Taylormade Stealth Irons Review – Are They Forgiving & Good for High Handicappers?

Taylormade Stealth irons feature the very interesting cap back design which the company claims is a step forward in the evolutionary process of traditional cavity back irons.

Taylormade Stealth Irons Overview

With the Stealth irons, Taylormade sought to introduce a new technology into irons that were primarily designed for forgiveness.

The most interesting thing about these irons lies in the basic construction. These are hollow-body irons that don’t sport the traditional cavity back design you would expect from irons in the game improvement category.

Instead, the cavity has essentially been filled by a rear badge. This design does a couple of things. The “cap” that fills the cavity hides a layer of elastomer that is meant to soften vibration and give the clubs a more solid feel.

Secondly, it effectively disconnects the face from the body. As you may expect, the purpose for this disconnect is to allow for a higher degree of flex and therefore, distance.

On top of this feature you have the Inverted Cone Technology that helps to stretch the sweet spot out near where most beginners miss, the toe.

“If you have read this far then you can tell that we are saying that the Taylormade Stealth irons were made to be forgiving without actually saying it. Speaking of forgiveness…”

Are Taylormade Stealth Irons Forgiving?

It’s one thing to be designed for forgiveness and another to actually deliver forgiveness.

After testing these irons, it was obvious that they were designed with high handicappers in mind. Even the reduced toe mass (displaced in the sole right underneath the center of the face to add velocity where most new players miss shots) was intended to add forgiveness.

But do they deliver? We would answer that question with an emphatic yes. Taylormade has managed to put together a very unique combination of game improvement iron features that you just don’t see very often.

They concentrated on areas of the face where beginner players miss with their irons. SO if you have reached the point of your game where you really have to start focusing on your iron play, the Taylormade Stealth irons would offer a distinct advantage.

Are Taylormade Stealth Irons Good for Beginners And High Handicappers?

Taylormade did nearly everything they could to flatten the notoriously high learning curve of iron clubs.

Not only are Taylormade Stealth irons good for beginners and high handicappers; it’s hard to imagine another class of players that would benefit from these clubs. Everything from the 450 stainless steel face to the Thru-Slot Speed Pocket screams forgiveness.

Not only forgiveness though. If you have been struggling with ball speed and distance your game will greatly improve with these clubs.

In addition to the free-floating face brought about by the cap back design, the Taylormade Stealth irons feature the Speed Pocket which is a channel bored into the perimeter of the bottom of the face to increase flex.

The result is incredibly high flex and almost effortless ball speed. Plus, the Taylormade Stealth irons flex more than other clubs on all the parts of the face that golfers usually mis-hit.

Should you Buy the Stealth or the P790’s?

While the taylormade P790’s also take precaution to preserve ball speeds on typical mis-hit areas of the face, they wouldn’t benefit beginners as much as the Taylormade Stealth irons.

That being said, the Taylormade P790 irons feel amazing. The 8620 carbon steel construction coupled with a forged face insert (low on the face) provide a feel that can’t be matched by the Taylormade Stealth irons.

Don’t get us wrong, the Taylormade P790’s are great irons. They are forgiving, have an amazing feel and are plenty workable. They would be great for mid to low handicappers. But they lack the accessible distance that slower swing speed players (beginners) need.

Taylormade Stealth Irons

Category: Game Improvement Irons

Taylormade Stealth First Impressions

The Taylormade Stealth irons have a striking design that we didn’t really know what to make of at first.

These are some of the most uniquely designed game improvement irons we ever tested. The cap back system that wraps around the rear toe area looks striking but it didn’t make sense to us at first.

Then we started playing with this set. One of the first things we noticed was that even with the 4 iron, it was very easy to find the sweet spot. The offset helps yes, but more than anything, that extra mass in the sole beneath the sweet spot helps to square up.

It’s like a giant target for your alignment. And since the face was designed to flex to a ridiculous degree, you don’t need a fast swing speed to get decent distance out of these irons.

With the 5 iron in the Taylormade Stealth set, our testers were able to establish an average distance of 161 yards. Of course, as game improvement irons, they suffer from the typical short-game pitfalls.

With the shorter irons, spin is very hard to control. Roll distance was a problem on short approaches and if you are playing a particularly fast green, you will need to rely on your wedges for longer shots.

Taylormade Stealth Selling Points

  • They have an innovative cap back design
  • They do work to soften harsh vibration to a moderate degree
  • Reduced toe mass
  • Increased sole mass under the center of the face
  • They feature Taylormade’s inverted Cone Technology (ICT)
  • 450 stainless steel face

Who are the Taylormade Stealth Irons for?

The Taylormade Stealth irons would primarily benefit high handicap players who are struggling chiefly with distance.

While they offer a moderate degree of forgiveness, it’s clear after testing these irons that most of the R&D went into improving ball speed and distance for players with slower swing speeds.

Most of the testers in our party with swing speeds under 90MPH were keeping up remarkably well with testers with faster swing speeds. Just don’t expect impeccable feel from these irons.

While Taylormade claims that the polymer cap back material gives these irons a “forged feel” we would classify this as a dubious claim at best. At the end of the day, there is simply no mistaking a forged iron and these are not forged irons.

The Taylormade Iron Family

While the Stealth irons are a stand-alone class, Taylormade makes a ton of iron sets. One of the most notable for beginners and high handicappers is the SIM2 Max irons that sport an oversized face profile so that it’s much easier to nail the sweet spot.

The SIM2 Max irons also feature the predecessor to the cap back system, the Speed Bridge. The Speed Bridge is a rear brace that connects the crown and sole, allowing the face to be disconnected from the body just like the Taylormade Stealth irons.

The result is the same: higher degree of flex and ball speed. However, the SIM2 Max irons will do more for you if you are struggling with iron accuracy. They offer comparable distance to the Taylormade Stealth irons; but with a higher emphasis on forgiveness.

Distance: 94/100

Accuracy: 92/100

Forgiveness: 93/100

Feel & Control: 89/100

Overall Score: 92/100

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