All4's
Need. More. Eagles.
Hey all, thought I'd post my findings after comparing 3 of the 4 of these irons sets for the last 2 months, then testing them daily since my move to FL where it is warm enough to hit everyday and then ultimately hitting 4 of the 5 today for about 2 hours. Thought it would be better combining thoughts here than posting in 4 threads.
Sets I trialed:
These irons are all so good I can't and won't even try to rank them on feel, control, etc. like I do in most of my comparisons. Heck they are all so good it took me months to even pick a winner and I'd be happy to play a tournament with any of them without a second thought. So I'll share my thoughts briefly on each instead.
Overall rank from last to first:
Nike Pro Combos the incumbents, played these for the last year and thus began the love affair with the MODUS3.
Bridgestone J40 DPC's
PING i20 with CFS
PING i20 with MODUS3
Wilson FG Tour V2 with KBS Tour
CONCLUSION: Having the chance to hit all of these irons back to back to back on the range today was what it took to make a call. I was able to play many rounds and have several range sessions with all but the FG Tour V2 which I hit for the first time today. The FG Tours are so good that was all it took. I ordered a set on the spot to my specs and it was an easy decision.
(Side note: how in the heck I like 2 shafts that are polar opposites is beyond me; MODUS3=soft butt section, super stiff tip section; KBS Tour=stiff butt section, soft tip section. I dropped the KBS Tour after finding the MODUS3 because the dispersion was much, much tighter; but I've shot 4/5 of my lowest rounds with irons with KBS Tours. It's maddening.)
Having said that, I am hanging on to the PING i20's w/MODUS3's for one last bake off against the FG Tour's just for validation/peace of mind. Despite the i20's being next to last in the looks department and last in feel, which is usually the most important for me, they have absolutely perfect turf interaction, still feel great and are so forgiving I've already dropped strokes since gaming them. Like 3 strokes! That's too much improvement to toss aside without one last comparison so they've earned the right to compete against the FG Tours for a final decision. When the FG Tours arrive I'll post my findings after a few rounds/range sessions comparing them for the ultimate decision.
Hope this was helpful to someone considering some/all of these irons.
Sets I trialed:
- Nike Pro Combo irons with Nippon MODUS3
- Bridgestone J40 Dual Pocket Cavity irons with Project X Flighted
- PING i20 irons with CFS
- PING i20 irons with Nippon MODUS3
- Wilson FG Tour V2 with KBS Tour
These irons are all so good I can't and won't even try to rank them on feel, control, etc. like I do in most of my comparisons. Heck they are all so good it took me months to even pick a winner and I'd be happy to play a tournament with any of them without a second thought. So I'll share my thoughts briefly on each instead.
Overall rank from last to first:
Nike Pro Combos the incumbents, played these for the last year and thus began the love affair with the MODUS3.
- Pros: most accurate iron I've owned/hit ever, top shelf feel and looks to die for
- Cons: least forgiving of the bunch and by a good stretch. Mostly due to turf interaction with the sharper leading edge. So much so that I can't help but think how many of those 75's I shot woulda/shoulda/coulda been under par with the other irons.
Bridgestone J40 DPC's
- Pros: great feel, incredibly forgiving and did I mention great feel?
- Cons: these look as oversized as they are, the head shape (high toe?) never quite looked right and I always felt like they set up a little closed, hated the PX Flighted shaft which just ballooned shots for me. I'll honestly lose sleep thinking of what these may have been like for me with MODUS3's but some sanity had to be introduced.
PING i20 with CFS
- Pros: mind blowingly forgiving, the most forgiving irons I've hit in anything but the super-SGI category, tops in turf interaction, CFS shaft was a surprise jewel for me
- Cons: feel is a good bit behind the other 4 despite being a good feeling club overall
PING i20 with MODUS3
- Pros: no surprise that my favorite shaft made a great club come alive and even better for me; even more forgiving with the MODUS3 which doesn't even seem fair and the feel was also much improved as they went from a "thwack" to a "thump" on solid shots and could now fight through the wind with an improved trajectory
- Cons: still lagging behind the other 4 in feel. Pured shots feel great but just don't quite "sing" with that flushed feeling like they do with the others.
Wilson FG Tour V2 with KBS Tour
- Pros: feel, feel, feel, accurate and great turf interaction, forgot how much I liked the KBS Tour shaft when I swing with rhythm
- Cons: my least favorite in the looks department despite being a really sharp club, that's all I got for anything negative to say about these
CONCLUSION: Having the chance to hit all of these irons back to back to back on the range today was what it took to make a call. I was able to play many rounds and have several range sessions with all but the FG Tour V2 which I hit for the first time today. The FG Tours are so good that was all it took. I ordered a set on the spot to my specs and it was an easy decision.
(Side note: how in the heck I like 2 shafts that are polar opposites is beyond me; MODUS3=soft butt section, super stiff tip section; KBS Tour=stiff butt section, soft tip section. I dropped the KBS Tour after finding the MODUS3 because the dispersion was much, much tighter; but I've shot 4/5 of my lowest rounds with irons with KBS Tours. It's maddening.)
Having said that, I am hanging on to the PING i20's w/MODUS3's for one last bake off against the FG Tour's just for validation/peace of mind. Despite the i20's being next to last in the looks department and last in feel, which is usually the most important for me, they have absolutely perfect turf interaction, still feel great and are so forgiving I've already dropped strokes since gaming them. Like 3 strokes! That's too much improvement to toss aside without one last comparison so they've earned the right to compete against the FG Tours for a final decision. When the FG Tours arrive I'll post my findings after a few rounds/range sessions comparing them for the ultimate decision.
Hope this was helpful to someone considering some/all of these irons.