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JPX 919 Hot Metal Irons Question (UPDATE)


seth514

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Some background info for reference. I have played Mizuno's off and on for the past 20 years or so. Late high school/early-mid college with the MP-14's, loved them even though hitting them well was never a guarantee. Stopped playing for a couple years, then started again with a set of the MP-52's. Stopped again for like 10-11 years, and just now started swinging clubs again, being fitted for the 919 HM's. My swing has changed a lot, and I am trying to change it more, for the better. Forged clubs were never easy to hit for me, to be honest. I'm not that good. But what I do miss, is that "feel". You don't get it with these GI irons these days, which is understandable. My issue with the mid-short iron Hot Metals is a distinct, hard clack even when hit perfect, and an awkward hollow sound/feel with PW-GW-SW. Granted, when I got fit, he said just get the 5-SW and call it a day. I didn't realize the wedges weren't forged, at the time. So, my fault there. (I should consider doing a new fitting, possibly)

 

Anyway, is this common nowadays? I already want to go back to forged clubs, even though my game is not nearly close to being able to perform adequately with them. I just really miss that feeling/confidence with them. Needless to say, I'm ready to sell/trade the HM's for a forged set, even though my scores will probably suffer for a while. Anyone else experience this?

TM Stealth 10.5* -- Speeder Evo VII 569s

TM Stealth 16.5* -- GD AD-IZ 6s

Titleist T200 4 -- Accra 200H M4

Titleist T100S 5-GW -- Modus 120

TM MG3 52*, 56*TW, 60*TW -- KBS HiRev

Sik Jo C -- KBS CT Tour

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I am getting ready to start playing a set of jpx 919 forged. I am moving from g400 irons. I've demoed the forged 3 different times and just love the way they feel vs the g400s.

 

I've been taking a ton of lessons over the past few months and have really improved my swing, but it still might be a touch early for this move. But they feel great and I love the way they look at address. These are the first forged clubs I've ever owned.

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Center strikes will feel pretty good with just about any club, including the HM's. Not forged soft, but pretty good regardless. My suggestion is to keep working on the swing and be sure to use a soft ball. There are tons of soft balls on the market these days and they make a noticeable difference in sound and feel at impact.

Ping G400 Max driver w/Aldila Rogue 125 Silver
Ping G425 5 wood & hybrid
Ping G30 irons w/Recoil 95

Ping G425 irons w/Accra ICWT 2.0 95
Ping Glide wedges w/Recoil 110
Ping Redwood Anser - the "real deal!"

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Forging is really meaningless. Vokey's aren't forged. Cleveland wedges aren't forged. Taylor Made aren't forged. Most of the Callaway wedges aren't forged. The soft feel of a forged club mainly comes from the acoustics. Block out the sound and you really can't tell the difference between any two clubs. The sound an iron makes is mostly determined by the shape and and the weight placement. The more of the weight of the club that's behind the ball at impact, the softer it sounds. You can also change the sound by adding material to the club to deaden the sound and change the acoustics. The elastomer in a PXG or a Ping and the speed foam in a Taylor made are designed to make the club sound softer.

 

If the sound of the HM's really bother you (and I think they sound better than most of the cast GI clubs), I would probably look at the Ping i200 or the Taylor Made P790. Neither are really forged, but both are going to sound softer. If you just want to have forged stamped on the side of your clubs, I'd probably go with the Mizuno 919F, but keep the longest irons from your HM set you can stand the sound of.

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I have played forged clubs many times before. I currently play the Mizuno HM and find them very soft when properly hit in the center of the club face. I know everyone wants to play forged clubs, but many of the cast clubs when hit in the center of the face are very soft and usually more forgiving than any forged club. I also don't understand the "flyer" concept. I have never had a flyer from a cast club., if usually hit in the center. I think people find a "flyer" because the finally found the center of the club face. There is no logical reason that the face of a club would change from time to time to produce a flyer.

Callaway Rogue 10.5* Driver
Callaway Rogue 3 Wood
Callaway Rogue 5 wood
Callaway 4/5 Hybrid
Callaway Apex 6-GW
Callaway Mack Daddy 52/56 Wedge
Scotty Cameron Monterey

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> @GolfNuts4 said:

> I have played forged clubs many times before. I currently play the Mizuno HM and find them very soft when properly hit in the center of the club face. I know everyone wants to play forged clubs, but many of the cast clubs when hit in the center of the face are very soft and usually more forgiving than any forged club. I also don't understand the "flyer" concept. I have never had a flyer from a cast club., if usually hit in the center. I think people find a "flyer" because the finally found the center of the club face. There is no logical reason that the face of a club would change from time to time to produce a flyer.

 

The flyer with a cast club has more to do with loft than anything else. When you are already low spin, and you are using a low spin ball, and you possibly deloft the club a little more at impact, and you hit it in a lower spin part of the head; the spin drops. Most of that is true for a club at any loft. However when you only had 5000 RPM of spin to begin with and you lose 500, that's a much bigger deal than losing the same amount when you were at 7000 RPM to start with.

 

Additionally, cast GI irons do all the can to keep ball speed up across the face. Whereas with a more traditional club, the mishit will drop spin, distance won't increase because the ball speed also drops. Sometimes with a GI iron you can mishit it and drop the spin, but keep the ball speed close to a center strike.

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> @seth514 said:

> Anyway, is this common nowadays? I already want to go back to forged clubs, even though my game is not nearly close to being able to perform adequately with them. I just really miss that feeling/confidence with them. Needless to say, I'm ready to sell/trade the HM's for a forged set, even though my scores will probably suffer for a while. Anyone else experience this?

 

Play what ya like. I have several sets of forged irons, and the 919 HMs feel plenty good to me. I would say that the vast majority of shots with them feel terrific and soft. And they have been fantastic irons. There will be softer irons out there, and harder irons out there. But if you really need to do the forged thing, even if it is mental, then go ahead and do it. You might suffer a bit in forgiveness, so that trade-off would be up to you.

Ping G430 Max 9* Driver, GD Tour AD VR-6 S

Callaway ‘23 Great Big Bertha 3 Wood, GD Tour AD VR-7 S

Callaway Paradym 18* Super Hybrid, Aerotech Steelfiber fc75 f3

Callaway Paradym X 4 and 5 Hybrids, Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 80 6.0

Taylormade ‘21 P790 Irons 6-AW, MMT 105 S

Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore Wedge 54*/10 and 58*/10, MMT 105 S Scoring Wedge

Byron Morgan DH89 Flow Neck Putter

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So I was bored after my range session (but hitting pretty well) and decided to go try some other Mizuno irons at the retail store here. Wanted to hit the entire current range, but was told the MP18 and MP18sc were discontinued, due to new releases coming in the Fall. So I hit:

 

919 Forged --- 7 IRON

MP18 MMC --- 6 IRON (no idea why they didn't have a 7)

919 Tour --- 7 IRON

all with Modus 105 Stiff shafts.

 

Hit 11-12 shots with each iron, eliminated 1-2 shots with each one that were clearly hit fat and drastically skewed the results. Results were interesting (for an indoor session off mats). I love using data, so kinda geeked out on this experience, and it was fun.

 

919 F

4pvdfkk8r39q.png

 

MP18 MMC

10n8r1gwpd87.png

 

919 Tour

10hapyjluzy4.png

 

Some conclusions, the forged irons did indeed "feel" better to me, with the exception of the MP18 MMC, which never really felt great or performed well (it was a 6 iron too, unfortunately). The Tour felt the best, but a couple toe hits were definitely punishing. Oddly enough, the 3 best strikes i had were with the Tour but the monitor didn't register them, damnit. The Forged was forgiving, to a certain extent, and went further, but that is probably entirely due to loft. I didn't hit my HM's next to these, which would've been ideal. Maybe next time.

TM Stealth 10.5* -- Speeder Evo VII 569s

TM Stealth 16.5* -- GD AD-IZ 6s

Titleist T200 4 -- Accra 200H M4

Titleist T100S 5-GW -- Modus 120

TM MG3 52*, 56*TW, 60*TW -- KBS HiRev

Sik Jo C -- KBS CT Tour

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I'm playing 919 HM and have also noticed the feel/sound differences noted by the OP for the G and S wedges. I believe arbeck got it right describing the effect of sound. The G and S wedges have a different design approach than the other irons in the HM set, in particular with what Mizuno calls the "sound ribs". These are present in 5I thru PW (my set), and I find those irons to feel very good (not quite forged, but still nice) when hit solidly. But they are not present for the G and S wedges (just look at the cavity design) ... rather, Mizuno advertising (link below) says: "X30 Steel Wedges with Milled Grooves: Set matching wedges use a softer material with tour precision milled grooves and face for improved spin and control around the greens." Anyways, I've settled into hitting the wedges more solidly over time, and the feel is OK but I can't say I love the G & S wedges. The OP may just want to update the wedges with something else, unless he hates the feel of the whole set, which I definitely do not.

See: https://golf.mizunoeurope.com/golf-clubs/jpx919-series/jpx919-hot-metal/ for more info & images

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> @gdb99 said:

> Did you try any regular flex shafts?

 

I did not, as these are the shafts in my HM's, but I have been wondering if that could be beneficial.

 

TM Stealth 10.5* -- Speeder Evo VII 569s

TM Stealth 16.5* -- GD AD-IZ 6s

Titleist T200 4 -- Accra 200H M4

Titleist T100S 5-GW -- Modus 120

TM MG3 52*, 56*TW, 60*TW -- KBS HiRev

Sik Jo C -- KBS CT Tour

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> @golftejas said:

> I'm playing 919 HM and have also noticed the feel/sound differences noted by the OP for the G and S wedges. I believe arbeck got it right describing the effect of sound. The G and S wedges have a different design approach than the other irons in the HM set, in particular with what Mizuno calls the "sound ribs". These are present in 5I thru PW (my set), and I find those irons to feel very good (not quite forged, but still nice) when hit solidly. But they are not present for the G and S wedges (just look at the cavity design) ... rather, Mizuno advertising (link below) says: "X30 Steel Wedges with Milled Grooves: Set matching wedges use a softer material with tour precision milled grooves and face for improved spin and control around the greens." Anyways, I've settled into hitting the wedges more solidly over time, and the feel is OK but I can't say I love the G & S wedges. The OP may just want to update the wedges with something else, unless he hates the feel of the whole set, which I definitely do not.

> See: https://golf.mizunoeurope.com/golf-clubs/jpx919-series/jpx919-hot-metal/ for more info & images

 

This completely makes sense, as there is a distinct difference from the PW, and the GW/SW. As I initially stated, the sound and feel is "hollow".

TM Stealth 10.5* -- Speeder Evo VII 569s

TM Stealth 16.5* -- GD AD-IZ 6s

Titleist T200 4 -- Accra 200H M4

Titleist T100S 5-GW -- Modus 120

TM MG3 52*, 56*TW, 60*TW -- KBS HiRev

Sik Jo C -- KBS CT Tour

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> @seth514 said:

> So I was bored after my range session (but hitting pretty well) and decided to go try some other Mizuno irons at the retail store here. Wanted to hit the entire current range, but was told the MP18 and MP18sc were discontinued, due to new releases coming in the Fall. So I hit:

>

> 919 Forged --- 7 IRON

> MP18 MMC --- 6 IRON (no idea why they didn't have a 7)

> 919 Tour --- 7 IRON

> all with Modus 105 Stiff shafts.

>

> Hit 11-12 shots with each iron, eliminated 1-2 shots with each one that were clearly hit fat and drastically skewed the results. Results were interesting (for an indoor session off mats). I love using data, so kinda geeked out on this experience, and it was fun.

>

 

No disrespect, but the inconsistency demonstrated in these numbers suggest Hot Metal's.

Ping G400 Max driver w/Aldila Rogue 125 Silver
Ping G425 5 wood & hybrid
Ping G30 irons w/Recoil 95

Ping G425 irons w/Accra ICWT 2.0 95
Ping Glide wedges w/Recoil 110
Ping Redwood Anser - the "real deal!"

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>

> No disrespect, but the inconsistency demonstrated in these numbers suggest Hot Metal's.

 

You are correct. When I consider everything, the HM's are definitely more forgivable, regardless of feel.

 

TM Stealth 10.5* -- Speeder Evo VII 569s

TM Stealth 16.5* -- GD AD-IZ 6s

Titleist T200 4 -- Accra 200H M4

Titleist T100S 5-GW -- Modus 120

TM MG3 52*, 56*TW, 60*TW -- KBS HiRev

Sik Jo C -- KBS CT Tour

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It's these kinds of comments/feedback that makes me wonder why Mizuno isn't still producing some kind of purpose-built combo-set irons; like the the MP-H4, MP-H5, or MX-950. I know you can create your own combo sets with the current offerings, but my favorite Mizuno irons are still those 3 sets. It just makes sense to have more forgiving long irons and then progressively improve the feel and shot making ability as you move into the shorter irons and wedges. You just have to be willing to look at big fat long irons, although the MP-H5 handles this challenge fairly well. They're good looking irons (MX-950's look better too with the cavity badges removed).

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> @arbeck said:

> Forging is really meaningless. Vokey's aren't forged. Cleveland wedges aren't forged. Taylor Made aren't forged. Most of the Callaway wedges aren't forged. The soft feel of a forged club mainly comes from the acoustics. Block out the sound and you really can't tell the difference between any two clubs. The sound an iron makes is mostly determined by the shape and and the weight placement. The more of the weight of the club that's behind the ball at impact, the softer it sounds. You can also change the sound by adding material to the club to deaden the sound and change the acoustics. The elastomer in a PXG or a Ping and the speed foam in a Taylor made are designed to make the club sound softer.

>

> If the sound of the HM's really bother you (and I think they sound better than most of the cast GI clubs), I would probably look at the Ping i200 or the Taylor Made P790. Neither are really forged, but both are going to sound softer. If you just want to have forged stamped on the side of your clubs, I'd probably go with the Mizuno 919F, but keep the longest irons from your HM set you can stand the sound of.

 

The worst feeling wedge I've ever played was a _forged_ Callaway MD 58° wedge. Never really got on with it and the feel was always hard and harsh. The majority of my playing time I've played _cast_ Cleveland wedges and they feel great.

Cobra King F9  Driver 10.5° Atmos Blue 6 stiff
17° Callaway X Hot 4 wood
20.5°& 23° Cleveland DST Launcher hybrids
Srixon ZX5 5 - PW Modus 105 Regular 

Cleveland CBX Zipcore 48°/9° & 52°/11°, RTX 3 58°/9°
Ping Anser Sigma 2 putter

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> @arbeck said:

> Forging is really meaningless. Vokey's aren't forged. Cleveland wedges aren't forged. Taylor Made aren't forged. Most of the Callaway wedges aren't forged. The soft feel of a forged club mainly comes from the acoustics. Block out the sound and you really can't tell the difference between any two clubs. The sound an iron makes is mostly determined by the shape and and the weight placement. The more of the weight of the club that's behind the ball at impact, the softer it sounds. You can also change the sound by adding material to the club to deaden the sound and change the acoustics. The elastomer in a PXG or a Ping and the speed foam in a Taylor made are designed to make the club sound softer.

>

> If the sound of the HM's really bother you (and I think they sound better than most of the cast GI clubs), I would probably look at the Ping i200 or the Taylor Made P790. Neither are really forged, but both are going to sound softer. If you just want to have forged stamped on the side of your clubs, I'd probably go with the Mizuno 919F, but keep the longest irons from your HM set you can stand the sound of.

 

Couldn't agree more, I think the whole forged thing is really blown out of proportion. There are a lot of PGA pros that have played cast clubs their whole careers. If it was really that huge a game changer Ping would have died on tour years ago. I tend to gravitate towards cast simply because they last forever, don't get that brown spot on the face and the grooves stay sharp.

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> @nuttinbutapeanut said:

> > @arbeck said:

> > Forging is really meaningless. Vokey's aren't forged. Cleveland wedges aren't forged. Taylor Made aren't forged. Most of the Callaway wedges aren't forged. The soft feel of a forged club mainly comes from the acoustics. Block out the sound and you really can't tell the difference between any two clubs. The sound an iron makes is mostly determined by the shape and and the weight placement. The more of the weight of the club that's behind the ball at impact, the softer it sounds. You can also change the sound by adding material to the club to deaden the sound and change the acoustics. The elastomer in a PXG or a Ping and the speed foam in a Taylor made are designed to make the club sound softer.

> >

> > If the sound of the HM's really bother you (and I think they sound better than most of the cast GI clubs), I would probably look at the Ping i200 or the Taylor Made P790. Neither are really forged, but both are going to sound softer. If you just want to have forged stamped on the side of your clubs, I'd probably go with the Mizuno 919F, but keep the longest irons from your HM set you can stand the sound of.

>

> Couldn't agree more, I think the whole forged thing is really blown out of proportion. There are a lot of PGA pros that have played cast clubs their whole careers. If it was really that huge a game changer Ping would have died on tour years ago. I tend to gravitate towards cast simply because they last forever, don't get that brown spot on the face and the grooves stay sharp.

 

Differences technically might be minute. In the case of the HMPs, I find the feel on par with almost any of my forged clubs. However, I do have to acknowledge that, in golf, perception plays a huge part in performance so it really does make a difference for certain players.

Bag 1                                                                 Bag 2
Ping G400 LST 10                                             Epon Technicity 9
Ping G400 3W 14.5                                          TM R9 3W 14
Ping G400 3H 19                                              Miura 3H 19
Mizuno JPX 919 Hot Metal Pro 5-P               Epon 503 4-P Nippon Super Peening Orange
Mizuno s18 50, 54, 58                                     Miura 51, 56 k-grind
Bettinardi BB1                                                  Scotty Cameron Newport 2

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Ironically, I couldn't speak higher of the 919 HM GW, SW and LW. As a big Ping guy, I'd even love the GW to be more chunky along the lines of a Ping I or G UW. But it has performed very nicely on all types of shots. Contrast this to the 900 HM wedges, which I did not particularly like.

 

But the 919 SW and LW have really earned their keep. I have had more tap-in putts after a chip or pitch than I've ever had. They feel just fine to me--haven't noticed anything harsh or amiss. Plus, the SW and LW have been incredibly reliable out of bunkers (LW out of greenside). All-in-all, very impressed and pleased.

 

Also, here is a little anecdote. I played two rounds this weekend, Sat and Sun. Same home course, same 919 HM irons, etc. Two shots stand out in particular. Saturday, 6th hole, par 4, 2nd shot from the fairway. Good lie, wide open view to the green, no issues. 170 yard shot, pull out 7 iron. Hit a big, high fade to the left (I am a lefty), way off the green. Probably made bogey or double bogey.

 

Sunday, 18th hole, par 5, blind green uphill. I am exhausted, yet have a third shot onto the green, again 170 yard shot. Pull out 7 iron, stripe it right on line a few feet from the hole, make the putt for birdie.

 

Moral of the story--many of us have imperfect swings, have busy work and family lives, don't get to play or practice regularly, etc. We do the best we can, and I see time and again that my swing and mechanics are the biggest factor in how I perform. The equipment can only do so much. Every round, I hit some fantastic shots, and some abominable shots. Still love this game though.

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Ping G430 Max 9* Driver, GD Tour AD VR-6 S

Callaway ‘23 Great Big Bertha 3 Wood, GD Tour AD VR-7 S

Callaway Paradym 18* Super Hybrid, Aerotech Steelfiber fc75 f3

Callaway Paradym X 4 and 5 Hybrids, Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 80 6.0

Taylormade ‘21 P790 Irons 6-AW, MMT 105 S

Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore Wedge 54*/10 and 58*/10, MMT 105 S Scoring Wedge

Byron Morgan DH89 Flow Neck Putter

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Look at how many guys on tour play Vokey wedges - those are cast...

 

> @"jeffrey r" said:

>

> Moral of the story--many of us have imperfect swings, have busy work and family lives, don't get to play or practice regularly, etc. We do the best we can, and I see time and again that my swing and mechanics are the biggest factor in how I perform. The equipment can only do so much. Every round, I hit some fantastic shots, and some abominable shots. Still love this game though.

This guy gets it.

 

 

Titleist TSR3 9 - Diamana GT 60 tx

Titleist TSi3 15 - Ventus Black 7x

Titleist TS2 18 - Diamana DF 80 tx

Mizuno Pro 223 $ Taper HT 130x

Vokey SM7 50F, 55S KBS Hi Rev 2.0 135x

Vokey SM9 60M KBS Hi Rev 2.0 125x

Ping PLD Kushin 4/TP Mills Dale/TP Mills Nellie

Pro V1

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> @"jeffrey r" said:

> Ironically, I couldn't speak higher of the 919 HM GW, SW and LW. As a big Ping guy, I'd even love the GW to be more chunky along the lines of a Ping I or G UW. But it has performed very nicely on all types of shots. Contrast this to the 900 HM wedges, which I did not particularly like.

>

> But the 919 SW and LW have really earned their keep. I have had more tap-in putts after a chip or pitch than I've ever had. They feel just fine to me--haven't noticed anything harsh or amiss. Plus, the SW and LW have been incredibly reliable out of bunkers (LW out of greenside). All-in-all, very impressed and pleased.

>

> Also, here is a little anecdote. I played two rounds this weekend, Sat and Sun. Same home course, same 919 HM irons, etc. Two shots stand out in particular. Saturday, 6th hole, par 4, 2nd shot from the fairway. Good lie, wide open view to the green, no issues. 170 yard shot, pull out 7 iron. Hit a big, high fade to the left (I am a lefty), way off the green. Probably made bogey or double bogey.

>

> Sunday, 18th hole, par 5, blind green uphill. I am exhausted, yet have a third shot onto the green, again 170 yard shot. Pull out 7 iron, stripe it right on line a few feet from the hole, make the putt for birdie.

>

> Moral of the story--many of us have imperfect swings, have busy work and family lives, don't get to play or practice regularly, etc. We do the best we can, and I see time and again that my swing and mechanics are the biggest factor in how I perform. The equipment can only do so much. Every round, I hit some fantastic shots, and some abominable shots. Still love this game though.

 

yup - i like the gap wedge a bunch. i also like the s18's a lot. i also like the pw and up. mizuno makes good clubs.

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My Hot Metals are the 900 rather than 919 but the GW is a weird beast. It is simply (for me) an awful full-swing club. Goes way shorter than the PW (which isn't exactly the longest hitting 45-degree iron I've even owned) and very inconsistent.

 

Yet for less than full shots around the green or especially for hitting little "semi-explosion" shots off hardpan or out of thick rough (1) it's as good as any Vokey wedge for me. I just wish the darned thing would fly 6-8 yards farther and do it more consistently when I'm trying to use it as a regular 100-yard club.

 

(1) Every gap wedge I've had, whether the 50-degree Vokeys I used for years or my Ping "U" wedges or my current JPX 919 Hot Metal "G" wedge, need to work well for a shot I seem to end up facing a lot. Ball on some sort of bare or tight/firm lie, not very far from the green (maybe 20-30 yards?) and having to hit over a bunker. The way I was taught years ago to play that is basically square the face on a 50-degree wedge and make a bunker swing except hit like 1/2" behind the ball instead of 2-3" like you do in bunkers. It's a cool shot but I have to trust it to pop up in the air then spin, can't afford to deccel on it at all. So I tend to just GW candidates on how much I can trust them for that shot.

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> @"North Butte" said:

> My Hot Metals are the 900 rather than 919 but the GW is a weird beast. It is simply (for me) an awful full-swing club. Goes way shorter than the PW (which isn't exactly the longest hitting 45-degree iron I've even owned) and very inconsistent.

>

> Yet for less than full shots around the green or especially for hitting little "semi-explosion" shots off hardpan or out of thick rough (1) it's as good as any Vokey wedge for me. I just wish the darned thing would fly 6-8 yards farther and do it more consistently when I'm trying to use it as a regular 100-yard club.

>

> (1) Every gap wedge I've had, whether the 50-degree Vokeys I used for years or my Ping "U" wedges or my current JPX 919 Hot Metal "G" wedge, need to work well for a shot I seem to end up facing a lot. Ball on some sort of bare or tight/firm lie, not very far from the green (maybe 20-30 yards?) and having to hit over a bunker. The way I was taught years ago to play that is basically square the face on a 50-degree wedge and make a bunker swing except hit like 1/2" behind the ball instead of 2-3" like you do in bunkers. It's a cool shot but I have to trust it to pop up in the air then spin, can't afford to deccel on it at all. So I tend to just GW candidates on how much I can trust them for that shot.

 

I got myself a 919 Forged PW and GW to go with my 900 HM 4 - 9. I agree with you on that 900 HM GW being "off"

 

 

Driver:    Taylormade SIM2, Graphite Design ADVR

Fairway: Ping G410 Rogue Silver 110

Hybrid:   Ping G410 KBS Prototype

Irons:      Srixon ZX5 MKii, Accra iCWT115

Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0, 46, 50, 54, 58

Putter:    Kevin Burns

Ball:        Wilson Triad

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My sand wedge is actually the 919 HM instead of 900 HM and has the Modus 105 Wedge shaft instead of the regular Modus 105. I may at some point splurge and replace the GW and LW with 919's like the SW.

 

I actually like the 900 HM pitching wedge just fine, that's most a "10-iron" type club for me, goes about 110 yards.

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I play the 900 HM 4-PW with Modus Regular shafts (I try to swing smooth with my irons). I have the GW but also found it significantly shorter than the PW so I use Callaway md4 50, 54 and 58. For me, the PW is 115-125 on a full swing, the 50 md4 is 100-110 and then I use the 54 md4 for 90 yards and in, I never use 58 md4 for full swing approach shots.

I'm quite pleased with my irons, though I saw a set of mint Gmax irons at my local store today that are calling my name.

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> @DoglegRight said:

> I'm quite pleased with my irons, though I saw a set of mint Gmax irons at my local store today that are calling my name.

 

Don't do it. I repeat, don't do it. Here's another anecdote. Saw a set of Gmax irons pop up on one of the used sites recently, with my preferred Nippon Modus 105 stiff shafts, good condition. So I figure, why not, give them a go. Pick up the set, and without having used them on the course, swap them into my bag in place of my 919 HM's for a round a couple of weeks ago. Figured I might not like them long-term, but they should at least be incredibly forgiving.

 

It was an absolute disaster. I couldn't hit them. Sometimes, I think soles can actually be too wide, at least for my swing. And mind you, I am a longtime Ping G iron fan, and play G irons just fine. But this was a debacle--my buddies couldn't understand what the heck was going on and why I was spraying iron shots everywhere. I had to confide in one of my buddies that like a moron, I had put a different set into play for no reason other than to mix things up.

 

Anyway, just a little PSA on the Gmax irons...

 

Ping G430 Max 9* Driver, GD Tour AD VR-6 S

Callaway ‘23 Great Big Bertha 3 Wood, GD Tour AD VR-7 S

Callaway Paradym 18* Super Hybrid, Aerotech Steelfiber fc75 f3

Callaway Paradym X 4 and 5 Hybrids, Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 80 6.0

Taylormade ‘21 P790 Irons 6-AW, MMT 105 S

Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore Wedge 54*/10 and 58*/10, MMT 105 S Scoring Wedge

Byron Morgan DH89 Flow Neck Putter

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Wedges, as scoring clubs, are pretty personal and sometimes tough to get right. When I first put my 919 HMs into play, I didn't hit the GW and SW very solidly but really liked the sole width, bounce, head shape etc. Then came an inspiration from, of all players, Keegan Bradley. They kept talking about how he's one of the best ball strikers on tour ... why? ... he's so bent over (spine still straight though) and that lets his arms hang very vertically from his shoulders. Played around with my arms hanging more vertically, along with a bit narrower stance, and wow what an improvement with the wedges. The GW and SW feel alot better now! And for LW, I have an old Mizuno T-Zoid Comp EZ from the used bin ... that dog can hunt, and it will never ever leave the bag.

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> @seth514 said:

> > @gdb99 said:

> > Did you try any regular flex shafts?

>

> I did not, as these are the shafts in my HM's, but I have been wondering if that could be beneficial.

>

 

You were fitted for STIFF flex shafts? Interesting as your ball speed and carry distance #'s would put you in a regular flex. I'd guess your 7-iron swing speed was in the low 70 range? Spin numbers look a little low and might also benefit from more flex. If you haven't already, I'd try the same shaft in regular flex. I play Modus 105/ REG flex in my 919 Forged and the feeling is great. If you are an improving ball striker but can consistently hit it straight I wouldn't be too afraid of the 919 Forged. In fact, the extra loft of the Forged may actually help vs the strong lofts in the mid/long irons of the HM. I hit mine better than the 900 Hot Metal and the 900 Forged I had previously and enjoy the feel greatly.

 

Whether it is for feel or forgiveness, play what will bring you the most enjoyment. If your mishits w/ the 919F go 5yds shorter than your mishits w/ the 919HM how much would that bother you? As much as the feel of the cast club? :)

 

Good luck!

d: Epic Max | f: Rogue 3HL, Apex UW | h1: Apex Super | i: 923 HM | w: MD4 | p: Chalk Spider X SB

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