Iron forgiveness vs player skill

[HackerD]

As a mid-teens handicap player, have played a variety of irons from player CB (J40 DPC) to very GI (G15) over a span of 10-15 years. My sense is my iron play was most consistent with the GI end of the spectrum.

 

Is it a general truth, for a player whose swing is at steady state more or less, with a given level of dispersion around the sweet spot as well as swing path, that he should play an iron matched to that? That is, play irons with the level and type of forgiveness that his/her swing requires?

 

Should I stop messing around with player’s irons? Seeing a thread on S55’s which look beautiful and do have some forgiveness, and are affordable on the preowned market, I’m tempted. But is it a stupid move for a hacker?

 

[2putttom]

have you tested the 55's

[Chuck905]

Forget truth because there is none relative to an absolute truth.

 

There’s too many man made marketing, theories and propaganda, what should you believe?

 

I’ve gone full circle and playing my first set of “true blades” (MP18s) and enjoying them.

 

My personal experience is you are buying the heads for looks but it’s the shaft that is going to determine your performance; it has to match your swing, provided it’s a decent one.

 

You owe it to yourself to try out the S55s.

[Bobb3rdown]

I definitely prefer more of a player iron. Played j36 pocket cavities for a long time. Really liked them. Played mp59s for a little bit. Hit some great shots. But the shafts where to light for me. I was spraying all over the place. Recently picked up some ap2s and had a great round shooting 2 under my hcp. Which has been lower then it normally is because I shot a legit 78 back to back weeks mid season. For irons it's about consistency. Even the bad shots. With game improvement clubs that I've tried I couldn't tell you.qhat the ball was gonna do on a good hit vs a bad hit. Lacked the feel I was used to. That's what a more players iron gives you.

[Chuck905]

I’ve tried the distance irons thing, and it was worse for my game because of the long left misses. Also, it was expensive trying to mate a GW, SW LW, 3 and 2 irons; what a headache. Ended up weakening my 9 iron to 43* and PW to 48*, got every yardage gap covered.

 

Going back my 900 Tours and MP18s, I do notice an advantage in precision; no outliers. Feel of course as well.

 

 

 

I definitely prefer more of a player iron. Played j36 pocket cavities for a long time. Really liked them. Played mp59s for a little bit. Hit some great shots. But the shafts where to light for me. I was spraying all over the place. Recently picked up some ap2s and had a great round shooting 2 under my hcp. Which has been lower then it normally is because I shot a legit 78 back to back weeks mid season. For irons it's about consistency. Even the bad shots. With game improvement clubs that I've tried I couldn't tell you.qhat the ball was gonna do on a good hit vs a bad hit. Lacked the feel I was used to. That's what a more players iron gives you.

[Nessism]

I'm a believer in the old adage: play the most forgiving irons you can stand to look at. I played blades for more than a decade, moved to players cavities for more than another decade, and eventually wound up at full size GI clubs after that. As I've matured I've become more accepting of larger clubs to the point that I prefer them now. Some people say that large clubs have poor turf interaction but when I read this I think it's mostly just guys making that stuff up because I've not found that to be the case at all. In terms of players skill vs. iron forgiveness overall, a skilled player can use anything...but that's a different topic for a different thread.

[wrmiller]

I'm a believer in the old adage: play the most forgiving irons you can stand to look at. I played blades for more than a decade, moved to players cavities for more than another decade, and eventually wound up at full size GI clubs after that. As I've matured I've become more accepting of larger clubs to the point that I prefer them now. Some people say that large clubs have poor turf interaction but when I read this I think it's mostly just guys making that stuff up because I've not found that to be the case at all. In terms of players skill vs. iron forgiveness overall, a skilled player can use anything...but that's a different topic for a different thread.

 

I'll take this one step further and say play what you enjoy playing. If you are absolutely driven by score, play the irons that give you the chance for your best scores.

 

I'm way past worrying about scores anymore, so I play irons that I like the look/feel of, and enjoy the challenge of adapting to their different characteristics.

 

Can I hit G400s/G700s? Yes. Did I like it? No.

 

I have four different iron sets and play them all. A trip to the range and I 'adjust' to each set.

 

Some I play better than others of course, but I enjoy the playing experience with them all. :)

 

I just bought some MP-18s and just finished re-shafting and re-griping them. I'll bend them tomorrow and take them to the range. I put some Recoils in them that are a little whippy and like to spin, so I'll adjust my AOA and release to see if I can adapt.

 

That's the fun. For me. :)

[sdandrea]

FWIW, I am an 11 capper and I consider myself a mediocre iron striker, I think the G400 is the smallest profile iron I can handle, and I my longest iron in that set is the 7. I use hybrids and FW metals for the 6i and up. My scores and handicap would rise with smaller profile irons (I have proven this).

[wrmiller]

FWIW, I am an 11 capper and I consider myself a mediocre iron striker, I think the G400 is the smallest profile iron I can handle, and I my longest iron in that set is the 7. I use hybrids and FW metals for the 6i and up. My scores and handicap would rise with smaller profile irons (I have proven this).

 

And there's nothing wrong with this. If your goal is the best score/handicap possible, play the clubs that can best help with that. :)

 

I thought the G400 iron was pretty good at doing what it's supposed to do: hit the ball high and straight. But I like to curve the ball and flight it a bit as Spring here is called the Windy Season for good reason. That and I really don't need a 200+ yd. seven iron.

 

But, I'm getting older, and there will come a time when I'm going to have to seriously look at a G400 or similar iron. Progress. :D

[rwc356]

I recently added a new (to me) set of Ping i20's with senior graphite to substitute with my i3's with regular steel. I was looking for the right shaft and low amounts of offset. i20 heads seem bigger than the i3s but like @wrmiller, a little time on the practice range seemed to make the adjustment palatable. While these club heads are clearly larger than my hickories or Hogan's, I don't really feel club head size matters much to my performance - I think its more the shaft and how the club sets up at address that matters to me.

[Spirit76]

As a mid-teens handicap player, have played a variety of irons from player CB (J40 DPC) to very GI (G15) over a span of 10-15 years. My sense is my iron play was most consistent with the GI end of the spectrum.

 

Is it a general truth, for a player whose swing is at steady state more or less, with a given level of dispersion around the sweet spot as well as swing path, that he should play an iron matched to that? That is, play irons with the level and type of forgiveness that his/her swing requires?

 

Should I stop messing around with player's irons? Seeing a thread on S55's which look beautiful and do have some forgiveness, and are affordable on the preowned market, I'm tempted. But is it a stupid move for a hacker?

 

It's not a stupid move at all but I don't think you are well served to buy a club based on looks alone. You really have to try the clubs out before you buy. The S55's are suited for players at all levels. What is most important is that you are fitted into the correct Ping color code and pay special attention to the shaft. Try multiple shafts from several of the top shaft OEMs. You can test in the replacement current model, the i210, and then look around for a set of S55's with that shaft once you're dialed in. It will play very much the same. You might be a regular in one manufacturer and a stiff in another. Another option is to split your set and just use the s55's for your shorter clubs and something more forgiving starting with the 5 or 6, generally the clubs that start to become more difficult to hit properly in any set, but particular in a club known to be more of a classic look blade-like model. Consider using a 'friendlier' club like a G or G400 in your 4, 5, and 6 and then go to hybrids. Just my 2c.

[HackerD]

Thanks for the input. I pulled the trigger on some S55’s that were available in my spec. (Possible side project to regrip, regap to 3/8” and dial in swingweights (poor man’s MOI matching).) Meanwhile hitting my JPX-850 really well right now and will keep them in the bag for a while. Still another month left of playing for money so score matters.

[LowDime]

I am aswell in the same boat. a teens or high single handicapper that doesn't get to play much anymore. I recently retired my mizuno 60/68 combo set, in favor of a set of JPX 850 tours. So i have the decent play ability and good forgiveness.

[TexasHarley]

As a mid-teens handicap player, have played a variety of irons from player CB (J40 DPC) to very GI (G15) over a span of 10-15 years. My sense is my iron play was most consistent with the GI end of the spectrum.

 

Is it a general truth, for a player whose swing is at steady state more or less, with a given level of dispersion around the sweet spot as well as swing path, that he should play an iron matched to that? That is, play irons with the level and type of forgiveness that his/her swing requires?

 

Should I stop messing around with player's irons? Seeing a thread on S55's which look beautiful and do have some forgiveness, and are affordable on the preowned market, I'm tempted. But is it a stupid move for a hacker?

 

The best Irons that I've ever played for game improvement are my current blades. I got these when I was a solid 30 handicap. Started practicing with them, with very painful results on mishits. They taught me to take half-swings, club down, and hold the club as light as possible. Funny thing happened... I started hitting the ball much more cleanly and more in the sweet spot.

 

My score has improved by a good dozen or more strokes. Now that I've become a better ball striker I'm now going back to a "game improvement" iron. Truly, anything more forgiving than a blade with a pea-sized sweetspot will help me out tremendously. My mishits are much closer to the center of the club than before I got these clubs, but now I'm looking for a club that gives me almost the same distance on off-centered hits (compared to the 15-20 yard loss on my clubs).

[TheDeanAbides]

My first set of irons were cavity backs but with a players profile at address, and I've never been able to adjust properly to a GI club since. For me it's at least as important to have a set of clubs I can chip with well (I use from 8 iron to SW around the greens) and that has to be a blade/muscle back.