New Titleist Irons Dropping in March

[tmax77]

That’s a couple wins now for the black T100 irons including Griffin’s win last year

[WristySwing]

It is 100% not the T100 Blacks, guys. At least not at this time. The two irons are T100S and T400.

T100S is stronger lofted (2* across the board) but retains the same offset, topline, and bounce as the original with modified CG placement due to the loft change. For those wondering why someone would want to go with this. Well, not everyone delofts the club at impact, first of all. Second, there are some players who do need something like this as they are good ball strikers but have lost ball speed. A market that Srixon, Callaway, and Taylormade have capitalized on last season as you regularly hear how good the P760, 785, and Apex Pro are. Titleist can't live forever off of 30* or 31* 6 irons or charging people forged prices with cast heads. Eventually something has to give and they are going to catch up with the market.

T400 is a super game improvement iron ala Ping G700 or Callaway Big Bertha. It appears at least to be a fully hollow design with modern GI lofts. In the picture I was shown, they have a Fubuki graphite shaft in the promo shot. So I am guessing this is supposed to go hand in hand with the TS1 driver, aka a lighterweight, high launching, draw machine. Following this, I would assume considerable offset, a chunkier design, and a thick sole. This will NOT be a TMB replacement from what I understand and from the data given. By and large, I believe the TMB was a rather mediocre seller for Titleist as an iron set, and why they have focused solely on driving irons this time around.

[Golfjack]

Interesting that the T-MB wasn't a good seller, considering the TM P790 was their best seller. Titleist also didn't change the looks in the refresh version, a strange move if it wasn't selling well. Cuz honestly if they made an iron that performed and looked awesome, people would buy them. Basically it's the easy to hit blade looking clubs that people are loving (P790, HMB, PXG). @WristySwing are you a Srixon staffer? Rarely see full Srixon/Cleveland bags out there! Not to say they aren't excellent clubs.

[WristySwing]

Yeah 790 was a killer the last two seasons. Where I work we sold over 50 sets of them this year alone as of like October. 585 wasn't too far behind it either. The TMB was a tough sell for two reasons I think; it wasn't forged and it was expensive. Obviously companies are allowed to have a premium product but when you have other brands like Epon, Miura, Fourteen, and now Callaway and Taylormade, charging the same price for forged irons with loads of technology (in some instances) packed into it, it makes the TMB seem a little lacklustre by comparison. Don't get me wrong, it was a decent iron but the performance didn't warrant the price for a lot of peole.

I am not a Srixon staffer. Since I work in the industry I like to pick one company and I play their clubs for the season. It makes me go out of my comfort zone a bit more and also allows me to talk about some aspects of a product range that many people don't think to grab (i.e. Srixon woods) while last year I played Ping and sold a zillion Ping wedges just talking to people about them. When you are in sales people trust those who have experience with something, it seems to add some authenticity to the situation I've found.

[mrmikeac]

I have to 1000% agree with this, I had the T100’s in my bag for about 2 weeks but had to sell them, the distance drop off was just too big. I’m not one to chase distance, I want my 7 iron to go a specific yardage every time but I also don’t want to lose yardage. Losing 10-15 yds across the board in a set of irons is just too much. Switched to MP20 MMC’s and I’ve never been happier. Now if they release these T100-S irons, they will be a game changer for Titleist, I think allot of people would be surprised how many golfers want a strong set of AP2/T100’s

[Kamen]

What were you playing before the T100 to experience such big distance drop offs? I went to T100 from i500 and I adjusted.

I have an incoming set of P7TW tiger spec so if be interested to see how much distance I'll lose there!

[mrmikeac]

JPX 919 Tour/Forged combo, I like my gapping to be within 10-15 yards in the long/mid irons and 15/20 in the short irons with my 7 iron flying around 165-170 max. The T100’s were flying consistently 10-15 yards shorter mainly due to spin, I tend to generate allot of spin, especially in the mid to short irons but these T100’s were a little too spinny, yes I tried 4 different shafts.

 

Prior to the JPX I had P760’s (for quite a while), Apex Pro 19’s (too long, awful gapping and turf interaction was atrocious), Z785’s(pure but got bored), C300 Forged (thick and a little chunky but so much fun to hit) and Forged Tec Blacks(way too much offset)

[HappyGilmore22]

This is quite infuriating considering I would have bought the T100S. I ordered mine that strong and now the offset and bounce are different from standard. Titleist should accept a free trade in for my current set since this wasn't known to us when buying. Just makes me want to stop buying Titleist irons even though that's basically all I've played the past 15 years outside of trying JPX 919 tours for a few months.

[Jrhemming]

I would have loved a full set of tmb I love my 3 iron but they were just too expensive if they didn’t do well that’s why I think

[bogeypro]

I have a set of 718 ap2. I liked the lofts on the mp20, so I strengthened my ap2 2 degrees across the board. I'm getting the distances and spin numbers i want. Problem solved. I really don't understand why people don't just get your forged sets bent.... no need to buy a whole new set.

[Golfjack]

I'm confused by the T100 vs T100s. Can you just club up and get a similar effect? That way just get a PW replacement.

[WristySwing]

Not technically. The T100 is roughly 4* loft gaps, the T100S is only 2* stronger than standard T100. So it would be going up a club + choking down + hitting it about 85%. Not many players outside of elite ams and tour pros have that much ball flight control.

[mrmikeac]

Tried a T100 fitting head 2 degrees strong, that was the first thing I did before settling on the set. Spin went down and distance went up but turf interaction became real spotty and the leading edge started to cause issues, I am very picky with irons if you couldn’t already tell and I’m not going to have them chamfered down just to get the numbers I like. I still bought them in hopes I could get past it and I just couldn’t as much as I wanted to. This is just MY OWN experience, everyone is different and will have different results.

[bogeypro]

What?!! 2 degrees is usually about 5 yards in my experience. So yes, you could just club up and choke down an inch. Same effect.

[BirdieBirdieX]

So it sounds like the T100S will be closer to the lofting of the TM P790 rather than the 718 TMB?

 

I've been waiting to upgrade my 716 AP2's but going to the 718 or T100 didn't make any sense without significant upgrades. The stronger lofted irons to be more in line with competitors makes a lot of sense.

[Breezy-3-]

 

[BostonWRX]

Interesting. I freely admit I am one of those guys who spins Titleist Ap2s etc to much yet always wanted to bag them. Bent them strong once and the turf interaction was bad. These have me interested if the offset is truly the same

[Sean2]

Irons used to be scoring clubs, now they are becoming distance clubs. I wonder when someone will come out with a putter that will guarantee 20 more feet.

The thing with the stronger lofted irons, is that for example, some 5-irons are 21º. The majority of recreational golfers can't hit a 21º iron (anecdotally I know two golfers with 21º 5-irons and they struggle with them). So what will the future set make up be? 6-GW? 7-GW? Not to mention the extra wedges one will need. 5 wedges? PW/AW/GW/SW/LW.

[tbowles411]

I totally agree. I could hit my 5-iron well about half the time, if I'm being honest with myself. I put a 5-hybrid in my bag a few weeks ago. I'm never going back. This thing is amazing!!

[Sean2]

That is smart Tommy. I asked these two gentleman if they thought about a 5-hybrid. They refuse to entertain the idea...it's an ego thing, lol.

[tbowles411]

The owner of our store was totally on board with it when I got fit. He did warn against the 6-hybrid though. He said, "I'll do it, but good luck getting the ball to stop on the greens." So I didn't go that route.

[MattyO1984]

It is not common for me to feel disappointed in Titleist but this time around I am.

 

I got the TS1 and TS4 thing. Whilst they were similar I could understand that there would be some time needed to develop them as they are different to the TS2 and TS3. I am not sure that they could say the same thing with the T100S. Essentially what we have is two degrees less loft and a slightly different sole shape. If the T100S had been available at the same time as the T100, I would have definitely given it a go. I am not saying that I would have purchased them but having the chance to give them a go would have been a fine thing.

[GoGoErky]

Based on the article jonathan wall put up on golf.com the creating of the 100s was based off feedback from fitters and what customers were looking for after hitting the t series.

so it’s not a hey let’s keep these til January and release everything else for now

[BostonWRX]

If no iBlades come out im in on the T100S

[bazinky]

I'm going to be adding the T100-S to my Spring testing, but I can see Titleist generating a lot of bad will from some early adopters of the regular T100 irons.

Titleist is clearly guilty of some really poor basic market research, or a greedy attempt to get more sales via a staggered release. Either way, not a good look.

[Laznasty]

T100 with stronger lofts... I thought this topic was for NEW Titleist irons?

[third-times-a-charm]

So yes; Titleist being Titleist again and releasing products that SHOULD HAVE BEEN part of the original release....out-of-cycle.

Why they've done this now two years in a row is mind boggling to me unless they're flat out admitting with these releases that they're so out of touch with the market that they have to wait for feedback from a product release - to THEN release band-aid products after the fact which fit more golfers.

IMO Acushnet is feeling the pressure from lots of companies on lots of fronts right now...first it was a dent in their ball sales from DTC brands and then the TP5, and now in irons with the P790 and Callaway APEX line - not to mention the resurgence of Mizuno and their JPX and MP lines - selling like hotcakes.

[Kmac]

Stronger lofts? Love it! Count me in because stronger lofts and higher launch = better golf. Learn to hit that 5 iron ladies!

[Sean2]

I have never had much luck with hybrids, so I have a 24º 9 wood. I hit it higher and longer than a hybrid, so keeping the ball on the green isn't an issue. What is an issue is hitting the green in the first place, lol.

[Aggielefty]

This will hurt initial sales the next time Titleist launches irons. People will wait until the spring to makes sure nothing is being released later.