OFFICIAL MEMBER TEST THREAD: TaylorMade PSi Irons

Recently, 5 GolfWRX members were chosen to test TaylorMade PSi irons. Normally, testers would send their specs and receive their clubs so after. This time, TaylorMade took it a step further and had each member properly fit by TaylorMade staff into their PSi irons.

They'll add their TaylorMade fitting sessions and PSi iron reviews shortly. Let's keep this thread open until the posting begins.

Enjoy!

Before I go any further, I’d like to thank GolfWRX and TaylorMade for this incredible opportunity – it was wonderfully fun and I’m very lucky to have gone through this tremendous experience. Plus, it made for one hell of a Christmas gift!

About me

So…a little about me to help frame everything. I’m 38 with an index of 9.7 currently and a decently long hitter (~280 avg drive), gaming MP54s which I love for the looks, feel, and performance. I’m not a TM hater or fanboy, I’m very empirical when it comes to selecting gear – I want the right numbers, the right ball flight, and the right performance out on the course (I’ve been retrofitted on every club in my bag at least twice). Brand name and reputation will get you in the door but performance is what gets you on the roster. I went into this excited, but tempered by a healthy dose of skepticism – TM stuff had never really worked for me in the past and I’ve swung many of their clubs since the RBZ came out.

One other thing – I waited a couple days before I wrote this to let the natural high wear off so I could be more objective.

The Fitting Process

I met my fitters Kurt and Jim at Rancho Carlsbad Golf Club and upon walking to the range, I immediately got happy butterflies in my stomach – they had a full TM tent set up and roped off, dozens of clubheads and shafts arranged neatly and waiting for ME. I was slightly tired from not being able to sleep the night before because of excitement but that disappeared as I walked up and introduced myself.

After a quick warmup it was on to the fitting! We started out with PSi and then the PSi Tour, rotating through a variety of shafts until I found the one that works best for me. Numbers were supplied by a FlightScope. Kurt took the lead on the fitting with Jim assisting.

As it was just myself and a buddy who tagged along to watch, (imagine having 2 clubfitters with over 500 Tour player fittings between them focusing on you – heaven!) we took our time and had a lot of nice discussion on shaft specifics, how shaft characteristics influence ball flight, and tons of great stories from his years of being a top clubfitter. I really enjoyed Kurt explaining in detail why certain things happened and his thought processes – most clubfitters don’t really bother going into this as they are focused on the output of the fitting, not describing the details of it. He even gave me a few AWESOME swing tips that he’d gleaned over the years from his work with Tour players and their coaches, but you’ll have to go get fitted with him to hear them yourself – I was sworn to secrecy!

One of the aspects of the fitting that was interesting to me was that part of the experimentation with different shafts was not just to see what worked (which is standard fare for a fitting), but also intentionally trying shafts which would likely NOT work, which gave Kurt further insight into what WOULD work. I’ve been fitted by some very experienced folks in the past but it just felt like Kurt was on another level. He’d hand me clubs with different shafts and whisper to Jim how I’d miss, and 9/10 of the time Jim would chuckle and confirm that Kurt was correct. That was definitely fun! We spent maybe an hour dialing in irons, and I feel VERY good about the specs that we ended up with.

Kurt was extremely passionate about how the importance of a proper fitting and how golfers of ANY level can benefit tremendously from it. TaylorMade is hiring folks such as himself with decades of high level fitting experience all over the country to help with this effort and if Kurt and Jim are any representation of the quality of folks on the team, TaylorMade is going to do very well for itself in this regard. I love it that the industry is moving towards more of a “boutique” experience to putting the right clubs in golfers’ hands, and it can only be wonderful for the sport that a company with such a big influence is taking steps to provide this.

Initial Reactions and Evaluation

There were a few surprises for me at the fitting. I ended up performing better with the PSi over the PSi Tour irons (no surprise, more forgiveness included), but my first big surprise was that I actually preferred the feel of the regular PSi irons. I expected the regular PSi to feel a little slappy but this was not the case at all. They felt “clean” and “soft” at impact and not “slappy” like I’d experienced with TM clubs in the past. Turf interaction was great.

Distance wise, I picked up a full club-length. Lofts are a little stronger than my current gamers, but not obscenely so…certainly not the 4 degrees that is the difference between most consecutively numbered clubs. Everything was standard length, so there’s definitely something else going on here...it’s gotta be the tech. I don’t know everything that went into the clubs or the why behind those things, but whatever it is really seemed to work.

My second surprise was what happened with mishits (reasonable ones of course). I had always been pretty skeptical of the face slot technology, but it really does seem to work. I wasn’t having the best ballstriking day and was a little bit over the face – but this actually allowed me to really see what the technology could do, and the end results were VERY similar. With my current gamers there is a noticeable dropoff in numbers when you are outside of the sweet spot – with the PSi, if I hit outside of the sweet spot and didn’t tell you, you might not notice unless you know my game.

I came away quite pleased and with a definite sense of anticipation of getting my set of PSi’s – they’re going straight into the bag. The big takeaway I’d like to leave with you is that the PSi irons are definitely quality clubs – if you’re in the market for a new iron set, I highly recommend giving them a hard look. Find the shaft that’s appropriate for you and you’ll really see just how well they perform.

The only knock I had on them was the face slots themselves – they were slightly distracting. I got used to them as the day went on so it wasn’t a big deal, but it was very slightly jarring at first. I wonder how well the polymer will hold up and if they will be harder to clean/get scuffed, but we’ll see.

On-Course Performance

I replaced my current irons and haven’t looked back. After the initial adjustment period, I’m going to keep the PSi’s in there for a long time. Having played ~5 rounds with them, I feel like they are more forgiving than my MP54s (a bad swing is a bad swing, unfortunately no iron in the world will help those) – the one thing that I’ve noticed is that distance is much more consistent, even on mishits. This is definitely something I can appreciate, as all of you know it’s extremely frustrating to come up just short on an approach shot, that’s often a lost stroke for me and other amateurs around my level.

At any rate, if you're in the hunt for a new set you owe it to yourself to at least check these out. Thanks for reading!

Well done review.Great photos and commentary. I own PSI Tours and love them.

Just fyi, the review below was written after playing the non tour PSI 3 rounds. The PSI is now in the bag and already gamed it 20+ rounds :).

First of all, a huge thank you to GolfWrx staff and Taylormade for another successful contest. I am very honored to get selected for the PSi testing. A little about me, I have been playing golf since 2003 with an average tournament scores in a mid-70s and recreation average score in low 70s with a USGA handicap of 3.3. My gamer in the past was Adams Satin A4 Tour and Adams Tour Satin MB2, currently have the Mizuno 4-GW JPX with UST Recoil 808 Tour SPX Stiff in the bag.

About a month ago or so I was fitted with the new Taylormade PSi irons. We did the fitting at Barton Creek Resort at the range. I was glad that we did it on the real turf instead of the mat. I hit about 30-40 balls with my JPX 850/UST 808 Tour SPX Stiff shaft and proceeded with the fitting process. The fitting process took about 2 hours. The TMAG Ref Mr. Gardner and I have tried many shafts including a few steel shaft (DG, KBS and Nippon), and the graphite shafts like the Steefiber and Program 95. I ended up with Graphite Kuro Kage Stiff shaft. The steel shaft felt heavy for me, the other graphite felt too stout. The Kuro Kage is just right, the weight, the stiffness and the feel is perfect for my liking.

Looks/Appearance: – The 1st thing I did when I arrived at the fitting location is grab the PSi 7 iron and compare the topline, sole and offset to my JPX. I said to myself these will do with a smile on my face. As you can see on the pics, the topline, the sole, the offset and the head size, the PSi irons was the winner on every category. From the address position, the topline of the PSi is not too thick and not too thin is just right (I called it a midsize topline). Comparing to my current gamer, the PSi topline is thinner. The sole widths compared to my gamer looked chunky :). The sole of the PSi was narrower in person, compared to pictures you see online, maybe because of the curb or grind on the back close to the hosel made it narrower. The PSi head size is very similar, if not the head size of the PSi is a bit small compare to my gamer. But the head shape makes it more like a players’ irons. What I like most is the design of the cavity back, the badge with chrome and carbon fiber mix, the subtle texture, and the satin finish is a bonus to me. Nice touch Taylormade.

Feel and Sound: - Feel for golfers is very different, it comes down to personal preference. To me when you pure struck any kind of iron (cast, forged, etc) on the sweet spot it will feel very soft and it will feel the same. With that said, the long and mid irons of the PSi when struck pure feel soft, feel like hitting one of those very low compression soft golf balls. To me the sound is more important, for some players they want feedback when you hit off center of the face and they can feel the difference. To me what I’m after is I want the sound give me feedback. The sounds of the PSI were hard to describe, it is more of a click and muted sound in a good way and absolutely loved it. The sound feels like you are watching a PGA pro in person on the range hitting golf balls, you will love hearing that sound. I read some reviews online about the RSI line the more of a “clank” sounds and it is not like that. The short irons on the other hand felt more like the traditional single piece forged clubs, compare to my Adams MB2 the sound and feel of the PSi forged is better. All that technology (DFS, HYBRAR, Mult-Material badge constructions, cavity dampening) Taylormade put in the cavity definitely helped improved the sound and feel of the irons. Keep in mind the 3,4,5 irons have tungsten weighting, and forged on the short irons.

Performance (Distance and Dispersion): - This is where the irons really shine. I have picked up about a quarter club’s distance in the long and mid irons, and is about similar, maybe a couple of yardage in the short irons. During the fitting session, I averaged about 9-10 yards gained (carry) on the 7 iron compared to my current gamer (the PSI 7 iron is only .5 loft strong 31.5 vs 32). Balls speed was up on average, additional 4 mph ball speed, the spin is lower, the height was up 5 ft average. The yards gained is perfect for me, resulted on perfect yardage gaps at the top of the bag, without compromising anything at the middle and bottom. On my current gamer I have about a 9/10 yard gap in the short irons, and 8/9 mid irons yards and long irons. I now have 14/15 yards throughout the whole bag. I have already played 3 rounds and a few range sessions with PSi. My score was 75, 76, 73 just about my average in the mid-70s. The real surprise during my 3 rounds with the PSi, there was very little loss of distance if you miss the sweet spot or the middle of the face. In fact, when I miss-hit on the toe, the distance and ball trajectory is almost identical when I hit on the sweet spot. During the three rounds, I had a few struck that I hit low on the face and I didn’t notice any distance loss. I had a few struck that were heavy, for example I have 165 approach on one of the par 4 and hit it heavy but the ball still ended up on the green and gave me a birdie chance. On my regular iron those heavy shot will result on a lot of yardage loss and will end up short of the green. The speed pocket (thru-slot) really helps if you strike it low, and keep the ideal ball flight throughout the long and mid irons. While the Face slots help a lot if you hit on the toe or heel, like I said when I miss hit on the toe, it feels like it went longer and no noticeable loss of distance. The face slot and the Speed pocket is a real winner. I feel that all the face of the club is a sweet spot. This gave me a lot of confidence knowing that even I did not hit the center of the club face, the irons will still deliver the CONSISTENT distance I want to hit. Obviously, you do lose some yardage but not so much that is noticeable. The dispersion accuracy on these bad boys were a lot better compared to my current gamer. I also didn’t notice any “hot spots” so I didn’t have to worry about that and the yardages are very predictable and consistent.

Conclusion: – Overall, everything about these irons from head to the grip had me impressed. The consistent yardage gaping, the feel/sound, the looks, and the forgiveness of these clubs are what I have been looking for in the irons. Also Taylormade targeted better and low handicap players with PSi irons but, I will say for those players that carries 15 and above handicap don’t need to be worry that it’s too much of a player’s club category. If you are one of those players looking for forgiveness, easy to hit, distance and game improvement irons, my recommendation is for you to demo these irons and try the PSi.

A few things to remember about the Taylormade PSI.

• TM uses 10-gram tungsten toe weights in the PSi 3, 4 and 5 irons, to lower CG and improve MOI, leading to higher-launching, straighter-flying shots.
  
• TM uses Speed pocket and face slot in the PSi 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 irons, to improve the flexibility of the club faces, which create more consistent ball speeds on shots contacted across the face.
  
• TM uses Face Slots on the PSi 8 iron (no speed pocket slot).
  
• TM uses Forged in the PSi 8, 9, PW, AW and SW irons (no face slot and no speed pocket).
  

Below are some pictures during the fitting session and the pdf file is some comparision pictures of my JPX and PSI.

Hello everyone I was selected for the PSI Iron testing. I wanted to thank Taylormade and GolfWRX for giving me this amazing opportunity to test these irons and give you guys the scoop on them…

Before I begin I wanted to give everyone a little bit of background about me...I have hovered around a scratch to a +1.5 for the last year, and I play around 15-20 tournaments per year. I am very picky on the exact specs on equipment and I felt this would help me bring everyone a in depth review. I love to test all brands shafts and equipment to try to find anything that will even slightly perform better than I have but I have mostly gamed 13/14 Taylormade/Adams Clubs for the last 6 years so this testing was extremely exciting to me. If you have any questions please ask..

To begin my experience…

I choose to go to the Taylormade Performance Center in Kenilworth NJ. I met up with an experimental representative named Kevin as well the performance centers professional fitter. We talked about the new tech and the process in which were going to test the irons. We began by looking at different shaft and length combinations inside the lab. My irons I played before testing were Taylormade RSI tp’s( 2-3 degrees strong depending on the head) -1/4 with kbs 105 stiff (actually 110g Shafts) and I added lead tape to get them all to d1. Therefore, I wanted to look at options that were around the 110g range. After warming up, we began testing some 7 irons inside on the monitor that were close to my old shafts. As far as the selection went, the TMPL had every shaft I could ever want to test it was literally amazing. So… when I asked for it they had it which was very impressive! When testing I really wanted to look at the consistency of the ball speeds across the face since with bladed type irons there is a huge drop off on off center hits such as with RSI tps.

Also I payed attention to the feel of these heads which is was kept me from gaming the RSi2 Irons. Overall I was extremely impressed, I had much more consistent ball speeds across the face and the feel was much improved from Rsi2’s. Also these flat out performed, they went a long way and didn’t look too chunky. I do have to say if you’re used to a really small topline or footprints in an iron, these may look big to you for a few swings. If I had to describe them I would say that they are a good medium between a small players iron and a cavity back. I actually liked the slightly larger look since it gave me the perception of forgiveness.

Then we got to the long Irons I was literally shocked because of how high, long and forgiving they were. Compared to my tp’s my dispersion was much improved as a result of very consistent ball speeds across the face made my life much easier. They also felt very close to the RSI tp’s. The distance and spin rates were very close to the same with shafts around the same weight. I actually achieved a few yards more in the PSI’s in the long irons compared to my old irons which are already stronger in loft.

Continuing with the shaft selection… I first looked at the Ctaper Lite X, Ctaper 105x and the kbs 105s. I also tried heavier options around 120-130 grams since I used to play s400’s about half a year ago before I went to a higher spinning option . The problem for me is that I need enough spin and vertical decent to stop on firm and fast championship courses I play in tournaments. So I opted to do more testing of the three original shafts we picked out that spun more. I also found in the past when I switched from the s400’s to kbs105s( which play 110g) that I was also able to increase club head speed and ball speed as a result of a lighter shaft. Once I selected shafts I liked and that performed well on the monitor, we were ready to go outside...

This process of testing each shaft inside to dial in the correct launch took about an hour and then we went outside to see the real ball flights on the range. When on the range I could see with my eye how they launched higher and the ball speeds resulted in more consistent distances on off center hits. After practicing on flightscope for the last 6 years I could visually these see they were spinning a decent amount and launching right where I wanted them. I guess I could say I have a good eye when it comes to seeing flights as a result of the practicing so extensively on them. I loved being able to go outside to see the real ball flight because I do not like choosing irons based off of just hitting into net. Anyways we spent about 30 minutes outside to come to a conclusion that I was happy with the shaft choice. The shaft selection was as followed.

I found that I really liked the Ctaper 105X. This is a proprietary shaft only available through Taylormade at this time. It is a very clean looking shaft which had a different feel than my KBS 105. It kept all of the same launch characteristics and I was happy with my choice. I choose to get the 3-pw as a result of the 3 iron being very workable and easy to do a variety of things with. Now I have a 3 iron I can hit on windy days that I actually feel comfortable with.

I would definitely recommend going to a performance center such as Taylormade performance labs. They have a the wide range of shafts to choose from, hit inside on the monitor, and see the real flight. I really enjoyed it and was a great experience to go through. If you go to a performance lab you will be very impressed and know that you will be getting a great fit. The staff was very knowledgeable and the stock/ equipment of clubs is something not many places can rival. I have the pros card back home and once I find it I will edit this post to include his name because he did a great job and was very personable and knowledgeable.

I would like to give a huge thanks to Kevin Lynch( Experimental Rep) also for helping out fitting and sharing his knowledge of tour issue equipment and helping to find the right fit for me. He went the extra mile to teach me everything about the iron as well as talk about his experience with Taylormade.

Other photos from the performance center

Now to when I received the clubs….

When I received the clubs I put them through a two day test to get actual ball data for all the fellow wrx’s and I took some comparison photos. The testing process I did occurred during 1 hour sessions on Saturday and Sunday with my instructor at my academy. I counted the best 10 and put together a general average over 2 days. It was brutally cold and opening the garage bay was rough since it was around 20 degrees. I did not take screenshots but I just wrote the numbers to make a graph. But if people would like some side by side pictures I can get some this weekend. The graph is as following.

Basically the PSI’s go about the same distance, but are far more forgiving and still feel as good as the RSI’s. Also they launch higher as a result of the weaker lofts than my RSI’s.

On the course...

I was limited to the amount of times I have been able to get on the course due to the weather. But I can say that these perform great on the course and I will be gaming these for a while. These are a good option for anyone who wants a blend of forgiveness and performance. I can see this appealing to a wide range of players from low to high handcapers. One thing since receiving the irons is I have had one issue with a face slot chipping, but Taylormade has replaced it with urgency and I have not known of this being a problem with any of the face slot irons. I believe it just was a freak thing. I would definitely recommend these irons.

Heres some photos of the irons....

4 iron

PW

Comparison Pictures

8 iron

6 Iron address

I hope everyone enjoys this! I will also post more photos at request as soon as I get a hold of a new camera since mine has broken before the test.

First, a big thanks to WRX and Taylormade for this opportunity. Definitely an exciting product and I am happy to provide as much info as I can for the community.

So I had already checked out and hit the new PSi’s at Golf Galaxy back before the testing thread was even started - they were in the demo area but they weren’t on display on the floor yet. The seven iron looked good and felt really good, so I entered in the thread to be a tester. About a week before Thanksgiving I received a message from Hipcheck that I was selected as one of the 5 testers. A week passed and I received an email from Mike from Taylormade Experiential asking what day would work best to schedule the fitting. Almost too casually, Mike added that the fitting would be done at Oakmont. So if the iron fitting and testing wasn’t exciting enough….

Background Info

My current iron set is JPX 825 (non pro), using the 5-GW with Project X 5.5 shafts. I was fit into the 825 irons around 3 years ago with the Mizuno shaft optimizer. I used to have an extremely late release of the golf club - I actually scored a 0 for the “Release Factor” score on the Mizuno optimizer which the fitter said he’d never seen before. So I think the Project X shafts fit me well due to that late release. At that fitting I was swinging a 6 iron 82 mph, and the irons were built 2 degrees up at standard length. In the past 20 months I’ve dropped around 25 lbs, and have changed my swing and grip a good bit since the Mizuno fitting so this was appropriate timing for an updated look at things.

The Fitting

The morning of the PSi fitting was a typical ugly December day in Pittsburgh, 40 degrees with heavy fog and non-stop rain. I met Mike at the Oakmont driving range. We had around 15 minutes to chat as the head pro (Devin Gee, replacing Bob Ford) was finishing up a lesson on the Trackman. After exchanging introductions, Mike gave me a rundown on the PSi irons. He had a display box that showed the features of the new irons including the new “Hybrar” material used for dampening in the PSi irons. There were 2 small balls, one rubber and one made of the Hybrar. Mike had me drop both onto a table from around 3’. The rubber ball bounced maybe 10” but the Hybrar ball barely bounced, maybe an inch or two. The material selection for extra sound/vibration dampening is a result of the focus to improve the feel (sound) compared to the RSi2 irons. Another design feature that Mike showed me was how they moved the slot on the sole of the PSi closer to the face to help with shots struck low on the face. Even compared to the very GI RSi1, the PSi slot is much closer to the face. From what I understand this also allows the slot to go all the way through the sole.

On to the fitting. Like I said, this was a nasty day so I was a bit wary of an indoor fitting and hitting into a screen. Fortunately they have an indoor hitting center that hits out onto the Oakmont driving range. There were 3-4 hitting bays on one side of the building and through a door there were two more bays inside of a fitting room with all of the new equipment lines. This room was setup with a Trackman and a big flat screen showing the data. Mirrors on all sides, so this was pretty much the perfect practice spot. I guess that shouldn’t be a surprise since it’s freakin’ Oakmont.

I warmed up with around 10 shots with the 825 gap wedge and another 10 with the 825 7 iron. My 7 iron was going around 165-175 which for me was normal. Mike asked me about my current iron tendencies and if there was anything I’d like to see improved. I am a high ball hitter and wasn’t out for more distance. So my goal was to tighten up dispersion as much as possible and maybe lower the ball flight slightly. As far as shaft selection, I was also curious about going into the 105-110g range (a little lighter than the 115g PX 5.5) and really improving the feel. Mike agreed that we could lower ball flight a bit based on what he saw from my 7 iron trajectory, but his major focus for the fitting was dispersion and if we got a little more distance from the process that wouldn’t be something to complain about either.

We started off with the PSi 7 iron with the stock stiff shaft (which is the C-Taper 105). Too light for me, it was immediately obvious. I started to re-think my idea of going a bit lighter. I was surprised to see that I was swinging the 7 iron just under 90 mph, since that was a really big jump from where I was with a 6 iron 3 years ago. My swing speed ranged from 87-92 throughout the session, mostly right at 88 mph. Next we tried Project X 6.0 which was better than the stock shaft and had the familiar PX boardy “pop” to it. Mike was using impact tape the whole time and at this point changed the lie angle. From that point on I rarely missed the center of the club face. Being 2 degrees up with my current clubs, later on I was surprised when he said had moved me to 2 degrees flat. But there was no denying the impact improvement from that change.

Next was the KBS Tour stiff. This is where things got interesting. Again, I will refer back to my last fitting with my old swing – at that time the KBS products really disagreed with me and I strongly disliked them. I remember feeling like they wanted to “kick” whereas I was holding off the release. This time the KBS Tour stiff felt great and was really producing great results. It was the clear frontrunner. Next I was handed a satin KBS shaft which I assumed was the C-Taper lite (I was avoiding looking at the labels to prevent bias but the C-Tapers are very distinct). I guess I thought it was the CT-Lite and not the normal C-Taper based on what I’ve read on WRX – C-Tapers always sounded like more of a niche product for the big hitters which I am not. But this shaft provided the best dispersion by far, and I turned it over and it was indeed C- Taper stiff and not the Lite version. We tried the DG S300 but it was clear that the two contenders were the KBS Tour and the KBS C-Taper (both in stiff). We spent a bit more time with both KBS shafts and the C-Taper was just the most consistent performer. The KBS Tour probably felt just a little bit smoother but the C-Taper feel was still an upgrade on the PX shafts for me. To me the C-Taper performed like the PX but with KBS feel. I was consistently carrying the 7 iron 172-178 yards, with great dispersion and better feel – so I’d say all our goals were met. I was still surprised that I got both the improved feel and distance from a heavier shaft but that’s why going through this process is so important.

So the final specs:

PSi 5-SW

KBS C-Taper stiff

Standard length, 2 degrees flat

Lamkin Crossline grips, +2 wraps

Wish I could have taken more pictures of the fitting, Oakmont has a no phone policy outside of locker rooms and vehicles so I wanted to respect that. I will get my photos and some comparisons posted this week, and also some more impressions and actual testing data. Have 4-5 rounds in and a crazy amount of range sessions with them already.

Great write ups. I've had the PSI's in my bag for a couple of months and know what you both mean about the lack of distance lost on miss hits.

If any member have questions about the PSI non tour, please ask or you can also pm me if you prefer.

Thanks

Great write ups! I've had my Rsi2's for about a season and was curious about the differences so I appreciate some of the insights that were provided.

These are some really good write-ups. I recently purchased my set of PSi irons and cannot wait to get them on the course. I was fit at the Legacy Golf Resort Academy with Kris, who is absolutely one of the most knowledgeable and good guys to work with that I've experienced. He helped me fit the entire bag (minus putter) and get the clubs fit perfect. He did combination of clubhead and shaft to fit. Handing me variations of shafts that he expected to work and didn't expect to work for whatever reasons. It was incredible. So long story short I'm fit M1 Driver, fairway, and two hybrids. Following that is the PSi Tour 5-AW and the new TMAG wedges with ATV grind (basically Vokey M Grind). I cannot wait, and after hearing these reviews I'm even more excited.

Some pics. These clubs show really well in person. To be honest Taylormade definitely lost me a bit with the marketing overkill, the Rocketballz and Rocketbladez etc. But the PSi line is really classic looking and the satin finish looks great.

Like dtown said above, the PSi's fall somewhere between a player's CB and classic GI iron. Not super compact but definitely not a huge head either. Comparables would be Ping's i offerings, Callaway Apex, Srixon 545, maybe Mizuno JPX Forged. For a Titleist comparison the look and head size is between the AP1 and AP2, probably closer to the AP2 in my opinion.

I grabbed my old set of Adams' A4's for some comparison pics. These were well liked here as they were super forgiving with a thin top line and not too much offset. The PSi's have a thinner sole, less offset and a slightly shorter blade length. The A4's have the thinner top line.

More comparisons, here next to the JPX825's I've been playing. The 825's are a larger head but are not SGI. The PSi's by comparison are considerably smaller in all aspects, with much less offset in the longer irons.

This is my review of the new TM PSI irons ….. I want to THANK both GolfWrx and TM for the opportunity to hit these irons and was quite excited to hit them. To clarify from the start- this is the regular PSI and NOT the PSI TOUR irons….

I have never been one to blindly jump on the bandwagon and this was no exception to my unbiased opinion. My bag proudly has included just about every major brand that was for MY BENEFIT only throughout my entire career.

After receiving the email from Hipcheck- Rob concerning me getting the honor of trying the irons, I got an email from Johnny Meador- the North Texas TM Rep within 2 days. Mr. Meador was a pleasure to deal with and was quick to answer immediate questions. Due to bad weather in the area, we tried several times to meet at the TM fitting center on the outdoor range but were unable to get this done. We ended up meeting in an indoor setting though.

Johnny was professional and knew what he was talking about as I’ve met MANY people in the past that were Reps that had NO idea of what they were talking about. We started off in a friendly conversation of my past experiences with club fitting and what I was currently hitting. I walked into this with a clear and unbiased mind set based on my current swing. Due to back issues that have been getting worse over time, I wasn’t concerned with anything. Johnny handed me a club and we started from there to see what the spin and feel was to me.

We started off and I had had no idea of what lie or stiffness. I knew whether or not it was a PX, KBS or DG and started to narrow down the field. I immediately didn’t like the feel of the DG compared to the PX or KBS as the latter two felt similar TO ME. We dumped the DG and started to narrow down to a 6.5 and the stiff/ x-stiff KBS C-Taper. The problem with the X-stiff was it did feel like stiffer than I wanted and the number weren’t coming out like I wanted. We narrowed it down to the 6.5 and the stiff-plus. Now between the two, the 6.5 had slightly lower RPM’s but the height was about 7-10 yds higher. We settled on a stiff plus at ½” longer to compensate on the lie angle. This process took about 90 minutes and almost 100 balls with several breaks in between to not get into some funk.

After all of this, Johnny thanked me for my time and appreciated his demeanor and professional. The clubs arrived 12-24 or about 10 days after we had the fitting, to me that was service since they were custom ordered….I just really got a chance to play them in decent weather in the DFW area and the courses I played were a little soft due to some recent rain.

Now to the irons and let me tell you they are nice.

LOOKS-

Let me start off by the looks of the irons at address… I like a medium top line at best and these fit the bill perfectly. The toe was a nice rounded look and is smooth in transition. I’ve never liked a squared off or too rounded but these are DOWNRIGHT SEXY. The forged irons look so traditional and DO NOT get bigger in the scoring irons. The PW & GAP are absolutely perfect to me. The gap wedge is the best looking wedge that I’ve seen for its size and looks period. What do I mean by that? I always felt that the wedges in a set should follow the size of the irons and not the size of the traditional wedges bought for the 50+* wedges. I have a photo of the new TM RSI 50* below and are very similar in size. I couldn’t find another GW to show the difference so I apologize as I didn’t want to compare a 54 or more wedge without being biased.

The AW is on the left(BOTTOM) with the RSI on the right.... I was more impressed with that GW/AW than any YET.....

Since I am on the wedges, I might as well talk about the lower irons that are forged….

Before I begin though- I play with CP2 red oversized grips and did change them before I played with them. This grip has a tendency to block unwanted vibration(s) and I see EVERYTHING as nails so “feel” and “instant feedback” are overused and non-existent phrases in my rationale.

8-AW

The 8 iron is the morph of the set since it is the first and last iron that is forged and has the face slot. Does it REALLY matter on the face slot to me? It doesn’t bother me either way but consider the 8 as my real scoring iron to get it close in feel mode. The face slot TO ME the more I think about it helps me that much more to ensure of the face squared to where I want it to start. Did TM go thru a lot of research as to decide to leave out the bottom slot and leave the face slot, I am sure they probably did. I personally have no idea but will say the 8 plays great regardless. Does the face slot make it “feel” or “sound” any different from the other forged irons? TO ME, it didn’t either way as I play AGAIN- CP2 oversize grips and does have a tendency to cut down on vibration. ULTIMATELY did the iron respond and do what I wanted it to? Yes- The bounce on the scoring irons are near perfect for me as I like irons with a little more bounce and a softer- more rounded leading edge…. I tend to DIG more often and played nicely. I take a nice mid pelt but nothing grave like….

The 9-AW as well are forged and don’t have the slots. They play as traditional scoring irons and does that well. I play the AW more around the green than I do the PW as is so easy to play the typical pitch& run, the bump & run and didn’t have a DUMP& run as normal…. J Again, the leading edge is slightly softer with enough bounce for ME to keep me from killing my score around the green.

DISTANCE- I have a lot of confidence with the scoring irons and these were no different. Did I lose distance due to hitting them on the toe- I did but was no worse than 8-10 yds in what I call a bad hit. It did not miss dispersion wise any more than I thought and was certainly acceptable in my book. Was it to the extent of my original FT Callaway- NO! Then again, TO ME nothing played will be that good except original Fusions. The Ping Anser irons misses were a tad bit more short and wider but we’re talking about less than 5-8 yds both ways.

Did any of these irons play longer or shorter than anything else? I would say they certainly could’ve played longer with a different shaft (PX 6.5) but I liked the dispersion and the flight trajectory a tad more with the C-Taper. I don’t think these irons are giving up any distance to something in their class by a LONG shot, you can probably find a distance iron to hit it further but it won’t perform like these overall.

FLIGHTING the ball with any of these irons were easy to accomplish if I so desired to but wasn’t that often. I had no problem putting these back or forward in my stance and moving the ball how I wanted the work it. I had more than confidence to not worry about hitting a fatty with them. I rarely hit anything thin and am ALMOST always on the heavier side so I apologize this review is biased but that’s MY swing.

“FEEL”- This is SUCH a subjective matter and will place sound in this as well. MY “feel” is a little different as I play with soft and larger grips that take away some of this. Did I “feel” additional vibrations from the iron(s) when I hit it on the toe? Yes- but it was minimum and has never been to the degree that I think I should try something “more forgiving”. Are they “forgiving” enough and “feel” enough on mishits to know that I missed but still have plenty of confidence to know it is minimum for the looks? Absolutely! It is a great thing to have the looks and confidence to stand over the ball and know that I can mishit the iron and won’t sting or miss the green by too large of a degree.

Sound is placed in this as well and they have a SOLID thwack sound to them and is SLIGHTLY higher pitched when off the far side of the toe.

Here are PW photos of the PSI on left (BOTTOM) vs. the the new Ping i.....

Here are photos of the PSI- left (BOTTOM) / AP2- middle / XR 16 - right - All are wedges...

4-7 irons

I am lumping these together and will the 4-5 iron with each as such since the 6-7 irons are more of a scoring iron with a bit of safety built in…..

They are nicely built as well on the toe and have a wonderful flow right into the scoring irons but they have a tad MORE forgiveness. Do I buy into these are the GREATEST irons ever crap, 3.124578% better than previous irons – yada- yada- yada….. NO. I hit these and was impressed though. The face slot definitely again helps ME to square the club face with confidence and has helped with starting direction.

I have NO problems pulling out the 4-7 irons and know that I am going to get a solid shot IF I do my part. If I DON’T (which I do), then I know it won’t be that bad. I have every bit of confidence to know it is going to be in a general area if I hit it bad. It didn’t hurt my hands or hardly vibrant when I really missed it out on the toe and I mean WAY out and will mention more of this in just a second…. Everything has a seamless flow about them in this specific portion as there’s no odd size difference to the eye that makes me go- GOOD GOD that iron is much bigger….

DISTANCE- In gross terms, I was happy with the raw distance. I was more impressed with their consistency than anything else. I hit several shots into greens that were as consistent with anything I’ve hit. Dispersion as well on bad shots were more than acceptable. AGAIN, the face slots really helped in my mind to get the ball to start in the initial direction even though my swing didn’t sometimes…. Was it to the extent of my original FT Callaway- NO! Then again, TO ME nothing played will be that good except original Fusions. The Ping Anser irons misses were a tad bit more short and wider but we’re talking about less than 5-8 yds both ways again.

FLIGHTING the ball with any of these irons were easy to accomplish if I so desired to but wasn’t that often. I had no problem putting these back or forward in my stance and moving the ball how I wanted the work it. I will say it was EASIER for me to hit the ball lower than hit it higher. I already hit the ball high enough and the C Taper shafts helped to keep the ball out of the upper atmosphere- thinking more about it- it could definitely be a combination of both. I rarely hit anything thin and am ALMOST always on the heavier side so I apologize this review is biased but that’s MY swing.

“FEEL”- This is SUCH a subjective matter and will place sound in this as well as before. MY “feel” is a little different as I play with soft and larger grips that take away some of this. Did I “feel” or “hear” anything additional from the lower irons since these are NOT forged? I will say for ME that the sound is slightly different on missed toe shots. I will say the sound is slightly higher in pitch but the “feel” was the same with minor vibrations. Are they “forgiving” enough and “feel” enough on mishits to know that I missed but still have plenty of confidence to know it is minimum for the looks? Absolutely! It is a great thing to have the looks and confidence to stand over the ball and know that I can mishit the iron and won’t sting or miss the green by too large of a degree.

They have a SOLID thwack sound to them as well but it doesn’t have that “dense” feel to it like the scoring wedges. I felt absolutely nothing on solid shots with the forged irons but could EVER so slightly “feel” this little something that I hit the ball in the non- forged irons. Was it a bad thing- NO! But it wasn’t void of nothing. It is so hard to describe.

Here are photos of the 4 irons in PSI- left (BOTTOM) and Ping i- right:

Here are photos of the 4 irons of the PSI-left(BOTTOM), AP2-middle and CF16-right

Overall

I have enjoyed these irons immensely and think the NOT too small and NOT too large iron it is hits the category of an ALMOST player’s look with the forgiveness of the GI iron. It is simply a flowing set of irons from 4 iron to AW with no disappointment in my eyes. It would be a great injustice to NOT at least hit these on the range to get a feel for them. If you’re looking for a set that is smaller then definitely look at the PSI TOUR…. Those are slightly smaller and would appeal to the LOW handicaps as they are ever so much in that player’s iron.

I took a lot of photos but thought you should see them for yourselves. I have included a few against the Ping i, Titleist AP2 and the Cally CF 16 in the PGA Super Store. They hold their own against anything in this category for overall playability. You can certainly go “exotic” and maybe find something a little softer but I don’t think it will be as forgiving.

If you have any questions, please feel free to post it!

-David

Can you talk more about the performance on the course once the irons are unwrapped? What do you see different than your previous set? How much confidence do you gain with the psis?

Can you talk more about the performance on the course once the irons are unwrapped? What do you see different than your previous set? How much confidence do you gain with the psis?

For me, it was about the distance consistency with off-center hits. I don't have to worry as much about ending up short in bunkers or water or such, which is nice. Bad hits are bad hits and no club in the world will correct those, but I do feel like I hit my expected distances a decent bit more often.

Now, if only I could hit a 3i as well as the shorter irons. :)

Good job gentlemen. As a participant in the RSI launch last year good to see your fittngs went well and no delays in getting the gear. I'm still playing my RSI TP

Can you talk more about the performance on the course once the irons are unwrapped? What do you see different than your previous set? How much confidence do you gain with the psis?

I spent some time at a range with the new Protracer setup. Shows your ball flight with each shot just how it does on TV, also with ball speed, launch/descent angles and speed. My average distances (around 10 shots with each club) were similar to what I was using before:

5 - 190 avg

6 - 182 avg

7 - 174 avg

8 - 162 avg

9 - 150 avg

PW - 141 avg

AW - 119 avg

PSi lofts are near identical to the irons I was using. The 825's were also high COR irons so it's no surprise that my distances haven't changed. Like I mentioned in the fitting summary, I wasn't seeking more distance. I will say the PSi's seemingly provide the same forgiveness and high ballspeeds with a much sleeker and classic looking design.

You asked about confidence, to me that has come from the very consistent ball speeds all over the face with the PSi's and consistent distances. Other reviewers have mentioned the same. They are also easy to launch the ball high. As far as the face slots, it's very hard to say exactly how much they help but I will admit they provide a strong placebo effect. Once you set up with the ball between the slots they kinda make you feel like you just gotta put the ball somewhere between them and you'll get a good result.

To me the PSi feature that needs to be given the most credit is the feel of the clubs, particularly the long irons (which are cast). The 8-SW are all forged, so they feel good but I've honestly enjoyed hitting my 5 and 6 iron the most. I'm guessing the long irons have the most amount of the dampening material? Most of the new thin face, high COR irons have to sacrifice feel as there's no longer mass directly behind the ball. Taylormade talked a lot about the hybrar dampening system and I can definitely say they've succeeded in having a great feeling, high ballspeed iron. Really, the 5 iron feels so good it made me second guess not going with a 4 iron also, but I've always used a 22/23 hybrid so no need for the 4i.

Agree with WVP, one of the reason why i chosen the regular PSI vs the PSI tour is because of the beautiful satin finish of the non tour. It remind me my old Tour Issue A4 tour. I am so loving the PSI I added the AW and 2 iron in the bag.

Agree with WVP, one of the reason why i chosen the regular PSI vs the PSI tour is because of the beautiful satin finish of the non tour. It remind me my old Tour Issue A4 tour. I am so loving the PSI I added the AW and 2 iron in the bag.

I am hoping the satin EF wedges that Dustin Johnson is using get released this year. Would be a good match for the PSi's.

It nice to see others have experienced the same results I have. I attended the Atlanta RSI Launch event and when those of us that attending the launch event were reporting on the benefits of the face slots and results we were experiencing, there were a number of doubters. The PSI seams to be a nice upgrade from the RSi2. Especially when it comes to shaft selection. I love my RSi2 with the Project X PXi shafts. I ended up getting them custom fitted at Club Champion. They fit me much better than the Project X 95 that I was fitted for me at the launch event.

I played speedblades and they are very forgiving as we all know but how do the psi compare? As far as the 4-5 iron they look pretty small compared to the speedblades. Could a 14 hc game the psi?

I played speedblades and they are very forgiving as we all know but how do the psi compare? As far as the 4-5 iron they look pretty small compared to the speedblades. Could a 14 hc game the psi?

I have never hit the speedblades but i hit the rocketbladez on the range. One of the member of our club have rocketbladez and i feel the forgiveness is the same and the sound of the PSI is better. I will probably say the PSI is more forgiving on miss hit if you hit on the heel or toe because of the face slot. On my review I said i barely notice a lost of distance if you don't hit the middle of the face (sweet spot). Definitely you can game the PSI, i recommend you demo the PSI. I guarantee it you will like it, and it might be more forgiving and longer than the speedblades.

I played speedblades and they are very forgiving as we all know but how do the psi compare? As far as the 4-5 iron they look pretty small compared to the speedblades. Could a 14 hc game the psi?

There are certainly more forgiving options out there but this is one of those sets that anyone can play. Not terribly punishing, easy to get the ball up in the air.

Agree with WVP, one of the reason why i chosen the regular PSI vs the PSI tour is because of the beautiful satin finish of the non tour. It remind me my old Tour Issue A4 tour. I am so loving the PSI I added the AW and 2 iron in the bag.

 

I am hoping the satin EF wedges that Dustin Johnson is using get released this year. Would be a good match for the PSi's.

3/18

I played speedblades and they are very forgiving as we all know but how do the psi compare? As far as the 4-5 iron they look pretty small compared to the speedblades. Could a 14 hc game the psi?

 

There are certainly more forgiving options out there but this is one of those sets that anyone can play. Not terribly punishing, easy to get the ball up in the air.

I'm one of those that received a free Speedblade 6i, which I took to the range for 1 day and promptly gave away. Felt and sound like hitting a wiffleball with a wifflebat, I just hated it. Honestly I don't remember what the relative performance was like, I couldn't get past the feel part of things.

FWIW, the PSi's are up there with the great feeling irons I've hit.

I played speedblades and they are very forgiving as we all know but how do the psi compare? As far as the 4-5 iron they look pretty small compared to the speedblades. Could a 14 hc game the psi?

Im currently playing off 18 and there is no reason why you couldn't game these. In fact I'd go out on a limb and say they are as forgiving if not moreso than the Z545's I was playing and fitted for. I am a club longer with these using C-Taper 105 regular shafts. The feel off the face is soft on centre'd hits however I know when I miss as there is a louder crack when the club hits the ball, just not 100% sure whether that is heel or toe until I look at the face. Distance loss is really minimal across the face.

When I first got the PSI's I was hooking them which was a unknown shot for a natural fader / slicer. With a bit of ball position experimenting and a slight move of my right hand to more on top of my left, these are now straight or a gentle draw. I am now missing less greens and more often than not I am long not short or just off pin high. My iron play is not keeping my handicap up its other portions of the game primarily bunkers and off the tee.

To me these were bit of a strange launch by TM, no real hype or fanfare on their release and I think that was a bad thing. I am finding these easy to play. As said above they are not massive heads nor tiny but just about the right size, if you have any reasonable iron swing anyone could game these.

Great write ups guys?

To me these were bit of a strange launch by TM, no real hype or fanfare on their release and I think that was a bad thing

It sounded like they had gotten less than great reviews of the RSi2 and TP sound/feel and wanted to get them replaced quickly with something that solved that issue.

Also I think any time a club gets released around Thanksgiving/Christmas it slides under the radar a good bit.

I have just put the psi forged in my bag and i am over the moon with them they look and feel great re distance game unsure if any change there except for mis hits

Steve

PSI > 716 AP2