Takomo 101 Golf Irons Review (Full Test & Honest Verdict)

Looking for new irons? In this video, I give the Takomo 101 irons a full review and on-course test.
We’ll cover:
• Forgiveness and feel compared to other irons
• Distance control and consistency
• How they stack up against premium brands

If you’re wondering whether the Takomo 101 is the best budget iron of 2025, this review will help you decide.

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Today I’m going to be playing nine holes with only the Tacoma 101 irons. And there’s going to be a twist. If I don’t shoot better than nine over through nine holes, then I have to give these irons away at the end of this video as soon as it reaches 200 likes. Now, I’m a 13 handicap golfer, so that’s like a pretty good round of golf for me, especially not using a driver and only using irons and a putter. So, stick around for an in-depth review of the 101 irons on course from the perspective of an average golfer in the first ever edition of Good Play or Giveaway. Right. Hole number one, 400 yards. We got a four iron. Clubs have a ton of offset at a dress. Very chunky profile. Good strike. Nice little draw right down the middle. Not a bad start. I hit that 4 in 217 yards, which is significantly longer than the 301 CBS I’ve been playing. First impression though, these clubs have a really really chunky profile, which makes sense. It’s like a player’s improvement iron. I don’t love how they look at a dress and the offset is a little bit too much for me, but that was a good strike, so we’ll take it. I’m about 145 yards out from the front here. I’ve got a 9 iron about 160 to the middle. Again, very chunky profile down at the ball. Definitely confidence inspiring. It’s just visually not my favorite. Okay, just short right of the green. I didn’t strike that that well. And I got to say, these have a very like hollow feeling, which I guess makes sense given the club they are and who they’re designed for. But like, you cannot compare how these feel to how my Mizuno 245s felt or to how the 301cbs felt. But that is kind of comparing apples to oranges. That said, initial reactions, even compared to very competitive clubs like a 790 or something like that, not the best feeling iron. I really need to get this up and down. I’m about 20 yards short of the green and we’re using only the Tacoma irons and a putter. So, I have to chip with a pitching wedge. There’s a little pressure on these shots when all of a sudden like a giveaway is on the line here. Like, I really need to get this up and down. Oh no, that came out so hot. Oh, we rolled off the green. That is not the start we wanted. That is not the start we wanted. Okay, this is honestly like borderline a must make putt at this point. Little left to right. Really don’t want to bogey this. Oh no. Oh no. That is so bad. Oh no. Okay, for the bogey. Oh my god, that is bad. Oh no. Two over through one. That is bad. The reason there’s a lot on the line for me is unlike other big channels, I buy all these clubs with my own money as I’m trying to grow this channel. So with the good player giveaway series, it’s literally my own money on the line. Now that we’re two over after one hole, I only have seven strokes to give up on the rest of the eight holes. Hole two, we’ve got a 140 yard par three. I’ve got a pitching wedge. This club looks like a sledgehammer down to the ball. This thing is massive. pushed it out to the right. It’s going to be short, man. It’s going to be another really tough up and down. This is not going well. I got to say, first impressions, the club is almost so big that it makes it harder to strike. I don’t know if that makes any sense because that’s very like counterintuitive, but something about a smaller club head like the 301cbs, I just feel like mentally makes me more focused on the strike. When you have this really, really massive head down at the ball, it almost makes me lazy with my swing. That might just be a me problem. I also think the offset is a little bit visually unappealing, but we’re going to stick with these clubs and see how we feel after nine. I’m incredibly relieved right now. I just spent a legitimate 5 minutes looking for this ball. Could not find it. Turns out it’s just buried in some mode grass. Pitching wedge again. I got to get up and down here. Need a par on this hole. Oh, that’s pretty good. Woohoo. Okay, baby. It’s pretty good. Pretty pretty good. We will take that all day, baby. Always a good sign when you’re on the green and you don’t really need a putter for the par. Two over through two. Back on track, baby. Let’s go. Next up, we have a golf hole that I absolutely hate. 340 yards downhill. Pretty narrow landing area. I’m gonna be hitting a 4 iron. Gosh, that offset I can’t get over, man. It feels like a highly different golf club than what I play. Just everything. Okay, have to take a drop. Hitting my third. Terrible lie. 180 yards out. I’ve got my seven iron. I mean, that stuff was thick. I I would call this like less than ideal. Hitting my fourth shot 70 yards out. Partial pitching wedge is not something that I uh practice uh literally ever. Pretty solid. We’re about 15 ft away. Need to make that putt. Like, need to make that putt. Reminder, if I shoot worse than nine over through nine holes, some lucky subscriber is going to win these clubs as soon as this video hits 200 likes. And I spent $500 on these irons and had every intention of selling them. So, I really, really hope I don’t have to give these away. 15 ft away. I obviously meant 40 ft away. Obviously terrible. 40footer for the bogey. I need to leave it short. Idiot. I I literally need to make this for the double. Okay, that’s huge. That’s honestly huge. Like, that’s still terrible. It’s still a double bogey, but that is massive for the program. Let’s talk about some specs. These Tacoma 101s are built out of a flexible 431 stainless steel. And they are supposedly precision mil with a 1.65 mm thin face that is heat treated and promotes spin consistency and explosive ball speeds. also feature a really low center of gravity, which is supposedly supposed to help you have a more consistent ball strike and a higher trajectory. And everything about these clubs is designed with distance and forgiveness in mind, which explains the really large club head size and all the technology packed into the head. After reading about all those features, I’m starting to think I’m just the worst golfer on the planet cuz I’ve yet to hit a high and straight ball with these. But that’s going to change here. We are four over through three, which means we only have five strokes to give up. We’ve got a straight ahead par4 of 400 yds. Once again, four iron off the tea. There we go. That was the first like really pure iron shot I’ve hit with these. That felt pretty good. Again, going to sound like a broken record here. You just can’t compare the feel of a club like this to a more forged or cavity back iron. But even compared, like I said, to some other hollow body heads, it’s not the best feeling iron. But can’t argue with those results. clubs are also pretty strong lofted with that 4 iron being at 20.5° of loft and like I said a lot of offset. We got 5.7° of offset on these clubs. So, this is really really engineered for the more beginning golfer that kind of struggles with their ball striking and has a hard time getting the ball in the air. I will say though from like a beginning golf perspective, the price point on these is amazing. This entire set comes in at $499 brand new, which is literally like a third of the cost of some of the more premium brands. You can tell they’re stronger lofted because I actually ended up hitting that 4 iron about 229 yards, which is legitimately 29 yards more than I would typically hit my 301cbs. We’ve got about 160 left because of the loss. I’m going to go with a 9 iron, though. Typically, I would hit an 8 iron here. Again, a ton of offset, really chunky club head. You know, I pushed it and I missed it to the right of the green. I’m sure the people in the comments are just going to blame my swing, which is probably totally fair. I’m not the best golfer, but that is not my miss. My miss is left. That is not my miss. Something about these clubs I’m missing and pushing every single ball to, right? Maybe just something I need to get used to, but I think it’s something visually with the offset I just can’t necessarily commit to. Well, yet again, I need to get up and down for par with a pitching wedge. Tired of saying that. All right, that rolled out a little long. Little hard to stop a ball on these greens with a pitching wedge, but we do our best. All right, putt for the par for the bogey. All right, five over through four. Just not where you want to be, especially with some tough holes coming up. This being a 500 yardd par five. And again, I only have irons, so need a good one. Four iron off the tea. Little chunky, but we’ll get away with that. [Music] Actually, very chunky. Chunked the out of that. But that’s a good testament to these clubs. Directionally, I I can’t seem to get them online. Distance-wise, though, they’ve been extremely forgiving. Like, I chunked that forearm straight off the toe, and I genuinely think I’m going to get away with that. That’s a pretty decent shot. If I hit that same ball with my 301 CBS, it would go maybe 140 yards. But because there’s so much technology packed into this head and because the center of gravity is so low and the head is so big, you still get a good amount of distance even on your off-centered strikes. I lied. This is actually a 550 yard par five. And despite chunking that, that 4 iron still went about 215 yards. Got another four iron. We’re about 320 yards out. It’s right down the middle. That’s a great strike. Great strike. You know, that 4 iron ended up going a long long long way. I was 325 yds out and now we’re about 80 yards away. Granted, that’s with some roll out, but that actually brings up something that I don’t necessarily love about these clubs or clubs like these. Sometimes when you catch it clean, they go so far. I feel like the distance control is kind of two-pronged. One, you get away with mish hits. So, the distance you lose when you mish hit it isn’t bad. But sometimes when you catch them really clean, they just they feel like they trampoline off the club face. I had this problem with my Titus T200s a few years ago. Sometimes you just catch it so clean and it would go 30 yards longer than your typical shot. And I can already tell that could happen with these clubs. Granted, sometimes long’s better than short, but like just something to be aware of if you’re in the market. Okay, 80 yard pitching wedge. again. Partial shot. That’s it. Okay, just off the back, but like we’re putting. Not a shot I typically hit, but can’t complain about that. One thing I do want to comment on is the look of these clubs. I actually think they look really good for what they are. I don’t like how they look at a dress. They’re a little bit chunky. It’s a really thick top line, but in terms of how the club heads look in the bag, they’re actually a pretty sleek looking club considering how big and chunky they really are. Okay, for the first time today, we have a birdie putt. Not a good one, but a birdie putt. Really just want to get this in for a par. Oh, that’s pretty good. Pretty good. Oh, that’s a par. A par feels like a quadruple eagle right now. Massive par. Next up, 340 yard par4. One of the scariest holes on the course. Left is screwed. Right is screwed. Need a good T- shot here. I only have four strokes to give up or I have to give these clubs away. I think that’s out of bounds. I literally think that’s out of bounds. I cannot hit these clubs to the left. Good news is I found my ball. The bad news is I’m behind trees and just have to punch out. We got a little nine iron here. Okay, back in the fairway. Back in play. Someone explain to me with the offset of these clubs why it keeps going right. Again, I know there’s a lot of problems with my swing, but this is like so atypical. My I typically hit a draw and my miss is a pull or a hook. This is weird to see balls going right. I don’t know what it is. Going to try to draw this one to overcome that right miss. I’ve got an eight iron from 168 yards. Pin high about 15 ft right. Maybe that’s the key. It was a much better strike, too. It was actually another great testament to these clubs right there, too. Because I’ve been missing right. I really tried to draw that ball. I think if I had that exact same swing with other clubs, I would experience a pretty big right to left draw. With these clubs, that ball barely had any draw to it. It all goes back to the design of these clubs to be long and straight, which is a good thing if that’s what you’re looking for. But do note, if you’re a better player and you’re looking for some workability, you’re not going to be able to move the ball both ways very well with these clubs. That said, most golfers I know don’t care about being able to move the ball ways. We just want to hit the ball generally, roughly kind of in the direction we hope it kind of generally sort of goes. Hopefully towards the hole to some degree, which is hard to do. And I guess these clubs could help. So, we’ve got this long left to rider for a par save about 12 ft. But oh my gosh, that’s a baby snake. Wow, that’s a tiny baby snake. Get out of my way, snake. Okay, for the par. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Holy. Okay. 10 ft for a bogey. Oh my god. Oh my god. You’ve got to be kidding me. That is so bad. After that genuinely abysmal double bogey, which sucks that it’s with my putter, not even the irons that I don’t like to begin with. I’m 7 over through seven. Wait, I’m 7 over through six. Okay, that’s bad. That means I need to go two over or better through the next three holes or as soon as this video gets 200 likes, I’m giving this entire set away for free. It’s $500 on the line from you guys. I’m funding my own channel. It’s not cheap. This is a lot of pressure. Okay, par three, 203 yards. Going to try to hit that same draw. Key word there, try. Not drawing. Did not draw. Pushed it right again. Pin high to the right though in the bunker with a pitching wedge. And I have to get this up and down. Not where you want to be. Go in. Go in. Go in. That was close. I’ve got to make this for par. Like absolutely need to make this for par. Need to make this stupid a bogey. Well, just like that, I only have one stroke to give up through the next two holes. And based on how this day is going, it’s not looking good. So, if you want to enter the giveaway, unless I go one over or better for the next two holes, all you have to do is like, comment, and subscribe. And as soon as this video hits 200 likes, I’m going to be dropping the giveaway for this entire iron set for free. But let’s hope we don’t have to get there. Two holes left. Let’s see if I can go one over or better. Not only do we only have one stroke left to give up, but we now have a 430 yard par4 with irons only, which basically means I need to hit two perfect four irons just to get there. Just got to start with one good four iron though, right here. And again, pushed it out to the right. It’s all I can do with these irons. Every single shot pushes out to the right. I guess I’ll take ownership of it. Telling you something about the weight of these clubs, something about the offset. Just don’t feel like I have a good sense of where the club face is, but a pretty flawed golfer, so it could all just be me. Okay, I only hit that about 200 yards, so I’ve got about 230 left. Another 4 iron. Gotta figure out how to not make this go to the right. Oh, you could chunk it to the left. That could help. It’s going to roll out a ways, though. All right, rolled out to about pin high left of the green. We got to get up and down. Not a great strike. Something I want to call out with club reviews is they’re incredibly subjective. What might feel really good and look really good to one person might be terrible for someone else. So, take everything I say with a ton of ton of grains of salt, with a lot of grains of salt. Definitely take it with a grain of salt, probably multiple grains of salt. This is my personal reaction to these 101s. I’m also going to be launching a more traditional review, and I’m not actually playing nine holes with these clubs, so stay tuned for that. But I got to say, first impressions, these are not my favorite clubs. At the end of the video, I’m going to wrap up my review a little bit more. But eight holes in, they’re not my favorite. After some good old Texas roll out. We’re only about 5 yards short and hit 10 yards left. Easy little bump and run with the pitching wedge. Decent. Have got to make that putt. How many times have I said I’ve got to make that putt? Too many. How many times have I made it? I think zero. Okay. For the par must make. Yes, yes, yes, yes. We got a chance, baby. We got a chance, baby. Lol at me getting excited about potentially going nine over through nine. As if that is a remotely impressive accomplishment. But hey, $500 on the line here. I’ll take it. Come down to the last hole. If I bogey this hole or better, then I get to keep these clubs and probably sell them. And if I get worse than a bogey, I’m giving these things away. Problem is 440 yard par4. Once again, I don’t have a driver. Need two more good four irons here. Oh, that was the best one I’ve hit all day. Oh, that’s going to be really, really good. That’s the start we needed, baby. That’s the start we needed. Step one of hitting two great irons complete. I hit that four iron. 230 yards. We’ve only got about 205 left. I’ve got a five iron into this green. One good shot here and we might be in the clear. Not trying to get cocky or anything, but that said, tough one shot. Okay, I hit the green. We’re in the clear. I hit the green. We’re in the clear. Going to hit a nice little draw. I hope. Kind of. I think we’re dancing. We are dancing. Okay, we’re about 70 ft short, but all I need to do is three putt or better and I’m safe. Three putt or better and I’m safe. Here we go. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. I hit that so hard. Oh my gosh. Okay, two putts from there. We are good. It’s all it takes. It’s all it takes. Two putts from here. Two putts from here. Okay, should be good there. I make this. We’re in the clear. No giveaway. I miss it. We’re screwed. But pretty easy tap in here. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. I was on the green in regulation using only irons from 440 yards and I just five putted. Oh my god. Well guys, I’m giving these clubs away. I am embarrassed by that, but I got to give these clubs away. So, if you are interested in having your own set of Tacoma 101 irons, all you have to do is like, comment, and subscribe. And as soon as this video gets to 200 likes, these clubs could be all yours. Like, comment, subscribe. I am I’m so I cannot That is so painful. I just Anyway, I hope you like the video. So, I’m going to be doing this series with a bunch of club reviews, including the Kirkland Signature Irons, the Kirkland Driver, the Tacoma 301’s, the Tacoma 2011’s, and the Tacoma 101T’s. So, if you want a chance to watch future videos and have an opportunity to win these. Hopefully, I don’t have to give all of them away. But, I hope you like this series and I hope you want to stick around. Please consider liking, commenting, and subscribing to Good Old Days Golf. Remember, these are the good old days and this is Good Old Days Golf. I need to convince myself right now that these are the good old days, cuz that That was terrible. Anyway, hope you like the video.