Kamui Works sent me their all new TEIOO Mid Air iron to dem0 and give feedback on. This is a hybrid performance iron made for the average golfer wanting the ultimate in forgiveness and distance. With lofts 2-3* stronger than most average golfer models (22* 5 iron) and an ultra low center of gravity, players can gain more than a whole club distance by using the TEIOO.  You are an average to slower swinger but want to hit your 5 iron 185 yards? Sure, the TEIOO can reach those distances with the strong loft and longer recommended club length (38.5″ 5 iron).  The high COR Maraging face is very thin producing ultra high ball speeds for lots of carry. The long irons feature a hybrid style head which progresses to a more traditional iron style head from the mid to short irons.

This iron is in fact a departure from Kamui clubs as TSG customers know them. We’ve given the thumbs up to both their 456 Silver and 420 drivers as well as their Asiri Fairway wood, all of which are hand made to custom specs. The new TEIOO iron doesn’t offer the same custom specs as the woods since it is a maraging steel iron that cannot be altered much from its original design and specs. This will appeal to a different crowd unlike the woods which have attracted scratch golfers to average golfers looking for great feel and performance made specifically to the customers specs.

Click on Read More to see our review and more pictures…

Not Quite an EGG but similar concept…

The Kamui TEIOO does look very much like a utility iron and has taken a page out of the design book of PRGR and its EGG iron, especially in the longer irons. The wider sole really appeals to the average golfer who hits fat shots and digs a lot, unable to make pure contact and losing distance. While not as wide as a the EGG iron, the TEIOO has a wider sole than the typical driving utility iron and features trailing edge relief for versatility in most lies.  The head is shallow, featuring a longer heel to toe face, typically how average golfers miss (towards the heel or toe). The shallow face and wide sole allow the TEIOO to place the CG very low in this hollow head maraging iron. This coupled with the strong lofts, and longer lengths create a maximum carry ball with lot of forgiveness.

Surprisingly sets up well…

The black cavity or lack there of as the the TEIOO is a hollow head iron unlike the scooped out EGG, actually gives the illusion of a regular iron when looking at the silver topline. The offset is not extreme as one might think for an iron touted as max forgiveness and distance. The 7 iron you see on the left is actually reasonably pleasing to the eye. The heads keep the same design with the sole becoming progressively narrower all the way down to the pitching wedge. The TEIOO has 3 wedges, a 45* A wedge, 48* A/S wedge and a 56* Sand wedge which no longer have the hollow head but instead an undercut cavity design. Three wedges are definitely needed to fill the gap as the PW is an ultra strong 40* but i wonder why they did not make the A/S a 50* to make a more balanced gap between the A and S wedge.

Muted Feel but good anti vibration…

So how does the TEIOO feel and perform? As I always note in every review, feel is very subjective and many factors can affect feel including the material of the club, the design, the grind, the shaft, and the player’s ability to hit it pure.  Typically Maraging steel has a hot lively feel to it since it is made thinner than stainless or forged carbon steel. It is an alternative to a titanium face on an iron and creates similar type of feel and performance. My initial concern was that the hollow design of this head might feel quite dead like some hollow design heads can feel these days. I would have to say feel wise, the TEIOO is quite neutral/muted. It is not by any means hard feeling but feed back is masked by the hollow head of the iron. For some people this can be a good thing as even mis hits do not feel harsh in any way. I should note that the demos I had were shafted with specially made Fujikura double kick graphite shafts specifically made for Kamui. Graphite aids irons in absorbing vibrations and the stock shaft certainly played a part here.

Easy to launch, easy to hit long…

So how does the iron perform? Slower swingers and senior players will appreciate the TEIOO with stock shaft as it is rather light and very easy to swing. The shallow face makes it very easy to hit the sweetspot and sent a high trajectory ball with a lot of carry. Strong lofts is very common these days in Japan but most strong loft sets have a 24* 5 iron whereas the Kamui has a 22* 5 iron.  I hit my 2008 ONOFF 5 iron around 165 and my current XXIO 5 iron around 170-175. I can hit the TEIOO 5 iron nearly 190y thanks to the 2* stronger loft and 0.5″ longer shaft (38.5″ for the  5 iron but i should note the other irons are standard length ie 6 iron 37.5″, 7 iron 37″ etc). The ball jumps off the maraging face with a lot of authority and carries quite high. Choosing the right shaft, ie weight and kick wise will affect the trajectory somewhat but this iron is made to go high. The wide sole definitely adds to its forgiveness. It is harder to dig this club due to it’s width and this allows even steeper swingers better contact. This iron still performs on mis hits thanks to the hollow head design which creates high MOI.

Looks are mixed but undoubtedly performs…

So whats the  bottom line? The Kamui TEIOO for many may not be a very good looking iron, but for many average golfers the looks will be secondary to its forgiving distance performance.  Without a doubt this iron targets the player wanting a max forgiveness max distance iron, especially the slower swinger or the player who does not play well with more traditional irons. While the stock shaft had acceptable feel and control, I found the graphics too busy. Luckily the TEIOO are available as heads only or custom built with any shaft you please.  Look for the irons to be in  our pro shop this week!

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