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Forum Member Review: Haywood CB/MB Irons

Monday, 03 June 2024

There now are more companies that offer irons than ever before. With new direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands constantly entering the market, getting recognized is no easy task. Our Forum member testing platform seeks to highlight many of these brands by getting their products in the hands of our testers. For this member testing opportunity, we had four golfers test, review and keep a combo set of Haywood CB/MB (cavity-back/muscle-back) irons.

About Haywood Golf

Founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2018, Haywood Golf has made a concerted effort to differentiate itself by offering multiple fitting locations worldwide. They build all their clubs in Canada.

Haywood offers four iron models, a driving iron, wedges and two different putter models (one mallet and one blade). Their most recent additions are a driver, fairway woods and hybrid. All their golf clubs are available in right- and left-handed.

With so many DTC brands available to consumers, Haywood separates itself by offering more fitting location options and special runs of copper and black nitride-finish clubs, along with competitive prices and a ton of options.

The Testing Opportunity

Our four testers had the opportunity to be virtually fitted with owner Joshua Haywood. This included a discussion about set makeup and shaft selection to ensure our testers had the best chance of success with their set of Haywood CB/MB irons.

These irons are made using 1020 carbon steel that is forged 4 times to shape, at 30% larger than finished size. They are then CNC milled which allows for tighter weight and club measurement tolerances.

From The Testers: First Impressions

Sometimes, photos online don’t quite do a product justice. The renderings on the Haywood website look great but our testers were a bit overwhelmed when they saw them in person

Nunfa0: “These clubs truly are pleasing to the eye. To me, they have ‘shelf appeal.’ If you saw them in a store, they would grab your eye, and you would pick them up. Every angle shows the thought and ideas of the designer.”

CB Lobo 4 Life: “The irons are nothing short of classy and sophisticated. Putting the middle finger, if you will, to the accentuated and overused lines and graphics of today’s market irons. The CB and MB combo from Haywood embraces the look of yesteryear in a clean, sophisticated, and modern way. Everything about these irons screams sleek. An impressive part about these irons is how much inspiration they inspire me to want to hit them well. They exude a sort of greatness just by looking at them. As cliche as that may sound, it is true. Their elegance creates a greater desire to want to play them well!”

Were there any knocks or shortcomings at first glance? Two of the testers noted the boxy topline and said they would prefer something a bit thinner. One felt he might miss the V-sole design on his current set.

From The Testers: On Course Performance

We all like to have an iron we love the look of. However, an iron that looks great and doesn’t perform won’t help lower our scores or, for our testers, make the bag after testing is complete. How the Haywood CB/MB performed on the course would make or break this test for them.

Frazzman80: “How are the Haywoods on course, you ask? I’ve got multiple letters for you. OMG. Wow! A+! Honestly, I’m very impressed. Very, very impressed. I’ve played head-to-head rounds, and they bested my gamers. I’ve played practice rounds where I’ve hit 20 of 26 approach shots onto greens.”

ArizonaLogan: “I do think that Haywood has done an incredible job of making highly dependable irons that are easily predicted. Having these irons tailored to my proper specs makes them super mindless to hit on course. Small details like the finish, shaft feel, and swing weight make them fit seamlessly into my subconscious, leaving room for the more simple swing thoughts.”

Turf Interaction

Many of the larger companies have highlighted improvements and technologies placed within their sole design to achieve improved turf interaction. The sole on the Haywood irons is simple to the eye so how did they perform in this area?

Nunfa0: “I am very impressed with the turf interaction of these irons. They glide through the ground with ease and can negotiate all but the thickest rough (that you should never be in) without the clubhead being grabbed or twisted. Being autumn here in NZ, I was able to play on both soft and firm ground. It made no difference; there was no ‘digging’ for me in any conditions.”

CB Lobo 4 Life: “As forgiving as the clubs are, they tend to dig a lot more than my Srixon irons. Granted, that is what the Srixons are known for, but if Haywood wants to edge the DTC field a little more, that would be a HUGE plus!”

Workability and Forgiveness

Irons in this category are not built for forgiveness. They are built for golfers who like to shape the ball. Did the slightly longer blade add forgiveness at the cost of workability?

CB Lobo 4 Life: “I first want to mention that these irons are FORGIVING! No matter the type, MB vs. CB, they both are forgiving given the nature of the type of iron. I feel bad if I have not mentioned it above, but this is the thing I was shocked by. Even with the MBs, I noticed no significant decreases in ball flight or distance. This is fantastic for irons that are considered a ‘blade.’ If I were to show it, I would say that the forgiveness zone of the clubs is like the following:”

Frazzman80: “I feel like I have to talk about the CBs and MBs separately here. Although both tell you when and where you miss instantly, the CBs are definitely more forgiving than the MBs. The MBs are very playable and still forgiving, much more than I had imagined a blade would be. Slightly thin misses are still great with the MBs (less carry, but similar distance due to less spin and a lower launch angle). For the CBs, the misses are very similar. Slightly thin is great and yes, the carry is less, but the distance has been good.”

Key Highlights

All the testers commented on the quality of the milling as well as the subtle details and sleek Haywood logo. Testers made note of the blade length compared to other irons and recommended it be something to take into consideration for anyone looking at purchasing these irons.

The lofts on the Haywood irons are weaker than others the testers had used. Recognizing this, they had expectations of distance loss but none said it was enough to make a significant difference. In fact, they were surprised about the distances these irons provided despite the weaker lofts.

Sound and feel were praised, as expected for a forged iron. The acoustic response was able to provide accurate feedback on how a ball was struck. The words “soft,” “buttery” and “smooth” were used by testers on pure strikes, whereas “slightly clicky” and “firm” described misses.

Price was also mentioned by the testers. While upcharges can be done by adjusting loft, lie and components, they are still priced well below others in the same category.

Make The Bag

For two of our testers, the Haywoods have claimed a spot as their new gamers. For another, the jury’s out. Their performance is close enough that they could very well earn their spot but there is a level of familiarity andcomfort with their previous set. Our final tester will be staying with his current set for the time being.

Final Grades and Quotes

We asked our testers to grade the irons in various categories that would total a final score of 100. This results were 77, 90, 93 and 85.

Here is what our testers had to say to wrap up their reviews.

ArizonaLogan: “These are very strong-performing irons that do have some downsides but way more upsides. The forgiveness, feel, and looks are right up there contending at the top, while the base price sits closer to the bottom.”

Frazzman80: “I’d stack up the Haywood CB/MB combo set against ANY premium forged clubs that I’ve ever hit. Highly recommend!”

CB Lobo 4 Life: “If I could say anything, it is that anyone who does not know the Haywood name should, without a doubt, take a look at their iron options.”

Nunfa0: “Haywood has made a set that they can be proud of. This is the ideal set for someone who wants to step up to forged clubs but needs a little size for confidence. They are pretty but functional and feel great.”