Technicians at Titleist pay as much attention to the top of a player’s bag as the part where scoring clubs reside, the latest example of that being the release of new utility and long irons. All told, golfers now have seven options in that realm, four of which are U-505 utility irons and three that are long irons from the new T200 family.
“With the U-505 and the T200 long irons, we have players covered regarding what they are seeking in launch, speed, feel and look,†said Marni Ines, director of irons development for the company’s research and development department. “The immediate positive feedback we have received … has been encouraging. They love the balance of the height advantage and control they are getting from a utility and long iron. In addition, players love the look when they put it down at address.â€
The U-505 utility is described by Ines as a wide-soled, high-launching product with a shallow, faster face and a reconfigured hollow body construction, as well as a shorter blade. The club also employs denser D18 tungsten weights and a brazing process used in aerospace construction that made it easier for engineers to concentrate weight more efficiently and be even more precise with their center-of-gravity placement. In this case, that meant sliding it lower and toward the heel, where tour professionals and better players felt it improved launch dynamics the most.
Titleist officials call the T200s “the tour’s distance iron,†and several golfers on that circuit, including Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Charley Hoffman, have put 2-iron versions in their bags. They say “every component of the multi-material hollow body construction†is what makes these clubs long and consistent, while an “engineered muscle plate†enhances sound and feel – and saves weight. A shorter blade length, less offset, narrower topline and thinner sole are built in to give the club the look and feel that tour professionals prefer. Those features also bolster speed and distance.
The U-505 is available in lofts of 16, 18, 20 and 22 degrees, and the T200 has lofts of 17, 20 and 22 degrees.
