My i20 vs J40 DPC vs FG Tour V2 vs Pro Combo trial (and mostly error)

All4's

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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:

  • 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.
 
Nice write up.

I'd have to disagree with the FG's looks as, IMO, they're the best looking of the bunch.
 
Yeah, I had to find something to put in the CON column brother!

Looks wise I still think the Pro Combos are the best looking irons on the market,,,, and they were the first to find eBay.

I see you're playing the DUO's from your signature. I swear that down here those only trail the ProV1 in popularity. Everybody I meet seems to be playing them.
 
Good stuff, must have been fun testing. What type of swing and divots? Just curious why the largest sole of the bunch won best turf interaction.
 
Great comparison. I spent some time hitting the Wilson's at a demo day and was impressed. I may have to pick them up if the right deal comes along.
 
Sleuth, I swing a lot like Dufner but a little steeper. I take slightly larger than average divots but with the i20's I took cell phone sized divots about every time versus forearm length divots with the Pro Combos.
 
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:

  • 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.

I'll try and post a similar thread as I compare the following irons:
(LH)
712-AP2 flat 3* with KBS tour 90 (stiff stepped soft once) 5-PW
vs.
i20 CFS stiff (not stepped), red dot

Constant in bag:
-G25 3 Wood (stock stiff)
-3,4,5 G25 hybrids (stock stiff) ~~ will eventually sell the 4 & 5 hybrids
-R11 Driver

It's my understanding that the CFS stiff shafts are a bit soft. My swing speed is just on the border of stiff/regular.
I've torn a rib muscle that is just about fully healed and I'm about to get out to the range soon. Lotsa golf and tournaments on the horizon, so I want to test this stuff out ASAP.
 
You share the same Modus obsession as one of my friends. He convinced me they're a great fit for my swing and wants me to throw them in the J40 DPC since I'm looking to reshaft. They're on top of my list, and I'm going to actively seek them out.
 
Well the wheels of my mind have continued turning and I can't guarantee a set of J40 DPC's with MODUS3's won't take a tour of my bag yet. I just can't shake the thought of trying them. The FG TOur V2's better arrive in a hurry.

The best way I can describe the MODUS3's is that they play as smooth as a KBS Tour and load easy like those do, but the stiff tip virtually eliminates "tailing off" at the end of the ball flight and the impact sensation is completely different.

On "off" shots where you over fade/draw or outright slice/hook it, the ball just doesn't tail off as much and stays much more on line.

For impact sensation the stiff tip makes it feel like the face stays on the ball longer and rather than being "whipped" into flight it feels as if you compress the bejeesus out of the ball and it rises as a result. They provide more "thump" than any other steel shaft I've tried as a result.
 
Just got a call and the FG tour V2's will be here next Thu it appears. I'll update once I get them out head to head against the i20/MODUS3's.

While the FG tours are being made I just keep shooting low 70's rounds with the i20's and have now fallen in love with the U wedge from that set. For some reason I can flight it better than my Nike VR Pro 50* gap wedge and easily hit 3/4 shots with it.
 
Just got a call and the FG tour V2's will be here next Thu it appears. I'll update once I get them out head to head against the i20/MODUS3's.

While the FG tours are being made I just keep shooting low 70's rounds with the i20's and have now fallen in love with the U wedge from that set. For some reason I can flight it better than my Nike VR Pro 50* gap wedge and easily hit 3/4 shots with it.

The i20 UW may be my favorite club of all time...it's awesome.
 
Happened again this weekend. The i20's just keep saving those bad swings during a round and spitting out decent results. The UW has become my go to shot making stick and yardage I lay up to now.

The magic better still be there in spades when the FG tour V2's come in or I can't see any way that I leave the i20's now. The on course results are just flat out overruling the side by side differences I saw on the range.

This is a GREAT problem to have!
 
Sounds like you have 2 great sets of irons that are working well for you. I have played both and thought they were both excellent clubs. Good luck with your testing, but worst case scenario you have a great backup set!!
 
Happened again this weekend. The i20's just keep saving those bad swings during a round and spitting out decent results. The UW has become my go to shot making stick and yardage I lay up to now.

The magic better still be there in spades when the FG tour V2's come in or I can't see any way that I leave the i20's now. The on course results are just flat out overruling the side by side differences I saw on the range.

This is a GREAT problem to have!

The i20's are indeed legit. Its a fact.
 
Just confirmed the FG Tour v2's arrive tomorrow. Just in time for a serious weekend showdown.
 
Well the FG Tour V2's did in fact still have the magic and in spades. They picked up right where they left off and the first shot I hit with the plastic off of them was a 9 iron from 145 to 4 feet. The smile was welded to my face the rest of the round.

I now have 36 holes with the FG's and they are the winners for me. They don't do anything badly. Not as forgiving as the i20's but they provide more feedback and therefore feel more accurate on distance control for me. I also love the 4 iron in this set, even more than the i20 4 iron which I didn't think was possible. I won't get into the orgasmic feel of these clubs because I suppose it is subjective to an extent, but I must say they are right there with the Pro Combos and MP-33's which are the benchmarks of my golfing life.

Only drawback is no GW is available with the set. But that is pretty minor since I've never used the gap wedge that matches the set until the i20's anyway.

Hope this thread was/is helpful for anyone considering these iron sets.
 
Awesome review of some awesome clubs! I actually had the same set-up last summer with the i20s and Pro Modus3. I ended up selling them due to getting a little too much spin with the longer irons, and hitting them too high for my liking. Always wanted to get the Pro Combos or Wilsons but never could find some cheap enough for my budget (poor vet student). Ended up buying some Mizuno MP-60s with X100 SL shafts in them (never hit the SLs or the MP-60s, only the X100s) yesterday off ebay. They arrived today (crazy fast shipping) and going to try them out tomorrow after class!
 
Been wanting to try those clubs out for a long time ...great review and I'm finally pursuaded to give these a try next time
 
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