919 Hot Metals or Hot Metal Pros??

For a better player, say less than 8 handicap, would you go with the Hot Metals or the Hot Metal Pros? Neither are offending to the eye, I have a hard time picking out which one is which at address so looks are NOT a consideration. Both perform the same in the fitting. Will the HM pros have better turf interaction once outside on real grass with the slightly more narrow sole? Will the regular HMs be much more forgiving with mildly larger size?

At 8hcp or less I doubt the difference in forgiveness would even matter much there but thinking the smaller profile of the pro might be a benefit theoretically for a better player that doesn't need the forgiveness help as much.

Or could it be the differences are so negligible it really does just all come down to looks/preference?

Opinions or other considerations welcome.

I recently picked up the Pros to try and I like them mostly. As an 8 cap which you prefer is all about what looks better to your eye. I like a smaller profile so the regulars are just too big. My cap is close to your and if I have a bad ballstriking round with them or my i210's it not because they are forgiving enough. You could consider making a mixed set with a the regular as long irons and the rest pros.

Don’t forget the offset difference too.

The HMP are PLENTY forgiving in my opinion. So if you like the thinner sole and less offset then that’s the clear winner.

Hot Metal Pros are very forgiving clubs. Hard to go wrong with them.

Had my HM Pros for a few months now. They've been great, at least since I got the shaft situation sorted out. I started with Project X LZ 5.5's which were an absolute disaster for me. Had to send them back to be re-shafted with the Modus3 105's, and that's made a world of difference. I love them now. I'm a 7 handicap and they seem to me to have the right amount of forgiveness and playability for my level.

> @clp34vmp said:

> Had my HM Pros for a few months now. They've been great, at least since I got the shaft situation sorted out. I started with Project X LZ 5.5's which were an absolute disaster for me. Had to send them back to be re-shafted with the Modus3 105's, and that's made a world of difference. I love them now. I'm a 7 handicap and they seem to me to have the right amount of forgiveness and playability for my level.

Do you find the Modus 105's get a bit light-feeling in the 9-iron and PW end of the set?

Have you hit them on monitor? CG is lower on HM so if you need launch go for those. If you compress the ball and have no problem getting height, go for HMP as they'll play more like the i200 you have with a bit of extra forgiveness. I personally struggle to make good contact with a wide soled iron. I come in shallow so a thin sole works WAY better for me.

> @"North Butte" said:

> > @clp34vmp said:

> > Had my HM Pros for a few months now. They've been great, at least since I got the shaft situation sorted out. I started with Project X LZ 5.5's which were an absolute disaster for me. Had to send them back to be re-shafted with the Modus3 105's, and that's made a world of difference. I love them now. I'm a 7 handicap and they seem to me to have the right amount of forgiveness and playability for my level.

>

> Do you find the Modus 105's get a bit light-feeling in the 9-iron and PW end of the set?

I have not had any issue with the short iron part of the set at all.

My issue with the LZ shafts really came down to weight - the 115 gms. was just too heavy for me. Dropping down to the 105 of the Modus shafts has made all the difference. The Mizuno rep who helped me out with my Round 2 attempt to get the shafts right in my HM Pros suggested hard-stepping the Modus, and it's been a great set-up for me.

I had a set of JPX 850 Forged with XP115. Liked them at first, that always feels like a great weight range for me, but after 20-30 rounds it dawned on me that I wasn't really getting very many really solid swings with them.

So after a while back with my old Pings I got the JPX 900 Hot Metal with Modus 105 and they have been great. I think I make plenty of good swings, hit a lot of good shots but with the 9/PW/GW I can get a bit flippy if I'm not careful.

I would not go back to the XP115. That's just too much shaft for me to get my best performance over 18 holes round after round. But I do wish the shorter clubs with the Modus 105 had about 5-10g more weight. I'm going to try 5g of lead tape and that'll probably fix it.

Thanks and enjoy your clubs...

Hot Metal pros went into my bag Wednesday and we won my member guest. I shot 37 each of the 5 matches, they have a ton of forgiveness, feel is great, and holy crap are they long. They will be staying in the bag for a long time

My HC is nearly double yours, but I went with the Pros over the regular HMs last month. I tried to love both the regular HMs and the 919Forged, but I just kept coming back to the Pros, which I was fit into in April. I have them shafted with the C-Taper Lite 110s, which took me longer to decide on than the head. The HM Pros are plenty forgiving for me, and I liked the turf interaction much better with the thinner sole. I played MX200s for the last ten years and cannot believe it took me this long to switch to something new.

I didn't really find the regular HM to be much more forgiving than the Pro, and I thought they flew a bit too high, which I have a problem doing anyway. The Pros with the CTL Stiff give a lower trajectory and didn't effect spin much. If I had had the time to mess with it, I probably would have tried to hard step the 105R to get the slightly lighter weight, but I really love this club/shaft combo. The Modus 105s was second for both my fittings, but I just didn't find them as consistent as the CTLs.

I have and love the Pros. Knocked the i210’s outta the bag.

The performance of my HMP’s are slowly pushing my MMC’s into retirement! I’m really enjoying the combo of performance and forgiveness these irons offer.

> @noodle3872 said:

> The performance of my HMP’s are slowly pushing my MMC’s into retirement! I’m really enjoying the combo of performance and forgiveness these irons offer.

I'm seriously considering the HMP's right now.

I really like the feel when I hit them indoors with both the PX LZ Tour Graphite and Recoil 95.

Have some Z765s I'd like to sell and move back to graphite....

> @noodle3872 said:

> The performance of my HMP’s are slowly pushing my MMC’s into retirement! I’m really enjoying the combo of performance and forgiveness these irons offer.

How's the distance control between your HMP's and MMC's? I do get concerned about distance control on some of the hotter faced irons.. but I hear the HMPs are quite good in this regard..

> @KarstenK said:

> I have and love the Pros. Knocked the i210’s outta the bag.

I have some iE1s and i200s... hoping the HMPs are just as consistent as the i200s but with a little more distance... would you agree? The i200's I have are really solid consistent irons.. gonna be hard to beat.

Also, how's the gapping for the HMPs for you.. I see the HMP pitching wedge is still 45 degrees, so thinking there should be no issues.. my i200 PW was also 45 degrees, then I went to a 50 degree gap, 55 and a 60... did you need to adjust lofts for gapping at the wedge end at all?

> @balls_deep said:

> Have you hit them on monitor? CG is lower on HM so if you need launch go for those. If you compress the ball and have no problem getting height, go for HMP as they'll play more like the i200 you have with a bit of extra forgiveness. I personally struggle to make good contact with a wide soled iron. I come in shallow so a thin sole works WAY better for me.

Yeah, hit both, but not much difference in launch at all for me, although like you, I come in pretty shallow too which is why I will likely choose the Pros over the regular HMs. I had a set of Ping G30's for a while that I loved, but when I'd play anywhere really firm, I had a hard time getting myself to take a good divot.. always felt I was gonna bounce the sole off the turf into the middle of the ball. More mental than anything... so went to iE1s and i200s that were better, but still something I don't like about them.. could be the high bounce...

> @"Tony B" said:

> > @balls_deep said:

> > Have you hit them on monitor? CG is lower on HM so if you need launch go for those. If you compress the ball and have no problem getting height, go for HMP as they'll play more like the i200 you have with a bit of extra forgiveness. I personally struggle to make good contact with a wide soled iron. I come in shallow so a thin sole works WAY better for me.

>

> Yeah, hit both, but not much difference in launch at all for me, although like you, I come in pretty shallow too which is why I will likely choose the Pros over the regular HMs. I had a set of Ping G30's for a while that I loved, but when I'd play anywhere really firm, I had a hard time getting myself to take a good divot.. always felt I was gonna bounce the sole off the turf into the middle of the ball. More mental than anything... so went to iE1s and i200s that were better, but still something I don't like about them.. could be the high bounce...

I hit the 919 Tour extensively yesterday and the more blades I hit the more I don't understand wide soles. I just can't get on with them. The 919 Tour was a fantastic club. The HMP looks nice.

> @balls_deep said:

> > @"Tony B" said:

> > > @balls_deep said:

> > > Have you hit them on monitor? CG is lower on HM so if you need launch go for those. If you compress the ball and have no problem getting height, go for HMP as they'll play more like the i200 you have with a bit of extra forgiveness. I personally struggle to make good contact with a wide soled iron. I come in shallow so a thin sole works WAY better for me.

> >

> > Yeah, hit both, but not much difference in launch at all for me, although like you, I come in pretty shallow too which is why I will likely choose the Pros over the regular HMs. I had a set of Ping G30's for a while that I loved, but when I'd play anywhere really firm, I had a hard time getting myself to take a good divot.. always felt I was gonna bounce the sole off the turf into the middle of the ball. More mental than anything... so went to iE1s and i200s that were better, but still something I don't like about them.. could be the high bounce...

>

> I hit the 919 Tour extensively yesterday and the more blades I hit the more I don't understand wide soles. I just can't get on with them. The 919 Tour was a fantastic club. The HMP looks nice.

Yeah hoping the HMPs bridge the narrow sole feel I'm looking for with some much better forgiveness than blades. Also dying to see the new m20 HMB (hot metal blades) just announced... curious what that package will bring to the table.

> @"Tony B" said:

> > @KarstenK said:

> > I have and love the Pros. Knocked the i210’s outta the bag.

>

> I have some iE1s and i200s... hoping the HMPs are just as consistent as the i200s but with a little more distance... would you agree? The i200's I have are really solid consistent irons.. gonna be hard to beat.

>

> Also, how's the gapping for the HMPs for you.. I see the HMP pitching wedge is still 45 degrees, so thinking there should be no issues.. my i200 PW was also 45 degrees, then I went to a 50 degree gap, 55 and a 60... did you need to adjust lofts for gapping at the wedge end at all?

Yeah I'd agree with your assessment. I think they are slightly more forgiving than i Series Pings and are a tad longer from the mid irons and about a club longer in the long irons. I played power spec lofts in the i210 and the HMP still are still longer. I have not had gapping issues so far. There is a bit of a longer gap between my 50* and PW and 9 since they are about 5 degrees apart but I just hit more three-quarters type shots and it's fine. I play 50/54/58 wedges with them. Working well.

> @KarstenK said:

> > @"Tony B" said:

> > > @KarstenK said:

> > > I have and love the Pros. Knocked the i210’s outta the bag.

> >

> > I have some iE1s and i200s... hoping the HMPs are just as consistent as the i200s but with a little more distance... would you agree? The i200's I have are really solid consistent irons.. gonna be hard to beat.

> >

> > Also, how's the gapping for the HMPs for you.. I see the HMP pitching wedge is still 45 degrees, so thinking there should be no issues.. my i200 PW was also 45 degrees, then I went to a 50 degree gap, 55 and a 60... did you need to adjust lofts for gapping at the wedge end at all?

>

> Yeah I'd agree with your assessment. I think they are slightly more forgiving than i Series Pings and are a tad longer from the mid irons and about a club longer in the long irons. I played power spec lofts in the i210 and the HMP still are still longer. I have not had gapping issues so far. There is a bit of a longer gap between my 50* and PW and 9 since they are about 5 degrees apart but I just hit more three-quarters type shots and it's fine. I play 50/54/58 wedges with them. Working well.

Good to know.. my i200s were 45 Pw, 50 Gw, then I went 55 and 60 glides.. so I'm used to the 5 degree gaps, as long as the HMP Pw and Gw aren't too hot..

> @"Tony B" said:

> > @noodle3872 said:

> > The performance of my HMP’s are slowly pushing my MMC’s into retirement! I’m really enjoying the combo of performance and forgiveness these irons offer.

>

> How's the distance control between your HMP's and MMC's? I do get concerned about distance control on some of the hotter faced irons.. but I hear the HMPs are quite good in this regard..

Distance control is excellent. I get more consistency out of the HMP primarily due to their cavity design and how Mizuno kept similar rebound performance on the entire face. The sweet spot is still the sweet spot however it is only a bit hotter than the rest of the face. This makes these clubs highly consistent for me; no crazy “sweet spot flyers” that airmail my target. This is not to say the HMP’s aren’t long. They are long just not so long that I have insane gaps throughout the low end of my bag.

> @RainShadow said:

> > @noodle3872 said:

> > The performance of my HMP’s are slowly pushing my MMC’s into retirement! I’m really enjoying the combo of performance and forgiveness these irons offer.

>

> I'm seriously considering the HMP's right now.

> I really like the feel when I hit them indoors with both the PX LZ Tour Graphite and Recoil 95.

> Have some Z765s I'd like to sell and move back to graphite....

Have you noticed a difference in feel or ballflight between these two graphite shafts?

Not to thread jack, but has anyone compared distance, dispersion, forgiveness, feel between the HMP and the 919 forged?

> @Micrys2 said:

> Not to thread jack, but has anyone compared distance, dispersion, forgiveness, feel between the HMP and the 919 forged?

I've had my 919F's for 6-8 months and my HMP's for 3 rounds. 919F's have Modus 105's and my HMP's had the LZ graphite shafts and are being reshafted w/ Recoil 780's w/ SMACWRAP. I'm switching to graphite for health reasons. I can say that the HMP's are definitely at least half a club longer and I've hit some shots that were a full club longer in carry than I was expecting. Might be the LZ graphite shafts but I've also noticed a sizeable difference in peak height of my iron shots. Some have been towering. Forgiveness in terms of distance is noticeably better. In terms of direction, is slightly better. I was most impressed by the feel of the HMP's in comparison. They feel pretty damn sweet for a cast club and so far I have no regrets.

Sorry to rain on the HMP parade but I played the regular 900 HM irons for all of last year and loved them. Last time I kept a handicap I was between 6-9, variation due mostly to fading putting skills, and I found the HM's long, forgiving, and consistent. My days of favoring small clubs based on looks are over and besides, the HM's are a fantastic looking iron regardless. The Pro version are a perfectly viable option of course as long as you hit the center of the face most of the time, but if your contact point varies then I'd strongly encourage you to check the ego at the door and give the regular HM's a try.

> @Nessism said:

> Sorry to rain on the HMP parade but I played the regular 900 HM irons for all of last year and loved them. Last time I kept a handicap I was between 6-9, variation due mostly to fading putting skills, and I found the HM's long, forgiving, and consistent. My days of favoring small clubs based on looks are over and besides, the HM's are a fantastic looking iron regardless. The Pro version are a perfectly viable option of course as long as you hit the center of the face most of the time, but if your contact point varies then I'd strongly encourage you to check the ego at the door and give the regular HM's a try.

Would agree completely. Not that the HMP is not forgiving, but the standard HM will provide even more help on off center strikes.

> @Micrys2 said:

> Not to thread jack, but has anyone compared distance, dispersion, forgiveness, feel between the HMP and the 919 forged?

Tried both during my fittings. For me the 919 Forged was 2-4 yards shorter... likely due to loft differences only. Ball speed slightly higher with HMP, again probably due to the 2 degree loft difference. However peak heights were the same and spin was about the same, within 200 rpm. Like others commented, I really enjoyed the feel of the HMP. Mishits were definately more harsh on the forged, and the HMP was more forgiving on distance loss on off center hits... the forged were still plenty forgiving... but if I can get 4 more yards of carry, same or better height, close to the same spin, and have more forgiveness.. I dont have a reason to go with the forged... if your really focused on feel, maybe the forged moves up a notch, but feel isn't my first priority, performance is. Quite pleased with the feel of the HMP, so win all around for me.

> @gdb99 said:

> > @RainShadow said:

> > > @noodle3872 said:

> > > The performance of my HMP’s are slowly pushing my MMC’s into retirement! I’m really enjoying the combo of performance and forgiveness these irons offer.

> >

> > I'm seriously considering the HMP's right now.

> > I really like the feel when I hit them indoors with both the PX LZ Tour Graphite and Recoil 95.

> > Have some Z765s I'd like to sell and move back to graphite....

>

> Have you noticed a difference in feel or ballflight between these two graphite shafts?

>

Hard to tell for sure on the Flight Scope, but it seemed that the PX LZ Tour was a little flatter flight, which is what I expect from a PX branded shaft.

The Recoils were consistently 2-3 yards longer carry w/ a little more spin. About equal overall distance. Dispersion close as well.

I've played the Recoil 95 in the past and get on with it pretty well.

Still need more testing. Would love to hit them outside if possible.

Do the HMP's have a matching Gap Wedge, or is it just the GW from the regular HM's?