I’m a senior who has been away from the game for a long time. Computer tracking, and being able to test and get fitted with dozens of shafts and heads is all new to me. After having less than great experiences at big box stores with their free fittings, I decided to pay up and get a professional to help me find new irons. I’m fortunate to live just 15 minutes from a Golf Digest, top 100 club fitter in Eric Russell at Mistwood Golf Club in Romeoville, IL. The 75 minute session was $125. I suppose if I was more knowledgeable about shafts and had more experience with fittings and was picky about dialing in spin rates, launch angles and such, 75 minutes might not have been enough time to dial in exactly what I was looking for. I let the fitter see my swing, analyze the numbers and pick out the shafts and heads that would get me the distance increase I was looking for. The facility at Mistwood is first rate. You hit from an indoor room to the range outdoors so you see the full shot shape as well as see the numbers on the Trackman launch monitor. They have clubs from every major manufacturer available to test from drivers to wedges, and a putting fitting room as well. I could not have been more impressed with the facility and Eric Russell. My first choice in irons were the Titleist T400s but there was going to be issues with back ordered shafts and heads, along with the price. Instead, I picked the T300s with a Fubuki MV series, 55g, regular flex, graphite shaft. I ordered the clubs through Eric at prices that are competitive with big box and online stores. I could not be happier with the new clubs. There was almost no having to get used to the new clubs except for adjusting to the added distance. For those who object to the thick top line associated with GI irons, Titleist has cleverly made the top line appear thinner than it really is. Offset on the longer irons is minimal. The loft on the T300s is pretty strong with the 7 iron at 29* which is one degree less than my old Nike’s 6 iron. I normally hit my irons pretty high and I’m still getting very good height comparable to my old set with the same numbered club. The big reason I was in the market for new irons is I had a big gap distance wise between my old 4 iron which barely got to 160 yards and my 3 hybrid which was closer to 185. The new 4 iron, without having to swing hard was putting me in the center of the green at 175 yards in my round on Tuesday. I’m a reasonably good ball striker so maximum forgiveness wasn’t a big factor in choosing irons, but I could tell on a couple of fat shots, that I did not lose much of any distance that was a very pleasant surprise.
Strong lofted, GI irons aren’t for everyone but as a guy with reduced swing speed, they are a perfect fit for my game. I’m retired and keep a close eye on my spending. Frugal some would say. So paying up for a fitting and spending on new irons that were not cheap was something of a gamble. Thankfully, I believe I came up a winner.
Strong lofted, GI irons aren’t for everyone but as a guy with reduced swing speed, they are a perfect fit for my game. I’m retired and keep a close eye on my spending. Frugal some would say. So paying up for a fitting and spending on new irons that were not cheap was something of a gamble. Thankfully, I believe I came up a winner.
