Sifting through the equipment stash at home can send you down interesting rabbit holes. When you’re GOLF’s managing equipment editor, the general assumption is the word “stash” is code for “two warehouses full of clubs.” It’s not. Like most weekend golfers, I’m constantly thinning out the herd to avoid a future spot on Hoarders. Only the strong and semi-reliable survive these days.
During a recent gear clean-out, I happened upon a well-worn set of Titleist 731PMs — arguably my favorite iron set ever created — from my last stint as a plus-handicap. As a southpaw who never had the opportunity to wield a set of Titleist 990Bs (yes, I’m still bitter they only made them in right-handed), the 731PM was Titleist’s mea culpa.
Initially designed for Phil Mickelson, the lefty-only creation was Titleist’s first designated combo set that expertly transitioned from cavity-back long irons into high muscle blades. Not only was the setup composition ahead of its time but each head was cast from 431 stainless steel, not forged. That included the blades. It remains the only time Titleist has produced a set of cast musclebacks.
The set is a reminder of how far the industry has come in the last two decades. Before the 731PM, many manufacturers were reticent to mix and match iron sets to create a true combo set. Only in the last decade has the industry fully embraced blending different sets if a golfer wants to pair more forgiveness and a higher launch in the long irons with compact short irons possessing workability and a controlled flight. On the Tour side, roughly 70-75 percent of pros have multiple iron models in the bag. This is a trend that isn’t going away anytime soon.
But let’s get back to the 731PM. As I admired the worn faces, my mind immediately went to the origin of blended sets at the Tour level. Phil won the 2004 Masters with 731PM in the bag, marking an important moment for combo sets. However, it wasn’t really a true combo set combining multiple models. This was a Phil-specific setup meant to meet all of his needs. (It should be noted that Phil still plays numerous Callaway iron models, so this wasn’t a fleeting trend for Lefty.)
As I started to do some digging with the help of Google and my Tour rep Rolodex, I came across some notes from several years ago on the equipment setup Tiger Woods used to win the 1997 Masters. Did you know Tiger torched Augusta National with a blended iron set? Because he most definitely did.
Woods’ setup that week consisted of two different Mizuno models: MP-14 and MP-29. As the story goes, Woods noticed subtle offset changes from the long to short irons between the sets. It didn’t take him long to realize he could combine the two models to create a singular set with minimal offset.
