GOLF EQUIPMENT
MacGregor Golf's new game-improvement irons are a qualified success
By Tim McDonald,
Contributor
MacGregor Golf has jumped on the "game-improvement" bandwagon with its Mactec line of clubs. The company's promises its NVG2 Mid Irons will add distance and control to your golf game, and reviewer Tim McDonald liked what he saw, especially in the long irons.
Golf gear today is all about making lousy golfers better, squeezing every inch out of those woeful swings, and I'm all for it. I'm waiting for the first golf-club maker to come out with robots that will hit the ball for us.
MacGregor Golf is well over 100 years old, but it has jumped on the hot "game-improvement" bandwagon too - the company's new motto is "Hell Bent on Improving Your Game."
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To that end it has come out lately with a whole line of Mactec gear - drivers, fairway woods, hybrids and irons. Irons are my Achilles heel these days, so I've been testing MacGregor's Mactec NVG2 Mid Irons (manufacturers' suggested retail price: $799 for steel, $899 for graphite).
They're designed for mid-handicappers, but Greg Norman has been touting them. And if it's good enough for The Shark - and if he isn't embarrassed to be seen playing with game-improvement gear - it's worth a try.
Here's the short verdict, before I hit you with the technology: I liked these clubs, especially the long irons.
Like its brethren, this next generation of NVG2s (some critics complained the earlier models were rather lacking aesthetically) incorporates "Cup Face 360º" technology, which purports to make the entire face the sweet spot, providing "maximum distance even with off-center hits," according to MacGregor.
The hollow body structure is designed to create a "high rebound effect that propels the ball off any part of the face," and 30 grams of "Progressive Dual Tungsten weighting" is positioned to offer higher launch with the long irons and greater control with the short, the company asserts.
According to LondonOntarioGolf.com, the NVG2s are "so high-tech your game can almost be put on automatic pilot," and Golf Tips said they were "among the easiest to hit and longest irons we've tried this year."
Auto-pilot is a bit of a stretch, but I did find the short irons gave me some added distance - not the 17 yards that MacGregor claims Norman got, but a definite five or six. I was hitting the wedge and other short clubs over greens by a fair margin until I learned to control them.
The surprise, to me, was the long irons. I long ago replaced my long irons with hybrids, but for you, the reader, I felt obliged to sacrifice my score and use the three and four Mac Tec NVG2 Mids.
Facing a 220-yard par-3, into the wind, with the flag at the very back, I sighed, grumbled and griped but finally pulled out MacGregor's three-iron, gazing with guilt at the hybrid resting in the bag.
With a crowd watching, I hit it 10 yards short of the hole, in perfect position to miss my birdie putt.
Other situations, similar results, though not quite as dramatic.
To sum up, I didn't see a significant difference between these irons and, say, Callaway's game-improvement irons, though the NVG2 Mids gave me a little more distance. While I was particularly impressed with the long irons, they won't replace my hybrids.
Still, I recommend these clubs to any mid-handicapper who isn't hell-bent on working his shots.
May 18, 2007
Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.
