TaylorMade Burner Irons: Length, Accuracy and Consistency

Should you give TaylorMade Burner irons a shot? Over the years, TaylorMade has brought out several iron sets that bear the "Burner" designation. The company has done that with drivers, fairway woods and hybrids, too, but in this particular review I'll focus on one of the most popular sets of Burner irons - the version the company introduced in 2009.

I felt like I was in love the first time I hit them. I was at a big "demo day" a couple of years ago and about 20 different golf club manufacturers had tents and hitting areas set up. All the big names were there - PING, Callaway, TaylorMade, Cleveland, Cobra, Adams, Titleist and so forth - and some smaller companies were there too. I was looking for new irons (a never-ending quest for me) so I tried several sets, including the TaylorMade Burner irons.

Well, in the end I couldn't make up my mind between three of the sets I tried - the PING G15 irons, the Cobra S2 irons and the TaylorMade Burner irons I'm about to review. Any of those three would have been well worth the investment, but I was having such a terrible time deciding between them that I decided to wait until something completely blew away the competition. In retrospect, I wish I'd gone ahead and purchased the PINGS or the TaylorMade Burner irons, because I'm still playing with my much older set.

I still remember hitting these clubs at that demo day, and even today I hardly have to consult my notes to describe what they were like. The first one of these irons I hit was the 7-iron, and I hit it at least 10 or 15 yards farther than my current 7-iron. It felt very well-balanced and I caught the ball flush on the sweet spot. The club felt like it was knifing through butter, and the ball soared high and straight.

One by one, I worked my way through all the irons in the set (3 through PW). And with each swing I took, I liked the TaylorMade Burner irons more and more. Most of my shots were like that first sweet one with the 7-iron, although I did top a couple and hit a couple of others a little fat (I am an amateur, after all). But even those few mishits gave me decent distance and the right direction, without any slices or hooks.

So, that demo day taught me that these clubs go high, long and straight when struck properly, and the results are pretty good even with less than stellar contact. I also learned that it's pretty easy to hit them well. Even the longer irons are much easier to hit than some of their competitors' clubs.

So, that's how I personally feel about these irons. Now it's time to pass on some of the more technical information I've learned about them.

TaylorMade's "Burner" clubs have always been designed for the avid amateur who doesn't necessarily have a low handicap or a large club budget. Instead, they are intended to deliver strong performance for a more reasonable cost than some of the premium-priced golf clubs that are available.

These particular TaylorMade Burner irons were designed to provide more distance and a high level of forgiveness. I can put my personal check mark by both of those goals, because I believe they've been met. TaylorMade accomplished these goals by building several design features into the TaylorMade Burner irons, including Inverted Cone Technology and SuperFast Technology. The long- middle- and short-irons were designed independently to best fulfill their purpose.

For example, the long irons were made longer, more accurate and easier to hit by giving them a wider sole, more offset, increased perimeter weighting, and a lighter shaft and grip. The club face was thinned and enlarged to provide a high Coefficient of Restitution for distance and a higher Moment of Inertia to resist club head twisting and increase forgiveness. The result is a long iron that looks like an iron but hits more like a hybrid. The mid- and short-irons are similar, although on an increasingly more compact scale.

The Bottom Line: I think I've already made it pretty clear, but I strongly encourage you to give the TaylorMade Burner irons a shot. They just might give you the length, accuracy and consistency you're looking for.

From TaylorMade Burner Irons to other TaylorMade Burner clubs.