Titleist 718 AP1 Irons

I have not done this for a long time but it is time to get back more sunshine again. We have to re-invent and re-engineer at certain times in life. Take the story of the eagle I have shared before but take the story with a pinch of salt in that in "the rebirth of the eagle", the eagle by reaching a certain age has to knock off its talons and beak and pluck out its own feathers to be renewed. The story as a whole is good advice but that is actually not true of the eagle. The lesson is on reinventing your life and golf is as in life, you play as it lies. A good shot may end up in trouble and a bad shot can end up very well. 

Bobby Jones summed it up well when he said:"Golf is the closest game to the game we call life. You get bad breaks from good shots; you get good breaks from bad shots - but you have to play the ball as it lies.

Mine then is the real story. The sports are drying up as the eagle ages, other than PS4. Only left to sweat the small balls. With age catching up, we are no longer the hero of yesteryear even just on the fairways and greens. The aches are often unexplained and untimely. Even uncalled for. Sometimes when friends asked what I have for breakfast, I tell them I have soft boiled aches, some other times - scrambled aches. A round of golf is no longer as simple. A few months back, due to not playing enough golf, I suddenly suffered extreme pain in my left elbow. It has never happened before. It was excruciating as on the next morning, I could not even hold my coffee mug. Based on my power of deduction, I concluded that it was years of playing golf with steel shafts. I didn't want to go through that again so I have to make a switch to graphite shafts for my irons. I sold both sets of my steel shafted irons - Ping G and Callaway Steelhead XR to friends on the cheap even as they are still rather new and in great condition. Besides Ping and Callaway, I have played Titleist, Mizuno  and TaylorMade before so what irons are the best in the market and what do I like today?

In terms of golf irons I have played the most Ping followed by Callaway, TaylorMade, Titleist and Mizuno. They are all very good products but what was I looking for other than changing to graphite shafts? Hard to play clubs are not for me but still my irons should not look like changkol. (Changkol is like a hoe, an agricultural tool used for digging, weeding which in Malay is cangkul). Forged would be very nice but a good set of cast iron is alright but it must have good feel and good looks. I decided to look to Titleist.

Titleist 718 AP 1

Titleist always have classic designs. Many often think that Titlesit clubs are difficult to use but the AP 1 are the most forgiving irons in their 718 series. They have just somehow redefined a proven success in their stable. The AP1 has a tremendous trajectory and crisp feel and boy are they great looking! It is game improvement at its very best. Solid shelf appeal isn't it? Arguably the best looking - one of the reasons that swayed me. 

They do not look that big but they gives powerful distance and ultra-forgiveness. It is a  new upgrade from the predecessor the 716 marrying it with classic Titleist look and feel with some new tech. They are built to be easy to hit, launch high and thus stop on greens. The 4 and 5 have hollow bodies with undercut cavities for the rest of the set (6-GW) with plenty of  tungsten weighting in the toes to ease and help with off centre hits. They are of course not smaller than the AP 2 but it looks a bit like a blade due to its high toe low heel concept and styling. So in terms of looks, few can compete with it in 2018 at least. It also increases ball speed and have been tested and confirmed to perform beautifully as a solid all-round performer and looker with definite gains over the already excellent 716. 

If you compare it to a Player's iron then it may look big but Titleist kept it looking classy by cleverly making the top line two-toned so it actually appeared much thinner. Put them in your bag and it oozes sexiness and real appeal. It is rare that a game improvement irons do not contain lots of busy graphics on the club head or the shafts. That is sure elegance for me and more a Player's iron look.

Even the Golf Pride grips feels good.

The black and white just made them look different and stand out.

I was also pleased to note that the iron set came with excellent Mitsubishi shaft. The Mitsubishi Tensei Pro Red AMC (Ascending Mass Concept) graphite shafts. The colour combination of red and black is simple and elegant.

Look closely and you will find internal patterns.

Like the inside of marbles.

The shaft has a Boron-reinforced tip section that delivers low torque and will promote tour-preferred stability and control - something that all golfers need. They were inspired by the Japanese word ''Tensei'' which means ''Transformation''. So it is meant to transform your game.

There is some 58g of tungsten in the head which is some 33% more than before. This is to have a large unsupported face with weight around the edges for maximum forgiveness. Made from cast 17-4 stainless steel, the hollow body has a high strength face insert that has been welded on with the leading edge pre-worn for turf interaction. The hollow body was inspired through R and D by Titliest's Concept C16 iron model where clubs are designed with no limit on cost or material but to maximise overall and total performance.

The head size and offset reduces as you go down the clubs such that when you come to the Pitching Wedge, it still looks very reasonable and playable. 

What surprised me was they threw in a 48 degrees gap wedge and there are no letters of "GW" on it but rather a number - "48". It left me wondering if all golf clubs comes without numbers but just showing their loft, will you know how to use it? I think I have seen some Cleveland clubs that have numbers on the sole and degrees at the toes which seems interesting. I think this is a clever way of making shots easier for social golfers instead of being forced to switch to bladed irons for full  wedge shots from say 100m. 

Sound and feel can be quite an important part of a golf club. Like some people are not bad looking until they open their mouth. Haha. The sound here is muted and more like a click. Mishits yield a different sound and feel so it should be a good thing to differentiate. This is a low spin and high launch irons so you will see very strong ball flights.  

Carry distances for misses are good within a tight dispersion with some reports suggesting a measurement of 10-15 yards. That is very playable and to get on greens. You have to be impressed with these sticks.

The 718 AP 1 irons gives you consistent distance and direction even on shots from swings not that good therefore very consistent performance. Isn't that what we are looking for? These are what they have been made to do and what we need them to do. Most golfers, even the very good ones are using and choosing the wrong ones? Because there will be days when you are not swinging like you should and you could not bring on the 'A' game.

The 718 AP 1 has some 300 rpm less than the 716 AP1 but 1.4 mph more ball speed. 

They are pretty with shiny chrome that could help blind your opponents. 

Or make them regret and envy.

I intend to tame these handsome stallions.

And get those graphite shafts seasoned and they will be even better.

Reining distances with new clubs is important due to the different lofts and characteristics so I shall work closely with them till we become Tensei. Yes, transformed! I got them from Bob at Golf and Leisure. If you are thinking of transformation too, do not do anything foolish without trying these superb irons. 

Now all I need is to get more action on the golf course! Are you game?

Golf as in life, play as it lies.