The new generation of Takomo irons are looking to grab your attention, not just through price, but with quality and performance as well. Here’s how the Takomo 201T Mkii irons stack up to the goal.
At Today’s Golfer, data is incredibly valuable. It allows us to build our best guides to the latest equipment, making sure you can see the difference between any club on your radar (and that includes the Takomo 201T Mkii in our best irons page).
Data, however, isn’t entirely how we play the game.
On the course, we make decisions based on feeling just as much as data, and it’s the 201T irons are looking to straddle the line as well, sitting between a player’s style CB and a more forgiving modern distance club.
It’s a difficult balancing act to maintain, one I was more than a little curious to try out for myself.
Quick Verdict
Takomo 201T Mkii irons obviously represent a great price point, but there’s more to them than that. The set offers good feedback, clean design, and an impressive ability to work the ball. All of this comes with more forgiveness than I expected, and more than reasonable distance for the smaller head size.
They aren’t perfect, but there’s still little reason to argue against playing them.
More than just a price point
Pros & Cons Ratings Specs Features
Pros Incredibly clean, player-driven looksSolid feedback equal to brands twice the priceSmooth turf interaction across a variety of lies Cons I struggled with creating consistent ball flight through the setLacks deeper options for a custom fit
Looks/Feel
Technology
Performance
Overall
RRP $679 / £619 Availability 4-PW Stock Shaft Options KBS Tour / KBS Tour Lite Stock Grip Options Lamkin Crossline 7-iron loft 33° Category Players’ Cavity Construction 17-4 cast body, Tungsten weighting 4-7i Reimagined VFT (Variable Face Thickness) for increased energy transfer across the faceTungsten (4-7i) and Steel (8-PW) Weighting for optimized ball flightSmaller, tour-inspired profile promotes smoother turf interactionDesigned for consistent ball strikers
Looks/Feel: 4.5/5
Like with its 201 bigger brother, and the iron family as a whole, the Takomo 201T Mkii are characterized by a simplified styling pulled directly from their Nordic origins as a Finnish company.
It’s a great look as well, one that will look just as modern in a decade as it does now. The finish is incredibly clean, with the only breakup to the brushed satin being the well-suited brand markings that let you know what you’ve picked up.
The address position, ultimately the most important view, is just as appealing as the badging with an ideal top line size and a pleasing curve to the toe section from top to bottom.
As someone who’s always been a fan of a more boxy toe, the Takomo make a surprisingly pleasant look, which I’m going to put down to the curve not being too exaggerated.
Beyond that, the most noticeable element is with the hosel. Takomo tend to offer a little more offset throughout their entire line, even in the 301 series, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
Minimal offset irons are a dime a dozen now, but, for me, I’d much rather see the handle a bit further ahead to encourage more passive hands over the aggressive rotation that normally comes from those more open modern sets.
It’s going to come down to personal choice, of course, but it’s something I think worth pointing out with the 201T Mkii irons that will benefit more golfers than it hinders.
Technology: 4/5
There’s not a tremendous amount that separates the 201T to the 201 from the technology implemented, but that isn’t a bad thing considering how solid I found those irons to be.
Takomo 201T Mkii irons feature a dual-body construction, meaning the faces are made away from the rest of the head. It gives the company far more control over how the face is manufactured to provide more assistance on mishits in the long irons and consistency from short irons.
This is achieved through machining the backs of the 4- through 7-iron faces, all made of the same 17-4 stainless steel as the bodies, for thinner metal (and more ball speed) in spots where the golfer will typically suffer drop off in distance in the heel, toe, and low face points.
The 8-iron to pitching wedge are still individually made, albeit with a flat face meaning more predictability in spin than the higher ball speed long irons.
Added to the 4-7 irons is a tungsten bar behind those machined faces.
As a denser metal, tungsten is able to affect an object’s center of gravity with more significance than steel.
Choosing to add that mass lower and deeper into the long irons means Takomo can increase launch to provide better flight conditions where golfers will benefit best from it, but it’s been completed without an influence in feel between the long and short clubs in the set.
I think it still needs to be mentioned that, while it’s part of their pricing model, the lack of stock shaft and grip options is still something that limits Takomo irons.
The addition of one or two more shaft models would really help expand their appeal, but that being said the KBS stock steel options are both great components in any line up.
Performance: 4/5
I think my most noticeable point with the Takomo 201T irons is how they feel.
The feedback is certainly up to scratch with the most popular irons in the market, providing solid impact and strong awareness of strike location throughout the face.
Is it the softest iron set you can play with? No, but Takomo isn’t pretending the 201T is going to be.
Instead, the player is given satisfaction in sound to know when they’ve hit the ball well, but enough consistency on off-center impacts to encourage confidence, even on imperfect ball-striking days.
That feedback extends into the soil as well, with the irons cutting well into the ground, whether softer, wintery conditions, or the firm turf you see in the British summers, particularly around the links land.
I really like that I can dig down into the ground, when I want to squeeze a lower flight out of the ball, and still come out just as cleanly as I do when I’m clipping a ball from off the top of tight grass.
Talking about flight, the 201T Mkii irons easy to move in either direction, if you want them too. I’ve not struggled with either shot shape, giving me even more confidence in playing these irons, although, it is worth touching on the only real fault I’ve found.
I’m prepared to accept this could be a ‘me’ thing rather than anything to do with the irons, but I have found some difficulty with achieving ideal height at either end of the set.
The middle section of the irons, namely 6- to 8-iron, are without issue; they hit the apex I expect to see with my basic delivery.
When I swing the short or long irons, however, the flight is a little different from what I want and know.
It’s not dramatic, maybe only 10 feet either way, but I have felt the need to elevate the 4- and 5-irons more than with my own set, and vice versa for 9-iron and wedge, which launch into air much faster.
This hasn’t translated to anything adverse when the ball lands on target, mind you, it’s just a flight element that I’ve become increasingly aware of, the more I play with the Takomo 201T.
I would be keen to point out that isn’t anything prohibitive for players that want to control height.
I’ve still been able to shift the ball higher or lower with the same easy as the side-to-side movement, and it’s immensely fun to do so with the protection of the set’s forgiveness.
My final takeaway of the 201T performance is very positive. I’ve loved playing with the irons: it’s been an easy transition from my own, albeit these feel like I can get away with more than the Titleist T100 in my bag.
The 201T are purpose-built for the modern golfer looking to exert control on his shots but still be given enough room to relax in the toughest moments, and I think there’s more than enough of those players that would fall for these irons immediately, even before mentioning the price.
Overall: 4.2/5
I have zero qualms about recommending the Takomo 201T Mkii irons.
They satisfy in virtually every way an advanced player could want, producing quality performance and effective feedback.
There’s still a certain requirement of skill from the golfer with these clubs, and if you want some additional help then the big brother 201 Mkii will be ideal, but for those with a good handle on their striking, Takomo have an iron that holds up to your demands and then some.