New Titleist Irons Cast Wide Net

2008-02-19

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By Steve Pike

Looking to broaden its equipment base from scratch players to aspiring players, Titleist is introducing four new irons for 2008.  The new Titleist AP1 and AP2 irons are multi-material, dual cavity designs that provide what the company calls “Advanced Performance.”

Meanwhile, the Titleist ZB Forged is a blended cavity-to-muscle back iron and the new Titleist ZM Forged is a traditional muscle back iron.

Jeff Harmet, president of Cobra Golf and Titleist Clubs, explains that the AP family is the most technologically advanced irons the company has ever produced. The AP family also marks a bit of a departure for Titleist which in the past several years has concentrated its efforts – quite successfully – on irons for lower-handicap players.

According to Harmet, Titleist developed the four new irons after research with a wide range of golfers showed average ball speed gaps of approximately 10 miles per hour between Tour players, club professionals and low single-digit handicap amateurs, and high single-digit to low double-digit amateurs.

“It is important to note that average ball speed gaps between player groups have widened over the years,” Harmet said. “The average ball speed of a PGA Tour player is 165-plus miles per hour, while the average ball speed of a 5-9 handicap player is 145 mph. As a result of our research, we have designed four distinct irons that will focus on performance and feel and optimize launch conditions and ball flight based on the targeted players’ ball speed range.”

Four different materials are used in the construction of the AP irons, including a steel body, tungsten nickel steel box, central support bar with elastomer cushion and aluminum cavity plate. The AP1 iron body is cast with 431 stainless steel and the AP2 is forged with 1020 mild carbon steel.

“The dual cavity design and multi-material construction of the new Titleist AP1 and AP2 irons utilize a dense tungsten nickel alloy in the back and sole allowed us to optimize launch conditions for a larger range of swing speeds from Tour player to aspiring golfer,” said Dan Stone, vice president of research and development for Titleist. “We anticipate our Tour staff gravitating to the new AP2, ZB and ZM’s, while the AP1 is expected to be our most successful at retail as it appeals to the widest audience.”

Each of the four new irons will be available beginning March 15, 2008. The AP1 iron will carry a suggested retail price of $100 per club (steel) and $125 per club (graphite) and the AP2 iron will have a MSRP of $142 (steel) and $167 (graphite). The ZB and ZM Forged irons each will carry a MSRP of $125 (steel) and $150 (graphite).