Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons Review – Are They Forgiving & Good for High Handicappers?

Do you remember the time when Titleist irons were never used by high handicappers? Things have changed over the last decade and now, what used to be a brand that catered solely to scratch players and tour pros is one of the leading producers of game improvement irons.

Today we will be taking a look at the Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons which promise more forgiveness for the high handicap golfer.

Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons Overview

The Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons make improvements over the vastly successful 714 irons.

The predecessor of the 716 irons were the 714’s. If you remember, the 714’s had a sort of a bridge that ran along the back of the club head that pretty much connected the heel and the toe.

Titleist has done away with the bridge and created a completely hollow cavity. Then they moved the mass and weight from that bridge down towards the sole. The result is a set of irons with incredibly low CG.

The Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons feel comfortable and look very comforting at point of address. Tungsten weights help shift mass to the perimeter of the club head so that these irons are more laterally forgiving.

The Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons also sport a thin, unsupported face that promotes more flex and ball speed. The Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons also have relatively strong lofts so they produce a more piercing trajectory.

Are Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons Forgiving

One of the things you will notice almost immediately is that the Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons have chunky heads.

The Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons were designed with high handicappers in mind. When we tested them, we noticed that the heads looked massive at point of address. The sweet spot is expansive to the point that you can see it at address.

So yes, the Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons are forgiving. They produce a slightly lower launch that really helps with distance too. Our testers also noted that they were very comfortable to swing.

Are Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons Good for Beginners & High Handicappers?

Titleist basically blew up the 714 AP irons.

They completely hollowed out the cavity backs and made the heads chunkier. The Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons feel very inviting to hit and even high handicappers will be able to notice the improved feel.

One of the best things about the Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons for high handicappers and beginners is that they are easy to hit. You won’t need a fast swing speed in order to get optimal launch and distance with these irons.

Should you Buy the Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons or the Titleist T100 Irons

The T100 irons also feature high-density tungsten weighting.

The T100’s feel even nicer than the Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons thanks to a fully forged dual cavity. However, the T100 irons are more compact and have less offset than the Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons. So if you’re going for forgiveness, the Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons would be a better choice.

Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons

Category: Game-Improvement

Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons First Impressions

You can’t help but notice how chunky the heads of these irons look at point of address.

It’s a welcoming sight and when you take your first couple of swings with these irons, you will be addicted. The ball launches off the face like a bullet. The lower, piercing trajectory is really nice to see in a game-improvement iron because it gives beginner players what they need: distance.

The lofts have been optimized for distance and Titleist really did a good job of making it easier for golfers to hit their clubs. We also really liked how the moderately thin topline sort of bleeds into the wide sole.

These irons have a very nice form that isn’t as stark or apparent as some game-improvement irons. What you get is classic Titleist looks in a more forgiving package.

Launch was pretty straight overall with only minor divergences in shot dispersion. If anything, the ball will hook off to the left just a bit if you’re not careful. Our high handicap testers were getting an average of 190 yards out of the 6-iron in this set after three swings.

Overall, we really liked how easy these irons were to hit almost immediately. They feel incredibly comfortable and open up very naturally. As far as game-improvement irons go, these are some of the best currently on the market.

Titleist 716 Ap1 Selling Points

  • Strong loft
  • Low CG
  • Hollow cavity back
  • Smoke finish option
  • Perimeter weighted
  • The face is almost completely unsupported

Who are the Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons For?

After our testing, it was very clear that the  Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons are for beginners and high handicappers. More specifically though, they are for beginner and high handicappers who want a classic-looking set of Titleist irons.

One of the things we liked the most about these game-improvement irons is that they don’t really look like game-improvement irons in the bag. They have smooth lines and the transition from a thin topline to a wide sole doesn’t happen abruptly.

High handicappers will love the look of the deep cavity backs as well. The AP1 irons were also built to last so they would be a great choice for any high handicapper who is serious about improving his game.

The Titleist Irons Family

 

Apart from the AP1 and the T100 irons, Titleist also makes the T200 irons which were also built for forgiveness. They produce about the same launch as the Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons but don’t have the completely hollow cavity backs.

The T200 irons are also more compact than the Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons which means they are a bit more workable. However, if you are looking for irons that are easy to hit then the Titleist 716 Ap1 Irons would be the better choice.

Distance: 97/100

Forgiveness: 94/100

Accuracy: 95/100

Feel & Control: 94/100

Overall Score: 95/100

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