Miura Golf operates on a simple principle of “We will never produce a new club until we can improve an existing one.”
This year, Miura was finally able to improve on its popular TC-201, one of them most successful iron line in the brand’s storied history, with the TC-202.
On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped, co-hosts Kris McCormack and Wadeh Maroun welcomed Blake Smith, Miura’s North American sales manager, to the show to talk about the new release.
Perhaps the most eye-catching feature of the new TC-202 is the variable depth T-Weight Bar in the back cavity of the iron, which is something new to the Miura line. With the T-Weight Bar, Miura is able to place mass behind the sweet spot to enhance the signature Miura feel and lower the CG for added forgiveness.
It was an enhancement that required much patience in the design process, Smith said.
“Doing something like that in forging is not easy to do,” Smith said. “So getting that right took a lot of time and patience, and not necessarily trial and error, but really getting it dialed in.
“So the story on the 201, the CG was more horizontal. So now it’s more on the Y axis was the thought process on the T-bar. So when you see that T-bar move in the long irons, when it’s low and it’s a little bit more shallow, so that CG’s lower, ball gets up in the air, mid, mid and then higher in the short irons to flight the ball better.”
The new 202 also has the Y-Grind sole, which was present in the 201. This grind — the “Y” is a nod to Miura founder Katsuhiro Miura’s son, Yoshitaka — helps optimize turf interaction by beveling the leading edge, making it less prone to digging in the turf.
“Stuck with the Y-grind, so turf interaction is a big, a big thought process with Miura,” Smith said. “We really take that into account, the Y-grind, that’s been around for a long time. A lot of other companies are starting to do that and it seems like it’s in vogue, right? But Miura’s been doing it for a long time.”
Jack Hirsh is the Associate Equipment Editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.