50 Words or Less
The Takomo 201 MKII irons pack plenty of distance and strong forgiveness but with traditional lofts that produce a higher, more playable ball flight. Unbelievable value.
Introduction
One of my favorite finds of late 2025 was the Takomo Skyforger 002 wedge [review HERE]. At just $99, it showed that Takomo could deliver on the promise of high performance clubs without the pocket-emptying price.
The Takomo 201 MKII irons aim to do the same thing, while offering golfers even bigger savings. Priced at $650, these irons aim to compete in the players distance category where $1,400 is no longer a head-turning number. Can they compete with irons that cost more than twice as much? Read on to find out.
Looks
In the bag, the Takomo 201 MKII irons are a stark departure from the original Takomo 201 irons [review HERE]. Where the original had an angular cavity and an undercut, the 201 MKII is a more prototypical hollow body iron. While I like the original 201, the 201 MKII is cleaner looking.
Confusingly, Takomo’s website tells us that the 201 MKII irons are the successor to the 101T [review HERE], not the 201. That does make sense visually – the 201 MKII looks much more similar to the 101T.
Compared to the other MKII irons, the notable difference in the bag is that the 201 MKII is the only one with a shallow cavity on the upper portion of the blade.
Turning to the address position, the Takomo 201 MKII irons improve on their predecessor with a thinner, more rounded top line. While I don’t have the originals in hand to measure, it appears to me that Takomo also reduced the offset slightly.
It’s not obvious in the pictures, but there’s a significant shaping progression in this set. For my taste, the 4I-6I are beautiful. The face is fairly compact, and the toe is neither too square not too round. I think the 7I and 8I look good, but the the heel gets noticeably taller, making the face larger and more boxy. The 9I and PW are, to me, a miss. Particularly in the PW, there’s a lot of offset, a very rounded leading edge, and a face that’s too big. As always, looks are subjective – you may find this set perfect from 4I through the pitching wedge.
Above, you can see, from left to right, the Takomo 101 MKII, Takomo 201 MKII, and the Takomo 201T MKII 7 irons. Given the names – particularly the jump from 101 to 201 – I expected a much bigger visual difference. The 101 MKII does have a slightly thicker, less beveled top line, but the blade is only about 1/16″ longer than the 201. By far the biggest difference is the sole width, but that’s not something you can see at address. From a visual standpoint, you can easily build a combo set across all three models.
Sound & Feel
The sound and feel of the Takomo 201 MKII irons take their cues from the look and are very understated. With a premium ball, the volume of impact is below average on centered shots. That ticks up to average on bad mishits. Centered shots produce a crisp “tick,” and mishits range in character from “knock” to “thwack.” While the low volume keeps it fairly discreet, anyone listening carefully will know a mishit from a quality strike.
Your hands further refine the feedback, getting a clear sense of just where the ball met the face. The feedback from the Takomo 201 MKII is impressive, definitely leaning toward the player side of players distance. Like the sound, the feel of a centered strike is crisp and controlled. Mishits feel solid, not harsh, but they lack the sense of speed that pure shots get.
Finally, it’s worth noting that Takomo utilizes a constant face thickness in the 8I through PW and a variable face thickness in the 4I through 7I. I’ll discuss the performance side of this shortly, but, from a sound and feel perspective there was not a noticeable difference.
Performance
The Takomo 201 MKII irons do more than just offer a quality iron at an affordable price, they’re also carving out a unique niche in the iron space. While Takomo calls the 201 MKII a “players distance” iron, they don’t have that category’s strong lofts. In fact, the lofts of the 201 MKII are as traditional as some blade irons. The only other similar iron of recent vintage that I can think of is the Wilson Staff Model XB [review HERE].
Having slightly weaker lofts does not stop the Takomo 201 MKII irons from delivering on the “distance” part of the “players distance” moniker. In fact, had I not looked up the loft specs, I would have assumed this set had stronger lofts. Some of this distance and ball speed comes from the new 17-4 steel face which Takomo says is more flexible.
Where the weaker lofts are noticeable is in the ball flight and spin. These irons launch higher and spin more than your standard players distance clubs. To be clear, the Takomo 201 MKII irons are not high launching or high spinning overall, but they produce a much more balanced ball flight – strong but still capable of holding a green. Overall, the spin on the 201 MKII is just below average. This helps them to produce a stock flight that’s straight while also being capable of gentle shot shaping.
Turning to forgiveness, the variable face thickness of the mid and long irons shines. With the 6 and 7 irons, I was losing less than 10 yards on my moderate misses. To me, that’s as much as I can ask for as it should keep me on the green if I picked the right club and target. With the longer irons, there’s enough forgiveness that you won’t have to hit twice in a row, but it’s not a free pass onto the dance floor. The more traditional lofts of the Takomo 201 MKII irons help to elevate the long irons, but you still need a quality strike to get your full distance.
Takomo suggests the 201 MKII for players with handicaps from 5 to 25, which feels like a huge range. I think on the extremes of that range, it will be hit and miss. For the “25 but still improving,” the Takomo 201 MKII irons will be awesome. For the “5 handicap who just wants the game to be easier,” it’s a match made in heaven. Picky 5 handicaps and players who will never get to a 24 might want to look elsewhere. But I can safely say that the vast majority of players with 8-22 handicaps will love this set.
Conclusion
If the Takomo 201 MKII irons were “just” a great performing iron set at half the price of the big names, that would be a great story. However, they also push the players distance category in a more sensible direction. If you want a long, forgiving iron but don’t want to sacrifice playability and control, this is a set that needs to be on your radar.
Takomo 201 MKII Irons Price & Specs
He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
- Takomo 201 MKII Irons Review - April 6, 2026
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