Thornton Melon
Active member
Over the last 2 years I have become a club ho as well as started playing an awful lot of golf to around a 9 cap. I'm generally proud of it, though I'm going to do some selling hopefully and get things I am not using in better hands. One of the things I've learned playing with a lot of people is that my demands as a mid-handicap player with average (97-100 driver SS) that does not get a ton of spin in my irons are three fold:
1. With long irons (4-6I, 165+ yard shots) I need a club design that can get the ball out there. I'm not that spin focused. I'd almost rather from 4-6 irons I be able to chase the ball to the greens I need. I'm not hitting a 6 iron pin high to stop and drop. I just don't create that kind of ball speed on the course. Yes, in a fitting studio sometimes I'll catch one perfect, but 175-180 out, I'm trying to get to the front of the green and run it up if the pin is front or middle or hit the middle of the green and run it back if it's in the back. I want every bit of forgiveness and design that gets me there. Particularly because many of us at this skill level feel like we need to swing hard to get it back there and launchers feel like they need less effort.
2. Mid Irons (7-8I, 140-165 yard shots) I am not an automatic to hit a club that distance straight, so I still need forgiveness, but the thing needs to have enough spin on it to be able to hit it pin high or relatively pin high. I don't want rocket launchers I have to land close to the front to hold a green, and my striking is good enough that I want to get rewarded for a good swing.
3. Short irons (9-GW, 100-140 yds) I am confident I can hit pretty straight, and these I want to be able to spin around the pin and get rewarded for very good strikes. I'm less forgiveness oriented here as I expect to hit these shots fairly well. But I don't want a muscleback where I get killed for a less than excellent strike.
I love my 765s from 8-AW. I don't love the long irons, and don't even really love the 565s I bought to try and steal some forgiveness in the longer irons. I don't see a huge difference between them and the 765. I think Srixon is tremendous but I need longer long irons that are a little easier to hit. 790s don't feel as good, but they go.....
Most every fitter I've met fits off a 6 iron. Not a lot of focus on the short irons even though my needs in each might be different.
So my point is that I know I can put together a combo set like 565/765 or 565/765/965 or 790/770, etc. I used to have Apex CF16 and they'd have been good for longer irons paired maybe with Apex Pros. But you can't really order them that way without going to a fitter, and it's expensive to keep tweaking all of these. Is there enough demand to encourage the ability to more easily order these split sets from manufacturers and/or are there club manufacturers trying to create a set that can meet more needs? I know from a sales standpoint, it's easier to sell many different lines, but it does seem like there's product that more easily met customer needs?
Interested in thoughts and how others who might view it similarly have approached the issue.
1. With long irons (4-6I, 165+ yard shots) I need a club design that can get the ball out there. I'm not that spin focused. I'd almost rather from 4-6 irons I be able to chase the ball to the greens I need. I'm not hitting a 6 iron pin high to stop and drop. I just don't create that kind of ball speed on the course. Yes, in a fitting studio sometimes I'll catch one perfect, but 175-180 out, I'm trying to get to the front of the green and run it up if the pin is front or middle or hit the middle of the green and run it back if it's in the back. I want every bit of forgiveness and design that gets me there. Particularly because many of us at this skill level feel like we need to swing hard to get it back there and launchers feel like they need less effort.
2. Mid Irons (7-8I, 140-165 yard shots) I am not an automatic to hit a club that distance straight, so I still need forgiveness, but the thing needs to have enough spin on it to be able to hit it pin high or relatively pin high. I don't want rocket launchers I have to land close to the front to hold a green, and my striking is good enough that I want to get rewarded for a good swing.
3. Short irons (9-GW, 100-140 yds) I am confident I can hit pretty straight, and these I want to be able to spin around the pin and get rewarded for very good strikes. I'm less forgiveness oriented here as I expect to hit these shots fairly well. But I don't want a muscleback where I get killed for a less than excellent strike.
I love my 765s from 8-AW. I don't love the long irons, and don't even really love the 565s I bought to try and steal some forgiveness in the longer irons. I don't see a huge difference between them and the 765. I think Srixon is tremendous but I need longer long irons that are a little easier to hit. 790s don't feel as good, but they go.....
Most every fitter I've met fits off a 6 iron. Not a lot of focus on the short irons even though my needs in each might be different.
So my point is that I know I can put together a combo set like 565/765 or 565/765/965 or 790/770, etc. I used to have Apex CF16 and they'd have been good for longer irons paired maybe with Apex Pros. But you can't really order them that way without going to a fitter, and it's expensive to keep tweaking all of these. Is there enough demand to encourage the ability to more easily order these split sets from manufacturers and/or are there club manufacturers trying to create a set that can meet more needs? I know from a sales standpoint, it's easier to sell many different lines, but it does seem like there's product that more easily met customer needs?
Interested in thoughts and how others who might view it similarly have approached the issue.
