The short irons from 7 to PW are like a set within a set as they not only have 1 degree stronger lofts than the previous AP1 712 irons, but also a narrower sole and top line. This gives them a lovely look at address and again the feel is very good. The heads are still oversized compared to the market and Titleist say they are the most forgiving irons for their head size in the market and I found it was hard to dispute that.
What this means is that the P wedge is now 44 degrees so Titleist have not one, but 2 gap wedges available as extras. These are a W1 at 48 degrees and a W2 at 52 degrees. With Titleist saying that sets will more likely be 5-W1 then this is starting to make iron numbering look very silly.
The final subtle changes are in the sole design where they have ground off the leading edge to give it a ‘pre-worn’ look. They have also increased the camber of the sole in the short irons to help the ball through the turf and to prevent the club digging into the ground. This it does very well and all through the set the divots were very similar and it all helped to enhance the feel of the clubs.
Visually they look a lot better at address as the offset is still the same, but it has been blended a little differently and therefore looks less at address. There is still the progressive offset that reduces as the irons get shorter and all the helps to give a better player feel to the AP1 irons even though they are targeted at the 6-18 handicap range.
The AP1 714 irons come with a True Temper XP95 steel shaft that is 15 grams lighter than the previous Dynamic Golf XP or a Mitsubishi Kuro Kage 65 graphite shaft. These are both lightweight shafts and help to give an overall feeling of lightness to the set.
This is one of the key things to take from the AP1 review. Whilst these irons are Titleists, they are very forgiving indeed so they are sneaky good for mid handicappers who want to go with a quality performance brand. The quality of the design and the feel is what you would expect from a premium golf brand and therefore they are priced accordingly. However price aside these are a quality set of cavity back irons that deliver lots of forgiveness in a stylish way.
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