We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Should I switch to GI Irons?

SuperStroke
I'm in an odd place myself. I adore the look and feel of players irons, I always have. I like irons small and simple without much offset and a solid straight forward feel. But I know I will benefit from some sort of GI. Its about finding some sort of middle ground, I'd love to give the dpc a try but Ive never seen them in person.
 
PureLiquidHell said:
I'm in an odd place myself. I adore the look and feel of players irons, I always have. I like irons small and simple without much offset and a solid straight forward feel. But I know I will benefit from some sort of GI. Its about finding some sort of middle ground, I'd love to give the dpc a try but Ive never seen them in person.
Click to expand...
There's lots of love for the DPCs, for me I played them for about 4 months and I just never loved the looks of them. They had kind of a long blade and a boxey toe I just never got along with. The feeling was great though but I didn't find them anymore more forgiving than anything else I've played.
 
You know, I've been in the same boat lately, have even bid a couple times on eBay for clubs that fit me (1* flat, standard length), which are hard to come by secondhand. Then I went out and shoot a terrible round and thought, "I need to learn how to hit the irons I've got, not look at newer ones." Mine are a little harder to play (theoretically) than the regular CG16's or, for example, a callaway diablo, but my thought process is closing the loop and returning to the "practice more" mentality. You seem to have played a lot of different sets... Why not settle with a set you like to look at and stick with them for a while?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Canadan said:
I think it's all about demoing irons and experiencing the forgiveness of iron sets like apex or dpc to know whether they are a good fit for you.

There's no question in my mind that more forgiving irons are going to benefit everyone. It's just a matter of finding the set that compliments your swing.
Click to expand...

No doubt. I saw a set if DPCs at the PGA superstore for $600 and seriously pondered them for about 5 minutes. I'm playing really well with my Apex pros though.

To the OP, I've done exactly what you're thinking about doing and in my experiences it hasn't made a difference in terms of left and right misses. You will definitely see an improvement in the distance of off center shots, though. A pull will still be a pull and a push is still a push.

I saw someone mention confidence with a GI head and I agree to an extent. Confidence only lasts as long as you're hitting good shots. The second things start going wrong that all changes. What happened with me is that I got confident with a GI iron and felt I could've moved to a "players" iron. That would work for a month and then is start hitting ba shot and lose confidence because the head was too small. Then, is switch back to a GI iron. Rinse an repeat. Eventually, after 2 years and over a dozen sets of clubs I decided that the clubs had very little to do with it and I needed to focus in improving my swing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I know. I can't stand the look of Bridgstone irons but I love their golf balls.
 
jacob.komenda said:
You know, I've been in the same boat lately, have even bid a couple times on eBay for clubs that fit me (1* flat, standard length), which are hard to come by secondhand. Then I went out and shoot a terrible round and thought, "I need to learn how to hit the irons I've got, not look at newer ones." Mine are a little harder to play (theoretically) than the regular CG16's or, for example, a callaway diablo, but my thought process is closing the loop and returning to the "practice more" mentality. You seem to have played a lot of different sets... Why not settle with a set you like to look at and stick with them for a while?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I've pretty much settled where I'm at right now. But honestly I've only been golfing for 4 1/2 years now and that was part of the fun for me when I first started. I loved the different equipment. In the long run its probably hurt my game as I could still be playing my Nike Machspeeds (I bought myself the whole machspeed set Driver-Pw). Those clubs served their purpose but I got hooked on trying new things. It's not a bad addiction but it was still an addiction. Though I think something like the bio cells or apex wouldnt be bad for my game, I still manage to shoot low 80s with what I got so I'll probably just stick with them for now.
 
From a fellow Michigander, my advice is to play whatever makes the game most enjoyable for you. A GI iron likely isn't going to correct a pull, but they do often make your bad shots a little better. I have been playing a GI iron all year for the first time and I am loving it. Yes they don't look quite as good in the bag, but at the end of the day your enjoyment level and score should be what matters most in my opinion. A line I always like to say is when you get done with a round, I imagine your buddies ask you what you shot, not what clubs you used to shoot it with.
 
Play whatever type of club allows you play the best and have the most fun. There are zero ego's in my golf bag and I could care less what anyone else thinks of my bag of GI clubs. I played in the 70's when all you could buy was blades and small headed irons and small deep faced woods, and I have no plan of going back. My hands still sting from my mishits back then.

I know single digit players that use GI clubs and I know some that do not and one of the best players I know has no clubs in his bag less than 10 years old. There is no right and wrong answer. I'll take all the help modern technology offers.
 
Here's a sweet set of gi irons with minimal offset. I'll let you have em for 100 bucks minus shipping. Brand new btw.
 
We have asked repeatedly to keep sales to the marketplace. This will be the final time we ask before posts just start getting deleted.
 
Sorry. I keep forgetting. Won't happen again.
 
jspangs said:
I know we see this question a lot and really deep down I probably know the answer, but I'm looking for some input from the THP family. Today will analyzing my stats as I was typing them into NG360 I realized I have yet to have a stellar GIRs round (I'm at about 25%). I am currently playing Amp Cell Pros so not exactly super forgiving but I never have I horrible or consistent miss with my irons. I'm normally right around but rarely on. But if I had put my misses it would be 75% pulls, 10% right, 10% fat! and 5% thin. I also chalk on to my lack of greens partially to my driving as I'm not incredibly long leading to longer clubs in. So would GI irons really help me much? Anyways thanks for any input in advance


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I am in the exact same boat. I am playing the Xhot Pros and I feel I am striking the ball pretty well but missing left the majority of the time. It's your swing for sure and I would go for lessons or just some range time. I will say my next set will not be the "Pro" type irons as I need/want all of the forgiveness I can get.
 
jspangs said:
I've pretty much settled where I'm at right now. But honestly I've only been golfing for 4 1/2 years now and that was part of the fun for me when I first started. I loved the different equipment. In the long run its probably hurt my game as I could still be playing my Nike Machspeeds (I bought myself the whole machspeed set Driver-Pw). Those clubs served their purpose but I got hooked on trying new things. It's not a bad addiction but it was still an addiction. Though I think something like the bio cells or apex wouldnt be bad for my game, I still manage to shoot low 80s with what I got so I'll probably just stick with them for now.
Click to expand...

We've played golf for the EXACT same amount of time, so you're fueling my current obsession as well. Let me know where you go, but as an 80's golfer, I would imagine that you should be playing closer to players irons than a GI set. Just my opinion.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
jacob.komenda said:
We've played golf for the EXACT same amount of time, so you're fueling my current obsession as well. Let me know where you go, but as an 80's golfer, I would imagine that you should be playing closer to players irons than a GI set. Just my opinion.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Honestly, the harder part for me right now is distance. I played a short course by my house and shot a 71 (+1) with 4 birdies. But once I move into courses over 6000 it seems I never get good yardages in because I'm only averaging 220-240 yards off the tee.
 
Should I switch to GI Irons?

That's not bad though, if you're hitting the fairway. Most of the courses I play are about 6500, and my approaches are sometimes 150-200 out on a par 4. I think I'm about 250 off the tee if I hit a good shot, but most of the issue for me is dealing with a bad drive and making a good chip off of the best I could do on the approach. If you're low 80s and the drives are short, you're doing pretty good.

*edit* I guess what I'm trying to say is with those variables, I don't think irons are your problem.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
jacob.komenda said:
That's not bad though, if you're hitting the fairway. Most of the courses I play are about 6500, and my approaches are sometimes 150-200 out on a par 4. I think I'm about 250 off the tee if I hit a good shot, but most of the issue for me is dealing with a bad drive and making a good chip off of the best I could do on the approach. If you're low 80s and the drives are short, you're doing pretty good.

*edit* I guess what I'm trying to say is with those variables, I don't think irons are your problem.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I agree, when I first started this thread I really wanted to believe new clubs would be a cure. I know it's not. But I know this thread can be used by other hackers also. For me 150 yards is a 6i so it's still a long club in and it's no where near as accurate as my 8-9i so to get an extra 10-20 yards back would be great. But I'm pretty accurate (12/14 fwys today) and pretty good at keeping the ball in front of me so that helps eliminating the big numbers. I have no problems playing for a bogey on a hole.
 
I just switched from Bridgestone J40s to Titleist AP1s and now have 5 or 6 rounds on the new irons. There are some pros and cons to this switch, at least the way I see it.

Cons:
- Distance control is more of a challenge. With the players irons each iron had a 3-7 yard variance, with the GI irons it's more like 10+
- Big misses become bigger misses due to the added ball speeds and increased launch.
- Don't look or feel as nice
- Odd gap to fill at the bottom of the bag

Pros:
- Huge gain in distance. Personally I gained 1.5 - 2 clubs distance with the switch.
- Waaay harder to chunk an iron shot
- Small misses are negligible. In fact they become good shots.

Overall, I'm sticking with the AP1s. The distance gain alone is too much to turn my back on, and hopefully I get better at dialing in the distances and predicting the fliers before they rear their ugly head.
 
ArmyGolf said:
I just switched from Bridgestone J40s to Titleist AP1s and now have 5 or 6 rounds on the new irons. There are some pros and cons to this switch, at least the way I see it.

Cons:
- Distance control is more of a challenge. With the players irons each iron had a 3-7 yard variance, with the GI irons it's more like 10+
- Big misses become bigger misses due to the added ball speeds and increased launch.
- Don't look or feel as nice
- Odd gap to fill at the bottom of the bag

Pros:
- Huge gain in distance. Personally I gained 1.5 - 2 clubs distance with the switch.
- Waaay harder to chunk an iron shot
- Small misses are negligible. In fact they become good shots.

Overall, I'm sticking with the AP1s. The distance gain alone is too much to turn my back on, and hopefully I get better at dialing in the distances and predicting the fliers before they rear their ugly head.
Click to expand...

This is a great post. I am contemplating the same switch, and the idea of hella huge misses scares me. That said though, I usually don't miss huge with irons, so I feel like I'll see more of the pro than the con.

What about thin shots? How much help in launch and spin do you get? Lately that's my most common miss, and the idea of holding the green with a thinned shot vs. it rolling out just over the green is something that could make me pull out my credit card almost immediately.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
 
SkiBumGolfer said:
This is a great post. I am contemplating the same switch, and the idea of hella huge misses scares me. That said though, I usually don't miss huge with irons, so I feel like I'll see more of the pro than the con.

What about thin shots? How much help in launch and spin do you get? Lately that's my most common miss, and the idea of holding the green with a thinned shot vs. it rolling out just over the green is something that could make me pull out my credit card almost immediately.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Thin shots are interesting and they vary. A shot that is a "few grooves low" (pardon the expression) will fly at about half height and still give a very reasonable outcome.
Shots that are absolutely bladed will travel full distance and kill some worms on the way. Could end up anywhere TBH.

I would waaaay rather thin a ball with an AP1 than a J40.
 
Stick to what you're comfortable with. I switched to irons with GI qualities and it actually made my game worse.
 
ArmyGolf said:
Thin shots are interesting and they vary. A shot that is a "few grooves low" (pardon the expression) will fly at about half height and still give a very reasonable outcome.
Shots that are absolutely bladed will travel full distance and kill some worms on the way. Could end up anywhere TBH.

I would waaaay rather thin a ball with an AP1 than a J40.
Click to expand...

Hey, that sounds great to me. Not expecting a total miracle, but those few grooves low balls with the CMB's almost invariably result in a hard run over the green.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
 
In my opinion, it's not stupid at all to move to GI irons even if you're single digit. It depends on so many factors : your swing shape, your weaknesses, the type of shots you have to hit on your golf course(s), etc. Player irons are ultimate weapons for those who are playing everyday or so. Some friends of mine, struggling on mini tour in Europe, switched recently to GI irons for long irons and probably will complete their set soon.

In my personal case, I just changed my woods (Driver, 3 wood and hybrid) and some could judge my call as too radical. I switched from Titleist 910 D2 with UST Proforce V2 76g stiff to Cally Big Berthat fubuki stock shaft in Regular. I lost around 5 mph lately and do not play as often I uGsed to and the result is that I doubled my fairway hit percentage + gained 20 yards or so. Next step will be to switch from 712 AP2 KBS Stiff to Clly Apex (non pro) probably with KBS regular. Golf is a game of percentage and I would prefer to reduce mistakes and have a better overall GIR percentage rather than make perfect shots 20% of the time.

I don't remember who wrote that what is important is the pleasure you have at the end of your round. I totally agree.
 
BamBooBender said:
I've been trying to answer that question for a while now. I went from FG's, to Di11's, to Altitudes in the past few years, but my scores remain virtually the same. I hit the new clubs farther and touch better all around, but the difference isn't earth shaking. It seems to be all operator error in my case.
Click to expand...
Yeah THIS. Use the money you're thinking about spending on clubs and work on your swing. Those are very good clubs you're hitting now and the patterns of your shots say more about the Indian than the arrow. :)
 
JRod said:
Stick to what you're comfortable with. I switched to irons with GI qualities and it actually made my game worse.
Click to expand...

I think this has happened to others as well and on the other hand GI clubs have made the game much easier for thousands of players. Just depends on the person. Like I've said all along, I know scratch players playing GI clubs and I know several playing blades, along with several playing irons fifteen years old if not older.

I played Monday for the third time with my new irons, and shot 85 and I played yesterday with a full set of Tommy Armour 855's (3 thru SW) with no woods and a very old 9 degree Taylor Made Burner driver, which I could not hit higher than 40 yards high and shot 88. It still came down to chipping and putting with both sets of clubs.

No right or wrong.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top