Unofficial Sub 70 639 CB Review with Trackman Data (90 mph SS w/ 6 iron)

[vandyland]

This is a bit of a cross-post from my search for a new set of irons on another thread but wanted to leave what I hope is useful information on the Sub 70 639 CB irons (black). Quickly, a bit about me, I am a 5-6 HDCP depending on how much I get to play and I am a recovering one lengther (I have the Cobra F9 One Lengths which were fun for a few years but I am missing the "precision" of shorter short irons so I am moving back to a traditional length set). Iron play is not a strength, I am an accurate driver of the golf ball, an above average wedge player, an average putter and an average to below average iron player based on strokes gained and GIRs with non-wedge in my hand. I spend a lot of time on strategy and managing my misses and I rarely give shots away from poor course management (Google Earth Pro is your friend). My main issue/miss is catching the ball on the toe and my attack angle can get a bit steep. With that out of the way, let me show you these clubs:

 

Customer Service (10/10): Sub 70 is super easy to work with, as many people have noted on the board. Clubs came quickly, well packaged with a personal note and golf tees and a sticker included. Price is only $20 to test TWO clubs (they include a 6 iron and a 9 iron) and they don't hound you about a sale. I really liked having two clubs as I could see if I needed to combo these and/or see how they transitioned for a longish iron to a short iron. Also as someone coming from One Length, I wanted to see how I got along with variable length (spoiler alert: I got along fine). I didn't order a full set so I can't comment on their fulfillment but based on the demo program they are doing all of the right things. 

Looks/Aesthetics (9/10): Love the look of these black beauties. Another nice thing about getting some gently used demos is that I can see how the black finish wears. There is a little bit of chatter and leading edge and face wear but it all looks great. I think once you get over not having these things pristine black, the wearing of the clubs is a badge of honor. Now I wish all clubs came in this finish. The sole was fine for me but a bit wider than I would have expected for a players cavity back which I firmly believe this club is. Top line was not chunky to me but not incredibly thin, inspired a bit of confidence really. Offset was average. The milling and fishscale on the back is very subdued in the black but a bit more noticeable on the standard silver finish. Overall not busy badging and design which I really liked. These clubs look SO GOOD in the bag. 

Feel (9.5/10): Obviously a very subjective area but one that am I compelled to try to capture. Now, I have never played true one piece forged clubs. I have typically had two piece cast or multi-material clubs. These were a revelation to me. The "softness" and "muted sound at impact" that I had always heard people wax poetically about was all the sudden crystallized for me. It was excellent. I was addicted. The flipside is, now I knew what a harsh miss felt like. Jarring, specific, very helpful for a golfer trying to improve on the range but potentially catastrophic on the course. This is very much a players CB and when I flushed it I was overwhelmed at how much of a "tuning fork ringing in the loins" I had. Compare that to my current gamers and it's night and day. Current clubs have a click feel when flushed and little specificity on misses. Again, this opinion is not coming from someone who has hit Miuras, Mizunos and Titleist blades all my life so take it with a grain of salt but I have hit the Mizuno JPX 919 Tour and Forged and, for me, these have a more pleasing feel on flushed contact.

Performance (9/10): This is strictly trackman numbers, see below table, strike quality is based on feel in the moment and AAA is best while A is decent contact. The first table is 6 iron and the second table is 9 iron (I grayed out the first number as it was a bit of flighted 9 iron that throws off the other numbers, it is not included in averages or range):

 

 

 

 

 

Playability* (for me) (7/10): This is where I take a hard look at the numbers above and note a couple of things. 1) For me, this was a slightly above average ball striking day 2) I was able to groove a swing with these since I was testing them against several other clubs and switching every 5 shots but had a good warmup and was "primed." As such, the 20 yard distance difference on what seemed like ok to great strikes is where I have to be honest with myself. This is not the club's fault. That is what a good ballstriker wants and expects from a forged player's CB. Good spin and consistency on center strikes which obviously not all of these were and that is where I see the ball speed drop significantly. On my better and best days, this club would be excellent. As a training tool this club would tell me exactly where I missed. But if I was playing for my life or even $20, I think I would struggle with these clubs. Again, not on the manufacturer but rather as a mid single digit who does not pure his irons on repeat, these will expose me. And they should. I was reaching to get to this category and I'm just not quite there. I could game these and I like to think that future Vandyland would be better for it but a humbler, more realistic me thinks that "feel" is not worth the "real" in the sense that chasing that center strike purity is not worth watching a significant portion of my mishits come up 10 yards short. Again this is a me problem not a Sub 70 problem. It's not like I was hitting every shot DEAD CENTER and having huge differences in outcomes. I was a few MMs out on a few of these shots and I got punished more than I am used to but as expected. I would point out that if it was just a choice between these and my current F9s I would take these in a heartbeat. But there are other choices and surely one a little more suited for my skill level. 

Value (10/10): Out of the park on this one. To get clubs like this for under $700 is outrageous. Granted, not a lot of "tech" in these but I feel like similarly constructed clubs from big OEMs are going to be $1000+ just because they say "forged." 

Final Positives: Clubs are affordable, beautiful, and well constructed. They did exactly what they were advertised to do in that they allow you to work the ball a bit, give you very specific feedback and a soft, solid feel at (sweetspot) contact. 

Final Negatives: I'm not quite consistent enough at hitting the center of the clubface to game these. Even though Sub 70 has a TON of iron choices, I'm left wishing they had something between the 699pro and this club -- but I'm not sure what that club would be, honestly. Much like meeting a beautiful girl at the wrong time, maybe if we crossed paths in a year I would be up to the task. Alas, for now, I am left thinking what might have been....

Edited July 15, 2021 by vandyland
Added dispersion

[cksurfdude]

Nice write-up and great info .. thx!

[hartrick11]

Great write-up. Having tried out a friend's 7 iron my thoughts were similar; well-made, good feel, great value. I am in the same boat wishing there was an iron in between this and the 699 pro (or even just the same CB but with tungsten added to the low/toe area), but admittedly that is probably asking for too much given they are still an upstart and already have a ton of SKUs as it is.

[Hobert]

Excellent write-up. Very helpful. Thank you!

[GivMeADouble]

Maybe try to look at new level golf. They have a few options that would be considered in between the 699 pros and the 639 cb irons. 902 forged model. The more forgiving 1126. Both can be found in black if you have be patience. They have 2 new irons available. One made to be similar to the older 902 with the same name as one slightly larger than the previous years 902 named the 902-os for oversized. Both should fall in between the 699 pros and the 639 cb irons on how difficult they are to hit consistently. Worth a look at a good price and they may offer black finishes soon. 

[fixyurdivot]

Good write up!  One very consistent feedback from every post I've read about Sub70 is the outstanding customer service from Jason and his staff.  I did a telephone fitting interview with Jason a couple years ago, at the start of my new irons search, and he was super helpful.  Since I was wanting to move into a composite iron shaft and, at that time, I had not had the chance to get fitted for one, I chose not to pursue their heads.  But, now that I have identified which shafts fit well, and just getting started into hobby club building, Sub70 heads are on my short list.