New Level Golf - 902 Forged

Jmccas · July 13, 2021

23 hours ago, RolandofGilead said:

Haha, your supposition is pretty spot on. And I was indeed referring to the Sub 70 639 CB irons there. The NL902s are no more forgiving than the Sub 70 639 CBs, unfortunately for you. In my demo the NL902 was shorter heel-to-toe and slightly less forgiving. I chose them because they felt more pure to me, with enough forgiveness for my game. Sorry to burst your bubble - this is the main trade off with single-piece forged irons. There are plenty of multi-piece, multi-material irons out there with forgiveness you need and maybe a feel you will find adequate.

I would add a similar experience. When I am grooving with my swing, the Sub 70 639CB are great but when I am off, there was not much forgiveness. I demoed them twice to confirm. I also demoed the 902 Forged and feel they are likely less forgiving than the 639CB. For what it is worth, I own the PTX Pros and I felt they were the more forgiving of the three models but they also are not a full forged head.

vandyfan · July 13, 2021

7 minutes ago, Jmccas said:

I would add a similar experience. When I am grooving with my swing, the Sub 70 639CB are great but when I am off, there was not much forgiveness. I demoed them twice to confirm. I also demoed the 902 Forged and feel they are likely less forgiving than the 639CB. For what it is worth, I own the PTX Pros and I felt they were the more forgiving of the three models but they also are not a full forged head.

It's funny you should mention the PTxPros as I also have those on Demo right now. Based solely on trackman numbers, the PTxPros are the best club I have hit so far, for me (vs. Cobra MIM Tour, JPX 919 Tour, JPX Forged and Sub 70 639 CB). My gripes on the Hogans are a bit stupid to be honest in that the "feel" isn't as good to me and the feedback on where the mishit is located on the clubface is not as exact or telling as the Sub 70s. But, of course, that is the trade-off with "forgiveness" right? Hard to have a club that is giving excellent feedback on misses but also not penalizing you. So I have to decide, existentially, what kind of player am I and am I going to become.

I am going to hit the New Levels this week as I just go them. I have the 902 forged and the MODB-1 (which I fear may be a bit low spin and jumpy), shame about the proto irons being something I should check out. I find New Level's demo program to be the least "player friendly" out of the DTCs I have tried. It is quite expensive ($73) to test two clubs versus $40 for Sub 70 (and Sub 70 gives you a 6 iron and a 9 iron) and Ben Hogan. Oh well, at least I am getting some good time in with these clubs on a grass range with Trackman rather than just pounding balls in a bay off of turf in a Big Box.

Jmccas · July 13, 2021

6 minutes ago, blackbdmillsaps said:

It's funny you should mention the PTxPros as I also have those on Demo right now. Based solely on trackman numbers, the PTxPros are the best club I have hit so far, for me (vs. Cobra MIM Tour, JPX 919 Tour, JPX Forged and Sub 70 639 CB). My gripes on the Hogans are a bit stupid to be honest in that the "feel" isn't as good to me and the feedback on where the mishit is located on the clubface is not as exact or telling as the Sub 70s. But, of course, that is the trade-off with "forgiveness" right? Hard to have a club that is giving excellent feedback on misses but also not penalizing you. So I have to decide, existentially, what kind of player am I and am I going to become.

I am going to hit the New Levels this week as I just go them. I have the 902 forged and the MODB-1 (which I fear may be a bit low spin and jumpy), shame about the proto irons being something I should check out. I find New Level's demo program to be the least "player friendly" out of the DTCs I have tried. It is quite expensive ($73) to test two clubs versus $40 for Sub 70 (and Sub 70 gives you a 6 iron and a 9 iron) and Ben Hogan. Oh well, at least I am getting some good time in with these clubs on a grass range with Trackman rather than just pounding balls in a bay off of turf in a Big Box.

I really like the PTX Pros. I demoed them and found a pretty good deal on a set on eBay. Unfortunately the Recoil graphite shafts are a bit too light for me and I should have ordered the KBS Tour 90 which I demoed. I was precise with those and did not notice much distance loss with the traditional lofts which I really like for gapping. Not as much feel as a forged head but not bad either. I also have a set of P790s and the PTX Pros compare so much better than the P790s.

The NL demo program is way too pricey compared to other DTC competitors. I started with the 623-M which is very pure but too blade like and then tried the 902 Forged. Let me know how you like the MODB-1. I might have to demo those...

LukeDonaldsTiger · July 13, 2021

The 1126 Pro (which is what they’re called, I think) are sold out and off of the website, unfortunately.

Re. forgiveness of the 902 Forged: I’m a 19 hcp and regularly have my off weeks, swing wise. I think these irons are fairly friendly on thin strikes, and a little less on toe strikes. They sound bad when thinned (which I find encouraging to hit them better), but they still go 95% of the distance. No flyers, ever, and very satisfying sound and feel when hit flush. They are underrated.

I had Maltby DBM Forged (which were noticeably less forgiving and felt harsh in comparison), and Mizzy MP-33, which feel spongy-soft on flushed shots and sound great. However, I learned to love the solid, powerful feel of the 902 and slightly prefer it to the Mizuno feel now. It’s pretty unique and addicting.
Teo things the DBM and 33’s have over the 902’s is the thinner topline and less offset, if that’s important to you.
I won’t go back, the New Levels are just that good.

RolandofGilead · July 13, 2021

47 minutes ago, blackbdmillsaps said:

It's funny you should mention the PTxPros as I also have those on Demo right now. Based solely on trackman numbers, the PTxPros are the best club I have hit so far, for me (vs. Cobra MIM Tour, JPX 919 Tour, JPX Forged and Sub 70 639 CB). My gripes on the Hogans are a bit stupid to be honest in that the "feel" isn't as good to me and the feedback on where the mishit is located on the clubface is not as exact or telling as the Sub 70s. But, of course, that is the trade-off with "forgiveness" right? Hard to have a club that is giving excellent feedback on misses but also not penalizing you. So I have to decide, existentially, what kind of player am I and am I going to become.

I am going to hit the New Levels this week as I just go them. I have the 902 forged and the MODB-1 (which I fear may be a bit low spin and jumpy), shame about the proto irons being something I should check out. I find New Level's demo program to be the least "player friendly" out of the DTCs I have tried. It is quite expensive ($73) to test two clubs versus $40 for Sub 70 (and Sub 70 gives you a 6 iron and a 9 iron) and Ben Hogan. Oh well, at least I am getting some good time in with these clubs on a grass range with Trackman rather than just pounding balls in a bay off of turf in a Big Box.

Are you able to test the Wilson Staff CB or Srixon ZX5/7? The Wilson’s especially get near universal praise for their feel, and they do have some tungsten in the mid/long irons to help out. Of the major OEMs, those would be at/near the top of my list. I also demo’d the PTxPro when I was deciding and had similar conclusion to you. They are absolutely beautiful irons though.

dmeeksDC · July 13, 2021

2 hours ago, RolandofGilead said:

You read my mind - I was going to circle back and recommend those. However it looks like the page has disappeared from the New Level website. Regardless,@blackbdmillsaps those might fit your needs better than the 902s if they should make it to volume production. If they are truly a single piece forging, they would fit a specific place in the product line (single piece GI iron). Almost all similar options from OEMs are multi-piece, multi-material, etc. If you really like that forged feel, this would be a unique option.

As we all know, Eric Burch is great about getting back to customers. The 1126 Proto is a test iron he offered to decide whether to bring it to retail. Has less offset than the original 1126.

Maybe they sold them all, which would be a good sign. What @blackbdmillsapscould do if he is interested is email Eric and ask whether that head is coming back or whether he still has some heads around. It looks really sweet, like a larger version of the 902.

vandyfan · July 13, 2021

2 hours ago, Jmccas said:

The NL demo program is way too pricey compared to other DTC competitors. I started with the 623-M which is very pure but too blade like and then tried the 902 Forged. Let me know how you like the MODB-1. I might have to demo those...

Totally agree on the expense of the NL program but you and I paid it so maybe they are geniuses?

I am doing a way too deep dive on a bunch of clubs over on another forum (Not allowed because of spam). I haven't seen much on the way of reviews on the MODB-1 so I am going to try to get as much trackman data on those as I can. For reference, my sample includes Cobra MIM Tour (tested), Ben Hogan PTxPro (tested), Sub 70 639CB (tested), NL 902 (have the demo but haven't tested), NL MODB-1 (have the demo but haven't tested). I can also get my hands on Mizuno MP-20 HMB and MMCs rather easily so they will likely be included. Would love to hit Srixon ZX5s and P770s (maybe a little too expensive for what they are?) but I have to cut this off somewhere. Haha.

1 hour ago, RolandofGilead said:

Are you able to test the Wilson Staff CB or Srixon ZX5/7? The Wilson’s especially get near universal praise for their feel, and they do have some tungsten in the mid/long irons to help out. Of the major OEMs, those would be at/near the top of my list. I also demo’d the PTxPro when I was deciding and had similar conclusion to you. They are absolutely beautiful irons though.

Theoretically, yes. I live in a major city that has big boxes that carry these. I noted the ZX5 in the above paragraph but I am facing two challenges on that and any club that my instructor doesn't carry (he carries Mizuno, Cobra, Callaway and Titleist). Challenge 1) I want to hit all of these outdoors, off real grass, on Trackman. 2) There are shortages, especially with Srixon all over the place. Very hard to find Srixons ZX5s to hit in even a moderately heavy shaft like 120g which is what I am best in. I have to be honest, I had not even considered Wilson Staff Model CBs. Are those the unicorns? I may just give up golf and become a club tester that represents the common man of golf.

Also, at one point I had like 10 clubs I wanted to test and I started to realize that was a bit crazy, especially given that I am not playing for my life here. I definitely love everyone's feedback and I want to be considerate of good options but at some point there is too much out there. The best part of this experiment so far is that I have found the DTC clubs can compete with the major OEMs (I think I already assumed that but now I can see it). What I have learned is I can get a great set for $500-$700 from the DTCs so to spend $900-$1000 on the Major OEM clubs is going to require COMPELLING results from the majors. The Cobra MIM Tours were close...those are nice clubs.

Edited July 13, 2021 by blackbdmillsaps

RolandofGilead · July 13, 2021

15 minutes ago, blackbdmillsaps said:

I have to be honest, I had not even considered Wilson Staff Model CBs. Are those the unicorns?

Wilson is a bit of a tweener between DTC and larger OEMs and I’ve really liked their stuff, particularly FG Tour V2 and V6. Or, the idea of their stuff as I have never hit them. Padraig Harrington has played those forever and he is a real gear head even amongst the pros. The current Staff CB is the next evolution of the FG Tour series. I haven’t hit them but I have held them in ha d and I will say this: they are quite short from heel to toe. But the reviews I have seen online don’t note this as a bad thing. That is quite the quest you are on, and we certainly understand that there are limits. Glad that you are able to include New Level!

2 hours ago, LukeDonaldsTiger said:

I had Maltby DBM Forged (which were noticeably less forgiving and felt harsh in comparison),

Interestingly, I play a 51* DBM gap wedge with my 902 set (46* PW).To me the feel is more similar than not, DBM just a hair clicky perhaps, and the DBM gives me really good performance on thin misses. The DBM launches moonballs for me - I have a real hard time keeping the flight down, so much so that I rarely try. But they go straight, and that’s enough for me.

vandyfan · July 14, 2021

So I got up super early this morning and hit range balls with the 902 Forged because I couldn't wait. Side by side with the 639CB I had the opposite scenario to what we discussed earlier. I felt that the "softness" and "feedback" was slightly higher on the 639CB. I wasn't getting quite the same from the 902 BUT I also wasn't getting any real harsh feedback either. To me, the 902 looked and felt more forgiving (no trackman this morning so all speculation). The 902 launched a tad lower and has a noticeably shorter blade length BUT somehow I think that made it harder to hit it out on the toe. The toe is so big on the 639CB, in comparison, it's almost like a target. Could all be in my head but I am impressed with the first 40 balls I hit with the 902s. Was having trouble putting them down to hit the 639CB.

One comparison note, I have KBS Tour V in the 639CB and KBS C Taper in the 902s. It's possible/likely the C Tapers are bringing down the flight. I will see what the numbers say in a few days but the 902s might benefit from KBS Tour V to bring the flight up just a tad.