MacGregor MT86 Irons Are In The House

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Couple of nice packages showed up late yesterday.  One contained the new MacGregor MT86 OS Forged irons...

Had them built with KBS C-Taper Lite shafts. They've been sitting right behind me in my office since arriving, and I do have to turn around every so often to check and make sure they're still there and alright. Going to hit them at GolfTec later this morning, but good grief they're sexy irons. 
 

Philip has been hitting them at the test center as they're part of Most Wanted iron testing - early reports are they perform very nicely and the testers like them. We'll see how they stack up, but a forged Player's Distance iron for $899/set (4-PW) will represent a great value - if they perform anywhere close to how they look. 

 

Second box had the new Ram FX77 irons....

These are an open model iron - meaning if you and I wanted to start our own golf club company, we could sell these same heads with our name and logo on them. Simon MIllington told me it was the quickest and easiest way to relaunch the Ram brand as competitively priced offering with a nice quality iron. These sell for $400 a set - less if you want to just buy the heads and provide your own shafts.  They do bear a striking resemblance to the old Sub70 699 irons - they're the same category: a hollow body, goo-filled game improvement/players distance iron, so it's hard to make it look completely different. I did ask Jason Hiland about it - he told me he still owns the molds for the old 699s, so he doubts they're exactly the same. But with the way manufacturing can be in China, I'd say it's a safe bet the design might have worked its way to another foundry that is selling it as an open model.  It's pretty standard procedure over there. So my guess is they're similar to, but not the same as. 

Simon also told me he's contracted with Larry Tang - former designer for Callaway - to work on the Ram line as well as future offerings for MacGregor, Zebra and Teardrop.  Larry, like Austie Rollinson before him, has plenty of bona fides - working on the team that developed the 2-Ball putter, the Epic series of metal woods, the Apex irons and others - he's on over 150 golf patents, so the guy has some street cred.  Here's a link to his website.

 

Finally, the new Zebra AIT1 putter showed up....

Another Austie Rollinson design - it's an odd looking putter, that's for sure. I've only rolled it on the carpet a couple of times and it has a nice, stable feel to it. It was a middle of the road performer in Most Wanted Mallet testing, so take that for what it's worth. Love the zebra etched into the sole - that's a really nice touch. 

When I posted pix from the PGA show here and in our blog post on Zebra, several commented on the somewhat sloppy paint job - this one is a production model (the others were likely rush jobs for the show), and it appears to be better, although it may not come across in pictures. Either way, hope the snow clears so I can give this thing a proper test on the green somewhere. 

Any questions lads and lasses, fire away....

[GolfSpy TCB]

4 minutes ago, GolfSpy Barbajo said:

Couple of nice packages showed up late yesterday.  One contained the new MacGregor MT86 OS Forged irons...

Had them built with KBS C-Taper Lite shafts. They've been sitting right behind me in my office since arriving, and I do have to turn around every so often to check and make sure they're still there and alright. Going to hit them at GolfTec later this morning, but good grief they're sexy irons. 
 

Philip has been hitting them at the test center as they're part of Most Wanted iron testing - early reports are they perform very nicely and the testers like them. We'll see how they stack up, but a forged Player's Distance iron for $899/set (4-PW) will represent a great value - if they perform anywhere close to how they look. 

 

Second box had the new Ram FX77 irons....

These are an open model iron - meaning if you and I wanted to start our own golf club company, we could sell these same heads with our name and logo on them. Simon MIllington told me it was the quickest and easiest way to relaunch the Ram brand as competitively priced offering with a nice quality iron. These sell for $400 a set - less if you want to just buy the heads and provide your own shafts.  They do bear a striking resemblance to the old Sub70 699 irons - they're the same category: a hollow body, goo-filled game improvement/players distance iron, so it's hard to make it look completely different. I did ask Jason Hiland about it - he told me he still owns the molds for the old 699s, so he doubts they're exactly the same. But with the way manufacturing can be in China, I'd say it's a safe bet the design might have worked its way to another foundry that is selling it as an open model.  It's pretty standard procedure over there. So my guess is they're similar to, but not the same as. 

Simon also told me he's contracted with Larry Tang - former designer for Callaway - to work on the Ram line as well as future offerings for MacGregor, Zebra and Teardrop.  Larry, like Austie Rollinson before him, has plenty of bona fides - working on the team that developed the 2-Ball putter, the Epic series of metal woods, the Apex irons and others - he's on over 150 golf patents, so the guy has some street cred.  Here's a link to his website.

 

Finally, the new Zebra AIT1 putter showed up....

Another Austie Rollinson design - it's an odd looking putter, that's for sure. I've only rolled it on the carpet a couple of times and it has a nice, stable feel to it. It was a middle of the road performer in Most Wanted Mallet testing, so take that for what it's worth. Love the zebra etched into the sole - that's a really nice touch. 

When I posted pix from the PGA show here and in our blog post on Zebra, several commented on the somewhat sloppy paint job - this one is a production model (the others were likely rush jobs for the show), and it appears to be better, although it may not come across in pictures. Either way, hope the snow clears so I can give this thing a proper test on the green somewhere. 

Any questions lads and lasses, fire away....

Oh man those MacGregors look nice Barb!!  

 

[GolfSpy_APH]

13 minutes ago, GolfSpy Barbajo said:

Couple of nice packages showed up late yesterday.  One contained the new MacGregor MT86 OS Forged irons...

Had them built with KBS C-Taper Lite shafts. They've been sitting right behind me in my office since arriving, and I do have to turn around every so often to check and make sure they're still there and alright. Going to hit them at GolfTec later this morning, but good grief they're sexy irons. 
 

Philip has been hitting them at the test center as they're part of Most Wanted iron testing - early reports are they perform very nicely and the testers like them. We'll see how they stack up, but a forged Player's Distance iron for $899/set (4-PW) will represent a great value - if they perform anywhere close to how they look. 

 

Second box had the new Ram FX77 irons....

These are an open model iron - meaning if you and I wanted to start our own golf club company, we could sell these same heads with our name and logo on them. Simon MIllington told me it was the quickest and easiest way to relaunch the Ram brand as competitively priced offering with a nice quality iron. These sell for $400 a set - less if you want to just buy the heads and provide your own shafts.  They do bear a striking resemblance to the old Sub70 699 irons - they're the same category: a hollow body, goo-filled game improvement/players distance iron, so it's hard to make it look completely different. I did ask Jason Hiland about it - he told me he still owns the molds for the old 699s, so he doubts they're exactly the same. But with the way manufacturing can be in China, I'd say it's a safe bet the design might have worked its way to another foundry that is selling it as an open model.  It's pretty standard procedure over there. So my guess is they're similar to, but not the same as. 

Simon also told me he's contracted with Larry Tang - former designer for Callaway - to work on the Ram line as well as future offerings for MacGregor, Zebra and Teardrop.  Larry, like Austie Rollinson before him, has plenty of bona fides - working on the team that developed the 2-Ball putter, the Epic series of metal woods, the Apex irons and others - he's on over 150 golf patents, so the guy has some street cred.  Here's a link to his website.

 

Finally, the new Zebra AIT1 putter showed up....

Another Austie Rollinson design - it's an odd looking putter, that's for sure. I've only rolled it on the carpet a couple of times and it has a nice, stable feel to it. It was a middle of the road performer in Most Wanted Mallet testing, so take that for what it's worth. Love the zebra etched into the sole - that's a really nice touch. 

When I posted pix from the PGA show here and in our blog post on Zebra, several commented on the somewhat sloppy paint job - this one is a production model (the others were likely rush jobs for the show), and it appears to be better, although it may not come across in pictures. Either way, hope the snow clears so I can give this thing a proper test on the green somewhere. 

Any questions lads and lasses, fire away....

Looks like you will need some extra time to get to the course to try all of that!

I am sure @Golfspy_TCB will be happy to assist you with any of the MacGregor testing!

[tdroma98]

34 minutes ago, GolfSpy Barbajo said:

 

 

Finally, the new Zebra AIT1 putter showed up....

Another Austie Rollinson design - it's an odd looking putter, that's for sure. I've only rolled it on the carpet a couple of times and it has a nice, stable feel to it. It was a middle of the road performer in Most Wanted Mallet testing, so take that for what it's worth. Love the zebra etched into the sole - that's a really nice touch. 

When I posted pix from the PGA show here and in our blog post on Zebra, several commented on the somewhat sloppy paint job - this one is a production model (the others were likely rush jobs for the show), and it appears to be better, although it may not come across in pictures. Either way, hope the snow clears so I can give this thing a proper test on the green somewhere. 

Any questions lads and lasses, fire away....

Zebra is back! I still have a Zebra putter from the 1980's with the original grip! Similar design as the new head, except with one white line verses all the grooves whited out. 

[GolfSpy BOS]

@GolfSpy Barbajo I'm sure those brushed finish C-Taper lites have a nice contrast to those forged chrome heads! 

[tdroma98]

1980's Zebra putter

[JohnSmalls]

4 hours ago, Golfspy_TCB said:

Oh man those MacGregors look nice Barb!!  

 

These are my sentiments exactly.  Song included 

[GolfSpy SAM]

Sheesh those MacGregor's look better than I anticipated, and that price is fantastic.  How are they classifying them as 'forged' - is it the face? Body and face? I'm right in assuming they're hollow-body Player's Distance irons, right - filled with mayo, right (wait, no, that's the Kirklands that are forthcoming)?  

What would be the closest competitor, build-wise?  P790? Sub-70 699 Pro (v2)?  Takomo 101T?  All three of those are on my 'must-try' list, so curious where these slot in. 

 

[cnosil]

23 minutes ago, GolfSpy_SAM said:

Sheesh those MacGregor's look better than I anticipated, and that price is fantastic.  How are they classifying them as 'forged' - is it the face? Body and face? I'm right in assuming they're hollow-body Player's Distance irons, right - filled with mayo, right (wait, no, that's the Kirklands that are forthcoming)?  

What would be the closest competitor, build-wise?  P790? Sub-70 699 Pro (v2)?  Takomo 101T?  All three of those are on my 'must-try' list, so curious where these slot in. 

 

uodate: just noticed they were the OS version.   I’d probably classify them as PD or Game improvement.  OS typically leads you to believe GI.   The clubs you mention are probably in the same range as the MacGregor.  

[GolfSpy SAM]

2 minutes ago, cnosil said:

They are in the players category for this years most wanted testing as are the Takomo. Testing is wrapping up; I finished last night so expect the article in the next few weeks.  

Oh, interesting - the 101T's are in the players, not the PD?  I figured the 201's (or 301's) would be "Players".  

Any personal take on any/all?

[cnosil]

Just now, GolfSpy_SAM said:

Oh, interesting - the 101T's are in the players, not the PD?  I figured the 201's (or 301's) would be "Players".  

Any personal take on any/all?

I updated based on reading the post and not just the title when I  saw they were the OS model and not the Pro.   These names on all these clubs are too close

I hope the sound of the OS is better than the pro.  IMO, they were very clicky off the face and hard to tell where on the face the ball made impact.   

[MacTourney]

31 minutes ago, cnosil said:

I hope the sound of the OS is better than the pro.  IMO, they were very clicky off the face and hard to tell where on the face the ball made impact.   

Presentation is not too shabby, looking forward to more user feedback hoping the feel and tradition of a well stuck Winged T was brought forward.

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Brought the MacGregor, Ram and Sub70 7-irons to my Golftec lesson today - was working on a pretty big swing alteration so whatever feedback I can give is pretty subjective.  

First, on well-struck shots the MacGregor has a nice crisp sound. Feel isn't what I'd call squishy soft, but crisp - probably to someone's ears they'd sound like @cnosil reports - kinda clicky. But to my ears they sounded crisp. I guess there's a line somewhere between crisp and clicky, but then again, one man's ceiling is another man's floor (so sayeth Paul Simon).  Even though they're the OS versions, I would say they're probably a little less forgiving than the Sub70 699 Pro irons - but not by a ton. The Sub70s do have a softer, more muted sound which translates into a softer, more muted feel. 

But then again, I don't mind soft and squishy, and I don't mind crisp. 

The Ram irons were actually pretty interesting - as discussed, they do share DNA - whether intentional or not - with the old Sub70 699 irons - and have a very similar playability. I found them to be more forgiving than the Sub70 699 Pro V2 (which are silly easy, by the way), and had a similar soft-ish feel. For $400, they're a friggin steal. 

More work needs to be done (it was only an hour lesson), but I have hopes for both irons sets. I do want to give the Rams an extended look in the bag to see how a $400 set of irons stacks up against higher priced options. I think we'll find that for most, they stack up quite well.

Which begs the question  - if they hold their own or - gulp - actually compete with irons from the Big 5, would you game them? Forget about waiting for discounts, trade-in value, blah blah blah -- if you had to buy new irons today and the $400 set of Rams were close to the same in terms of performance to, say, an $1,100 set of P790s or something like that, would you be able to pull the trigger? 

[GolfSpy SAM]

On 3/9/2023 at 11:52 AM, GolfSpy Barbajo said:

Brought the MacGregor, Ram and Sub70 7-irons to my Golftec lesson today - was working on a pretty big swing alteration so whatever feedback I can give is pretty subjective.  

First, on well-struck shots the MacGregor has a nice crisp sound. Feel isn't what I'd call squishy soft, but crisp - probably to someone's ears they'd sound like @cnosil reports - kinda clicky. But to my ears they sounded crisp. I guess there's a line somewhere between crisp and clicky, but then again, one man's ceiling is another man's floor (so sayeth Paul Simon).  Even though they're the OS versions, I would say they're probably a little less forgiving than the Sub70 699 Pro irons - but not by a ton. The Sub70s do have a softer, more muted sound which translates into a softer, more muted feel. 

But then again, I don't mind soft and squishy, and I don't mind crisp. 

The Ram irons were actually pretty interesting - as discussed, they do share DNA - whether intentional or not - with the old Sub70 699 irons - and have a very similar playability. I found them to be more forgiving than the Sub70 699 Pro V2 (which are silly easy, by the way), and had a similar soft-ish feel. For $400, they're a friggin steal. 

More work needs to be done (it was only an hour lesson), but I have hopes for both irons sets. I do want to give the Rams an extended look in the bag to see how a $400 set of irons stacks up against higher priced options. I think we'll find that for most, they stack up quite well.

Which begs the question  - if they hold their own or - gulp - actually compete with irons from the Big 5, would you game them? Forget about waiting for discounts, trade-in value, blah blah blah -- if you had to buy new irons today and the $400 set of Rams were close to the same in terms of performance to, say, an $1,100 set of P790s or something like that, would you be able to pull the trigger? 

I think that answer is going to depend on the user - (classic "duh!" response from the gallery) but there are going to be a whole host of people who won't be able to accept the idea of $400 set being good, even in the face of reviews and tests and people with first-hand knowledge that they're legitimately good.  Then there's the people who laughed at the idea of DTC being of similar quality to the major OEMs, (and I include myself in this group)  who are only just now (especially with Sub-70 and New Level, in particular, putting out such consistently excellent product) realizing that there may be money to be saved by going DTC.  And finally, there's the last group, who are maybe just getting into the game or want a cheap second set, where a forgiving, good-looking(ish) set of irons is "good enough" and don't want to break the bank.  My guess is they'll also be very interested in the Kirkland irons (whenever those make an appearance) - I mean, hell, I'm squarely in the middle group, and I'm VERY curious about those Kirkland mayo-filled irons - I game the wedges, and find them to be MUCH better than the price-tag (especially with new, better grips).  

The Rams will definitely find a market, especially with some well-placed reviews on YouTube (James Robinson or Average Golfer come to mind).  

How are those 699-Pros treating you?  From the above, seems like you're still digging them quite a bit.

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

On 3/12/2023 at 12:31 PM, GolfSpy_SAM said:

I think that answer is going to depend on the user - (classic "duh!" response from the gallery) but there are going to be a whole host of people who won't be able to accept the idea of $400 set being good, even in the face of reviews and tests and people with first-hand knowledge that they're legitimately good.  Then there's the people who laughed at the idea of DTC being of similar quality to the major OEMs, (and I include myself in this group)  who are only just now (especially with Sub-70 and New Level, in particular, putting out such consistently excellent product) realizing that there may be money to be saved by going DTC.  And finally, there's the last group, who are maybe just getting into the game or want a cheap second set, where a forgiving, good-looking(ish) set of irons is "good enough" and don't want to break the bank.  My guess is they'll also be very interested in the Kirkland irons (whenever those make an appearance) - I mean, hell, I'm squarely in the middle group, and I'm VERY curious about those Kirkland mayo-filled irons - I game the wedges, and find them to be MUCH better than the price-tag (especially with new, better grips).  

The Rams will definitely find a market, especially with some well-placed reviews on YouTube (James Robinson or Average Golfer come to mind).  

How are those 699-Pros treating you?  From the above, seems like you're still digging them quite a bit.

Can't say enough good things about the 699/699 Pro V2 setup. I have the 699 in 4-6 iron (the 4 hasn't earned a place in the starting lineup yet - going with the Srixon 3-utility iron instead) - and the 699 Pro in 7-PW. They make me very, very happy.  Been playing them since January - granted, that's only 6 rounds or so, but 4 have been in the 70s and my handicap has actually gone DOWN over the winter (spring might tell a different story tho!).  I absolutely love the sound/feel of them and the 5-iron in particular is a friggin' rocket launcher. I have my preferred C-Taper Lite shafts and I'm finding terrific control and accuracy - and distance. They're long, that's for sure. 

With limited experience with the MacGregors, I'd say the Sub70s are definitely more forgiving - just not as sexy. Experimentation will continue...but between the D9 Forged, the Sub70s, the MacGregor MT86s and the Rams, I think I'm covered for irons, at least for the spring.