New Irons - Where's The Technology?

[Emmitsburg]

Currently playing Mizuno 900JPX HM. Have been reading all the new offerings with artificial intelligence, hollow face, etc. Have demoed P790, G700/G710, Titleist T220/T300 and Mavrik and Mavrik Pro. Compared to my 4 year old Mizuno's I am seeing virtually the same 7 iron distance. The P790 maybe got me 2-3 yards. Not seeing the 10 to 15 yards added distance that everyone is claiming?

[3GoodPutts]

I had 6 year old Cleveland 588 TT irons, got fitted for new Ping i500 irons. During the fitting, I was carrying the Ping 7 iron 170 yards. I have played 4 rounds with the new Pings and don't hit them any farther than my old Clevelands (have yet to come close to a 170 yard 7 iron). The Cleveland 588 TT and Ping i500s are very close on specs (length of club and loft) so it's a good apples to apples comparison.

I like the Ping i500s and glad I got them. But no, they are not longer than my 6 year old Clevelands. I was either swinging much faster during the fitting (probably) or the launch monitor was garbage.

[lefty1978]

A 34° iron is a 34° iron, whether it's a 6, 7 or 8 iron. How much more can it go with your set swing speed? Some may spin less or more, but really we're talking about 1/2 club difference. What some newer irons offer is forgiveness, but I don't buy they go 10-20 yards further loft vs loft.

[Davidv]

A lot of the tech provides more forgiveness and better feel not always distance gains on flush strikes versus previous models.

[Davidv]

[billybaroo]

You must be perfect, go play golf and check back on irons in 5-10 more years.

[cgasucks]

An iron with the same loft and length made 20 years ago will go the same distance as one made 20 days ago when it on the button.

[3GoodPutts]

I agree with this..

[Nessism]

Incorrect. Modern irons like the OP's JPX Hot Metal's have a spring face which increases COR for added distance compared to a thick face iron.

The reason you are not seeing increased distance over the 900 HM's is because they are damn good clubs.

[mantan]

Irons to me are all about consistency and forgiveness, not about getting raw distance. If you are using the correct shaft, the distances by loft should pretty much be the same. Certain clubs may be more forgiving, but there are no distance breakthroughs other than lowering the loft and badgering the clubs.

The one difference being as we get older, there are more options to let us 'keep our distance' than we had in the past.

Quiet as it's kept, there really isn't much room for distance improvement on a driver as well. Most drivers hit on the button with a shaft that fits are going to go the same distance. The differences come in forgiveness for off center hits and a shaft that best fits a golfer.

[forrester_fire]

Driver distance improvement, I get that. Iron distance improvement? Will it really help you hit greens if you're swinging a club that says 8 on the bottom but it's the same length, loft, and distance your old club stamped 7?

Jacked lofts just mean you need to buy more clubs at the bottom of your bag.

[sdandrea]

irons are irons.............................go play golf with whatever looks and feels good.

[1Mordrid1]

If you did not see any difference then that must mean all the people who have seen increases are flat out liars.

 

I have seen these posts too many times on this forum and it is exhausting. Ok so the new technology is not for you. Good for you. You just saved a lot of money from not having to buy new irons. I know I can try to explain to people until I am blue in the face and some people just refuse to see any benefit at all from golf technology. Not all technology will fit every single person. And great ball strikers likely do not "need" most of the newer technology. But the Tech does help some people. And believe it or not, some people see distance and accuracy gains with the new technology. I still see the same forum garbage spewed time and time again "a 34 degree iron is a 34 degree iron and will go the same distance as any other 34 degree iron". Then they will spew or link some comparison where a youtube personality will take a club they were fitted for and compare it to one they were not fitted for and throw the same shaft in both, even though the design of their "gamer" shaft may not be the optimized shaft for the newer club. They will also completely fail to tell you that their "gamer" 6 iron has a shaft that is 1/2" longer to aid in swing speed and ball speed when compared to the "newer 7 iron". Then they will tell you that there is no difference whatsoever. And what is great is how so many self "educated" golfers claim this as a fair comparison. Simple physics even tells you there has to be some gain. If I have 2 clubs with the same static loft but one launches higher with slightly less spin, then up to a certain point of diminishing returns, it will fly further. Now whether that distance gain is significant enough to warrant a club change is up to the individual. If this was not the case then why do all of these same golfers want to optimize launch and reduce spin on their drivers? These new designs may allow some golfers to achieve this with irons, where as someone who already has their "optimum" launch conditions may not see benefits.

 

The reality of newer golf technology sometimes lies somewhere in between the blind traditionalist views and the OEM marketing garbage. I have used an Oban Tour Limited shaft in a Taylormade M1 440, a Callaway Rogue, and a PXG 0811x. I love that shaft and it has been my go to shaft for years. And you know what? If I had forced myself to only hit the Callaway Flash Epic with that shaft, I would have never bought the EF, because that combo was as good as the "stock" shaft offering, but not as good as some other combos. So when I did hit the Epic Flash with what was my favorite shaft, and the results did not wow me. But I did not assume that it must mean the Epic Flash is garbage. Instead, I tried to find a better shaft for that head and my swing. And I did this with many different OEM drivers.

Your irons are still fairly recent so it is not like you were comparing the new stuff to 10 year old irons. So maybe you tried some new clubs with "stock" shafts, and those stock shafts just don't work for you. Or maybe you tried every shaft they had, and your current combo fits so well that it just cannot be beat. Or maybe you are just such an elite ball striker that you can hit everything the exact same distance. That does not mean that the technology in the irons does not exist or does not help anybody else.

[OrangeGravy]

I hit them all like Sh!t, from 1967 Walter Hagen Blades to Ping Eye 2 (newest set I own)

[chinaski]

Your scores wouldn't be any different if you were playing with a properly fit iron set from 2010 vs one from today.

[Payton1020]

There's a sucker born every minute.

[Sean2]

The OEM's have "lofty" expectations. :-)

As others have alluded to depending on the club model there can be as much as a 7º or more discrepancy between one iron versus another iron (take a look at the PW's below for example).

Ping Eye2 versus Mavrik:

[Londoner]

The number written on the club has as much bearing as the name on the grip.

If you know you hit it 150 thats all you need to know.

[Golf64]

It's all about the mishits any more. The new tech, especially drivers, are helping with making mishits less punishing. Better dispersion, hopefully?!

[bvanlieu]

Pretty easy to experiment yourself if you can mishit it a bit (I know I can). I've done this with my 1989 Staff Blade, mid 80s Ping E2+, P770 and P790. Its fun at the range (just cherry pick some newer range balls for a better sample set).

 

Blade has a smidge less ball speed when middled. Mis hits too far on the heel are meh, toe on that club is really bad.

 

P790 constantly amazes me that it goes as far as it does on a crap strike. P770 is decently forgiving but not as good as the 790 hence I blend my set.

 

Middled and they all are within 2-3 yards for my strike/swing speed.

 

As others have said, the pure distance equation is marketing and ego: yes I can hit a 7iron 180 now, but its a 5 iron loft. I really don't want 5 wedges.

 

 

[Payton1020]

I'm well aware of the strong lofts. I was referring to those who actually think there's some new fangle technology.

[Sean2]

I know you are, hence your comment. At the end of the day it is just a number on the bottom of the club. :-)