J40 DPC Iron - Pay It Forward Testing/Review
1/16/2012 - Range Session
Short Iron Review
I went out with the mindset to spend some time on the range with the J40s, and to compare them to my set of V2s and 2.0s. My original plan was to hit about 15-20 balls with each 3,6,9 iron of each set and put together my thoughts. Didnt got as originially planned and I ended up staying a bit longer and really tried to put the J40s through their paces.
During a typical round of golf for me, the 8 and 9 irons of the clubs I am playing get quite a workout during a round. 150-130 yard shots in to the green are quite common for me, and depending on the set, that is where I play the 8 or 9. From my round yesterday, I found that the 9iron from the J40s is a club that I was seeing 130-140 yards out of, and was curious to see if that distance, coupled with the nice high ball flight I was seeing would hold true again for me today.
After a warm up, I began hitting easy shots with the J40 9iron. Not trying to get after it, just a nice smooth swing. In my experiences with forged irons, a nice, smooth swing gets me the best results. So...that’s where I started. I took aim at a flag that was measured to 150 yards out with a large green-like area surrounding it. My shots were consistently landing on the front edge or just short of it. The high ball flight offered a nice trajectory downward in to the green, and from what I saw on the course yesterday as well as my shots this afternoon, would have me holding the greens. The J40s seemed to get the ball up in the air quicker than what I saw with the V2s and 2.0s, with a much different trajectory. The V2s had a lower flight in general, and the 2.0s started lower, rose to a nice height then descended down (obviously giving more distance). For a shot in to the green, the ball flight of the J40s was a beauty, that wouldnt have me worried of running off the back of the green.
Consistency: One thing that I have struggled with in the past with forged irons is finding consistency with them. I am not saying the J40s cured that, because my misses were still there. I found myself with a few fat shots and a few thinned as well, but found as I did yesterday, that even with a miss, the results werent very penalizing. My shots that were fat, still got in to the air quickly, just suffered a bit of distance loss. With my thinned shots, the miss was primarily a lower line drive type of ball flight. Obviously, I would love to not have those misses, but the forgiveness of the J40s allowed a miss to still have decent enough results to move on to the next shot.
From the Rough; Have to face the facts on this one, I usually have more shots from the rough during a round than I like. So when looking in to irons, one thing that always creeps in to my mind is how does it preform from the thicker grass. Down here in Florida, we have some rough that is just downright brutal. I found a thick part of the range and threw down some balls to see how it worked out. The leading edge on the J40s just looks like it will cut through whatever lie you are going to hit out of, a similar edge as the V2s, and one I expected to have good results with. The J40s didnt dissapoint from the rough, as I was able to get the ball out of the thicker grass with good results. My only issue here with them is that at times I was getting a bit deep and hitting the ground first rather than focusing hitting the ball first, then the turf. I generally take some good sized divots, and the J40s reminded me a lot of the V2s in that I was throwing out some chunks of earth when hitting from the rough. (Note to whoever gets them next; I gave them a good bath after I walked off the range
)
Overall Thoughts: From the first time I held the J40 9iron, I felt that I would get along great with it. I hit a lot of shots with my short irons during my rounds, and like most people, am very comfortable with them. When going to my first set of forged irons in the V2s, I immediately found a nice comfort zone with the shorter irons even though the thin top line and smaller profile seemed intimidating. I was glad to see that comfort level carried over the J40s. I feel that too often, people will look at a forged iron and think “I dont have the game to hit those”, but the Dual Pocket Cavity on the J40 irons offers a great feel, and some added forgiveness that I think a lot of people will like.
1/16/2012 - Range Session
Short Iron Review
I went out with the mindset to spend some time on the range with the J40s, and to compare them to my set of V2s and 2.0s. My original plan was to hit about 15-20 balls with each 3,6,9 iron of each set and put together my thoughts. Didnt got as originially planned and I ended up staying a bit longer and really tried to put the J40s through their paces.
During a typical round of golf for me, the 8 and 9 irons of the clubs I am playing get quite a workout during a round. 150-130 yard shots in to the green are quite common for me, and depending on the set, that is where I play the 8 or 9. From my round yesterday, I found that the 9iron from the J40s is a club that I was seeing 130-140 yards out of, and was curious to see if that distance, coupled with the nice high ball flight I was seeing would hold true again for me today.
After a warm up, I began hitting easy shots with the J40 9iron. Not trying to get after it, just a nice smooth swing. In my experiences with forged irons, a nice, smooth swing gets me the best results. So...that’s where I started. I took aim at a flag that was measured to 150 yards out with a large green-like area surrounding it. My shots were consistently landing on the front edge or just short of it. The high ball flight offered a nice trajectory downward in to the green, and from what I saw on the course yesterday as well as my shots this afternoon, would have me holding the greens. The J40s seemed to get the ball up in the air quicker than what I saw with the V2s and 2.0s, with a much different trajectory. The V2s had a lower flight in general, and the 2.0s started lower, rose to a nice height then descended down (obviously giving more distance). For a shot in to the green, the ball flight of the J40s was a beauty, that wouldnt have me worried of running off the back of the green.
Consistency: One thing that I have struggled with in the past with forged irons is finding consistency with them. I am not saying the J40s cured that, because my misses were still there. I found myself with a few fat shots and a few thinned as well, but found as I did yesterday, that even with a miss, the results werent very penalizing. My shots that were fat, still got in to the air quickly, just suffered a bit of distance loss. With my thinned shots, the miss was primarily a lower line drive type of ball flight. Obviously, I would love to not have those misses, but the forgiveness of the J40s allowed a miss to still have decent enough results to move on to the next shot.
From the Rough; Have to face the facts on this one, I usually have more shots from the rough during a round than I like. So when looking in to irons, one thing that always creeps in to my mind is how does it preform from the thicker grass. Down here in Florida, we have some rough that is just downright brutal. I found a thick part of the range and threw down some balls to see how it worked out. The leading edge on the J40s just looks like it will cut through whatever lie you are going to hit out of, a similar edge as the V2s, and one I expected to have good results with. The J40s didnt dissapoint from the rough, as I was able to get the ball out of the thicker grass with good results. My only issue here with them is that at times I was getting a bit deep and hitting the ground first rather than focusing hitting the ball first, then the turf. I generally take some good sized divots, and the J40s reminded me a lot of the V2s in that I was throwing out some chunks of earth when hitting from the rough. (Note to whoever gets them next; I gave them a good bath after I walked off the range
)Overall Thoughts: From the first time I held the J40 9iron, I felt that I would get along great with it. I hit a lot of shots with my short irons during my rounds, and like most people, am very comfortable with them. When going to my first set of forged irons in the V2s, I immediately found a nice comfort zone with the shorter irons even though the thin top line and smaller profile seemed intimidating. I was glad to see that comfort level carried over the J40s. I feel that too often, people will look at a forged iron and think “I dont have the game to hit those”, but the Dual Pocket Cavity on the J40 irons offers a great feel, and some added forgiveness that I think a lot of people will like.
