Titleist 716 T-MB 2 iron

[The Autumn Wind]

Does anyone have any experience or feedback on hitting the Titleist 716 T-MB 2 iron ? Specifically in comparison to either to a similar loft hybrid (17*) or to the Titleist 714u 2 iron (which I loved at The London Golf Show a couple of years ago but never bought).

 

[The Autumn Wind]

OK, so I took the plunge and got myself a custom fitted T-MB iron this week, by taking advantage of the 'Double Price trade-in deal' at American Golf. I bought the 2 iron version, 1/2 inch longer than standard, 3.75 deg upright (I'm 6'2"), Project X shaft upgrade, and Tour Velvet grip.

I took it out today for 18 holes, so here's my mini-review/early impressions :

First off, I played poorly today. I woke up full of cold, felt like crap, and didn't have much tempo or timing all morning. So it probably wasn't the best of days to test a new weapon in the bag ! Having said that, the one club I did hit reasonably consistent was actually this new 2 iron. It looked good at address, the shaft flex was spot on for me, and it felt really good through impact.

Off-centre hits were surprisingly stable and far lengthier and more forgiving than I expected. Shots from the sweetspot just flew, just seriously exploded from the club face. Because it was a new club in the bag I actually ended up hitting it from far more tees and lies than I probably normally would. I hit it off the tee and off the fairway on our par 5 7th and wasn't very far away from the front edge of the green in two smooth hits. I also birdied another of our par 5's, the 12th, after hitting it off the tee there (I usually just hit driver every time on this hole).

On the really solid shots I would say it went around 240-245 yards which I'm happy with for an iron at 7.30am in cold, wet ground conditions. The low, piercing trajectory would probably see that distance increase on fast running Summer fairways. Off-centre shots only went around 220-225 yards but were generally still straight and in play. I hit one loose one near the end with it, but I hit far worse shots today with other clubs.

I'm particularly looking forward to using it on trips to Saunton, St Enedoc, and East Devon in November. The low trajectory should be absolutely perfect for links golf.

So, first impressions are really positive. I was expecting to take several rounds to get to know this club, but after just one round today I know this is a keeper that will be in my bag for a long time, simply because it gives me more options on tight driving holes.

I'll try to post follow ups over the coming months.