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What to look for in new irons?

SuperStroke
RealPretendPsychic

RealPretendPsychic

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I’ve replaced the top and bottom of my bag this year. Callaway Mavrik Max to replace a TaylorMade R1 and an Odyssey Triple Track Ten S to replace an Odyssey 2-Ball CS. With both the putter and driver (and shaft) I was looking for something to give me more confidence and consistency. And to hit more bombs with the driver and drop more bombs with the putter (obviously).

But it got me wondering - what would I be looking for in new irons?

I’m happy with my irons right now. Hybrids and wedges are another story, but the irons are all right. I only have two rounds with Arccos, but my good 5i is 215 and PW is 150. So it’s not necessarily distance I’m looking for. Would I be looking for irons that provide a more optimal launch and spin profile? Or find irons that are more forgiving or workable? I won’t be going out and getting new irons before next December, but I’m interested to hear some feedback.
 
You don't need distance in your irons. You could try to tighten dispersion, and more workability in the irons.
 
Is your PW consistently going 150 and your 5i 215? Or do they usually go shorter and occasionally you get a flyer to 150?

If you get the occasional flyer from a hot face then you might want to look for more distance consistency.

If you are consistently hitting your PW 150 and your 5i 215, I would keep those irons forever. I wish I could hit like that
 
I look for consistency of contact, dispersion, and how the ball flies as my performance metrics. Hitting center of the face easily having it "feel" right count. Combine that with aesthetic feels - do I like how it looks, does it inspire confidence. Is it a good value? I'm a value shopper.
 
Cinco said:
Is your PW consistently going 150 and your 5i 215? Or do they usually go shorter and occasionally you get a flyer to 150?

If you get the occasional flyer from a hot face then you might want to look for more distance consistency.

If you are consistently hitting your PW 150 and your 5i 215, I would keep those irons forever. I wish I could hit like that
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Those are my true numbers this season. Other than the current slump I’m in, my irons have been the strongest part of my game. I just put in Arccos sensors the last two rounds (which were both bad rounds) and am very interested to get some stats on where my numbers can improve.
 
Two words....
453CFCD6-8166-4009-9528-CEFBB4B33DD1.gif
 
I think there's a couple ways to look at this:

1. Won contest - Obviously, you're in a unique situation. Pick something that like the look and feel of and that meets your dispersion/distance guidelines. Make sure the shaft and lie work for your swing.

2. General consumer - There's arguably no need for anyone to change irons at the frequency you see on this forum or others for performance reasons. Golfers have good paying jobs and want to spend money on their hobby and that's great, but I doubt they are really getting that much performance wise out of the frequent changes. Irons are for distance control. You want consistent distance front-to-back and left-to-right along with a descent angle that can hold greens. I'd estimate iron sets should be good for about 5 years unless the golfer's fit has changed (more/less speed, swing changes, etc...)

You've earned through hard work/been blessed with very good distance. This allows you the potential to be a very good golfer. I'd expect you have the capability to be a much better golfer than 13.4.

What do you think is holding your game back?

Dave
 
RealPretendPsychic said:
I’m on their website far too often. The demo program is sooo tempting and I love their brand presentation!
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Demo program is a pretty neat way of trying the equipmen!
 
If those are your consistent numbers, you’re hitting the sweet spot on your irons frequently. That kind of distance makes your options unlimited. I believe you would be looking for an attractive iron that appeals to you at setup and then optimum and consistent launch/spin/height/distance numbers with the tightest dispersion (correct shaft).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
dthrog00 said:
I think there's a couple ways to look at this:

1. Won contest - Obviously, you're in a unique situation. Pick something that like the look and feel of and that meets your dispersion/distance guidelines. Make sure the shaft and lie work for your swing.

2. General consumer - There's arguably no need for anyone to change irons at the frequency you see on this forum or others for performance reasons. Golfers have good paying jobs and want to spend money on their hobby and that's great, but I doubt they are really getting that much performance wise out of the frequent changes. Irons are for distance control. You want consistent distance front-to-back and left-to-right along with a descent angle that can hold greens. I'd estimate iron sets should be good for about 5 years unless the golfer's fit has changed (more/less speed, swing changes, etc...)

You've earned through hard work/been blessed with very good distance. This allows you the potential to be a very good golfer. I'd expect you have the capability to be a much better golfer than 13.4.

What do you think is holding your game back?

Dave
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My irons are probably about 10 years old and I don’t feel the need to replace them currently. Lack of practice time has definitely hurt me recently. I lose the most strokes off the tee and definitely need to improve around the green. I am hoping to make enough practice time to get a lesson and pick up a few swing thoughts to focus on. I really like that Arccos shows me my strokes gained and plan to use that to focus on places to improve.
 
Take it from someone who has been through 3 sets of irons in the last year and a half, stick with them if you are hitting them consistently and work on your hybrid and wedges like you said. Round out your game the best you can. I finally found irons that I’m getting along with and am trying to bring the rest of my game up to speed, particularly wedges and driver. I’m finding consistency and predictability is key
 
RealPretendPsychic said:
My irons are probably about 10 years old and I don’t feel the need to replace them currently. Lack of practice time has definitely hurt me recently. I lose the most strokes off the tee and definitely need to improve around the green. I am hoping to make enough practice time to get a lesson and pick up a few swing thoughts to focus on. I really like that Arccos shows me my strokes gained and plan to use that to focus on places to improve.
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Reaching a 13.4 cap is a great achievement. Not many golfers become that good. I suspect you have more in the tank, though.

Dave
 
If your irons are the best part of your game but you are having issues with wedges and hybrids, sounds to me like you are focusing on the wrong thing to change. It would seem to me you need to look more at making a change in your wedges first and foremost and then look at the longer clubs whether that be utilities, hybrids, or fairways.
 
Stryker said:
If your irons are the best part of your game but you are having issues with wedges and hybrids, sounds to me like you are focusing on the wrong thing to change. It would seem to me you need to look more at making a change in your wedges first and foremost and then look at the longer clubs whether that be utilities, hybrids, or fairways.
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I just got the driver in this week and will test it out this weekend, but believe me I have a shortlist of hybrids and wedges to look at. But I don’t have an iron ponder at all, so I was curious what benefits folks would advise I could find in an iron set since I’m comfortable hitting mine and my distance is fine.
 
RealPretendPsychic said:
I’ve replaced the top and bottom of my bag this year. Callaway Mavrik Max to replace a TaylorMade R1 and an Odyssey Triple Track Ten S to replace an Odyssey 2-Ball CS. With both the putter and driver (and shaft) I was looking for something to give me more confidence and consistency. And to hit more bombs with the driver and drop more bombs with the putter (obviously).

But it got me wondering - what would I be looking for in new irons?

I’m happy with my irons right now. Hybrids and wedges are another story, but the irons are all right. I only have two rounds with Arccos, but my good 5i is 215 and PW is 150. So it’s not necessarily distance I’m looking for. Would I be looking for irons that provide a more optimal launch and spin profile? Or find irons that are more forgiving or workable? I won’t be going out and getting new irons before next December, but I’m interested to hear some feedback.
Click to expand...


With that kind of power and knowing you got a full year before heading to the Granddaddy, I'd be looking for the next big iron sale on CPO and grab a set of Apex Pro's.
 
I don't hit those kind of distances, but if I was looking for irons now I would be looking for consistency in both distance and dispersion

I have blades in the scoring end of my bag, and since putting them in my bag I have just gained so much confidence in them in terms of distance control - a bad swing is going to be punished regardless, but I feel more confident overall with them
With the right combination of head and shaft you should see all numbers get the best possible results for your swing, not just distance or launch/spin, etc
 
I think the #1 thing with irons (and potentially any other club) is consistency.
 
Snickerdog said:
You don't need distance in your irons. You could try to tighten dispersion, and more workability in the irons.
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Bingo, irons need to be trusted. Whatever makes you feel confident in what you have in your hands is what to look for. A player should have a lot of input on their iron fittings. On a driver it's different. You just want max performance so letting the fitter take the wheel and dial it in is fine. On irons what you think about the head and how it looks means a lot more imo. Let the fitter get your shaft, loft, and lie, but you must like the head or it won't work.
 
What irons and shafts do you have in the bag right now? Making a dramatic change can negatively impact your game. If you are playing game improvement irons with offset going to a smaller players cavity without offset can impact your game.

I love new stuff but I would say collect some Arcoss data for 5-10 rounds before doing anything. You aren’t likely to pick up distance given the numbers you shared so consistency should be the focus.
 
Chef23 said:
What irons and shafts do you have in the bag right now? Making a dramatic change can negatively impact your game. If you are playing game improvement irons with offset going to a smaller players cavity without offset can impact your game.

I love new stuff but I would say collect some Arcoss data for 5-10 rounds before doing anything. You aren’t likely to pick up distance given the numbers you shared so consistency should be the focus.
Click to expand...
I’m playing Adams Idea A7 irons with True Temper players lite stiff shafts.
 
irons are for scoring. they should be predictable and consistent. the number on the sole should be irrelevant. so i say look for the setup that gives you confidence and consistency.
 
The only downside to my current irons is distance consistency. Occasionally, a shot will go 20-30 yards farther then normal and it's frustrating. Dispersion vs target line, general distance are both fine.

I hope the Ping Glide 3.0 wedges are on your short list.
 
Reframmellator said:
The only downside to my current irons is distance consistency. Occasionally, a shot will go 20-30 yards farther then normal and it's frustrating. Dispersion vs target line, general distance are both fine.

I hope the Ping Glide 3.0 wedges are on your short list.
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The Glide wedges are definitely on the list although now that I think about it maybe it’s not a short list (swing them alllll!) 😆
 
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