Game Improvement vs Players Irons

[larryd3]

Over time, you might grow into the Rogue Pro's, but it sounds like you don't have enough confidence to be playing these clubs. I believe that every time you pull a club out of the bag, you have to feel that you are going to flush it. You may not, but you have to believe that you can. It doesn't sound like you have that kind of confidence with these clubs and I would look for something more appropriate to your abilities and inspire your confidence.

 

I made a similar decision recently because I didn't have the same confidence with the long irons that I did with the short irons. I felt like I needed to be able to rely on my longs irons more and made a change to a more forgiving set of clubs. Although I've only had a chance to hit them indoors (due to the weather), I feel much more confident when pulling out a long iron. I'm looking forward to lower scores and better results when I get out on the course.

 

Thanks for the tips. I had previously thought of purchasing a 5, 6, and 7i in the Rogue irons to help with that extra bit of forgiveness. I'll take another look at that, thanks!

 

Why not try having your current irons bent back to standard specs and see how the distances are then? You can always have the wedges bent for gapping purposes.

[gvogel]

Over time, you might grow into the Rogue Pro's, but it sounds like you don't have enough confidence to be playing these clubs. I believe that every time you pull a club out of the bag, you have to feel that you are going to flush it. You may not, but you have to believe that you can. It doesn't sound like you have that kind of confidence with these clubs and I would look for something more appropriate to your abilities and inspire your confidence.

 

I made a similar decision recently because I didn't have the same confidence with the long irons that I did with the short irons. I felt like I needed to be able to rely on my longs irons more and made a change to a more forgiving set of clubs. Although I've only had a chance to hit them indoors (due to the weather), I feel much more confident when pulling out a long iron. I'm looking forward to lower scores and better results when I get out on the course.

 

Thanks for the tips. I had previously thought of purchasing a 5, 6, and 7i in the Rogue irons to help with that extra bit of forgiveness. I'll take another look at that, thanks!

 

I endorse combo sets. I play a combo set of AP1 and AP2.

[gvogel]

 

How far do you hit your 7-iron? How far do you hit your driver?

 

If you are a very strong player, I would say stick with the Rogue Pros for another year. If you are like me (7-iron 145), a game improvement iron would be helpful.

 

With my RSI 1s I hit my 7 around 150. With the RP on flush hits I'll get 145. On misses I'm more in the 130-135 range, which is just discouraging. I know golf isn't about distance but knowing you can and should get more out of a club gets you down when you don't.

 

I hit my driver 200 yards. 10.5*

 

We play pretty much the same game, although I might be 10 to 15 yards longer off the tee.

 

I play a combo set of AP1 and AP2, both with the same regular shaft (Titleist Nippon 105T). That shaft is a little softer in the tip and helps me get the ball in the air, but is also not too light at around 110 grams.

 

I think you could play your Rogue Pros from 8-iron to PW. Pick up some Rogue regular irons 5 to 7-iron. Make sure the shafts are easy to hit. You should be good to go.

[DFDLT]

I played an off the rack set that was to light for me. I got fitted for a much heavier shaft and a swing weight suited for me. My fitter at club champion explained it as my mind now knowing where the club is in my hands and in the air with actually being able to feel the weight. I was feeling exactly what he was saying. I think the shaft weight and ballpark swing weight are as or more important than swinging the biggest GI club vs a players club. Then on top of that having the correct flex and shaft attributes. Now I feel like I can have a more repeatable swing and improve no matter what club head I choose.

[chisag]

... Teaching for 5 years gave me plenty of insight into the average golfer and what equipment they need. I learned 2 things. Everyone is different from body type to swing style and irons are equally different with many factors going into finding what works best. But most importantly everyone should be playing the most forgiving irons they can effectively play. For some with high spin, high swing speed and center contact the most forgiving irons they can effectively play will be MB's and for many with little athletic background and no experience with the lower body starting an athletic movement SGI's are the most forgiving irons they can effectively play. But even in the middle of that wide range, individuals can surprise you. I had one student playing MB's that made inconsistent contact and had trouble hitting the ball high enough. He was a perfect candidate for GI irons, but he consistently hit them worse than his MB's. He took lessons from me for 2 years and sure it was mental, but in the end does it matter? There just are no hard and fast rules for finding the irons you hit best.

 

... That said, most golfers I worked with played better with more forgiving irons than they were currently playing. Any distaste for thicker toplines and wider soles disappeared when they hit better shots on the course and carded a lower score. You just don't hear baseball players complain that the bak of their glove looks bad so they don't field as well. Or tennis players with a properly strung racket play poorly because the colors are not their favorite and the frame is a little wider than they like. I was playing MB's at that time and it influenced me to move to Players CB's because the few times a round I hit them poorly, the results were better and so were my scores. So Rogue Pro's may not work best with the OP's misses regardless of how forgiving some find them as Players irons.

[tcatone5]

Try the I500's they are a hybrid of Game improvement with the look of a players iron.

 

I got me a set and feel much more confident at address great distance and great performing club IMO definitely worth hitting in a Sim

[bellairemi]

OP, it might be worth perusing the individual head measurements at Golfworks (aka the "Maltby Playabity Factor") to provide some factual basis to your evaluation. Maltby has a good explanation of what each category measures but you might also search for posts here by CWebb who does an excellent job of this as well. I ignore the overall MPF number but knowing the individual measurements has been really valuable to me when fitting family and friends (and myself).

 

If you compare your current Rogue Pros against the RSi 1 irons, there are some interesting points. The overall difference in MOI (resistance to twisting in a mishit) is minimal (13.1 versus 13.4) and both would be in the moderately forgiving area when looking at MOI (there are some heads up around 17 and 18). Where differences do show however are in the "C" Dimension (a larger number would suggest better results on shots hit nearer the toe) and also the Vertical COG (VCOG) which can affect the quality of your shot depending on how you strike the ball. This data would suggest the RSi's to be more forgiving on toe strikes and also better on maintaining shot height and spin (as indicated by the lower VCOG measurement).

 

I do not suggest this as the "be all" for choosing clubheads as the ratings do not take into account many factors such as sole width, sole interaction with turf, effects of a spring faced iron, shaft differences, etc. Good luck on your search!

[ChipNRun]

• Two year player
  
• Practice once/twice per week, play once per week.
  
• Average score: ~100
  
• Handicap: ~26...
  

... I am wondering if I need to play a more forgiving set. At this point in my game I feel like my lack of distance is hindering my ability to improve. What are your thoughts? Do you see handicap as a determining factor of what irons you select? I know clubs aren't the end all-fix all, but sometimes I worry I'm making the game more difficult than it needs to be.

 

How far do you hit your 7-iron? How far do you hit your driver?

 

If you are a very strong player, I would say stick with the Rogue Pros for another year. If you are like me (7-iron 145), a game improvement iron would be helpful.

One caution on the Golf Digest Hot List categories of players, GI, SGI (and Players Distance). Clubs get assigned a category by market niche, not by some scientific analysis system like the Maltby Playability Factor.

 

I find the categories are a good general guidelines, but not perfect.

 

As for me, I hit a 7i about 140 yards, and carry a driver 210-230 yards with high rollout. What I do have is ability to square up the club at impact, and am slightly handsy in my swing. So, I'm an average golfer who doesn't need much offset.

 

Also, let's not forget about the shaft. bmeGT, what shaft and flex do you have in the Rogue Pros?

 

This is a common solution for me in rough, demo day fittings: a GI or (friendly) Players head with an R-flex steel shaft of around 100 grams; graphite... a Recoil 95 or a SteelFiber i80.

 

Estimated suitability of Players irons for me varies widely. The TaylorMade P7xx? Forget it. / Callaway Rogue Pro - probably doable with Recoil 95. / Ping i200 - doable .. Ping iBlade... forget it!

 

If you could share the shaft/flex of your irons and the 7i distance, this would help a lot.

 

Also, take a tune-up lesson on your irons. You may have stance or ball-position problems that hold you back.

 

And, I suspect that gvogel's advice may be on target.

[Zac1321]

2 things to think about: (1) I think handicap doesn't mean nearly as much as we think it does in terms of what you should or shouldn't play, there are plenty of people who are high cappers who are great iron strikers but just suck with their short game. If you love the irons you will adjust to them and the feedback will help you see your mistakes, if its making you unhappy though then switch it up. at the end of the day its all about having fun and enjoying yourself. (2) who cares if you lose some yardage on your irons from what you were playing? as long as you know your yardages and have confidence in it (doesn't sound like you do right now, but that will come) then who cares if you carry a your new 7 iron less than your old one. If distance is the most important thing than go for some hot irons or something with real strong lofts but as long as you don't have any gaps in your bag it really doesn't matter if you carry your 7i 130 or 200

[Shawn Paul]

Practice with the P, 9 & 8. If you can't learn to hit those consistently then they're the wrong clubs for you.

[hardten]

• Two year player
  
• Practice once/twice per week, play once per week.
  
• Average score: ~100
  
• Handicap: ~26.
  

I began playing golf two years ago. After a few lessons, I was advised to go get fit for irons, so last April I got fit for irons and hit everything from SGI's to blades. During the session, I made a comment to the fitter that I liked the look of the slim top line the Rogue Pro's although I couldn't strike them very well. Others I tried weren't as appealing to my eye, but they were easier to hit and I seemed to have better results (though I didn't comment on them). To my surprise, it was the Rogue Pro's that were recommended to me at end of the session. It struck me as odd to recommend players irons to a 25+ handicap, but I ignored my concerns and decided to trust the process and his opinion. I ended up selling my Taylormade RSI 1 irons and purchasing the Rogue Pro's a week later. To match my existing wedge lofts, he advised me to weaken each iron across the board.

 

After a few rounds, I realized I had lost a clubs worth of distance due to the loft differences even on flush hits, but I enjoyed the sound and feel much more than my previous clubs. To let you know where I'm at, if I swing a 7i ten times, I'll hit it flush three times. Six are slight toe/heel misses and one is probably a chunk. Because the Rogue Pro's aren't as forgiving and because center strikes aren't exactly common, I am losing even more distance than I had previously accepted.

 

I am wondering if I need to play a more forgiving set. At this point in my game I feel like my lack of distance is hindering my ability to improve. What are your thoughts? Do you see handicap as a determining factor of what irons you select? I know clubs aren't the end all-fix all, but sometimes I worry I'm making the game more difficult than it needs to be.

Just a heads up to be sure you saw them. I returned your pm yesterday with two from myself.