How does Titleist design irons? New documentary provides peek behind curtain

Titleist Finding Feel

"Finding Feel" offers an inside look at Titleist's iron R&D process.

Titleist

When discussing golf equipment and performance attributes, one thing that has always been difficult to quantify is feel. For many players, the perception of feel can be hard to describe, even though every golfer knows the sensation when they hit one just right — and it’s that feeling that leaves every golfer wanting more.

So, with the challenge of trying to quantify feel, the engineers at Titleist set in motion a research plan to better understand what feel means to different golfers with the result to this point being the development of their newest T-Series irons, which includes the T100, T150, T200 and T350.

Titleist irons in hand 2023
Titleist new T-Series irons. Ryan Barath

Now, “Finding Feel,” a mini-documentary from Titleist, gives golfers a behind-the-scenes look into the iron R&D journey, to demonstrate how designers and engineers work with golfers across the board including many of the world’s best to merge the idea of feel with impactful performance gains.

Inside Titleist T200 iron
Inside of the Titleist T200 iron. Titleist

One of the standout points of the doc is made by Dr. Alan Hocknell, Titleist’s VP of advanced research and Innovation, when discussing the challenge of combining feel and technology performance: “[Feel] is a difficult problem for an engineer because when you add complexity to the design of the club head, to gain advantages such as easier launch conditions or better off-center impact, these are naturally in conflict with the best feel performance.” 

Watch it now

“Finding Feel” is broken up into three acts demonstrating different parts of the process, including a trip to the Western Electroacoustic Laboratories to visit an anechoic chamber that captures impact acoustics — which for gear geeks is both extremely nerdy and also endlessly fascinating.

Finding feel acoustics titleist
Gathering acoustic information in an anechoic chamber. Titleist

The full doc is available now on YouTube, and can be found here: Titleist Finding Feel

Titleist T150 Custom Irons

$199.99
T150 is built on the same fully forged platform as T100 but engineered to be faster and longer. Now with a more confidence-inducing shape and improved forgiveness. Inspired by the player’s performance and feel of T100 but forged into a more confidence-inducing shape, T150 is a modern Tour iron with dialed-up speed for players seeking a little more distance. T150 is everything players love about T100, only more. The fully forged feel and precise flighting – in 2-degree stronger lofts – offer outstanding touch and control, while the refined Muscle Channel and updated shape enhance feel, forgiveness and player confidence. ENHANCED FEEL AND CONSISTENCY Engineered to provide added speed, the refined Muscle Channel in T150 sits close to the face to create a more solid feel. A new precision CNC face milling process eliminates imperfections in the surface for more precise contact and control, all driving towards more consistent play. SHAPED TO SUIT THE PLAYER Based on player feedback, T150 presents an optimized topline that inspires confidence over the ball. The slightly larger shape provides just the right amount of forgiveness, while still maintaining a compact, Tour-inspired look. Everything sets up for winning iron play. EFFORTLESS TURF INTERACTION Working with Tour Pros and the grind experts at Vokey Design, our engineers were able to further improve our Variable Bounce Sole by softening the trailing edge to allow the club to flow faster through the turf, even after contact. Developed for T100, it brings a Tour touch to T150. BETTER TUNGSTEN FOR BETTER PERFORMANCE By utilizing dense D18 tungsten and a 2000º aerospace brazing process, Titleist engineers can eliminate weld points and be more precise with CG placement. You get outstanding MOI and launch dynamics from a solid, fully forged design.
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Ryan Barath

Ryan Barath is GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com’s senior editor for equipment. He has an extensive club-fitting and -building background with more than 20 years of experience working with golfers of all skill levels, including PGA Tour players. Before joining the staff, he was the lead content strategist for Tour Experience Golf, in Toronto, Canada.