Titleist enters super game-improvement category space with T400 irons

For many years, Titleist had a reputation for producing irons that were geared primarily toward low-handicap players. But as the game has evolved, so has Titleist.

While it still excels when it comes to creating irons for touring professionals and talented amateurs, Titleist has made impressive strides of late in addressing the needs of mid- and high-handicappers.

The introduction of the AP1 franchise was a tremendous addition to the game-improvement category, and the T300 has carried on that legacy, while AP3 and then T200 have given Titleist standout options in the players distance space.

Now, Titleist is making its first foray into the super game-improvement iron category with the release of the new T400.

Interestingly enough, it was actually the success of what Titleist expected to be a niche driver product, the lightweight TS1, that proved to be one of the motivations for the T400 irons.

“We launched a TS1 driver last year that was an ultra-lightweight product that was really for moderate to slower swing golfers,” explained Josh Talge, Titleist Vice President of Marketing for Golf Clubs. “It ended up being almost 25 percent of our driver sales. We thought that's pretty interesting; there’s a lot of these moderate swing speed players out there.”

Also providing inspiration for the T400 irons was the new U-510 utility club that Titleist released in the fall of 2019. The U-510 features a wide-body and a low, deep CG position, and average golfers have found success launching the ball effortlessly from the turf with the 2- and even 1-iron options that are available in the U-510 line.

Engineers wanted similar performance in a full set of T400 irons, so they stayed with the wider body to get the CG as low and deep as possible. But they also incorporated what Titleist is calling a Split Sole design to improve turf interaction, especially with the short irons.

Also of note, T400 irons feature a hollow design, which enabled significant weight to be moved to the perimeter of the club to provide enhanced forgiveness on off-center strikes.

The hollow-body construction also supports an ultra-thin clubface, which promotes faster ball speeds, while nearly 100 grams of tungsten weight that has been built into the design to provide high MOI, as well as a sound and feel that is softer than what will typically be found in a super game-improvement iron.

And finally, as Titleist does with many of its irons, the T400s were created with a progressive set design when it comes to blade length, sole width, and hosel length to ensure the ideal CG position to optimize performance with each iron.

The end result is an iron that looks unlike anything Titleist has ever created, and an iron that will offer performance unlike anything Titleist has ever created for a growing segment of the golfing population.

“It is our largest Titleist iron we’ve ever made, and it’s also our most forgiving Titleist iron we’ve ever made,” Talge said. “But man does it launch and go.”

One thing that golfers should also know about the T400 irons is that they feature extremely strong lofts, which has become a polarizing topic in the golf world.

In irons like these, however, to meet the needs of players in this category, oftentimes the only way to achieve proper gapping and optimized results through a complete set is to strengthen the lofts, which becomes necessary based on the faster ball speeds and higher launch that a design like the T400 was built to provide.

Talge’s advice? Forget about loft, forget about the number on the bottom of the club, and just go out and enjoy what T400 has to offer for the player who needs its performance attributes. 

“I’m not going to hide from this; these are strong lofted,” Talge elaborated. “You’re looking at a 26-degree 7-iron. (People) joke that ‘I used to have a 5-iron that was 26 degrees.’ If you say that, go get that 5-iron. Let’s get on a launch monitor and see which one is going to go higher, which one is going to go farther, and which one is going to get you close to your target more often. (T400) is going to win every time. It’s going to be a great extension to our lineup.”

As mentioned earlier, the TS1 driver was one of the inspirations for the T400 irons, so Titleist has opted to offer lightweight steel (True Temper AMT Red) and graphite (Mitsubishi Fubuki MV IR) shafts as stock options, as well as the Golf Pride Tour Velvet Lite+ grip, all of which combine to provide a lighter profile that slower swingers can benefit from.

There are, however, multiple no upcharge shaft and grip options available for players who need a different fit.

Titleist T400 irons are available for pre-order now and will begin shipping and be available at retail on March 27.