We’ve all seen the commercials. And they’re true: TaylorMade, for all intents and purposes, “owns the tee box.” Having established a dominant position in drivers with the r5 and then the r7, TaylorMade is making believers out of even the staunchest of opponents. Dave Koster, who has used Titleist drivers much of his life, recently put the r7 460 in his bag after reviewing it.
Leveraging the success TaylorMade has had with drivers, the Carlsbad, CA company is seeking to “own” other product categories as well. They make great hybrids (their “Rescue” clubs) and are widely regarded as the leader in that category. They recently introduced “TP” golf balls to compete with Titleist, Callaway, and Nike. Even their putters and apparel (via Adidas) have gotten a fair amount of acclaim.
Lost in the shuffle a bit have been TaylorMade’s irons. Despite tremendous retail success with the higher-handicapper irons (see our RAC LT review), the company’s better irons have fought an uphill battle against the likes of Titleist and Mizuno for the attention of lower handicappers. With the 2006 revision to their high-end model, TaylorMade’s RAC MB TP irons what may be the best irons they’ve ever produced for better players.
Design and Technology
The RAC MB TP replaces TaylorMade’s RAC Forged TP. The RAC Forged TP was a lot more “cavity back” than muscleback in both appearance and performance. Though the Forged TPs performed well, they were not a star and had trouble competing with better-player irons from Titleist, Mizuno, Ben Hogan, and Cleveland.
The RAC MB TP came about at the request of Retief Goosen, who wanted a muscleback “blade” featuring TaylorMade’s “RAC” technology, very little offset, and a more compact head than the Forged TP. He got his wish.
The “RAC” technology is evident here on the 9-, 6-, and 3-irons. The minimal offset is also readily apparent.
The RAC MB TP is a muscleback blade, albeit with an unusually shaped muscle (and, I should note, they’re not really a “blade” either, they just appear to be one at address). A large mass of metal sits right behind the sweet spot. A wing of metal extends towards the sole and then towards both the toe and the heel. TaylorMade calls the gaps between the wings “feel pockets” because, well, they can. These feel pockets were first introduced last year in TaylorMade’s wedges and are largely responsible for changing the sound – a major component of feel – of impact.
Double stamp forged from 10-25 carbon steel, the face and grooves of the RAC MB TP are CNC milled to ensure crisp cuts and a smooth, flat face. The thin “tour-configured” sole was designed to allow aggressive play without excessive digging. The irons are finished with a Tour Satin appearance that reduces glare. The attractive “TP” logo is embedded behind the sweet spot on the back of each iron.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but I summed up this image in only 79 words (below). Suffice to say, these irons are for the single-digit handicapper.
The RAC MB TP is for better players who have no trouble getting the ball up in the air. These clubs demand a higher swing speed (105+ MPH with the driver) and feature traditional design: a thin top line, minimal to no offset, and a thin sole with a Tour camber for easy manipulation of impact conditions. They’re the most blade-like irons TaylorMade makes, so they’re as workable a set of irons you’ll get with “TaylorMade” stamped on them.
Feel and Performance
When it comes to my irons, I’ve always been a traditionalist. My first set of irons were Jack Nicklaus (by MacGregor) forged muscleback blades. Those clubs quickly taught me that there’s nothing like the feeling of a purely struck blade. I credit them with my remarkably quick improvement in the game of golf, and each of my next sets of irons have been muscle-back blades up to and including the Titleist Forged 680s I was playing last year. Midway through last year, I tried Titleist’s 735.CM irons. With the more cavity-back-like longer irons, they were about as far away from a muscleback set as I was willing to go.
The TP logo is embedded in the “body” of the “RAC bird” – metal wings extend towards the toe and heel. The gaps are TaylorMade’s “feel pockets.”
When you talk of traditional golf equipment, “TaylorMade irons” don’t spring to mind unless you need a contrary example. Yet these irons, despite the “feel pockets” and the unique manner in which the metal is placed in forming the head of the club, are overwhelmingly traditional in their appearance and performance. Those large metal masses on the back of the clubhead simply disappear in the address position. As I’ve said with TaylorMade’s drivers, the company does a great job of hiding the technology so that all you see is a series of clean, simple, confidence-inspiring lines when you look down at the club.
I put the RAC MB TPs in my bag for the first rounds of the year and they’ve yet to leave, nor do I expect that they will any time soon. I’ve found the RAC MB TP to feature easy-to-launch long irons, reasonable forgiveness for a muscleback, and exceptional workability. Whether you want to go high, low, left, or right – it doesn’t matter – these clubs obey. The modern golf ball is increasingly difficult to shape around trees or with the wind, but these irons let me do just about anything I want.
At address, the RAC technology on the back of the iron simply fades away. Even after tilting the 3-iron (left), only a small sliver of the heel “wing” is visible. This is as traditional an appearance as you can get in irons today.
Better players manipulate the trajectory of their shots, and this is one of the areas in which the RAC MB TPs improve over the Forged TPs. With minimal to no offset, these clubs respond whether you’re trying to knock down a five-iron or float a wedge. They obey when you demand a small draw or blistering power fade. Though TaylorMade did bring the trajectory up from the Forged TPs, the MB TP doesn’t balloon the ball into the wind. With standard lofts and lengths, carry distance and spin rates are comparable to any other premium iron.
Rifles, Lofts, and Other Features
The RAC MB TPs come standard with Royal Precision FCM iron shafts. Mine arrived with 6.0 frequency shafts, roughly equivalent to True Temper’s Dynamic Gold S300 and weighing a similar 125 grams.
As a long-time TT DG S300 user, it took me awhile to get used to these shafts. With the DG S300, I could hit a lower-trajectory punch shot fairly easily, but these shafts tended to spin the ball more than I was used to if I wasn’t careful. After a few small changes to correct what was actually poor technique, these shafts have proven themselves worthy and pair beautifully with the MB TP heads. Shots not only feel softer with these shafts and the MB TP heads, but the shafts perform as advertised and create a consistent trajectory from one iron to the next without a distance gap anywhere in the set.
As with most better-player irons, the RAC MB TPs come with traditional lofts: the 3-iron has 21° and the pitching wedge has 48°. After a 3° jump from the 3-iron to the 4-iron, lofts increase by 4°. Offset ranges from 1.9mm in the 3-iron to 0.5mm in the pitching wedge.
The RAC MB TPs come stock with TaylorMade’s (Golf Pride’s) Tour Velvet. I’d previously been using the New Decade MultiCompound, but see no reason to move away from the Tour Velvet.
Overall
When it comes to my irons, I’ve been a traditionalist since my first set. I had almost assumed that my irons would always say “Titleist” or “Mizuno” on them, or perhaps “Ben Hogan” if I was feeling particularly nostalgic. That assumption was put to rest a few months ago: these TaylorMade RAC MB TPs found their way into my bag and they’ve yet to leave, and I don’t see them leaving any time soon.
TaylorMade’s RAC MB TP are the toughest but most rewarding clubs. With the smallest sweet spot of any TaylorMade iron, only single-digit handicappers need apply.
I’m not sure who first used the phrase “tradition meets technology” to describe one of their products, but with everyone from Titleist to Mizuno slowly moving away from the plain muscleback blade look of the 90s (Titleist with the “Z-Muscle” in the 695.MB, Mizuno with their “Cut Muscle” technology), the RAC MB TPs fit that bill better than perhaps any other better-player irons on the market today.
At $999 retail, these irons certainly aren’t something you’re likely to buy on a whim. But if you’re in the market for some new musclebacks, you’ll likely find that the stock Rifle shafts, the redesigned head with RAC technology (i.e. “feel pockets), and the overall appearance of the TaylorMade RAC MB TPs will suit both your eye and your game to an incredible level.
Great review!
I was lucky enough to land a “steal” on eBay and I’m a proud owner of the TP MB’s as well – and I’ve to agree with Erik – best set of sticks I ever hit. The best feedback you can ask from a club, if the ball is stroke as much as 1mm off the center – you’ll know about it 😉 Still surprisingly forgiving, off center hits produce (at least for me) shots with loss of distance, but straight – clubhead is balanced so well, it doesn’t “give” like the more traditional “australian blade” style clubs.
Loving it 😉
Oh man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I got these clubs for my birthday and I love them,if your are a really good better player who wants to get better you need these clubs. My old clubs were cavity backs and I will never get another set of cavity backs again.
jg
I am a mid 20s handicap golfer, so maybe I don’t belong here. I have looked at these clubs several times (but have yet to hit them). The reason I keep looking at them is that I think back to my younger days when I played a lot more. I learned to play on a set of Wilson blades, and played through most of my 20s on Spalding Execs. Now I am using a set of Callaway Hawkeye VFT clubs, and I always think that I used to hit the blades better. I am starting to golf more, and am not sure that I want to dumb my game down into ‘game improvement clubs’ Am I crazy to think that I might be better off looking at a set like this that won’t coddle me when I do something wrong? FWIW, I have more problems in the tee box than anywhere, and have alwys hit my irons fairly well, albeit with a cronic draw bias.
For an 11 hdcp’er like me, these clubs will suit me from here till +16 hdcp. A surprisingly forgiving club for a blade iron, but has the perfect feel on purely stuck shots. just because they are blade irons doesnt mean that you cant hit them till you are sergio garcias match.
Give the Taylor Made R7 TP’s a shot… You’ll thank me later.
They are suprisingly soft, to a point that you have to look down to remind yourself you’re not playing forged. Plus, you get the workability that the beter player is looking for.
…And most importantly, the forgivness that’s built into these clubs allows for slightly off center ball striking not to penalize you too much.
They should fit anyone from the 5-15 handicappers that are decent iron players.
I just bought my tp mb forged irons a coulpe of days ago and I love them.One thing that I agree with him on is that these are competing with titelist and mizuno irons if they haven’t passed them yet. The first day i got them I went my first 18 under par. One thing I dont like about this review is that they’re making the forged irons sound terrible compared to the new tp irons. Where as the only differences are a different color and little bit thinner of a topline. I have hit both of them and they are pretty much replicas of each other when it comes down to feel. So overall i think if you are not looking to spend $1000 then you should probaly just buy the forged for about 400 dollars cheaper and get similiar results. I hope that this advice helps you when your choosing your next set of irons.
Wow~
Just as the author of this article, I’ve always had blades(2 sets). I needed a new set and I’m so glad I went with these. The best feeling clubs ever to be put out on the market. Draw, Fade, low or high, these clubs do the job. Not only do they feel great but they make you a better player. Meaning, having blades, especially the RAC TP MB’s makes you concentrate even harder knowing you must pure the shot!!
Need new clubs, 14 hcp or less. buy these, its worth it
oh yea, check out the european tour, everyone’s hitting these muscle back blades
one question and one question only!
titleist 695 mb or taylormade rac tp mb??
these irons are the bomb. they look as if they were made by god and feel like butter off the face. these irons are what golf is about
these irons are much more playable than some articles have led to believe. I’m off 11 and not the best iron player. These have improved my iron play fantasticly. I love the lower ball flight and even if you miss the centre it is likely to still go straight. overall the perfect iron for me. only problem is that the shaft i have chosen (6.0 rifle) feels a little stiff and broad however i’m fourteen and only getting stronger.
TaylorMade’s RAC MB TP are the toughest but most rewarding clubs. With the smallest sweet spot of any TaylorMade iron, only single-digit handicappers need apply.
I didn’t find these clubs tough to hit!, just the opposite!
I got them for the ’07 season, played 70-80 games with them,
and they were GREAT right out of the box!
I went from an 19.5 hcp to an 11 in their first season!, and it’s NOT that I bacame a better player, I just had more ‘fun’ playing!
SO… I am not a single-digit hacp’r, but I’m patient enough to ‘let the club come to me’.
For me, and my style, these clubs are PERFECT!
im a +1 handicap and i currently use these clubs..best irons i’ve ever hit..i recommend for anyone thinking about getting this..might get a tp hybrid for the 3 iron..cuz it is a difficult club to hit 😎
The MB/TP’s are the ‘softest-best performing’ irons I have ever hit! I’ve played cavity back’d for years, and these forged/MB’s
are the easiest club I’ve ever hit. I also got a #2 iron for the
set , and that club is a ‘piece of cake’ to hit!
T/M is going to have to REALLY work hard to produce a club that will outperform these!
On a scale of 1-10, I’d give them an ’11’!
Barry-Toronto
Which are better for a 13 hdcp these or callaway forged?
Bought a Callaways X20 Tours, played 7 rounds and found them not workable for a Tour iron. Played the 3 rounds with the forged MB TP’s and workabilty was on call at any time..
Handicap 9.
good review i was at a four man best ball tournament and they had a drawing for some taylor made irons but didnt say which ones say i bought three tickets a buck a piece and went out and golfed my round. well when we were all done and they had the drawing they drew a guys name and he said he didnt want them draw another! and they did and drew his name again!! so he still didnt want them and one other guy with him said give it to the youngest golfer which was me but i wasnt paying any attention until my partner said you just won those irons!! and when i recieved them i began to look them over and was like sweet didnt really know what i had just won! i went over and thanked the guy and after wards i had some people say oh those are good clubs and told me how much they were worth and i was shocked and others who were trying to buy them from me for $300 and i said NO! so i jumped online and read all i could about them and i think i am going to go out and hit them! i have read nothing but good things about them!
maq,
i am a 7 hcap and play the cally x forged. these are a hard enough club to hit, and although i could play blades, i prefer to have a little forgiveness on slightly off center hits.
really you have to ask yourself how good your ball striking is.
how many times out of 20 are you going to strike it good?
less than 16/17 and you should probably go with something like a players cavity 😉
callaway x forged offer that forgiveness, with the looks of a players iron, the workability of a players iron, and they are the best feeling players cavity 😆
dont even think about blades unless your game is going forward fast(not backward)
hope that helps. 😆
Honestly, I think the diffiulty of blades and foregivness of cavity-back are just given too much credit. One’s tempo and form of the day make all the difference. Just got a set of TM TPMB with NS Pro 1150 Tour shafts. Found it easier to hit than my cavity-back Titliest 755! Sets up beautifully at address and absolutely refined clubs. Highly recommend these clubs in your bag – the cool and brag values alone justify it. 😉
Good review. I am around a 14 handicap but I was thinking as picking these up. if they really do have such a small sweet spot that will be a good source of training my swing a little more. I feel I hit my irons well and getting these would tell me according to the article. And if not well luckly I am okay with spending long periods of time practicing. Looks good.
Can anyone confirm how these TaylorMade RAC MB TP’s compare in distance/trajectory to other popular blades such as Titleist 695.MB, Nike Forged Blades, Mizuno MP33s, etc?
I’ve read that these TMs are notoriously hard to hit flush when using the 3, 4 & 5 irons….?
I think that when you address the ball with an iron such as these it gives you the confidence that some cavity backs can’t. I play with a set of nike cavity backs and was under the impression that i didn’t swing the golf club well enough to hit blades at all.
Just outta curiousity i tried a few out at the local range, the taylormades in question the Titleist z’s and nike blades. My local pro said i look like a much better golfer with these blades. My address position was much better and i swung the club great. out of the 100 balls i hit i must have made less then 10 bad shots. The taylormades felt great and inspired confidence. Not to mention going further then any other iron i have hit. The 6i i used was consitently going about 190yds with a smooth swing.
As soon as i free up some money i will be purchasing a set of these.
Very good review.
Got these at brand new at a 1/2 price clearance to replace my RAC TP forged. They came std with rifle 6.0. The reason I purchased these was it was easier and less expensive than re-shafting my RAC TP forged irons with rifle 6.0 shafts. (The std S300’s are a bit soft for me and I am fighting a very hight ball flight all the time.)
I am still trying to get to grips with these. They are a big step up from the RAC TP forged. However, they do exactly what it says on the tin. Goods swings are rewarded. Swipes are severly punished.
While I may have bitten off more than I can chew I am going to put the work in and try bring my ball striking up another notch.
Please don’t be fooled by some comments – these are not easy to hit consistiently, but they are beautiful clubs and do reward good strikes.
Only if you are prepared to spend long hours practicing. These are beautiful clubs, but bite hard when not hit perfectly every time. Even a 90% good swing will be punished. Personally I found these tougher than the MP32’s and MP37’s.
My 17 yr old son is a 5 hncp so I surprised him with a gently used set of the RAC MB TP’s. He was using Nike NDS cavity backs. Of course I had to try them out while we were hitting balls at the range. Sold on them within 5 minutes. I bought a set of these in the “smoke” version and have now played 3 rounds. Could not be happier. I’m an 11 and WAS happily playing r7 TP’s. These clubs have a slightly heavier swing weight which translated into slightly more distance, not that I was looking for more yards. Flushed shots feel better than any iron I’ve hit. Mis hits are easily felt but no more penalizing than my r7’s as far as I can tell so far. They’re almost too pretty to hit……..almost. If you’re the type of golfer that makes solid contact most of the time go demo a set of the “smokes” or “satins”. If you are a taylormade fan already, you’ll end up with a set of these in you bag soon. I tried them in Project X 6.0 HL and DG S300. I like to hit a high ball so I went with the Proj X. Both felt equally good though.
Picked up a set of these for £309 today. Tried them out extensively at various ranges for the past three months. I know they’re a couple of years old but I keep my irons for years and boy…what irons!!!
My wife bartered with the poor sales assistant. The boy didn’t know what hit him
I have had the TP – MB’s for a couple of years now. The performance is still (For Me) second to none. I previously played the Taylor Made Burner Tour irons for 8+ years. The upgrade is technology is terrific (Not that the burner tour irons of old were bad, just under rated and under played by tour guys).
Like anyone else I can shoot from 68-82 on any given day. The first time I saw this club I fell in love with the top line. It sets up well address and stays true to swing plane and path as intended with no torque thanks to the rifle shafts. If you lose one right or left, don’t blame the arrows… check on the Indian… Controlling shot shape and elevation is important to me down here in Florida with the tracks we play. Guys I play with love to hit my clubs on the range, but are holding out for other “Big Name” irons to become comparable… keep waiting…
I am not going to say it is only for the low handicap guys. If you love a club and it gets you on the course more, it will lower your handicap. These are easily an iron that you will have an extended affair with for years to come.
LD
i had the rac OS’s and i was around a 7 handicapper and i bought the MB TP irons and i went from a 7 to a 1 handicapper.. i have never hit a blade until i hit these and fell in love with them since them. They have the best feel out of any iron i have ever hit..
Whats up guys, I work at a large reatail golf store and i look at these irons every day,(the smoke finished ones) the look at address is unmatched and lets face it they are an 11 on a scale of 1-10 to how siiick they look in the bag. i am currently playin the titliest AP2 irons and have 0 complaints they are long forgiving and far supperior to any previous titleist iron. with that being said i wanna play a new set in 09. I play to a 6 handicap mostly because of 3 puts, i am a good iron player, will deff put project x shafts in these, as i find the riffles(especielly flighted) spin far to much and do not play stiff enough. I guess what i’m lookin for is a reason to play these over the tour preffereds. I mean even sergio went to the tour preffereds granted i heard his are thined out considerably and are forged, but still. Love to here from you guys and help me make up my mind.
For me, these irons are incredibly easy to hit pure every time. I’m 15, so most of you probably think I’m lying, but honestly, if you keep a good tempo you WILL hit these irons perfectly every single time.
Great irons! For those of you who think blades are not for you I say why practice with cavity backs? If your used to a more forgiving club making the switch will be harder. Also don’t forget many handicaps are driven by putting, just because your a 15+ doesn’t mean you suck at swinging your irons! Go for blades, you’ll never go back!
hit these irons 4 the first time 2day 😀 loved them shots out of the centre felt soft but powerful im a 16 h’cap so was a bit worried when i purchased these but don’t regret when u catch one perfect it puts such a smile on ur face from ear 2 ear off centre hits were not punished as bad as everyone expects.These irons are not just 4 low handicappers as long as ur a half decent ball striker i would recommend these irons,their worth every penny all u need is to go to the practice range and hit balls and you’ll get the hang of them in no time just don’t try and beat the skin off the ball.
Ps.can’t wait to get out with them again 😀
I recently got my hands on a used set of these blades in the Satin finish (haven’t found the black ones here in Dubai), and have played around 5 rounds with them. Shafts are the Rifle 6.0
I usually shoot in the mid/high-90s (recently picked up golf again after a 4 year layoff), and shot my first sub-90 score, an 89 over the weekend at The Els Club in Dubai.
In the last year, I switched from the KZG Forged Z0 blades to Mizuno MP60s (which I’ve shelved as they feel ‘dead’ compared to the KZG, my MP32s back home in Singapore, and these RAC MBs), and finally to the RAC MBs.
The short irons (7 to PW) are a joy to play, imparting good backspin on the ball (I use TP Red, TP Black, Pro V1, Pro V1x, HW Tour 56 or whatever I can get my hands on from the greenskeepers). The 3i and 4i launch well, and are surprisingly friendly to play.
If I were to rank the ‘softness’, I’d say that the KZG Forged Z0s that I have on TX90 shafts are the most buttery, followed by the MP32 on DG S300, followed by the TM RAC MB on Rifle 6.0, and lastly, the MP60s on DG S300 shafts
For feel, I would have to go with the MP32s, followed closely by the Forged Z0 and the RAC MB.
Where forgiveness is concerned, I would say that the RAC MBs are tied with the MP60, followed by the Forged Z0 and the MP32 with the former being just slightly more forgiving.
If I had anything to complain about, it would be that the finish of these forged blades get marred way too easily. I don’t even bother with iron covers any more, simply because I’m hitting down on the ball and the finish gets raked after a couple of rounds 🙁
If finish durability was a factor, I’d put the KZG Forged Z0 up top, with the MP60, MP32 and RAC MBs tied for a fairly distant second.
@ NickM, do you still have these in the shop? what are they going for these days?
Just a thought kid but if you’re only fourteen i doubt that you swing the club hard enough to gain the full benefits of having a muscle back iron. And yes, the 6.0 rifle is most likely going to be way too stiff for a player such as yourself. There are a lot of people commenting on this page saying that if you are on the upper end of a 14 handicapper that these irons are for you. this is absolutely not true. You do not need to be playing blades if you cannot consistently stripe the ball on every shot. you will score better using something a little more forgiving…just a thought. This iron is for the accomplished player. I would say no more than a 5 handicap.
thanks for the great review erik, unfortunately i’m a lefty and don’t have the option of hitting these clubs. I play off 13 right now and was looking at the new tour preferred irons. i saw that goosen and garcia both switched to those irons.
how do the two compare?
I’m 14 and a 5 handicap, but getting better. should I get the rac mb tp pw-7 iron and tour preffered 6-3 irons? or do they get easier as they get lower?
I posted on here when I got these irons (3-PW) back in December. The next week I saw a used 2-iron in the shop and picked it up for £25 – brand new condition too!
The 2-iron is a sensational club. I used it at Turnberry (Kintyre) back in April and it has such a penetrating flight into the wind and with the wind. Pretty sure I saw Garcia use these last week on the Ailsa course and saw Goosen use the 2-iron as well.
Warning. If you duff it you will know about it. If you nail it you will smile from ear to ear.
Not for hackers though.
After hearing good things about these clubs and having a preference for using forged blades I picked up a 2nd hand set of these. I have not been dissapointed. They have a lovely classic look at address and perform very well. I found them pretty forgiving as other reviewers have, but your misses need to be small rather than large or you will be penalized.
They are definately for better ball stikers/lower handicapppers but having played many top quality forged blades I would rate these up there with the best.
i’m a 2 handicapper and have been playing the r7 tp irons i feel like i’m good enough to play blades, but i play for my high school team and the season starts in the spring, how long will it take me to get used to the taylor made Rac MB TP?
I’ve been playing the TP MBs from the TOUR van since they were released, bought off of a Florida pro who was given two sets and liked his other set better.
These clubs have the most impressive weighting throught the ball I’ve ever hit. Mine have the 6.0 Rifles; for a short time, I went to the newer Project X shafts, but had the 6.0s put back in afte a few rounds. These shafts were matched extremely well to the clubs’ characteristics in terms of flight trajectory and control.
To Ryan: These clubs will not take very long to get used to. They are much more forgiving than the posts above reveal, in my opinion. Once you switch, you’ll regret not doing it sooner.
I just wish they had the smoke-tinted TP MBs available sooner…..
Im a +1 handicap and had previously always played Titleist… Always Titleist. I wouldnt even consider another iron. I didnt care about the technology or the hearsay, I always went with Titleist…. Until I tried these. I was in the market for new irons and I tried everything this year. I narrowed my choice down to The TP MBs, the Titleist ZM, Nike Victory Red, and Callaway X Prototype. All of the irons I tried were awesome… I really didnt think anyone of them would stand out… but boy did the TP MBs stand out. These sticks had the best feeling and it was the most forgiving of all the blades I tried. when I say forgiving, Im saying that a shot hit a 1/4 inch off center, not one thinned, hoseled, or Toed… those misses will lead to a terrible shot so if you are hoping for that kind of forgiveness, then forget these and all forged blades for that matter. Anyways, better players know what I talking about the slight misses with these puppies were much more forgiving then others.
I will admit, I was not a fan of the RP 6.0 Flighted stock shafts. But with every golfer, the shaft differs. I spun the ball WAY too much with those shafts. My ideal set up for my swing and desired ball flight was the DG X100. I was afraid that the feel wouldnt be as good as advertised with these irons matched stock with the RP 6.0, but I was delightfully surprised when my arrived that they actually felt BETTER with teh DG X100 (or S300 for that matter). So I would recommend if you are good player, make sure to try all the shaft options and dont settle for the RP 6.0 stock shaft.
This is the purest club I have ever hit… Yes, Sorry Titleist, these beat you. Not by a long shot, but such an incredible iron. The ball can be worked with ease and knock downs are a walk in the park. I play a lot of low knock down shots (hence the desire and match with DG X100 for me) so these were a match made in heaven for me.
I also noticed that the TP MBs come a bit flatter in standard lie than industry standard. The 6 Iron is 61 degrees. This worried me because I was standard with Titleist and their 6 Irons are around 62.5 degrees. But when I was fitted on the deflection board, the 61 degree setting was rigth in the middle. So dont assume the flatter standard lie was a Taylor Made over thought. They knew what they were doing… the clubs must come in a bit steeper at impact for better players. Thats the only way I can explain it because when I demoed the Titleist ZM at 62.5 degrees, it was in the middle also. I didnt look back…
If you are a good player, get these clubs. Nothing else better is out there right now and wont be for some time.
Btw, I wasn’t saying I’m a 15 handicap. I’m fifteen years old. Haha.
I just got a set of these off of e-bay dirt cheap. I have never played golf before but just got a job next to a golf course so I decided to take advantage of a 1 1/2 hour “golf lunch” every day.
Right off the bat I am hitting the ball right down the middle. Some of my shots go a little left or right of center but that is because I have not developed a good swing yet, but I can tell immediately what I did wrong and correct my swing on the next shot.
With the 9 iron I get about 90-100 yards out so it does hit better than the 30 year old beat up range clubs I have been using.
So if you are naturally coordinated and don’t need golf lessons to swing a club I say go ahead and get them, you won’t regret it.
I just got these irons. I know they have the smokes out now and lots of people are in a tissy about which to buy. I will tell you after playing five or six rounds with each (two of my buddies are on staff with taylormade) they play almost identically. I will say that I spin the smokes a little more. I ended up going with the satins because at this level of club all that matters is the look and what you are comfortable with. I love this set of irons. I (like some others) was extremely brand-attached. I played Titleists becasue my dad played Titleists because my grandpa played Titleists. Within the last year I went from
D- Titleist 909D2
3W- Titleist 909F2 15.5*
2-9- Titleist 755 irons
48*, 54*, 60*- Titleist Vokey Spin Milled
Putter- Scotty Cameron Pro Platinum Del Mar
Ball- Titleist ProV1x
to
D- Titleist 909D2
3W- Titleist 909F2 15.5*
Hybrid- Taylormade Raylor 19*
3-9- Taylormade TP MBs
48*, 54*, 60*- Titleist Vokey Spin Milled
Putter- Scotty Cameron Pro Platinum Del Mar
Ball- Titleist ProV1x
I am now beginning to like more and more Taylormade products. It will be a tough sell for the R9 to replace my 909D2 but my 3W may be replaced if Taylormade comes out with a Raylor Fairway Wood. Let me tell you (i know a little off topic) that TM had a stroke of genius with the raylors.
I have been play mizuno mp-37 through the summer, at first difficult to control. After three or four buckets on the range had most of the problems workout. After playing around 90 rounds I had my handy cap down to a 2. Just bought the tm tp mb w/precision 7.0. if these are even the slightest bit easier to work I should be able to move my handy cap into the + side. they should be here Monday, I need to change lie angle to,2up and then hit the course will post how they feel after my round.
Just picked up a set of these from a mate who’s a pro. Only reason he has put them away is a sponsorship change. I’ve played one round with them and they are mint. I’m a 6 h/cap and not a great striker of the ball but consistent enough. I can see these really helping my game.
Glad to see folks are still posting about these. Just picked up a set of the smoke TPMBs and they’re as wonderful as I described in my post above. On my last trip to FL our lovely TSA bag checkers routed through my bag and apparently jammed my 6 iron hard enough to bend the shaft mid-grip (not their fault, I’m told). Anyway, looking to sell a 4 yr old set of the satins, recently regripped with Golf Pride cords, 6 iron needs reshafting, will include a 58 degree TP black wedge for the hassle. Have pics to share. Email me if interested, elevenx2@live.com.
they actually felt BETTER with the DG X100 (or S300 for that matter).
I have the x100 (1/4in over long) shaft in my TPMB’s and they are brilliant – never really liked the Rifle/Project x (unable to hit consistent punches and 3/4 shots) they seem to want a full shot all the time. the x100 TPMB combination (especially longer than standard length) gives such amazing versatility – easily 15 yards length and over 10 degrees of accessible launch angles available – I would sleep with the 8 iron if i could (the other irons might get jealous). I compared them to last years Burner Irons and distance wise they were the same (lower ball flight) even though TM bumped all the iron lofts up one with the Burners. Great Irons!
Just picked up a used set and am headed to the range for a test run, I will keep you posted, the clubs bty are as good looking as they get, let’s see how they run, the new full cord golf pride grips on the rifle shafts feel very solid ta boot.
I am about a 7 handicap and I would say that I am a fair ball striker. These clubs are phenomenal. They are probably too hard to hit for the position my game is in now but the look and feel that these irons have are impeccable. Just looking down at the club I have increased confidence. However, I may be a little biased because my entire set is composed of TaylorMade; but, who cares? These are awesome irons, if you’re improving, and improving fast, get these clubs, they will only help.
I’m a 1-5ish handicaper and I’m 15 and I think taylormade irons are the best! I just recently switched from the r7 CGB Max irons to the RAC TP MB irons and both sets are verrrrrry workable try them out guys! They’re awesome!!!
These are awsome irons. I recently got rid of my r7 set for a set of these. Best decision ever made to improve my game. I am about a 13 hdcp and slightly disagree with the single digit handicapper comment. I hit my irons exceptionally well, ball first, followed by divot. About 85% accurate. My driver is a whole different story. That’s where the high scores are coming from! Bottom line if you are thinking about purchasing these, stop thinking! Do it! It’s apparent that you are serious about your game by even looking at these in the first place and not some yahoo that just hits like a windmill all over the course. Pay close attention to your mechanics and tempo and you will learn how to hit them, you will learn to hit the sweet spot, and you will know right off the bat when you don’t. That’s part of the fun and headache of improving your game. Don’t question yourself, don’t doubt your abilities, and don’t take the easy route! Push yourself to get better, and this set WILL DO IT!
Had a set of these for last 3 months now after using Titleist 695.MBs for 2 years…only worry I have now is finding another set as a backup.
Using these with DG X100s (instead of S300s) and I find I’m losing maybe 10 yards off each club, but the control is better…and the feeling is definately softer.
10/10
Another gorgeous club not offered to lefties. I don’t understand why not either…