New Titleist Irons Dropping in March

[GoGoErky]

Per this article it wasn’t a staggered release but a release based on player and fitter feedback. Titleist extends T-Series line with new T100 S irons

[Sean2]

For those who purchased the T100, not knowing about the S version, I guess Titleist's response is...TS.

[tbowles411]

Oddly enough, I just put in a 9 wood to alternate between a 4 hybrid. I haven't used one in years! I know I don't hit many greens, but when I do, I may want the ball to stop before I three putt!

[Sean2]

Exactly! lol. I know some folks swear by hybrids, but I always struggled with them. My woods are: 17º/20º/24º.

[erock9174]

Where’s pics of the T400 for us mere mortals

[PostandGhost]

I'm going to wait for the T100x irons, which are 4 degrees stronger.

[WristySwing]

Not released officially until Monday at the PGA Show. Photos were leaked on pg 2 I think but not sure if they have been taken down. Will definitely be up by Tuesday morning.

[drscott266]

Not going to lie, this move by Titleist irritates me. I literally just got my T100 set built and delivered, and now I wake up to seeing they made the exact same feel, sole, top line, ect... but with the same distance as every club I looked at but chose to buy Titleist? I get it, it was my choice, but these clubs are now identical to X Forged, Apex, JPX, MP but for those are loyal to Titleist. I understand that brand loyalty seems foreign to some but it is important to those to whom it is important to, and this move just feels scummy. Why release the T100 with the same lofts as always, which stood out to the point of not even blending well with the other T series irons? Then to turn around in the same release cycle and (in my mind) make the perfect set just sucks for those who they teased into buying T100's already. The MP series, other than blades, all used similar lofts, I think this 2* strengthing is the sweet spot for a better players iron now a days. They should have done this orginally for the T100 and left the CB and MB lofts traditional. I guess I just could have said that, but the rant felt carthartic.

 

I am irrational loyal to Titleist, so your feelings may vary

[WristySwing]

Exactly. Mizuno MMC, 700 series Srixon, and Ping power spec options have had this for a while and all to good fanfare. I just don't understand why now? And this is surely a T200 killer no? Same price, same lofts (mostly), but fully forged. The AP3/T200 was marketed as the iron for people who were still an AP2/T100 player/candidate but wanted ball speed...and now they do this. I understand the face tech on the T200 is a touch hotter and more forgiving on mishits, but surely it isn't THAT far off from T100S to warrant both iron models.

But then again, Callaway has Mavrik/Rogue Pro and Apex Pro I guess...but on the other hand, they are two vastly different price points.

[Dmart33]

The t100 for whatever reason probably have the best turf interaction on the market right now

[Hawkeye77]

Good info, so why all the faux mystery in the first post? It was "I'm not allowed to talk about it so won't be saying more", then saying more - would have appreciated this information in the first post since you obviously could talk about it, lol. Just a puzzler, IMO.

[BogeyParBogey]

Titleist did the same thing with drivers. Why would a customer buy new releases if you've trained them that another release will follow not long after? I've also noticed Ping doing the same thing with drivers. What is the common denominator? Longer release cycles. They must do it to keep the buzz going. I think it hurts them with their loyal customers though...

Dave

[Hawkeye77]

Dumping the 3h a few years ago and going to a 4h was big for me and dropped the 4i out of the bag, although it really wasn't an apples to apples replacement. I now have a pretty good gap from 3w to 4h and . . . don't care! A 5h (which means I'll have to get a new 4h to "match", lol) is on the agenda for whenever I can start playing full out this season. Honestly about the only thing I'm giving up, since my 5i isn't consistent, is the occasional low, curving shots or just plain low bullets from under various limbs. My 913D2 has battled and kept other drivers out of the bag, but maybe I'll need something that keeps me out of the trees better. This thread is getting expensive.

[BirdieBirdieX]

These will be my new gamer. I held off replacing my beloved 716 AP2 with the 718 or T100 offerings but this is just too much to pass up. Great stock shaft, same forged club with the newer lofts. I support the guys that bought the T100 and are irate. It’s an odd timing but I guess it’s also a reaction to what the feedback was. Really looking forward to getting these in my hands

[drscott266]

I don’t understand the timing of the release at all, there is no way they re-engineered this head in a few months is there? Seems like this is the T100 that should have been released with the other series. The post before that said these would be T200 killers makes sense to me, at least in the sense that these are the T200’s people actually wanted I think. I’m really just bummed I just got my set of T100’s after playing P790’s for a season. Loved the distance but didn’t like the soles and lack of spin. Not sure if the T100S will be low spin as well as jacked lofts, but my impression is that the lower lofts would work perfect with the chassis as is.

[WristySwing]

Well, it was a "I'm not allowed to talk about it" thing. But then someone a few posts down mentioned the names and even posted pictures. Cat was out of the bag at that point, really. Made sense to clear up some of the confusion.

[scotty_2987]

So what was the T120 posted earlier? A typo?

[WristySwing]

It might be a typo or it might be a new iron I haven't heard of yet. However, I was given full press-release documents for the new putters, wedges, and the two iron sets...it would be odd not to include those if they are coming out as well. I should preface this by saying I haven't heard anything about a T120 from any one of my sources.

[wilymo]

TItleist rep showed me a t400 6 iron today. Super game improvement iron. It basically looks like a hybrid kind of like some of those tour edge hybrid irons. PW is 38*!!!

[WristySwing]

Ah, so they are going off of Rogue X/Epic Forged lofts. Very JDM move, makes sense if they are going for the very high handicap who flips the crap out of the club.

[Hawkeye77]

Like I would tell my kids when they would squeal, "you wouldn't last long in prison", lol. But really appreciate the info. Luckily this former Titleist lover won't be able to be tempted by new irons this season, but three new Titleist wedges will be my gift to me when I can finally play, along with the two hybrids and one driver - kind of the 3 days of Christmas.

[drscott266]

To me this release and the product in it tells me the other shoe finally has dropped. Lofts on irons are just transitioning to a new normal, which is basically 1 club longer than before. This naturally makes the next step even stronger lofts, which I guess just is what it is. I always looked to the AP2 line as my baseline for what was “normal”, and I’ve played almost every set since 710. Switched to P790 this season and as much as I try I don’t hate them. They bring in a different miss for bad shots than AP2/T100 but a bad swing is a bad swing I am learning.

Just prior to the T100S release I ordered a set of T100’s to come back to the fold so to speak, and rekindle the clubs that I played my best golf with from a company that releases every two years. Turns out times have changed at Titleist, and despite the nice feel of the T100 they are shooooort. It’s just sour grapes on my part, I honestly know this, but there is just so much good product out there and no one brand is what they used to be anymore. The P790 story from 17 to 19 is a different stroke for TM, very reserved in that release. It’s just too hard to believe that they engineered the T100S all between the T series release and now, this had to be in the wings... the T200 and T300 are so cosmetically untitleist it’s ridiculous. No offense to anyone who bought them, they obviously perform. This release of irons is totally different to me than the TS1 and TS4 which fit an extreme niche like the T400 obviously will. The T100S should have been the release not the out dated lofts that no one believes in anymore. Now my rant really is done.

[GoGoErky]

Apparently people still believe in the lofts as their tour staff are playing them and there’s been a bunch of others.

T100 aren’t short compared to irons of similar lofts. It they are short then it’s a bad fit for the golfer.

[drscott266]

Agreed with this, but other than muscle backs lofts have all shifted. I’m going to give them a round or two before bailing as the feel is awesome. I honestly could use a little more spin than the TM’s give me to pull off partial shots. I guess my issue comes from the stronger lofted T100s would have have been perfect and they had to release them after most bought the standard set.

[GoGoErky]

You could have ordered the t100 strong or have gotten them bent after the fact. As far as the 100s all the reading I have done since the press release indicates these weren’t a planned released but a reaction from feedback after the initial release and they have been redesigned. This was posted in the t100s theead

 

“That would have been fairly easy to do just by strengthening the lofts on the T100,” said Marni Ines, Titleist’s director of iron development. “But that wouldn’t have stayed true to what we want in an iron which is shape, feel, turf interaction and control along with more ball speed.”

As such, the forged dual-cavity design T100S is a reimagining of the T100. Yes, the lofts are stronger by 2 degrees, but each iron in the set was redesigned with thinner faces. As with the T100, a hefty amount of tungsten (an average of 66 grams) if co-forged into the heel and toe areas of the long and mid irons to boost forgiveness and foster a higher launch. Attention also was paid to the sole of the club with an enhanced camber for improved turf interaction. As you would expect in a players shape, the topline is on the thin side and offset is minimal. The set features progressive blade lengths, sole widths and hosel lengths with the goal of delivering the optimal center-of-gravity positioning for each iron.

 

[Sean2]

Including the PW, one would end up with 6 wedges, lol: 38/42/46/50/54/58. Yikes. Most would probably have to start the set with a 7-iron as the 6-iron would probably be about 22º, and not many amateurs can hit a 22º iron consistently.

[drscott266]

It doesn’t seem plausible that weren’t planned, their own add copy basically stated they totally redesigned an iron in both design and manufacturing in months? I bet it was in the hopper for next release cycle and they bumped it up in response to the new normal loft demand. I tested the T100 against a Mizuno MP20 HMB which is 2* stronger and gained 5 yards immediately with no other negatives. My argument is not that the T100S is a sham, it’s their decision to release it in the manner they did.

[Sean2]

I agree. I don't see OEM's manufacturing a club on a "whim". They all have to go through extensive testing.

[GoGoErky]

Agree. It’s possible they had something similar in the plans for the next release in 2021 and just upped the release date based on the fitter/consumer feedback.

[GoGoErky]

Agree. I saw somewhere on the web interview snippet from Josh Taigle (might have been in tweet from Jonathan wall linking to golf.com) where it mentioned they were getting feedback from fitters and players that wanted the added distance but in looks and feel of a players club