50 Words or Less
Ballistic Golf is making MB and CB irons with a classic look and superb feel. CB is surprisingly forgiving. Traditional lofts are great for the low spin or high speed players.
Introduction
Like so many entrepreneurs, Kyle Carpenter launched Ballistic Golf to scratch his own itch. He wanted to play clubs that he loved as much as he loves the game. The result, after less than two years in existence, are two sets of irons: MB, muscle backs, and CB, cavity backs. For this review, I tested the combo set, to see if a small company in Iowa can make clubs that compete with the biggest names.
Looks
In the bag, Ballisitic Golf’s irons are very traditional and very desirable. The MB has a soft, rounded shape with only the Ballistic logo on the toe. The CB has a slightly more angular shape, but the cavity design is classic, and, again, it’s only adorned with one small logo. Everyone I showed these irons to noted the clean, minimalist appearance.
At address, the MB provides a couple small surprises. First, it has a very full, rounded face in the pitching wedges which makes the club look a bit larger. The progressive design shifts to a more traditional, but still full, shape in the 7I. Also, the shaping around the heel gives it the look of having more offset than it actually does. Unsurprisingly, the top line and sole are quite thin.
The progressive design of the MB irons flows seamlessly in the CBs. Each CB iron has a beautiful, traditional profile. There’s very little offset, the top lines are thin, and the shorter heel gives them a compact look.
Sound & Feel
My first experience with the Ballistic MB irons was hitting a PW to warm up during the first outdoor session of the year. My expectations for my swing weren’t high, but on impact I was met with the most beautiful soft, solid feel. I immediately raked another ball. Same exhilarating feel. These MB irons are truly addictive to hit. The feel is so satisfying on center, all I want to do is hit another shot.
The feel of the CB irons is similar but with a small added bonus. On those best-of-the-best shots, there’s a small, explosive snap that made me wonder if I hadn’t grabbed a more distance-driven iron by mistake. It still feels soft and solid, but there is a feeling of added horsepower.
Finally, one of the most pleasant surprises about both the MB and CB irons is that there is excellent feedback without any harsh shocks. In my first session with the MB, I was wondering, “Am I hitting everything pure?” I paid more attention and realized that the club was telling me I was a little off center here and there, but it wasn’t the stinging rebuke most blades deliver.
Performance
Reading through Ballistic Golf’s description of their irons is a refreshing change of pace from all the distance-centered hype of many OEMs. You quickly get the picture that both the CB and MB irons are very traditional, designed for the skilled, discerning player. The focus is on things like versatility, visual appeal, and turf interaction rather than how far the 6I goes. All this, combined with some of the most traditional lofts you’ll find, set my expectations for how these clubs would perform.
As expected, the Ballistic irons produced towering iron shots with plenty of spin. Compared to my gamer PING Blueprints [review HERE], the Ballistic irons are 2-3 degrees weaker, so they created several hundred RPM more and landed about 5 yards shorter, on average. If you’re looking for the antidote to today’s low-spinning, super strong lofted irons, you’ve found it.
You might be asking what the virtue of traditional lofts and higher spin are. As with anything, it’s all a matter of fitting the club to the player’s needs. For players who have a lot of club speed and distance, these irons may create more playable yardages and better distance gaps. The extra spin is also useful for holding firm greens and shaping shots.
Finally, perhaps the biggest surprise of this review was the level of forgiveness in the CB irons. To be very clear, these are not comparable to high tech game improvement irons, but, compared to the MB, they are much more consistent in terms of ball speed and launch. They’re also very friendly toward thin shots. If you want a traditional iron but aren’t sure about diving into a full set of MBs, the CBs or the combo set are excellent options.
Conclusion
For the golfer who wants to get back to traditional-looking irons with traditional lofts, there aren’t many better options than the MB and CB irons from Ballistic Golf. With the option to buy heads only or custom built sets, Ballistic Golf provides not only a brand you won’t find everywhere but personalized options, too.
Visit Ballistic Golf HERE
Ballistic Golf CB/MB Irons Price & Specs
Matt Saternus
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I am an Iowa native and was happy to support a local business. I purchased a set of irons from Kyle a few weeks ago and customer service was outstanding. I am a true club junkie, through and through and have played every set of irons imaginable. I’ve read every one of Matt’s reviews. These are the best feeling irons I have ever played. Ballistic Golf is a true sleeper and they deserve a look from everyone!
The clubs are very cool and stylish.made to last.i mite be able to hit them.
Pretty sharp looking irons and the review was favorable. I hope they do well. Nice to see other choices other than the OEMs that are quality as well.
On the border of purchasing the CBs but am worried about one thing. I used to have the cobra amp cells a LONG time ago, and had to make a change because I was actually hitting the ball too far when I made perfect contact. I’d be flying the greens by 10-20 yards and end up hitting PW 175-180. I moved on and got Titleist AP2s and it was a good switch for me. They are not the blady-est irons on the market. I’m wondering if I purchase the CBs, will I have the same issue of blasting a pure shot 10-20 yards too far? I’m a 3 handicap with a pretty fast swing speed
Ryan,
I’ve found that the issue of those “flyer” shots is unique to more game improvement type irons. I haven’t not experienced it with the Ballistic irons.
Best,
Matt
Nice looking weapons. I have a set of blade Scott irons from Utah and much of the same positive feelings. Nice to play with an all USA company and folks that check out my bag always ask where can I get a set of those.
I demoed the MBs; they are beautiful to look at, but complete garbage as golf clubs. They feel thin, unsubstantial and more than anything else, cheap. Solid hits on these feel like miss hits on premium blades, and the numbers on the monitor prove it.
It’s beyond obvious when you hit (or even hold) these that a slick design sans any professional design or engineering was sent to some factory in China and this is the result. These don’t hold a candle to mainstream clubs or other DTC brands like Maltby, among many others.
Demo the clubs and make up your own mind for sure, but if there is nothing critical… at all… to say about these flagrantly cheap and low quality clubs, I hope this site doesn’t devolve into a bunch of fluff reviews to suck up to OEMs.
Davis,
I understand feel is subjective, and there’s no arguing with someone’s opinion. With regard to the launch monitor numbers, what did you see that you didn’t like?
Your comment about “sucking up to OEMs” really doesn’t deserve a response, but I’ll give it one anyway. If we were going to go that route, do you think we’d be pandering to a new, small company with no marketing budget or using this review as a chance to kick someone around and “prove” that we’re “critical” and “independent”? If you don’t like these clubs, you’re more than welcome to share your opinion, but don’t come here and think you’re going to insult our integrity.
-Matt
Davis,
I’m with Matt. Let’s see some numbers from your comparisons. I highly doubt that your nasty comments hold any weight.
There is no doubt that these blades look great and I’m sure they perform as good or better than many others.
Demo time for me!
I’m a certified master club fitter for Callaway, Titleist, Ping & Taylormade. I’ve gamed Titleist T-100 irons this last season and just recently switched to the Taylormade P7MC/MB combo set. I also have a set of Callaway Apex Pro/MB combo as well. I am a complete club junky and have had Ballistic on my radar to try for the last year. The opportunity recently presented itself to me to acquire some ballistic MB heads in a trade. I went for it, and have been gaming them the last 2 weeks. My review is simple. LEGIT. These irons are fantastic and hold up just as well to any of the OEM Big boys that you can name. I don’t know what this gentleman “Davis” is hitting, but they can’t be the same irons that I have in my bag as they feel every bit as premium as my Titleist T-100’s. If you are on the fence at all about giving these a try, I sincerely hope you give them a shot as you will be blown away. I am also a huge fan of the looks as they don’t blast “Forged” or “Brand Name” or “Artificial Intelligence” crap all over the back of their irons. Bravo to Ballistic.