New Level 902-PD Irons – Unofficial Review by hands39

[hands39]

Hi everyone. This is going to be, hopefully, a summer long review of my recent purchase of the New Level 902-PD irons.

Intro 

TL;DR: Replacing my hand me down Cobra irons from 1994. Documenting the process of picking the irons and using them this summer

I have been golfing since I was a young kid, had a junior membership at the local muni and played a bunch. Was always an average golfer but more sporting commitments belonged to hockey and baseball. Took some lessons and was able to play in the low 90s as a teen. Continued playing sporadically in university, breaking 90 a couple of times.

As an international teacher, I have had the fortune to continue to play in the summers back in Canada as well as in Kuwait and China. Kuwait was once a month rounds and China was a weekly screen golf league with a heavy emphasis on fun and beers. School also had three simulators (Mevo+) so I had time to practice.

Now in Brussels, I am the Head Golf Coach at the school I am at, as well as an academic teacher. Having a lot more time to work on my game and play, supported by a PGA pro at the course we practice out of, I decided it was time to update my irons.

Me as a golfer

Swing Speed with 7-iron: low 80mph - carry 155-160

Current Irons: King Cobra Oversize Tours with DGs 300u shafts from 1994

My game is streaky, can shoot even for the front and then play the back at 10 over. Usually a few big holes will derail a round instead of a slow burn. My iron miss is a pull or too much loft on contact.

Iron Selection

Requirements I was looking for:

·       Player’s Distance or Player’s Category

·       DTC for price reasons

·       Good shaft selection options

Wishes:

·       Forged

·       7 iron loft of 32 deg

FITTING

TL;DR: Got fit for a comparable club to find the best shaft, winner was DG 105 s300

Due to living in Belgium and wanting the irons for playing this summer, the plan was to get fit for irons in Belgium and order them in Canada so they would be waiting for me when I got there.

I reached out to Sub70, Haywood and New Level to see what comparable irons would be to get fit for if I was looking at their CB or PD irons.

At the fitting centre (Golf Centre Wavre) I tried the following heads: T100s, P770, P790, Mizuno 223 and ZX5 mkII, and shafts, DG 105s, PX LZ 5.5/6, KBS Tour S, KBS Tour 120 S, Modus 105S and DG S300. They did not have the DG 120 to test which was a shaft I would have liked to try, however other 115g-120g shafts were not as consistent so the fitter felt it would not have been the best fit.

Quick note about the fitting: it was a great experience, knowledgeable and patient fitter, Trackman 4 tech and multiple brand fitting carts.

Through the fitting it was clear the DG 105 S was the best shaft for me. Consistently better strike, club speed and fitting data regardless of the head. KBS was the worst for me, has always been this way, their shaft profile doesn’t fit me.

The head that was the best turned out to be the Mizuno 223s followed by ZX5s in 1 deg up. If money wasn’t a concern, I would have bought this set up. However, that is currently not the case and would have been hard to justify to the missus.

 

Selecting New Level

TL;DR: Chose New Level 902-PD for cost, quality and turnaround time.

Next I reached out to each of the companies and said I was fit into Mizuno 223s in DG 105 S, what would be the closest combination to this that you offer.

New Level came back with the 902-PDs, Sub70 was 699 pro V2 and Haywood was their CBs. I entered this thinking I would end up in Sub70 but they were out of stock for the shaft and head combo I wanted. Haywood I was interested in as a Canadian and their strong reviews on TXG. At the end of the day picked New Level as I have a friend who likes his, they received good reviews on MGS and TXG, they were cheaper in cost by a considerable bit and turnaround time was much shorter.

Was happy with New Level as it checked all of the requirements I was looking for as well as some of the wishes.

All of the companies had great customer services to deal with.

 

Final Order

New Level 902-PD 5-PW with DG 105 S300s Lamkin Crossline Grip + 2 wraps bottom hand

 

Next Steps

The irons should be delivered early next week. I will do an unboxing and initial impressions post as well as a first thoughts after a range session, comparing against my old clubs.

These irons I am hoping will add forgiveness on mishits and with the lighter shaft a bit more ease in the swing. 

[cksurfdude]

Really nice looking iron ... Hope they work out well for you!

I'd tried a demo of their gi22 (GI, of course) iron and unfortunately it didn't work out for me. 

[Everardo]

I have a set of 623-CB and 223's, I feel those are closer in spec (size, cavity, loft, and offset) than the 902 vs 223

 

Here's a shot I did for New Level comparing their models.

[Everardo]

@hands39 not trying to hijack your thread so I hope it doesn't come off that way This is just from a recent session when I was comparing my two sets.

[hands39]

Clubs have been delivered to my parents in Canada. My flight from Belgium to Canada today had a mechanical issue in the hold, meaning my dog couldn't fly, rebooked for Sunday. Hopefully will get to unbox only 24hr delayed.

Insane turnaround time by New Level. I did pay for the expedited build, and they were delivered within one week of ordering. That is incredible!!!

[hands39]

CLUBS HAVE ARRIVED!!

Unboxing

Opened the box at the shipping drop box I had them shipped to. The NewLevel branded box was in great shape, and nice to see a branded box. The packaging inside was all extra paper, the clubs were well wrapped around, and there was no movement of the clubs when shaking the box.

All clubs were also in iron covers. While they will not be staying on, I will keep them for transportation as I do fly with my clubs a couple of times a year, as well as multiple team bus rides. I would say this is an undervalued perk from New Level if you are a golfer who travels a lot with your clubs.

I was somewhat surprised that there was no foam holders like how some other DTC send their clubs with, but clubs all came in great condition.

No freebies or goodies in the box. Would have been nice, but I paid for clubs and got clubs that I am very happy with. No complaints.

The build sheet was included along with the initials of who completed each stage of production at the factory.

Initial Impressions + Aesthetics (4 out of 5 stars)

These clubs look great! The build quality is top-notch, nothing is out of place, and the finish is great. I will let the photos speak for themselves. But a nice and compact club with a nice top line. The only small complaint, like many others have said with the design, is the paint fills on the back. I do not mind the colours, but straight black and a little thinner font would have suited my eye a bit more.

Weight is obviously less than my Cobras as the shaft is a DG 105 vs S300. But the balance point feels really nice to me during a few practice swings.

Really happy with the grips, I went with Lamkin Crossline +2 wraps on the bottom hand. This reduced the taper a perfect amount for my hand size (M/L glove size). I will be switching the grips on my wedges and hybrids to this setup too. Would have rather had the option to pick a different colourway for the grips, but this was not an option. Straight black or grey base with black would have been my first picks.

Grip is nicely installed with no twisting.

To come... first range session + first round. But, to some up quickly, they are effortless and so much more forgiving than my old Cobras.

[HikingMike]

Wow, those King Cobras!  

I remember those. You just have me beat on the iron set longevity. I had Top Flite Tours (first version) from around 1994 also, and I played those until 2022!

Great background on how you were fitted and figured out what to go with. That was a good read.

One of my golf buddies just recently got a used set of Mizuno 223s. He said he found one that was already set up for his length and such. Hopefully they were a bit cheaper since they have a new lineup of irons now, but probably still more expensive thank your New Levels I would guess. They do look nice.

The New Levels look great too. Only negative is I agree with you on the font. But I really like their shape. Since it's been a while, how are you liking them now?