Today Mike is in the bay to test the latest game improvement irons from Taylormade and Callaway. See what he initially thinks looks-wise of the new offerings and if he’d consider playing either set!
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Filmed at: Club Champion Toronto
Custom Golf Club Fitting Studio – Toronto, Canada
Very nice just autopilot just you know that little slight over the top move that you’ve kind of got going it’s a very good delivery you’ve got for a wedge or any short iron really but the numbers are really really nice all right guys welcome back to the channel so not
Many clubs left that we haven’t reviewed yet this year Michael but two of the irons in the game improvement category that we’ve been sort of waiting on a little slot in the the uh the schedule with the bracket and things we’ve had going on uh we’ve been waiting to do
This one a head-to-head call versus tby they always get they always get put against one another don’t they the battle of the the big guns the two biggest names I would argue in the in the uh the marketing world when it comes to the slogans year on year always
Obviously driving Innovation but but marketing that Innovation extremely strongly at the same time so we’ve got the qi1 versus AI smoke yeah we have Smart face technology versus smart distance that’s good nicely said yeah no this will be good interesting to see I think and we’ll talk about it more in a
Minute but they’re quite different the two irons um in shape and construction technically it sets up very very different yeah okay so we’re going to have a head-to-head um due to the nature of the how strong The Lofts are in these irons we’re going to go a little bit
Weaker uh in or yeah a little bit weaker guess in the test today we’re going to do 68 in wedge because the six irons as we have seen obviously in recent years has gotten really really strong four yeah I mean pretty much pretty much we’ve got 20 uh 4 degre 6 iron from
Callo 25 degre 6 iron from um sorry other way around 26 24 from tmade 25 from Callaway strong which is very very strong um they have the exact same Loft at 32 in the eight and the callway actually is 1° strong wed the tail so differentt progressions
As we go through which is guys another reason why as we always say to you guys you’ve really got to be fitted you’ve kind of got stronger lofted long iron from one company but a weaker wedge setup and then vice versa with the others I don’t know how anyone ever
Knows what really they need unless they go through the process so um we have the same shafts we have the same setup in each so we’re going to have you hit them and give us your thoughts and feedback in the playing position obviously feel and and we we’ll dissect the numbers as
We do on the test but I want to sort of you know be in your mind a little bit as the player like what is the the user experience when it comes to these definitely okay all right Mikey we’re going to start you with the AI smoke
Iron first okay we were really big fans of the Paradigm iron last year totally we fit a lot of customers into paradigms we did well with it and the and the H or the Paradigm X at the time we did well with but this is its its Big Brother AI
Smoke looks looks okay um um excited to see what it sounds like okay let’s take a little look 42 degrees of Loft on this one very nice very nice that why they call you the wedge Master this what it is wedge Master right very nice just autopilot just you
Know that little slight over the top move that you’ve kind of got going and I’m not saying that jokingly I actually mean that that it’s a very good delivery you’ve got for a wedge or any short iron really but the numbers are really really nice it just looks really really easy
Yeah everything you would want this iron to be to be honest totally I mean there’s a couple there early on that I know I know the visually it looked okay but the strike didn’t feel the best and it’s still still I mean it still got
There still did what you wanted it to do well you know knowing obviously we’ve got some stronger Lofts I’ve set the pin at 137 you’ve hit that 135 your average distance from the hole is 6′ 10 yeah ball speed is is really consistent launch spin are are really really good
Uh okay let’s go into uh Qi 10 so for me visually from my position looking back at these they look quite different yeah it’s a big clunky offset that game improvement yeah that’s Club isn’t that’s what it’s designed for I think the back badging looks you know
Clean um but definitely quite a bit of yeah quite a bit of offset compared to AI smoke pitching wedge yeah one of the things they talk about with the qi1 is the manipulation of CG so the flighted CG so we tend to see it much much higher
In the wedge to drive the flight down a little bit so you make sure we we don’t get that uh deflect shot when you get the CG too low and you apply a little bit too much loft you you tend to end up getting the the the mass um and the
Wrong wrong spot raise that CG can retain a little bit more ball speed and improve the laun conditions a little bit guys so um this will be this will be interesting to see if if you get a little bit more of a powerful flight by the CG being
Higher streak how’d you hit that skinny yeah so didn’t sound as good as the other ones done quite well for you yeah yeah it’s interesting how this one sits definitely that heel you know that high heel we talk about sometimes in pitching wedes this sits the huzzle looks like it
Sits super flat comparative to the the head which is interesting good there Mikey yeah a little bit more spin in this one you can see it just uh in a slightly different little window again this is where we were talking about CG location and obviously there’s
One degree more Loft on this guy as well but um you know that’s where we can create same speed same launch and different spin that’s the manipulation of obviously CG that allows us to do that great looking flight I just feel it in my your bones there’s a hole in one
Coming through soon pitching W you know it’s tugged a little bit but you wouldn’t be upset with the result no okay right on to the uh eight mean those AI smoke ARS sound unbelievable yeah they are so much like okay we get it size is is a
Huge difference compared to the Q i10s but this is a set of irons that you look down at it you’re like I could play that could play that iron all day long you know it’s so we said I think we said the same thing with Paradigm last
Year it was like you know anyone could kind of any level of golfer could be attracted to an iron sh like that totally I mean our good friend Scott who obviously has been on the channel and you know Scott’s a good player and you know we got into into those he’s a Muno
Guy has been for years and didn’t miss a beat going into AE of that that shape I think it’s one of those you look at on the wall and you you see the title game improvement and some people stay away from it yeah like example for Scott and
Then you put it down you look at it you’re like I could use this that that last one you know we’ll go obviously straight towards the the stronger Lofts and and people will say oh it’s only it’s not really an eight AR you know but
Listen in in the in the part of the bag or in the in the area of the bag for the player who adds Dynamic L that is still an a you know Mikey is not of the weak Dynamic Loft sort of uh mold you know he’s delivering 23 .6 so he’s
Effectively takes off about nine or sort of so degrees of Loft off of his Club that’s a really strong IR Striker who does that we have people who coming in to see us who actually add Loft relative to the static Loft so you know an AR
Like this is 32 degrees and we will look at Dynamic Loft at 34 because they’re normally out to in with a little bit of an open face and they add quite a bit that’s who this iron is aimed at so um the fact you’re hitting at 170 no issue with that at all
I just love the sound of it coming off the face this thing as well that one might have been a fraction bit of like I would say maybe some Turf behind it a bit toy toy yeah but I mean it still got there strong very strong the nice thing is
They sound solid too again game improvement iron some of the game improvement stuff you’re handcuffed to how they’re going to sound and look mhm these things acoustically put them up against a T200 T1 even t-150 and it’s not massively far off really nice dispersion Circle yeah really really nice okay let’s go into
The uh Qi okay this will be interesting to see where the uh launch and spin is cuz we obviously saw tail made was one degree weaker last time but had a higher Center gravity so we did see some spin extra spin on the tail made um this will
Be interesting to see if this is more like for like okay and you also now I believe in the eight you have the um speed pocket now on eight yes so some of those lower strikes which some of the strikes have been a bit low see if you
Do start to get a little more contribution out the head like to me that sounded and looked like there was more in that again totally now based on the CG like we said we’re starting to basically say like for like yeah for the most part A couple
More flushed it a little bit lower than the head yeah okay yeah it’s funny that’s the tendency with the QI for me is a little lower strike MH very flat and it’s flight isn’t it yeah yeah it comes out really really low really flat one more you’re flushing it though
Yeah good okay over on to the six irons okay into the 185 territory yeah what you seeing you can start to see a little bit of offset start to kick in but again it like you it’d be hard to find a a group of people to say they don’t like the
Look of this iron from the top all the way down pretty good there yeah really good do it just give me a center strike for once would you come on that was sounding pretty good yeah that’s what mean that little slight little cut on it but not bad one more good pretty
Good pretty good Michael good swing there Mikey yeah the qi1 has a gear in it doesn’t it it’s like a little little hybrid if you swing at it’s like a hybrid quite similar sort of numbers that mean obviously other than you know how far it’s going B
Speeds went up quite a bit now 129 yeah 129 spin is a little bit less than what AI smoke now guys we have we had to we we had to change ball we were playing a callway ball Chrome tour to start with and we flipped Mikey into his prov1x for
The six irons cuz to be honest they were going about 60 feet weren’t they 55 60t they were going knuckle balls knuckle balls so we we did have to throw in um Prov One X into the mix um which for Mikey playing these types of irons we probably should have started with but
You know we’re doing it where we need it and it’s quite interesting to see I’m going to do a little illustration in a second Mikey between your eight AR Spin and your six IR spin when we change the ball yeah yeah it’s actually really close interesting so give me two more
With this one nice wide fast swings good Ball’s definitely gone up yep all right Mikey boy um let’s start with the wedge similar ball speed similar launch close the only reason the launch is less with q eyes is just it was a fraction more pulled but this is
Where we talked about Center gravity was uh quite a difference yeah quite quite a difference in those two obviously 600 RPMs is what some people will want is a little bit more spin when it comes to the wedges so you know definitely like that to me you you seemed like you
Enjoyed hitting the AI smoke wedge a lot more than the QI 10 is that just the shape the AI smoke like through the carpet or through the turf was able to feel like the club actually get to the ball whereas Qi 10 I think just being a
Little thicker just tough to kind of get that feeling of kind of bottoming out properly yeah I mean it’s it’s designed that way to be fair um you know they they talk about Dynamic Soul design when it comes to the the AI smoke Aron so a
Little bit of relief at the front and the back and the leading and Trail at Edge I I really think that’s something that a lot of companies are missing a trick on when it comes to just the the user experience with with the irons um but in terms of the overall number net
Out quite quite s yeah um hey iron as we talked about where we suspected center of gravity would start shifting low on Qi 10 so we might find it they they perform quite similar we we definitely found that we did see the QI 10 be a little bit hotter yeah yeah um
Jumped up in distance a little bit more but launched a little bit lower definitely came out flatter that eight yeah yeah um and then into the six down distance became again a little bit more stretched out you were getting quite a bit more ball speed mhm you I thought you hit the
AI smoke a little bit more centered which I think you did yeah but it seemed like you were getting more out of the QI 10 whether that’s the the speed pocket technology or or the kind of the tech in that one it there was quite a bit of a
Jump uh in the QI 10 um ball speed yeah it’s interesting the the qi1 again I think it’s a little bit of Soul width for me I I rarely would you see someone who’s you know four or five down on it that you know would fit into something
Like a qi1 I think in my opinion the the online for AI smoke what it’s labeled under as is game improvement iron I feel like they’ve hurt themselves doing that a little bit because it’s not it does definitely help your game but it’s not for that game improvement
Person that may be in a qi1 or a T400 or zx4 something of that nature which Qi is so yeah it’s interesting I I like that AI smoke I mean if shafted properly to the right spec I’d have no issues playing them yeah yeah they were good quite nice
Um when we can of look at why was the qi1 going further ball speed being higher we obviously can go straight to Dynamic Loft and we can see that dynamically was the same even though there’s one degree of difference statically the tail made it’s one degree stronger it it didn’t play that way
Because dynamically you were delivering the exact same amount of Loft you were slightly more down on the uh on the Callo slightly so the spin Loft obviously got a little bit wider um see did that result in more spin it did a little bit so that’s where you’re going
To get a little bit more spin from a launch was more of a byproduct of obviously the dynamic Loft and strike location but definitely the head produces a bit more speed out of the tail that speed pocket yeah helps aesthetically we think well well I’m pretty sure we know who you like the
Most callway is is really packaged that up it’s interesting what you say about game improvement iron um I think by categorizing it as a game improvement iron though what they do is they stretch the the sort of uh the user who could fit into it I think when you start
Seeing players distance players cavity players people oh I player you know they start to think about that like I consider myself a player and whereas game improvement lots of people want to improve their game good point if that’s the way people are perceived you know
Guys let us know like do you guys even look at the the labeling of golf clubs and go is that me and and try and determine whether it’s for you but um I think the package that AI smoke comes in is very appealing yeah yeah no they’ve
Done a they’ve done a nice job to like we said we like Paradigm last year a smoke is uh is a great iron y definitely okay guys so two irons designed at sort of the the meat the Bell cover when it comes to these two major brands tail
Made and Callaway they’ve kind of went about it in different ways tail made clearly going after um sort of a a larger footprint in their head design um obviously smart distance they’re talking about how far their clubs go and making sure that everybody sort of hits the
Markers along the way um callway talking about AI smart face and how that face is designed to match the different deliveries that golfers have and different strike points and all the different combinations of golfers out there it’s designed to really manage the the best of what everyone brings or the
Worst in that case totally so um so two really really good irons I think one will inspire a bit more confidence one will inspire a little bit more sort of you know it’ll please the user in terms of when you put it down the shape
Of it when it sits down I think will look a little bit more aesthetically pleasing um but again like everything else you you’ve really got to go and test them for yourself and and be fitted and see what uh what it is that you need looking at the flights and how flat the
Trajectory was getting for Mikey I think the high Dynamic LT players are going to benefit from these uh again yamon is is is a high Dynamic love player our friend good player you know three four handicapper went into paradigms I think he could play I smoke same deal easily
Easily easily could he play q q i 10 no no no he he he wouldn’t we know he wouldn’t so I think that’s where maybe the slight difference that’s where I mean you know in terms of the the GOL for or the size of the market that that
Both irons go to I think AI smoke really stretches that much much wider I think you know Qi 10 probably goes like 10 to you know 10 to Mid or low 20s you know in that that sort of territory whereas I smoke could could be you know one end of
The spectrum to the other really yeah good stuff okay guys let us know what you think think um what do you think of these two irons have you tested them are they on your radar is there any others that you would like us to test in this
Call it game improvement segment of the iron Market please let us know in the comments below stay tuned for more and we’ll see you again Soon
31 Comments
Do you guys ever have trouble with people swinging the club differently inside? The only fit I've ever seen, the guy I saw was swinging slower and had more mishits than usual. He said he felt handcuffed in the indoor environment.
I do pay attention to the category somewhat, but I don’t let that rule my mind. I would never play a blade, however I never thought I was good enough to play a moderate size head but I did make a switch two years ago from Taylormade MCGB to Mizuno JPX-921 Hot Metals and greatly improved my game…with a smaller head not so chunky. The difference was phenomenal. I played the best golf of my life in 2023. I like the badging on the QI irons, but at address, not so, Ai Smoke is lovely. How about a comparison between Ai Smoke, new Titleist T-350 and Wilson Dynapower Forged? We have way too much to choose from! And it’s all good… Keep the great videos coming and I love Mikey‘s smile 😃
I picked up my fitted Qi irons on Monday, so early days. As a 21 hcap & 60 y/o the speed off the face is just what i needed. My swing speed is down to 80-85 mph with age and to again have the feeling that irons "stay struck" was worth the outlay. Looking to get that hcap down this year and i now have tools that are going to help.
In the shop i work in, this year, absolutely noone has asked me about new irons. Its been the new drivers every time. A shame, because these irons are great
Great test,
I am one of the people that shy away from the "game and super game improvement Irons," as I age and what to hold onto performance those categories are a hard thing to deal with. like Mike said they are doing themselves a disservice marketing by the current system, especially since it's got all the new technology
I think there should have a number system that reflects, forgiveness ,distance at swing speeds, etc. maybe 0-5 , 0-10. Also many Irons bridge a few categories now.
Thank you
If I tested irons and hit them like Mike just did, I would play them!
It can't be just me, but I'm 10x more interested in what $500-700 irons do vs $1500 irons. We don't grow the game by ignoring the budget clubs. We do continue the elitist image of golf by constantly focusing on these two brands though.
I will say this, Callaway did do away with "what handicap fits these". They used swing data and based that off of who should be playing each iron for the new lineup which i loved. Its more about the data in the swing than the score on the course and the tech will back that up to help them
I see that you guys are using both GSPro and the Foresight software in the review. Watching the driver bracket yesterday (GSPro driving range) and then this video (foresight). Any reason for this such as one is more accurate on different shots or easier to show comparison of shots, etc? Thanks
80 year old, 12 ‘cap, buying new irons this season. Love your tests & discussions. Would like to see test comparing Cobra Darkspeed vs Callaway & TaylorMade.
For 70 year old 7 hdcp that’s been playing 2018 P790’s, does the Ai Smoke make sense? Looking for a bit more forgiveness and a few extra yards wouldn’t hurt.
It always seems like they spread out the lofts too much on the short irons, then close the gaps too much on the long irons. 16yds difference on the Callaway between the 8 and 6 iron.
I try not to pay attention to labels of the category of iron. My only requirement is forged and not much offset. I think my handicap (8) matches players distance but my speed matches players irons. It's why I went with t200, 150, 100 combo so I could get that bit of extra forgiveness in the longer irons and precision in the shorter stuff. I do think Ping does the best with their loft specs for people like me that want that forgiveness but not the strong lofts. A "players forgiveness" category would make the most sense for players like me.
I was playing the wrong skill irons for a decade till I looked at the GI category in a set of Srixon 565 fitted at Chicago location. Thanks Austin!
Is there a fitter certification we should look for when contemplating signing up for a fitting? I finally got fitted a couple years ago and had I known then what I know now, I would have directed the process more myself. I was very disappointed with the fitting in terms of the process, the “fitting” itself, and the pickup of the equipment.
Which brings me to my next question and I don’t think I’ve seen this on your channel, when the clubs arrive at your store, what happens next? The customer was fitted based on a couple clubs, now the whole set arrives. Do they just take them home? Do they hit a couple balls? Do they go through a gap fitting? Do you verify all the ordering specs made it to the final product? I think that would be an interesting video.
I would pay attention to the labels but I don’t know what they mean and so it’s confusing. Low, medium, high handicap labels would be more straightforward but people probably aren’t honest with themselves and don’t want to be seen with high handicap clubs. My problem is that game improvement partially means high hitting. I hit too high as it is so I don’t know where to go.
I stopped playing for 10 years and just started back up last September. My clubs before I stopped playing were the original TM RBZ. I play P790 now and feel more confident with them and hit them better than any “game improvement iron” and I’m a 15-18 handicapper. My handicap is high because I have such an issue with my driver. My iron/wedge/putting game is what saves me. When I hit a drive 280 down the fairway, I’m almost always going to get a par or at worst a bogey. It’s those 220 yard snap hooks or slices into the trees that cause me to scramble and even then I can still scrounge a par or bogey.
I am getting my AI smoke irons tomorrow and I am really excited to put them in the bag. I've been playing Mizuno and I worry a bit that I'll miss the feel of them, but after putting the AI Smoke driver in play I have high hopes that the irons will be as forgiving as the driver. The driver is amazing and I think the irons will be too.
Looking at irons it depends. At a 10 handicap I still want to feel comfortable standing over an iron. Standing over a blade I don’t feel confident. Standing over a player distance iron or game improvement I do. But also don’t want the iron to be as chunky as a hybrid – there’s a fine line in there somewhere
I'll never understand the obsession with iron categories. If it works, play it. It's simple as that.
The year-to-year change in these irons to match the driver puts me off more than the GI designation. Somehow the Ping G4x or ZX4 or JPX HM seem more legitimate.
A thought while I was watching this ….
When you're talking about the looks of a club, how about showing the club on screen so we can see what you're talking about…🫣
Other than eliminating blade irons from the discussion, I find that the other categories muddy the waters a little. I’m doing a fitting with you guys in about two weeks and looking at clubs, reading about them and looking at clubs here in Florida while on vacation, I’m getting confused. Strong long irons have me spooked but Cobra Forged Tec X with 65 gm of tungsten low in the head has got to be game improvement, but maybe they’re not. The Ai irons in Mikes hands are game improvement but probably not for me. Thank goodness for fitting because the marketplace is very confusing.
To answer your question, Yes, I let my ego determine what kind of clubs I play, like most golfers 😂
I’m a 7 handicap and got fitted from Joe last year into Paradym irons and just love them. They look very compact at address and feel great and I don’t consider them in the game improvement category. Got to get fitted for what works for you best and not on what you think you should play. 🤙
Think taylormade has more options for irons than Callaway. So they made a traditional game improvement.
Stripe show from the Young Maestro!!!! 6 iron dispersion 👀👀👀
Callaway Vs Mizuno 923 Pro ?
I think that if you go to be fitted at a professional outlet, they will try a range of clubs, and the labels tend to be irrelevant.
I do consider the type of clubs I look at based on what they’re categorized as. I would more likely look into something with the “game improvement” tag or anything for the worse player for sure.
I agree with Mikey, I wouldn’t look at a game improvement iron. Ai smoke sound more player’s distance iron.