25 hcp golfer seeks new irons

[Niels1971]

Hello fellow golfers

 

I’m a 44 year old guy, who started playing in 2012. This season I’ve lowered my hcp from 29 to 25,2. I’m still working a lot on my swing, and I would not consider myself as being a consistent ball striker. I struggle with distance, as well as hitting the long irons.

 

I’ve never tried Trackman or similar, but I believe my clubhead speed to be fairly slow.

 

I’m considering a new set of irons. I currently game a set of Callaway RazorX (2011 ed). The iron sets that I have been looking at (have not tested anything yet), are the following:

• Callaway XR
  
• Mizuno 850
  
• Srixzon 545 (or a combo with 745)
  
• Titleist 716 AP1
  

Can any of you guys recommend any of the above mentioned?

 

Also, would I be better of with my current iron set, and then wait until my swing has improved?

 

All your help will be much appreciated.

 

Niels

[georgiaboy]

I'd spend my money on 6 weeks of lessons with a reputable instructor/fitter. From that progress and having someone that knows your miss you can make that decision a lot more clean cut.

[Boller]

when I was a 25 I got a set of ping i20 and never regret it. The i series are great. I loved them and if you're really looking for sth I'd give Ping a try. Maybe you'll find an older Ping i20 or i25 set. But the iE1 are nice as well. good luck :-)

[matchavez]

[quote name='Niels1971' timestamp='1447092435' post='12574682']
Hello fellow golfers

I’m a 44 year old guy, who started playing in 2012. This season I’ve lowered my hcp from 29 to 25,2. I’m still working a lot on my swing, and I would not consider myself as being a consistent ball striker. I struggle with distance, as well as hitting the long irons.

I’ve never tried Trackman or similar, but I believe my clubhead speed to be fairly slow.

I’m considering a new set of irons. I currently game a set of Callaway RazorX (2011 ed). The iron sets that I have been looking at (have not tested anything yet), are the following:[list]
[*]Callaway XR
[*]Mizuno 850
[*]Srixzon 545 (or a combo with 745)
[*]Titleist 716 AP1
[/list]
Can any of you guys recommend any of the above mentioned?

Also, would I be better of with my current iron set, and then wait until my swing has improved?

All your help will be much appreciated.

Niels
[/quote]


All are very good sets.

It would be good if you saw a fitter to get them ordered to your specifications.

However, if you can tell us what you want to change, or that you don't like about your current irons, we can give you some more specific help. Is there something you want to change about your current set?

[Brescia1016]

The past year I went through the process that I should play an iron based on my handicap. It really isn't the best way to choose the type of iron to play. Handicap represents the overal of a players game. I am a 16 handicap but the main reason is I can't get off the tee consitantly or putt to save my life. These two have no effect on how I strike my irons (which is acutally the strength of my game).

Do you need new irons... no. But I completly understand if you want new ones. My advice is to get something you love and are confident looking down upon. The only way to figure that out is to go hit as many as you can. If you really enjoy and love your clubs it will help provide you confidece as well as you wanting to practice with them.

One side note is to try different shaft options that are aviable. I had the Ping I E1 irons with the s300 shafts and they were horrible for me. Just didn't get along with them. Got the same model irons but with the Modus3 105 shaft and its like a totally different club. Something I learned the hard way so hopefully it saves you a little trouble.

Good luck and make sure you have fun testing and trying clubs out beucase it is one of the best parts of the proces.

[jimjc]

Your Callaway RazrX are pretty close to the irons listed. The Call. XR's are a bit longer in distance and the long irons are pretty darn easy to hit so if you have to have a new set this may be something to consider.

If I were in your handi I'd stick with what you have until you get a bit more consistent with your swing, then you can look at what irons may fit at that point.

On the other hand the irons listed will bring you to your next level of play. Remember all these irons someone is successfully playing in the single digits with.

The main problem is with the shafts whether they will produce the trajectory you need for your swing.

[blink3665]

As Matchavez mentioned. They are all good sets. Why do you want to switch irons? Are you tired of playing your old irons, time for something new? Or do you feel you'll get more out of fitted/newer irons?

If you have your heart set on new irons I would go get fit for them. See which ones you like the look/feel/performance of. I know that my mind has changed from seeing a picture on the internet, to having it in my hand, to swinging the club.

If you arent completely set on buying new irons... You may want to focus your attention on some lessons from a reputable instructor. 6-10 lessons can really make a huge difference. I went from a 25 last year down to just hitting 15.9 (this month). I attribute it to two things. My lessons, and my mini-driver.

I'm not saying that either option is the right way. I LOVE shiny new equipment so I wouldnt judge if you went that route. I just know that I went the new equipment route for 3 years and didnt see a big difference until I committed to lessons.

[TM_HOYER]

As another has said, spend your money on a pro helping you improve your swing first. And when your swing has improved, discuss with your pro the irons and shafts that will fit your ability and your game. Based on how you discribe your game and the irons you listed, you will probably not see any improvement just by getting a new set of irons. In fact you might see your score increase with some of the irons you listed.

[mike_dmt]

I agree with Brescia.

You didn't really say if budget was a determining factor. If it's not, the steps I would take are:

#1 Do some research, and pick one or two different brands of clubs or more specifically the heads you like the looks of the most. Personally I cant stand a thick top line. but, that's me.
#2 Get the lessons mentioned above.
#3 After the lessons, and you are playing and practicing often, go get a fitting for the correct shaft for the clubs you like. The fitter might, at that time, determine if the lie of the clubs needs tweaked.

New irons are great. But don't forget about the rest of the clubs in your bag. Specifically the shafts. Say you get fit for regular shafts in your irons, and the rest of your bag is a mix of regular, stiff, and who knows what else. I like all of my graphite shafted clubs to be pretty similar in flex, not weight so much, but flex and flex point.

With the suggestions in all these threads, you'll be on your way to shooting some better scores, and most importantly, having more fun.

[playa]

I agree with jimjc that your current irons are a solid set and close enough to your list that any difference would be negligible. A one addition that you may benefit more from is replacing your long irons with hybrids. You will find them easier to launch and will give you more distan e. At your stage of development though, a few lessons and plenty of range time will yield more improvement than new equipment. Golf is a sport that requires years of repetition to become proficient. Patience and hard work is the only path to improvement, despite what OEMs tell us.

[Niels1971]

Thank you all for your recommendations and comments. I am taking lessons, and will continue to do so next season (it's closed for the season in Denmark now).

The reason I wan't to change is not strictly rational. First of all, when I bought my current Razors, the salesguy in the golfshop told me, that "I could easily game these until I reached 25 hcp". That sentence has been stuck in my head ever since, and my own benchmark as to when I would allow myself some new equipment. Secondly, I've learned to love my Razors, but it was by no means love at first sight. I needed extra length, and they had a set with 2/3", 2 degrees upright on sale. Not knowing much about the importance of fitting at the time, so I bought them. The length and lie actually fits me, but I don't love the looks, and looks counts as well, at least for me it does.

I will spend the next months researching, and then start testing, come spring 2016.

One again thanks for all the good advice

[square]

[quote name='Niels1971' timestamp='1447092435' post='12574682']
Hello fellow golfers

I’m a 44 year old guy, who started playing in 2012. This season I’ve lowered my hcp from 29 to 25,2. I’m still working a lot on my swing, and I would not consider myself as being a consistent ball striker. I struggle with distance, as well as hitting the long irons.

I’ve never tried Trackman or similar, but I believe my clubhead speed to be fairly slow.

I’m considering a new set of irons. I currently game a set of Callaway RazorX (2011 ed). The iron sets that I have been looking at (have not tested anything yet), are the following:[list]
[*]Callaway XR
[*]Mizuno 850
[*]Srixzon 545 (or a combo with 745)
[*]Titleist 716 AP1
[/list]
Can any of you guys recommend any of the above mentioned?

Also, would I be better of with my current iron set, and then wait until my swing has improved?

All your help will be much appreciated.

Niels
[/quote]

The only way to learn to play respectable golf shots is by making a lot of swings; many, many, many thousands of swings.
Ideally you will have access to a driving range. If not, find an open field which would permit you to strike 80 to 140 yard shots. At this point a full bag of clubs is not necessary. Pitching wedge, 9, iron and 8 iron is what you need to develop proper fundamental technique.
Lessons are not necessary. Any golf instruction book will provide drawings or photos revealing correct GRIP, POSTURE, and ALIGNMENT.These are the crucial fundamentals with which you can build your own repeatable, effective, good looking golf swing.
Rehearse the above 3 fundamentals, making several thousand swings with a a wedge, 9-iron or 8-iron, and you will then be ready and able to strike respectable golf shots with any club. Only after several thousand good, fundamentally sound swings with a wedge and short irons, is it time to swing a longer club.

[BigBlue7]

Speedblades - spend the rest on lessons

[Exactice808]

[quote name='Niels1971' timestamp='1447092435' post='12574682']
Hello fellow golfers

I’m a 44 year old guy, who started playing in 2012. This season I’ve lowered my hcp from 29 to 25,2. I’m still working a lot on my swing, and I would not consider myself as being a consistent ball striker. I struggle with distance, as well as hitting the long irons.

I’ve never tried Trackman or similar, but I believe my clubhead speed to be fairly slow.

I’m considering a new set of irons. I currently game a set of Callaway RazorX (2011 ed). The iron sets that I have been looking at (have not tested anything yet), are the following:[list]
[*]Callaway XR
[*]Mizuno 850
[*]Srixzon 545 (or a combo with 745)
[*]Titleist 716 AP1
[/list]
Can any of you guys recommend any of the above mentioned?

Also, would I be better of with my current iron set, and then wait until my swing has improved?

All your help will be much appreciated.

Niels
[/quote]
[quote name='Niels1971' timestamp='1447098996' post='12575108']
Thank you all for your recommendations and comments. I am taking lessons, and will continue to do so next season (it's closed for the season in Denmark now).

The reason I wan't to change is not strictly rational. First of all, when I bought my current Razors, the salesguy in the golfshop told me, that "I could easily game these until I reached 25 hcp". That sentence has been stuck in my head ever since, and my own benchmark as to when I would allow myself some new equipment. Secondly, I've learned to love my Razors, but it was by no means love at first sight. I needed extra length, and they had a set with 2/3", 2 degrees upright on sale. Not knowing much about the importance of fitting at the time, so I bought them. The length and lie actually fits me, but I don't love the looks, and looks counts as well, at least for me it does.

I will spend the next months researching, and then start testing, come spring 2016.

One again thanks for all the good advice
[/quote]



OP Here is my take...... This might be long.... but we have had a LONG strong discussion and you know what I will spend the time to really help other people!


OUTSIDE OF LOOKS (No matter what ultimately the looks are going to dictate something LOL)..... BUT! Match the Irons to the golfer

1) What kind of swing do you have? What I mean is Tempo and transition, Reason..... Match the Shaft FIRST,
1a) Fast TEMPO, Hard Transition, Heavier Shaft, Stiffer shaft (120gram shafts, Stiff Flex)
1b) Slow TEMPO, Deliberate Transition, Lighter Shaft, less stiff shaft. (100gram and below, Regular shaft)
1c) If you are in between figure it out with the sales guy... but at least MATCH the static weight and flex based on the type of swing you have.

Fast Tempo - 120+ gram shafts
Medium Tempo - 100-120 grams shafts
Slow Tempo - 70-90 gram shafts (Ive seen shafts as low as 55grams...but you really gotta feel them)

Hard Transition - Stiff/ X-Stiff shaft
Medium Transition - Regular/Stiff
Deliberate/slow - Regular/Senior shaft


2) Lie angles.....this to me at the range at a static position under normal circumstances plays the most of iron head tweaks, get these adjust to your specs
2a) Length is another factor, but I am not that much of a proponent of lengths, because iron sets are progressive, so with a PW its 1-2 inches shorter than your 5 iron etc.....


3) CLUB head design, What is your ball flight, what is your miss.
3a) Do you need assistance to launch the ball? Higher launching irons with the lowest center of gravity to help aid ball flight
3b) Do you need a large head for a larger sweet spot
3c) Do you need max distance by increased loft per iron? or does a more traditional loft setup work for you?
3d) Offset, do you like or need offset to assist with your golf swing? (while controversial, offset supposedly helps slices and helps to close the face @ impact.)
3e) Digger or Picker, More bounce or less bounce? The course do you play are they hard or soft conditions normall
3f) Long grass or short grass, (Course setup) Sole width and design, do you like the thin soles or the wide sole.





Check these boxes off above, to really zero in on your needs out side of looks, there ARE SO MANY Irons out there, but realistically, people cant play every Iron the same so match the best iron to your swing, as you improve or your swing changes dramatically... guess what....go back for another fitting, because ultimately, there irons might not need a major change, just a swing weight, static weight or even a slight lie angle tweak!



Good Luck OP!

[Golf64]

Play the most forgiving clubs you can stand looking at. AP1, XR, 850, G30, GMax, D200 to name a few. Demo and then get fit.

[gatorgolf2940]

OP - I was in a similar boat to you. A low handicap friend taught me during college, but I never really got too interested in golf until last year. I'm 31 and started taking lessons about six months ago. After just two 1 hour lessons, I went from consistently shooting 115+ to the low-mid 90s. The immediate improvement was mainly due to focusing on alignment, turn, and swing pace. I decided that I would purchase new irons once I shot under 100 for five straight rounds. That happened quickly and I started the decision making process. My old irons were a set of SGI Adams Idea Tech V4 Hybrids/Hybrid-Irons - very easy to get up in the air, but difficult to control.

I spent a lot time researching online, but it was honestly a waste. I ended up getting "fit" at a large chain retailer for $50 (which would've been applied to my purchase had I bought the clubs there). I say "fit" because while it was very helpful for me, it certainly was not a true fitting that more experienced golfers would require. Going into the fitting I had it in my mind that the Ping G30 irons were the ones for me. I hit several different brands of irons, and ultimately narrowed it down to two - the Ping G30 (w/ True Temper XP95 shaft) and Titleist AP1 (fitted with the 714 model). The other irons tested were the Calloway Apex, Mizuno EZ, and Taylormade RS1 (I think). For me, the Ping and Titleist irons were clearly the best based off the flight tracker data. An interesting point to note is that both the Titleist and Ping had similar shafts, and they were the two clubs that I hit best. I think this is where a better fitting would have been helpful. It would have been nice to have been able to try different shafts in all of the irons I demoed (I'm assuming this is a possibility with a more sophisticated fitting). I discussed with my instructor and he basically said that new irons aren't going to impact my score all that much, and that it all depends on how long I plan on keeping the new set. If I'm looking to keep the irons for 10 years, he instructed me to wait until I'm breaking 90 consistently. If I don't the possibility that I want a players iron in say, 3 years, then go ahead and purchase. I ultimately went with the Titleist 716 AP1 (after going back to the store to demo them against the G30 and 714 AP1) because I liked the feel better than the Ping G30 irons.

I am now the proud owner of Titleist 716 AP1 (5-P, W) and a new 816 H1 Hybrid (21 degree). I could not be happier. Had I simply purchased the Ping G30 (my strong preference before the fitting) I would probably still be just as happy, but I feel that I have extra confidence knowing that I got the clubs that I liked best coupled with flight data to support my decision.

My advice... (1) Get a couple lessons and discuss your desire for new clubs with your instructor. (2) Get fitted or at least demo all of the clubs. (3) Decide if the new clubs align with your goals and purchase accordingly. If I only had money for lessons or new clubs, I'd get the lessons.

Good luck!

[cliffhanger]

I might just replace a couple of long irons for hybrids and give the set another year and spend any extra cash on lessons. There has been some very good advice given here with some great sets noted. At this point in your game there might not be a wrong answer as long as any new gear you may buy is fitted for you. I might bet that swapping out the long irons for hybrids and really working on your game will allow you to see another good handicap drop like you saw this year... that is of course if your iron play is the main problem with your game in relation to scoring.

[Ripken08]

My vote is for AP1. They look like real golf clubs just a wee bit fatter. Lower offset. Forgiving and a set you can grow into.

[matchavez]

[quote name='Niels1971' timestamp='1447092435' post='12574682']
Hello fellow golfers

I’m a 44 year old guy, who started playing in 2012. This season I’ve lowered my hcp from 29 to 25,2. I’m still working a lot on my swing, and I would not consider myself as being a consistent ball striker. I struggle with distance, as well as hitting the long irons.

I’ve never tried Trackman or similar, but I believe my clubhead speed to be fairly slow.

I’m considering a new set of irons. I currently game a set of Callaway RazorX (2011 ed). The iron sets that I have been looking at (have not tested anything yet), are the following:[list]
[*]Callaway XR
[*]Mizuno 850
[*]Srixzon 545 (or a combo with 745)
[*]Titleist 716 AP1
[/list]
Can any of you guys recommend any of the above mentioned?

Also, would I be better of with my current iron set, and then wait until my swing has improved?

All your help will be much appreciated.

Niels
[/quote]

If you're serious about being fit, you might look up what you're near on here: http://mytrackman.com/public/locator

I think it's totally rational that you set yourself a goal. I also imagine that despite a +2cm length and flat, you'll end up being measured differently. It always happens that way.

Personally, I think if you get fit professionally, (and I do mean professionally,) you can pick the ones that look and feel best to you. With the confidence to know that you have the right clubs, you can set a new goal. Get these, and when you become a 10, you can go through the process again. Besides, when you get under 10, your swing will evolve and you'll probably need to update anyhow.

That's progress, and it's a good thing. Enjoy the fitting, but don't cheap out on it.

[Norboo]

If you want to buy a set, I would recommend Callaway Apex CF 16 and get fitted for shaft. They are long, forgive and feels solid!
You can thank me later

[Niels1971]

14 days ago I booked a fitting session at a golfstore nearby (my local pro has closed down for the winter).
I'd brought my own Callaway Razr's and after a warm up, I hit a series with these on Flightscope. My swing speed was slow (as expected), so we decided to go with graphite shafts in the irons that I wanted to test (I play with steel shafts in my Razrs). I then tried the Mizuno 850, Srixzon 545, Titleist AP1 and Callaway XR. After hitting a series with each club, it was obvious, that the Mizuno and Srixzons were not for me, and we proceeded with Titleist and Callaway. After trying a couple of other shafts, I ended up with Callaway XR with a Project X shaft as the best match.

It was a very good experience to go through the different steps of the fitting process, and I got so exited that I also went through a driver fitting, ending up with for the Callaway XR driver.

Today I picked up my new custom fitted set, and I cant wait to get out and play :-)

[Exactice808]

[quote name='Niels1971' timestamp='1448912975' post='12663744']
14 days ago I booked a fitting session at a golfstore nearby (my local pro has closed down for the winter).
I'd brought my own Callaway Razr's and after a warm up, I hit a series with these on Flightscope. My swing speed was slow (as expected), so we decided to go with graphite shafts in the irons that I wanted to test (I play with steel shafts in my Razrs). I then tried the Mizuno 850, Srixzon 545, Titleist AP1 and Callaway XR. After hitting a series with each club, it was obvious, that the Mizuno and Srixzons were not for me, and we proceeded with Titleist and Callaway. After trying a couple of other shafts, I ended up with Callaway XR with a Project X shaft as the best match.

It was a very good experience to go through the different steps of the fitting process, and I got so exited that I also went through a driver fitting, ending up with for the Callaway XR driver.

Today I picked up my new custom fitted set, and I cant wait to get out and play :-)
[/quote]

Congrats! Good luck and enjoy! keep us posted on how the setup is working!

[mike_dmt]

Nice to hear a success story!

I was looking to respond, and then noticed I already had, with the same advice I had in mind!... At least I'm consistent.


Bottom line, new clubs take can a little while to play nice. Patience and practice. Keep us in the loop.