Hi JG,
My two cents --- Given your situation, I would strongly suggest then that you go to a fitter that can set you up outdoors with the trackman -- our regional fitting centre for Titleist has this set up, plus the various shaft options for you to consider/test.

I know that you just got a blast of winter again, but if you can book an appointment with one of these fitters, I think you will be much more satisfied. You will get the trackman feedback, plus the real life feedback of watching the ball flight, trajectory, etc. This would help alleviate any future concerns that you might have about whether you made the correct choice in the simulation booth, etc.

I agree with Dino...
need to do a proper fitting.

Yeah, I was fit in a indoor simulator at the local PGA Superstore for the same set of irons you're talking about. In the store I hit them really well, and managed to get around with them on the course for a long while. However, I went to Sea Island's Golf Performance Center and had a fitting outdoors with the trackman and came to realize that the shaft that I had originally (X100 +1/2") wasn't quite right, so upon changing to the Project X 6.0 at +3/4", I gained some more distance and my ball flight was much improved.

The AP1's come 2* on the 4 iron and 5* on the PW stouter I believe . Might be something to consider .

Hey JR,

You need to ask yourself a few questions before you start thinking about adjusting to stronger lofts on your clubs. The issues you presented may not be due to the equipment. For instance, are you consistently hitting the center of the clubface? This is one of the most important factors in hitting your best/longest shots when hitting blade irons such as your new 716 MBs. Also, what about your swing speed. What is your clubhead speed for a 5 iron...for your driver? Also, are you a big person?...or of smaller stature? Do your have the physical abilities that will allow you to hit a 200+ yard five iron? Regarding your divots, are they in front of the ball? Also, are they of consistent depth and width? I would explore these factors first before you consider thinkering with your clubs. You should also consider you are in the cold northeast. Your daytime temperatures there are probably in the 50's-60 degree range. You're losing 1-2 club lengths in distance as a result. Once you get a handle on these issues, you should then see a certified PGA teaching professional and have them give you an assessment of your swing. It could be that you have some fundamental flaws in your swing that are inhibiting your distance. In my opinion I would not consider adjusting your irons until I addressed all these factors first. Good luck on your journey.

Best Wishes,
DV

your game sounds a lot like mine and I did have good results indoors when I hit them. I went to a fitter outdoors and hit off the grass......totally different story....I played the MB's for a year and went against what the trackman told me. I was told I should be in the Ap2 and the results on the trackman proved it. I loved the MB's and thought my game would get good enough where I could use them all the time. With the MB's, you have to strike it pure each time in order to have a lot of success on the course. The Ap2's allow much more flexibility in real life situations......try the CB's as well. I have a set of CB's and love them and they play close to the AP2's in my opinion but have migrated to the AP2's full time....my game is more consistent and mishits feel half as harsh and fly further then when i missed with the MB's. When you miss with an MB, the results can be baaaad!! good luck, but remember...if the AP2 is good enough for Speith, i think you can use em too!

Hello J, you may be hitting shorter because the lofts on the mb's are not as strong as with other company's iron. I play the mb's myself, I'm a 7 handicap and 63 yrs old. What I did was ask Titleist to bend them stronger for me. They will do that up to 2 degrees which will make the lofts more comparable to other companies and will give you added yardage. Also regarding the simulator, I never make a buying decision from hitting with the simulator, I'm old school and want to either hit clubs on the range or the track before I make a decision to buy.

Here is my 2 cents that went through both. In the indoor fitting, I hit the MB's off a mat in perfect conditions. The numbers were solid. It sounds like we have the exact same golf game as well. I decided to go to Sleepy Hollow GC and get fitted there, on a trackman, outside hitting off the grass. The numbers were radically different. I purchased the MB's anyway and actually sold them 3 months later, not because they were not great clubs, but I went to the Ap2's, and my game improved by 4-6 shots a side.

I do not strike the ball perfectly and probably hit the perfect spot on the club 1 out of 3 shots. Wen you miss with the MB's, the result is baaaad. When you miss with an Ap2, the misses are not so bad....its night and day for me as an amateur. I played blades as a young kid, but now that im a bit older, I see the technology in todays cavity back irons like the Ap2 and it really works. I was always a guy who thought all the tech was "just sales talk", but in my case, it really worked.

go get fit outside by a certified fitter, not a guy at a box store that does this work part time. you will see the difference

It'll always come back to a proper fitting. As far as the mis-hits on the new MB's, I'd be careful. Again, Trackman would be the real way to make sure that you're hitting your numbers, but I didn't notice that the MB's were magic at correcting mis-hits.

Proper fitting for sure. I have a set of 714MBs and I would say I hit the balls maybe 5 yards farther in a sim compared to on course. I contribute this mainly to the different balls your hitting. I play a Pro V1 but Golfsmith had some form of srxn that are made to go far (that's how they sell clubs).
Also, there is a difference between turf and grass.

Get the fitting...look at alternative shafts. These can have an impact on ball flight and trajectory...especially for a 7. You are almost fine tuning.

Proper Fitting bud also going to a demo pays off dividends as well

The Pngs are definitely loft-jacked, 2 degrees stronger than the MBs. Yeah, maybe you want to have your MBs bent stronger, but I would tell you to not get caught up in how far you hit your 7 iron compared to how you used to. All that matters is that you hit your 7 iron where you want to, as far as you want to, time after time. When someone asks me "what'd you hit there?" I simply answer "my 160 club". Other club makers have 9 irons with the same loft as my 7 iron, and I feel bad for the guys who buy them, and think that they suddenly hit the ball 15 yards farther than they did last month. Not to mention the huge GAP between their PW and 56* sand wedge.

Hi,
I am playing also the 714MB and I love them.
I am hitting them and other clubs outside better than on a simulator inside.
They are not the longer clubs but shows consistant distance.
To see a fitter should be good. Decrease loft by 2 degrees should give you around 5 yards. Also check the lie.
Good season