2009 TaylorMade BURNER Irons Mini-Review - WHOAAAAA !!!

Cwing · March 14, 2009

I just got back from Dicks Sporting to take a look. I picked up the 09 Burners to compare. I did not hit them as they were packed and I had to get home.

I picked up and set the grip on the floor and started comparing. Interesting ------ the TM pw-6I are nearly identical to the Adams a3's in the slot right next to them. Same head size, same offest, not sure about lofts but I think my Adams PW is 45*. I know the Adams do not have the channel weighting nor the 85 gram shafts. I know they may not play the same but this has me thiking maybe I should keep what I have.

I will say the Burner 4I was about 1/2-1/4" longer than the graphite shafted Adams a3 Boxer 4. Only compared the 4H to the 4I as the Adams set does not have 5-4-3 irons, they are hybrids. I have never reallly feel in love witht eh 5H but teh change to Rifler 5.5 in the 4 & 5 did improve them drasticly.

The Diablo looks sweet but that would be another thread.

SwingMan · March 14, 2009

I did not read every post but the Burner 09 5i is 38.25 and 24 degrees. I play my 5i at 38.25 and grip down a tad -- but 24 degrees? That is a 4i loft from the not distant past. I have a Ping iSi iron set from '98 and the 5i loft is 27 degrees.

Now -- I'm not knocking the Burner 09 Iron -- they probably need to play low lofts to get the flight down in the low COG design - it is undoubtedly easy to hit. For comparison sakes, I looked at the specs on a set of JDM irons -- the Epon 701 - its 5i is also 24 of loft and it is incredibly easy to hit. I also had ridiculously nice numbers with it on a LM. It has a "super-fast", "superhot", steel alloy face around a forging. If they use similar technology, I'm sure some of TM's claims are true - it's easy to play. Looking at the TM site, however, I see nothing about super thin face or a new alloy to make the face "hotter." I see inverted cone technology -- the same technology they've used for 3-4 years. TM seems to be making its longer distance claims due to longer, lighter clubs, lighter grips -- which do not always add up to consistency.

Besides that, I guess several here are more disturbed by the claims of the TM Marketing dept more than anything. As to "super-fast" shafts, personally, I haven't found swing speed advances in iron shafts from 85 to 115g -- they are about the same for me -- what you do find is advances in ball speed in some shafts -- and in the irons -- so when you are on the LM, compare ballspeeds with old and new -- and see what happens. If you have the same shaft speed and length, but the ballspeed jumps, then something is happening.

SwingMan · March 14, 2009

Are you talking about "Rednumbers"? Because he said the lofts were not changed.
It was hossonmoss and commitybroker who did this test.

I hope you're not using those guys as credible sources. They are selling clubs for someone.

SwingMan · March 14, 2009

hey cosmos, i got your pm, looks like we go to the same range in DFW.. yep, we should arrange to meet up there at Hank Haney's and I agree, the wind is crazy - I had to also hit my 7 iron to go across the lake (to that middle side green :-)).

moneyshot, I agree :-)

You guys ever get to the Bridlewood range?

craz-e · March 14, 2009

I am looking forward to hitting these irons, once I have hit them I will post my findings against the TP's that are in the bag. I have a Taylormade demo day next month

rgk5 · March 14, 2009

Well, after all the hype, I decided to give the 2009 Burner irons a whirl today. My driver SS is 95 mph and I hit my 7-iron usually 154-160 yards. My handicap is five.

Appearance; thick, modern offset, not unpleasant. The stock grip is horrible, thin and slippery, with a sharp rib.

Feel; thin, clunky. Could be the 85 gram super lightweight shaft

Distance; 7-iron about 7 yards longer than my Top Flite Tour midsize, 12 yards longer than my Hogan BH grind blades.

Trajectory; super high, but then my 5-iron launch is normally 17*, a 7-iron normally 23*.

Conclusions; a good iron for mid-to-upper handicappers. It reminds me of the Ping G10 in performance although the G10 feels better. A decent effort from TM but no mind bender in my opinion.

PeteMTG · March 14, 2009

I also went and demo'd these today at a range that had every manufacturer there. I have been reading the hype on these for weeks and wanted to see for myself.

Pros: Long, straight, I like the bounce on how it gets through turf. I find the Tour Preferreds also did the same.

Cons: 85gr shaft (for me). Top line is rather large and the offset is quite a bit for my liking. I could see playing these in the 3, 4, 5 and go Tour Preferred 6-PW

Overall, I think they can certainly be what they are, a game improvement iron.

I saw a pic of the Japan Burners which are forged, have smaller toplines, and much less offset. Now THAT has my eye!

Just my .02 cents.

The R9, now that is the real deal. Period.

DrSchteeve · March 14, 2009

Nothing works for everyone.

whchoclte · March 14, 2009

I almost see it as if they are say 10-15 yards longer then i dont need my hybrid as a 2i replacement but I will have to bag another wedge now to make up the gap between this new PW and my old say 52*.

have had a chance to hit these and dont think im gaining much switching as I have set down my distances and comfortable with their play. Yes I might lose forgiveness here and there but I just like a smaller more defined iron.

Chris5573 · March 14, 2009

I am very interested in these irons as well as the 09 Burner driver. However, I currently play my 60* LW 85 yds on full swings, my 56* SW 95 yds on full swings and my 50* GW 110-115 yds on full swings. If my GW jumps up to 125-130 yds I am going to have a very large gap to fill.

If this ti true it appears to me TM hs amde a mistake and dsigend these from the long irons to the short irons. They should have started near the hole and worked towards the long irons.

This is also my concern with these irons. I have not hit them yet either, but I hit my current GW about 100yds...I would most likely have a distance gap of 30 yards between the PW or AW Burner and my 52* GW. Have any of you who play these irons had a problem filling this gap?

VA_Astra · March 14, 2009

I hit the irons today at Dicks....They felt great and looked great.

I didnt like the light weight shafts at all! Very soft feeling shafts. The grips are also a little funky feeling as well, but that isnt a big deal as I change grips on clubs right away anyways.

Looking at these versus the A4's, Id still go for the A4's. I think the A4's have a much better feeling still with the same performance.

rgk5 · March 14, 2009

Agreed on the A4s.

Cwing · March 14, 2009

I hit the irons today at Dicks....They felt great and looked great.

I didnt like the light weight shafts at all! Very soft feeling shafts. The grips are also a little funky feeling as well, but that isnt a big deal as I change grips on clubs right away anyways.

Looking at these versus the A4's, Id still go for the A4's. I think the A4's have a much better feeling still with the same performance.

If the shafts are too soft ------ how do they feel great?

RB78 · March 15, 2009

cwing

I would make sure I get the TM 50* that comes with the set. Look at the 4-GW set up if you should purchase these irons. This should help fix the distance gap.

RB78

Cwing · March 15, 2009

cwing

I would make sure I get the TM 50* that comes with the set. Look at the 4-GW set up if you should purchase these irons. This should help fix the distance gap.

RB78

If they can best the a3's from my bag I think I would be looking at the 4-GW. However, my Cleveland CG14 and Nike Slingshot GW's are both 50*.

I can't wait to hit them and compare to the a3's as I found the a3 shaft length to be the same as the Burners in the 6I-PW. The Burner 4 & 5 irons are actually longer than the a3 4 & 5 hybrids. I did not compar the 3I to the 3H.

Cwing · March 15, 2009

I wonder how the length of the Burner GW compares to others and if it could be as simple as adding 1/4 - 1/2" to elimate the distance gaps?

Tmintx · March 15, 2009

Purchased a set of Tour Issue 3-PW from a super guy on this board, but I have to tell you, they just didn't do it for me. They are SUPER freakin long, but I just can't make myself play this type of iron. I'm not a "thin line, no-offset" nazi either. Like the I5s everyone loves, they just don't fit my eye, so unfortunately they are going up for sale.

They definitely do what they are engineered to do, so if you like this profile, I'd give these a shot.

DrSchteeve · March 15, 2009

Looked at them at Golf Galaxy. Short irons look quite good to me, the PW is not too big, and the topline and offset look fine to me in the short irons. When you get to the 6 iron, the topline starts to look really chunky and the cavity becomes very visible, rather hybrid-like. Nothing I couldn't live with, but the performance would have to be great to justify that compromise. Waiting for a demo day.

VA_Astra · March 15, 2009

The shafts feel noodly Cwing.

Like you cant control the irons, too light as in you feel like you loose the iron during your swing..........................Kind of like hitting my wifes clubs....

The shafts feel at least a flex too light. Id like to see these irons with some real shafts in them.

StratPete · March 16, 2009

I've been watching this thread with a lot of interest. I haven't played in around 8 years and figured I needed new clubs. My prior set are DCI 962's with 6.8 FMP rifle shafts (pro fitted after a month of lessons). Like tree trunks. So, I've hit the new Burner 6-iron graphite stiff and when I do my job it seems like a nice club. I also tried the X-22. At this point getting back into the game it seems like I'm better off with a forgiveness club over something more aggressive. I now just have to get fitted to make sure the shaft is correct. Feels like butter around the sweetspot, but what doesn't. Guess what, bad swings = bad result.

driverhead · March 18, 2009

I got a set of the burners. Took them out yesterday. I was very impressed. The 85 gram shaft felt very smooth, and I had great shot control. The progressive offset works nicely as from the 7 iron on down there is virtually no offset at all. I hit 15 of 18 greens in very wet conditions. The sole grind handled the wet bent turf and slid into the ball almost like hitting off a mat. I also put a few balls in bare lies in between some clumps of grass and it got the shot off nicely. They are a club longer, but consistant in yardage. The wedge and gap wedge were great around the green for chipping. The sole design of heel and toe relief allows for crisp contact.

I will give them a workout again today. Impressive start.

dssxxxx · March 18, 2009

Like you cant control the irons, too light as in you feel like you loose the iron during your swing..........................Kind of like hitting my wifes clubs....

A little known fact about a guy who won the NJ State Amateur 5 times was that he played ladies light weight shafts (his name was Chet Sanok and we played a lot of golf together). He was a great wedge player and could get it up and down from anywhere.

But, back to the topic. My Buddie traded his TM Tour Preferred for the "09 Burners a week ago Friday and after hitting the demo's this past weekend I ordered a set.

bantam · March 18, 2009

Add just a bit of lead tape...make the feel better...I tweaked each club on the range until they all were money. These are stupid easy to hit.

bantam · March 18, 2009

BTW. I also strenthened each iron 1 degree. Yes I know the lofts are jacked up, but it knocks out the GI bounce that I don't like. I was afraid to grind them...yet.

pat_1100 · March 18, 2009

hi all

i just ordered a set 4-P ; and i am wondering what is the best combination of wedges ? 50 -56 or 52 - 58 or ?

tks in advance

patrick

2left · March 19, 2009

I wonder how the length of the Burner GW compares to others and if it could be as simple as adding 1/4 - 1/2" to elimate the distance gaps?

I was wondering the same and compared them to Cobra S9's, which I am also looking at. I picked 4i - 7i, since this is the range I'm most concerned with.

TM

4i: 21 deg; 38.875"

5i: 24 deg; 38.25"

6i: 27 deg; 37.625"

7i: 31 deg; 37.00"

S9

4i: 22.5 deg; 38.50"

5i: 25.5 deg; 38.00"

6i; 28.5 deg; 37.50"

7i: 32.5 deg; 37.00"

So in this range of clubs, the Burners are uniformly 1.5 degrees stronger than the Cobras. The Cobras increase shaft length by .50" for each club, while the Burners uniformly increase shaft length by .625".

Just for fun, I compared them with my current Ping Eye2's. I know people love these clubs, but they're hand-me-downs and I'm looking for a more GI irons.

Eye2

3i: 21.5 deg; 38.75"

4i: 24.7 deg; 38.25"

5i: 28.5 deg; 37.75"

6i: 32 deg; 37.25"

Ignoring the numbers on the bottom of the clubs, the Eye2's seem to have the longest shaft length per degree of loft. So if TM dropped their club numbers one lower, would everyone be talking about how short their shafts are?

Paulito · March 19, 2009

For those who have purchased these... did anyone go over the standard lenght? Since this club has so called "longer shafts", should someone that would be normally 1/2" over standard... go standard on these clubs, or add the additional lenght? I was leaning towards a 1/4" (if thats possible). It seems that people who are normally standard length (assuming) are enjoying the longer length.

phanker · March 20, 2009

NEWBIE ALERT! Just really got into golf last year and am trying to figure out what set to buy.

I'm a bit confused now having read this thread. Why does it matter what the loft angles are on the clubs when comparing different club sets?

Like someone here mentioned, a club with a lower CG would need a stronger loft as compensation to keep a proper flight angle.

So comparing loft angles between club sets is pointless if their CG is different. (I'm sure there are other factors that affect ball flight angle but i'm just keeping this simple.)

Am I mistaken here?

kokogirl · March 21, 2009

I just bought 6i-AW of these today after hitting them at a demo day. I have been wanted to get irons with a lightweight steel shaft. I just bought S-9's with a graphite shat senior flex (-1/2") a few months ago, but when I hit these Burner 09 irons I really liked them. I kept them stock (not cut down or bent) in case I decide they are not for me once I get on the course. I figure stock set up will be easier to sell, if that happens. (I have about 16.5 index and have been playing 3 years, so I am not that great, but am improving).

Note: I think I will need to get them cut down 1/2"-1" or get them bent .5-1 deg flat.

What I liked about these is that they are heavier than the clubs I have now, and I can feel the club better through my swing. But they are not as heavy and stiff as my husband irons, which I have trouble with getting balls in the air with. (He has X-20 with uniflex steel). I also really like the feel at impact. I am not sure how far I hit the clubs outside since the wind was in our face, but I got the ball up in the air with a nice trajectory.

Then I went to the golf shop and hit them with the machine and impact tape. I carried the 7 iron about 8 yards farther than my cobras. I was choking down on the club about 1/2". I hit all the balls on the tape (not hosel or toe, which is good for me) but not all hits were in the middle of the face. All hits on the tape felt pretty good, but I still got good feedback and could tell when I hit near the toe.

I am just happy to find a set of irons that I love the looks of that are in a lighter weight steel shaft. I will play them on the course tomorrow and be able to make a better decision about them then. If it does not work out I will have some clubs to sell. Well, if it works out then I will sell the Cobra's. :D

vfoil8 · March 21, 2009

I've been a TM user for many years, going back to the 320 irons and the original LT irons. I also use an R7 Limited driver. That being said, I can't believe the public has been taken in by the jacked lofts and longer shafts of these irons. Considering the 09 Burners just hit the shelves, I am strongly suspicious of all the great reviews on this and other sites. How many of these reviewers were "invited" to try a set by a TM staffer and now own a set a no cost? What a sham the marketing practices of TM have become; they are truly the laughing stock of the golf industry.

As someone famously said , "No one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public".

By the way, the OP has gone completely over the top in his responses.