Miura MG Collection: CB-1008 and CB-2008

CB-1008

The technology behind this club is exactly what you would expect from Miura. The cavity-back design is forged from a single piece of S25C carbon steel and features a weight bar which increases launch and forgiveness on thinly struck shots.

They also have as much mass possible centred behind the sweet spot in order to produce the solid and signature feel of Miura irons.

The CB-1008 has a thin topline, minimal offset and a compact head shape. It is said to offer muscle-back control with the forgiveness that comes with the cavity-back design.

These Miura irons are not about increasing distance they are more so focused around providing consistent feel, feedback and being able to manipulate ball flight.

For 4-PW Miura's CB-1008 would set you back around £1500.

 

CB-2008

 

The latest in the company’s line of game-improvement irons, the Miura CB-2008 represents another technological stretch for a company whose main iron philosophy has been governed by one-piece forged irons.

The CB-2008 from a technical standpoint is the more complex of the two models. It doesn't conjure up the typical Miura adjectives (simple, pure and elegant) but then again it is not targeted at the typical Miura customer.

In comparison with the CB-1008, this iron has a slightly wider sole leading to more forgiveness and a higher launching ball flight although it doesn't include a 3 or 4 iron in the set. This suggests that players looking at the CB-2008 are better off filling this gap with even higher launching hybrids or super game improvement irons.

The MG line up is entirely representative of the quality and attention to detail Miura faithful associate with the brand.   

 

The cost of Miura's CB-2008 irons are around the same £1500, however that is only for 6 irons. Very expensive but Miura do have one of the best reputations in golf for making quality irons.

Mizuno MP-18 and MP-18 SC irons

MP-18

 

The long-awaited Mizuno MP-18 line-up has been revealed, blending craftsmanship and art with technology for the better player. Mizuno have strived to make the MP-18 more playable and more forgiving, not by making it bigger but instead by making it smaller. The shorter blade length and low heel profile carry over from previous iron models, while the ultra thin topline has been further refined with an additional camber.

The scoring clubs from the 7-PW boast a progressively smaller and more sharply refined head. While all this talk of shrinking MP-18's footprint might suggest a drop-off in forgiveness, that's not the case. Mizuno says the new design has a sweet area that, despite its significantly shorter blade, is slightly larger that than of the Callaway Apex Pro and the Titleist 716 CB. Every element of the MP-18 design speaks to Mizuno's commitment to returning to the traditions of the MP-line. The only downside to these clubs is that they are not available to left handed golfers.

 

MP-18 SC

 

The MP-18 SC (Split Cavity) model is a compact cavity back, sensitively reworked by the same master craftsmen who created multiple major winning iron sets.

The slightly wider, cambered sole brings a greater degree of playability than the muscle-back iron. Compared to the MP-18 muscle-back, the heads are fractionally taller and the top lines thicker, again with a refined camber. The pitching wedge is also smaller than the other irons in the set. The MP-18 SC offers a larger sweet area in a notably more compact package. These irons are a great addition to the MP range and will no doubt continue to have the same sort of success many of Mizuno's previous irons have had.

 

Both sets of irons have an RRP of £899.99.

 

Video below reviewing all the clubs in new Mizuno's MP range.

 

Taylormade P730 and P790 Irons

P730 irons

Taylormade has expanded its P700-series iron line-up this year with the addition of the P790 and P730, a forged players distance iron and forged blade, respectively, targeting different abilities of golfer. Designed specifically for the best Tour players in the world, the P730 represents the most finely crafted irons Taylormade has to offer. They strike a real likeness with the very successful Tour preferred MB '14 whilst retaining many of the same properties such as: the sole camber, offset flow, sole radius and hosel length.

The face and grooves of this iron have been precision-milled to produce soft feel, clean turf interaction and exceptional shot-shaping ability. Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose currently play a milled version of the P730 (the Rors Proto and Rose Proto) while Dustin Johnson is currently testing a forged set which is thought to be the version at retail.

 

The P730 irons went on sale 1st of November 2017 and have an RRP of £1,049.

P790 irons

The P790 iron packs a powerful performance into a clean, classic design to deliver unprecedented distance in a players iron and they mark Taylormade's entry into a forged distance category. This iron has a hollow body construction, a thin face and a new proprietary polyurethane filling called speedfoam; creating a compact and player orientated package.

 

Like many of Taylormade's recent irons the P790 3-7 irons offer a speed slot with the purpose of increasing ball speed on thin shots. In the shorter irons 8-PW the face is thicker and the hosel longer to provide more control over trajectory and shot shape. The P790's look classy and certainly boast the full package as Taylormade continue to strive for more defined irons.

 

The Taylormade P790 irons are available now in the UK and have an RRP of £949.99.

 

Video below explaining in more detail the technology behind Taylormade's P730 and P790 irons.

Callaway 2018 Apex MB and X Forged irons

Apex MB

The newest member of the Apex family is a true muscleback and with that comes all of the requisite design implications. No doubt after some tour player influence the Apex MB has been designed with a topline, narrow sole, compact blade length and minimal offset. it has all the makings of an iron that most of us will drool over, but few of us will actually be able to hit properly.

Forgiveness remains near non-existent with this iron, there are no speed enhancing technologies and no distance claims. The feature list itself is short. Callaway optimised CG locations to allow golfers to aggressively flight and control shots. The company's 20V groves provide greater consistency while helping to reduce the instances of fliers.
Finally, as you would expect from a proper blade, the Apex MB is forged from 1025 carbon steel to provide the soft feel that the category demands.

 

X Forged

With Titleist, Taylormade and Mizuno all responsible for a significant influx of new irons into the market over the last few months, it was only a matter of time before Callaway got in on the action. It's been nearly 5 years since the previous iteration of the X Forged iron hit the market and this new one will certainly get golfers talking.

In comparison with the Apex MB there are obvious physical differences but the X iron is certainly more forgiving and has slightly stronger lofts. While not as punishing as the blade, the X Forged is still designed for tour players and better amateurs. It's position in the Callaway line up- which now includes 10 different types of irons- is slotted between the Apex MB and the Apex Pro.
Callaway does not often lack for a clever technology story, but with the X Forged the sales pitch is limited to progressive CG (optimal trajectory), 20V grooves (more consistency/ fewer fliers) and the triple net forging process that creates what is said to be outstanding feel. Accompanied with some sole work to ensure desirable turf interaction and the X Forged is very much what you see is what you get and that is definitely not a bad thing.

The Callaway 2018 Apex MB and X Forged irons will have an RRP of £1049 and are set to go on sale from 26th of January.

 

 

Titleist 718 AP3 irons

Titleist irons have been #1 on the PGA Tour since 2005, this year they are offering six new models- AP1, AP2, AP3, T-MB, CB and MB. Entering the line-up for the first time and the iron that I’ll be discussing today is the all new AP3 which is said to combine the distance and forgiveness of Titleist’s best-selling AP1 iron with the look and feel of their tour favourite AP2. The iron which has an innovative hollow-blade design with high speed technology is being hailed as Titleist’s longest and fastest ever. With the AP3 you get the off-centre performance of a game improvement iron packed into a club that delivers the feel of a player’s iron. Precise when you pure it, and forgiving when you don’t. For good amateurs searching for a new set of clubs, I would suggest that the AP3 irons is where you start, if Adam Scott is using AP3s then you know you should be at least trying these out.

The stock shaft is the True Temper AMT Tour Black that is an ascending mass shaft that is lighter in the long irons and gets heavier as you move to the short irons, but there are also many other options available through Titleist custom fitting.

The lofts of all of Titleist irons are listed below. It is interesting to note how strong the lofts are on AP3 irons are compared to the rest of the range- apart from the AP1’s. Which suggests the increase in distance from the AP3 irons may be primarily coming from the degree of loft and not by the ever advancing technology used in the manufacturing of clubs these days. Nonetheless the AP3 irons are a must try regardless of what level of player you are.

With Titleist set to hike their prices slightly from their 716 range the cost of the new AP3 718 irons per club will be : £150(s), £175(g).