NIKE Ignite 3H, 4-PW Set with Steel Shafts

Nike’s latest offering is the Ignite Hybrid/Iron set. Designed for mid- to high- handicappers, the set features deep undercut cavities and wide soles. The traditional 3 iron in the set has been replaced with a hybrid, which should be easier for the average amateur to play.

The iron is quite handsome, but I’m not sure that I like the looks of the hybrid. I really hate clubs with those little pseudo rivets holes on them—like the Nike and some of the Adams models. Rivets aren’t used in the manufacturing, so they should look smooth and sleek.

TAYLORMADE r7 Draw Iron Set 3-PW with Steel Shafts

The R7 Draw irons are the latest aid for high handicappers from the mad scientists at TaylorMade.

These clubs are built—as their name suggests—with a built in draw bias. Wdight has been removed from the cavity area in the toe and moved closer to the heel, allowing the player to close the clubface more quickly, reducing the slice and encouraging a draw. Slicing is further reduced by the offset design.

Like other R7 design clubs, the R7 Draw Irons feature TaylorMade’s Inverted Cone Techonology—the same technology that makes their drivers and woods so forgiving and so long. The inverted cone expands the Coeffient of Restitution (COR) zone for consistently longer shots—even on mishits.

The R7 Draw Irons have been made even more forgiving with their wide, cambered sole, which is designed to glide over turf and reduce the chance of fat shots.

Vibration from off center hits is reduced by the unique Dampening Web (that’s the little “X” structure on the back of the club).

What you have in the R7 Draw is the next generational step beyond the R7 XD, a set of clubs I prefer and highly recommend.

Tour Edge QL Quick Launch Irons - RH Steel

I like to think of Tour Edge as the Little Engine That Could. While not one of the “Big Boys” and not paying players to hawk their equipment, Tour Edge has managed to carve a nice little niche for itself—and maybe not so little. When I bought a Tour Edge driver a couple of years ago, the pro at the shop (a guy I’m friends with) told me that Tour Edge models were among their best selling products.

Tour Edge’s new Quick Launch irons are intriguing. A 2006 Golf Digest Hot List selection, they feature a super-wide and low center of gravity sole, an undercut cavity and massive perimeter weighting for more accuracy on off center shots. In fact, more than 40% of the club’s head’s weight as been moved to the perimeter.

The clubs are cast with a new technique that lets Tour Edge produce a deep channel undercut from a single piece of 431 stainless steel. Tour Edge says that this produces a “clean, consist one-piece cavity that offers remarkable feel.’

Another plus: the clubs are visually compatible with Tour Edge’s highly successful J-Max Iron Wood hybrids.

Acer XP High Trajectory

Here’s a good set of clubs for the beginning golfer. Unlike most beginner department store models, they are cast from a high quality 431 stainless steel and built with True Temper shafts.

Even better: the club heads is designed to help the beginner get better quickly. The low center of gravity helps the ball get into the air—even when the contact is “thin.” The wide sole helps prevent digging and fat shots. And the offset clubface will help the high handicapper get the clubface square.

But the best part is the price. GigaGolf can get you into a set of these clubs for as little as $115, depending upon the options you choose.

For that price to quality ratio, I don’t think you can get a better buy.

The Cobra S9 Iron is an innovative design that combines two dissimilar materials in much the same way that some new drivers and fairway metals combine carbon composites and titanium. The clubs feature a polymer topline and a urethane sole insert.

The S9 stands for “Sweet Nine,” which refers to Cobra’s trademark nine accurate points, which is has touted for some time on the faces of its drivers.  Intended for higher handicappers, the S9s offer a variety of game improvement features:

The side sole, low profile and undercut cavity are designed to generate high launch and more distance. The polymer topline allows weight to be redistributed for an extremely low and back CG. And the urethane sole insert and back cavity plate are designed to promote a softer feel.

Mizuno is one of several companies with new offerings this fall.

The MX-19 irons are a game improvement design with a deep undercut cavity and a wrap-around “power bar” to move the wright out and back for a deeper and lower center of gravity. The extraordinarily large cavity is a result of Mizuno’s “Multi Piece Wax Technology” manufacturing process.

Cast Irons typically are produced with what is known as a “lost wax,” or “investment casting” method. The technique traditionally involves making a master out of wax (today, it is sometimes foam). The wax master is then used to create a mold, but is “lost” in the process, as the metal poured aound it dissolves the original. While Mizuno doesn’t say what the Multi Piece Wax Technology” actually is, it’s safe to assume that it’s an innovation on the original “lost wax” technique.

Other features of the Mizuno MX-19 are a back cavity pad to reinforce the face for “greater feel” and an extra wide sole to improve ball striking on a variety of lies.

TaylorMade has just introduced a new line of R7 Irons. Following on the introduction last year of the R7XD and R7 CGB irons, the new line extends TaylorMade’s signature franchise.

The new R7s, TaylorMade says, were created for skilled golfers who prefer a high launch iron that still has good workability. There’s also a TP model for better players.

Like the R7 XD (Reviewed Here), the new R7s use TaylorMade’s Inverted Cone Technology to obtain a higher coefficient of restitution (trampoline effect), and thus greater ball speed and more distance. The technology works very well with its fairway woods and drivers and also with the R7XD.

The innovation in the new R7 irons is a soft aluminum dampening web across the back of the club that is designed to soak up harsh vibrations. TaylorMade says that the “X” is bonded to the cavity face with a double-sided, closed cell acrylic foam tape from 3M that is designed that absorb shock and soften sound. The combination of those two elements, plus the precise manner in which the web is shaped and positioned, delivers “an incredibly soft and satisfying sound and feel at impact.”

Another interesting component of these new clubs is the new TaylorMade grips, which have hundreds of slots that run parallel to the shaft. These are supposed to deliver better feel and traction.

TaylorMade has sent a number of review sets and clubs to GolfBlogger over the last couple of years, and I’m hoping that they lend me a set of these for some testing, too. It looks like the new R7s are going to be a major and popular addition to their line.