Players clubs for high handicapper

Jackal

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I have always thought that you had to be pro or scratch to play players clubs or blades.
I have always shot 92-96 for 18 holes.
I've been thru 8????? set of irons since I started playing in '94.
Last Summer around June, the local driving range/pro shop had some S59 Ping irons.
I wanted to see if I could hit them.
To my surprise, they felt great and had good distance.
I had some control with these.
The shop owner was reluctant to sell these to me.
He said to play for a week and if I changed my mind he would give me full credit on trade in.
My scores have been dropping ever since.
I've been shooting 38-43 for 9 holes consistently.
Are these irons accidentally fitted for me perfectly?
The old cavity back game - improvement irons just seem too big and bulky.
These look so much better.
I can't work the ball, but I can hit slight fade, or more fade.
Also, I can get a draw about half of the time when I try ( don't trust it though).
Distances are consistent, too.
It is nice to be on the green sometimes on par 3's.
It use to be ( Hit it at the green. Chip up on green. Then putt. )
With these it's possible to hit a green (sometimes) from 175 out with a 5 iron.
I played these long enough for the novelty or honeymoon phase to be over.

I hear of scratch golfers playing game-improvement irons, but never this.
Not saying that I'm good, just puzzled.
 
When it works, it works dude.

Are you giving up forgiveness? Absolutely.

Are you enjoying yourself though? Seems to be yes and that matters more than anything IMO.

Its a big thing for me, play what you love, love what you play.
 
Absolutely. I am in the same boat, low 90's players, occasionally in the high 80's. Went and hit some srixons to see which I wanted to buy, and was surprised when I was able to hit the 765's better than the 565's. Sometimes things that look better allow you to make a better swing, golf is mental.

Have Fun..
 
With these a bad 5 iron will go 155-160 instead of 175-180ish, and it will clunk a little.
The pure ones fly off the face with no feel.
My Son says on those, the ball makes a whizzing sound.
With large cavity backs, I always seemed to hit fat shots.
The good and bad hits felt the same. You had to see where the ball went to tell if it was good or bad.
These S59s feel like you can pick the ball clean.
Ball, then divot.
I tried some TM cavity backs and it was similar to carving a turkey with a sledgehammer! Lol
 
Whatever suits your eyes and works, play it! One of my favorite sets of irons were the Mizuno MP-53's
Right now I feel that I have the perfect blend of forgiveness, look and feel with the i25's. Highly recommend trying out a set, won't be changing for a long time.
 
There are a lot of players that will shoot the same scores with any type of iron IMO.
Play what you love!
 
There are a lot of players that will shoot the same scores with any type of iron IMO.
Play what you love!

This is me, as you know. My misses don't go away with a more forgiving iron, they're just different...long and wrong vs short and thin/fat is typically the difference.

Agreed with others, play whatever iron you have the most fun with. On paper, I shouldn't be playing a small-head near blade either, but it works for me.
 
S59's may still be my favorite Ping iron of all time. Paired with the z-z65 shaft. I wish I never let mine go.

I feel that if you can hit any club well regardless of HPC, then play it.
 
When it works, it works dude.

Are you giving up forgiveness? Absolutely.

Are you enjoying yourself though? Seems to be yes and that matters more than anything IMO.

Its a big thing for me, play what you love, love what you play.

Listen to this man. If it works for you, it works for you. Me? I prefer the looks of a thin topline and close to bladey profile. To my detriment, I'm missing out on forgiveness on mishits, but I feel so much more comfortable over the ball looking down at something like what I play now. A big chunky club just takes my head right out of it and I play accordingly. I don't buy into the thought that playing a club that's harder to hit makes you focus more and in turn, play better. I do believe, though, if you're not comfortable visually, you're not going to play as well as you can.
 
S59's may still be my favorite Ping iron of all time. Paired with the z-z65 shaft. I wish I never let mine go.

I feel that if you can hit any club well regardless of HPC, then play it.

He had some S55's. They were newer and 2x the price, but felt exactly the same to me.
I couldn't pass these up . They were $140 & had new Ping cord grips. The grips cost that much!!
 
I had a blast putting my Vapor Pro blades in play, so smooth

A full club shorter than the c200s means they have to watch from the sidelines though, haha
 
Play what works for you, but there could be other factors at play such as launch angle, weight distribution, shaft etc at play that are helping you that you needed. I also think that maybe the GI/Super-GI irons may hide our flaws a bit much. You never really learn what you're doing wrong because of the forgiveness. Perhaps being more challenging to hit is causing you to play better because you gotta make the shot now and not rely on the club to help you out.
 
Sometimes you just stumble on to something that you are comfortable with and works.
 
Play what works for you, but there could be other factors at play such as launch angle, weight distribution, shaft etc at play that are helping you that you needed. I also think that maybe the GI/Super-GI irons may hide our flaws a bit much. You never really learn what you're doing wrong because of the forgiveness. Perhaps being more challenging to hit is causing you to play better because you gotta make the shot now and not rely on the club to help you out.

That's sort of what I'm thinking. These are accidentally perfect fitted to me. Plus, I have to (play) these rather than just hit them.
 
He had some S55's. They were newer and 2x the price, but felt exactly the same to me.
I couldn't pass these up . They were $140 & had new Ping cord grips. The grips cost that much!!

If those feel as good as the S55s then that is a steal. Played a buddy's S55s and loved them.
 
There are a lot of players that will shoot the same scores with any type of iron IMO.
Play what you love!

i almost started a thread bringing this point up last week. i set my cf16s aside to play my past set, adams cmb, for a couple weeks. zero difference in the score. i would say the callies have forgiveness and distance, not much but a little, i only wish the adams had (in which case i never would have left them) but still shoot par/bogie golf. play what you want!
 
It probably looks better to you so that helps. I don't hit the dead center of the face enough to play blades that come up 20-30 yards short on mishits, would make course management impossible mainly, but if they are working for you that is all that matters.
 
I have hit players irons and could hit them about the same as my steelhead xr irons. The main difference for me was a lower ball flight since I hit the ball pretty high. I didn't change since I don't like the feel on mishits with the player irons. But use whatever works for you.
 
Hogan Ft. Worth irons. The head is so small......which also means the odds of missing the sweet spot is less .... hehehe.

When you get a players irons, drop the woods and hybrids......and for a month, just play with irons !!!!!
 
I hit almost the same distance between my apex and mp14, of course my mp14 would have one club number stronger but they are about the same loft. That said hit the mp14 on the heel and it would be 20 yard shorter. I still play that set a few times a month I love the buttery feel of a well struck shot on the blade.
 
When it works, it works dude.

Are you giving up forgiveness? Absolutely.

Are you enjoying yourself though? Seems to be yes and that matters more than anything IMO.

Its a big thing for me, play what you love, love what you play.

Very well said!
 
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