On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped, co-hosts Johnny Wunder and Jake Morrow were going over this year’s iron releases, specifically in the cavity back category, and Morrow made an interesting point about golf club manufacturers’ focus.
“You have this incredible cavity back market, but it seems like all of the OEMs are trying to push the one that’s like slightly above that,” Morrow said.
As Morrow points out, there are only so many things you can do a cavity back iron before it becomes something that is more game-improvement, but not quite that size in chassis.
You have irons like TaylorMade’s P7CB, Titleist T100, Mizuno Pro S-3, Callaway X Forged, Srixon ZXi7, and so on. But it seems like the clubs the OEMs believe more golfers, even low handicappers, should buy are the P770, T150 and T250, JPX 925 Forged and Hot Metal Pro, X Forged Max and Ai150 and ZXi5.
TaylorMade P770 Custom Irons
FORGED HOLLOW BODY CONSTRUCTION
The forged hollow body construction gives golfers the best of both worlds; beautyand performance. A soft 8620 carbon steel body is paired with an incredibly thinforged 4140 steel face and Thru-Slot Speed Pocket™ for a design that is fast,flexible and forgiving even in a compact head shape.
FLTD CG
FLTD CG strategically positions the center of gravity (CG) the lowest in the long ironsand progressively shifts higher throughout the set. Using up to 46g of tungsten, FLTDCG is designed to provide players with improved launch and playability in long irons and increase spin in the scoring irons.
SPEEDFOAM AIR
All new SpeedFoam Air is 69% less dense than its predecessor, creating mass savingsthat is redistributed to improve performance. SpeedFoam Air dampens vibrations forexquisite sound and feel while delivering a fast, flexible face.
TOUR-INSPIRED SHAPING
Featuring elegant refinements, including less offset in the long irons, the new P•770is designed to fit the eye of a more discerning player with visual cues including a thintopline, less offset, and shorter blade length when compared to the P•790.
THRU-SLOT SPEED POCKET
The Thru-Slot Speed Pocket™ provides increased face flexibility while preserving ballspeed and distance on low face strikes.
These clubs live in a category that is more playable than the traditional cavity back iron, but isn’t quite in the size, looks or ball speed performance of the players distance category. It’s almost as if there’s a brand new iron category forming between players cavity backs and players distance.
“You’re seeing a little bit with drivers too, is the super game improvement ones and the player drivers, the gap between the two of them are getting smaller and smaller,” Wunder said. “And these R&D departments are able to put a lot of technology in a smaller package.”
Morrow pointed out that TaylorMade probably made the second-generation P770, the first to adopt a hollow body design in 2020, was probably a bit too hot for most of the players it was aimed out.
Now the focus is on finding a hollow-body iron that isn’t as fast as those in the players’ distance category, but retains the ball speed and spin retention traits of those designs.
Golfers who play cavity back and blade irons use them because they want consistency and control. If you can give them irons that offer that same level of control, but also more forgiveness for their bad swings, they’re going to use them.
Wunder and Morrow already got to see this in action with PXG’s new 8th-generation “T” iron at a preview event earlier this month, which would presumably fall into this new category.
It seems that won’t be the last iron that falls into this new between players and players distance category.
Jack Hirsh is the Associate Equipment Editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.
