Taylormade Burner 2.0 Irons Review
A friend of mine asked me to do him a favor and do an iron review covering several of the different model/brands based on my recent research and play. I was more than happy to oblige. Well, lets back up. I played with an old set of Cougar irons (a Ping knockoff) since just after graduating college. In other words, over 20 years. They served me well as most of the time I was so busy in my career that I didn’t have a heck of a lot of time for golf. Still, I usually played low 90′s out on the course with the occasional mid to high 80′s. However over the years I was losing distance big time. My scorecard and handicap was going in the same direction which was the wrong way. I went from blasting 270+ yard drives to averaging right about 200 yards off the tee. My 6 iron went from 160 to about 130 to 135 yards. So, I headed off to Dicks Sporting Goods and later Golf Galaxy and went over to their simulator with a few clubs (drivers and irons) in hand. Namely, Ping, Callaway, and Taylormade. To make things fair with the drivers, I made sure to swing with the same flex shaft and clubs with a loft of 10.5 degrees.
I started out by hitting the Ping G15 clubs and also tried a few of the different types of shafts in regards to flex. For some reason I thought that maybe if I was using a senior flex that I might be able to control the ball better and with the combination that these clubs were much lighter than what I was swinging, I was sure that I would see gains in distance and hopefully consistency of hitting in the fairways. When all was said and done and with guidance from the professional, regular shafts seemed to be the best for me, so I would stick with them throughout the testing. The Ping clubs just didn’t seem to add anything at all to my swing. Meaning, nothing changed in my distance with the clubs. I was hoping to be a Ping fan simply because I used a Ping putter for some 20+ years. Off the record, I now use a Nickent putter. Truth be told, I’m not one for having a set from all the same manufacturer. I just want to play my best.
Next up came the Callaway Diablo Octane Driver and the Callaway Diablo Edge irons. I like the way these clubs felt in my hand. My swing speed and distances increased on each of the clubs that I used over Ping. I was hitting the driver about 210-213 yards off the tee and hit 220 yards on my last drive. I wasn’t trying to over hit these clubs and simply based on the driver alone, I was ready to pull out my wallet. I had a problem getting the 4 iron up in the air but I have that issue with most 3 and 4 irons. The Callaway Diablo Edge Irons were pretty sweet as well but I wasn’t so sure about the price.
Finally I hit the Taylormade Burner 2.0 Irons and Driver. I know that the Rocketballz line had just come out but I don’t see paying full price for something when you can get last years model on sale for a few hundred less. So with the driver in hand, my club head speed increased from an average of 83mph with the Ping G15 to 91mph with the Taylormade Burner Superfast Driver. Drives were now rolling up to 220 yards on a consistent basis with a few getting to 230. Now mind you, the only thing that is changing here is the clubs. I hadn’t done a single thing to improve my swing except for dropping some of the heavier 20+ year clubs for the newer ones. Because of how I hit last time out on the course, my goal was simple. I was looking to add length to my game.
Taylormade Burner Iron Video
My Taylormade Burner 2.0 Irons Review
Here’s the deal. After seeing me hit the Taylormade 2.0 irons much better than any of the previous clubs that I tried, the pro wanted me to check out the Taylormade RocketBallz Irons. No doing. Why you ask? Again. Simply because if I’m buying new, I see no reason to pay double on this years model. Plus I have no problem saying no. But that is just me. You are welcome to check out the Taylormade RocketBallz but as for me, I’m happy with the Taylormade Burner 2.0 Irons. Anyway, I was hitting the Taylormade Burner 2.0 Irons about 6-10 yards further than the irons that are currently in my bag. Beyond that (and I know I still need to straighten out my swing), the shots that I was hitting off-center (I tend to hit on the inside of my clubs) seemed to travel better. Now maybe I would have seen yet increased distance with the RocketBallz model. Just say no. Perhaps what sold me more than anything else with the Taylormade Burner 2.0 irons was that I was getting the ball into the air quicker and continuing higher on a good flight path. As being the guy who is known for hitting line drive shots (worm burners) with the ball rolling 20 plus yards, I like seeing that I have the opportunity to hit the green and stay there with the longer irons.
The bottom line is that I did not have the intention of talking about competing brands in this post. This is after all just one persons review. So I have I purchased the Taylormade Burner 2.0 irons? No…. can you believe it. I always like to contemplate any purchase decision and when I went back, for whatever reason the 2.0 clubs with the cool look had been replaced with a chrome stainless steel look. Now take it from me, purchase the Burner 2.0′s and you should be more than satisfied. What did I end up doing? I stalled the purchase throughout the 2012 season. What? Yeah, I just kept playing with my old irons. What was I thinking?
Update: 12/15/2012 To make a long story short, throughout the 2012 season I spent more time in the simulators and finally ordered the Taylormade Burner Plus irons. Huh? After talking about the Taylormade Burner 2.0′s so much? Yeah. Now I didn’t care so much for the grips but otherwise these clubs felt so much better with my swing. What would have been errant shots seemed to somehow leave the clubhead better. I gained even more distance than my 20+ year old irons and with an even yet higher trajectory. We are talking an average of 10 yards per club! The larger clubface made this golfer feel all the yet more comfortable. Maybe it was a mental thing but it worked for me. Yes, this all was in the simulator but I’ll be looking forward to putting these clubs to the test on the course in the upcoming golf season.
