True Spec Golf Bettinardi CB24/MB24 Irons Performance Review
Everyone welcome back Chris McCormick, joined by Blake Smith here in our Scottsdale HQ studio. And today we're taking a look at a new offering from Bettinardi and this is a brand new offering and a new category for Bettinardi. So we've got CB24 and MB24. So brand new irons. Blake, why don't you give us a rundown of what we're taking a look at today?
Yeah. So, Bettinardi has come to the table with irons. I think everybody knows that Bettinardi is synonymous with really, really high quality putters and wedges, high quality forging. So they're going to bring that process into the irons with the MB and the CB. These are really, really pretty. Bettinardi is really about making a beautiful product.
And these look like jewelry that they do. I mean they are absolutely fantastic to look at. Curious to see how they feel, see how they perform and what kind of numbers we get out of these guys. So two offerings coming to the table. And before we get into do some testing, make sure give us a like subscribe to the channel.
And with that, let's let's get some shots in the air. Let's go.
All right, Blake in the hitting bay here. We're going to start out with MB 24. So this is going to be a little bit more of that player oriented head. Not quite as much offset little thinner top line, little more workability player friendly design. So both of these 1025 carbon steel molded forged construction. So got some multi-material components going on in here.
If you want to walk us through that. Yeah. So like visually when I see this obviously it's it's stunning. it's beautiful blades. I mean I play a lot of golf. I mean, I don't play a lot of golf, but I play a good amount of golf. You play a lot of golf. I'm pretty good. I'm a pretty good ball striker.
This isn't too intimidating. although it's still a blade. Basically, the design of this is really cool because they they have changed some of the center of gravity with tungsten. So a lot of times when you have a blade like this, it's it is what it is. Right? So you're you're not going to be able to put any technology into it.
They put technology into this. I'm excited to hit it and and feel what that technology is doing. So they basically are moving the center of gravity based on the clubhead. They do that on both models. But to do it in a blade, that's really cool. This, this color. So the the satin finish is really nice. Being in the desert, I don't want something to blind me of the sun reflects off of it.
So. But, you know, when I put it down. Minimal offset. It's really good looking. It does not look like a traditional blade in that it looks too small. It looks like it's just the right size. See, if I, see if I can hole one this time.
That was flushed. Yeah. Let's see what happens here. That was really good. It felt awesome. It's good ball there. Good sound to it, too. Sound and feel are married. We know. That's pretty much tour average as far as launch and spin goes. Let's say good launch, good apex height, plenty of spin for some good control there coming into the green.
Absolutely. That was that was right on the button. Really good sound. I might fly in. Let's go. Oh. I mean, going back to that. So you've got one piece. Co-forge, solid body construction. Also married in there with the high density tungsten. And then also what they refer to is the CMC ceramic matrix composite. Yeah. So you've got a few different components at play but still able to take advantage of that solid and consistent feel of a forged product.
Yeah. So moving and manipulating that CG, they want you to hit it high. They want you to spin the ball. They want you to have control specifically in those long irons. Yeah. And a lot of times when I'm fitting somebody into something like this, a lot of times they're going to play a draw because of the turf interaction.
So I want to point that out. They've they've made they've made a real big effort here on making the turf interaction good. So how it enters and exits. I'm going to put this probably in somebody's hands. It's going to be pretty shallow. I'm going to I'm not going to put this into somebody hands that has eight degrees down.
So they're going to probably have to come from the inside and hit little draws. Or if they cut it they're going to have to not cut it too much like where I'm doing it right now. I just know that this would dig pretty good on me. So I would probably go seven iron down. So these are built to be blended.
So as you as you're going to see with the next one. They look really similar from the top. and the technology is about the same. So it's, it's a it's a really cool design. I'm going to hit one more, see if I can make it. Maybe I should draw it in this time.
You know, see, I tried to draw and I chunked it. The one handed follow through. Wow. Kind of. It got up there. That's pretty good for a blade. Wow. All right, last one. A little better sound there. It's trying to draw. I smoked that. So for a natural cutter of the golf ball, that was a nice, tight little draw. That was really good.
Let's see what the spin said. That's that's good for a for a draw. That's really good. 55 59 outside is going to spend a little bit more. This is really good I mean at the price point too I mean it's a really, really, really well done golf club. And the price point is not really all that high. So for, for for what it is. Right?
So when people look at Bettinardi like oh premium, ultra premium it's not cheap but it's, it's, it's in a really good category.
Let's transition into CB something a little more forgiving, a little softer on that leading edge. Doesn't want to dig quite as much. Might be a little more player friendly in those longer irons. For us.
Club connects always makes testing process nice and easy.
Same shaft, different head. So as far as the visual component goes visually, what do you notice at address transitioning me to CB. You know it's touch bigger top line. Although the transition from the MB to the CB it's not going to be all that noticeable. It does have more offset but you need more offset when you go into the longer irons, sure, just because of the construction.
You got to have a little bit more time to close the face unless you really over close the face, in which case you just go MB all the way through. They put an emphasis on blending the set. A lot of tour players do that, and more and more good players do that. I will give people an option. They'll hit both of these and then they make the decision because they're the ones they're going to have to play that seven iron and they know their ability.
But I mean you can get away with it for sure here now 29 degrees here on the loft. And we talked about that CG placement and progressive CG being a little bit lower in those long irons. Also a little higher in the short irons, really focusing on playability and adaptability for controlling trajectories. Yeah. Curious to see it. Let's rip a few.
All right. Okay. That was that was really good. That's way up in the air. Great sound. Yeah. That thing, these are easy to launch, right? Wow. Okay. All right. Get real tight. Well, that's an interesting takeaway. So I mean, for a player that wants something that's more traditional and getting into that forged category, in 17 degrees at 6300, plenty of spin.
And I mean that thing 38 yards in the air right up there is up there. Yep. And for a six iron you want to hit it higher. Absolutely. So many players struggle with getting the ball airborne and then producing that descent angle that gives them that control and holding power coming into the greens. That's a dart. Nice.
Yeah, this this feels really good. This is probably where I would split the set. So I'd go wedge, nine iron, eight iron, seven iron. And then six iron to four iron in this this the CB so that's that's where I think I would probably go. I'm going to be CB guy all the way through.
Yeah. They're really easy to really easy to draw. I mean I, I've just made a stock swing that usually just cuts. It's like it's kind of hard to cut. Let's, let's actually put a cut swing in tension.
It stays straight. Its trying to. So definitely good takeaway for our viewers out there that are curious about how these perform and also how they differentiate. Yeah. So I mean CB we're seeing plenty of spin. Yeah. Easy to launch way up in and also easy to turn over. Yeah. They're easy to hit for a player that wants to get into that category that likes to see the ball move right to left, that maybe a little bit on that low launch, low spin category.
like myself. Yep. This would be potentially a great option to test. And I mean, look at putting in the bag for not only the bag appeal, but the playability, the feel, the consistency and then also easy to launch. Yeah. And you can see it's almost the same cambering on the bottom of this club for the turf interaction.
So you want sometimes when you split a set it's too bouncy in the long irons. Yeah. And you, you get a four iron or five iron something that just bounces and it's like oh that felt horrible. But this is definitely built to be blended. So I mean, there's definitely opportunities to create some custom variances on the sets.
And let's take a look at some of this data. All right. So going into our comparison screen here looking at these two irons with the MB and the CB side by side. And it's pretty much what we would expect after that initial testing. So walk us through what you're seeing here. It's really amazing how consistent and how similar all of the stats are here.
All the numbers are about the same all the way through. Yeah. So blending a set makes all the sense in the world. It is really amazing how that launch angle stayed the same and the spin rate's almost exactly the same. Yeah the spin rate came down just a little bit in the CB. Hey, that's where that one yard came from.
But the standard deviation was really good. They felt really good. They're workable I mean that it makes all the sense in the world to blend a set here. That's that's good ball speed too. Especially out of a blade. Yeah. Out of an MB. That was a rocket. So, you know, when you when you have blades in your bag, people might have a tendency to be like, oh, well, you can, you can hit the center of the golf club all the time.
Well, I didn't hit the center of the golf club every time now. And the standard deviation was 1.1 on ball speed. That's really good on an MB. That's that's what sticks out to me. But but overall it is it is definitely something that I'll talk to people about with blending. I said, this is a good idea based on my experience.
Now you're going to hit it, you're going to make the decision. But that's, those numbers are really impressive. I would agree, I mean, going over to club data, clubhead speed, virtually identical. Efficiency, virtually identical. Dynamic loft, I mean less than a half degree a deviation. Now the interesting part, like you were kind of alluding to during the initial testing: face angle.
Yeah. So I mean overall start line as it translates into shot shape and just overall ball flight downrange in looking at the face angle, little tendency to be neutral to slightly open with MB. Yeah. But then we go right into that CB and even though there were so many components that were I mean basically identical. Yeah, that ball wanted to turn over and hit that draw so much easier than the MB did.
Yeah. And a little bit of that is based on the offset. Sure. It's a little bit more offset on that CB so given that's that's definitely there, that's why it's going to be a little bit easier to to turn over. But you need that again. Like I said before you need that in your six, five and four and especially in the five in the four iron, a lot of times people can't, they they hit it right all day.
So that's, it's it's a, it's a really cool line-up here when you launch something for the first time, a lot of times some of the beta testing is through the public, and then they find out, well, right here they probably did that previously. So its a really good iron. I mean, with that being said, when you are ready to check out the new Bettinardi CB and MB offerings, make sure and book your fitting at your local True Spec and we'll see you next time.