Takomo has spent the last several years trying to move beyond the simple direct-to-consumer label. When we spoke with the company earlier this year, it was clear that Takomo wanted golfers to judge its clubs on the same things they would from any larger OEM: design, development, quality control and, ultimately, performance.
The 101 MKII irons gave us a good opportunity to do exactly that. This is Takomo’s game-improvement iron, built around a hollow-body design and priced at $579 for a seven-piece 5-GW set. The company uses a 431 cast body throughout the set, with a 17-4 variable-thickness face in the 5-8 irons and a constant-thickness 17-4 face in the 9-GW. Takomo says the variable face is intended to improve forgiveness on off-center strikes, while progressive weighting is used to make the longer irons easier to launch and the shorter irons more consistent.
We spent an extended period with the 101 MKII indoors on launch monitors and outside on the golf course. By the end of that testing, the strongest impression was pretty simple: these irons deliver exactly the kind of help their target golfer is looking for, and they do it without feeling or looking like a compromise.
Takomo 101 MKII Looks and Construction
The 101 MKII is clearly a game-improvement iron, but it doesn’t present itself like one from every angle. At address, the topline is relatively trim for the category, and the blade length isn’t especially intimidating. The shape is a little more squared off than something like the Titleist T350, with a slightly higher toe and a straighter leading edge. Offset is visible, particularly in the longer irons, but nothing about it is unusual for this type of head.
The sole is where the size becomes more obvious, although it changes considerably through the set. The scoring irons have a much more substantial footprint, while the longer irons narrow noticeably. The progression from 5-iron through GW is one of the more interesting design details. The 6-iron, for example, looks surprisingly narrow underneath for an iron that provides this much help.
Takomo also builds some visible relief into the sole. There’s trailing-edge relief along with some softening at the leading edge, which should help keep the sole from interacting too abruptly with the turf.
The only cosmetic element we weren’t completely sold on was the mixed finish on the back of the head. Much of the iron uses a brushed satin treatment, while another section has a more textured appearance. It’s not unfinished, but we probably would have preferred a more uniform treatment.
That’s a relatively minor complaint, though. More importantly, the heads never looked inexpensive. The badging is restrained, the proportions are clean and there’s very little about the 101 MKII that gives away its lower price.
Distance and Ball Flight
The Takomo 101 MKII produced about what we’d expect from a modern hollow-body game-improvement iron. Our 7-iron numbers generally settled into the 155-165 yard range, with some stronger sessions stretching into the upper 160s. Early testing showed roughly five yards more carry than our T350 7-iron, though that comparison needs context because our T350s are bent two degrees weak.
Over time, the most realistic comparison became about half a club of additional distance. That was also reflected in ball speed. Late in testing, the 101 MKII was producing roughly 3-4 mph more ball speed than our T350s under the same indoor conditions. Again, loft plays a role there, so we wouldn’t frame that as some extraordinary speed advantage.
More important was what happened on the golf course. The additional distance didn’t create a problem holding greens. We consistently saw enough height to use the longer irons as approach clubs, including several 6- and 7-iron shots that landed and stopped comfortably on greens. On one 170-yard par 3, a slightly pulled 6-iron released roughly 15 feet and still left a reasonable birdie opportunity.
For a player who tends to produce relatively low spin on a launch monitor, that was reassuring. The 101 MKII gave us the extra speed expected from the category without forcing us to give up useful stopping power outdoors.
Forgiveness and On-Course Performance
Forgiveness became the strongest part of the 101 MKII’s performance on the golf course. Our common iron misses tend to be low-center and toward the toe, and both areas produced very playable results throughout testing. Early SkyTrak sessions already showed strong speed and height retention when contact moved away from the middle of the face.
That became even more obvious on the golf course. Low-face strikes were particularly impressive. There were several shots where impact immediately felt poor, yet the result remained completely usable. One of the best examples came on a par 3 over water. Contact with the 6-iron was low enough that we expected the ball to come up short, but it still carried onto the front of the green and left a birdie putt.
That became a recurring theme. Mishits might launch slightly lower or carry somewhat shorter, but they frequently stayed in play and left a reasonable next shot. In a game-improvement iron, that is exactly the kind of performance we’re looking for.
Toe-side forgiveness was also very good. Those strikes were easy to identify from the feel of the head, but ball speed remained strong and the punishment was rarely severe.
The 101 MKII isn’t going to turn a bad swing into a great result, but it did an excellent job turning mediocre contact into acceptable golf shots. That’s probably the most useful form of forgiveness for the golfer this iron is designed to fit.
Feel and Sound
Feel was one of the bigger surprises. Hollow-body irons can sometimes produce a sharper, more metallic impact sound, particularly when compared with one-piece designs. The 101 MKII didn’t really behave that way.
From our first indoor session, it sounded and felt softer than the T350. There was less of the pronounced crack we sometimes associate with hollow construction and more of a subdued sensation at impact. That impression only became stronger with more time.
By the end of the review period, the difference in sound between the Takomo and the T350 was substantial. We still like the sound of the T350, so this isn’t meant as a criticism of that iron, but the 101 MKII has a noticeably softer character that we preferred.
There’s also enough feedback to tell where contact occurred. Toe strikes, low strikes and center contact all felt distinct without becoming harsh or unpleasant. That combination of softness and usable feedback is not always easy to accomplish in a hollow-body iron.
Sole Design and Turf Interaction
The 101 MKII’s sole design worked well for our delivery. We’re not large divot takers, and on normal swings the head moved through the ground without any tendency to dig excessively. The softened leading edge and trailing-edge relief appear well suited to players who occasionally struggle with low point or catch the ball slightly heavy.
The irons didn’t suddenly make difficult rough easy, and we still had some of the same challenges we normally have when the ball sat down in thicker grass. That’s an important distinction. The sole can help with turf interaction, but it doesn’t erase the difficulty of a poor lie.
In very wet conditions, though, the 101 MKII performed well. Even from dense rough after significant rainfall, we were able to produce some of our better iron shots of the round.
The progressive sole widths also help keep the longer irons from looking or feeling overly bulky while still allowing more mass and surface area in the scoring clubs.
Takomo 101 MKII Fitting and the DTC Question
The biggest limitation we encountered had less to do with the 101 MKII head than with how our set fit us.
Our normal T350s were professionally fit and built with a shaft that has worked very well for us. The Takomos were not. As testing went on, we noticed that center-face contact wasn’t quite as frequent with the 101 MKII, and we became increasingly convinced that lie angle and shaft fit were playing a role. That’s relevant because fitting remains one of the natural challenges for a direct-to-consumer company.
Takomo has expanded its shaft offerings substantially. The 101 MKII currently offers KBS Tour and KBS Tour Lite as stock steel choices, along with graphite custom options including True Temper Denali Silver and Mitsubishi MMT. That helps, but selecting specs from a menu still isn’t the same thing as standing in front of a fitter and working through lie, shaft profile, length and weight in real time.
That doesn’t lessen what the head itself accomplished during testing. If anything, it makes the performance more interesting. Even without being fully dialed in, the 101 MKII gave us predictable distance, strong forgiveness and plenty of confidence.
Our Take – Takomo 101 MKII Irons
By the end of testing, there was very little about the Takomo 101 MKII that felt like a “budget” iron. It looks cleaner than its price suggests, feels substantially softer than many hollow-body designs we’ve played and provides an impressive amount of help when contact moves low or toward the toe. The distance is strong without being unusual for the category, and we had no difficulty producing enough height to hold greens with the longer irons.
The forgiveness is what stayed with us most. There were too many shots where mediocre contact still produced a perfectly playable result to dismiss it as an occasional good outcome. For the mid- and higher-handicap golfers Takomo is targeting, that can have a very real effect on scoring.
Our biggest question coming into this review was similar to the one we raised when first getting to know the company: once you take away the direct-to-consumer label and simply judge the club on its own merits, what is left?
With the 101 MKII, the answer is an iron that delivers exactly what this category is supposed to: speed, forgiveness and playable flight without feeling compromised.
Takomo 101 MKII Irons Specs and Pricing
Price: $579
Set: 5-GW (7 pieces)
Construction: 431 cast body
Face: 17-4 variable thickness (5-8); constant thickness (9-GW)
Lofts: 23° 5-iron through 48° GW
Offset: Progressive from 5mm (5-iron) to 1.5mm (PW)
Stock Shafts: KBS Tour, KBS Tour Lite
Graphite Options: True Temper Denali Silver, Mitsubishi MMT
Grip: Lamkin Crossline
More information is available from Takomo Golf.
