“The ZB Forged was the cavity-back of the Z-Blade family, offering forged feel with a touch of forgiveness. A rung-2 set for a repeatable striker; combos well with the ZM in the short irons.”

The ZB (Z Blend) Forged replaced the Titleist 695 CB Forged as the cavity-back half of a mid-2000s forged players pairing, sold alongside the ZM Forged muscleback blade. Both share a distinctive Z-shaped cutout in the back that redistributes mass heel-to-toe to center the CG, but the ZB set is deliberately blended head-to-head: the PW, 9 and 8 irons are cut essentially as blades, the 7 and 6 sit transitionally between blade and cavity, and the 5 through 3 lean toward full cavity-back. That progressive construction lets one carbon-steel forged set feel consistent from a near-blade wedge through a more forgiving long iron.

Consistently well-reviewed by recreational users (4.3/5 across 16 reviews on golfreview.com) and still referenced on GolfWRX classic-club threads for its blended-head concept, but it never developed the sustained hunt-it-down demand of a true cult classic like its Mizuno players-cavity contemporaries - a solid, quietly-retired forged offering rather than a coveted one.

Low-to-mid handicap ball strikers who want a workable, soft-feeling forged iron with a bit of help specifically in the long irons; not a fit for anyone needing forgiveness through the whole bag.

• Replaced the Titleist 695 CB Forged in the lineup.
• Sold as a matched pair with the ZM Forged muscleback blade under Titleist's 'Z' forged branding.
• Progressive head design across the set: near-blade PW/9/8, transitional 7/6, cavity-back 5-3, all sharing the same Z-shaped weight-redistribution cutout.
• Rated 4.3 out of 5 across 16 user reviews on golfreview.com.
• Forged from carbon steel, consistent with Titleist's traditional soft-feel forged-iron construction.

Launched alongside its blade sibling the ZM Forged as Titleist's mid-2000s answer to Mizuno's MP-32/MP-33 pairing and Callaway's X-Tour; replaced the 695 CB Forged and was itself eventually succeeded by the AP2/MB iron generation.

Complete steel sets typically run $150-280 used in 2026 depending on shaft and condition (original set MSRP was near $999 per catalog data); it holds value like a solid, unremarkable forged set rather than a sought-after one.