The Big Titleist 712 AP2 Review & Pics

[FATC1TY]

Comparison pics to 710 MB line up!

The time has finally come, my 712 have arrived, and I was able to get out give them a quick test drive.

Background: I played a combo set of 710 CB/MB's last season. Not the greatest ball striker, but I'm not bad. I play to a mid/high single digit. Really enjoyed this set up, and thought it was about as close to perfect for me. 3-5 Cavity back, 6-PW in the MB. Love the set up, and despite the try to change, I can't stand a huge top line, and a chunky over weight looking club.

The set up: I decided on a 4-PW set, and will order the 3-iron later if I decide to go that route perhaps.

4-PW 712 AP2
Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Standard length
2* Flat lie
D3 Swing weight
Lamkin PP 3 Gen grips




The low down dirty: TItleist this year, went about trying to tweak the AP2 series a good bit. The 710's were without a doubt a hit for Titleist, and while I didn't play them, who couldn't notice the love everywhere you looked. Tours abound, and even your local club.

While it was always geared to be a "players" club, it wasn't quite received as that by some. Stuck in a middle of the road between a players CB/GI type of world. Would launch high, spin more, and in the end left many yearning for a lower stronger flight, and more consistent ball speeds from the face. Many also felt although touted as "forged" they really lacked that feel of a forged club.


Titleist heard that, and decided to work on it.

Enter the 712 line up.

Titleist has this to say about them:

AP2 irons are technically advanced blades that provide increased forgiveness without sacrificing shot workability while combining traditional blade length and sole width with a more efficient multi-material weight distribution.

They claim they are 7% more forgiving, with no loss of workability.

Sounds like some decent claims, but when it gets down to it, who will really be able to see that.

They split the weight in the bottom of the club, pushed it towards the toe and the heel, and with this, allowed them to make the club easy to work, yet still offer the forgiving technology they have in them, without making it launch any higher.

My Review: Took the 712's out, very windy day, with gusts around 10-15mph, around 50*, and pretty damp conditions from previous rain.

Address:
First thing I noticed is, that they set up similar to my 710 combo set. Although you can't say they are AS small, they are pretty close. Very similar blade length, which is the easiest to notice at first. Offset was very close. The AP2's have roughly the same. According to the specs, the 7 iron has the same offset as the 710 AP2, and .01 mm MORE than the MB's. Close, like I said.

The top line is slightly larger than the MB, but from address looks much thinner, and very close as well.

From address, I love these. Very clean, no visual of the cavity, nice square look. Similar to what I'm use to looking at. No hint of all the tech packed away in them.

The soles on the clubs have also been thinned down from the previous model. They have a nice blunted leading edge, less bounce and with that, they interact with the turf very well. I can have a steep swing and I take long heavy divots with them. These work perfect for me. No digging, despite the wetter conditions I played in. No trouble sending off a nice divot with the swing and it was effortless to do so.







Here are some comparison pics of the 710 MB PW vs. 712 AP2 PW.







Trajectory: I don't naturally hit the ball that high. I'm not a low ball hitter by any means, but I'd say close to low/medium trajectory, generally with a decent bit of spin. With my CB/MB combo, I LOVED the flight. Very strong flight, enough to hold greens with a 5-6 iron consistently. I could stand to raise my flight, but honestly don't care too.

With the AP2's my flight is slightly higher. This may be a turn off to many, but it is compared to a muscle back. It's going to be higher. It's not much higher though. I'd suspect that most won't notice them to launch much higher than what they might be using. Very flat flight, and doesn't seem to over spin and fall steep. The wind gusting was interesting, I was able to flight them down and still maintain my distances with them like I could the combo set. Impressed as this I think is the reason many feel they can't deal with a higher flight. No shooting up in the wind and falling down.

I was able to hold greens even with a 4 iron, and have them land and stop within 5 feet of my pitch mark. Nice high strong flight! I loved it!


Lofts are the same as what I've been using, and aren't the juiced up strong lofts. I found myself to have roughly the same yardages, although I think I'm maybe a bit longer due to hitting them better from a more current fitting. 8 iron was flying around 155-160 yards.

So how forgiving are they?: This is the portion that blows me away. Maybe I'm not used to a forgiving iron. Maybe I needed it all along, but WOW. I tend to have a slight flip at impact as my miss. A pull, perhaps a nasty hook. With that comes a thin shot at times. My playing partner when I hit the new clubs today, didn't notice I had new clubs. From trajectory to sound, it was all he knew, so it was funny to hear him comment on how "flush" I was hitting it today. I hit a thin PW that still flew my yardage, althought a bit short. Hit the green and spun BACK.

Hit a few off the toe, and while a back swing is bad, these still helped fly decently. Low on the face was still slightly okay, and high on the face was fine. Amazed with them, but again, could be the fact I haven't used anything like this since my TM 09' TP's.

I am very impressed with the amount of forgiveness in them. Is there 7% more? I can't tell. But what I do know is, that they are indeed really forgiving. I mis-hit them and I still didn't have a terrible shot. I was able to get away with a decent bit and it was fun to be able to do so. I could also tell WHEN I hit it bad, even though the flight might have been lower, or higher, I could feel the mis hit, which is again, nice to be able to discern when that happens.

Workability: Can't say there is anything missing here. I could make them do everything I could with my 710 CB/MB's and while I'm not big on working it alot, I could do it easily. High or low, draw or cut. It was all simple to do, and even a simple punch shot was easy to flight low and hit well.



Bottomline: I think they have a winner with the 712 AP2's. I love Titleist stuff, and while I could have gone another season or two with 710's, I'm glad I switched. I think the fact that they were able to make a club as forgiving as it is, with the appeal and look of a players club is great. While I think these will appeal to alot of golfers, I don't think they are a GI club by any means. They aren't going to make a bad swing good, and a chunky shot is still a chunky shot. What they will do is, allow you to sneak away with a slight miss hit and not bat an eye. I'm sold on them, and can't wait to use them more.

[Doc Mcstuffins]

This is gonna be an awesome read...thanks for posting!

[baseballfrk8998]

Very nice review Fat. That is one nice bag btw!

[FATC1TY]

Thanks guys.. Going to get some time in tomorrow with them, as well as a round or two this weekend. Pretty stoked with what I experienced today, and the two other times I demo'd them and was fit.

[GamecockFreddy]

Nice review! Those clubs look great! I cannot wait to get my 712 AP1s!

[KPH808]

Thanks for the great review and enjoy your new sticks. I got my irons today as well and looking forward to see what the TVDs will look like.

[Nick-A]

Great review

[Ham Solo]

Thanks for the pics and review.

I look forward to getting my clubs even more, now.

[redraider1685]

10-15 is a very windy day? Spoiled I say.....

[jwolfe910]

Great Review. I'd like to hear what other people think about the new ap2's.

[nmanoles3]

Good to hear an ap2 impression from someone used to more demanding clubs. Glad to hear you could still easily work the trajectory lower

[kg92lefty]

[quote name='redraider1685' timestamp='1321631224' post='3818099']
10-15 is a very windy day? Spoiled I say.....
[/quote]

thats a light breeze.

[FATC1TY]

[quote name='kg92lefty' timestamp='1321653278' post='3819861']
[quote name='redraider1685' timestamp='1321631224' post='3818099']
10-15 is a very windy day? Spoiled I say.....
[/quote]

thats a light breeze.
[/quote]

We just don't have that kind of wind normally here. Gets heavier, but a breezy day is 10-15. I don't have to fight the wind like some.

[FATC1TY]

I also played again with these today.

I can confirm that my normal swing, is roughly around 5 yards farther on a good strike. Glad it's not much more, but I feel like I'm around that. 170-7 irons.

These things are friggin' FORGIVING!!!!! I know for a fact I hit 2 slightly fat shots off the tee box of 2 par 3's. Both times I grabbed less club than I would have because of the distances being slightly different for me. Both times, I was only left of my target, and still on the green a bit shorter than planned.

You can get away with more off the heel of these than the toe as well.

I hit a 5 iron today from 193 that was one of the purest, smoothest irons, and the club feels great. I'd venture to be honest that I couldn't tell a like of "feel" difference on a well struck shot over my forged MB's. Both were that nice smooth Titleist click.

I'm still in the honeymoon, but I'm impressed. Going to get 2 rounds in this week, full rounds and will report back!

[mkay]

Like the look of the new AP2 way better than the old version.

 

Congrats with the new setup, looks really awesome.

[AirMail]

A great review braddah...I am feeling they have slighlty better turf interaction than the 710 ap2, altho it could be the slighly smaller head/sole.

 

Will you be selling the MB combos anyitme soon.......

[FATC1TY]

Wont be selling the combos, will keep them in the back up bag. I'm 3 wedges and a hybrid away from another complete Titleist 910/710/712 bag.

I think the turf interaction is the new sole. It's thinner, and less bounce. The leading edge is really nice. I have noticed I'm not taking as deep of a divot at times, but it could be my swing, or the fact that my lie angles are better for me. 2* up to 2* flat is pretty big, IMO. Very flat shallow, but long divots, and the club is solid through out.

The soles also seem to really hold up well to use. I can clean them off after 2 range sessions and 2 rounds, and they really do look new still.

[Jbar]

I went to Titleist fitting day at Golfsmith in Austin. Fell in love with AP2 and returned 710 CB. I bought 3-PW of AP2 with s300. I felt so pure with it and more forgiving too! The topline looked thinner as CB. Looking forward to play a full round this week. I have 910D3 driver and probably upgrade my wedges for SM4 and Hybrids into full bag of Titleist.

[Asleep]

I'm curious how the ball flight/spin compares to the original AP2s (2008)?

I still have the '08 AP2s which [url="http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/178295-titleist-ap2-ahah-its-the-shafts-its-the-shafts/page__p__1155880__hl__shafts__fromsearch__1#entry1155880"]came to life with X100s[/url], but they're pretty beat up now.

[oscarpepper]

I agree with all you said above I have the 712 AP2's and they look spectacular. I think they are perfect for the player who can hit blades or cb's but on his off days it might be ugly. Im not a great ball striker but I get it around and I felt with my MB CB combo set on my bad days they were just hurting my game and on my good days they were doing anything I couldn't do with the AP2's or JPX pro.

[TML]

FAT,
please delete this thread while I get the shot glass out. I really did not want to read this review. You are making me go out and buy these now before my next Bandon Trip and Pebble trip.

[FATC1TY]

[quote name='Asleep' timestamp='1321740706' post='3823581']
I'm curious how the ball flight/spin compares to the original AP2s (2008)?

I still have the '08 AP2s which [url="http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/178295-titleist-ap2-ahah-its-the-shafts-its-the-shafts/page__p__1155880__hl__shafts__fromsearch__1#entry1155880"]came to life with X100s[/url], but they're pretty beat up now.
[/quote]

I really wouldn't be able to comment on that. I have swung the original AP2's, but nothing more than a few in a simulator.

I have played a round with some loaner AP2 710's once, and I thought the flight was too high for my liking, although not too high to hurt my game.

I see people complain of a high ball flight, and honestly, I feel like most golfers hit the ball too low anyways to hold greens aggressively enough.

The 710's were a higher flight though, and apples to apples, these launch lower with the same shaft. I'd suspect you'd probably get a lower flight with a similar shaft profile that you found in the 08's.

[FATC1TY]

[quote name='TML' timestamp='1321742531' post='3823675']
FAT,
please delete this thread while I get the shot glass out. I really did not want to read this review. You are making me go out and buy these now before my next Bandon Trip and Pebble trip.
[/quote]


Put the shot glass down and get your credit card!!!!

They are nice my friend. I hit some crap shots today at the range, but I had a higher percentage of ones that just SUNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG down the range.

[Jbar]

[quote name='FATC1TY' timestamp='1321747382' post='3823967']
[quote name='Asleep' timestamp='1321740706' post='3823581']
I'm curious how the ball flight/spin compares to the original AP2s (2008)?

I still have the '08 AP2s which [url="http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/178295-titleist-ap2-ahah-its-the-shafts-its-the-shafts/page__p__1155880__hl__shafts__fromsearch__1#entry1155880"]came to life with X100s[/url], but they're pretty beat up now.
[/quote]

I really wouldn't be able to comment on that. I have swung the original AP2's, but nothing more than a few in a simulator.

I have played a round with some loaner AP2 710's once, and I thought the flight was too high for my liking, although not too high to hurt my game.

I see people complain of a high ball flight, and honestly, I feel like most golfers hit the ball too low anyways to hold greens aggressively enough.

The 710's were a higher flight though, and apples to apples, these launch lower with the same shaft. I'd suspect you'd probably get a lower flight with a similar shaft profile that you found in the 08's.
[/quote]

I am looking forward to new project x shaft coming up in Jan to lower the flight and lower spin, too. During the fitting outdoor, my ball flight is pretty high but farther than CB. I used 7 iron and hit very comfortable at 185 yards flag much easier than CB. The rep suggested me to hit in middle to lower the flight either way. Will report back after the full round this week!

[philfrance]

Finally tried the 712 AP2 over the week-end which I have been considering. Currently gaming Mizuno MP68, which I love, but curiosity pushing me towards trying something else, there has been so much rave about the AP2's and their forgiveness, etc....

I previously tried the 710 AP2 for a full round, and found the feel to be numb, the top line too thick to my liking,especially in comparison to my MP68s. I noted that they provided more forgiveness, which I don't particularly feel i need.. A bad shot with a poor swing remains a bad shot, however, slight mishits on heel or toe were not penalized much, distance loss was very minor.

I managed to take out the AP2 712 for a test ride. They luckily had KBS tour's in them; the same as i currently game in my MP68s. The 712s are visually more pleasant and thinner overall (in a perceptible manner) than the 710s. The top line and sole seem slightly thicker than my MP68s, but not in a disturbing manner (which was the case with the 710s). I noted that the 712s felt softer than the 710s (the 710s were not harsh, but felt too muted for me, unike a forged club, more like a cast one). Feel is important to me, especially since I have been playing Mizuno blade forgings for several years. The feel was not as buttery soft as my Mizunos, but it was very nice and very acceptable to my likings. Trajectory was on the high side (I tend to hit the ball high), easy to launch, a tad higher than my Mizunos, which are 1° strong in comparison. Despite the higher trajectory and loft, they still carried a half club longer. Balls stopped on the green, but with less spin than my blades, so they apparently produce less spin, thus the gain in distance. They are very forgiving, possibly more than the 710s (certainly not less), mishits were not severely penalized, nor in dispersion, nor in distance. They felt slightly heavier to swing than mine, and were slightly too upright for me, so most shots worked into a mild draw which was pleasant (but i'd rather do without and control if needed).

I am going to order them today 2° flat, 1° strong with KBS c-tapers.

[FATC1TY]

Glad to hear I'm not the only one seeing some good in these clubs.

I love mine, but I'm about to make them better.

Gonna slap these on there I think.

[jaiello]

Nice review. I am going to hit mine tomorrow.

[FATC1TY]

Been playing with mine for the past week. I've let alot of people hit them as well.

Most like them, like the looks, the feel for the most part. One guy hit the 710's the week before, and didn't like the flight. He hit these and the flight was fine for him.

One commented that it was hard for him to "tell" if he was hitting it flush. The ball marks were square in the sweetspot. The launch was nice, the shot was shaped good, the distance was there, but he was hesistant to say, "it was killed", but said it might be because he has been hitting the ball like crap. He's a low low single digit. He liked them though. Hit one that seemed thinnish.. It flew fine for him. Without me saying anything he mentioned that it seemed pretty darn forgiving. Felt like a bad shot, but still flew well enough not to get upset. He was impressed, and said he'd hit them more sometime.


Similar to what I've found. Getting used to them, they don't have that firm click that Titleist is known for. They are "softer" feeling than my MB's but mainly just the lack of click, not really anything metal wise.

In the end though. I'm really happy with them. They feel great to me, fly like I want, and if anything I'm more confident that I COULD miss this shot, and still get away with it. That alone, is worth it to me.

[Jobu]

everyone should be cautious about this review. The OP clearly is a Titty boy. How can you tell? He plays vokeys with lead tape, the vokeys clearly dont fit his game, but he bags them anyways. He should be bagging a forged offering and he knows it.

[Dizz]

[quote name='Jobu' timestamp='1322024771' post='3839823']
everyone should be cautious about this review. The OP clearly is a Titty boy. [b] How can you tell? He plays vokeys with lead tape, the vokeys clearly dont fit his game, but he bags them anyways.[/b] He should be bagging a forged offering and he knows it.
[/quote]

I would love this statement explained to me.