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Hollow Body Irons

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JB

JB

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What are your thoughts on them? Have you tested any?
 
What is a hollow body iron? :confused2:
 
Yes and I've had great success with them.

#Altitudes
 
I have a set of these somewhere. Does that count?

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Awkward silence said:
What is a hollow body iron? :confused2:
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Recent trend and to give you a few examples. In some ways designed similar to how it sounds. In other ways, designed with the benefits of hybrids and metal woods in mind.

Cleveland MT
Nike Vapor Speed (in some)
Big Bertha
Mizuno H5 (in some)
And quite a few more
 
I've hit the MT's a good bit, also the Alts.

I don't mind them, I think there is merit to it with what it allows for weight displacement and perimeter weighting. The key for me, is the sound. If they SOUND hollow, then I have issues.
 
I've tried the Cleveland MT and the Vapor Speed, are the SpeedBlades hollow body? Tried those as well. All were so stupid easy to hit straight and high it's not even funny, but there is some sacrifice in sound and feel, more like a hybrid than an iron IMO. But then, that's to be expected as they are designed very much like a hybrid. They don't generally feel bad at all though. I've considered using designs like this in my longer irons, but I've just never really pulled the trigger on it.
 
Jman said:
I've hit the MT's a good bit, also the Alts.

I don't mind them, I think there is merit to it with what it allows for weight displacement and perimeter weighting. The key for me, is the sound. If they SOUND hollow, then I have issues.
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Agree completely on the sound/feel issue and the fact that they certainly have design merit. That said, I'm not sure how much if at all more forgiving they can be than some of the SGIs of the world (say the D200s).
 
Jman said:
I don't mind them, I think there is merit to it with what it allows for weight displacement and perimeter weighting. The key for me, is the sound. If they SOUND hollow, then I have issues.
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Same goes for me as well. I know it may be a dumb thing to say, but I still want it to sound like a "traditional" iron when when I hit it.
 
JB said:
Cleveland MT
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These are my current gamers, and probably the best set of irons I've ever played. Now granted, only played Cleveland's HiBore XLi's and Tour Edge's XCG6's prior, and while they were both good sets of irons ... neither can hold a candle to the MT's.

As for sound ... guess I don't know how a "traditional iron" sounds since I've never played one. I do know that the XCG6 sounded "heavy" (try having me explain that) with an equal "heavy" feel at impact, which left me somewhat unsatisfied. The MT's are much more lively (again, have me try to explain that) and give me a feel that I experienced when I've hit more traditional fare like the AP1's.
 
I think the hollow body irons allow for you to get that kind of perimeter weighting in a little more traditional looking profile. No, they aren't going to be tiny clubs, but I think the Cleveland MT and the long irons in the Vapor Speed line are great looking - an improvement over some of the more traditional SGI irons. I was a huge fan of the G15s, but I think the MTs and Vapors are a bit more appealing package overall.
 
Thanks for clearing that up. I have not hit any. usually only a cavity back for me. But the Cleveland MT always intrigued me.
 
I think those hot launch long irons by tour edge are hollow. I've heard nothing but good from reviews about hollowed irons.
 
the ones that I have tried sound funny. They tend to perform well, but the sound is just different. The Vapor Speed and Bertha irons, the hollow ones, both have a unique sound to them.
 
BMiles said:
Agree completely on the sound/feel issue and the fact that they certainly have design merit. That said, I'm not sure how much if at all more forgiving they can be than some of the SGIs of the world (say the D200s).
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I'll say this, to this day the Altitudes outpace any other iron set I have tried/used in terms of forgiveness by a large margin.
 
I honesty thought the sound/feel was pretty decent on the berthas/speeds. The berthas are a big, chunky iron. The ease of which they get the ball into the air is awesome.

The Vapor Speeds also catapult the ball into the air. I prefer the look of them over the berthas, especially at address. I am a high ball hitter, so the speeds and berthas just produced too much ballooning for my swing.
 
I didn't get along with the Altitudes for some reason but I am a fan of the Bertha's. I like and need the most forgiveness I can get but prefer more of a traditional iron look vs. something like the Altitudes.
 
Love hollow bodied long irons for a little added forgiveness and being able to control the trajectory. My Taylomade Tour Preferred 2, 3, and 4 irons that were in my bag from 1980 to 1999 were hollow bodied. Since then all my hybrids have really been hollow bodied irons: Mizuno Fli-Hi's, Titleist 503h, and currently Adams Dhy Pro's are all hollow bodied. That basically means that nearly all the shots I've hit from 205 - 235 yards in the last 35 years have been with a hollow bodied iron. I've tried dozens of conventional hybrids but they never make it into my bag for more than a round or two.


adams-idea-super-dhy-hybrid-splt-640x360.jpg
503h_large.jpg
fli_hi_med.jpg
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Howzat said:
I didn't get along with the Altitudes for some reason but I am a fan of the Bertha's. I like and need the most forgiveness I can get but prefer more of a traditional iron look vs. something like the Altitudes.
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Goes to show how different we all are, the offset on the Bertha's just kill them for me, they actually look more SGI to my eye than Altitudes do because of that. Another reason I love how personal equipment can be in this game!

I like this thread.
 
I see a huge benefit in them in say the 3/4/5 irons, haven't tried out any with higher lofts than that. But if the performance is there, why not!
 
The only hollow body iron I have ever used was my old set of Browning 440 Plus.
I loved those things....back in the day maybe 20 years ago...
 
Love my Bertha Irons! My game needs the extra forgiveness they provide.
Some may be turned off by the looks, and the sound, but as long as they get the job done!
 
The only iron with this construction I have hit is the Big Bertha. Unfortunately I couldn't get over the offset and top line so it wasn't in my hands long enough to say much other than the sound was a lot louder than I am used to.
 
I had the altitudes and got rid of them as I did not like them .
I have just got a set of big berthas and I realy like them, so I am keeping them for a bit
 
I really liked the berthas, but the offset was a killer for me too.
 
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