TaylorMade Tour Preferred CB Review Thread

[Hanks]

Great posts guys. Hard to argue with the logic here

Whew! Thank god mine is 45*, lol

I think JB sums this up the best. Redbird, I also want you to know that I completely respect your stance and I am glad that you are having this discussion in a civil manner. Up until about two years ago I wouldn't play anything that wasn't forged and anything that looked too beefy. From late 2006-2008 I had Nike's Forged CCi irons in my bag. I loved the way they looked, loved the way they felt, but I can tell you without a doubt that from 150 yards I was hitting a 7iron. When I transitioned into my X22's, which I don't really consider all jacked up in loft, yet still they had more than traditional players irons, I was shocked when I was hitting a smooth 8iron that distance. The accuracy I gained was tremendous. Personally, making that switch is what helped get my handicap to mid single digits and that transition alone.

Golf is a game of social credit, whether we like to admit it or not. There are those of us who won't be caught dead with a stand bag, those of us who don't invest in golf shoes, those of us that can't stand to look down at a thick topline with offset on an iron. It's just the way it is. We all preach about going and being fit for what's the best for us, yet I'd be willing to bet that over 90% of us truly don't hit everything there is b/c quite frankly, there's just some things that will never make it into any of our bags. An 8 iron is an 8 iron in your set just like it is in mine, at least imo.

Which is comical in itself because those same people have no issues with a 13* 3 wood, a longer shafted driver and 3 wood and lower lofted drivers. The truth is that these same people want to play blades and players cavitys that are usually not strong lofted. And because of that do not like to have people hit a 7 iron longer because they are immediately quick to point out that its not a 7 iron. Well what happens when you run out of irons? I still hit my 4 iron or 3 iron further then my old 3 iron and the traditional lofted are out of irons.

I just do not understand the fascinated with traditional lofted if it makes someone more confident to have a strong lofted club. You can say my 8 iron is a 7 iron, and I sir will call you a liar. It says 8 iron on the bottom. If you think that it has to be a 7 iron because the loft is what some consider normal for that number, then I say go back to hickory shafts, wooden drivers, and other aspects of the game that have changed due to technological advances. Lofts got dropped because weight was moved around FIRST, not because of a simple (you will hit it further) argument. Just like shafts got longer in drivers because of weight and head size, NOT because of a simple (you will hit it further) argument. Those are both things that came with the technology movement. And of course how offset affects the launch angle of the iron head is another whole side that I wont get into here because this is just not the place for it.

My playing a 45.5" driver and someone else playing a 44" driver is that like saying mine is a 1 + wood, because its longer and it was not the case before? I find the whole argument just crazy that because the lofts are stronger in a category of irons, it is not accepted as the number stamped on it. That is quite funny to me. But in the end, I try to get good information from some of the most well known club makers and when they explain that moving weight to increase forgiveness meant it HAD to be done in some irons, I accept that (especially when they are not selling any irons right now) as a technology advance just like lighter weight in drivers without losing balance, the graphite shaft, etc....

 

[One-T]

Can we get back to the wonderful CB's now? This thread got hijacked by loft differences.

 

[Hawk]

I'm hoping it's a little drier thes weekend because I felt sad every time I saw a chunk of mud on the CB's.

 

[Hanks]

I'm hoping to take my CB's out on the course for the mainden voyage into real grass this wekend regardless of what lofts they are :act-up:

Can we get back to the wonderful CB's now? This thread got hijacked by loft differences.

 

[One-T]

I'm hoping it's a little drier thes weekend because I felt sad every time I saw a chunk of mud on the CB's.

I'm hoping to take my CB's out on the course for the mainden voyage into real grass this wekend regardless of what lofts they are :act-up:

I am getting out with mine no matter what on Saturday, it has been raining here all week and I heard my CB's crying last night. I bought them some flowers and dinner and we made up. There is a driving range right by my wifes parents house that I plan to put to good use. Man, I hope my R11 shows up before I leave

 

[McRock]

I can't tell you how long it took to get through all 52 pages of this thread. But once done, I decided to break down and join the community.

As minimal background (in addition to my check-in thread), I went to Golf Galaxy this year shopping new irons. I wasn't sure I was going to buy any, but I thought I'd better check them out. I currently have Taylormade 300 forged. Well, the guys at golf galaxy seemed to think that I wouldn't get that much benefit out of the new Taylormade Tour Preferred line compared to what I have. So we explored the alternative, which was to regroove my current clubs. Turns out they are chrome plated, and I'm not paying to have the chrome stripped off and then put back on.

So, here I am, ready to make the plunge into new irons. And I have to say, this thread is giving me lots of hope that there are clubs out there that are in between player's irons and game improvement irons.

Everyone's feedback and comments on these clubs has been invaluable. Instead of reading short reviews on golf galaxy websites and the like, those sites should just link to the threads at THP!

 

[JB]

Glad we can help McRock.

THP is a firm believer in letting consumers do the reviews for people, so when we get the chance (like this thread) we want to get sets to people, early and often.

 

[One-T]

McRock- thanks for the kind words and I am happy you found us while in need of new clubs. If you are looking for a club that is in between GE and GI then I truly think you will be happy with these. But, I will say that these probably favor the GE side quite a bit. They are forgiving, but not as forgiving as a GI iron. If you have any specific questions please let us know. Good luck with your iron testing

 

[Adam0304]

Great read Mcrock! I can assure you there is a whole category between GI and Players Irons. I look forward to following your search for the perfect irons - mine were the mx200 which are classified as a Game Enhancement iron which falls in the category you're speaking of.

EDIT: One-t beat me to it.


Tap before talk.

 

[Hawk]

Once again we see the power of this type of testing. Love it.

Tapatalk keeps me sane.

 

[Mardin]

That's a major reason why I joined this site. "Club reviews by the people and for the people". I'm still new here, and this type of open discussion and questions are a huge help in choosing and testing clubs.

 

[Hanks]

Information is key Mardin....THP definitely provides that with no bias at all. Just honest and open feedback

That's a major reason why I joined this site. "Club reviews by the people and for the people". I'm still new here, and this type of open discussion and questions are a huge help in choosing and testing clubs.

 

[RxGus]

I think this might have to do with mats Gus. I mean Im not engineer, but the more mass behind the ball on a thicker topline shot would mean more distance right?

I agree that the extra mass up top will produce more distance (aka forgiveness).
On real grass, my old irons seem to dig in on even "slightly" fat shots. The extra weight up top doesn't do any good if the ground slows the club to 50mph.
At least with the MCs, I feel like the club doesn't loose any speed on contact with the ground (cuts through the turf and doesn't get "dig" in). It still looses distance because of the club design, but NOTHING compared to what I used to loose with my old irons.

 

[JB]

I agree that the extra mass up top will produce more distance (aka forgiveness).
On real grass, my old irons seem to dig in on even "slightly" fat shots. The extra weight up top doesn't do any good if the ground slows the club to 50mph.
At least with the MCs, I feel like the club doesn't loose any speed on contact with the ground (cuts through the turf and doesn't get "dig" in). It still looses distance because of the club design, but NOTHING compared to what I used to loose with my old irons.

Thanks for the followup. Good info.

 

[Hawk]

I'm seriously contemplating taking a half day tomorrow to get the guys on the course again. It's supposed to be in the 50's and it looks like getting out over the weekend could be a challenge.

 

[Mark]

Oh jeez someone talk some sense into me. I love my R9's but these look so sweet. I loose about 10 yards with the CB, unfitted. They have such prefect weighting though and feel softer than the 9's. Keep em or swap em. I dunno I look forward to more great reading

 

[JB]

Oh jeez someone talk some sense into me. I love my R9's but these look so sweet. I loose about 10 yards with the CB, unfitted. They have such prefect weighting though and feel softer than the 9's. Keep em or swap em. I dunno I look forward to more great reading

That is a tough all, but losing that kind of distance is not easy to swallow in my opinion. I played the R9s and liked the R9s quite a bit.

 

[Hawk]

That is a tough all, but losing that kind of distance is not easy to swallow in my opinion. I played the R9s and liked the R9s quite a bit.

Yea, that's quite a bit of distance to lose from a (sort of) similar iron. Do you play an upgraded shaft in the R9's?

 

[Kmac]

Oh jeez someone talk some sense into me. I love my R9's but these look so sweet. I loose about 10 yards with the CB, unfitted. They have such prefect weighting though and feel softer than the 9's. Keep em or swap em. I dunno I look forward to more great reading

The more I think about it I think Id have a tough time with that. As nice looking and feeling as these irons are Id rather hit less club into greens then more.

 

[TC]

Oh jeez someone talk some sense into me. I love my R9's but these look so sweet. I loose about 10 yards with the CB, unfitted. They have such prefect weighting though and feel softer than the 9's. Keep em or swap em. I dunno I look forward to more great reading

That seems to be the question that almost all the guys are facing. Do you sacrafice distance in exchange for a superior feel and perhaps more accuracy? Not sure what I would do. Having not hit the CB's, I'd not give up the distance myself, but that could all change with the first crack off the face.

On a side note: I was flipping through my golf digest and there was an intriguing article about offsett and the CB's have a really small amount compared to other irons it their class. The CB's have 3.3 mm of offset, compared to 2.9mm in the MP-68's from Mizuno and 4.5mm of offset in the new Srixon Z-Star irons. Fascinating stuff. I wish every "player's" iron homer on this website would read this article, it fascinated me.

 

[Kmac]

That seems to be the question that almost all the guys are facing. Do you sacrafice distance in exchange for a superior feel and perhaps more accuracy? Not sure what I would do. Having not hit the CB's, I'd not give up the distance myself, but that could all change with the first crack off the face.

On a side note: I was flipping through my golf digest and there was an intriguing article about offsett and the CB's have a really small amount compared to other irons it their class. The CB's have 3.3 mm of offset, compared to 2.9mm in the MP-68's from Mizuno and 4.5mm of offset in the new Srixon Z-Star irons. Fascinating stuff. I wish every "player's" iron homer on this website would read this article, it fascinated me.

That is very interesting. I need to get mine so I can read this as Im becoming more and more serious each day about my offset.

 

[swirb]

I am actually seeing a little more forgiveness with the TM irons than with my own on that "slightly fat" shot. At least for me, my previous irons would really dig in and slow the club face way down. It either flung the face open or closed/delofted the face. Either way, a mildly fat shot used to cost me almost half the distance of the club. Now, while my ball doesn't go as far as a clean hit, the club gets through the turf and the face is at a much better position in impact. I think it must have more to do with the irons I used to play, than it does with the MCs I am playing now.

What irons did you used to play?

 

[One-T]

again, I am confused here because I am not seeing these distance losses.

 

[Hanks]

Taking these out to play in the mud this weekend...wonder how the mud interactio factor will be?

 

[One-T]

Taking these out to play in the mud this weekend...wonder how the mud interactio factor will be?

ball first...hehe