OhioGolf72

Have you considered at least going TS3 in your 4 and 5 iron (and possibly 6 iron)? I don’t game a 4 iron, but the TS3 5 iron is so easy to hit for a long iron. Obviously all the Maltby irons are forgiving, but I am of the mind to get as much forgiveness as I can without sacrificing distance control and feel (why I wouldn’t play a cast game improvement iron) and the TS3s fit that perfectly.

I made a final decision and have gone through a formal iron fitting, so I thought I would go ahead and update this. I ultimately was gifted an iron fitting for my birthday and I got to use the Mizuno shaft optimizer; that was a cool tool for quickly narrowing down shafts. Ultimately, I got the TS3 5-GW with Dynamic Gold S300 shafts. The Mizuno tool suggested Project X LS 6.5, Project X Rifle 6.5, KBS C Taper X, then Dynamic Gold X100/S300, but I saw the most consistent results with the DG S300s. Also trying out a TSW 56 wedge, as my old Vokey SM6’s grooves were so worn that I was playing a Kirkland Signature 56 for a while. The fitting result was ultimately a toss-up between the new Ping i530 and T200s. Both performed great, pretty much on par with what I saw from the TS3s at GolfWorks, but the Maltby feel won out by a long shot. Just incredible soft feeling irons. Ultimately, between the Maltby choices, I just preferred the feel and forgiveness of the CB options, but you can’t go wrong. For what it’s worth, the total price for the custom TS3s was a little less than half the price of the T200s and exactly half the cost of the i530s with the same specs. Finding this company is like finding a 50% off coupon!

I got the chance to use this tool at a recent iron fitting and would highly recommend going somewhere that they use it! I ended up choosing the 4th or 5th option on the list, but it narrowed things down incredibly well. My top picks were Project X LS 6.5, Project X Rifle 6.5, KBS C-Taper, then Dynamic Gold X100/S300. Got to hit all of them and just preferred the feel and dispersion of the DG S300, but I felt like it made the time in the fitting much more efficient and we could focus on different heads pretty quickly compared to other fitting experiences.

I would echo a lot of what is said here and by others. From your list, I would go with the Sherman book or the Rotella book depending on how much you want to dive into the sports psychology side (Rotella) vs getting some practical tips on improving your whole golf process (Sherman). But I would highly recommend starting with Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book over those on your list. Solid practical wisdom on becoming a consistent golfer. Another book that is in more of a personal essay and journalistic style is Michael Bamberger’s To the Linksland—this book helped my mental approach more than any sports psychology book ever would, but that’s just me! Happy reading!

Very cool, Stu! Gabe does a great job with those reviews—feels like a pretty genuine guy compared to other YT club reviews you see out there. Are you willing to divulge which iron? I partially ask because that first video sold GolfWorks out of TSIMs and I am worried the same thing could happen to TS3s if he reviews them!!

Peter, to my eye, they looked pretty much identical at address. TE+s have a constant and minimal offset and TS4s have a progressive offset that’s also minimal. They both had a great feel—solid and firm but absolute butter when hit pure.

So glad it was helpful! That totally makes sense about the TS3. I love how the TE+ has a pure blade look at address and lacks the progressive offset of the TS3. I am in the same boat on budget and love the idea of paying $8-12 less per club if I build a custom set. And if I just go the Club Pak route with the Score shafts, the price for TE+ 5-GW is incredible. Great question about gapping. I think the best way to blend the TS4 with any of the others is to have GolfWorks bend them 1 degree strong. If you do that, their lofts line-up perfectly with TS3/TE+. I think TS1 IM is somewhere in between. The difference in 7 irons lofts between the TS3/TE+ and TS4 is just one degree and I definitely noticed a slightly shorter carry from the TS4. So easy to waffle between these options because they’re all such good options! I want to be willing to wait for the TS1 IM restock if that’s what I really want, but as I was writing this all up today, I was reminded of how much I loved the feel of the TS3 and TE+.

This thread has been so helpful in assessing the various Maltby iron options. I wanted to share my experience and seek some advice in case it helps anyone else figure things out! I discovered Maltby after getting some Kirkland signature irons this winter and doing some research on DTC brands. I have been playing old Cobra Fly Z XL irons for the last ten years and my ball striking has improved enough that I want something with a better feel. I live in suburban Columbus so I was able to go out to The GolfWorks for an iron fitting. I hit the KE4 Max, TS1, TS1 IM, TS3, TS4, and the new TE+. Just an FYI to anyone interested in going out to The GolfWorks, the fitting costs $30 and they do not trade out shafts on irons like I am accustomed to from other fitting experiences. For example, the TS3 had Dynamic Gold S300 shafts, the TS1 IM had the TT elevate 95 stiff shaft, and the others had the stock TT Score shafts in stiff flex. The fitter really pushed the Score shafts, which I didn’t mind, but is just something to know going in. Info on my game in case it helps you assess—I swing a 7 iron around 90 MPH and depending on shaft, carry a cut 155-160 and a draw 165-170. If I miss, it is out over the toe. A couple of notes that could help others who won’t be able to go out and hit these clubs based on the location and don’t want to pay $80-100 for a test club: 1) Every iron performed well and consistently. As I have been looking for new irons, I have hit a lot of the big OEM new irons and every Maltby performed as well or better. They were much more forgiving on toe misses than others I have hit with the exception of Mizuno Hot Metals. 2) The biggest difference between the models is in feel, and the information you see in reviews online on the feel is pretty accurate. For example, the TS1 IM is just a softer feeling and slightly more forgiving version of other hollow-body irons you can hit out there. The TS4 and TE+ are firmer and you get pretty clear feedback, but both feel incredible when you absolutely pure them. The TS3 and TE+, unsurprisingly based on design features, perform similarly. The KE4 Max felt the best of any similarly designed game improvement iron I’ve hit, with the exception of Mizuno Hot Metals. If you are thinking about saving and getting the original TS1, at my swing speed, the TS1 and TS1 IM performed pretty much the same on better shots. TS1 IM is more forgiving and feels softer on a toe miss, but the TS1 is really solid. 3) Depending on how sensitive you are to different shafts, the TT Score performs well. I would not typically get fit into a high launching shaft, but the TT Score’s weight is decent for me. When I wanted to, I was able to flight the ball down and turn it over left or right pretty easily with these shafts. Unsurprisingly, it was easiest to do this with the TS4. I lose some distance due to height when I hit one pure with the Scores—something like the Modus 120, Dynamic Gold 120, or the original Dynamic Gold S300 perform best for me—but if you want to save a lot of money on clubs, you could do worse than these shafts. I went a couple of weeks ago and am still undecided on which irons I will buy. The day of the fitting, I was highest on the TS3 and TE+—the CB feel inspired the most confidence and the TS3 with the DG S300s performed by far the best of anything I was hitting distance and dispersion wise. But they all performed so well and so similarly that the decision is difficult. Current options are a full set (5-GW, I play a 4 hybrid) of either TS3, TE+, or TS1 IM. I also am considering a combo set blending any of the 3 above with the TS4s for my 7-GW. Also trying to decide if I want to save money and get the Scores or shell out for the shaft upgrade. As I mentioned, I also have a set of the Kirkland irons. Those are no where near as forgiving as anything Maltby I hit, but the distance is great on solid shots and I may prefer the TT Elevate 115s to the Score shafts. Everyone on here seems so knowledgeable, so feel free to weigh in with thoughts if you think you can help me decide! Also happy to answer anyone’s questions on these since I am lucky enough to be close enough to go hit all of them.