Equipment Review: PowerBilt Golf TPS Wide-Soled Irons, by Jeffrey Reed

You are no doubt familiar with the name, PowerBilt – perhaps not amongst the elite in the competitive world of golf club manufacturing, but certainly included amongst the most respected. Since 1916, PowerBilt has contributed some solid offerings, including its latest driver, the TPS 460cc Driver. It’s possibly the best-kept secret amongst big dogs that dial long distance.

Enter the TPS Wide-Soled Irons, which I consider the best-kept secret amongst game-improvement clubs. I’ve tinkered with PowerBilt clubs since my teenage years (yes, PowerBilt has been on the golf scene for quite some time), and am therefore quite familiar with their quality craftsmanship, and high performance from tee to green. But quite simply, the new TPS Wide-Soled Irons are PowerBilt’s best offerings to-date.

Despite my low handicap, I’m wise enough (read old enough) to realize that game-improvement clubs can even benefit a play-uh! I’ve played with game-improvement irons (not super game-improvement clubs, like the super-sized Nike Slingshot OSS) for two seasons now, and continue to score low.

PowerBilt’s TPS Wide-Soled Irons are some of the best irons I have ever played – period. They’re of the game-improvement variety, but they perform like a mid-handicapper’s club. Typically, it’s tough to work the ball with a game-improvement club, but the TPS Wide-Soled Irons passed this test with flying colours. The ball landed softly, and I was able to get the ball airborne from a variety of lies with ease. Fade, draw, rough, fairway or from the tee, the TPS Wide-Soled Irons are a real treat to play with – in my books for anyone from a beginner to a low-handicapper.

PowerBilt has always produced classic-looking clubs, and despite their wide soles, the TPS Wide-Soled Irons also fit into this category. The technology, too, is quite simple yet effective. A CNC-milled cavity back of the stainless steel club is geometrically angled into a super-wide four-way Tour grind sole. The cavity is also filled with a lighter, vibration-dampening composite. The saved weight is replaced with two strategically placed tungsten injections at the bottom of the club head. The result? An extremely low CG and huge sweetspot.

I played every shot in the book, and the entire spectrum of TPS Wide-Soled Irons performed remarkably well. From majestic pitching wedge shots to 5-iron stingers from the deck (face closed for extra length and lower trajectory), every club received an A-plus.

Here’s another plus with the TPS Wide-Soled Iron set. PowerBilt includes both a 3- and 4-iron replacement hybrid, and they, too, are solid performers. Would you expect anything else from PowerBilt? Both the 20E 3-iron hybrid, and 24E 4-iron utility club feature a lightweight composite crown, and a 10 g tungsten weight in the heel. A large sweetspot, easy lift from every lie on the golf course, and workability all add up to one heck of a hybrid.

I chose to test the irons with True Temper steel shafts, and played Aldila graphite shafts in the hybrids. The TPS Wide-Soled Irons with accompanying hybrids can help improve your game, whether you’re an ace or a beginner. They’re solid performers with classic looks, and rely on PowerBilt’s more than 80 years of manufacturing excellence. Best of all, PowerBilt’s clubs are always priced as some of the most affordable clubs on the market.

Visit www.powerbiltgolf.com to learn more about the TPS Wide-Soled Irons.