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Have you ever simply not been able to hit GI irons?

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Floppy

Floppy

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I'm baffled.

So I went from Wilson Staff Ci6, to TaylorMade TP MB (as a test), to Titleist AP1. I typically draw the ball with irons. I had no complaints with the Ci6s... but they were getting old so I wanted to replace them. The MBs were fantastic when I was on, and not so much when I was off. Had a couple of my best rounds ever with them due to hitting so many GIR, but someone of my handicap (mid) level should not be playing those. Bought some Ap1s... and this is the worst I've ever hit irons. I decided to go with something easy to hit. I don't think I'll ever be a scratch golfer, and I don't try to work the ball with irons. I just hit my natural draw and try to get it as close to the pin as I can.

First time I've ever flat out HOOKED an iron - check.
First time I've ever flat out SHANKED an iron (directly right) - check. About 1-2 times a round and a few times per range session.

I don't know what it is. Surely they should be easier to hit than blades, regardless of skill level... why in the world can I not hit these irons? I pull almost every shot, on top of my draw already, so I'm having to aim so far right. Surely my iron swing didn't turn to garbage over night - or did it? I went from two straight rounds of 80 with the MBs to 90-93 three straight rounds with the AP1. I now have ZERO confidence in my irons, and as a result I'm shooting in the 90s even when hitting 65-70% of my fairways. I went from hitting about 60% GIR to 20%.

Anyone else have an issue where they just simply couldn't hit "game improvement" irons for some reason? Why is something that's supposed to be so easy to hit so difficult for me?
 
I had that happen with this years Bertha's. I could not hit those irons to save my life. 90% of the balls were flat out shanked right. Can't explain it. I hit my a Rocketbladez, XRs and Berthas that day and the RBZ and XRs were fine. I didn't just hit one over and over, I would take 2-3 swings with each 7 iron and then switch and repeat with the new iron.
 
I would guess it to be a mental thing.

Play with what you're comfortable playing.
 
I struggle big time with offset. So yea I don't hit them well haha


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Wicked Cool Bearded Man said:
I struggle big time with offset. So yea I don't hit them well haha


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Click to expand...

I'd venture a guess and say I got used to the minuscule offset of the MBs and now I'm not adjusting to the offset of these?

Who knows. Lol


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Bummer.

Never hooking or shanking an iron in the past is quite impressive. I'd definitely get rid of them if they took you that far out of your element.
 
I haven't had offset clubs that I couldn't hit, but I do struggle with my alignment when I try out a club with a good amount of offset.
 
My guess is that your lie angles are off. Combine this with an inconsistent swing and you have trouble.
 
Shaft length? Lie angles?

Could either of these have something to do with it?
 
Only problem I had with GI irons was getting used to the distance gains. It was a good problem to have. I could see how the offset could throw some people off that aren't used to them.
 
Oh yeah, there are many different nuances the come in to play.
 
length, lie angle, swingweight, different shafts, who knows?

for me, i couldn't ever get comfortable with my ping i25s. despite hitting them well at the demo day, it never translated to confidence on the course. so now they're collecting dust, ready for a fellow thp'er to take them off my hands for a reasonable price!
 
Tadashi70 said:
My guess is that your lie angles are off. Combine this with an inconsistent swing and you have trouble.
Click to expand...

Inconsistent swing is my middle name.

How much does default lie angles differ by brand/model? I've always just played stock irons, but man these are giving me fits.


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Hawk said:
Bummer.

Never hooking or shanking an iron in the past is quite impressive. I'd definitely get rid of them if they took you that far out of your element.
Click to expand...

My miss has always been fat/thin. Before these, I've never straight up shanked or hooked an iron. First for everything I guess!


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Floppy said:
Inconsistent swing is my middle name.

How much does default lie angles differ by brand/model? I've always just played stock irons, but man these are giving me fits.


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Every company produces their clubs differently. There really is not standard rule for stock irons. Too upright snd you'll hook. To flat of a lie, you'll push or fade.
 
I'm guessing it's adjustment period to new irons and as others have said something is off for your swing. If you bought off the rack could be not fit for you.
 
I tried Ping G15's for awhile a few years ago, and hit everything left with them. Just too much offset. I also gamed Ping K15's for a period of time the same year and they were left for me as well.

My current XR irons have plenty of offset, but I don't have the serious left issues I had with the Pings.
 
TheDoctor said:
Shaft length? Lie angles?

Could either of these have something to do with it?
Click to expand...

Add weight of the club to that. A few grams difference in weighting can be huge. And going from a mb to a cb would make a huge difference in CG and overall feel. That's enough to throw off the timing just enough to screw up your swing royally. Won't take pros long to adjust To a new set but US......weeks, months even!


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Ping irons also have a lighter stock swingweight, D0, than most all others...Maybe that could be your issue.

I like my g25s but i know I have to aim a lil right and consciously make sure they're not "closed" at address. Offset sticks may look like theyre aligned straight even when they may possibly slightly closed
 
I don't know if it has anything to do with the GI part, but when I was looking to buy new irons (my first new set) it was when the King Cobras were the rage - Norman was using them on the regular tour and Hale Irwin was cleaning up on the Senior Tour. I was looking for new tech and looking at Tommy Armour 855s and my pro said "Man, you need to try these Cobras - they're the hottest thing going". I took a couple Cobras and a couple Tommy's to the range and probably (tried to) hit 40 shots with the Cobras without a single one making solid contact. I'd switch to the Tommy's or my regular clubs and hit it fine, then back to the Cobras and nearly whiff. Strangest experience I've had trying clubs.

So, yes, I'd say it's possible to have a set of clubs you flat out can't hit...
 
I've struggled with SGI mightily even when custom fit, GI is much easier and I've had surprisingly good results with certain players irons.
 
emart2173 said:
I'm guessing it's adjustment period to new irons and as others have said something is off for your swing. If you bought off the rack could be not fit for you.
Click to expand...

This was the case with me and the G15s I bought a few years back. I really struggled for a while, but they ended up being clubs I hit better than anything else I've ever hit until recently.
 
mpeterson said:
This was the case with me and the G15s I bought a few years back. I really struggled for a while, but they ended up being clubs I hit better than anything else I've ever hit until recently.
Click to expand...

i had similar issues with an off the rack set I bought several years ago and struggled for a long time until someone convinced me to get the lie angle checked and they turned out to be to upright. Manipulating the face to hit a good shot was no bueno.
 
Floppy said:
I'd venture a guess and say I got used to the minuscule offset of the MBs and now I'm not adjusting to the offset of these?
Click to expand...
Tadashi70 said:
My guess is that your lie angles are off. Combine this with an inconsistent swing and you have trouble.
Click to expand...
I agree with both of these. I play MCs, but I played the MBs for a while. The difference in offset between MBs and MCs are little, but the difference between MBs and AP1s seems to be quite large. If you think about what offset does, it allows you more time to square the face (turn your hands over). Since you hit a draw with the MBs, that means that at impact, your clubface was closed to your target line. Pair that with more time for your hands to turn over, and you get a hook.
My second guess would be that you were consciously trying to hit the ball right, so you threw the hosel at the ball (swung severely in to out) and shanked it.
 
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