Equipment

Golf irons through the years


Mark Sanders

06 November 2023

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Golf is a very old game, and over recent years, the technology found in golf clubs has changed dramatically.

Centuries ago, golf clubs were carved out of wood, and by the mid-18th century, golfers of the time had access to the first iron clubs. Wooden hickory clubs became the norm for the sport right up until the early 20th century, when steel shafts revolutionized the game.

Can you imagine how difficult it must have been to play with crudely carved hickory clubs? How thrilling it must have felt to pull off just the right shot with one?

What about the world’s best golfers? Do you think playing golf to such a level with comparably worse equipment than we have today would make them more talented than our modern players?

We’ve had an awful lot of technological advances in the past 50 years. Modern research and development as well as the convenience of established supply chains means we have a mass production of new and improved golf clubs with each year that passes.

TaylorMade makes fantastic golf irons, and today we’re going to take a trip down memory lane. We’ll be looking at some staple now decades old TaylorMade irons and comparing them to this year’s release.

 

Millennial Aesthetics

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You may or may not have been playing golf back in the early 00s, and if you were, this wonderful golf iron from TaylorMade might be bringing back some memories.

The head on the Rac OS features a deep cavity back with lots of surrounding perimeter weighting. Upon inspecting the club, you feel like you’re in the driver’s seat of a race car what with the central Rac icon looking like an instrument on a dashboard.

This club was a real marvel when it was released in 2003. The rounder, more pear-shaped clubhead is an example of how the golf iron as a piece of equipment has transitioned away from the square iron heads that were a staple of the early-to-mid 20th century.

The golf irons we have today don’t only perform better than those of decades-gone, they look better, and help us feel more confident when we’re lining up our approach shots.

 

Recent Tech

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Let’s go back to 10 years ago, the RocketBladez that was released in 2013 is the perfect marriage of performance and aesthetics. The golf iron looks very stylish what with hint of yellow among the grey and black paneling.

TaylorMade gave this club plenty of oomph, and if you were playing with it a decade ago, you would have been no doubt taking advantage of the club’s performance-enhancing technologies.

This iron was designed for giving you excellent turf contact, and a low center of gravity that helped pop the ball up in the air to give you plenty of height when you’re hitting into the green. These forgiving clubs were an excellent example of the kind of tech and shape it takes to make a superb distance iron.

 

Modern Tech

The golf irons of 2023 are pushing the known limits of how far you can hit a golf ball with this type of club. Not only do they give you tremendous distance, they’re also designed to give you lots of forgiveness and are a lot of fun to play with.

TaylorMade’s latest iron release, the P790, is the cutting edge of golf iron technology. The iron will give your shots consistent distance thanks to the large sweet spot on the clubface.

The iron feels really solid in your hands which is in part due to the thin-thick back wall construction. TaylorMade have essentially engineered the club to be weighted in all the right places to give you the best performance possible.

You’ll get an impressive height and launch on your shots too. The long irons have been designed to have a low center of gravity that shifts progressively higher throughout the set. If you’re looking for a club that feels amazing and gives you superb results time and again, the P790 from TaylorMade is a strong contender to add to your bag.

In the pro shop, we’ll be able to tell you all the ins-and-outs of modern golf clubs in detail so you’ll know exactly how your clubs work. If your current set is looking a little weathered, why not consider getting yourself an upgrade? When you come in for a club fitting we’ll take a look at how you play and give you a recommendation of what kind of golf iron would be most appropriate for you.

Contact us today