Justin Thomas has very little in common with the average mid-handicapper. One is a two-time major champion in the field at the Masters. The other is trying to break 90 consistently and will be glued to the couch watching the pageantry from Augusta National on their television.
On the gear front, the similarity gap continues to widen when you realize Thomas plays a set of custom Titleist 621.JT blades built to his exact specifications. It’s just another reminder that pros get all the good (and less forgiving) stuff. Or at least that’s the story we tell ourselves.
In actuality, even Thomas seeks out gear to mitigate common misses, just like weekend golfers. And we’re talking about gear golfer can pick up at their local golf shop.
While his iron setup still features four JT blades, Thomas has continued to embrace forgiveness at the top, most recently with the addition of a T100 4-iron at the 2023 U.S. Open. Indeed, JT is just like us, continually searching for mishit protection with some of the trickier clubs in the bag.
Thomas saw an improvement in 4-iron performance since moving to T100, which led him to consider another major shakeup: “I think I might even need a little help on the 5-iron.”
Following the Players Championship, Thomas linked up with JJ Van Wezenbeeck, Titleist’s director of player promotions, to conduct head-to-head 5-iron testing between his 621.JT and T100. It didn’t take Thomas long to notice a few key benefits of the cavity-back T100.
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“During testing versus his blade, JT saw an increase in peak height,” Van Wezenbeeck told GOLF.com, “but the thing he really liked with what the iron did to his low miss. That’s what sold him on the idea of making multiple changes.”
With a blade 5-iron in his hands, Thomas expected to lose 7-8 yards on a low miss, a dip that saw him find the “front bunker or front edge” instead of the meatier part of the green. With T100, the carry loss delta on a low miss was around 2-3 yards, a more palatable number for Thomas.
“When he thinned it with T100, his distance barely came down,” said Van Wezenbeeck. “Carry on the 5-iron increased by 2 or 3 yards, which might not seem like much, but it allowed us to push the 4-iron up a little bit.”
With the 5-iron sorted, Thomas and Van Wezenbeeck discussed the idea of adding even more forgiveness and speed in the form of a T200 4-iron. Along with seeing a slight bump in peak height, carry increased by 4 yards to improve the gapping through the set. (Van Wezenbeeck confirmed the T200 4-iron was weakened by a half-degree, but the T100 5-iron remained at 27 degrees.)
“This is the evolution of trajectory for JT,” Van Wezenbeeck said. “When he turned pro, he played a blade 4-iron. Then we moved him into a [cavity-back]. When we went from AP2 to T100, he went to the T100. Now he’s in the T200. He’s slowly moving up the ladder.
“It’s mishit protection and peak height, those are the big things with JT. It’s improved peak height in the 4-iron and 5-iron, so we went up a model in each. The ball speed on the T200 helped improve the gapping for him, and we’re just trying to manage that descent angle from there.”
With Justin Thomas’ input, Titleist pursuing the ‘perfect’ iron design
During the Valspar Championship, Thomas officially used the T200 4-iron and T100 5-iron in competition. Van Wezenbeeck confirmed he expects the same setup as Thomas prepares to play in his ninth Masters and tackle numerous uneven lies at Augusta National.
“He texted me after Sunday at Valspar and said he hit everything really well,” he said. “I’m not anticipating any changes at Augusta. He’ll check some numbers when he arrives, but he’s confident in that setup. Having easy launch is helpful when you have a downhill lie to a very undulating green.”
For the moment, Thomas doesn’t plan to make any more changes to his iron composition. But if the 5-iron works out in future tournaments? Anything is possible. Just don’t expect Thomas to fully embrace a full set of cavity-back irons.
“He obviously has his custom blades, and there’s a lot he likes about those irons,” Van Wezenbeeck said. “If the 5-iron works out, it could sneak to the 6-iron. But I don’t see it going beyond that. We’ve seen other guys we work with creep down into player’s irons. You can make it look really good, feel really good and improve the flight. At that point, they’re more open to it as it moves down their bag.”
And if the iron setup helps Thomas get in the mix for a green jacket, even better.
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