TaylorMade R7 TP vs Tour Preferred irons

Are the TM Tour preferred irons that much better than the R7TP irons? I messed up and sold my R7TP for the 09 Burner and REALLY regret it. Getting rid of the Burners and looking at upgrading to the Tour Preferred's.

What is your input from players using them?

I would get another set of R7 TP's. In my opinion they are superior to the newer tp's.

Check [url="http://www.golfdiscount.com"]www.golfdiscount.com[/url]. I think they still have the R7 tp's

+1
I regret having sold my r7tp's. 9 months, 4 various sets/brands later, and a few thousand $'s and I went with the Tour Preferred becuase I couldn't find the r7tp locally. My handicap increased by 8 strokes going with game improvement clubs over the months but went back down in weeks after finally going with the Tour Preferred. Probably would be even lower if I had gone back to the r7tp, but both are very, very good irons and I am completely satisfied with the Tour Preferred. However, in hindsight I long for the same low offset but slightly larger club head on the r7tp. Same shaft, S300, but the r7tp produced a noticeably higher ball flight and about one club longer with standard loft and lie. Easy fix of course, just go up one club and forge through the round and play smart.

Keep in mind of course, this is just my experience. Others may have different experiences in opposite directions with either club. For me....both very solid though.

On a side note....Man...I miss golfclubdemo.com.........I really liked $30 bucks here and there vs. $899+ just to find a totally different experience on the course.

That's what I think I already knew.. Dang I hated the 09 Burners, struggled with them. You are right, nothing like the R7 TP's. Sweet set of irons! Going to start over again

[quote name='dblebgybob' post='1849261' date='Jul 29 2009, 12:25 AM']+1
I regret having sold my r7tp's. 9 months, 4 various sets/brands later, and a few thousand $'s and I went with the Tour Preferred becuase I couldn't find the r7tp locally. My handicap increased by 8 strokes going with game improvement clubs over the months but went back down in weeks after finally going with the Tour Preferred. Probably would be even lower if I had gone back to the r7tp, but both are very, very good irons and I am completely satisfied with the Tour Preferred. However, in hindsight I long for the same low offset but slightly larger club head on the r7tp. Same shaft, S300, but the r7tp produced a noticeably higher ball flight and about one club longer with standard loft and lie. Easy fix of course, just go up one club and forge through the round and play smart.

Keep in mind of course, this is just my experience. Others may have different experiences in opposite directions with either club. For me....both very solid though.

On a side note....Man...I miss golfclubdemo.com.........I really liked $30 bucks here and there vs. $899+ just to find a totally different experience on the course.[/quote]


+2

I had a set of R7TP's with Rifle shafts for almost 2 years until October last year. After 2 years felt like a change was due and since then to now (10 months) I have had the following;

*Miura MC-102 - Gorgeous irons but, for me, I couldn't do them justice - even though they had more offset than the R7TP's, but the design hid it well. Had KBS shafts in these.
*TM Tour Burner Tour Issue irons - A poor update on the R7TP's IMO. Was the club designed to take over from the R7TP's but I felt they just weren't as good really - again with KBS shafts.
*'09 TM Burner Tour Issue irons - A lot of hype on the distance (driven by the spec, and to a point, the technology) but for me I don't find them [i]that[/i] much longer than other sets I have tried. Find the 3/4 iron ugly to use and not that easy to get on with and the shorter irons-whilst very forgiving and powerful-are not great for "feel" shots. I find that for knock down 7/8 iron 100-120 yard shots the technology makes the ball still fly off the face when you want a soft shot with lots of feel....also not great for little chip and run shots round the green for the same reason - and the thick sole doesn't help here. However as an all round GI club for someone at, say, 12-20 handicap (and happy to stay in that handicap range, not to make a big move down...) they can be one of the best choices on the market...despite the hype!!

Back on topic...I'm going to change for a new set of irons and so far I have got it down to TM Tour Preferred irons (pretty forgiving, lots of feel) and also the '09 Callaway X-Forged. Similar characteristics to the TP's, but just a slightly better sound and feel on well struck shots. Also both have a better sole design (thinner than the Burners, but still nicely ground) for the Surrey/Berkshire "Sand belt" courses where I mainly play my golf.

However if I can't get the right set (between the '09 TP's and '09 X-Forged) I might just seek out a nice set of R7TP heads and go with KBS or Nova Tech PTR shafts in those. Back to the future

I've been thinking of changing my R7tp's to AP2's or Tour Preferreds for the last few months. What are you guys doing to me!

[quote name='jmccaff' post='1850466' date='Jul 29 2009, 03:45 PM']I've been thinking of changing my R7tp's to AP2's or Tour Preferreds for the last few months. What are you guys doing to me![/quote]


saving you money?!?

Personally I would say that the two TM irons are far superior to AP2's....

Thinking of getting into the Tour Preferreds as well. thinking of going with a hard stepped s300 or x100...not sure yet which one. One big thing id like ot know is what the workability on these irons are like? high/low, draw, fade etc...?? anyone have opinions? i love hitting that lil 3/4 wedge/9/8 etc... into greens....

any help would be great!!!

Cheers

[quote name='mrlongball' post='1851604' date='Jul 29 2009, 06:44 PM']Thinking of getting into the Tour Preferreds as well. thinking of going with a hard stepped s300 or x100...not sure yet which one. One big thing id like ot know is what the workability on these irons are like? high/low, draw, fade etc...?? anyone have opinions? i love hitting that lil 3/4 wedge/9/8 etc... into greens....

any help would be great!!!

Cheers[/quote]


Yes..........

I have owned several sets of both the tour preferreds and the R7 TPs. They are classic "tweener" clubs, IMO - forgiving irons with "player" characteristics. More forgiving than a true players' club (ZBs, MP62s, any blades, etc.) but more workable than a true G.I. club. I think both were very well designed and offer great performance for the mid to low hdcp player.

Having said that, I found the R7 TP to be far superior for me. I preferred the look and profile of the TP - loved the true satin finish, but the TPs seemed to dig more than the R7 TPs, which had one of the best sole configurations (for me) of any club I have tried. Other than turf interaction (which for me is a HUGE deal), I found them to be almost identical in performance, feel, and profile. If you love the R7 TPs, then I do not think the TPs will provide any signbificant advantage in performance. If the R7 TPs do not interact with the turf well for you, then give the TPs a try. The sole was redesigned for better turf interaction - it just had the opposite effect for me.

i went from tm tp mb 3 DOT's to the TP and love the irons. versatile everywhere on the course. can still hit all of the shots that i could with the blade - with added forgiveness. i don't like how any iron sits other than a blade - but have grown accustom to the tp look. my brother owned the r7tp and i prefer the TP's. slightly more refined look. fwiw - he just moved into a set of nike vr splits that are so nice.

[quote name='jollygreens' post='1849184' date='Jul 28 2009, 11:47 PM']Are the TM Tour preferred irons that much better than the R7TP irons? I messed up and sold my R7TP for the 09 Burner and REALLY regret it. Getting rid of the Burners and looking at upgrading to the Tour Preferred's.

What is your input from players using them?[/quote]

I immediately liked the TP's better, they looked nicer and the fact that they were forged was more appealing.

Then I got on the Launch monitor and I hit the R7TP's farther and straighter not just than the Tour Preferred's but also Tour Burners, Pings and AP2's which by the way went the shortest of all the irons i tried.

The r7TP's feel as nice as any club on well struck shots too so that made my mind up and the deal was done.