Titleist 690 CB Irons Review – Are They Forgiving & Good for High Handicappers?

“The Titleist 690 CB irons came out in 2003 and have been highly sought-after ever since.”

Titleist has always made amazing feeling/sounding/looking forged irons and the Titleist 690 CB’s are no exception. And even though these are forged irons, they are still billed as game improvement irons.

With the 690 CB’s, Titleist attempted to create the perfect blend of player’s performance and forgiveness. Did they succeed? Find out in the following review!

Titleist 690 CB Irons Overview

“The Titleist 690 CBs look a lot like the DCI series of irons that preceded them.”

They have cavity backs that perfectly blend into the perimeter of the head – just like most of the DCI irons. The cavity back is also unsullied by any badges. Instead, you get the clean “Titleist” script in the heart of the cavity.

The Titleist 690 CB irons feature a progressive cavity shelf design. Basically, this is a progressive weight that is positioned lower in the long and mid irons than it is in the short irons.

The Titleist 690 CB irons have a very traditional look at address. If you are used to blades, you will get along swimmingly with these irons. There is nothing that sticks out behind the head and the blade is of moderate length.

And the feel of these irons is amazing. They were forged from 1025 mild carbon steel which provides a soft, silky feel at impact. The feedback is also clear as a bell. You can feel exactly where you made contact with the face on all your shots.

Similar to Titleist irons of this era, the Titleist 690 CB’s have very weak lofts with the 9-iron set to 44°. The soles are of a moderate width and so is the top line.

Are the Titleist 690 CB Irons Forgiving?

“Amazingly, these irons do provide a good amount of forgiveness.”

On my mis-hits, the ball wasn’t flying wildly off-line. The dispersion stayed pretty tight overall. And while these aren’t the longest irons from heel to toe, you get a modestly expansive sweet spot to work with.

Are they the most forgiving Titleist irons ever? Are they more forgiving than your average forged irons? Absolutely. When you mis-hit, you are more likely to lose ball speed than you are to send your ball into the trees. Plus, the feedback is so clean and clear that you will know exactly how you should alter your swing after a mis-hit.

When you hit the ball flush, it will do exactly what you want. On accurate strikes, these are more or less point-and-shoot irons. Like most of the Titleist irons from this era, the Titleist 690 CB’s aren’t effortlessly long. You still need a pretty good swing speed to get good distance out of them.

Are the Titleist 690 CB Irons Good for Beginners & High Handicappers?

“Beginners, not so much. High handicappers, for sure.”

If you are in the 18-24 handicap range, you will likely benefit mightily from the accuracy of these irons. They will keep you out of the cabbage and still offer some workability for better players.

But a pure beginner will struggle with the shape of these irons and the fact that there isn’t a whole lot of offset. They launch effortlessly high, which is a good thing for most high handicappers; but if you are a beginner, I would recommend other game improvement irons.

Should you Buy the Titleist 690 CB or the Titleist DCI 990 Irons?

“The Titleist 690 CB’s perform very similarly to the DCI 990’s.”

Like the Titleist 690 CB’s the DCI 990’s produce naturally straight flight and lose a lot of ball speed on mis-hits. But the DCI 990’s launch even higher than the Titleist 690 CB’s which can be a problem if you are a high-launch player. I’m a mid launch player and even I had trouble keeping my ball out of the wind with the Titleist DCI 990 irons.

The Titleist 690 CB’s offer more controlled launch and are overall, more consistent than the DCI 990’s. The Titleist 690 CBs also have a softer feel which can be attributed to the forged 1025 mild carbon steel construction.