Forum Member Review! Taylormade Tour Preferred MC Forged Irons

[GolfSpy WD]

Hula Rock has kindly agreed to review the Taylormade TP MC Forged Irons 3-PW!

 

Unboxing

 

Review

 

3 month post review

 

I looked around at the TM site to link information about the irons, but apparently they aren't available to the public yet. Instead, here's this link about cheddar:

 

http://www.mygolfspy.com/2014-taylormade-tour-preferred-irons/

 

Sit back and enjoy the review! Please ask Hula any question you may have.

[Hula Rock]

PHASE 1: Unboxing/Initial Impressions

 

So here it goes.  This one caught me little off guard, there lay in my office, a shape recognizable to all of us that play the game.  “THE BOX” stood there leaning against my desk yelling,“open me”.  To be honest, I totally forgot about what was being sent until a voice uttered, “You ordered something from Taylormade?”   Without knowing it, the next words out of my mouth “taking a half day off”, I threw the box in the trunk, Casa Hula Rock away I went.

 

 

 

 

 

Ya Ya Ya, I could say “it was like Christmas” but honestly it kind of is…..  As with any set of new irons, the packaging was superb!  Each head was slotted into its own little nest, the shafts were protected and separated with its' own little foam insert.  On a side note, has anyone tried to put the irons back into the box after removing them from the foam protectors?  Its' a great little puzzle 

 

 

 

 

 

A little about the specs before I move on.  Given “Carte Blanche” when I was asked to participate in this review, a million shaft/grip configurations started running through my head.  Yes I could have went with KBS Tour-V's, C-tapers, DG Pro's etc.  BUT I actually forced myself to take a little step back and go with what I know and play with.  This is going to be an unbiased review, how unfair would it be if I chose the exotic shaft/grip combination, hit them HORRIBLY, and slammed the product in the review?  We all owe it to MGS and its' members to give an honest review, so here it is:

 

The Specs:

Irons:  TaylorMade Golf   Tour Preferred MC

Lie Angle:  2 upright

Length:  Stock

Shaft:  KBS tour 90 S

Grip:  Stock

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tour Preferred, I really was expecting a hard to hit, smaller compact head.  Surprisingly, with the exception of the 3-4 irons, the set can be confidentially hit by a golfer with an average golf swing.  A couple quick things I did notice about the set, especially with the scoring irons (PW, 9-iron,8-iron).  The hosel has “FORGED” marked down the length.  There isn't a lot of information about this pre-retail set that I could find on the web, so is it safe to assume that the rest of the set is “CAST”?  The scoring irons also lacked the pocket cavity and speed slot which you can see from the pics.

 

 

 

 

 

Since the weather is still holding up in South Texas, I headed to the club to play a quick 9.  I ended up shooting a 38 and IMMEDIATELY noticed a couple of things.  I will dangle this carrot in front of everyone until my review post:

 

• There is a HUGE yardage Gap in the set
• Feel, this could be the deciding factor for a lot of purchases…..

 

Oh Ya!  Kudos to My Golf Spy and TMaG for letting me partake in this product review…..  Stay Tuned

[Hula Rock]

Introduction

 

 

Fire and Ice = Hula Rock and Taylormade golf.  To be honest I NEVER EVER liked anything Taylormade put out, well, I take that back, I was a huge fan of the Y-Cutter wedges years ago.  When I got the call to the “Big Show”, to review the new Tour Preferred irons I could not resist.  I almost turned this opportunity down due to a pending move back to Hawaii, and most important, the birth of my baby girl Brynn.  I am not going to lie; I asked the wife if I could do this.  She knows the game runs in my veins so I was pleasantly surprised when she said:  “go for it, I know how much you love to play the game”.

 

As most of you have already read, I received these irons way before the retail release.  I wanted to give this set a fair shot so again, when I was asked what I wanted, I picked the iron set, shafts, and grip combo that could give my current gamers a run for their money.  It would have been silly and unfair to the MGS community if I would have picked the TP MB Irons, had KBS Tour-V's installed and hit them like crap and gave them an unsatisfactory review in the process.

 

I wanted to try and do something different during this review, I thought it would be uber-cool and do a live comparison between my Nike Vr Pro-Combos and the Taylormade MC.  So there I was at my club, in the back of the cart, strapped two full sets of golf clubs.   When given the opportunity I would hit the MC's then follow up with a second shot with my gamers.  It was really interesting to see how different some of the irons performed against each other.

 

Specs from TaylorMade web site:

 

 

 

 

 

Short Iron Performance

 

• Accuracy – “Par” Nothing game changing here.  The short irons are just as accurate as my current gamers.  A well struck shot will provide expected results.  I was really surprised at the yield of off center strikes, ball flight remains the same with minimal yardage loss, 5-7 yard loss.
• Distance – “Par” Again, no performance gains.  Yard for yard going against my current gamers.  As noted in accuracy, the scoring irons are a little more forgiving than I expected on off center hits.
• Trajectory – “Par” I ordered the set with KBS Tour-90's so I was expecting a high ball flight throughout the set.  The golf ball seemed to hold its' flight well in crosswinds during the three rounds that I gamed them but I think it had to do more with the new ball that I was using. 
• Forgiveness – “Birdie” The scoring irons are surprisingly forgiving.  With forged irons you can feel off center hits and immediately say “that's short”.  With these you are going to be surprised with less than stellar ball contact.
• Control – “Birdie” I put the short irons through the swing gamut: Full swings, half swings, knockdowns, right to left, left to right, etc.   Call up the shot, put a good swing on it, control was effortless.

 

Short Iron Score – 93/100

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mid Iron Performance (8,7,6)

 

• Accuracy – “Bogey” Here is where I started having problems.  I mentioned that there was a distance gap in the first phase of my review.  Many of you guessed it right, it is where the set transitions from forged to cast, and when the speed pocket is introduced into the 7 iron.  I have not figured out the distance gap yet so accuracy suffers on this bullet.
• Distance – “Bogey” That damn “gap” thing again…. The forged 8 iron just preforms, you'll get no complaints out of me.  The transition from forged to cast, the hollow muscle cavity and speed pocket changes everything.   For example, I will compare the distances of my current gamers:  8-iron (150-155 yards) 7-iron (160-165 yards)   VS TP MC 8-iron (150-155 yards) 7-iron (170-175) see the gap?
• Trajectory - “Birdie” I love, love, love the trajectory especially at the transition.  The ball moves through the air like a dart.  The ball falls out of the sky like it was dropped from the space station, checks and stops in its' own tracks.
• Forgiveness – “Birdie” I am so glad that I picked the Tour Preferred MC irons and not the MB.  You will get away with a bunch of sub-par shots.  I do not know if it's me but compared to a set of MB that I saw at Golfsmith, the top line and sole seem a tad bit larger on the MC's.
• Control – “Par” looking past the gap, the short irons (9-PW) are fairly easy to control with a normal swing.  I started running into problems with the 8 and 7 irons trying to find the 160-165 mark.  I tend to over/under compensate to dial in a yardage with these, anything from a dead pull to a straight block.  It is going to take some serious range sessions to get these dialed in.

 

Mid Iron Score – 85/100

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long Iron Performance (5,4,3)

 

• Accuracy – “Par” Because I found these to be at least ½ - a full club longer than my current gamers it will take me some time to trust and let the club do the work.  I had some very loose shots trying to find 180, 190, and 200+ with the long irons.  I was either short or very long on approach shots to the green.
• Distance – “Birdie” the best way to describe it, it's like having the distances of three hybrids in your bag. LONG LONG LONG !!!!!  The 3 iron easily replaces my 5 wood.
• Trajectory – “Birdie” Very High but piercing.  I absolutely love hitting knockdown and stingers with the long irons.  A simple change in your setup changes the ball flight with ease.
• Forgiveness – “Birdie” Don't let the words Tour preferred shake the knees.  The Long irons are surprisingly forgiving.  Again, you will not be penalized much on off center hits.
• Control – “Birdie” the words that come to mind, “dial a shot”.  If you have it in your arsenal the long irons can do it.  Compared to my normal Gamers, I would not hesitate one second to game these right away provided the distances were dialed in.

 

Long Iron Score – 90/100

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Performance Notes:

 

Since the weather is holding up here in San Antonio, I got three rounds under my belt with several sessions at a local driving range.  Two rounds were played at my home course, the other at Boot Ranch just north of the Alamo City.  I managed to card an 83 on the first round getting use to the set, followed by a 77 a week later.  I played Boot Ranch very conservative.  Fairway, middle of the green, two putt for par type of course management.  I walked out of there with a 78, not bad for playing it for the first time.

 

It would be unfair to comment on my range sessions, although the weather averages in the 70's in South Texas in the winter months, Most of the ranges here do not cycle range balls until early spring.  So what your hitting feels like sponges with the texture of a ping pong ball.

 

 

TOTAL PERFORMANCE SCORE – 88/100

 

Who said Texas was flat ???

 

 

 

 

Subjective

 

• General shape – going with Teardrop here.  Impressed on how well the shape hides the technology behind the set.
• Top Line – To me the top line seems a little thicker on the TP MC's.  Don't get me wrong, it's not GI thick. You'll have to judge it on your own, for the record I love it.
• Sole – Perfect!  Not too shallow, which I was expecting in “Player Irons”
• Offset – Very little if any, not too much to report here
• Graphics – I wish they kept the badge, printing out “Tour Preferred” took away from the looks of the club.
• Unique Details – The set is a combination of Forged and Cast.  From what I understand the MB are forged throughout the set.  The short irons do not have the Speed pocket or the hollow cavity, kind of weird….
• How do they compare to other clubs in its category – They will do just fine, Taylormade needed to bring back the TP line for better players. 

 

 

Looks Score – 90/100

 

 

Sound and Feel

 

• How do they Feel – “Par” I am probably going to catch a lot of flake for this from the guys who say you cannot tell the difference between Forged and Cast irons.  YOUR GOING TO FEEL THE DIFFERENCE HERE my friends.  When the set transitions from the 8 iron which forged to the 7 iron which is cast you will feel what I am talking about.  I do not know if it is the casting + speed pocket + hollow cavity, but the feel changes noticeably.
• How do they sound – “Par” the Forged short irons give you the Classic “Thump”, not a Mizuno “feels like butta” thump but pretty darn close.  The sound changes dramatically with the mid and long irons, kind of a “Crack”.  If you played/demo'd the Rocket Bladze, the sound will be very familiar…..

 

Sound and Feel Score -  Forged 95/100  Cast 85/100

 

 

 

Likelihood of Purchase (LOP)

 

• Would I buy this – Like I mentioned before the only club that had a slot in my bag for more than a couple of rounds was the Y-Cutter wedges.  Since I have had the opportunity to compare this set to 2 other players sets (Nike Vr-PC 13' and Nike Vr-PC 14') and a set of Admas CB3's, it just felt more comfortable and confident hitting my gamers.  Will multiple rounds change my mind?  we shall see.  I plan on using this set for a couple months to see if I can dial in the yardages.  Would I buy a set?  50/50

 

LOP Score – 80/100

 

 

Subjective Notes

 

The Tour Preferred CM's flat out looks sexy.  The brush nickel finish gives it a classy look and hides the modern day technology packed into the iron head very well.  Kudos to Taylormade for bringing back the TP line and releasing three sets for golfers to choose from.  I was expecting them to tweak current offerings, slap the TP Badge on, and call it a day.  To my surprise they introduced three new solid sets that should do well in the 2014 season.

 

Total subjective Score 86/100

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

I am still kind of proud of myself when given “Card Blanche” when I was asked to do this review.  I could have ordered the” knock your socks off” set up, but stuck to what I knew.   I was pretty cool to show up at my club or the driving range and having people look at this set, saying “what in the hell are these?”  My overall impression of Taylormade irons has changed for the better, did you feel that? the earth just shifted.  Without a doubt I could put this set in my bag and post some decent scores.  

 

 

Total Score 87/100

 

 

 

 

Questions

 

1. Will this set be in your bag?  Yes for a couple of months, I want to see if I can fine tune the yardages.  Who knows, these could be my 2014 gamers.
2. Who would you recommend this set to? Scratch – 15 HCP.  Do not let the “Tour Preferred” scare you.  The MC's are surprisingly forgiving.
3. Have these irons changed you Impression of TMaG?  As stated in my conclusion, YES!.  Now I am trying to resist the likely hood purchase of the SLDR.
4. What would you Change? NIX the Tour Preferred; replace it with the iconic badge.  If there was a way to forge the 3-7 irons, fill in the cavity, and remove the speed pocket, this set would be my gamers instantly.
5. What feature would you like to see evolve with this model?  To be honest, I'm just glad that they brought TP back.  I'm pretty sure TMaG already has something up their sleeve. 

 

[Hula Rock]

Well Guys and Gals, the Honeymoon phase is now over.  It has been just over three months with the 2014 Taylormade tour preferred irons and here is the end of my review.  First,  a big thank you to My Golf Spy and Taylormade golf for letting me participate in this hands on review……..  Here it goes.

 

Let me start off by saying that this set really intrigued me from the get go.  I don't know what it is , it's like ordering  a Sprite and a restaurant, expect the taste of a Sprite , you take a “Swig” and it's water.  The initial taste knocks you off your kilt, so to say.   Let me explain:  If you decide on purchasing a set of these, don't expect these irons to replace your current sticks without some major adjustments.  It took me at least 3-4 rounds with the configuration that I ordered to find out what the distances were, a trip to Edwin Watts to have the lofts weakened on the 7 6 5 4 and 3 iron, multiple range sessions to get to where I was comfortable with bagging these.  My Golf Spy member, TXCATMAN, saw the madness firsthand on a par 3 at Valeer Golf Club just north of San Antonio.   Par 3, 190 yards, long story short, 7 irons are not supposed to fly over the pin 200 yards in to the drink for bogey…

When I first started this review I hinted at distance gaps at the transition from Forged to Cast + Speed Pocket.  The PW, 9-iron and 8-iron were no trouble getting used to.  Fantastic feel of a forged club, distance very similar to my gamers.  The rest of the set, if not adjusted correctly is on STERIODS !!!!  I would put the 3-iron against anyone's 3 wood that they carry…..

 

Interesting enough at last weeks Texas Valero Open volunteering at the practice facility, TXCATMAN and I had the opportunity to get within a couple of feet of the players bags as we handed them range balls.  I also walked down the hitting line a couple of times to see what TMaG staffers had in the bag.  I only saw 1 set of Taylormade Tour Preferred MC's (Justin Leonard)  Unless I missed it, I saw more sets of 2012 Tour Preferred MC and MB's……call it what you will.

 

I'm pretty confident that this set would probably benefit someone's game.  I cannot stress enough, if you decide to pull the trigger and purchase the MC's, to get properly fit for the set.  If I could change one thing about the design of the set:  FORGE the entire set AND have the design of the 8 iron progress towards the 7, 6, 5, 4, and 3 iron (Minus the speed cavity and speed pocket) 

Will I continue using them ? sure I will.  Going to keep them in rotation for the Spring and Summer.

 

 

FINAL RATING:  PAR

[Hula Rock]

if any one has any questions, wants more pictures please be sure to ask !!!!!!

[The Dansome]

Um yum

[Mr_Theoo]

Pictures at address compared to gamers please

 

And of course congrats can't wait to hear the review as these look stunning.

[whiskey golf]

Those irons look amazing in the bag. Looking forward to this review.

[SMRT]

They do look good. I have a guess on where the big gap may happen. Can't wait to see if I am correct!

[Blade]

I couldn't get into the look of RBladez. These look great. Yardage gap? Not surprising really with the different construction between the long and short clubs. Do you have a way to check the lofts and make sure something's not off there? Looking forward to it!

[hckymeyer]

Good looking clubs Hula, I'm excited for more details!

 

Can't wait to see what the speed slot shows up in next...

[GolfSpy WD]

Good catch on the forged vs cast clubs. Not sure how they could forge something with a slot that literally takes up all available space.

 

I'm still torn on the looks, but can't wait to read more. Congrats again Hula on being selected and good luck. There will be more opportunities for others, so be sure to read http://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/9910-forum-testing-how-club-testers-will-be-chosen/

[Hula Rock]

Pictures at address compared to gamers please

 

And of course congrats can't wait to hear the review as these look stunning.

 

Note taken.  I plan on posting address pics of current gamers and another set of player irons that I have for 2014.

 

 

I couldn't get into the look of RBladez. These look great. Yardage gap? Not surprising really with the different construction between the long and short clubs. Do you have a way to check the lofts and make sure something's not off there? Looking forward to it!

 

Lofts are spot on,  Had them double checked by the pro at my club.

 

Good catch on the forged vs cast clubs. Not sure how they could forge something with a slot that literally takes up all available space.

 

I'm still torn on the looks, but can't wait to read more. Congrats again Hula on being selected and good luck. There will be more opportunities for others, so be sure to read http://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/9910-forum-testing-how-club-testers-will-be-chosen/

 

You can DIFINATLY tell the difference between the 8 and 7 iron.  8 iron is almost butter soft, Not well struck Mizuno soft, but soft

[Blade]

Yea with hot thin faces transitioning to a solid forged head, a large gap seems inevitable.  Will be interested in how that works out.

[Hula Rock]

 

 

Testing has begun....  Trying different shots with a Left to Right Cross wind.....

[Mr_Theoo]

They sound pretty good

[Txstcatman]

Hula, these look sweet! Smart move going with the Tour 90 to keep variables to a minimum compared to your gamers.

 

Can't wait to hear more about these as you play them, and the pics so far look great. Sorry we couldn't get together before my vacation trip to play, but perhaps before my work starts up again we can.

[EJ Mac]

Just to add a little to this, I had a chance to hit a 6 iron in the new cb today and it had a much better feel than my MC tour preferred. If I had the money I would put these through a serious test.

[revkev]

Nice touch with the video

[snoopy]

They sound pretty good

 

i was gonna say the same thing! they sound a lot better than i was expecting and they look amazing too. love the photos

 

and just to confirm, you're right about the forging! i just checked the taylormade japan website that lists the specs out for these irons and looks like PW - 8i are forged (S25C) and 7i - 3i are stainless steel cast (431SS)

 

http://japan.taylormadegolf.com/product_detail-472-specifications.html

[revkev]

From the original pic I thought the soles looked a bit boxier than a typical players iron. Is that true or just the angle of the pic?

[Hula Rock]

Review posted on FIRST PAGE

[dru_]

Damn.  This is getting me in trouble. These are calling to me in a bad way, and this really isn't helping matters.  

[Walkerjames]

Great write-up Hula! Thanks

[GolfSpy WD]

Nicely done Hula! Definitely looking forward to hearing your next part and see if you've gotten used to the gap.

 

Any plans to adjust the clubs loft to ease the gaps?

 

Great pictures, those are pretty.

[Hula Rock]

WD:

 

Those are the plans,  I contacted TMaG about "adjusting" the cast clubs and they informed me that I could go 4 degrees either way.  I was a little apprehensive about how the cast would respond to adjustment.  The set is at the shop to weeken the 7 6 5 4 3 irons.  Going to put them to the test and will revise the post if I see any changes.

[GolfSpy WD]

Cool. It'll suck if everyone who buys them needs them adjusted because of the gap, but also good to know if it can be fixed.

[The Dansome]

Now THAT'S a freaking review. You hear me? THAT'S how you do it.

 

Excellent job Hula

[Paul S]

nice write-up! I was curious about how the feel would transition from the forged/no slot to cast/slotted. Good job!

[Hula Rock]

Now THAT'S a freaking review. You hear me? THAT'S how you do it.

 

Excellent job Hula

 

When your at the Kingdom, do me a favor and Cycle through the set.  Be interesting to what you think of the transition from forged to Cast.....  Have fun Brutha