Iron suggestions for a sweeper who needs help

[CROUSE99]

I take very little to no divot with my irons. Unfortunately, I am also a poor ball striker so I need some forgiveness. I am going to try as many models as I can over the next few weeks, but would like to hear some suggestions from the golfwrx folks.

Thanks!

Oh, before you suggest lessons, know that I am taking lessons, but I don't know if divot taking will ever be in my future. :)

[HappyGilmore22]

Need more info on like handicap, swing speed, 7 iron distance, your ball flight, etc.

[CROUSE99]

HCP is hovering between 10 and 11. Swing speed with 7 iron is 75 or 76mph. I hit the ball low to medium height with my irons. Would love a higher flight.

[gdb99]

I’m more of a sweeper. My Pro always told me a thin miss is better than a fat one, so it’s just how I play the game.

I just bought the T200 irons from Titleist. Coming from 712 AP1’s. They feel better, fly higher, and seem very forgiving. Only played 1 round so far.

Good luck!

[NYCGolfNut]

Same here. Grew up playing harder turf and dry grass, so more of a sweeper / picker and don’t take deep divots. Similar handicap, with 85-90 swing speed with a 7i.

 

Basically need irons that give the best outcome when struck thin. So can’t do high bounce in irons. The irons that have worked best for me have been the PXG 0311Ts. Still my primary set. That said, I play for fun and like the look of a blade. The Nike VR Pros and Vapor Pros, and the Mizzy MP5s have all been great.

 

I picked up the Ping BPs this summer coz they looked so beautiful, but am not getting as nice results from them. I think the MP20 blade and HMB combo might be the ticket.

[Nessism]

Mizuno Hot Metal. Low bounce so good for pickers, but with a beveled sole so they go through the turf easily.

[BostonWRX]

Low bounce check out mizunos maybe 919 forged

[ChaosTheory]

Something with a very low center of gravity. Sometimes the big super game improvement clubs, which you would expect would be low COG, are the opposite. Callaway RAZR X irons from a few years ago are very low COG. It's hard to do better than those for this purpose. Otherwise, you would do well to look up the Maltby MPF data on clubs you are interested in. Look for adjusted vertical COG lower than, oh, 0.740. The lower the better, for all practical purposes for you.

[CROUSE99]

Thanks for the info, everyone. Keep 'em coming.

[PreppySlapCut]

Ping i210 w/ power spec lofts and a bounce grind.

[CROUSE99]

> @PreppySlapCut said:

> Ping i210 w/ power spec lofts and a bounce grind.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I thought Pings wouldn't be a good choice, but if they will do a lower bounce...

[NYCGolfNut]

Have heard that PING’s are usually a little higher bounce in their standard specs. If you go for power spec lofts, that would lower the bounce, right?

[endy]

Yes and the bounce grind would lower the bounce further

[NYCGolfNut]

Thanks. Going to look into strengthening the lofts on my BPs by a degree. I launch and spin them way too high anyways.

[golf_fanatik]

> @Nessism said:

> Mizuno Hot Metal. Low bounce so good for pickers, but with a beveled sole so they go through the turf easily.

 

This.

[SwooshLT]

Srixon Z585 CB iron.....easiest launch with great looks and feel

[endy]

> @" SwooshLT" said:

> Srixon Z585 CB iron.....easiest launch with great looks and feel

I have had great success with Srixon irons and I’m certainly a picker/sweeper. The V sole is very versatile and for whatever reason works for me. Certainly worth a shot. I’d definitely try the MP20 and MP20 HMB as well.

 

[endy]

> @golpher63 said:

> Try the irons with a thick sole like the Taylormade M5 or M6 series

Oddly enough thick soled irons are the worst for me as a picker/sweeper. Worth trying for others perhaps, but I did not get along with them at all. On the contrary, the thinner the sole, generally the better for me.

[junkfry]

Another vote for Mizuno Hot Metals.

[JDMRN81]

Maltby DBM’s. Low bounce and VCOG.....perfect for sweepers. They’re GI irons with a smaller top line/sole. I’ve owned multiple sets of PXG, Pings, Mizuno, TM, and these are still in my bag.

[nsxguy]

> @CROUSE99 said:

> I take very little to no divot with my irons. Unfortunately, I am also a poor ball striker so I need some forgiveness. I am going to try as many models as I can over the next few weeks, but would like to hear some suggestions from the golfwrx folks.

> Thanks!

> Oh, before you suggest lessons, know that I am taking lessons, but I don't know if divot taking will ever be in my future. :)

 

What did your instructor suggest ?

 

And doesn't he have access to some different irons to see how they would work ?

 

If you're around a 10 you're probably not as poor a ball striker as you think.

 

FWIW, I have the Ping G20s from 2012. Hardly an iron out there with a wider sole or more bounce and I have transitioned to a considerably shallower angle of attack with most irons. From 5-9 I barely take any grass. The higher lofted clubs, roughly PW through 60* I still dig a bit but even those leave shallower divots than before. Then again, on the PW is the G20,,,,,,,,,,

 

 

[shanx]

Sweeper/picker here too, usually play thin soled blades (MP5 and MP15, currently). Also have a set of 07 Cally XForged that had very thin, flat soles.

[myspinonit]

> @endy said:

> > @golpher63 said:

> > Try the irons with a thick sole like the Taylormade M5 or M6 series

> Oddly enough thick soled irons are the worst for me as a picker/sweeper. Worth trying for others perhaps, but I did not get along with them at all. On the contrary, the thinner the sole, generally the better for me.

 

Not odd at all, In expect you would tend to hot wide sole irons thin. That's what I found out when I was fitted for clubs seven years ago (settling on the Miuras I still have) . Was playing "shovel:" style irons at the time.

[CROUSE99]

Thanks for the feedback. I hit the following Mizunos today: HM Pro; MP 20 MMC; MP HMB and (just for kicks) the MP 20, all with Recoil shafts. The MPs all felt wonderful. The HM Pro didn't feel as good but they weren't bad by any means. Surprisingly, I was getting my normal yardages with the MP HMB and MP MMC despite the fact they are lofted 2 degrees weaker than my current irons. I also hit the Titleist T200 and T100 with Tensei shafts. Good results with the T200 but didn't care for the sound. By the time I got around to the T100 I was pretty tired, so the less said about them the better. I'm going to add the Apex 19s to the mix. After I narrow it down to a couple of choices, I'll take demo irons to the course to check turf interaction.

[CROUSE99]

> @nsxguy said:

> > @CROUSE99 said:

> > I take very little to no divot with my irons. Unfortunately, I am also a poor ball striker so I need some forgiveness. I am going to try as many models as I can over the next few weeks, but would like to hear some suggestions from the golfwrx folks.

> > Thanks!

> > Oh, before you suggest lessons, know that I am taking lessons, but I don't know if divot taking will ever be in my future. :)

>

> What did your instructor suggest ?

>

> And doesn't he have access to some different irons to see how they would work ?

>

> If you're around a 10 you're probably not as poor a ball striker as you think.

>

> FWIW, I have the Ping G20s from 2012. Hardly an iron out there with a wider sole or more bounce and I have transitioned to a considerably shallower angle of attack with most irons. From 5-9 I barely take any grass. The higher lofted clubs, roughly PW through 60* I still dig a bit but even those leave shallower divots than before. Then again, on the PW is the G20,,,,,,,,,,

>

>

 

Thanks. Unfortunately, my instructor works at a club that has no demo clubs on hand. I have had 4 different iterations of G irons and have finally admitted that they don't work that well for me. I kept trying because I like the company (and I'm a slow learner :/ )

[teedub21]

Also a sweeper/picker but a higher handicap than yours. I switched over to a set of Apex 19's this summer and really like them. Very forgiving but a smaller head and more traditional width sole.

[ChaosTheory]

Yeah it took me a couple of tries to realize the Ping G type soles are no good for me. I prefer a thinner sole with a killed leading edge. And a low COG. Now that is a unicorn. The RAZR X is the best I’ve seen because the rear part of the sole is off the ground. So it plays thinner. If you pay attention you’ll observe other soles that work that way. The bounce will be somewhere in the middle, not at the trailing edge, and it will be low or moderate. That is probably why people like the Srixon irons. But are they low COG? I don’t know.

[gdb99]

> @CROUSE99 said:

> Thanks for the feedback. I hit the following Mizunos today: HM Pro; MP 20 MMC; MP HMB and (just for kicks) the MP 20, all with Recoil shafts. The MPs all felt wonderful. The HM Pro didn't feel as good but they weren't bad by any means. Surprisingly, I was getting my normal yardages with the MP HMB and MP MMC despite the fact they are lofted 2 degrees weaker than my current irons. I also hit the Titleist T200 and T100 with Tensei shafts. Good results with the T200 but didn't care for the sound. By the time I got around to the T100 I was pretty tired, so the less said about them the better. I'm going to add the Apex 19s to the mix. After I narrow it down to a couple of choices, I'll take demo irons to the course to check turf interaction.

 

I only have 1 round with my T200’s but, the only time they sounded bad was when I struck it high on the face, like out of the rough.

 

[bellairemi]

I second the Maltby DBM/TE Forged suggestion. Nothing better that I have found as a picker, which was reaffirmed recently in a fitting.

[CROUSE99]

 

>

> I only have 1 round with my T200’s but, the only time they sounded bad was when I struck it high on the face, like out of the rough.

>

To be fair, I hit the T200 immediately after the MP 20s. Just about any club wouldn't sound or feel as good as the MP 20.