Great feel on center hits, great forgiveness of the longer irons.

unusual shaft diameter,

I bought these clubs on a whim about 5 years ago new on ebay for 150.00 with shipping. I had read many reviews of the clubs on the feel, playability, and accuracy. These clubs are hands down the best investment I have ever made.. I wosh they still made them! I'm acutally in the process of buying another set of used m685s on ebay before they totally vanish off the face of the earth. Amazing club, amazing value!

I'm a 65 year old guy that resembles Jay Pritchett on Modern Family (big, strong and out of shape)I've been playing with Callaway Big Bertha's for about five years because I felt I couldn't handle forged irons anymore.
I had Mizuno TZoids which were great prior to and wanted to try a forged iron set one more time.
The M685's are like a dream come true.
Every iron shot flies far and true (8 iron 150 yards, keep in mind I'm old!)
I wish there was a way to make people aware of the quality of these clubs.

I have been using this review site since buying my first set of new irons (Comp Ez) in 1990s. Since then I have have over 10 different sets & the nearest I got to wanting to post a review was for TM 200 series irons - very good clubs. My most recent purchase however has compelled me to make a review; the club in question MacGregor Mactec M685 Forged Cavity back Irons. I am 12 handicap - a relatively short hitter (6 iron @ 145 yards)I prefer less offset and mid-sized heads so these seemed right. I have always had steel shafts but a recent trip to Ping HO (i tried I15 irons steel & graphite)convinced me that it was time to move to graphite. To cut a long story short I have got a set LH of the M685s with stock YS Graphite shafts 4-PW for wait-for-it, £47 including postage! These clubs as other reviewers have commented are absolue keepers. The foregivness is moderate I reckon anyone under 15 handicap can benefit however they are a joy to look at at address the brushed forged heads are just the right size and when you hit the ball you realise what golfs best kept secret is. I have looked on ebay and sets are still going for nowt. Take my advice & get a set while you can!

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From start to finish Ping Eye2, Comp EZ, ISI Be Cu, V Foil 1025s, TM 200 RAC OS2, R7XD, Wilson RM Forged, R7, FTs, Titleist 762s

Very Good at putting the ball in the little hole.

I like golf tiger woods style- hoes after the holes!!

I played the x12s for years, never could come close to the precision of the club with the rifle 5.5. This iron is as sweet and precise a club as I've hit, and it has made me look forward to hitting the irons. The x12s had their good and bad days, but the short irons always looked too thick to me. They required a certain kind of swing. The m685s are perfect for the pronation kind of swing and the quality of compression provides instant feedback. I love being able to address the ball cupped close to the hosel, and ripping through it with full pronation in the downswing. Or, you can hood these down and get a coming draw to reach deep left pin positions.
The P wedge allows you various calibrations in tempering knock downs to fit the yardage. In other words, if you're swing is grooved and you are sharp with your wedges you now have an added weapon in your arsenal.

The rifle shafts shoot the well struck shot on a boring trajectory, a shot that the x12s simply don't have with the standard firm black graphite shafts that were popular in 1995.

The upgraded grips allow for full hand engagement no matter what your grip preference. You will get a feel with the entire hand allowing you various softer feels to tight pin positions.

The M685 encourage you to develop your iron talents and to bring this heart of the game to the fore.

I bought these clubs about a year ago off ebay at a great price- Man!! If you want to shape the ball-- hit high or low --These are the clubs--For the price you can't beat these irons-- Solid irons and soft off the face-- You must have some swing speed but you can launch the long irons!! Don't spend 600.00 or more when u can find these on ebay cheap--Quality irons for 0-5 handicappers!! You won;t regret buying these clubs

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Cobra 2300, cleveland CG4

Golf is my passion. I am a high school golfer, and besides my family and god, I have to say golf is the love of my life. I usually don't write club reviews. I feel it is necessary to for these. I want to begin with the stock shaft and grips.

Shaft: A stock Royal Precision Rifle Flighted 4.5 or 5.5 is money. I have a very fast swing, to give you an idea I hit my P-Wedge 138 yards. Knowing my swing speed, I chose to purchase the 5.5's. They produce a high ball flight, but extremely controllable. If it's a windy day in San Diego, I simply move the ball back in my stance and slightly open it.

Stock Grip: The stock grip is the golf pride multi compound and there is no better grip. I purchased some Titleist Vokey Wedges that came equipped with Tour Velvets. I thought these were great, but when I got my multi compound I instantly changed the tour velvets. Very grippy and produce excellent feel.

Now for the performance of the Club. To truly experience everything these clubs have to offer, you should be an above average to excellent ball striker. This means you hit most of your irons solid, and hit more than fifty percent of greens. If you fall into this category, there is truly no other iron. When I get 300 dollars for christmas, it is important to do lots of research on my purchase. I looked at every forged iron on the market. I then decided to try out the Titleist 755 at a local golf shop. After I was done, the pro handed me a 685. The feeling was underscribable. Found a set the next day on Ebay for 220. As I said before, to truly experience what these have to offer you should be a very good ball striker. When I bought these, I was not. If you are a mid handicapper, buying forged cavity or musclebacks will improve your swing and force you to make better contact. That is exactly what these do. My swing had become much more fundamentally sound.

Workability:

If you like to work the ball, these irons will please you. Hitting a controlled draw or fade is relatively easy with most forged cavity backs. It doesn't depend on the clubs, but on your swing. The thing I like most is the ability to hit a draw to a back left pin location and stop it after one hop. This can be done with a five iron! I can hit my five iron 230 yards and stop it after one bounce. I have spun back 6 irons on soft green from 210 out. If you are serious about playing golf, or play in tournaments like me, pairing these irons with a three or four piece ball is best. I recommend the new Callaway Tour Ix. Absolutely the most durable premium ball out their and same or better price than ProV.

Overall, You can not go wrong with these Irons. Much better than irons that cost three or four times more.

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Titleist 755
Callaway X-Forged
Taylormade R7 Tp
Taylormade Rac MB

these clubs end my 15 years searches for replacement. I like the feel immediately in the pro shop after some practice swing. Love them more on the course. Great setup, great control together with great forgivness, clear feedback but only minor distance lose when not hitting solid, feels crispy rather than butter soft, awesome distance. Not pretty looking though. These club can improve your game and skill at the same time.

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almost everything

Sorry, no place else to park this review... and I felt these irons deserved a plug. Game improvement irons, mid-sized, made from some hot stuff... maraging steel on the faces, I think... Sort of hi-tech looking, I find them to be very attractive. Mine have S flex factory graphite.
GREAT irons! I am a bit of a club junkie, and have tried many, many irons. These will be in the bag for a long time. Even though I shoot mostly in the high to mid 70's, I find that these irons are the easiest to hit, most accurate irons I have ever had. They are also surprisingly workable. Length is great too, around 7-10 yards longer than my previous set (Nike Pro Combo OS, good sticks). Well balanced, a bit bulky top lines to some, to me they look just great. And the ball explodes off of the face with a great sound and feel. Did I mention they are SUPER accurate? :-) Stock graphite is just fine... a little hard to find in S flex, and I paid $129 on Ebay... a steal, IMO. These irons are just a joy to hit. I understand that Greg Norman plays this model, and he can play any MacGregor he wants (he recently purchased a big chunk of the company). FYI, I tried these irons due to my satisfaction with the NVG2 Driver and 3 wood, also great stuff.

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Most everything except for the very newest. I have never hit a better set regardless of the price.