Takomo Iron 301 MB & 301 CB Forged Irons Review

The Best of All Worlds Combo Iron Set

Everyone wants a set of musclebacks in their bag because they look soo good, but most golfers know they shouldn’t be playing them.

In addition to the skill needs, they are often an expensive experiment, it just doesn’t make any sense. 

However if you take the high price away, should you play blades? 

If you are a high handicap golfer, you probably still shouldn’t play blades, but if you can score, the joy, pleasure, fun, feel, and precision that can be had with muscle backs and players cavity backs is hard to replicate with other clubs.

Takomo allows you to save money but get amazing forged 301 muscle back and 301 cavity back irons.

The Takomo Iron 301 MB & CB Forged Irons are available in 3 options: all MB, all CB or combo set. 

I went with the combo set so I could get the best of both worlds.

At a quick glance you will see that Takomo nails the aesthetics. 

These are as clean and good looking as any set of irons I’ve ever seen. 

The minimal logoing, and clean lines make these head turners.

So many Direct to Consumer brands get too busy with branding and trying to stand out from OEMs that they end up looking cheap. 

Also Takomo’s investment in forged irons rather than cast irons makes a huge difference on feel. 

In the Looks and Feel category, the Takomo Iron 301 irons compete with any brand; direct to consumer or OEM.

The Takomo Iron 301 MB Forged Irons are forged muscle back iron which are aimed at the lowest handicap golfer. 

That is not to say that only the most elite golfers can hit them. 

If you are like me and grew up playing blades, you might find a comfort level with them since they have minimal offset, thin top line and simply look “correct” behind a golf ball.

They aren’t the most forgiving, but because the “muscle” is thick and low, they launch very easy and feel amazing. 

Where they really shine is if you like to make the ball move left or right; the MBs offer amazing control for shot shaping while still being able to hit the ball straight too. 

I don’t think there is anything better than “puring” a muscle back iron.

The Takomo Iron 301 CB Forged Irons have a very similar look to the MB irons, but have a carved out upper body for small cavity back which allows them to move a little more weight to the edges for touch extra forgiveness. 

The cavity doesn’t suddenly change these irons to “game improvement” but they help in small increments which in a game of inches, that can make the difference of on the green or in a bunker. 

However the feel differences is almost undetectable between the MB and CB irons which makes for a perfect combo set. 

The Takomo Iron 301 MB & CB Forged irons come standard 4-PW with very traditional lofts. 

In the combo set the 4-7 irons are CB and the 8-pw are MB.

If you are looking for distance, these are not the irons for you. 

The Takomo 101 irons are distance irons, and the 301 irons are precision irons. 

The 301 irons also have pretty high spin which again helps with control and workablity. 

It is really hard to get the ball moving left or right/up and down without spin. 

That mean you can make the ball do all kinds of cool things in the air and on the green. 

That tour action on approach shots is really cool when you see the ball back up or spin toward the hole. 

It might however mean relearning your yardages if you’ve been playing distance irons. 

They are very consistent, but higher launch and higher spin takes a few yards off the table. 

But again if you are not chasing distance with your irons; the forged feel and control with these irons matches any MB/CB set out there. 

The Takomo Iron 301 MB & CB Forged Irons are perfect for the low handicap golfer that is looking to have a great set of forged irons that offer the best of all worlds; great looks, amazingly soft feel, incredible workability and still don’t break the bank. 

I enjoyed some great rounds with these irons, even had a bunch of birdies in a single rounds because of the precise shots I hit with these irons. 

They offer all of this at 1/2 the price of comparable irons from the major golf brands.

The Takomo Iron 301 MB & CB Forged Irons come stock with KBS tour shafts or you can build your own by ordering heads only. 

KBS Tours have become industry standard with great feel and easy launch.  Paired with these heads they certainly offer high launch and soft landings. 

The combo set gapping was very clean and easy throughout the set and the transition between MB and CB was almost unnoticeable. 

I found the 4-iron to be good at long distance as well as a safe bet to find the middle of the fairway off the tee. 

The scoring clubs really stuck the greens nicely, even at times backing up because of the spin.

The factory build is very high quality and the stock Lamkin grips top off an OEM like package.

Takomo Iron 301 MB Forged 8 Iron Stats

Data from Flightscope Xi Launch Monitor

➜ Spin: 8702 rpms

➜ Launch Angle: 31.6*

➜ Dispersion: 2.8 yds

➜ Club Head Speed: 88.0 mph

➜ Ball Speed: 115.1 mph

➜ Total Distance: 147.4 yds

➜ Carry Distance: 145.8 yds

Summary

Takomo Iron 301 MB & CB Forged Irons are one of the best Direct To Consumer brands I’ve tried. 

They really created high performance irons while offering them at the direct to consumer price. 

There aren’t many blade options out there besides major OEMs so these are unique option that appeals to the low handicap golfer.

In terms of bang for the buck, you’d be hard pressed for find a better deal which is what makes them the best of all worlds.

These are a great option for a talented young golfer on a budget who could really take advantage of the performance of forged muscle backs and cavity backs without the major investment. 

Takomo Iron 301 MB & CB Forged Irons are the best of all worlds; looks, feel, workablity and price.

For more information: Takomo Golf

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