AHA
Active member
These are sexy clubs! Can't wait to read the long term reviews for these beauties.
TaylorMade Tour Preferred MB Review Thread
Chunkylover77
Proud JakeNation Member
Great stuff guys.
Chunkylover77
Proud JakeNation Member
I must not be serious as I've hit a ton of bad shots off of a mat.
coolbreeze
Aspiring Golferr
I hit a ton of bad shots off the mat as well. I don't think you are punished as much for fat shots off a mat as you would be off grass but you know you miss hit it. When you strike it clean off a mat the result for me is the same as off grass.
Puttin4Bird
Say what again mf'er!
I agree with you, if you catch it fat on a mat you still know you caught it fat but you might not be as penalized but yeah the ball still does not go like it should. I very much prefer hitting off grass but right now if I tried off grass I might break the club in 2 on this frozen tundra around here.
Outdoor range today, I'll be back with more feedback!
JRod
Well-known member
Should have a lot of thoughts and some video posted within the hour, but I must eat first!!
So looking forward to reading about comparisons. These seem to be out of reach for the mid handicap. Swing weight is a beauty. I may look wonderful missing this summer.
Or go for the more forgiving iron? MC's or CB's?
JRod
Well-known member
Ok just got back from a road trip with Hawk. We headed down south about 2 hours to a magnificent facility in Peoria IL. We hit about 300 balls each and played 18 at Troon North on the sim. I shot a 78 with the computer 3 putting for me twice =(
Looks: Out in the sun these things look even more amazing than inside. The chrome is in all of the right places, as to avoid glare when setting up at the ball. The tech on the back looks even better also.
Gameplay: I first pulled out the trusty 8i, which is generally my best club in the bag, and the one I am most confident with so i always have started my practice sessions with some nice slowed down 8i's. I was a little nervous as I hadn't really swung a club in 3 months other than a quick range session in a dome. First shot was perfect , and the sound and feel of these were simply astonishing. The balance of the club is unprecedented. I continued with the 8i feeling really good, nutting about 95% of my shots. (Pics to come later) Between the club setup, my newer swing I worked on all winter and the amazing balance of the club I was hitting everything with a nice high trajectory. The first thing I noticed was my draw was gone...which was exciting to say the least. Manby of you know towards the end of last season my swing became flat and I struggled mightily with a controlled but un-erasable 15-20 yard draw. Not anymore. However I could work these irons with amazing ease. These are truly amazing throughout the swing, I hate to sound like a broken record but the balance of the club is perfection.
Mishits: It was only a matter of time before this happened. I had hit a couple great shots with my 5i when the dreaded hip sway crept back into my swing and I hit one off the toe pretty badly. What amazed me was the lack of sting I felt. I knew right off the bat I had missed and where to, but the stinging sensation I had become accustomed to was not there. We are talking about 45* weather here also. i was extremely impressed with the response these clubs gave, without the pain I was used to with my Nike's
Overall: These things have an amazing ballflight. I think the progressive offset was hit perfectly with these. They are extremely easy to control both trajectory and shot shape. The sound is quite fantastic as well. It's a muted sound when you flush it, but you and everyone around knew it was a well struck ball.The distance on these things seems to be about a club greater than my Nike's and according to all the specs I can find the lofts are identical. Once again this was also in 45* weather. I was really impressed how easy the lower irons were to hit, including the 3i.
It's only once range session but so far I am extremely impressed. I hope this just isn't the honeymoon but these things really are great. Hopefully the weather continues to get better and I can get these out on the course where the real truth will be told.
Looks: Out in the sun these things look even more amazing than inside. The chrome is in all of the right places, as to avoid glare when setting up at the ball. The tech on the back looks even better also.
Gameplay: I first pulled out the trusty 8i, which is generally my best club in the bag, and the one I am most confident with so i always have started my practice sessions with some nice slowed down 8i's. I was a little nervous as I hadn't really swung a club in 3 months other than a quick range session in a dome. First shot was perfect , and the sound and feel of these were simply astonishing. The balance of the club is unprecedented. I continued with the 8i feeling really good, nutting about 95% of my shots. (Pics to come later) Between the club setup, my newer swing I worked on all winter and the amazing balance of the club I was hitting everything with a nice high trajectory. The first thing I noticed was my draw was gone...which was exciting to say the least. Manby of you know towards the end of last season my swing became flat and I struggled mightily with a controlled but un-erasable 15-20 yard draw. Not anymore. However I could work these irons with amazing ease. These are truly amazing throughout the swing, I hate to sound like a broken record but the balance of the club is perfection.
Mishits: It was only a matter of time before this happened. I had hit a couple great shots with my 5i when the dreaded hip sway crept back into my swing and I hit one off the toe pretty badly. What amazed me was the lack of sting I felt. I knew right off the bat I had missed and where to, but the stinging sensation I had become accustomed to was not there. We are talking about 45* weather here also. i was extremely impressed with the response these clubs gave, without the pain I was used to with my Nike's
Overall: These things have an amazing ballflight. I think the progressive offset was hit perfectly with these. They are extremely easy to control both trajectory and shot shape. The sound is quite fantastic as well. It's a muted sound when you flush it, but you and everyone around knew it was a well struck ball.The distance on these things seems to be about a club greater than my Nike's and according to all the specs I can find the lofts are identical. Once again this was also in 45* weather. I was really impressed how easy the lower irons were to hit, including the 3i.
It's only once range session but so far I am extremely impressed. I hope this just isn't the honeymoon but these things really are great. Hopefully the weather continues to get better and I can get these out on the course where the real truth will be told.
JRod
Well-known member
Ps I have some pics and video that hopefully Hawk will post when he gets a chance.
Puttin4Bird
Say what again mf'er!
As promised, I had a chance to get these to the outdoor range today to get a better idea of the yardages and see the full ball flight. It was pretty chilly out even in a hitting bay (didn't have the heat on) and there was a pretty cool breeze blowing but I had a real good chance to hit a couple of buckets of balls and here's what I found out.
Distances were pretty much spot on with what I used to get with my Mizuno MP57 irons that I had before the Burner 2.0s. A good smooth 8 iron flew right at 150 yards which is what I've come to expect and look for. I hit a lot of different shots particularly with the PW which a full swing got me to around 115ish but I wanted to play around with varying my distances with that club more so than any of my others so I hit a lot of 75 to 100 yard shots with the PW and really liked the ease of varying the length of those shots. I hit quite a few shots well off center today yet it still wasn't nearly as penal as I expected it would be. As you would expect when nailed right in the center of the club face the results are a thing of beauty, but just as impressive to me is that I'm really finding that even if I'm not spot on with the sweet spot I'm still able to manage a decent shot. This will be the difference between ultimate success or failure for me and these irons.
After I was just about done with the 2nd bucket the guy who runs the place said that there was some time between the next simulator round so I was able to take it indoors on the simulator. Here I was able to get a lot more accurate yardages. I hit a lot of long irons in the sim and found the yardages pretty much exactly what I thought they'd be. I definitely am able to get more distance out of the Burner 2.0s, but all things considered some real good numbers with the TP MBs for sure. It was back indoors that I really got to experience the lovely feel that I had first experienced yesterday. They felt good outside too, but mind you 39 degree weather and blade irons aren't always going to feel the best- there were definitely some stinger moments and I'm not talking about that cool shot that Tiger Woods hits either.
Blizzard is on the way so they'll be sitting inside with me for a while but I did get a tee time setup for next week's simulator league so toward the end of next week I'll be back with more.
So to recap, the feel of these are definitely as good as I've felt with any irons I've ever hit and I've had quite a few sets of soft feeling forged irons over the years so there is some pretty good comparisons to be made. Distance is right there with what I hoped it would be so I wouldn't expect any issues going forward with these irons in the least. I'm really looking forward to the next time I get to hit them, I cannot believe how lucky I am. Thank you so much TaylorMade and THP!!!
Distances were pretty much spot on with what I used to get with my Mizuno MP57 irons that I had before the Burner 2.0s. A good smooth 8 iron flew right at 150 yards which is what I've come to expect and look for. I hit a lot of different shots particularly with the PW which a full swing got me to around 115ish but I wanted to play around with varying my distances with that club more so than any of my others so I hit a lot of 75 to 100 yard shots with the PW and really liked the ease of varying the length of those shots. I hit quite a few shots well off center today yet it still wasn't nearly as penal as I expected it would be. As you would expect when nailed right in the center of the club face the results are a thing of beauty, but just as impressive to me is that I'm really finding that even if I'm not spot on with the sweet spot I'm still able to manage a decent shot. This will be the difference between ultimate success or failure for me and these irons.
After I was just about done with the 2nd bucket the guy who runs the place said that there was some time between the next simulator round so I was able to take it indoors on the simulator. Here I was able to get a lot more accurate yardages. I hit a lot of long irons in the sim and found the yardages pretty much exactly what I thought they'd be. I definitely am able to get more distance out of the Burner 2.0s, but all things considered some real good numbers with the TP MBs for sure. It was back indoors that I really got to experience the lovely feel that I had first experienced yesterday. They felt good outside too, but mind you 39 degree weather and blade irons aren't always going to feel the best- there were definitely some stinger moments and I'm not talking about that cool shot that Tiger Woods hits either.
Blizzard is on the way so they'll be sitting inside with me for a while but I did get a tee time setup for next week's simulator league so toward the end of next week I'll be back with more.
So to recap, the feel of these are definitely as good as I've felt with any irons I've ever hit and I've had quite a few sets of soft feeling forged irons over the years so there is some pretty good comparisons to be made. Distance is right there with what I hoped it would be so I wouldn't expect any issues going forward with these irons in the least. I'm really looking forward to the next time I get to hit them, I cannot believe how lucky I am. Thank you so much TaylorMade and THP!!!
Puttin4Bird
Say what again mf'er!
Nice write up JRod, I was finishing up my recent write up as you were posting that so I went back and read what you had to say and I have to say that are right on with what you say about the mishits. I expected a wicked sting too but I'm absolutely loving this!!
- Staff
- #91
Couple things before I post a pic and some vids.
1. Jrod was just killing the ball with the MB's. The were going sky high and long. He hit some amazing shots all the way down to the 3 iron. His ballflight was definitely improved from his other clubs.
2. I can hit these. The shaft isn't right, but I can hit them. I need more forgiveness due to my off-centeredness, but a good shot with these irons is possible!
Jrod's iron after some range time. This makes me sad because mine doesn't look anything like this.
A bit of video thanks to the inspiration of the brothers Calloway It's titled 4i, but he's actually hitting a 3 iron.
1. Jrod was just killing the ball with the MB's. The were going sky high and long. He hit some amazing shots all the way down to the 3 iron. His ballflight was definitely improved from his other clubs.
2. I can hit these. The shaft isn't right, but I can hit them. I need more forgiveness due to my off-centeredness, but a good shot with these irons is possible!
Jrod's iron after some range time. This makes me sad because mine doesn't look anything like this.
A bit of video thanks to the inspiration of the brothers Calloway
It's titled 4i, but he's actually hitting a 3 iron.
Puttin4Bird
Say what again mf'er!
Nice videos! That has to feel good to put a good swing on it knowing that all of THP was going to get to see your shot. Good work!
JRod
Well-known member
I am loving these things bigtime, btw great writeup Jake. I am trying to hold back my enthusiasm as I have really only had 1 good range session, but these things work just that good.
RxGus
Argyle Warrior
I am glad that you and hawk had a chance to put some balls down range.
This is a random question, but did you have any mishits? I saw a pretty good cluster on your iron above and it made me envious. It also made me wonder if the MBs have the same quality as the MCs... that you can tell you mishit it, but it lacks the punishing sting that "unforgiving" clubs are known for.
JRod
Well-known member
Exactly Gus...I had some mishits on the 5i and the 3i and yes you feel it, but its not painful like previous blades I have played. Forgiveness isn't really a word associated with blades but I did notice the ball still got up and out. Granted you lose about 20 yards on mid irons and more in the low irons, but the ball still travels. Most blades I have hit when you catch it wrong its lucky to make 110 yards.
- Staff
- #96
Great stuff Jrod and p4b! Sounds like you guys had some good success out there today. From the video it looks like the ball really got up nice and high off of that club Jrod. That's just crazy talk hitting a 3i blade like that haha
BigLeftyinAZ
Well-known member
I wish TM would release these babies LH.I've always wanted to play a set of TM blades.They have made some beauties in the past. Glad you two enjoyed them.
Are either of you considering making the permanent switch to these or do you feel you will go back to your current set?
Are either of you considering making the permanent switch to these or do you feel you will go back to your current set?
JRod
Well-known member
These really are the real deal DDec. I can make them do anything I want and it's great. Low, High, left , right....it's so easy to put a good swing on these. I can't comment enough on how great the balance of the entire club is.
JRod
Well-known member
Really too early to be sure...but as of today these would be bagged. They are longer , easier to hit, easier to work, and look better than my current TW Blades.
JRod
Well-known member
Oh and one more comment, I managed to sneak about 4 8i's into the turf before the old guy came and yelled at me but these things cut through the grass amazing. The turf interaction is just outstanding. I can't wait to put these babies through the real test.