716 CB iron review

If you’re prepared to splash the cash on a premium set of player irons in 2016, look no further than the sexy new Titleist 716 CB irons.

At £117 per iron in steel, these new weapons are not exactly a cheap investment, but you can be certain of getting your money’s worth as the new CBs deliver added forgiveness, a stable feel and a beautiful penetrating trajectory that will appeal to just about every better player.

TESTED: Best player irons 2015

The 3-7 irons have been packed with high density tungsten weighting in the toe that Titleist claims positions the centre of gravity low and on the perimeter for "added forgiveness".

The eight iron through to pitching wedge do not utilise any weighting due to their increased loft resulting in the impact point being a little higher on the face.

Titleist claims there is a 12% higher moment of inertia (MOI) - or resistance to twisting - than the previous 714 CB, making this iron much more comparable to the former 714 AP2 model.

Looks

One of the flashiest in our better player irons test 2015.

The 716 CB heads not only look great in the bag but they ooze appeal at address, framing the ball beautifully.

For us, the head size did not look or feel any different to our gold-winning 716 AP2.

There is a relatively thin topline as you might expect, so these are likely to appeal to confident ball strikers.

Feel

The additional tungsten weighting in the toe of the long irons provided some of the best feel in our test.

Centre strikes were rewarded with a very crisp sound and feel was accentuated from the new stock Dynamic Gold AMT (Ascending Mass Technology) shaft from True Temper, which Titleist is the first to bring to the market.

The new AMT shafts, as the name suggests, lightens the weight of the shaft in the long irons and increases three grams upwards to the pitching wedge. This ensures the long irons are easier to swing faster and launch higher, while providing more control with the shorter clubs.

Performance

While there is certainly improved forgiveness against the former 714 CB iron, the 716 CB iron’s strongest feature probably lies in its shotmaking.

There is little trouble manufacturing shots with this iron, whether it is a floated draw or soft fade, and the consistent penetrating trajectory is a joy to watch. 

The tungsten weighting has clearly made a terrific difference to the forgiveness of this iron. If we’re honest, the forgiveness took us by surprise as it was much easier to hit cleanly than asumed - much to do with there being less dig from the pre-worn leading edge.

With the six iron set to 31 degrees, it’s safe to say this one is never going to compete with the likes of your cranked PSi or Apex irons (set to around 27 degrees), but it actually came within five yards in terms of carry distance. 

Spin rate with the six iron sat in the middle of the pack at around 4800 RPM.

Verdict

Arguably the best looking and feeling iron in our player irons test 2015.

While there was enough forgiveness to get excited about with the 716 CB, its AP2 sibling offered us a little more, on top of added firepower, and so for those reasons alone the CB receives a silver award.

The CB iron is likely to prove more popular with very low handicap players as the sleeker looks and all-round feel is rivaled by very few on the market today.