Thanks to the guys over at The SandTrap.com you can get a peak at the new Titleist irons coming out in the next few months before they’re even up on the Titleist site.

Two of the four new irons coming out, the Titleist AP1 and Titleist AP2 (AP standing for “Advanced Performance) have apparently been designed to help optimize launch conditions and ball flight for golfers who aren’t fortunate enough to be able to create the ball speed that tour players do.

I like the fact that Titleist are finally putting out some irons with a little more game improvement technology in them.  I really like Titleist as a brand.  In fact at one stage, I had a full bag of Titleist - maybe even end up with a full bag of them again someday.  But for one reason or another, some other clubs found their way in.

“If you think of Titleist as a hot blonde… then you could say I sure as hell had a fetish for blondes.  At the moment I must have an infatuation with Asian Babes, because I’ve currently got a bunch of Mizuno and Srixon clubs in my bag.”  

The two other irons, the Titleist ZB and Titleist ZM Forged irons are much more traditional looking and obviously positioned for low markers, pro’s and those who just like looking down at a beautiful set of shiny forged irons without any concern whether they can play them or not.

I’m here to talk about their ball speed research, but before I do let me share which of the clubs I’d happily put into my own bag.

The AP1 to my eye is a “Big Fat Chunker”… I actually don’t mind this type of iron up to the 4 or 5, but after they, just don’t fit my eye.  It’s obviously the most forgiving and aimed at higher handicappers wanting to play Titleist.

The ZM forged is the most traditional blade like iron… which no doubt looks great, but for me, a guy who doesn’t always smack it in the sweet spot, it’s probably not the best choice.  But would look damn hot with their beautiful, shiny heads, peeking out the top of any golf bag before the start of a round.

The two clubs I like are the AP2 and the ZB forged.  I previously had a set of Titleist 735.CM irons and played my best golf with them.  The ZB forged is meant to be a progression in the blended iron set line. 

For me, the Titleist 735.CM’s made to drastic a progression between mid and short irons.  Hopefully these guys, make a more subtle progression from iron to iron.

Who know’s, being the absolute ”Club Ho” that I am, they may find their way into my bag (I’ve just got a new set of MP 57’s… but it’s never to early to start looking for a new girlfriend ).

Brings up the Titleist AP2 Forged Irons… haven’t seen it from all angles, but I reckon I’d like it.  It’s a players style iron with some technology built in.  From the pictures up at TheSandTrap.com, unlike it’s big bulky brother, it doesn’t have red on the back of it.  

 “I HATE RED ON MY IRONS”

Give me silver and black/blue and I’m happy.  Plain and simple… just like roast beef - I like it plain and simple, not alterted with fancy crap.

Anyway, the AP2’s are a smaller dual cavity iron and I think they’d be pretty sweet to play with (I actually wouldn’t be surprise to see a number of Titleist Staff Players throwing a set of these in their bags)

Brings me to the “Ball Speed” research for the new AP1 and AP2 Irons…

Here’s the description of Titleist’s aims with the AP line of irons (source - TheSandTrap.com)

“One of the key areas of focus for Titleist with these irons was ball speed. Obviously, the faster a ball travels the further it’s likely to go, and Titleist noticed that the average ball speed gaps between player groups has widened over the years. Their research says that the average driver ball speed of a PGA Tour player is 165+ MPH, while the average of a 5-9 handicap player is 145 MPH. That’s a 20+ MPH difference, and it continues on through every club in the set.

As a result, Titleist designed these irons to focus on not only the traditional feel and performance but also to optimize launch conditions and ball flight based on the targeted players ball speed range.”

We all know there’s a BIG difference between the quality of ball striking of a PGA tour player and every other golfer… including 5 to 9 handicaps.

Now, the average ball speed difference with the driver is mentioned at around the 20MPH mark.  No surprise to me there.  For one thing, PGA tour players would on average have more solid contact… better the contact, the more energy transferred from the club to the ball (think Smash Factor - ratio between swing speed and ball speed).

The other thing, it’s widely reported the average PGA tour swing speed with a driver is around 112-113MPH, which is higher than for any other golfing group averages (with the exception of the Long Drive guys of course - who are machines).  No surprises here either, these guys actually do some training, where the majority of golfers don’t.

So with higher swing speeds and more solid contact, it’s no surprise the PGA tour guys have more ball speed.  Throw in some serious testing to find the absolute best fitted equipment for their needs and you’re adding even more ball speed.

Well, I can’t wait to here more about these irons, I know the guys at the Sand Trap are going to release some reviews shortly after they’ve had a hit with them, so keep an eye out for that.  Give them a go when they come and and let me know which one best matches your ball speed.

In the meantime, if you want to increase your ball speed… I firmly believe, that increasing your swing speed is the easiest and fastest way to do this.

Swing speed is the single biggest limiting factor to your ball speed.  No matter how good you contact the ball, if you’re not able to generate some serious clubhead speed, then don’t go expecting your ball to rocket of the club face.

Sean Cassidy “Real Men Swing Fast”

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