The best part of my job is also the worst part of my job.
I think the Dickensian statement requires an explanation.
The best part of my job is that I get to try a lot of new irons. Words cannot adequately express the joy of the long brown boxes showing up on my doorstep. On the other hand, the worst part of my job is me HAVE to try many new irons. Just when I hit that sweet spot of understanding with a set of irons, I have to start over with something else.
You know, poor me, right?
So it’s with mixed emotions that I have to report that your faithful scribe has been tasked with taking a deep dive into the new Titleist T250 handcuffs. It’s a dirty job, but it’s one I’m willing to take on for you, dear reader. I’m just that kind of guy.
You are welcome.
When the Titleist T250 irons launched over the summer, MyGolfSpy wondered if they were, in fact, the player’s distance iron we’ve been waiting for. After three rounds, several launch monitoring sessions, and as much practice as I could squeeze between the two jobs, I can say one thing for sure.
I think, maybe, yes. They just might be.
At least, they are in the conversation. Considering what the T250 is replacing, this is a huge win for Titleist.
How’s that for bold?
What makes the Titleist T250 “what we’ve been waiting for”?
For a company that fights the “for the best players only” tag, the Titleist T250 irons sure have a “for the best players only” look. The topline is thin (for the category) and the length and shape of the blade are extremely compact. The T250 would look right at home on any single-digit handicap bag and is still forgiving enough for those in the high teens.
That said, Title T250 is, with a 30.5-degree 7-iron, a player’s distance club.
“Modern iron design pushes players into stronger lofts,” Titleist Director of Iron Development Marni Ines tells MyGolfSpy. “But simply hitting farther isn’t about precision, accuracy or descent angle. The ethos of our design philosophy is to give players better consistency of distance, distribution and descent angle.”
Therein lies the friction with the player’s distance irons. For a category that didn’t really exist a decade ago, it’s now second in overall sales industry-wide. Older players who still have golf games or young players working on their game love the golfer’s distance. They look like a player’s iron, but they pack a little more. They’re also more forgiving than blades or the back of a player’s hollow, but without the garden tool look of irons for game improvement.
There is a lot of distance technology in the player’s distance irons. Unfortunately, it often comes at the expense of roll and/or descent angle. If you can’t get them in the air, you’ll have trouble keeping the greens.
“Players who struggle with this usually have lower clubhead speeds,” explains Ines. “The fundamentals of iron design don’t really change. We want more height and distance from long irons, and we want more consistent spin from light rough and wet conditions with medium and short irons.”
Fly up and land gently
Finding a golfer’s distance iron is like hunting for a unicorn. Rolling like you would with blades or a hollow back just isn’t part of the recipe. To keep the greens, you’ll need downhill angles in the 45 degree range.
“Descent angle is closely related to both distance control and dispersion,” says Ines. “These are precision instruments. We want the ball to drop and stop, not roll off the back of the green.”
Titleist’s design philosophy is the same as its fit philosophy: distance control, distribution and landing angle. Titleist calls it the “three Ds,” and the T250 irons may be the perfect storm where form, function, and fit converge.
of The new T250 it’s full metal construction (Titleist thankfully ditched the plastic T200 medallion), which opened up some design options. First, the L-face forged from SUP10 carbon steel features an updated variable-thickness profile that Titleist calls the V-Taper. The idea is to have more face material on the higher parts of the face to prevent the flyers from being light.
“In face-insert designs, the highest point on the face usually has a greater COR,” says Ines. “That’s more potential for ball speed. There’s also more potential for drop-spin.”
Basically, the V-Taper slows down the upper part of the face. To limit spin loss from rough and wet conditions where high impact on the face is more likely. Titleist has also redesigned the grooves on the medium and short T250 grips.
“We’ve rooted the sidewalls, which opens up the bottom of the groove a bit,” says Ines. “This allows more debris and moisture to pass to the bottom of the groove. This keeps the top edge of the groove exposed to do its job.”
The Titleist T250 is still a rocket launcher
With all the talk about accuracy, control, descent angles and distribution, it’s important to remember Titleist T250 handcuffs are also meant to go far. The V-Taper on the forged L face provides additional thin area in both the heel and toe, which, when combined with Titleist’s updated Max Impact technology, are ball speed boosters.
Max Impact Technology consists of a thin polymer core just behind the face. As the V-Taper face design normalizes (ie. SLOWS) high ball speed on the face, Max Impact Technology is designed to maximize ball speed on lower face shots. In effect, it restores any lost ball speed due to the relative thickness of the face within the V-Taper.
“We’re trying to make each point on the face act more like that low center shot,” explains Ines. “Between the tungsten weighting, V-Taper face design, new grooves and center of gravity location, these are all levers we can push and pull to create and control distance.
The title went to town with high-density tungsten in the heel and toe. The T250 irons have a progressive center of gravity (lower in long irons, higher as irons get shorter) to make launch conditions more stable. Additionally, tungsten helps with head stability and increases MOI.
“If the MIA is low and you don’t have this kind of weighting, the head will open or close with off-center impact,” explains Ines. “You’re not going to transfer as much energy to the face because the energy goes into clubhead spin.”
The result will be a shot that is likely to be out of line left or right, not to mention short.
Indoors, outdoors and on the course
We golfers are funny people. You hit a few irons and you know immediately they are not for you. Others are “love at first sight”, while others take a while. For me, the Titleist T250 irons have been all three.
My fit was off and it was instant joy. The irons felt great and I enjoyed the flight. The numbers were spot on, with consistent peak heights and a descent angle in the mid-40s. When my irons arrived, our first meeting was inside Golftec. It didn’t go well.
The sound and feel were muffled (thanks, interior acoustics), the peak height was lower and the descent angle was too close to concave. An outdoor practice session changed my mind about the sound and feel (both turned out to be fake-level sweet), but my first full round was a ball-hitting debacle.
Under normal circumstances, we would probably agree to stop dating (It’s not you, it’s me). We both decided, for the sake of golf journalism, to continue until we understood each other. After a few beam sessions and two more full rounds, we were able to build up a certain level of trust and respect.
I think we can be happy together.
Over the course of those three rounds (and four or five range sessions), I found something fascinating about him Titleist T250 handcuffs. Whether it’s the compact size, the extended grooves or the tungsten-influenced consistency, it was surprisingly easy to manipulate the ball flight. I won’t go so far as to say I can “work” the ball (I’m not that good), but I found myself hitting the ball up or down on command, with baby draws, bigger draws, and even the occasional fade for good measure.
This is not something you tend to find in a player’s long iron.
So, IS The Titleist T250 distance iron we’ve been waiting for?
There are many outstanding distance players. I spent most of the season playing great Maxfli CG2 distance forged golf clubs (I called this season the “Summer of Maxfli”) but I remember looking to put them in a pond after my first round with them.
These things take time, usually about three rounds.
What I can say is that Titleist finally has an iron that can legitimately compete in the player distance category. As of this writing, nearly 50 percent of new T-Series sales are T250 AND T250 launch spec (leaner lofts across the board, lighter heads and shafts).
“We knew we were underperforming in the golfer’s distance category,” says Titleist Director of Product Marketing Tom Fisher. “Your dedicated player sits in 18 handicap territory. The T250 is the arrow to go right into that segment.”
Ah, arrows, as in the “arrow vs. arrow” argument. You can argue what you want, but the fact is that club technology matters. We are keen, dedicated, non-professional players. Most of us aren’t likely to spend countless hours digging a better game out of the dirt. We’ll practice and take lessons and work at it, but it’s our hobby, not our life.
Equipment won’t make us better golfers, but it can help us play better golf.
There is a difference, my friends.
“It really comes down to aligning our design goals with our fit philosophy: distance control, dispersion and descent angle,” Fisher explains. “That’s what we believe iron performance is all about, whether it’s achieved through assembly or through updating the technology and design of the irons themselves.”
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