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Beginner irons recommendations

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Jupiter036

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Hello - new to the forum and golf! I've just played my second ever round and have been bitten. I'm sure this question has been asked many times before but what are some good beginner irons (used)? Both rounds, I shot around 110 so will be aiming to break 100 eventually which means I want some irons that I can grow into. I've got some wilson staff DI11s at the moment which are serviceable but looking a bit beaten up. I've been looking at irons from the last 5 years and will probably have a meagre budget of £300 - £350. So far, I've liked the look of the Callaway XR os irons or the WS D300/D7. I've been trying to find some more info on the inesis 500 as these come new for £350 and have some small amount of customisation (I'm 6'3"). Any winners from the irons I'm considering or any other suggestion? Thanks
 
You're tall so you may want to get your irons with +1 shaft which may be better for you.

On the iron heads I think any game improvement iron set within the last 5 years or so should more or less work. The ones you mentioned are fine -- you can also look into Callaway Steelhead XR, rogue, Ping Gxxx, cobra F7/8/9, Wilson Staff ones you mentioned, Taylormade M2/6 etc. I think most of them should be good enough for you to grow into if you want to keep it simple. They are all respectable OEMs. The slight degrees of variation among them are not going to make a huge difference for you as you learn the game.

Just my 2 lincolns
 
You could probably get a set of Callaway Rogue irons for that, and they would probably work great for what you are trying to accomplish....
 
Hey, sounds like you're in the UK like myself.

Cobra have a range of beginners irons called Fly XL. They're supposed to be very forgiving and they look really nice too.

Tony Valentine website has a brand new set of six irons (6-SW) for £299.99 and they also have 5% off all clubs at the minute.

www.tonyvalentine.com

Cobra FLY XL 2021 Mens Irons - Steel

A great set for mid-high handicappers. Forgiving game improvement irons with a great feel. Superb value too with the irons starting at £299.99.
www.tonyvalentine.com www.tonyvalentine.com
 

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If in the UK try having a look at GolfBidder, the have new and used and for your price range you will find what you need.

To be honest as a newbie I would defiantly take a look at any G series Ping irons, the G30 to G400 range, very good irons and very forgiving.

Good luck with your search. Welcome to THP too :cool:
 
Are you wanting super game improvement irons? Game improvement irons? Players distance irons?

SGI irons typically are hollow bodied and a bit wider at the top and sole as compared to players distance clubs.
Cleveland Launcher Turbos
Wilson Launchpads
Titleist T300 and T400
Callaway Big Bertha 21
TourEdge Hot Lunch 521s

If those are something that appeal to you they're super game improvement irons within the past couple of years.

If you're looking at wedges, the Cleveland CBX2's are cavity backed and are pretty forgiving. I love mine.
 
Thanks for the replies. Looking for more of a game improvement rather than the SGI. The Ping G series seem to get a lot of recommendations
 
Definitely go with game improvements. When I first started I bought a used set of the Callaway pro series which were a little more advanced so I could “play into them” as I improved. They were sweet irons but definitely would have been better off with real GIs. I’m playing with Titleist AP1s now and the GIs make a big difference. I’ve been playing seriously for 2 years now and don’t think I’ll be moving out of GIs anytime soon.

As for which set any name brand GIs that are a couple years old will be great in that price range for a first set. I messed around with a set of the XRs for a bit and they are great GIs for a newer player.
 
jvbart said:
Definitely go with game improvements. When I first started I bought a used set of the Callaway pro series which were a little more advanced so I could “play into them” as I improved. They were sweet irons but definitely would have been better off with real GIs. I’m playing with Titleist AP1s now and the GIs make a big difference. I’ve been playing seriously for 2 years now and don’t think I’ll be moving out of GIs anytime soon.

As for which set any name brand GIs that are a couple years old will be great in that price range for a first set. I messed around with a set of the XRs for a bit and they are great GIs for a newer player.
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Great stuff, 👍 thanks
 
Jupiter036 said:
Thanks for the replies. Looking for more of a game improvement rather than the SGI. The Ping G series seem to get a lot of recommendations
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I wouldn't discount any irons just because they're marketed at high handicappers.

Plus where your game is at right now, the more help you have in the clubs the better. As long as you like the look of them don't worry if they have a fairly thick top line. Decent players can still play any irons, even the SGI ones. Just look at the YouTube reviews.

You could always go to an American Golf and ask them for a free fitting. Tell them your level and budget and I'm sure they'll recommend something that will fit your needs. There's no obligation to buy and you get to hit a few different clubs. It may also be that at your height you need the lengths and lie angles tweaking. Plus it's useful information to know if you keep up with it for years.
 
Nick20UK said:
I wouldn't discount any irons just because they're marketed at high handicappers.

Plus where your game is at right now, the more help you have in the clubs the better. As long as you like the look of them don't worry if they have a fairly thick top line. Decent players can still play any irons, even the SGI ones. Just look at the YouTube reviews.

You could always go to an American Golf and ask them for a free fitting. Tell them your level and budget and I'm sure they'll recommend something that will fit your needs. There's no obligation to buy and you get to hit a few different clubs. It may also be that at your height you need the lengths and lie angles tweaking. Plus it's useful information to know if you keep up with it for years.
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Thanks Nick, I didn't even know that was an option with AG so I'll definitely look at that! Definitely not totally against SGI as I don't know my A**e from my elbow yet!
 
I went to AG for a free fitting the week before I had a proper paid iron fitting. Gave me a good idea of what I wanted and they were spot on with what I ultimately needed and ended up with.

 
Golf bidder is good, but so is Facebook marketplace, especially if it can save you on postage.

In regards to irons I would stick with what you have and look at having better choice of wedges in your bag, ( 50/54/58 in my case) and some fairly decent fairway woods and a putter would be my suggestion.



Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk
 
If there is a Costco near you, you could grab a brand new set of Callaway irons, Hybrids, fairway wood and putter for 500 pounds. Rick Shiels has a video on YouTube about them. An absolute steal for a quality set of clubs.
 
Keep checking around local golf courses,, they often have used sets for sale,, and if truely interested, they might let you play a round to check them out...
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. The only other question I guess is has club tech changed that much since the di11s came out? At my level of just trying to get the ball straight and off the ground, is there any mileage in just regripping what I have and playing these for another year? I'm not looking for the non existent magical bullet but will there be a noticeable improvement in clubs that are 5 - 10 years newer? I already have a newer Cobra/taylormade woods, wedges (thought a 60 degree would be a good idea for some reason 🤣) and putter so it's just the irons.
 
5 years I'd say maybe not. 10 years I'd say yes.

Tech nowadays gets the ball high so easy. And forgiveness is huge on some modern irons.

Cobra, Callaway and Wilson make great irons nowadays so I'd be all over their budget models which are floating around.

You'd easily get £100+ for your D11s to offset any cost. Hell I got £90 trade in for my 16 year old Adams irons!
 
I settled on the Wilson staff D7s after a mate let me hit his for a round. Feel great and clubhouse golf have them for £399 5-sw. I was staggered by how OS the clubhead was compared to my 11 year old clubs. Thanks for all the advice!
 
Nick20UK said:
I wouldn't discount any irons just because they're marketed at high handicappers.

Plus where your game is at right now, the more help you have in the clubs the better. As long as you like the look of them don't worry if they have a fairly thick top line. Decent players can still play any irons, even the SGI ones. Just look at the YouTube reviews.
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^^^ this. I typically shoot in the 80s and just moved to Cleveland Halo XL irons (with plenty of hybrids). Might look around for used Cleveland Launcher HB Turbo irons.
 
nostatic said:
^^^ this. I typically shoot in the 80s and just moved to Cleveland Halo XL irons (with plenty of hybrids). Might look around for used Cleveland Launcher HB Turbo irons.
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That's why I went with the d7s - absolute shovels but felt great and offered the forgiveness I need at my level
 
was that a legit 110, if so congrats, been playing years and still a high handicapper if I keep an honest score. As someone mentioned above the Rogues are pretty nice and not too expensive, I have them for my hybrids, woods, and driver and like them a lot.
 
bozack said:
was that a legit 110, if so congrats, been playing years and still a high handicapper if I keep an honest score. As someone mentioned above the Rogues are pretty nice and not too expensive, I have them for my hybrids, woods, and driver and like them a lot.
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Thanks - yes, that was legit. I've been as low as 104 since. Feel like I just need a really good day to break 100 for the first time but whenever I think "today's the day", it goes horribly wrong!
 
And for your driver and FW you can probably score big on used Mizunos. You can pick up an ST200 for under $200 and it's a very good driver.
 
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