Iron help!

[efil4flogi]

Hey guys, I just joined Hacker's Paradise to get advise from the whole online golf community. I need help. I'm currently a 5.5 handicap and am playing a set of Mizuno MP 67's. Great feel and sweet looks, but they make me want to shoot my foot when I miss hit it. 9/10 scores that I'm unhappy with are a result of just a few mishits with my irons that don't allow me to get down for birdie. I can't explain to you how frustrating this is. Anyway, I'm currently in the new market for a new set, something way more forgiving. I'm even willing to go Callaway x 20 forgiving. Actually, I really like those lol. My question is, why should I be playing blades or a forged cavity just because I'm a relatively good golfer? Why can't decent golfers benefit from game inmprovement equipment? Any advice?

 

[JB]

Hey guys, I just joined Hacker's Paradise to get advise from the whole online golf community. I need help. I'm currently a 5.5 handicap and am playing a set of Mizuno MP 67's. Great feel and sweet looks, but they make me want to shoot my foot when I miss hit it. 9/10 scores that I'm unhappy with are a result of just a few mishits with my irons that don't allow me to get down for birdie. I can't explain to you how frustrating this is. Anyway, I'm currently in the new market for a new set, something way more forgiving. I'm even willing to go Callaway x 20 forgiving. Actually, I really like those lol. My question is, why should I be playing blades or a forged cavity just because I'm a relatively good golfer? Why can't decent golfers benefit from game inmprovement equipment? Any advice?

Well I think you will find that more people are changing from blades than ever before. Heck as of the last Darrell Survey, over 74% of PGA Tour pros are playing cavity backs. In our Spring Issue of THP: The Magazine, we interviewed legendary club maker John Hoeflich was asked this very question and he addressed it with "social credit". Very in depth answer if you get a chance to read the interview.

Your handicap is similar to mine. I played blades for years. Well over a decade actually. But in the end, the allure of more forgiveness drove me to try GI irons and they won out in a big way for me. I still test blades, and played Cleveland CG1s quite a bit recently. But when it comes down to it for me personally, I like the forgiveness over the workability any day. I can still move the GI irons right and left and high and low, but I also dont lose strokes with slight mis-hits.

Going back to that same interview, Hoeffy goes into detail about amateurs and the clubs they choose and why. For a guy that has a resume of Tommy Armour 845s, Titleist DCI, Taylormade RAC, the 1st Hybrid, the first milled groove wedge, and so much more, I think his opinion has some merrit and it is something I agree with very much.

 

[KUJayhawks]

I'd recommend trying the Ping i15 and the R9 tp irons. They're kind of in that tweener category. Not a blade, not a game improvement iron but just in between. I've hit both the extensively and found both to be surprisingly forgiving. So much so that I have a set of tp's on order.

 

[JB]

I'd recommend trying the Ping i15 and the R9 tp irons. They're kind of in that tweener category. Not a blade, not a game improvement iron but just in between. I've hit both the extensively and found both to be surprisingly forgiving. So much so that I have a set of tp's on order.

I think just about every single company has a set like this now. Players cavity backs are very popular. Callaway, Cobra, Titleist, Nike, Cleveland, and everybody else has a set that fall into this category and it is a wonderful area for golfers looking for perimeter weighting, added forgiveness and still supreme playability.

 

[KUJayhawks]

So true JB, I was going to add the Diablo Forged but I haven't had a chance to spend much time with them yet. Has anyone coined a name for this category/style of clubs?

 

[JB]

So true JB, I was going to add the Diablo Forged but I haven't had a chance to spend much time with them yet. Has anyone coined a name for this category/style of clubs?

Players Cavity

 

[efil4flogi]

Thanks for the reply! Unfortunately I'm not a subscriber to the magazine, although now I'm considering it. When Hoeflich says "social credit" I imagine he's touching one the "ego's" of better players. This was always a suspicion of mine when it came to irons. It seems like most better golfers hold their nose high and scoff when one of their buddies shows up with some new game improvement set in their bag. I guess according to Hoeflich this is as unfortunate as I have lately been expecting it to be. I see your playing a set of Nike Mach Speed's? That is quite the game improvement set, and it's pretty relieving to see that a better player like yourself is playing that type of club. I've been considering the Callaway X-20's and the Taylormade Burner Plus Irons lately. They both have the forgiveness I'm looking for, good looks, and really good prices. Any thought's regarding those?

 

[JB]

Thanks for the reply! Unfortunately I'm not a subscriber to the magazine, although now I'm considering it. When Hoeflich says "social credit" I imagine he's touching one the "ego's" of better players. This was always a suspicion of mine when it came to irons. It seems like most better golfers hold their nose high and scoff when one of their buddies shows up with some new game improvement set in their bag. I guess according to Hoeflich this is as unfortunate as I have lately been expecting it to be. I see your playing a set of Nike Mach Speed's? That is quite the game improvement set, and it's pretty relieving to see that a better player like yourself is playing that type of club. I've been considering the Callaway X-20's and the Taylormade Burner Plus Irons lately. They both have the forgiveness I'm looking for, good looks, and really good prices. Any thought's regarding those?

I have no issue with someone that wants to play blades or players irons. None at all. I know Hoeffy doesn't either since he has made blades for years. But for me, I want the forgiveness and like to hit the ball straight. This helps me do it the best. Im not an internet golfer, I am a real golfer that many people on this forum have played with. Im an amateur. I have swing flaws, and I get plenty of feedback with bad shots on these irons to know when I hit a bad shot.

As to what you are looking at, they are both good sets, but very different. The Burner Plus irons are considered by many to be SGI and were recently replaced by the new SuperLaunch irons that are definitely SGI.

 

[efil4flogi]

How would the Burner Plus's compare to the Mach Speed's (which I also like but am to poor for )?

 

[JB]

How would the Burner Plus's compare to the Mach Speed's (which I also like but am to poor for )?

They are a little more high launch and less distance for me. Very forgiving, but hitting a fade was a little troublesome. Just my finding though.

 

[efil4flogi]

Alright, thanks for all the input, very helpful!

 

[ranger mike]

I'd recommend trying the Ping i15 and the R9 tp irons. They're kind of in that tweener category. Not a blade, not a game improvement iron but just in between. I've hit both the extensively and found both to be surprisingly forgiving. So much so that I have a set of tp's on order.

If you ended up w/ R9 TP I'd like your opinion. I had 09 Burner in stiff. Went to demo days & tried TP (2*) up w/ kbs regular and ordered a set on the spot. I hit them well (same distance/better flight & control) EXCEPT for the 5 iron (w/ vcc head). For weeks I thought it was in my head, but I frequently hit my 6 longer. I used my sky caddie to test this a few times. I recently had our course pro hit them & he felt the 5 was "a little off" in feel & distance. I contacted TM but it isn't a warranty issue. I asked about having another 6 iron made up 1/2" longer & loft adjusted to 27.5* but they said 29* is max. Not sure if that would do enough. Other than this issue w/ 5 iron, I love these sticks. Much improved my game especially inside 200yds. Would much appreciate anyone else opinion of RP TPs as well