Taylor Made has been making original, high quality golf products since they introduced the golf world to the first metal wood over 20 years ago. Since that time there have been hits and misses, but one thing stays the same, they keep coming! Every six months or so there is a new driver, fairway wood or iron from this company, add to the fact that they are once again serious about making quality golf balls and accessories as well and you get a global monster that offers as much product as Callaway and Titleist.
The recent purchases of Maxfli (though rumored they may be selling Maxfli to Dicks Sporting Goods) and Adidas and you have products under the Taylor Made-Adidas Golf umbrella for every player out there!
My next few reviews are over the current Taylor Made products as well as a few that are a couple years old, but definitely worth taking a look at if you can find them.
The Taylor Made Burner XD Irons were brought out to match the new Burner line of Drivers and Fairway Woods. Burner models have been used by Taylor Made for nearly 20 years and it was time for a fresh new look for this Iconic name. The Burner XD irons feature a stainless steel body for added perimeter weighting with a Titanium face welded to this frame. What you get is not only a hot face, but given the lightweight Titanium, extra mass around the club face to be moved low and away to create a hot, high launch ball flight.
They feature a wider sole to prevent digging and a high amount of offset to give the high handicap player more time to square the club face. As with most “distance” irons, the lofts are about a club less than your typical set of irons, Taylor Made relies on the extreme weighting to make up for this difference by keeping the trajectory close to its proper height with each club, that said, your old 9 iron is now your PW with these rockets!
When I went out to test them, I first noticed how ugly the are! Now, beauty is in the eye of the beholder I know, but the thick top line and huge amount of offset was really a distraction. I liked the more upright lie angle, this helps prevent the toe from digging in and hitting shots out to the right for the average player. The trajectory was a little lower than I would have expected for all the weight placed behind the ball, but it was manageable. I found that working the ball was not an option unless your idea of working it is to hit a head high duck hook!
I was only able to hit he standard, out of the box, medium height draw that these irons were intended for. Overall, this is a solid set of irons for the high handicap player looking for more distance and a little more forgiveness. Personally, I still like the MacTec NVG2 Mid irons in this category. They look a lot better and go just as far with a lot better ball flight while costing half as much! All in all, give the Taylor Made Burner XD irons a try, you may see something in them I did not!
