\n
The tech<\/b><\/p>\n
A multi-material dual cavity construction forged from 1025 Carbon steel.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s Tungsten weighing in the heel and toe (3-7 iron). There\u2019s an average of 25 percent more Tungsten in 716 AP2 compared to 714 with much of it concentrated low and around the perimeter to drive the centre of gravity down.<\/p>\n
Titleist say there are faster ball speeds on centre and off centre hits with high MOI right across the face. This should help with consistency.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no significant difference in launch or spin characteristics compared to the 714 AP2s.<\/p>\n
Robot testing showed that the big improvement is carry distance on off-centre hits.<\/p>\n
The stock shaft is the new Dynamic Gold AMT which is exclusive to Titleist for six months after the launch.<\/p>\n
At the Titleist 716 irons launch in St Andrews I was unsure whether I would be fitted into the AP1s or AP2s. I had previously used the 714 AP1s but switched to a sleeker iron as my handicap came down.<\/p>\n
So as a 17-handicapper I was probably somewhere in between but probably leaning more towards AP1.<\/p>\n
When hitting the AP2s, I found the performance to be superb. The feel when hitting it right out of the middle was as good as any iron I have ever hit.<\/p>\n
However, the size is a little compact for me and just doesn\u2019t fill me with as much confidence as the AP1.<\/p>\n
Having felt how good they are though has given me something to strive towards!<\/p>\n
If you are a fan of the AP2s this latest offering from Titleist will more than meet expectations as the look and performance are superb.<\/p>\n
Pros:<\/strong>\u00a0The 716 AP2 irons retain the\u00a0looks, forged feel and flight characteristics\u00a0of Titleist\u2019s previous model, while adding 25 percent more tungsten to their design to\u00a0improve performance on off-center hits. Stock shaft options include True Temper\u2019s Dynamic Gold AMT.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n- Price:\u00a0<\/strong>$1.199 steel, $1,399 graphite (for eight irons)<\/li>\n
- Irons available:<\/strong>\u00a03-P, W ($150 each steel, $175 each (graphite)<\/li>\n
- Construction:<\/strong>\u00a0Forged (1025 carbon steel, tungsten)<\/li>\n
- Stock Shaft:<\/strong>\u00a0True Temper Dynamic Gold AMT (steel), Mitsubishi Rayon Kuro Kage TiNi 65 (graphite)<\/li>\n
- Availability:<\/strong>\u00a0In stores Oct. 23<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
An analysis of Titleist\u2019s 716 AP2 against its\u00a0competitors reveals that the irons are mostly in a league of their own, which is at\u00a0least partially due to the AP2\u2019s own success. Now in its fifth iteration, the AP2\u2019s\u00a0have become a\u00a0leading choice with better players as many\u00a0manufacturers have trended toward larger, distance-orientated players irons \u2014 often at the expense of looks, sound and feel.<\/p>\n
At the time of its release, there\u2019s simply no\u00a0other forged players iron that can match the\u00a0technical accomplishments of the\u00a0716 AP2, which follows in a\u00a0design strategy that\u00a0resulted in its predecessor, the 714 AP2, being used to win all four major championships from 2013-2015 (Jordan Spieth in the 2015 Masters and U.S. Open, Zach Johnson in the 2015 Open Championship and\u00a0Jason Dufner in\u00a0the 2013 PGA Championship).<\/p>\n
What Titleist continues to get right with the AP2 line has to do with its compact size, as well as what\u2019s referenced\u00a0its namesake: \u201cAdvanced Precision.\u201d The 716 AP2 offer\u00a0more forgiveness than the previous model by using an industry-leading amount of tungsten in the irons. Titleist uses an average of 56.2 grams of the high-density material in the 3-7 irons of the 716 AP2. Its competitors don\u2019t even approach half of that number.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s also distinct is Titleist\u2019s co-forging process, or the way the tungsten is distributed. Each of the iron heads (3-7) is fitted with\u00a0a specialized pair of tungsten weights, which are forged into corners of their soles to maximize the irons moment of inertia (MOI), a measure of ball speed retention on off-center hits. It\u2019s that process that has allowed the AP2 irons to remain essentially the same size over the years, yet improve on the performance of past models. It also allows the multi-material design to retain an acoustic quality eerily similar to\u00a0other\u00a01025 carbon steel forgings, yet\u00a0offer forgiveness typical of much larger club heads.<\/p>\n
Of course, golf is played on courses, not in engineering departments, and on grass is where the\u00a0716 AP2\u2019s truly shine. I\u2019ve\u00a0tested a variety of leading players irons from different manufacturers in recent years, and the AP2\u2019s always surprise me with how compact they are\u00a0at address. While their shorter blade lengths and slight\u00a0offset\u00a0can be intimidating for less-skilled golfers, many better players \u2014 especially those who, like me, grew up playing traditional forged cavity-back and muscleback irons \u2014 gain a feeling of control and precision from their small chassis.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s just as important is the way the AP2 feel at impact. Marni Ines, director of product development at Titleist, makes the case that forged irons with tungsten in their design can actually feel softer at impact than one-piece forgings because of its aforementioned MOI boost, which causes less twisting of the club head on mishits.<\/p>\n
The turf interaction of the AP2 irons is also fantastic for better players \u2014 especially those with moderate-to-steeper angles of attack. The irons, because of their compact size, are extremely nimble on long grass. From tighter, firmer lies, their Vokey-inspired sole grind, which uses a combination of a pre-worn leading edge and a reasonably cambered sole, supports a\u00a0golfer\u2019s ambition to make ball-first contact, strike the ground and keep the club moving through the turf without snagging.<\/p>\n
These finer points of the 716 AP2 design, which Titleist has honed with the feedback from its staff of Tour Professionals, have to breed confidence with golfers in the form of reassurance that they\u2019re using the same clubs the best golfers in the world are using to support their livelihoods.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CLUB TYPE:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0IRONS SET MAKE:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 TITLEIST MODEL:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0AP2 716 LENGTH:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a035.75″ [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0},"product_cat":[20],"product_tag":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahggolf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/product\/1910"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahggolf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahggolf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahggolf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1910"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahggolf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahggolf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahggolf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fproduct_cat&post=1910"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahggolf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fproduct_tag&post=1910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}