The T200 continues to be Titleist’s main offering in the compact mid handicap iron space, providing plenty of speed without the chunky looks. The latest iteration aims to address shortcomings in feel, with the 2021 T200 iron offering up a loud and clicky feel at impact. To do so, Titleist has re-engineered the Max Impact design feature to make the head more stable while the polymer back plate has also been reconfigured to better manage the vibrations that occur when the forged face strikes the ball.
My first impressions would be that iron has improved in looks slightly - it appears a little more modern and sleek. A common complaint of the old T200 iron was if you tap the back plate with your finger nail it made a hollow, plastic-like sound. This has been vastly reduced in the new iteration via the use of epoxy to attach it more securely. At address, the profile remains similarly appealing on the eye - compact overall but a little more substantial than the T150 iron. The finish is also noticeably lighter.
When I went to test the T200 on the excellent range at Peterborough Milton Golf Club up against the prior version, I wasn’t blown away. Don’t expect a soft, forged like feel from the T200. Some irons in this category manage to get close to this, like the Ping i525 or the Mizuno JPX923 Forged, but the T200 still has a harder feel to it.
In terms of improvements, they’re fairly minor. You could make a case for the head being more stable and the sound a little quieter, but it’s hard to conclude with any certainty. There’s more tungsten in the head now and it extends further towards the heel - so it was capable of preserving ball speed on off-center hits while also reducing any curvature away from the target. The flight was certainly very straight and if you can return the face close to square with a fairly neutral path, you’ll be almost guaranteed to hit the green (provided you’ve chosen the right club).
Performance wise, the new T200 didn’t offer any notable gains over the prior version either. A little more spin and height means you get more stopping power without losing distance but there wasn’t anything that obviously stood out. Even despite the new T200 7-iron coming in half a degree stronger at 30.5°, this didn’t deliver a jump in ball speed during our testing. In fact, it was closer to the T150 in terms of carry than it was the T350 iron.
Ultimately if you want a distance iron in a compact chassis, the T200 delivers but I don’t think the performance will stand out against its competitors. There’s certainly potential, though, to combo these irons with the T150 irons to provide the added speed and forgiveness in the longer clubs where this iron excels.
