Titleist AP2 714 Irons Review – What Handicap Are They For? Are They Forgiving?

Titleist AP2 714 Irons Review – What Handicap Are They For? Are They Forgiving?

“The Titleist AP2 714 irons are now 10 years-old but they are still a formidable entry into the storied line of AP irons.

The Titleist AP2 714s are unique in that they are forged irons that have a focus on forgiveness. Find out what type of golfer they suit the best in the following review.”

Titleist AP2 714 Irons Overview

“The Titleist AP2 714 irons look more like players performance irons at address and in the bag.”

But the appearance belies their game improvement DNA. But let’s stay with the looks for a minute. Pretty much everything about these irons is moderate. The top line width is moderate. The soles are of moderate width. The blade length is moderate. The face depth is, you guessed it, moderate. In fact, the only thing that I wouldn’t describe as moderate about these irons is the offset – there is very little of it.

I can see the Titleist AP2 714 irons looking pleasing to low handicap players. I also don’t feel that the look at address would drive away high handicappers. Titleist did a really good job of striking a good visual balance with the Titleist AP2 714 irons.

The Titleist AP2 714 irons have tungsten weights in the toe and hosel to create very forgiving perimeter weighting. But these discrete weights don’t take up very much space – tungsten is very dense in the first place so the weights themselves don’t have to be very big. That means the engineers didn’t have to make the blades very much longer to accommodate the weights.

What you end up with is good forgiveness on mis-hits and a set of forged blades that is still playable. The Titleist AP2 714 irons have shallow cavity backs – or you could say, moderate cavity backs – which push more weight out to the perimeter.

Oh and did I mention that these are forged irons? You get all the benefits of forged feel with these irons without the overly-soft sensation you get with some super-soft carbon steel forged irons. You can still feel the ball at impact but it in no way feels harsh.

Are the Titleist AP2 714 Irons Forgiving?

“Ok, so there isn’t a ton of offset to speak of in these irons; but they do have progressive CG.”

The CG in the long irons is lower and the CG in the short irons is placed higher in the club heads. Couple that with weak lofts and you end up with long irons that produce towering height. The apex height I was getting from the long and mid irons was ridiculous. In fact, I feared ballooning a few times.

But for a naturally low-launch player that loses carry distance because of a lack of apex height, the Titleist AP2 714 irons will be a god-send. So the launch is no problem. Neither is the dispersion.

The perimeter weighting and the shallow cavity back design keep your mis-hits playable. In general, I was hitting really nice, high draws with these irons and had the ability to change it up to a fade. The spin was a little higher than expected so I had to mind my P’s and Q’s when working the ball. But less experienced players should have no trouble getting a straight shot out of these irons.

The distance I was getting was excellent as well. I was crushing the 7-iron for an average of 161.7 yards of carry distance. And when I mis-hit, that figure shrank to only about 158 yards.

Are the Titleist AP2 714 Irons Good for Beginners & High Handicappers?

“It doesn’t take a high degree of skill to produce playable lies and good distance with these irons.”

But I wouldn’t recommend them to beginners only because there are so many excellent game improvement irons on the market. The Titleist AP2 714 would however be good for mid and high handicappers.

These irons offer a really balanced mix of workability and forgiveness that, in my opinion, would work really well for players in the 12-22 handicap range. The only word of warning I have is that the short irons can sail past the green if you’re not careful.

The lower launch angles took me by surprise and I rolled off the green at first. But as long as you are mindful, you should be able to negate this issue considering the weak loft of the short irons.

Should You Buy the Titleist AP2 714’s or the Titleist AP1 714’s?

“The Titleist AP1 714 irons have more of a GI look at address.”

They are a bit longer than the Titleist AP2 714 irons so they are a bit less workable. They have a wider top line too. If you’re looking for a more familiar GI profile, the Titleist AP1 714 irons would be best.