The phone started ringing early and often on Monday morning. It’s a sound J.J. Van Wezenbeeck, Titleist’s director of player promotion, has become accustomed to hearing every May when new product is released.
Even years are metalwoods, odd years are irons. It didn’t take players long to realise it was an iron year when photos hit social media.
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“The phones were pretty busy when we leaked photos on Monday morning,” Van Wezenbeeck said. “Plenty of requests and interest from guys.”
Unlike previous years, Titleist commenced tour seeding at Colonial Country Club instead of Muirfield Village Golf Club. The location change wasn’t an indictment of Jack’s place but rather an opportunity to introduce an iron lineup at a course that prioritises approach shots.
A look at the latest T100 in the address position. (Jonathan Wall/Golf Digest)
“It’s a good chance to showcase the stuff that we’re really excited about with a lot of players and a lot of players looking to test,” said Van Wezenbeeck. “This is a great golf course, because there are a number of challenging iron shots, particularly long irons, whether it’s long par 3s or tee shots.”
But enough about why Colonial is a good fit for an iron launch. The obvious question on every gearhead’s mind is what’s going on underneath the hood. Titleist tour reps weren’t ready to talk about all the technical stuff quite yet, but they dropped some gear morsels over the first three days.
The buzzword, at least for this week, is “feel.” While it isn’t the sexiest storyline, how an iron feels (and sounds) can make or break a testing session – and it was on display this week with some of the best players in the world.
Joseph Bramlett poses after hitting a shot with Titleist’s T250 4-iron on the Colonial driving range. (Jonathan Wall/Golf Digest)
It didn’t take Joseph Bramlett long to notice something was different about the T250 4-iron as he took cuts on the range. The 37-year-old has relied on a T200 off the tee and into the green, but the overall feel didn’t check every box. Even when you’re mixing and matching different iron models, the goal is to find a way to keep sound and feel consistent through the set.
“It only took a few balls to notice a big difference,” Bramlett said. “My current 4-iron feels almost like a hybrid, but this one is definitely clicky. It felt a lot more like my 8-iron. That kind of difference in sound makes me excited.”
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Of course, Bramlett wasn’t the only pro who gave T-Series high marks in the feel department. Defending Charles Schwab Challenge champion Davis Riley also raved about how the irons felt during initial range testing with Van Wezenbeeck.
“We want to focus on performance, but feel resonates with so many players,” Van Wezenbeeck said. “You really want to nail it with the players. We had guys like Davis hitting it and going, ‘Wow, these just feel so good.’ That kind of feedback reinforces all the work that went into each iron.”
Jordan Spieth conducted head-to-head testing between 2023 T100 and 2025 T100 on Monday morning. (Jonathan Wall/Golf Digest)
Other aspects that earned high marks were the cleaner overall look and subtle changes to the shaping at address — something Jeremy Paul noticed as he admired the T100 head shape in between shots.
“This one is a touch more like my old [T100] irons,” said Paul. “The previous version looked too skinny on top. I’m always looking for something that’s pleasing to the eye. I really liked the 2021 T100, and this one is more similar to that.
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“I’ve always noticed they are a touch less hot out of the rough and spin a bit more from wet conditions, too. Those are things you want when you hit it offline. More consistency from those different conditions is a good thing.”
When everything is clicking with a new set of irons, it’s natural to want to put them in play right away. Charley Hoffman conducted testing ahead of time at TPI (Titleist Performance Institute) in Oceanside, California, and opted to put the irons in play for US Open qualifying. Peter Malnati went the same route and played a blended set of T100 and T150 during qualifying, following a FaceTime testing session where he conversed with Titleist tour rep Nick Geyer over the phone and offered one-on-the-fly feedback.
“Peter’s always one who’s super excited to test new stuff,” Van Wezenbeeck said. “Last week it was, ‘Hey, I really want to test these at home and see if it’s something I could use in the US Open qualifier.’ He and Nick did a little bit of a FaceTime fit, and Peter played great but missed by one. It was still a cool first set to get in.”
As for the other marquee names in Titleist’s tour stable, they’ve all tested or played a role in the development of T-Series, particularly the T100, T150 and T250, prior to this week.
Earlier this season, during the West Coast Swing, Justin Thomas, Will Zalatoris, Cameron Young, Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Aberg and Wyndham Clark descended upon TPI and worked directly with R&D to offer thoughts on the final product. The goal was to give the irons a final sign-off or offer possible last-minute changes before the design was finalised.
It’s all about offering up a compelling product that gives them a reason to switch during a pivotal stretch in the season. Based on the feedback emanating from Colonial this week, the new T-Series is already resonating with players.
