New Titleist T-Series T100, T150, T200, T350 Irons and U505 and T200 Utility Irons (2023) - First Look Titleist Fitting Review

I recently went through a Titleist fitting for the new T-Series irons and utilities.  I hit every iron, the T100, T150, T200, and T350 as well as the U505 and T200 utilities.  And I can sum up the entire fitting by telling you this T-Series is Titleist's GOAT.  No exaggeration.

Something was legitimately improved in every model.  In some ways even significantly improved.  And more than any line in Titleist history all four iron models blend about as perfectly as possible for combo variations.  I'll let you know what my ultimate set wound up being at the end.

This T-Series fitting review will go over what I experienced hitting the new irons and utilities with an emphasis on differences between the models and different performance I saw with each.  I'll also hit on some of the new tech story for each iron and utility to help distinguish and explain performance differences I saw compared to the previous T-Series generation of irons.

Before we get started I want to say there are few things I enjoy more any given year than a Titleist fitting.  My fitter Justin Long at Windmill Lakes Golf Club is a phenomenal fitter in every possible way.  I talked about him a bit already on twitter and Instagram the day of my fitting.  And absolutely have to mention again if you're looking at any Titleist clubs at any time during the year go see Justin.  It'll be one of the best fitting experiences you ever have.

Let me start off my Titleist T Series fitting by saying my fitter Justin Long at Windmill Lakes GC is a superstar. Truly and literally as good as it gets.

Justin took me through all kinds of head and shaft combinations, hitting all the models and utilities, and answered every… pic.twitter.com/S6WADTARrG

— Pete Pappas (@PGAPappas) August 9, 2023

So I arrive at Windmill Lakes for my fitting with a pretty good idea of what the new T-Series irons and utilities are all about.  Or at least I thought I did.  A few days prior to my fitting I told you about the new construction and technologies in Titleist's new line.  But what's on paper has to translate to the course.  And during my fitting I learned the hype wasn't merely justified.  Performance actually overdelivered. 

I walk up the steps to the clubhouse, grab my receipt for a bucket of balls to warm up, get in a cart and head towards the range.  And there goes Justin passing me up in his own cart filled with Titleist bags of new T-Series clubs and cases of iron and utility shafts.  I just see the back of his head and hand up in the air waving at me as he zooms by.  I've been fit by Justin in the past and he knows my game, he knows my swing, he knows when I'm on and when I'm off.  After a few minutes catching up and sharing some laughs on the range my T-Series fitting is on baby!

T350 Irons

We started with the T350 irons.  And as I mentioned earlier the first thing you notice is how well it blends with the rest of the T-Series irons.  It's no longer open in the back, it's closed up.  And my first few swings with the T350 7-iron I also realized the feel is so much improved I'd almost call it an entirely different iron.

T350 are hollow but they felt less hollow with less click at impact than the previous gen.  And I think in part this is because the T350 construction is based more on the T200 than it ever has before.  In fact I'd almost call T350 and T200 the same category of irons (similarly to how T100 and T150 are a same category).  T350 is still not as solid and strong feeling as the T100 and T150, but it's closer to a solid feel than a hollow feel now and that's just outstanding.  The new T350 is also forged which contributes to this better, softer feel.

I don't believe there are a lot of players on Tour using T350 but when these first came out for validation I remember some of the pros talking about replacing their hybrids with T350.  This is an extremely forgiving distance club.  And if you're choosing new irons just based on ball speed and distance I'm telling you T350 is going to win for almost everyone.  It's simply designed to do this.  I saw my highest ball speeds with T350, and almost 5 mph faster (on average) than the T100 as an example.  You also get forgiveness all over the face with T350.  Dispersion with T350 was consistently down the center line with a few shots out to maybe 10 yards left of center.  Utterly fantastic.

I'm spending a lot of time talking T350 but might as well say right now these were not the irons I wound up with.  I'll explain why in more detail below.  It's worth mentioning however as I was hitting T350 I legitimately thought these could be the ones.  They are that good, and I'm normally not fond of the larger game-improvement iron shapes or feels.  T350 is the largest head of all new T-Series irons (longest heel to toe, widest sole, thickest topline) but they just looked cleaner and more compact than previous Titleist game-improvement irons.  And as mentioned the feel resonates more than ever.  Ultimately Titleist did Titleist things with T350 and these will be a meal ticket to playing consistently better golf for a lot of players.

T350 were the lowest spinning irons of all models (almost 750 RPM lower on average than the next closest model), but at the same time were pretty much identical (just a few feet lower) to T200 in peak heights so I still had plenty of stopping power.  T350 decent angles were the shallowest of all iron models, but only a few degrees lower than T200.  Before we moved on to the T200 I actually started thinking that a mixed set might be in my future.  And Justin told me when the Titleist sales reps got fit down at PGA Frisco for the new T-Series, 80-percent of them wound up with blended/mixed sets.

And here's really another reason why fitting is so important.  Titleist wants a 5 MPH ball speed difference between each club.  Otherwise you lose carry or you lose height.  And that's where a bigger sole or bigger chassis (frame) like the T350 can go further and come off faster than say the T100.  I also hit 4-irons in all the models throughout the day (along with the utility clubs) to find the height and distance gaps I wanted for my entire set.  Without a fitting I'm really not sure you can know that you're getting those ideal landing angles, heights, and distances, whether you wind up in a mixed set or not.

Of course I'm still going to hit mediocre shots, it's the bane of a being a mid-handicap golfer.  I live with it.  But when you get dialed in during a fitting, you're getting more consistency in windows, spin-rates, and distances that translates to hitting the green more often as opposed to coming up woefully short or sailing one over.  As I said earlier, absolutely love Titleist fittings.

T200 Irons

Next up were the T200, Titleist's players distance irons.  And T200 immediately felt heavier than T350 from my first swing which is more my preference.  By heavier I mean I felt more head awareness through the swing.  T200 (like every iron in the new T-Series) uses a new and denser tungsten that really ups the solid feel of all the irons.  And this stronger feel throughout T-Series irons is unmistakable.

 

T200 also felt and sounded softer than T350, and particularly for better players who equate sound with feel this consistency will be greatly appreciated.  Titleist has said they completely redesigned the internal structure of the T200 but it's not just feel and sound that improved.

Consistency of dispersion was even better for me with T200 than T350.  With T200 my shots stayed within a 7-yard from center window both left and right.  There wasn't any left bias like there is with T350 (primarily because of less offset with T200).  Ball speed with T200 was about 2 MPH less than T350 on average, but I can live with a few less yards of distance for the kind of outstanding consistency T200 gave me.

T200 also spun about 750 RPM more than T350 and had a slightly steeper decent angle on average, that's always useful.  And peak heights between T200 and T350 were almost identical even with T350 being stronger lofted irons.  Surprisingly, I did see for my slower speed swings T350 launched the ball to higher peak heights than T200 (at comparably slower swing speeds).  So this might be something to consider if you're a slower swing speed player.

At this point I'm thinking T200 are my irons, maybe with a T350 3-iron (we'd test those out later).  I like the smaller shape and less offset of T200, and the feel is even more solid than with T350.  The ability to go both left and right is easier with T200 and I saw tighter overall left-right dispersion with T200 not only compared to T350 but also compared to last gen T200.  I loved T200 last gen, I loved these current T200 even more.  And I also put better swings on T200 versus the T350 (will talk about this more below).  T200 is clearly in the lead for me at the moment.

T150 Irons

Before I go into the T150 irons just a quick something about myself.  I love the feel of great struck shots.  You'll hear some of the self-professed equipment experts out there say that feel at impact doesn't improve performance.  Fine, will give them that.  But feel at impact increases the joy and pleasure and satisfaction of hitting good shots.

You hit a good shot without great feel and it's like having a party without music or presents.  It's like scoring a touchdown without any kind of celebration.  For me better feeling irons makes me want to hit better shots more often, wanting that feel is almost Pavlovian.  And the new T150 irons made my heart flutter.

First swing with T150... pured.  Next swing with T150... pured.  Again and again, pured, pured, pured.  I wondered if T150 would be my favorite irons as the T100S were the irons I was best final fit for last generation.  But I read that Titleist made the new T150 slightly bigger than T100S, with a slightly wider sole, slightly wider topline.  Not bad in and of itself, just not what I like to see at address with my irons.  Had I not read that before coming in I honestly wouldn't have even noticed.

 

In what I was realizing to be a common theme with the new T-Series irons, the T150 felt and sounded stronger and softer compared to my T100S of last generation.  And in fact the T150 were also the strongest, most solid, and softest feeling and sounding irons of all the models in this new T-Series lineup.  That deep thwack sound and feel of T150 gliding through the grass and then that trackman beep seconds later recording my data.  Just inject T150 right into my veins.

Now here's where it got really interesting.  My average ball speed with T150 was nearly identical to the T350 flamethrowers and faster than T200.  Ten of the 12 longest iron shots I hit were with T150, and dispersion both left and right and with overall carry was the tightest of all three irons I'd hit to this point.  My peak heights with T150 were consistently the most ideal, descent angles the steepest, and spin rates the highest.  T150 was just flat out amazing.

 

First let's give Titleist credit here.  Whatever they did with the internal design, T150 are better than T100S.  I can't say in exact numbers (maybe 400 to 500 RPM) but I know the T150 spin more than the T100S.  I don't know if it was a conscious effort by Titleist to do that.  Maybe it's the new tungsten weighting and positioning.  Maybe it's that slightly wider T150 sole I was worried about.

I don't really care what the reason is to be honest.  I'm hitting shots with T150 that are long, consistently more on target, and with phenomenal and improved stopping power.  And I think we're going to see a lot of players who say the T150 are both longer and more forgiving than the T100S.  These babies are freaking tactical.

 

Some Fitting Perspective

Now remember that bit about me hitting T200 better than T350?  Well I hit the T150 better than all the irons in this new lineup.  And by better I mean I consistently put better swings on the ball with T150.  And again it's worth pointing out why fitting is so important.

I'm talking to my fitter Justin and saying it's crazy the T150 are giving me the best shots of all the irons I've hit today.  They're not designed to be massively forgiving like the T350 but I'm clearly hitting better shots with these.  They're not designed to be distance machines like the T200 but I'm hitting consistently longer shots with T150 and with tighter dispersion.  And here's in part why.

I don't take an overly big divot with my irons and I have a shallow approach into the ball.  And Justin told me that the wider sole and chassis of an iron like T350 (or even the T200) makes it harder for me to get underneath the ball with these irons compared to the more compact chassis and smaller sole of the T150.  It's all about ground interaction, like how a wedge goes through the turf.

Justin gave me an example of how certain players don't hit good shots with wedges that have too much bounce.  And it's not because they don't have good technique, it's because these particular wedges aren't good for their particular shallower swings.  I'm always changing my swing and ball position and anything else I have to change when I'm testing and reviewing different types of irons for you guys.

But when I play just to play and swing my swing (or in this case get fit for irons that fit my natural swing), narrow soles work better for my shallow approach into the ball.  I mention all of this because the right sole width can lead to better contact regardless if a particular iron is designed to be the most forgiving or not.  And you just won't know this without a fitting.

T100 Irons

Then finally we moved on to the T100 irons.  I can sum up what the T100 did for me just by telling you when I asked Justin, "What irons would you have fit me for if the T150 didn't exist?  He said immediately, "the T100."  Because the T100 and T150 are very similarly shaped I just put better swings on T100 than with T200 or T350.  Dispersion was the second best with T100 for me after T150.  Though I hit the T100 shortest on average of all the irons.  Justin said he would have made adjustments in loft and shaft to get me where I needed to be had we gone T100.

I also want to add that I've never really cared for the T100 style of irons because they didn't have quite enough forgiveness on mishits for my game.  But that's clearly been added with this new T100 series.  I noticed improved launch on strikes hit low on the face (and towards the heel).  And as my dispersion shows there's also a greater stability with the new T100 compared to the previous gen.  I'm assuming it has to do in part with the denser tungsten and CG positioning.  And maybe another part of that comes from the new sole design.  The new T100 looks to be generally the same shape of head as the old T100, but it's really everything going on inside that's made these a more forgiving iron.

I won't go into all the iron shafts I tested.  You can check out the iron shafts available on the Titleist website, along with all the iron specs.  I will say I hit the KBS Tour Lite well, the True Temper AMT Black didn't agree with me, and the Nippon Modus 3 105 gave me the most control, consistency, and head awareness in transition.

We next went into different 4-iron testing to see if a mixed set would be best for me.  T150 looked like the way to go right off the bat.  And again, you're getting fit with the 4-iron (as well as the 7-iron) in a Titleist fitting to make sure ball speeds and heights are ideal through your entire set.  The T200 had potential but ultimately the T150 just went through the ground better for me.  And with T200 I also felt I had to make adjustments more often to my natural swing.  Same process as with the 7-iron, multiple shafts, and also tested the T350 as my 4-iron.  But there would be no defeating T150 for me on this day.

T200 and U505 Utility

And finally we went on to the utilities.  And one final big surprise was waiting for me.  The T200 3 utility looks identical to the T200 3 iron (the big difference is the weaker loft of the utility).  So it will blend perfectly with a set of T200 irons.  And being smaller than the U505 utility I assumed this would be my 3-iron.  Nope.

 

The U 505 utility was higher, longer, better for me.  And U505 also gave me better results on shots I didn't hit as well as I would have liked.  In my opinion it's clearly the more forgiving utility of the two.  It's incredibly easy to launch in the air and the wider sole was more beneficial for me with this lower lofted club.  The U505 has a lighter overall feel than the T200 utility, but at the same time U505 gave me greater head awareness and felt more solid on good swings as well.  And my smash-factor consistency with U505 was 0.04 (the lower the better) so it has the potential to become my favorite club in the bag.

We tested different shafts in the U505 once we knew this was the 3-utility I'd be playing.  And ultimately we wound up the the Graphite Design AD-DI, or as Justin calls it "your normal shaft."  There's something to be said about a fitter who knows your game.  What I also liked a lot about the U505 is knowing the variety of shots and versatility it will give me.

 

Certainly U505 will be my club on long approaches.  Nothing beats high and soft into the green. But the U505 will also be a ball advancer for me because of its incredible distance.  Ball speeds were insane.  And I'll also use U505 off the tee when driver is ill-advised, the overall control and forgiveness of U505 is exceptional.  This is undoubtedly a triple-thread club for me.

So what did I ultimately wind up with?  The T150 4-iron through Gap with Modus3 105 shafts, and the U505 3-utility with AD-DI 85 shaft.  Groove is in the heart baby!

And there you have it.  This review has been a bit longer than most I write.  But then again we covered six different clubs from the new Titleist T-Series lineup.  While nothing can take the place of a fitting, I hope you find a lot in this review that helps you decide on what new Titleist irons and utilities are best for your game.  And as always happy to answer any and all questions all of you might have.

Titleist clearly went hell-bent all in to make T-Series their best performing, best feeling, and best looking irons and utilities they've ever designed.  And to say they succeeded would be a wild understatement.  T-Series isn't merely a new Titleist release.  It's a scorched earth Titleist flex.