by Dominic Choma, Club Fitter
In the last blog post, we discussed the TaylorMade P790 iron. We found that the P790 was a great option for the better player who is looking to hit the ball farther while not giving up the look and feel of a classic players iron. While this iron will benefit a wide range of golfers, there is a segment of the market who would like the distance that the P790 offers, while also getting a little more help on their mishits. That is what we find in the new TaylorMade M CGB iron.
The TaylorMade M CGB iron is a Max Game Improvement iron that is designed for maximum forgiveness and distance. The M CGB iron features a clubface that is less than 2 mm thick, which is among the thinnest in the industry. A thinner clubface will allow for the face to flex more at impact, which is a key in increasing ball speeds on both center strikes and off-center strikes. In other words, distance will increase on both good and bad shots. Also aiding the performance of the M CGB iron on miss-hits are the fact slots on the heel, toe, and sole of the club. These slots are designed to help the clubface flex more when the player hits a shot that is off the center of the clubface. This again will save the golfer distance that they would have otherwise lost with a different club. With these features in this clubhead, TaylorMade has made the claim that carrying these irons is like carrying a bag full of drivers. Pretty bold claim if you ask me.
We can talk about this club all we want, but the performance is truly what we care about. For this test, I compared the M CGB to my current 7 iron. I did this to show the distance that can be gained for a player who is currently using irons that are not necessarily optimized for distance. The shaft in both clubheads is the Dynamic Gold X100 playing +½”, and both clubheads were 2 degrees upright. The M CGB 7 iron that I tested had 30 degrees of loft, and my current 7 iron has 32 degrees of loft. Essentially the only difference between the clubs were the clubheads themselves, as 2 degrees isn’t going to make a significant difference in distance (maybe 5 yards). Results are below.
| Club | Clubhead Speed | Ball Speed | Smash Factor | Launch Angle | Spin Rate | Height | Landing Angle | Carry |
| Current | 95.2 | 131.4 | 1.38 | 13.4 | 8001 | 97 | 47.6 | 181.6 |
| M CGB | 95.6 | 138.5 | 1.45 | 12.2 | 6837 | 103 | 47.8 | 195.5 |
Click on link to view full report: Dominic Choma 2017-10-18 Multi Group Report
For starters, my clubhead speed stayed consistent with both clubs. This was the goal, as I wanted to try and make the same swing regardless to let each club show itself. Now, although the clubhead speed for each club was the same, the ball speed for the M CGB averaged 138.5 miles per hour, compared to 131.4 mph with my current 7 iron. Essentially with the TaylorMade I was able gain 7 mph in ball speed without having to exert any extra effort on my part. We can see this in the smash factor number, which we get from dividing the ball speed by the clubhead speed. I like to look at this number as an efficiency rating, basically telling me what the golfer is getting out of a certain club (Ball Speed) for what they are putting into it (Club Speed). As you can see, my smash factor with the M CGB was 1.45, compared to 1.38 with my current 7 iron. Now both numbers are perfectly acceptable, but we would rather have the 1.45 all day long if we are looking to increase distance.
Looking at the flight of the golf ball, the two main numbers I like to look at at the Height and Landing Angle, as this will give us a good idea of how this club will perform coming into the green. The M CGB iron averaged 103 feet in the air on average, with a 47.8 degree landing angle. My current 7 iron averaged 97 feet in the air with a 47.6 degree landing angle. In simpler terms, the MCGB 7 iron was flying 6 feet higher on average, while also landing at basically the same angle as my current 7 iron. So, we are getting the same ball flight as my current 7 iron in terms of how high it is flying and how softly the ball is coming into the green, but we are gaining 7 miles per hour in ball speed. This increase in ball speed leads to me averaging 196.5 yards in carry with the M CGB, compared to 181.6 with my current 7 iron. I would say being able to hit the ball on a similar or even better trajectory, with the same stopping power coming into the green, while hitting the ball 15 yards farther is something that would benefit the vast majority of golfers.
The TaylorMade M CGB iron is designed for the golfer who is looking for maximum distance with maximum forgiveness. As we saw in my test, there was a significant difference between the distance of my current 7 iron compared to the M CGB 7 iron. Seeing as I am not even the target audience for this club, I am excited to see what this iron can do for the player that it is designed for. As I stated earlier, there aren’t too many golfers that I have seen in the Cluboratory that would not benefit from hitting the ball higher and farther. As always, being properly fit for this club will help to maximize the performance the player sees on the golf course.
