Grip n rip
Based on that video, I think you have good reason to hope!
- Staff
- #574
Dr. Teeth - glad you got to experience the MCs. They're pretty sweet aren't they? When I was hitting them against the CBs I could def see a ball flight difference. I think these offer just enough forgiveness to keep me happy.
Chunkylover77
Proud JakeNation Member
Great stuff Seth. That is also a shot I struggle with and I'm trying to develop that shot as well.