MEMBER REVIEWS: TaylorMade M CGB Irons. Read what GolfWRXers are saying...

Five GolfWRX members are testing TaylorMade's M CGB irons and writing their reviews for you to read

They are...

• Dpavs
  
• GenoaCityGolfer
  
• JPW75
  
• mtiger10
  
• epyon
  

ABOUT TAYLORMADE M CCB IRONS

With its new M CGB irons, TaylorMade sought to provide golfers with a high-end product that provides the performance of a super game-improvement iron, but doesn’t look like it’s the size of a woodshed. TaylorMade's Too Bystedt and his product development team also wanted to offer better sound and feel than super-GI golfers are used to.

That being the case, TaylorMade packed the M CGB irons with technologies from the company’s past, and a few new features as well, to make them the most forgiving and longest irons in the company’s stable.

Let's keep this thread open until members start posting.

Thanks!

Sooo stoked to try these out! I'm gonna take these out for my birthday round this weekend! Here is a quick unboxing and my first impressions:

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First off, big thanks to Golfwrx and Taylormade for this special opportunity. I am very humbled and blessed to be able to participate with this.

First Impressions

So I came home to a nice box the other day. Coming home to a box from Amazon makes my day, but a box from TAYLORMADE just gave me girly giggle fits. I was probably one of the first to receive my boxes due to living in Southern California. Lucky me!

Opening the box, I was greeted by some super shiny and gorgeous sticks. To be honest, I did not think that I would find the irons aesthetically pleasing. I mean, looking at the pictures, nothing about these clubs looked traditional in any way, but that doesn’t mean they don’t look clean. The finish is second to none, and the finish looks extremely durable. Sure, if I was a single digit handicap, I would probably have some P790s or some MP-18s, but lets be real. I am pretty bad at golf (compared to the members here), and need all the help I can get.

The irons are unapologetically SGI, but in a very aesthetically pleasing manner in my opinion. There are so many elements to the club that stand out at first glance. There are slots all over the club. Even on the neck! I personally haven’t seen anything like that before. The thing is, it doesn’t seem like these features are gimmicks in any sense. Each piece of technology looks to serve a purpose. Face slots for a hotter face. Speed slots for higher launch on thin strikes. Tungsten weights to increase forgiveness on off-center hits. Fluted neck to save weight to redistribute elsewhere. Everywhere I look, there is help help and more help.

Thing is, at address all of this tech really fades away from view, except for the face slots of course. I really thought the slots would be distracting, but after a few swings, they just disappeared from my mind really. That’s the best part about the clubs to me though. The club at address is not obscene in any way. Sure, the topline is a bit thick, but the blade length is not obscenely longer than my srixons. In fact, the size of the heads are pretty similar. I read that Taylorade’s aim was to fit as much tech as possible into the heads while maintaining a standard head size. Taylormade, you win that battle. And, THEY ARE SO SHINEY WEEEEEE.

On the Range

Let’s take these babies for a spin! The best thing about hitting new irons is being able to see where your impact is on the face before it gets all marked up. I went through my usual routine, working my way through the bag from P and up. The first few balls I hit, I thought I hit pretty well. Then I looked at the face. Oh, those were toe bias hits. Thing is, the launch was still pretty decent, and I did not get the drastic toe draw that I would get with my other irons. The strikes that were nearly centered on the face slots, or a bit closer to center than the face slots, all went decently straight. After hitting a few more balls I looked at the face again. I seemed to be hitting them low on the face, maybe 2^nd groove or so, but the launch was still acceptable. The shots should have really been low burners, but they ended up an acceptable launch, at maybe 2/3 the height or so of a normal shot, with more roll. Basically what I am trying to say is these things are forgiving! As long as you can get ball first contact, the result won't be that bad. I may sound like I am just heaping praise here, but it’s the truth.

The sound and feel were also definitely a pleasant surprise. Personally, I really love the buttery feeling of a flushed shot on a forged iron. Its why I played my MP 53 for so long, even though I clearly would never get my full potential out of them. These don’t have that buttery softness, but strikes were more pleasant than I had anticipated. How I would describe impact would be a solid, sort of clicky THWACK. My srixons and mizunos have a bit more of a subtle muted sound comparatively. I really thought the clubs would feel dead on impact, with a dull thud, but these sound great! Maybe, that’s the effect of the Geocoustics? I can’t say I understand what TM means by geocoustics, but I would imagine they tuned the sound like some auto manufacturers tune their exhaust sound to be more pleasing. Whatever they did, the clubs sound good and feel good on a flushed hit.

On the subject of a flushed hit, these strikes made the ball launch like a rocket. The clubs felt super hot. The height I was getting on shots was also extraordinary. For me, these clubs were about 7-10 yards longer. My usual 7 iron carry with my srixons is about 150 or so. I definitely had to adjust my yardages with the M CGBs. This actually seemed to work in my favor as I was able to incorporate the AW into my bag. The AW is basically my new pitching wedge, the 7 my new 6 iron etc. The best thing though is I was actually able to get the 4 iron up in the air in a decent flight. I had more confidence in that thing than my Titleist 712u, but the 712u is not an easy club to hit either. This is the first 4 iron that I can comfortably bag and pull for shots around 190 or so. Of course, on the long irons, you can see the back sticking out. This is probably a deal breaker for many, but in my mind it sort of gave me more confidence knowing there was so much meat to the club to help me out. That’s just personal preference. All in all, everything felt great, shots were going straight, and everything was getting airborne unless I skulled the ball horribly. Let’s go to the course!

On the Course

Well, I still suck at golf. Ultimately, a club can only help you if you are able to find the ball with the face first. I noticed a few things though. It seemed that during the 2 rounds I played, I didn’t really have as many low burning thin shots as I usually do. I attribute this to the sole slot and the club weighting. What surprised me the most is that on a few fat shots I had, the ball still went a lot farther than I would have expected. I would estimate that my fat shots went about 30 yards further than fat shots with my srixons or mizunos. Those shots go maybe 30 embarrassing yards and die. The club was still able to give the ball some energy despite hitting the ground first. That’s wonderful because that’s a miss I have with my irons. The most benefits I saw were of course with shots I knew I hit thin. Those shots ended up going a very respectable distance comparatively. Very very helpful. My gapping still needs some tweaking though. I airmailed a few greens when I flushed it, but damn those shots felt amazing. Even my player partners were impressed with the impact sound. Clean impact with these are a joy on the course, and whatever concerns I had about the looks really did become unnoticeable after a while. I didn’t score better than I usually do to be honest, but I attribute that to having a very poor driving day and an equally bad putting day (I’ll blame the patches of dead grass and sand on the greens for this one). However, I did hit the flag for the first time with a shot from the AW. Pinseeker!

Final thoughts

So the ultimate question is, will these stay in the bag? For the foreseeable future, yes. To me, the clubs seem to offer help to my game, and with where my game has been lately, I still need the help. They look great in the bag, and great at the address after I got over the thick topline. I am thankfully pleasantly surprised, and this club really reversed any negative judgment I had about them before I received them. I am going to continue putting them through their paces and hopefully can get a better indicator of their contribution to my performance when I have a decent driving or putting day. SGIs make me feel so noob, but these look great, feel great, and just flat outperform.

If anyone is local to Southern California, and want to try these out, hit me up, and we can meet at a range somewhere. Just throwing that out there. If anyone has any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask! Thank you Golfwrx, Hipcheck, and Taylormade!

Congratulations!

First off, a big thanks to GolfWRX and TaylorMade! This is gonna be a lot of fun to review, and I cannot wait to hit these irons!

My box came in today, so here we go!

Unboxing

Full Set Wrapped 4-AW

Shaft Label

Shaft

7-Iron Sole

7-Iron CB

7-Iron Face

7-Iron Comparison Shots: Ping G vs Cobra F7 One vs M-CGB

As you can see the Cobra F7 is a lot smaller than the other two clubs, so I removed the Cobra for the next few shots

PW Comparisons: Ping G vs M-CGB

4-Iron Comparison Shots: Ping G vs M-CGB

One last shot of the set in the bag

Out of the box here are my thoughts:

A lot of folks were saying these things were huge! Well they aren't small, but I guess I never realized how chunky my Ping G's were. The Ping's never really bothered me, so I don't think the M-CGB size is a put off (at least for me). I believe the G's were GI irons (G-Max is SGI?), and M-CGB is a SGI iron, yet they are almost identical in size. So don't let the SGI label put you off.

As you can see different angles make the M-CGB look bigger or smaller. Top line and Sole they look rather chunky, although I do think TM has done a good job on hiding the chunk at address. From the face and CB angles, they don't look that bad at all to me. But really, address is all that really matters, right?

I know there were some complaints about looks in the initial M-CGB post in this sub forum, but I personally really like the looks of these clubs. The cavity does have a lot going on, but these irons really scream of high quality to me. Maybe it's the shiny chrome that is just catching my eye? I am a sucker for some bling.

I did not get a chance to swing these yet, ever in the backyard. The shafts do feel lighter than my PX 6.0's on the Ping G's. Unfortunately I got home tonight after work and was happy to see a TM box, but not even 5 minutes later I got a work call and had to drive ~1 hour back to work for an outage. The good news with that is, I will hopefully get to leave early tomorrow 10/14 and either hit the range or squeeze a quick round in! Worst case, I will be playing on Saturday 10/15, and will be able to post my initial thoughts on these with some real swings under my belt.

Please let me know if you guys would like to see any other specific pictures! I figured doing the 4, 7, and W would be a good start.

Cheers

Congrats!

Excited to hear the reviews on these! :)

I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of CGB's and soooo looking forward to testing them out and posting pics, thoughts, etc.!

A great big thanks to GolfWRX for making the testing possible!

Congrats guys!!

Got my clubs today. Posted some pictures and initial thoughts in Post #4 above. Enjoy all!

P.S. Please excuse the dirty clubs and garage.

I'm grateful to Golfwrx and TaylorMade for the opportunity to review these irons. Since I live in the southeast, I will be receiving my clubs a little later than other reviewers so I thought I would share a loft comparison chart. Much has been said in recent years of the stronger lofts in today's irons but you can see the M CGB irons are pretty comparable to the Callaway X Hots that I've had for several years now. I do hope for a little higher ball fight to help with holding some of the firm greens here in the south.

Looks like mine will be arriving next Monday. More to come after they do!

Played a round on Saturday and these performed as expected. Pretty much on par with my Ping G's so far. I'm hitting the 8 iron ~145, 7i ~165, 6i ~175. I still don't understand why I have such a big yardage gap between 8i and 7i, but this is my third set of stronger lofted clubs now that I have this problem. Hit two GIR's with the 8iron pin high, just a little offline. Very predictable yardage. Still getting used to them and want to get a few more rounds in before I do a more detailed review. Also, I need to change out the grips as I'm just not digging the stock TM grips. I'll be putting on my tried and true Winn DriTac Midsize hopefully this week. I tracked all my shot with FunGolf GPS on Saturday, so I have lots of statistical data. Did not hit the 4, 5, or 9 irons during my round. I shot a 93, but my group wanted to play the forward tees (for whatever reason), so I was hitting a lot of 56deg wedge shots. I even drove the green on a 300 yard par 4. I putted horribly which is very unlike me. Could have easily been in the 80's, which is really good for me as a current 20.3 HCP.

More to follow...

Also Rick Shiels did his review on the M-CGB, and was pleasantly surprised.

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Two Perspectives On One Set of Great Looking SGI Irons

(Mine and an Instagram perspective from the M CGB's themselves)

Excerpts from my new M CGB’s Instagram account-

9/11/2017 – So stoked Just got the news. Five of us M CGB irons sets here at Taylormade are going to lucky members on the GolfWRX forum! I wonder which member I will be sent to.

9/28/2017 – Just found out I’m going to Dpavs! What’s a Dpavs?

10/10/2017 – At the Fedex shipping station and omw to Michigan.

10/16/2017 – It was a long trip but I arrived at Dpavs house today. Anxious to sample the local fare of courses!

Dpavs first looks-

If you are a blade kind of person who likes narrow soles, very little offset and the very simple kind of look, you need not apply for the M CGB's as the M CGB is a club designed, head to toe, to walk to the beat of a different drummer. Make no mistake, this is an SGI club and it hits all the SGI club buttons with style and then some.

The first thing I note as I unwrap the M CGB's is that these clubs are some drop dead gorgeous SGI irons. A rich chrome coating covers most of the club and is nicely set off against black filled slots and gray lined face. The appearance of tungsten weights stay true to the original CGB design.

Even the badging stands out in a good way. The carbon fiber insert is framed in chrome and really pops without looking garish in anyway. Making up the balance is a simple black and silver Taylormade Geocoustic sound badge.

The fluted hosel and filled heel slot may throw some but it grew on me the more I looked the clubs over. I think it adds just one more vibe that reaffirms that Taylormade has thrown every technical advancement in their armory into the M CGB's.

Technology, did I mention the technology. It oozes from every pore of the M CGB's. Geocoustic technology for sound and feel, sole, toe and face slots to help with wayward strikes. lots of tungsten and other weight placed low and back to promote higher trajectory and better spin rates and while you can't see the tech it all of this is crowned with light weight shafts to promote faster swing speeds and an ultra thin (sub 2mm) high cor face. Taylormade indicates that each iron from 4 through PW is designed with a COR of at least 0.805, hence a bag full of drivers! One look is all it takes to know that there is no shortage of technology here.

The one club that does not have any slot technology, sole or face, is the A Wedge. It will be interesting to compare it's feel to the rest of the clubs.

The top lines and soles are wide but no wider than the original R7 CGB Max. Prior to receiving the M CGB's I was visiting a nearby shop and a gent who was looking over the new CGB's was there. It so happened that he was still playing the original R7 CGB Max's and had one with him. It was too bad I did not have my phone or camera with me at the time but in looking over the two the topline, sole, and face all looked extremely similar. I could not discern any difference in size at all really. If anything the orignal R7 Max CGB's may have had a very slightly thinner top line but if so it was neglible and hardly worth mentioning. The picture below shows the top lines for the 4i, 7i and AW from left to right.

I did do a bit of back ground checking to see how the new M CGB's compare spec wise to the R7 CGB Max's.

M CGB 4 5 6 7 8 9 PW AW SW

LOFT 20.50 23.00 26.00 29.50 33.50 38.00 43.00 48.50 54.00

Length 38.88 38.25 37.63 37.00 36.50 36.00 35.50 35.50 35.25

R7 CGB Max 4 5 6 7 8 9 PW AW SW

LOFT 21.00 23.00 26.00 30.00 34.00 39.00 44.00 49.00 54.00

Length 38.25 37.75 37.25 36.75 36.25 35.75 35.50 35.50 35.25

Differences

Loft 0.50 0.00 0.00 0.50 0.50 1.00 1.00 0.50 0.00

Length 0.63 0.50 0.38 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.00 0.00 0.00

As you can see neither the lofts nor the lengths have changed much at all. A little bit longer and little bit stronger in a few clubs but not much.

Next post- A trip to the course and range.

Excerpts from my new M CGB’s Instagram account-

10/17/2017 –

Caught a glimpse of some fairways but I never knew there were so many trees on a golf course!

Btw, I kept hearing this every now and then what the heck does fore left mean anyway?

First An Admission

I am not really a thick chunky club kind of guy historically. Not that I haven’t gamed SGI clubs in the past, including the ancestor to the M CGB’s the R7 CGB Max’s, but in the past few years I have tried SGI clubs only to walk away feeling like I simply did not benefit enough from them to warrant sacrificing the thinner club profile and look I was more drawn to. Still I am definitely looking for more help in my irons so I set out determined to keep an open mind. Besides, the M CGB’s, despite their thickness here and there, are pretty dang good looking club in my opinion.

Getting Acquainted

I started the day with a trip to the range in order to better familiarize myself with the M CGB's, how they felt, flew and so on. I’m not really sure what was going on at the range but I was struggling to catch the M CGB 6-9 irons cleanly. Maybe this is because the M CGB’s felt a bit odd to me at first. I am not sure if this was due to the lighter swing weights, or if I was focusing too much on the look behind the ball or the extra length but something was just not clicking. No matter what was going on, my first 15 shots were well behind the ball, which is not something I usually struggle with. If anything, I tend to start out by hitting some thin shots during a range session so this was not something I expected. Two of the clubs I hit at the range were definite exceptions. Those were the 4i and the AW. I had immediate rapport with these two clubs. The 4 iron was launching high, long and straight and landing softly; Very hybrid like. While I have not had great luck with thicker looking wedges, I found the AW extremely easy to hit either full or partials shots with. Things did get better as I finished warming up and giving the clubs a good first try, but I have to admit I moved over the course in trepidation as to what I was going to experience there.

To The Course!

I should start out by indicating that it was very windy day. The wind was gusting anywhere from 20 – 30 mph, which made guessing what club to use a bit dicey to say the least. The round started with a routine tee shot to the left side of the fairway leaving me 257 yards in to the green. I decided not to use any of my hybrids or fairways for the round and stick to nothing but my driver and CGB’s for the round so I pulled out the 4 iron. I had experienced some success with it at the range so it I felt pretty good about using it first. The results were as promised, a clean high shot traveling around 185 against a crosswind. 72 left now to the green so it was time for a knock down pitching wedge. Surprise, surprise. For whatever reason right from this shot, I started hitting the M CGB consistently well! I have no idea what changed but it was a night and day difference. Perhaps I simply started focusing on other things and was more focused on playing each stroke on the hole as to club selection, line etc. About 3 holes in I was really enjoying the CGB’s and the results they were giving me. For the balance of the day, under varying winds, I was experiencing shots like a pin high 7 iron from 148, a 205 yard 4 iron to the front of the green and soaring 5 iron over the left edge of a bank of trees landing softly on the left side of the green. I am not really a great worker of the ball and rely mostly on just taking the straight route to the green. That said, I did try varying the shots a bit and was able to play a knockdown where needed here or there and was able to produce a bit of a cut shot on an attempt to do so. I am not a drawer of the ball but the one shot I can pull off most of the time is am exaggerated low draw, which I normally use to keep from hitting into the branches of a tree I have wandered under. I did try to do so once and had moderately effective results doing so. The CGB’s want to go straight, make no mistake about that and while they are not built for it, you can work them a bit if you need to I would say. I honestly had not expected the kind of results I was getting from the M CGB’s. As the round concluded, it occurred to me that not only had I grown very comfortable with them but also I was actually enjoying every shot I took with them. The reason was not hard to understand; shot after shot (barring my own “loft”) the CGB’s were consistently easy to hit and were very predictable as to results I would get. Walking off the course I was smiling and thinking to myself… these may very well stay right in the bag where they are!

(Nice dogleg left 477 par 5, second shot was a 4 iron yielding 185 against a crosswind blowing left and in.

(175 yd par 3 over the pond sand along the back and both sides. Normally this is a hybrid for me. Used the 4 iron again straight into the wind and landed pin high about 15 feet left of the flag)

(Approach from 95, knock down 9 iron into the wind again ended up at the back of the green on the first cut)

Rounding It Up

I really enjoyed my first round with the M CGB’s. It very well just might be the start of a beautiful relationship. I am planning to get out for a second round this weekend so I am anxious to see if I feel the same way with two rounds with them under my belt. One thing is for certain, the 4 iron and maybe the 5 are staying in the bag. To me they are very hybrid like in nature but with the ability to be more adaptable for knockdowns, partial shots, etc. I actually had one 5 iron shot which hit the green jump back about 4 inches. I never would have expected that kind of result from and SGI club. Overall, I felt like the distances I was getting were very good but I really can’t say for certain or compare the CGB’s to anything else because of the wind conditions during my play. Understanding that feel is very subjective and personal I thought they felt very decent indeed and were never harsh at all. Albeit they were not forged soft or anything of that nature but pleasantly soft just the same especially for a cast club. I don’t know if the soft feel is a product of the face slots or the 450SS steel, the Geocoustic engineering or thinner faces, but it was a very welcome part of the CGB’s profile. Another thing I noticed is that with some other clubs, cast and forged alike, I have found it difficult to discern feel from sound. This was not the case with the M CGB’s. It was very easy to separate what to me was actual feel and what was sound or at least it seemed that way. While the feels was a touch muted and soft over the most of the face the sound was lightly crisp, eggshell like in nature. The combination of the two was something I really like about them. I have always equated that kind of sound to making a pure strike… so whether in fact I was or not I felt like I was flushing almost every shot.

As I have already said despite the thick look to the topline and sole, I really like the look of the CGB’s. They scream technology and they deliver. If there were anything I would say negative about them at all so far is it would be the hosels. I am not a fan of the fluting and wish they were more traditional looking. I found the dual feel Winn grips a welcome part of the club. To me they were very similar in nature to the golf pride 360’s and if anything maybe a touch firmer but then firm grips are something I gravitate to anyway. The light weight Nippon NS Pro 840 seemed well paired to the M CGB’s. This pairing produces a club with a swing weight of D0 according to Taylormade and it was easy to sense that they felt light and easy to swing. While I had no way of measuring it I did wonder if I had picked up a few mph’s club head speed. Either way swinging them was as effortless as I have experience with the more modern graphite shafts. If you are looking for a club that can provide a bit of extra distance and forgiveness and don’t mind a no holds barred high tech look and a bit of thickness here and there, then these are some sticks you really need to try out. In short, the M CGB’s are easily recommendable if for no other reason than they feel so much better than everything else I have tried let alone for the ease of play and consistency of results I have seen so far. They are certainly changing my mind about SGI clubs and they may well change yours.

Got my clubs today. Posted some pictures and initial thoughts in Post #4 above. Enjoy all!

 

P.S. Please excuse the dirty clubs and garage.

Im interested in comparisons to the G.

Got my clubs today. Posted some pictures and initial thoughts in Post #4 above. Enjoy all!

 

P.S. Please excuse the dirty clubs and garage.

 

Im interested in comparisons to the G.

I posted some initial thoughts above, and pictures. They are very comparable so far. I don’t want to make any premature statements as I’ve only gotten one round with the m-CGBs. One or two more rounds and I’ll post a more detailed review.

First of all I want to thank GolfWrx for creating a great place for golf nuts and Taylormade Golf for the awesome opportunity.

I think by now everyone has seen the great pictures and unboxings already posted. You guys out did yourselves. Rather than post some more of the same. I will just post a video of some shots I hit my first night out with these sticks on the range.

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Well boys it's late so for right now I will keep it short and sweet.

If you asked me to describe these clubs in one sentence... It's the best of both worlds, a mechanical looking Game Improvement iron that feels and sounds like a players iron.

I will get on later this weekend and give some more initial impressions and more insight as I take these to the course and the launch monitor for some numbers. Curious to see how the stack up against my current Cobras.

Thanks again Golfwrx and Taylormade :smilie_tm:

Updated my original post with my review!

Small update:

Went to the range last night and I continue to get used to the M-CGB's. I made some good and bad swings, but overall I thought I was swinging pretty well for my current 20.3 HCP. Like most other high HCP'ers, my biggest issue is my consistency. Strengths of my game are pitching, chipping, and putting. I do pretty well around the greens. Typically when I have a bad hole, I wasted a shot or two on approaches (flubs/shanks), taking unplayable penalties from mishits, etc. I live and play in a high desert area, so there is not a lot of water obstacles here. But there is tons of desert trash, bushes, hard pan, etc. that can be a real pain if you get off the green stuff. Also, I live at 5000 feet here in Albuquerque, so I'm sure my distances are a little inflated due to altitude bonus'.

The biggest surprise was I was hitting most of my shots very thin, and despite the mishit these clubs just go straight and still surprisingly long. Most of these thin shots would be punishing with any other club, including the Ping G's I was previously using. These clubs are by far the most forgiving out of anything I have ever tried before. Granted, a really bad swing off the heel or toe is still going to get punished (I hit a few of these).

The other thing that jumped out at me was just how high these clubs go. I have never seen anything like it before. Absolutely towering shots. The highest I have ever seen out of any club. It's just unreal how high they go.

The feel of these clubs is really great for an SGI iron. When you swing it right, it just feels so buttery and pure. The sound is spot on too. My golfing buddy was at the range with me, and he made several comments about how good my swings were sounding.

One last surprise, was my ability to hit the 4 iron. I am a hybrid guy, and I game a 19 and 22 deg Mizuno JPX 900, which I absolutely adore. With stronger lofted clubs, I usually stop at a 5 iron and then use my hybrids for anything past 190 yards. Well now I am second guessing this because I was just destroying range balls with the 4 iron last night. Easily hitting it 195-200 carry, with a very penetrating ball flight. And did I mention high? Never seen a low iron get this high before. It should hold greens nicely.

I left the range feeling very impressed, and I am looking forward to my second round with the M-CGB this weekend!

As a reference, here is my current bag which I have built up over the summer:

• Ping G 10.5* @ 43.75" Matrix HD7 Stiff
  
• Callaway 816 Alpha 16* 4w Aldila Rogue 70 Stiff
  
• Mizuno JPX 900 19* 3h Fuji Pro 73 Stiff
  
• Mizuno JPX 900 22* 4h Fuji Pro 73 Stiff
  
• TM M-CGB 4-AW N.S. Pro 840 Stiff
  
• Cleveland CBX 56/12
  
• Odyssey O-Works 1W Tank
  

So as of right now I have a pretty large gap between the M-CGB AW @ 48.5* and my CBX @ 56*. I typically do not swing full with the CBX from the fairway which is about an 85 yard club for me. The AW is going ~110 yards for me, so I did some practice yesterday with the AW doing 3/4 swings and choking up, to fire at a 85 yard flag at the range. Results were pretty solid, although I was still hitting it 90-95 yards on most swings. So I need to do some more work there, or fix the gapping with an additional club.

My other concern is right now I have a bit of redundancy with the M-CGB 4 iron @ 20.5*, JPX 900 4h @ 22*, and the M-CGB 5 iron @ 23*.

I don't plan on tweaking anything just yet, but I think there is opportunity there to free up a club at some point, perhaps working my 60* Vokey SM5 back in the bag, or adding a wedge between 48.5* and 56* to help with the gapping.

Not really asking for advice here, just pointing out that these irons have (what I believe to be) some unusual lofts and could potentially create some gapping challenges in the bags of potential buyers.

Chart attached for reference. Cheers!

JPW75- were the M CGB irons really launching higher than the Ping G irons you normally play? I'm not so concerned with distances in irons but definitely covet the higher ball flight to stop on the firm greens here in the south.

JPW75- were the M CGB irons really launching higher than the Ping G irons you normally play? I'm not so concerned with distances in irons but definitely covet the higher ball flight to stop on the firm greens here in the south.

Without a doubt, yes. Higher than anything I have ever seen before. I was hitting some towering 9 irons into a 129 yard flag, and the 4 iron and 7 iron were both considerably higher than the Ping's.

JPW75- were the M CGB irons really launching higher than the Ping G irons you normally play? I'm not so concerned with distances in irons but definitely covet the higher ball flight to stop on the firm greens here in the south.

 

Without a doubt, yes. Higher than anything I have ever seen before. I was hitting some towering 9 irons into a 129 yard flag, and the 4 iron and 7 iron were both considerably higher than the Ping's.

I completely agree on the high flight of these and for me that is resulting in a very soft landing with almost little or no run out right down to the 4 iron; Which as I said in my review actually flies longer, higher and lands softer than my Bertha OS Hybrid. I think I said this... well if not I meant to!

Brief Update- (M CGB and P790 side by side range test)

I did some side by side testing at the range today with the M CGB's and P-790's focusing on the 4, 5, 6, 7, and PW to compare flight, consistency and distance within the limits of my swing ability.

For the test I should note that the shafts in each were different. The M CGB's tested have the NS Pro 840 Stiff while the P-790's had a UST 780 ES F4 Smacwrap shaft.

To sum it up, here is what I found-

4 irons- On well struck shots both flew high and landed soft. Low face hits were less penalized height wise on the M CGB's. The M CGB's dominated the distance category easily even when struck toe side a bit. A very well struck 790 4i shot approached the distance of an average strike with the M CGB but could not catch it and were a good 15-18 yards shorter than the best M CGB strikes. Consistency was a no brainer. It was simply easier to produce a better result with the M CGB's more often. They are just that much more forgiving in the long irons than the 790's. If all bias against GI\SGI clubs can be overcome, this 4i should find it's way into a lot of bags, it's simply a killer of a club.

5 irons- Very similar results to the 4i, the 5i in the M CGB is very impressive also. Best strikes with each were now about 10-12 yards part. I could tell the gaps between the two distance wise were closing starting with the 5i. I am certain this is attributable to my own ability to hit shots more purely as the loft of the club increases. The M CGB's however still flew noticeably higher on all but the best 790 strikes. Forgiveness and consistency were of course still in the M CGB's corner.

6 irons- The gap in all areas closed rapidly starting with the 6. Distance was very close to the same as was consistency and flight. The M CGB's still had a very slight edge on the average shot but the 790 may have edged out a bit more distance on the very best strikes. It was close either way and within 5 yards at best.

7 iron- The scales now tilted the other way with the 790's a bit besting the M CGB's in distance by a few yards again, consistency was pretty much equal as was flight.

PW- The 790 PW was the clear winner here flying as high as the M CGB, equaling it in consistency and besting it in distance easily for me. Average struck shots were rewarded about the same for each but the best hit shots with the 790 out flew the M CGB by 10 yards on the average. This could easily be due to my not really feeling like really made a pure solid strike with the M CGB PW or it simply might have something to do with my own bias and perception of thicker short irons or any number of other factors including the shaft in each. Whatever the reason was the 790 PW was just working better for me.

Disclosure-

Part of the reason I did this comparison was that I had heard from other reviewers that the 790's were longer than the M CGB and I wanted to see if that held true from my own experience. I was also very curious to see if the M CGB's were a club that might be a good choice to blend into a set in the longer irons. I'd say without a doubt the latter of these two is something I would strongly consider and will likely do if I do not simply keep the entire M CGB set in the bag.

Played another round yesterday morning but I was swinging very poorly. Shot a 54 on the front and somewhat got it together on the back for a 45, to salvage a "meh" 99. Struggled with my driver and irons all day, my short game really saved my round from being a complete disaster. I don't think the clubs were to blame here, as I was chunking a ton of shots and doing a lot of push/pull. With the irons, the ball was going relatively straight all day as far as flight, just completely offline. There were a handful of good shots with the M-CGB though...

-Par 4 ~400, Smash my drive straight but a big push right. 129 out, I skyrocketed a 9 iron from the adjacent fairway to about 15 feet for a really nice GIR. This baby goes sky high! I had to clear a bunker on this one, and the trajectory really helped. Ball was just a couple feet from the pitch mark. I cannot emphasize enough how high these irons go...you really have to see it to believe it. I really had no business getting a GIR on this hole, since I pushed my drive dead right. Two putt par. I'll take it.

-On several holes I had ~60-75 yards in and used the AW with 1/2 and 3/4 swings, and was very effective using this club finding the green from short range. The AW is by far my favorite club in the set so far, for whatever reason. It has really great feel and control for those finesse shots, is super easy to make solid contact, and gets up in the air in a hurry.

-Short par 3, ~155 yards. Pulled an 8 iron because I wanted to be below the hole as the pin was more front and the green has a massive slope back to front. I hit my tee shot super fat and the ball goes maybe 65 yards but straight and in the short stuff at least. Tee box looked like it had rolling hills. This is one of my pet peeves. Why can't courses have level tee boxes? Ugh. As it was going to be a downhill or uphill lie on the tee box, I chose the uphill lie because it looked the most level, wasn't the right choice but whatever. It wasn't the greatest swing either. Anyways, ~95 yards in I pulled the AW and stick it less than 5 feet from the hole, one putt par.

-Par 4, I snap hooked my drive into an adjacent backyard for my only penalty of the day. Skulled third shot from a horrible lie put me in a fairway bunker ~90 yards in. I pulled the AW and stuck it on the green about 15 feet below the hole. Tap in two putt for a double, so not bad all things considered. This pretty much sums up my game in a nutshell. Wasted shots because I can't seem to stay out of trouble...

The only thing I really don't like is the grips on the M-CGB's. It's not that they are bad quality or anything. I am not a standard size grip guy and I've been completely spoiled gaming Winn Dritac midsize the past few months. I've played with different grips and the Winn's are just the best feeling out there IMHO and the midsize fits me perfectly. So I am really looking forward to gaming the M-CGB when I get the right grips installed finally. I've been waiting for a decent sale on them but I'm starting to get impatient and may just grab some at full price. I know the grips won't fix my swing faults but it does make a difference.

Cheers

Really good to see the positive reviews here which mirror my own experiences. I really didn't think these would earn a spot in my bag, but they wont be leaving anytime soon.

I'll echo the opinions here on the high ball flight. Ball goes extremely high, which makes up for the slightly lower spin. The problem I had is the day I played there was quite a bit of wind, so my shots seemed to be thrown offline a bit, but of course that't not the clubs fault. I really should take wind into consideration more for all of my shots.

Final thoughts

I was able to get another couple of rounds in last weekend with these sticks and they continue to impress. Particularly in the long irons and surprisingly enough the gap wedge. This is a unique set of irons in that they offer plenty of help with off center strikes and keeping the ball from wandering too far offline even on less than stellar shots yet still are high flying sticks that spin very well and should stick all but the most stubborn of greens.

The 4 and 5 irons are extraordinary in both the height and length they achieve but all the irons perform very well. This is definitely a set of clubs anyone who is looking for a GI or SGI set should be looking at. Those also looking for a substitute for hybrids or just more distance in the long irons should really give these a whirl.

I think I would sum the M CGB irons up by saying that while these look SGI, they don't play or feel like they look. They are a very pleasant surprise and I like the direction performance and looks wise Taylormade is moving with their recent releases. These are quality sticks and I can't help but feel that they really should end up in a lot of players bags who may at first be a bit coy to give them a try. If you are on the fence at all... try them.. I think you will be pleased.

Pros- Spin is better than expected, they look good with nice chrome and finish, can't really see the back of the club at address until you get to the long irons, help reduce the effects off center strikes, long, decent feel and sound for cast, you can still work them within reason, play stealthier than they look, AW gap wedge performs well.

Cons- Thick top line will turn some off, not everybody is a fan of slots, not going to have a forged feel, not as workable as cavities or blades. (If you consider those things negatives)

If you have any question I can help with let me know and I will be glad to tell you what I can based on my experience so far!

Note- The shot of the day for me was a 4 iron into a par 3 playing around 210. I mishit the shot a little but the M CGB still got up in the air well and stayed closely online. The ball landed a bit short of the green which was hidden on the right side by a small hill in the fairway. The shot jumped forward just enough and rolled out down the down the back side of the hills slope and reappeared on the green rolling up softly hitting the flag stick. The result was a one footer for an easy birdie.

So you barely missed a hole in one from 210 yards on a mishit? those should be staying in your bag for a while!

So you barely missed a hole in one from 210 yards on a mishit? those should be staying in your bag for a while!

Lol, I suppose so... it was not a terrible mishit but it was a bit low off the face and the face was slight open at impact... still it true enough that I do feel that the help these sticks provide certainly made it a better shot than it probably deserved to be. About a foot outside is as close as I have ever come to a hole in. Been there a few times now but never in the cup.

I received my irons today. Maybe these comparison pics will keep this thread active- huge thanks to GolfWRX and TaylorMade for this opportunity.

My 7 year old son has always talked about being a "YouTuber" so I let him assist with the unboxing video! The comparison pics are to my Callaway X Hots. The size of the soles, faces, and toplines are very similar but the M CGB looks sleeker because of the huge protruding cavity on X Hots.

I am not a cord guy so I really like the feel of the grips on the M CGB as well. I received 4-AW set with regular flex Nippon shaft.

I got my first chance to hit the range today with the M CGB irons- unseasonably windy and cold for this time of year so I apologize for the background noise in the videos. I wanted to do some comparison testing to the X Hot irons because I’ve heard about the incredibly high launch of the M CGB irons. I’m not a big guy (only 5’4”) and don’t have really high swing speed so the high launch is definitely something that I’m looking for. I'll post the videos shortly

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