Titleist 620 CB irons offer balance of control and forgiveness

By Drew Mahowald -- 2nd Swing Staff Writer

Titleist’s most recent launch of new irons and hybrids provides options for all skill levels. From the T300 irons to the 620 MB irons and the U500 utility iron to the TS2 hybrid, and everything in between, Titleist has covered all bases.

The new series of players irons in the most recent Titleist launch features the 620 MBs, the 620 CBs, and the T100s. The 620 MB irons are a muscle back design catered toward the most skilled ball-strikers, while the T100s are the most compact and workable offering in the T-Series and include a spring steel body and additional tungsten weighting in the 3-iron through 6-iron for added forgiveness on longer shots.

Falling between the 620 MB irons and the T100 irons on the spectrum are the 620 CB irons, a players cavity back construction. Titleist’s goal in building the 620 CB irons was to provide the forgiveness offered in the T100 irons while maintaining the superb feel and workability of the 620 MB irons.

To achieve this, Titleist engineers altered the shaping of the cavity and modified the implementation of tungsten in the clubhead. Specifically, the cavity is more pronounced in the heel and the toe than in past versions of the CB irons. This adjustment was made in an effort to provide more stability throughout the set.

Meanwhile, Titleist also has received feedback suggesting that their CB irons in the past have been too similar in performance to the company’s AP2 models, a players cavity back similar to the new T100s. 

To bring the 620 CBs closer to the 620 MBs, Titleist implemented dual-density tungsten weighting in the heel and toe of just the 3-iron and 4-iron. The tungsten weighting had previously been included in the 3-iron through 7-iron of previous CB models.

As someone who has played players cavity back irons for several years, I was eager to take a couple of 620 CB irons to a local driving range and test them out.

In terms of appearance, the 620 CBs have every bit of the profile of a true blade. The footprint is extremely compact and the topline is thin. Golfers that have played blades previously would certainly be comfortable hitting the 620 CBs, at least from an appearance standpoint.

I was able to hit a few shots with a 620 CB 4-iron and 7-iron. Immediately, I noticed the superb feel as a result of the one-piece forged 1020 carbon steel construction. Each shot struck near the middle of the clubface felt as buttery as any iron I’ve ever hit.

I noticed a distinct difference between the 620 CB 7-iron and my current 7-iron. Due to the removal of the dual-density tungsten weighting, the center of gravity has been moved up in the 620 CB irons, specifically the 5-iron through pitching wedge. 

This resulted in a slightly lower and more controllable trajectory with the 620 CB irons than with my gamers. Additionally, the more pronounced cavity in the heel and toe seemed to provide more forgiveness on my mis-hits than my current clubs do.

While hitting the 4-iron, I noticed a subtle difference in terms of sound and feel, which is likely due to the presence of the dual-density tungsten weighting in the heel and the toe. The sound was a little louder while the feel was slightly firmer. However, the feel was superior to the 4-iron I currently play.

The 4-iron also produced a trajectory similar to what I’m used to, suggesting that these players irons do what any players iron set is supposed to do, which is to let the swing mostly dictate the result. Workability is certainly not lost in the longer irons with the presence of the dual-density tungsten weighting.

Titleist took a bit of a different approach to constructing the 620 CB irons compared to previous versions of the CB irons. In an effort to achieve a better balance between the 620 MBs and the T100 irons, engineers made adjustments to the tungsten weighting and the shaping of the cavity.

The result is an iron set that looks and feels like a blade with just enough forgiveness that strikes a perfect balance that will appeal to a larger range of golfers than previous iterations of the CB.