Toura Golf Irons Build Test: 2024 Forum Review

[azstu324]

Getting in a late round at Power ranch today. This will be the determining factor for me to decide to take the Touras to CA to play Poppy Hill and PG Golf Links on our annual family trip. 

These are 2 courses that one cannot afford to mess around with. Poppy Hill is an "inland" part of the Pebble Beach group. It's breathtaking but also pretty difficult. 

PG Golf Links is completely exposed to high winds being right at the tip of the Monterey peninsula, and demands loads of flighting and shot shaping. 

At first I was just planning on taking the Touras but.. the more I think about it, I really could use the game improvement help that the Maltbys provide. My last outing at Poppy Hill was one to be redeemed so I just can't afford any room for error if I plan to do that. It's very possible I take both sets too. 

I'm actually playing the Maltbys at Power ranch today just to make sure the flame is still there lol. 

TBC! 

[ctg44]

1 minute ago, azstu324 said:

Getting in a late round at Power ranch today. This will be the determining factor for me to decide to take the Touras to CA to play Poppy Hill and PG Golf Links on our annual family trip. 

These are 2 courses that one cannot afford to mess around with. Poppy Hill is an "inland" part of the Pebble Beach group. It's breathtaking but also pretty difficult. 

PG Golf Links is completely exposed to high winds being right at the tip of the Monterey peninsula, and demands loads of flighting and shot shaping. 

At first I was just planning on taking the Touras but.. the more I think about it, I really could use the game improvement help that the Maltbys provide. My last outing at Poppy Hill was one to be redeemed so I just can't afford any room for error if I plan to do that. It's very possible I take both sets too. 

I'm actually playing the Maltbys at Power ranch today just to make sure the flame is still there lol. 

TBC! 

Sitting here in the office and checking in on the thread during lunch...drooling over the thought of going golfing out in California....

[ctg44]

You know, somewhere that isn't under a constant threat of rain and thunderstorms...like right now in DFW...Ugh....Guess it's back to the simulator for me and the @Toura Golf CB irons again.

 

[ctg44]

I spent some time in the PGA SS simulator last night, but I mainly worked on wedges for the first 30 minutes before doing a simulated round for the last 30 minutes. I also worked on my "final" review document a bit this morning before work and will hopefully have that ready by the end of the week.  For now, it seems like the Toura CB irons are going to hold onto their spot in the bag for the summer.  One can't ask for anything better in terms of feel on a reasonably well-struck shot, and even on somewhat thinned shots, you're still getting close to or normal (for the Touras anyway) distance, without risking excessive rollout, because even thinned balls get a decent amount of backspin with these irons.

[TSauer]

14 minutes ago, ctg44 said:

I spent some time in the PGA SS simulator last night, but I mainly worked on wedges for the first 30 minutes before doing a simulated round for the last 30 minutes. I also worked on my "final" review document a bit this morning before work and will hopefully have that ready by the end of the week.  For now, it seems like the Toura CB irons are going to hold onto their spot in the bag for the summer.  One can't ask for anything better in terms of feel on a reasonably well-struck shot, and even on somewhat thinned shots, you're still getting close to or normal (for the Touras anyway) distance, without risking excessive rollout, because even thinned balls get a decent amount of backspin with these irons.

Very cool to see that Toura is holding their own against the P7MCs!

[Josh Parker]

18 minutes ago, ctg44 said:

I spent some time in the PGA SS simulator last night, but I mainly worked on wedges for the first 30 minutes before doing a simulated round for the last 30 minutes. I also worked on my "final" review document a bit this morning before work and will hopefully have that ready by the end of the week.  For now, it seems like the Toura CB irons are going to hold onto their spot in the bag for the summer.  One can't ask for anything better in terms of feel on a reasonably well-struck shot, and even on somewhat thinned shots, you're still getting close to or normal (for the Touras anyway) distance, without risking excessive rollout, because even thinned balls get a decent amount of backspin with these irons.

Awesome to see them stay in the bag!  

[ctg44]

7 minutes ago, TSauer said:

Very cool to see that Toura is holding their own against the P7MCs!

Yeah, I've decided to at least go a while longer.  I've hit a lot of nice shots with these, and I think that a little more range time can help me get the rest of the way to the "fully committed" stage with these.   

 

I think that the P7MCs were such a "love at first hit" kind of club for me that it is hard to get those out of my mind.  Like, I walked into a Golf Galaxy on a Friday evening when my wife was out of town for work and saw a combo set (5-PW...5-7 P7MC / 8-PW P7MB) of those w/ the P7MBs on the used rack fitted with Tour Issue X100s.  Thinking to myself, "Man, you JUST went to MMT125TX shafts in your Mizunos, why would you go back to steel?"  Then I hit the 5 iron (because of course, why would I start with an easier club, like a 7 iron?) and absolutely smoked it 205 yards low (important in windy Texas) and straight, when my Mizuno 5 iron was a balloon animal going 185...so yeah, while it wasn't always quite that great for me with the P7MCs, because it turns out someone had the simulator at Golf Galaxy set for Denver altitude because they were headed there the next week, I did hit them better, straighter, more consistently, and with less elbow pain than I ever had with the Mizunos.  Most importantly, I absolutely, positively NEVER hit them left...ever...no hooks...and in my book, that is all I needed to know that a club was working for me was that I was either hitting it dead straight or with a high fade if I wasn't quite pure.  Either are fine with me.  A low snap hook is never acceptable for me, and unfortunately, that was one of the 2-way misses possible w/ the Mizunos, even with the extra heavy and stiff MMT125TX shafts.

[ctg44]

22 hours ago, azstu324 said:

Getting in a late round at Power ranch today. This will be the determining factor for me to decide to take the Touras to CA to play Poppy Hill and PG Golf Links on our annual family trip. 

These are 2 courses that one cannot afford to mess around with. Poppy Hill is an "inland" part of the Pebble Beach group. It's breathtaking but also pretty difficult. 

PG Golf Links is completely exposed to high winds being right at the tip of the Monterey peninsula, and demands loads of flighting and shot shaping. 

At first I was just planning on taking the Touras but.. the more I think about it, I really could use the game improvement help that the Maltbys provide. My last outing at Poppy Hill was one to be redeemed so I just can't afford any room for error if I plan to do that. It's very possible I take both sets too. 

I'm actually playing the Maltbys at Power ranch today just to make sure the flame is still there lol. 

TBC! 

Ok @azstu324, inquiring minds want to know...how did the round go yesterday?  Are the @Toura Golf MBs bound for California, or are they getting put on ice for the week?

Edited June 12 by ctg44

[azstu324]

11 minutes ago, ctg44 said:

Ok @azstu324, inquiring minds want to know...how did the round go yesterday?  Are the @Toura Golf MBs bound for California, or are they getting put on ice for the week?

Ha ha I was just about to post. 

So the Maltbys did great yesterday.. but I don't think they did any better than the Touras could have. Which is a crazy big deal when talking about arguably the most forgiving players clubs that I'm aware of (Maltby TS3's). 

After some deliberation, I've decided that.. The Touras are going to Monterey! 

Now I feel like a cheesey game show host

I'll be working on my final write up over the next few days and will plan on including my trip and pics of my rounds in the final. 

[ctg44]

6 minutes ago, azstu324 said:

Ha ha I was just about to post. 

So the Maltbys did great yesterday.. but I don't think they did any better than the Touras could have. Which is a crazy big deal when talking about arguably the most forgiving players clubs that I'm aware of (Maltby TS3's). 

After some deliberation, I've decided that.. The Touras are going to Monterey! 

Now I feel like a cheesey game show host

I'll be working on my final write up over the next few days and will plan on including my trip and pics of my rounds in the final. 

Yeah, the whole idea of a Monterey Peninsula trip is definitely drool worthy...especially as hot and humid and rainy as DFW is right now.  Today is <only> going to be 91° with 51% humidity for a "real feel" of something like 100° or more...and it's only the middle of June and not officially summer yet...

[azstu324]

6 minutes ago, ctg44 said:

Yeah, the whole idea of a Monterey Peninsula trip is definitely drool worthy...especially as hot and humid and rainy as DFW is right now.  Today is <only> going to be 91° with 51% humidity for a "real feel" of something like 100° or more...and it's only the middle of June and not officially summer yet...

Haha yeah I totally feel you on that heat. The round that I played yesterday was 107° and it's only getting hotter by the day here in Arizona. 110° is where I have to draw the line but that's usually at the end of July. 

Also, just to make things extra clear.. this is NOT a golf trip . This is a family trip that just happens to have some golf being permitted. 

But either way I'm pretty dang excited to get the hell outta Dodge for a week and a half! 

[ctg44]

16 minutes ago, azstu324 said:

Haha yeah I totally feel you on that heat. The round that I played yesterday was 107° and it's only getting hotter by the day here in Arizona. 110° is where I have to draw the line but that's usually at the end of July. 

Also, just to make things extra clear.. this is NOT a golf trip . This is a family trip that just happens to have some golf being permitted. 

But either way I'm pretty dang excited to get the hell outta Dodge for a week and a half! 

Look, any trip where golf is allowed is a golf trip as far as I'm concerned.  I got to take my clubs to Phoenix for a work trip in mid-April (right after the Final Four, so it was crazy expensive still), and I was still happy as a clam even though I had to work a bunch after hours to keep up with my normal workload because I also got to play a couple of new courses (Lookout Mountain twice and the Encanto 9-hole) and got in many range and putting green sessions at Lookout Mountain all week long while staying there for a conference the 2nd half of the trip.

[azstu324]

4 hours ago, ctg44 said:

Look, any trip where golf is allowed is a golf trip as far as I'm concerned.  I got to take my clubs to Phoenix for a work trip in mid-April (right after the Final Four, so it was crazy expensive still), and I was still happy as a clam even though I had to work a bunch after hours to keep up with my normal workload because I also got to play a couple of new courses (Lookout Mountain twice and the Encanto 9-hole) and got in many range and putting green sessions at Lookout Mountain all week long while staying there for a conference the 2nd half of the trip.

Never played lookout Mountain but I've heard of it. Being that there are 100 other courses between here and there, I don't find too many reasons to drive to Phoenix for golf these days lol. 

And in my mind it's definitely a "golf trip".. I just can't tell my wife that

[ctg44]

https://www.lookoutmountaingolf.com/

It was good and in better shape than our courses at home that were under water most of the winter.

[azstu324]

Question for the other testers.. has anybody continued to use the grips that came with the set? 

I've been using them and they're pretty decent, BUT I'm thinking a change to my preferred Royal Precision full cord might be a good move. Something about these grips seems a little off for my preference. Maybe they're a little smaller than I'm used to? Not quite sure. 

I think I'll swap them before my trip 

 

[azstu324]

I switched the grips at lunch. The beauty of using compressed air! Switching grips is a 10 min process and no longer a 1 hour ordeal. 

If anybody's interested in some insanely inexpensive but really awesome full cord grips, Royal Linktech makes these. These are my favorite corded grips.. and I've tried quite a few. 

 

[ctg44]

17 hours ago, azstu324 said:

Question for the other testers.. has anybody continued to use the grips that came with the set? 

I've been using them and they're pretty decent, BUT I'm thinking a change to my preferred Royal Precision full cord might be a good move. Something about these grips seems a little off for my preference. Maybe they're a little smaller than I'm used to? Not quite sure. 

I think I'll swap them before my trip 

 

@azstu324 - I kept the Toura grips about 2 weeks...maybe a little longer, but as soon as it hit 90° here with all the humidity, those might as well have been 10 year old grips they got so slick.  I've moved to the Golf Pride ZGRIP Plus2 grips on everything.

https://www.golfgalaxy.com/p/golf-pride-zgrip-plus2-swing-grip-24gprumsynrgyzgrpgrp/24gprumsynrgyzgrpgrp

 

 

Edited June 14 by ctg44

[JRDuck40]

2 hours ago, ctg44 said:

@azstu324 - I kept the Toura grips about 2 weeks...maybe a little longer, but as soon as it hit 90° here with all the humidity, those might as well have been 10 year old grips they got so slick.  I've moved to the Golf Pride ZGRIP Plus2 grips on everything.

https://www.golfgalaxy.com/p/golf-pride-zgrip-plus2-swing-grip-24gprumsynrgyzgrpgrp/24gprumsynrgyzgrpgrp

 

 

I went full custom and purchased Lamkin UTx full cords. I almost always get sweaty hands and find it hard to keep a consistent grip with anything that isn't super tacky. Nothing against the grips provided. They look and feel great. Just wouldn't last more than a few rounds for me either. 

[Josh Parker]

15 hours ago, azstu324 said:

I switched the grips at lunch. The beauty of using compressed air! Switching grips is a 10 min process and no longer a 1 hour ordeal. 

If anybody's interested in some insanely inexpensive but really awesome full cord grips, Royal Linktech makes these. These are my favorite corded grips.. and I've tried quite a few. 

 

How is the tackiness on these?  I just switched the driver and 3w to the Lamkin UTx full cord and love them but at $11 a grip I would rather try under $6.  

40 minutes ago, JRDuck40 said:

I went full custom and purchased Lamkin UTx full cords. I almost always get sweaty hands and find it hard to keep a consistent grip with anything that isn't super tacky. Nothing against the grips provided. They look and feel great. Just wouldn't last more than a few rounds for me either. 

The UTx are awesome grips!  Here in TX with it being so hot, having the tacky is a must.  

[Shrek74]

15 hours ago, azstu324 said:

I switched the grips at lunch. The beauty of using compressed air! Switching grips is a 10 min process and no longer a 1 hour ordeal. 

If anybody's interested in some insanely inexpensive but really awesome full cord grips, Royal Linktech makes these. These are my favorite corded grips.. and I've tried quite a few. 

 

Did you build up the lower hand area? They look thicker down at the lower half than a traditional grip would. 

[azstu324]

1 minute ago, Josh Parker said:

How is the tackiness on these?  I just switched the driver and 3w to the Lamkin UTx full cord and love them but at $11 a grip I would rather try under $6.  

The UTx are awesome grips!  Here in TX with it being so hot, having the tacky is a must.  

So far it's been great. Being in AZ we also have a heat situation. The rubber compound is fairly soft and feels really good and the threads aren't overly aggressive like some others but are definitely there to add the improved grip. Definitely worth a try

[azstu324]

4 minutes ago, Shrek74 said:

Did you build up the lower hand area? They look thicker down at the lower half than a traditional grip would. 

Good call out. So these grips are somewhat reduced taper already. These just have 1 lower hand wrap and 3 standard. I like to build up a standard size to about a smaller medium

[Josh Parker]

15 minutes ago, azstu324 said:

So far it's been great. Being in AZ we also have a heat situation. The rubber compound is fairly soft and feels really good and the threads aren't overly aggressive like some others but are definitely there to add the improved grip. Definitely worth a try

I may have to try a couple out.  I liked the star grips but they don't have much tack now that it's getting really hot outside. They almost feel slick.  

[Rob Person]

14 minutes ago, Josh Parker said:

I may have to try a couple out.  I liked the star grips but they don't have much tack now that it's getting really hot outside. They almost feel slick.  

Thats odd, I would think they would get stickier in heat.  

[Josh Parker]

6 minutes ago, Rob Person said:

Thats odd, I would think they would get stickier in heat.  

I have really liked them up until the last couple weeks. 

[azstu324]

Just now, Josh Parker said:

I have really liked them up until the last couple weeks. 

@Rob PersonI have to agree with this. When it gets really hot and the sweat starts dripping, the stars just get too slippery. I play every year in AZ 110° summer and there's just no holding back from sweating your @$$ off and honestly there aren't too many grips that will help. Don't get me wrong, Stars are THE BEST full rubber grips on the market IMO. But when it gets so hot, you need something with a bit of abrasion like a corded grips. 

[Josh Parker]

5 minutes ago, azstu324 said:

@Rob PersonI have to agree with this. When it gets really hot and the sweat starts dripping, the stars just get too slippery. I play every year in AZ 110° summer and there's just no holding back from sweating your @$$ off and honestly there aren't too many grips that will help. Don't get me wrong, Stars are THE BEST full rubber grips on the market IMO. But when it gets so hot, you need something with a bit of abrasion like a corded grips. 

I ordered the full cord set for $60 including shipping. They had the buy 9 get 5

[JRDuck40]

3 hours ago, Josh Parker said:

I ordered the full cord set for $60 including shipping. They had the buy 9 get 5

Full cord = 

[JRDuck40]

UPDATE 

So I was able to sneak in a little sim session at my local Indoor Sim, Stix Golf - Germantown. Check them out if you are in the MKE area! www.stixgolfbar.com

@Toura Golf CBs VS my current gamers Takomo 101Ts. The simulators at the facility are Full Swing. 

My testing was based off of the PW, 7i and 4i. Ball used was a ProV1X. All Toura shots are in RED, Takomo are in GREEN. 

First up, Pitching Wedge. 

Edge to Toura. My dispersion, outside of the one 'thin' shot was much tighter with less side spin than the Takomo. I'm also getting slightly more yardage out of the Toura. Mainly because I did have them bent 1 degree strong from standard lofts. I also have the clubs built slightly longer than standard, 1/2" long on each iron. I may drop down to 3/8" or 1/4" if I feel like tinkering more. But for now, I'm going to keep them as is. 
Next up, 7 iron. 

Same as the PW, the 7 iron has a tighter dispersion and less side spin than the Takomo 7 iron. Also, more distance as well. The one fault I will say is that I am aiming square at the screen and the majority of shots are going slightly left and my misses are no longer a cut / fade. It will take some getting used to, but I'm willing to make this sacrifice. Haha. 

Last but not least, 4 iron. 

Data does not lie. Again the Toura is more consistent, tighter dispersion and less side spin vs the Takomos. Like I said in my prior reviews, the @Toura Golf long irons are so much easier to launch than any other set I have hit. Hint hint, I'd love a driving iron head. If you're planning on making one. I'm game! 

I did have time to play a full 18 on the sim and did give each iron set a fair shake. Hit the Toura on the front 9. Takomo on the back 9. Ended up playing one of my favorite tracks I was lucky enough to play last year, St Andrew - Jubilee. 

Both 9s were relatively the same. Single bird on the front was a very nice 56 deg to 3 feet (gimmie birdie). The avg. driving distance is also lower because I did end up hitting iron shots off the tee quite a few times.  Overall, I'm officially convinced to keep the Toura's in the bag for the foreseeable future. 

I'll have video and additional testing up later on this weekend along with some additional thoughts on the clubs. Overall, I'd have to say that I'm quite pleased with what I've seen so far from @Toura Golf CBs. They are forgiving and quite easy to launch. Miss hits still go and do NOT fade or hook for me. The only downside I can think of is the wear on the face. That's something I can live with. 

Onward. 

[JRDuck40]

On course testing!!! 

Below is a video of each and every shot from my league night round this past Tuesday, 6-11. 

Course is New Berlin Hills GC. https://www.newberlinhillsgolf.com/ Back 9

A few highlights... Or lame lights. Ended up shooting 41. One of my worst rounds on the back 9. 

Hole 12 - Par 3 / 170 - Hit 6 iron to roughly 10 feet. Missed bird.

Hole 15 - Par 3 / 181. 5 iron to pin high, missed left. But it felt great coming off the face. This hole is a beast and is always a difficult par because of the turtle back style green. 

Hole 18 - Par 4 / 410. Carry over creek is 245. Ended up giving myself a flyer lie on the transition between the Lower and Upper fairways. Yes I did carry the water. Ended up hitting 9 iron long. This is shot that can be difficult at time depending on where you leave your drive. Green is very much elevated and slopes severely back to front. I was surprised to not hold the green. Ended up with bogey, lipped out my chip. 

Again, the irons are not going anywhere. I have 18 scheduled for tomorrow am at one of my favorite 18s in my area. Kettle Hills GC. Playing Valley 18 - 6 am sharp. https://kettlehills.com/

Excited to have my yardages a little more honed in, my shot shape and feel is really coming along. I'm not going to go out tomorrow with any expectations for a score, but my confidence in the @Toura Golf CBs is growing with each round played. Really liking them so far. 

Onward!