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PROS
- Callaway Ai Smart Face is fast and forgiving
- Easy to launch and get in the air
- Longer blade lengths inspire confidence behind the ball
- Quarter inch longer in long irons for more distance
CONS
- Hard to fault
These hollow-body irons have a perfect blend of speed, distance and forgiveness, and with the new Ai Smart Face, you’ll get the consistency you are looking for in these irons.
The Ai Smart Face helps deliver optimal launch, consistency, and distance, especially on the mishits, whether they are from low, high, the heel, or the toe. When you do get one from the middle of the face, it’s a joy and the speeds and distance are very consistent.
The Paradym Ai Smoke has stronger lofts than standard with a hollow body construction for extra speed, distance, and consistency. You can expect a higher launch but a lower spin for more distance. You also have a pre-worn leading edge which helps the club glide through the turf.
When you get into the longer irons, you have a quarter-inch longer length, which will give you that extra club speed and distance whilst keeping dispersion tight.
It’s a brilliant iron for mid-to-high handicappers looking for an iron that is a brilliant all-rounder that is fun and easy to it.
PROS
- H.O.T face delivers forgiveness across the face
- PWR-Bridge weighting contributes to faster ball speeds
- Ai L-Cup face designed for faster speeds
- TECHFLO construction delivers consistent performance
CONS
- A bit of offset, may not be for everyone
The irons feature optimised performance through the set and a progressive TECFLO construction. This means they progressively change from full hollow design with PWR-BRIDGE and PWRSHELL in the 4-7 irons, to a full hollow body with no face insert in the 8-PW, to a half hollow design in the GW-SW. This allows you to have more spin control and stopping power in the scoring irons.
The PWR-BRIDGE weighting and PWRSHELL H.O.T Face insert working together to deliver fast ball speeds, great distance and forgiveness for tighter dispersion. The PWR-Bridge weighting is low and forward for faster ball speeds with H.O.T face delivering great distance, especially on mishits.
The L-Cup face is designed using A.I for a faster and more efficient clubface with the H.O.T Face insert delivering a variable face thickness, delivering more forgiveness.
They, look, feel and sound brilliant and if you’re a high handicapper looking for clubs that will go miles but still have stopping power to get you closer to the hole.
PROS
- Each iron is individually designed for consistent performance
- Heat-map design makes it more stable and consistent on those off-centre strikes
- FLTD CG helps eliminate the dreaded miss right and keeps each shot straighter and longer
- Cap back design delivers a great feel like the P790
CONS
- None so far
They have longer blade lengths which make the club head look a lot bigger on the eye which makes you feel like you can’t miss it. Minimal offset which again will help you it straighter along with FLTD CG.
Each Qi iron is individually designed with FLTD CG just like the P790 irons, irons aimed at better players. The flighted centre of gravity technology helps straighten out the slice and, more importantly, keeps each shot straighter and longer. The new technologies work together to increase ball speeds, launch angles, and spin rates. The cap-back design and TaylorMade’s Speed Pocket technology ensure consistency throughout the bag, including in gapping.
The 4-and 5-irons feature a lower-profile backbar design for a low CG that helps get the ball off the ground, while the shorter irons have a heel-toe weighting for higher inertia, more forgiveness, and better control with the scoring clubs.
TaylorMade’s cap-back design toe wrap allows for mass to be strategically placed to deliver clean lines and a satisfying sound and feel, much like the P770 or P790. Internally, the Hybrar Echo Damper reduce unwanted vibrations. The face also features a heat-map design, allowing it to flex on mishit shots which in turns makes it more stable and consistent on those off-centre strikes.
A really impressive iron design from TaylorMade that will get you hitting the ball straighter and further. A golfer’s dream.
If you want to see my verdict, then you can watch that HERE! If you want to read what I think, then keep scrolling…
Conclusion
Hitting these irons was a lot of fun and I have to say, all of them are very impressive. They are all very different in looks, especially at address. The Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke has that longer blade length but has more of a tour like shape with a thin topline. The Cobra Darskpeed has that cool gunmetal finish which I really like. They also have that bit of offset which helps get your ball flying straighter. Then finally the TaylorMade Qi irons have the longer blades length and what feel like a larger face which just fills you with confidence. They are all very different in their own way in terms of looks but feel and performance is where they start to differ. The option from Callaway is very crisp in sound and feel. It’s easy to launch, you don’t have to work hard to get the ball in the air. The dispersion is tight thanks to the excellent forgiveness from the face. The Cobra irons are very fast and the distances they produce are great. They feel firm and produce a real jump off the face, with very fast ball speeds. Not only that, but I found dispersion to be really tight with them. All in all, a great option. The TaylorMade Qi irons are so much fun to hit, you feel like you can’t miss your target line. The distance you get is great, they’re easy to launch and if you find you start slicing the longer irons, TaylorMade’s technology will help keep you on track. If you want an iron that excels in the distance and forgiveness stakes, it’s really hard to see past a set of Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke irons. While it’s personal preference, and these might not even be the longest of the three, they provide a brilliant mix of power and accuracy.
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