2011年12月25日星期日

Rory McIlroy Add the 712 MB to His Bag

You'll have to wait about four months to try Titleist's new 712 Series irons, but pros at the AT&T National are getting their first chance to hit the new AP1, AP2, CB and MB irons this week. (Photos below; Titleist uses 700 numbers for irons, and the 12 indicates the model year.)

So impressed was US Open champion Rory McIlroy with the new 712 Series Titleist MB irons that he put them straight into his bag for last week's Dunhill Links Championship and almost won the tournament. He only lost out to fellow Titleist ambassador Michael Hoey on St Andrew's famed final green. 

The new irons, a prototype of which was also used by Rickie Fowler at The Open Championship, will be available to club golfers from November 18.

Titleist says both the MB and CB forged irons, also out in November, feature improved looks feel and performance and build on the classic designs of their 710 Series predecessors.
He would soon take the new irons out to the course for further testing, along with his new Vokey Design Spin Milled 4 (SM4) wedges.

A couple days later, Rory arrived at Kingsbarns for Round 1 with both the new MB irons and SM4 wedges in the bag, ready for action.

He would go on to shoot rounds of 70-67-66-65 for a 20-under total and finish second in the Dunhill Links. At the Koren Open the following week, Rory shot a tournament-best 6-under 64 in the final round to rally for another runner-up finish.
And last Sunday in China, Rory got up-and-down from a greenside bunker on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to win the Shanghai Masters and cap a spectacular opening month for his new Titleist equipment.
For the majority of 2011, Rory gamed Titleist MB irons with Project X 6.5 shafts. 
But during the fitting session in Scotland, Titleist Tour Technician Mattias Jelvernoticed that Rory was swinging harder and faster than ever, a result of the U.S. Open champ's escalated fitness regimen.

Accordingly, Mattias suggested Rory test a stronger version of his current shaft in the new MB irons, moving from the Project X 6.5 to Project X 7.0.

Rory said he really liked the look and feel of the new MB irons. The Project X 7.0 shafts only gave him more confidence, resulting in a stronger ball flight with slightly reduced spin. The data on the computer showed an increase of 2-3 mph in ball speed and five yards of added distance with each iron.

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