Sub 70 699 Pro v2 Irons

Sub 70 Golf doesn’t introduce a new piece of equipment unless it’s an upgrade worthy of replacing something or addresses a new need within their product lineup. This keeps them out of the annual “new equipment” release wars that drive up marketing and production expenses. Doing so allows Sub 70 to provide a better value to their customer. Well, after seeing plenty of success with their original 699 irons lineup, the second evolution of the Sub 70 699 irons is here! One of the major changes is that there’s a bigger difference in profiles between the Sub 70 699 Pro v2 irons and standard 699 v2 model.

While the two 699 irons share some design elements such as a hollow body, added forgiveness, a channel back, and two finishes, they’re still very different clubs. The 699 Pro is a “player’s distance” iron that features a more compact profile for better players that still want a little extra distance and some forgiveness.

The Looks

First and foremost, the new Sub 70 699 Pro v2 irons are available in two finishes – satin and black. The black finish is a new “diamond like carbon” (DLC) coating that is eight times stronger than steel. It’s more scratch and fade resistant so the finish will hold up much longer than your typical black golf club finish. The back of the club has a notable aesthetic difference from its predecessor. Sub 70 cut a deeper channel across the back of the head to improve forgiveness. This allows Sub 70 to move more weight to the perimeter of the club to enlarge the sweet spot. There’s also a Sub 70 logo “badge” that not only gives a different look, but also has a functional purpose that we’ll discuss in the next section.

From address, the 699 Pro v2 irons have a pretty typical “player’s distance” look. The profile is somewhat compact (more compact than the original version) with a very slight offset. Though the top line is a bit fuller to accommodate the hollow body design, it isn’t overwhelming behind the ball.

How Does it Feel?

Feel is one of the major areas I feel like the v2 Sub 70 699 Pro irons differentiate themselves from the original. Overall, the new version feels a lot more precise and solid. While I won’t tell you it’s mistakable for a forged butter knife blade, the feel is definitely closer to a forged feel than you’d normally expect from a hollow-body distance iron. This can be attributed to the badge I mentioned earlier. The badge, along with two “reinforcing ribs” provide more rigidity in the head. Not only does this make the club feel more solid, but it also allows more energy to be transferred back into the ball. More energy back into the ball means more distance.

Turf interaction is nice and tight. The 699 Pro’s narrower sole allows for more playabilty for better ball strikers, but it also makes for a crispier turf interaction. Again, it’s not a butter knife so the sole isn’t prone to digging, but it will allow you to comfortably manipulate the club and shape shots.

How Does it Sound?

Normally this is where I say “there’s a certain sound characteristic with hollow body irons that they all have.”  Interestingly, I don’t find that to be the case with the version 2 Sub 70 699 Pro irons. A clean pick off the center of the face is very reminiscent of a forged iron’s “whack”. If you deviate from the center a bit, the sound turns into more of a “whap”. In my testing of the 699 Pro v2, I didn’t find any trace of that “slappy” sound that often accompanies a hollow-body iron. I would go so far as to say this is by far one of the best sounding hollow-body irons I’ve hit to date.

On-Course Performance

It’s safe to say that the Sub 70 699 Pro v2 irons performed exactly as advertised. The center of gravity (CG) is lower in the head to help get the ball off the ground a bit easier, but the stronger lofts prevent the ball from ballooning. Assuming you have the right shaft for your game in the clubs, the flight is really powerful with a lot of jump off the face. You can watch my first experiences with the new 699 Pros below, but I was seeing strong distance that came quite a bit easier because of the forgiveness built into the club. On moderate misses, I was definitely experiencing shot results I certainly didn’t deserve and would normally be severely punished for with my gamers.

In addition to the distance and forgiveness, I found the “workability” to be really impressive. While the originals were definitely workable, I found the 699 Pro version 2 irons to be much more “shot maker friendly”. Flighting the ball up and down was easy which was a big difference to me. Being able to hit low running shots, punches, etc came much more naturally in the updated version of the 699 Pro irons. Of course, shaping right and left if necessary is also easy. In short, I truly believe there are more shots built into these irons than the previous versions.

Final Thoughts – Sub 70 699 Pro v2 Irons

I’m not sure what I expected going into this review. The original Sub 70 699 Pro irons were impressive, and this is a category of club I’m not sure how much room there is for evolution in performance. I thought the biggest changes would really be in appearance along with some updates in sound and feel. What I found was a more versatile player’s iron that really improved in all areas. It’s long, workable, relatively forgiving, and has a really nice sound and feel. Overall, I think better players that like to work the ball, but want some extra distance and a little larger sweet spot will get along well with the 2023 version of Sub 70 699 Pro irons.

Stock Sub 70 699 Pro v2 Irons Specs

I went out to The 70 to test the new 699 v2 irons and you can watch that below:

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