TaylorMade’s new M3 and M4 irons make a performance leap with the company’s new RIBCOR technology.
In early January, TaylorMade announced its M3 and M4 driver with Twist Face technology. The drivers received a lot of the attention, but equally interesting is the company’s corresponding irons, which have numerous enhancements, including RIBCOR technology.
The result? More energy off the clubface and increased ball speed.
“A lot of movement on a hit previously was not being channeled into the golf ball,” says TaylorMade’s Senior Director of Global Irons Tomo Bystedt. “RIBCOR is about straight distance. That’s the point and we think this is going to be a special year for us because we’re going to change the industry going forward.”
Science Behind RIBCOR
One of the advances in irons in recent years is how energy is transferred from the clubhead through the ball. But the problem TaylorMade isolated is flexing of the clubhead that isn’t at the point of impact, a factor that causes a loss of energy, and therefore distance.
The goal of RIBCOR technology, which is found on the sides of the clubhead, is to stiffen the outer structure to allow the face to flex and promote greater energy transfer across the face. More energy transfer—especially on shots not struck on the center of the clubface—will result in greater distances. And since both M3 and M4 are aimed at your average golfer, who don’t always catch the center of the face, the distance gains will surely be beneficial.
Face Slots and Speed Pocket
A staple of TaylorMade irons in recent years, Face Slots and the company’s Speed Pocket are once again found in both M3 and M4 irons. Face Slots are designed to allow the face to flex, and when combined with RIBCOR, should result in more consistent distance across the clubhead.
Bystedt admits some golfers struggled in the past to determine whether they’d be best suited for M1 or M2 irons. He says that shouldn’t be as much of a challenge with the new irons, as TaylorMade, with its seven families of irons (P730 through to CGB), now has a club to suit every golfer. “For a lot of consumers, it wasn’t obvious whether they should play M1 or M2,” Bystedt said. “I think it is easier for people to tell whether M3 or M4 are right for them.”
M3 vs M4
M3
Bystedt described the M3 as being for “the serious golfer who is looking for something specific from a shaping standpoint,” adding the clubs are more aimed more at a lower handicap golfer than those produced in the category by TaylorMade in the past. M3 offers less offset and are more visually appealing to better players than M1 was, he added, though the set still uses much of the same technology found in M4. M3 pushed the legal limit of how hot a clubface can be made, but also makes speed gains on off-center hits. To improve the sound of the irons, a damping badge was employed to work with RIBCOR, with the result being better feel as well.
M4
Described by Bystedt as the “workhorse of TaylorMade’s lineup,” this is the iron set the company expects to work for the widest array of golfers. The irons are versatile—Dustin Johnson was blown away by the 4-iron and said he wanted to add it to his set—while RIBCOR offers a jump of 24% in MOI and an improved feel over TaylorMade’s previous M2 irons. With foregiveness being key to M4, TaylorMade optimized mass distribution (toward the heel and toe) which results in the head not during as much during an off-center impact, another element that should help increase ball speed.
Ultimately, the best way to find out which one is suited for your playing style is to try them both.
A TaylorMade Fitting Expert will be visiting Golf Town locations to help golfers find the best new TaylorMade product for their game.