Titleist T-Series Irons 

As a refresher, the new Titleist T-series irons are the third generation of irons built on what Titleist labels its 3D philosophy. Some reference to Dodge Ball: A True Underdog Story is almost obligatory (dip, duck, dive … If you can dodge a Titleist iron, you can dodge a ball) but, fun aside, Titleist’s 3Ds are Distance (Control), Dispersion and Descent angle.  

Those first two are closely related.  

While many of its competitors are jacking lofts to squeeze out a few more yards, Titleist’s first D is about making the marketing clean. It’s not Distance, it’s distance control that’s the thing here.  

The idea, if it isn’t obvious enough, is to give golfers the tools to achieve consistent distance from shot to shot.  

When that works, the second D (Dispersion) almost takes care of itself, though the thinking inside Titleist is that left and right is mostly on the golfer while long and short is on the fitter. 

The final D (Descent) is about making sure landing angles are steep enough to create stopping power on the green.  

The last piece of Titleist’s iron-fitting philosophy, which doesn’t fit nicely in our 3D story, is Titleist’s approach to gapping.  

In fittings, the company wants to see five-mph gaps between clubs and, almost invariably, there’s a point at which speed breaks down and the 3Ds are no longer achievable.  

Interestingly, it’s the descent angle that typically fails first. 

Made for Combo Sets 

I’m guessing that any of us who have blended our irons have reasons for doing so. In my case, I typically need a bit of extra forgiveness in the long end and prefer a smaller head on the short end. 

And, yeah, sometimes it’s just fun to have a mix of stuff. 

Through its five-mph philosophy, Titleist has come to believe that combo sets are a necessity.  

The five-mph thing is the reason why Justin Thomas carries a T100 instead of MB 4-iron. It’s why Max Homa swapped his MB 5-iron for a T100 and his MB 4-iron for a T100S (and now a T150). 

It holds true for amateurs as well. As a result of our fittings, Chris Nickel dropped a T100 4-iron for a T200 and I swapped a T350 long iron for a TSR2 hybrid. 

By the numbers, 80 percent of PGA TOUR  pros carry what amounts to a combination set. It stands to reason that the percentage of the rest of us that do that should be even higher. 

T-Series adds an F 

Even if it’s new to you, all of the above has been true since the first iteration of T-series but, as we roll into new the new models, Titleist is adding an “F.” 

For those of you keeping track, that’s 3Ds and an F which sounds a lot like my ninth-grade report card. 

I’m kidding.  

It wasn’t that good. 

Big picture: Titleist feels it was already mostly good with performance but the new generation of T-Series provides an opportunity to tighten things up a bit. 

Before we move into specifics of four new Titleist T-series models, I should clarify the new F is for “feel” and it’s a major point of emphasis and improvement throughout the T-series lineup. 

Titleist T100 Irons 

Titleist T100 is the most-played iron on the PGA TOUR and, while that’s great for bragging rights, it creates some particularly difficult challenges when it comes to making it better. 

Mandates from Titleist’s Tour players include “don’t change the shape” and “don’t make it faster.” 

What are we even doing here? 

Given those limitations, it’s no surprise that the Titleist T100 remains a fully forged dual-cavity design.  

While Titleist (thankfully) didn’t bother to annotate it anywhere on the clubhead, the lower heel and toe sections are still packed with dense D18 tungsten. That’s roughly 80 grams’ worth, depending on the specific loft we’re talking about. 

In the updated T100 design, Titleist was able to steal a bit of weight from the support bar that sits behind the middle of the face. As you’d expect, the mass was reallocated lower in the head to create a little bit higher launch in long irons. 

Improved Feel 

Like a good bit of the industry, Titleist is leveraging predictive software tools to tune sound and feel. That’s what led to the reengineering of the support bar, which accounts for the bulk of the sound and feel improvements. 

Hidden under the backplate is a re-engineered support bar that improves sound and feel

Tighter Distance Control 

According to Titleist, another enhancement of the T100 is improved distance control. It’s the result of more consistent spin that was achieved through a refined face-milling process.  

As part of its T-Series manufacturing process, Titleist mills faces perfectly flat. The previous process left deep mill marks that needed to be polished away. The updated process doesn’t leave deep milling marks which eliminates the need for that final polish.  

Removing the polishing step yields more consistent groove geometries. 

With that, spin is more consistent and so is distance. 

Updated Variable Bounce Sole 

Finally, Titleist added a variable-bounce sole. Previous iterations of T-Series irons had a blunt trailing edge. With the new generation of T-Series irons, Titleist added a bit of chamfer which the company believes gets through turf a bit easier. 

Cosmetically, and this is true for all of the new T-Series, the objective was to keep the aesthetic clean and consistent from one model to the next. The clean lines carry across all T-Series models to allow for seamless blending. 

Titleist T100 Irons – Stock Specs 

The stock featured shafts for the Titleist T100 are the True Temper AMT Tour White (steel) and the MCA Tensei White AM2 (graphite) 

The stock grip is a new Titleist Universal 360. You should find it similar to a Tour Velvet or Crossline. 

Titleist T150 Irons 

The T150 is a replacement for the T100S. Glossing over some of the finer points in the interest of simplicity, T100S was mostly a stronger-lofted version of T100.  

With the new T-Series, there’s a bit more between the two models which is perhaps why Titleist gave it the plus-50 bump and why it’s billed as The Faster Tour Iron. 

Digging in a bit more, I want to start by pointing out that across T100, T150 and T200, blade lengths and offset are identical. 

Relative to the T100, the T150 has a slightly thicker topline and slightly wider sole (head geometry is otherwise the same). The former was driven by AP2 players who felt the topline on T100 was a bit too narrow. The latter (that wider sole) drives a bit of extra mass low in the club which helps to offset the center-of-gravity implications of that thicker topline. 

Updated Muscle Channel 

The major refinement here is an update to the speed-boosting muscle channel that sits behind the T150 face. Compared to T100S, the muscle channel has been pushed a bit closer to the face. It’s a change that allowed Titleist to retain the launch and speed characteristics of the previous model while improving feel. 

Further enhancing feel is a bit of molded silicone that fills the otherwise hollow channel. 

While Titleist gets some speed from T150’s stronger lofts, it’s worth mentioning that there is a real speed contribution from the muscle channel. Tested at equivalent lofts, the T150 is a bit faster than the T100. 

Titleist T150 Irons – Stock Specs 

The stock featured shafts for the Titleist T150 are the True Temper Project X LZ (Steel) and the graphite MCA Tensei White AM2 (Ascending Mass). 

The stock grip is the Titleist Universal 360. 

Titleist T200 Irons 

For me, the T200 has always been the black sheep of the T-Series iron family. From the visible Max Impact Technology of the original to the cosmetics of the prior generation, it always seemed out of place next to T100 and what was T100S (now T15). 

Worse, perhaps, despite a blade length and offset that matched the T100, it’s an iron that always looked bigger than it was. That’s the opposite of what most better players look for in an iron. 

At the most basic level, the size and shape of T200 haven’t changed but Titleist has put a lot of work into making an iron that looks and feels significantly better. 

Speaking as a guy who wasn’t sold on T200 the first two times around, I think Titleist got it right this time. 

Apart from basic cosmetics, the most significant exterior change is to the topline. I’d wager it was a good bit of the reason why the previous model looked so much bigger than it actually was. With the new T200, Titleist has beveled and polished the topline. The result is an iron that, despite identical size, looks quite a bit smaller than its predecessor. 

Under the hood, the bar that supports the speed-boosting Max Impact Core has been pushed towards the heel and closer to the face. The core itself is a bit thinner. 

All of the above works with the flange that holds the backpiece in place to specifically tune sound frequencies for significantly improved feel. 

As a related aside, the rear flange features a series of ribs and other geometric patterns. The layout is a bit different from one iron to the next and distinctly different from T200 to T350. 

What about the backplate? 

Titleist received some pushback for using a plastic backplate on the previous generation. If that was a problem for you, what I’m about to say won’t make you feel any better. 

The new T200 (and T350) still feature plastic backplates. To be clear, the use of plastic isn’t about cutting costs. Frankly, it would be a really odd place to do that.  

Using plastic saves about 10 grams over alternative materials which in the club design world is a serious amount of weight savings.  

The bottom line is that plastic helps improve performance. 

What has changed this time around is that, instead of using an industrial tape, the backplate is affixed to the flange with high-strength adhesive.  

I’m not sure how much it counts outside of a conference room but, when you drop a golf ball on the new version, the sound is seriously better. 

The previous model sounds like plastic. The new version rings much more metallic and that should come through in the feel. 

One final notable change: the 7-iron has been de-lofted by half a degree (to 30.5). Titleist feels it has enough height to generate proper descent angles and the slight reduction in loft helps T200 compete in fitting bay. However, I should reiterate that just as with driver, dialing in loft should be a part of every iron fitting. 

Case in point: It’s been a long time since I was fitted into anybody’s stock lofts. 

Titleist T200 Irons – Stock Specs 

The stock featured shafts for the Titleist T200 are the True Temper AMT Black and the MCA Tensei Blue AM2 (graphite) 

The stock grip is the Titleist Universal 360. 

Titleist T350 Irons 

Across the new Titleist T-series lineup, the biggest generational change inarguably is in the jump from the previous T300 to the new T350. 

A healthy bit of that boils down to cosmetics where T350, despite its larger size, doesn’t look out of place (mostly) alongside the rest of the T-Series lineup. 

The update amounts to a significant overhaul that started with an acknowledgement that Titleist had reached the limits of what T300 could do. Making it better meant re-thinking the design, almost from the ground up. 

To an extent, it also meant simplifying a bit.  

While the T300 was distinctly different than the rest of the T-Series, conceptually you can think of T350 as a bigger version of T200. I suppose that’s why Titleist bills it as The Ultimate Game Improvement Iron. 

From my end of things, that makes the story easy to tell. 

With T350, you’re getting a taller span, ultimately a bigger blade, but all the design and technical elements of T200 carry over. 

On the outside, you get an iron that looks (more or less) like the rest of the T-Series. On the inside, you get a Max Impact Core (and the support bar) and, for the first time in a T3-anything, dual (heel/toe) tungsten weights (the previous models had tungsten in the toe only). 

The rib structures in the rear flange are similar to what you’d find in T200 but they’re designed and optimized specifically for the T350. 

And while all of that should yield better performance, the most significant difference is in feel. To say the 350 is an improvement over the 300 is an understatement. 

As we were dialing in lie angles during my fitting, I ended up hitting a T300 and, frankly, I didn’t enjoy it. Dead … clunky … Whatever the right word is, it didn’t feel as soft or as lively as the T350. It’s one of those things that in isolation you may not notice but side by side there’s a world of difference. 

I suspect the experience of moving from the old T200 to the new T200 is similar. 

Simply put, if you’re intrigued by the T200 but want a bigger footprint or something with more forgiveness, the T350 is the simple answer. 

Titleist T350 Irons – Stock Specs 

The stock featured shafts for the Titleist T350 are the True Temper AMT Red  and the MCA Tensei Red AM2 (graphite) 

The stock grip is the Titleist Universal 360. 

Hey, But What About …? 

If you’ve followed Titleist at all over the last several iron releases, you know that the typical cadence is to launch the flagship iron (AP, now T-series) alongside a new cavity-back and muscle-back. That invariably happens in late summer or early fall with the super-ish game-improvement iron (T400) launching the following year. 

None of that is going to happen this time around. 

The current T400 will remain in the lineup for the foreseeable future

While it’s likely there will be a T400 (or maybe a T450) at some point, it’s going to be a completely reimagined offering and it’s probably not coming in early 2024.  

Titleist appears to be onboard with a philosophy more in tune with things like COBRA’s FMAX or Mizuno’s Hot Metal HL lineups. 

Whatever replaces T400 will almost certainly be specifically designed for moderate swing speed golfers who need more launch and spin.   

It’s going to happen but it’s still very much a work in progress with no specific timeline. 

As with the T400, there are no plans to replace the 620 CB

As far as the CB is concerned, the thinking inside Titleist is that the CB has largely been cannibalized by T100 and with the new T100, the company predicts there will be even fewer players clinging to their CBs. 

There’s a legitimate challenge in defining who a CB is for. 

Is it the T100 guy looking for a more classic design that doesn’t perform quite as well? What’s the need and, more to the point, does it have any real scale? 

Every iron in the Titleist lineup has a specific job and currently there aren’t any open assignments that a CB could legitimately fill. 

That doesn’t mean Titleist is closing the book on CB entirely but it’s not high on the list of priorities. 

A New MB?

While no MB is coming soon, it could prove to be the ultimate sandbox for true customization

As far as the MB goes, it’s kind of interesting. 

On one hand, Titleist believes it could make a better MB but, ultimately, that just becomes the T100.  

In that respect, much like the CB, a new MB isn’t necessary. 

With that said, there are still some guys on Tour who love their MBs. With that, the category has become an unlikely sandbox for what Titleist calls Project Feel.  

Take, for example, Justin Thomas’s one-off fully CNC-milled MBs.  

Instead of trying to design an MB for the masses, Titleist has used the category as an opportunity to experiment with different materials, sole designs, blade lengths and topline widths. Working with and for the best players in the world, Titleist is beginning to understand how to pull and blend multiple design elements to create what amounts to something closer to a one-of-one custom-fitting option. 

The parallel here is perhaps the Vokey wedge lineup.  

As you’re likely aware, Vokey gives you several choices for a 56-degree sand wedge with design elements like bounce, grind, topline, etc., that work for the specific performance needs of the individual.  

Functionally, there’s no reason why the same can’t and shouldn’t be true in the iron category. 

We’re looking far ahead here but it’s the kind of thing that could ultimately trickle down into consumer offerings. 

That’s all coming later. 

For now, Titleist is offering four new T-Series offerings. The updated catalog should serve a wide range of golfers, especially when properly fitted, and, I suppose, blended. 

Titleist T-Series Availability and Pricing 

Pre-sale and fitting for Titleist T-Series irons begins today. Full retail availability begins Aug. 25.  

Retail price for all Titleist T-Series irons is $1,399 (steel) and $1,499 (graphite). 

For more information, visit Titleist.com. 

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