Quick Kyoei KK CB Review

[kekoa]

So I was in the market for new irons and after a lot of deliberation, decided to give the KK's a try.  Looked high and low for reviews and couldn't find much so I went into it blind.  Just some background on me.  I'm a 4 index and have played several different irons.  Mostly Miura and my other set are the P7TW's, which I really love.

 

Lets start with looks.  When I first set up to the KK's, first thing I noticed was the thicker top line and off-set.  I understand these are CB's, but was hoping they would look similar to the CB-57's, but can't have it all.  From the spec sheet, the KK's are supposed to have very little offset, but to the naked eye you can definitely see it.   Below is a shot of the 7 iron.

 

 

I was looking at something very soft and most guys said Kyoei has one of the softest feels when it comes to irons.  I'd have to agree on well struck shots.  I was hitting Callaway range balls today and on my best shots, they felt almost marshmellow soft.  For those that have tried Miuras, the Kyoeis offer a different feel.  Miuras give the sold thud sound and the Kyoeis are more like a pooosh sound.  Does that make sense?  LOL!!  FWIW, I have these shafted with steelfiber 110CW in stiff.

 

As for distance, these are a half club to full club longer than my P7TW's, which one would expect given the stronger loft.  Also, my P7TW's play 2* weak.  From the spec sheet the Kyoeis read as follows:

 

4i- 22*

5i- 26*

6i- 30*

7i- 34*

8i- 38*

9i- 42*

PW- 46*

 

All in all, I'm going to game these irons and see how it goes.  Was finally able to spend 2 hours on the range today and they are really good irons.  If there are any cons I'd have to say again that the offset bugs me and the sole grind does not match well with harder surfaces.  I'm more of a picker, but have no issues taking a divot with my blades.   You have to work a bit harder with the Kyoeis.  Lastly,   the top line profile is also a bit thick, but I can live with that.   Feel free to let me know if there are any questions. 

 

 

[farundrpar]

Glad to see a Kyoei review come in! I too went in blind... got a set of Heritage KK CB and accidently also got some KCM Heritage Blades. Love both of them so far and excited for the season to put them to the real test - just a few rounds under my belt with the Heritage KK CB and some range/simulator sessions with the Blades.

 

See attached for some pics of the Heritage KK CB 7 iron with ball - these appear to have less offset than the normal KK CB you have. Overall, love the looks and feel of these. I do wish the KK CBs were a slightly more compact profile overall... heads on the lower irons feel fairly big, certainly compared to a blade, but also when compared to my Wilson Staff CBs. Also, the faces on these things are so soft that i have noticed some wear - grooves are perfectly fine, but can for sure see where the ball is striking the face.

 

but again, both of these irons check the majority of the boxes for me - something unique, very playable, great feeling irons. can't recommend enough if you can get your hands on some. 

[kekoa]

Your pics are a bit dark but if that is the case maybe I should of went with the heritage.  ughhh..  After a few more sessions I think the KK's will be firmly in the bag though.  Will for sure trade off between these and the P7TW's depending on conditions. 

[hagimihale]

@farundrpar, those raw blades are sick.  Have you hit them?  Any difference vs the CB?

[farundrpar]

13 hours ago, hagimihale said:

@farundrpar, those raw blades are sick.  Have you hit them?  Any difference vs the CB?

Just got them out on a par 3 course yesterday for the first time - certainly still in the honeymoon phase, but man, they do seem special. they have the more compact head that I prefer. center strikes were everything you expect. soft buttery feel... with the MB, you can feel off-center strikes in the hands a bit more, but it wasn't a shot killer. need to get more rounds on them, but couldn't be happier so far - just excited to get out with some warmer weather around the corner.  

[ginrin]

The face progression numbers are higher for the heritage CB, so how can the offset be less? Am I missing something?

Also looking to buy but the offset or FP numbers don't jive. Any additional info would be appreciated. Thx

[kekoa]

1 hour ago, ginrin said:

The face progression numbers are higher for the heritage CB, so how can the offset be less? Am I missing something?

Also looking to buy but the offset or FP numbers don't jive. Any additional info would be appreciated. Thx

From my understanding the higher the FP #, the less offset there is.  The highest FP I've seen is 6, which would lead me to believe that 6 is almost 0 offset.

 

I can't find exact FP specs for the 2022 CB.  Can you post?  I'm close to selling mine and buuying the heritage, but not sure I want to deal with the rebuild.

[ginrin]

I got the specs from Chris at Tourspec but can't find the message. He did mention that the hosel of the original was slightly smaller than the current model so it could look like more offset but the eyes don't lie. Lol 

[farundrpar]

Sorry, I was just going purely off looks from the pics, not specs from any website. 
 

FP was explained somewhere, I will try to find.