The Takomo 201 MKii Irons are a Very Good Value

The Takomo 201 MKII and 201T MKII sit between the more forgiving 101 MKII and Takomo’s more demanding 301 forged players’ irons.

Think of the 201 MKII as the more forgiving players-distance option.

The 201T MKII is the more compact, more traditional, more player-focused version.

Both are hollow-body irons. Both are designed to give you a blend of distance, feel, and forgiveness. But the 201T has weaker lofts, less offset, a shorter blade length, and a more compact profile overall.

For this test, I had the 201 MKII with KBS Tour Lite shafts in stiff flex, and the 201T MKII had KBS Tour shafts in stiff flex.

That shaft difference matters, and I’ll get to that in a minute.

First Impressions of the New Takomo 201 Irons

The biggest surprise with the new Takomo MKII lineup is how similar everything looks.

I had the 101, 201, and 201T all lined up together, and honestly, it was tougher than expected to tell them apart.

The differences are there, but they’re subtle.

The 201T is more compact. The 101 is a little bigger. The 201 sits right in the middle.

But it’s not like going from a giant game-improvement iron to a tiny blade.

Takomo has done a good job of creating a cohesive lineup where each model looks like it belongs to the same family.

That’s especially helpful for the 201 and 201T.

If you’re looking down at the ball, neither of these feels particularly intimidating. The 201T is clearly the more player-oriented of the two, but it doesn’t look impossible to hit.

And the 201 doesn’t look overly chunky or like a disguised game-improvement iron.

Both look clean, premium, and in my opinion, better than their price tag would suggest.

And frankly, I’d say the same about their entry-level 101 mkii irons as well.

Feel: Takomo 201 vs. 201T Mkii

This is where the difference became more obvious.

The 201 MKII feel good.

It really does.

But the 201T MKII feels better on a perfectly struck shot.

There’s a more satisfying compression to it. A more precise sensation. More of that “oh yeah, that was it” feeling you get when you catch a player’s iron exactly how you’re supposed to.

Frankly, I’ve missed that feeling a bit lately.

My current gamers are the PXG 0311 XP Gen 7 irons, and I love them. They’re forgiving, long, and extremely playable.

But they don’t feel as good as the 201T MKII on a perfect strike.

The 201T feels more akin to the Mizuno JPX irons I used to play. There’s more feedback. More reward when you hit it well. And yes, more…let’s call it information, when you don’t.

Some of that may be the head.

Some of it is almost certainly the shaft.

The 201T set I tested had KBS Tour stiff shafts, while the 201 had KBS Tour Lite stiff shafts. The 201 and 101 both felt noticeably lighter to me. I don’t know exactly how much of that is the head and how much is the shaft, but the difference was obvious.

The KBS Tour shaft in the 201T gave the club a more substantial feel throughout the swing, and I think that contributed to why I liked it so much on those well-struck shots.

Are the Takomo 201 Irons Forgiving? 

Here’s what really surprised me:

I didn’t feel like I was giving up a ton of forgiveness by going to the 201T.

To be clear, the 201 MKII is the more forgiving iron.

If you’re looking strictly at the spec sheet and trying to make the safer choice, the 201 is probably the answer.

But on the course, the difference wasn’t as dramatic as I expected.

The 201T is still moderately forgiving for an iron like this. You can absolutely tell when you miss one significantly. That’s when you feel the vibration and unpleasantness in the hands.

But on reasonable misses, it didn’t punish me as much as I expected.

That’s the thing I kept coming back to during my round, where I split my set: every other club switched from 201 and 201T.

Every time I pulled a 201T, I liked the way it looked. I liked the way it felt. And I didn’t feel like I was making some massive sacrifice in playability.

What is Distance Like on the Takomo 201 MKii?

The 201 MKII is a little longer than the T version.

For me, I saw about 2 to 3 yards more per club with the 201 compared to the 201T on the range.

That’s not nothing, but it also isn’t a huge difference.

For what it’s worth, I saw about another 2-3 yard gain on top of that with the 101 irons. So call it a 5-7 yard difference across the 101-201 range.

And a lot of that is due to loft.

The 101 MKII has a 29-degree 7-iron. 201 MKII is 31 degrees, and the 201T MKII is 33 degrees.

So the 201 should go farther than the T iteration.

The more important question is whether the extra distance is worth giving up some of the feel and precision of the 201T.

For me, I don’t think it was.

I’d rather take the 201T’s feel and slightly more traditional flight, even if it means giving up a couple of yards per club. 

But that’s personal.

For a lot of golfers, especially mid-handicappers who want a little more help, the 201 may be the better fit.

How Do They Perform on the Course?

The range is one thing.

The course is another.

And on the course, I preferred the 201T.

As I mentioned, I played a split set of the 201 and 201T, and across the board, I found myself looking forward to hitting the 201T more.

That doesn’t mean the 201 was bad. It wasn’t.

The 201 MKII is a very good iron. It feels solid, it’s easier to hit, and it gives you a little more distance.

But the 201T had more personality.

It felt better. It gave me more feedback. And it made good shots feel more rewarding.

And unlike some clubs for the better player, I didn’t feel like I had to be perfect with it, either.  If the 201T felt amazing on pure shots but terrible on everything else, I’d tell most people to avoid it.

But that wasn’t my experience.

You still get a little modern help. You still get some ball speed. You still get enough forgiveness that a decent swing can produce a decent result.

Takomo 201 MKII vs. 201T MKII: Which Should You Buy?

Here’s the simplest way I’d break it down:

The 201 MKII is the practical choice.

The 201T MKII is the fun choice. Or at least it is if you’re a halfway decent ballstriker.

Emphasis on the “halfway” when it comes to me personally.

The 201 is more forgiving. It’s a little longer. It has a bit more help built in. It’s the one I’d recommend to more golfers without hesitation.

The 201T is more precise. It feels better on great strikes. It gives you more feedback. It’s the one I personally enjoyed more.

If you’re a mid-handicapper who wants to move into something that looks and feels more like a player’s iron, but you still want some help, start with the 201.

If you’re a better ball striker, or you simply care more about feel and control than squeezing out every last yard, the 201T might be the way to go.

I think the 201T is particularly compelling for the 8-12 handicap who is looking to take their scores lower. They want a club that can provide precision and control, but still needs something with at least a little bit of forgiveness.

Takomo 201T MKII vs. PXG 0311 XP Gen 7

This is an imperfect comparison, because they’re not really built for the same golfer.

My PXG 0311 XP Gen 7 irons are distance-oriented, forgiving, and extremely playable. They’re designed to make the game easier. And honestly? They do.

The Takomo 201T MKII is more of a player’s iron.

The PXGs are easier to hit. They’re more explosive. They’re more forgiving. And they’re much longer.

But the 201T feels better when you absolutely flush one, and they have noticeably more control.

And that’s the tradeoff.

With the PXGs, I get consistency and forgiveness.

With the Takomo 201T, I get more feedback and a more rewarding sensation on my best swings.

I’m not saying I’m dumping my PXGs tomorrow.

But I am saying the 201T made a stronger case than I expected.

Takomo 201T MKII vs. Mizuno JPX

The 201T reminded me more of the Mizuno JPX irons I used to play than anything else I’ve had in the bag recently.

That’s not to say they feel exactly like a Mizuno.

But the overall experience was similar: clean look, rewarding feel, enough help to be playable, but not so much that you lose the feedback that better players tend to want.

Oh, and they do it for quite a bit less than Mizuno or other big name brands, at $679 MSRP.

If you’ve played JPX irons and liked that blend of feel and forgiveness, the 201T MKII may be the Takomo iron that feels most familiar.

Who Should Play the 201 MKII?

The 201 MKII is probably the best fit for the largest number of golfers in this part of the Takomo lineup.

It’s ideal for the mid-handicapper who wants something that looks cleaner than a traditional game-improvement iron but doesn’t want to give up too much forgiveness.

It’s also a good choice if you’re currently playing something like the Takomo 101, Stix Perform, or another more forgiving iron and you want to move into something a little sleeker.

The 201 gives you a nice balance of distance, forgiveness, and looks.

It’s the safe choice.

And I don’t mean that as an insult.

Who Should Play the 201T MKII?

The 201T MKII is for the golfer who values feel.

You don’t need to be a scratch player to enjoy these, but you do need to be honest about your ball striking.

If your misses are all over the face, the 201T probably isn’t the right move.

But if you make decent contact most of the time and you want something that feels more precise without being brutally unforgiving, the 201T is very compelling.

This is the iron for the golfer who wants a little more control, a little more feedback, and a little more reward when they put a good swing on it.

Final Thoughts on the Takomo 201 Irons

The Takomo 201 MKII is probably the iron I should recommend to more people.

It’s forgiving enough, long enough, clean-looking enough, and approachable enough to make sense for a wide range of mid-handicap golfers.

But the 201T MKII is the one I’d rather play.

That’s what surprised me.

I expected the 201T to be the iron I admired but didn’t necessarily want in the bag. Instead, I found myself preferring it on the course.

It felt better. It looked great. And I didn’t feel like I was giving up a huge amount of forgiveness to play it.

For the golfer who wants the safest choice, go with the 201 MKII. Or even the 101 if you want maximum forgiveness and distance in the Takomo lineup.

For the golfer who wants the most rewarding choice and has enough ball striking to justify it, the 201T MKII is excellent.

Either way, Takomo has done a very good job here.

These are clean, modern, surprisingly playable irons that give golfers a legitimate alternative to spending double the money on a big-name set.

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A solid all around set of irons at a great price

9.0 Excellent

Looking for a pair of irons you can grow into, without breaking the bank? Both the Takomo 201 and 201T mkii irons may be the perfect fit, depending on what you goals are.

The Good

1. Really good looking irons that exude confidence
2. Both 201 and 201T are consistent and feel great
3. Solid price point for what you get

The Bad

1. Not a ton of differentiation between the line
2. Being DTC it's tough to test the clubs, and return policy isn't the best

• Presentation 9
• Performance 9
• Price 9
• Personal Affinity 9