Iron improvements in last 8 yrs?

[txgolfer45]

I was fitted 8 yrs ago with Taylormade Tour Preferred CBs from 2011 with Dynamic Gold XP R300 shafts. They continue to perform well with decent distance and dispersion. Currently a 5 handicap at 63 yrs old. Am I missing anything from the new iron offerings?

[Noke]

Probably not much in that type of iron. Maybe turf interaction has improved and multi-material construction might get you different into a different launch/spin model, but that’s about it in my experience.

 

There probably have been some improvements in the game improvement irons of major OEM’s.

 

[LeoLeo99]

You won't know until you try. hahahaha

A guy shot two over in league last week using original Big Bertha III woods and X14 clones. So, who knows...

[txgolfer45]

Lol yeah, my last round was a 72 going 38 34. So, they still perform.

[txgolfer45]

I upgraded my driver, fwys and added 2 hybrids as i clearly saw benefits. Got two new wedges too. Epic Flash driver and fwy, big bertha hybrids. Cleveland RTX4 wedges. So, Im good there.

[Titleist_PT23]

I would think if you stay within the same class of irons, there probably isn't much difference. However, some of these clubs with tungsten weighting seem to be liked by a lot of people. For example, the G410s are regarded as much better than the previous G/G400, which were basically the same (and not much different from the G25/G30). The Blueprints also seemed to be loved and described as quiet playable (for their size) by guys that can handle that class of clubs. So maybe there's the ability to find something smaller, more playable that is just as stable (if you care about that kind of stuff).

[Tree Levino]

Depends on the category. I think GI have improved a bit. Tweener irons like the i series and S series from Ping got nicer both in looks and performance. Blades and CB maybe a bit? I have 716 CB and Nike Pro Combo and the difference is negligible. Could game either.

[txgolfer45]

I grew up playing Wilson Staff Dynapower irons then MacGregor Tourneys. Went to cavity backs after college including Pings and Callaway X-14. Prior to my current set, I was playing Hogan Apex Plus and carried a 2.9 handicap. So, i have played a variety of iron styles with good results. Satisfied with my current set. Really curious to see if something is better out there.

[Jack Pearsall]

If you aren’t going for the new distance irons, then not much has really changed. The new player cb might go 1/2 to a full club further, maybe not. The balls go further, that’s certain. He thinks, for himself, getting the right shaft is the big deal. There are fine choices in the modus area, s300 are now available with more weight and profile options, plus non steel iron shafts have come into their own. Really, you just need to head to a store and hit stuff, or set up a fitting.

[Muirfield Willie]

Bend all your irons 4* strong, now you have modern tech.

[BoomerGolfAnon]

The new line of XXIO X and XXIO Prime irons might be worth a look if you have a **slower swing speed** and a **slow, smooth tempo**. XXIO (a Japanese company) has been the best-selling club in Asia for something like 2 decades, but they are relatively unknown in the US. Ernie Els recently became their brand ambassador. XXIO is also the parent company of Srixon and Cleveland.

 

The XXIO line (including irons, hybrids, fairway woods, and drivers) has virtually no configurability beyond a couple of different shaft flexes. The is because **the entire club is engineered as a single unit** (head, shaft, grip). For example, you cannot order a custom grip because the XXIO grip is an integral part of the tech of the club. The same thinking applies to the shaft.

 

These clubs are EXPENSIVE! Very expensive. But if you have the cash and you're at an age where you've lost some swing speed, these clubs could be a game changer. I recently demoed their #5 and #7 fairway woods and loved them.

[setter02]

> @"Muirfield Willie" said:

> Bend all your irons 4* strong, now you have modern tech.

 

Now now, no need to go to that extreme, just grab your sharpie and change the number on the bottom and then go buy a new wedge to fill the gap!

[JDCON]

> @LeoLeo99 said:

> You won't know until you try. hahahaha

> A guy shot two over in league last week using original Big Bertha III woods and X14 clones. So, who knows...

 

This reminds me. Last year I played with a guy in the State Open qualifier. This guy was a gorilla of the tee and threw laser beams at the pin. Truly, one of the most impressive displays of ball striking I've ever seen. So, what was he playing? An old TaylorMade R7 (or 11?) and a set of irons that had to be from around 2004. He shot -1 that day. He even start drinking beer on the back 9! In the Open qualifier!!

That day I learned that good players can really play with anything. Also, good players drink beer during golf apparently.

[cgasucks]

There haven't been any iron improvements for Player's CB irons in over 18 years. You can only do so much to a billet of carbon steel with forging without putting any extra multi materials in it.

[cgasucks]

> @JDCON said:

> > @LeoLeo99 said:

> > You won't know until you try. hahahaha

> > A guy shot two over in league last week using original Big Bertha III woods and X14 clones. So, who knows...

>

> This reminds me. Last year I played with a guy in the State Open qualifier. This guy was a gorilla of the tee and threw laser beams at the pin. Truly, one of the most impressive displays of ball striking I've ever seen. So, what was he playing? An old TaylorMade R7 (or 11?) and a set of irons that had to be from around 2004. He shot -1 that day. He even start drinking beer on the back 9! In the Open qualifier!!

> That day **I learned that good players can really play with anything.** Also, good players drink beer during golf apparently.

 

It's not the arrow.....

[Tree Levino]

> @gwelfgulfer said:

> > @"Muirfield Willie" said:

> > Bend all your irons 4* strong, now you have modern tech.

>

> Now now, no need to go to that extreme, just grab your sharpie and change the number on the bottom and then go buy a new wedge to fill the gap!

 

Careful careful. Lots of snowflakes on here wanting to believe they just hit their same iron further.

[kiwihacker]

> @"Muirfield Willie" said:

> Bend all your irons 4* strong, now you have modern tech.

 

Seriously I was looking at the Srixon Z785 irons but then decided to look at the more forgiving Z585 irons. The lofts on the 5-PW is basically my 4-9 iron. To convert my setup to 'modern tech' I just need to throw out my 47° club call my 43° club a Pitching Wedge and jump straight to a 50° Gap Wedge. Never mind the big 30m gap that would leave I'm just pleased the modern tech is allowing me to hit all my clubs 10m further.

[1Mordrid1]

> @txgolfer45 said:

> I was fitted 8 yrs ago with Taylormade Tour Preferred CBs from 2011 with Dynamic Gold XP R300 shafts. They continue to perform well with decent distance and dispersion. Currently a 5 handicap at 63 yrs old. Am I missing anything from the new iron offerings?

 

Performance-wise. it really depends on how you achieve your average round, and where you normally "lose" strokes.

If mishits with your irons might cost you a few strokes a round, then newer designs that retain ball speed better on off center hits could possibly save you a stroke or 2 per round. But if you have a good up and down short game, you might not see much benefit at all.

[1Mordrid1]

> @"Muirfield Willie" said:

> Bend all your irons 4* strong, now you have modern tech.

 

Sure that would be the EXACT SAME THING as some of the newer irons, because the extra perimeter weighting of a different club should have no effect at all on launch conditions.

[mogc60]

> @balls_deep said:

> > @gwelfgulfer said:

> > > @"Muirfield Willie" said:

> > > Bend all your irons 4* strong, now you have modern tech.

> >

> > Now now, no need to go to that extreme, just grab your sharpie and change the number on the bottom and then go buy a new wedge to fill the gap!

>

> Careful careful. Lots of snowflakes on here wanting to believe they just hit their same iron further.

 

We do. You’re more than welcome to bend your wedge to 50*

Whether you like it or not the same iron goes further

[ChipNRun]

If your grooves are in good shape, keep playing them. Any chance you need to replace the set's PW and AW for fresh grooves? You have hybrids for 4i and 5i, so it sounds like you've tailored your bag mix for your needs.

 

We have similar driver and FW specs.

 

 

[VGVG]

The big innovation in players’ irons is the creation of “players’ distance irons”. These irons (Titleist TMB, Ping i500, TaylorMade 760, etc) look like blades but are much more forgiving. Worth looking at given that you are a mid-single-digit handicapper like me (I play TMBs and love them).

[wcbjr]

Tungsten, cup face, that's all I can think of. Although cup face won't help better players since it's harder to control exact distances.

[NRJyzr]

> @VGVG said:

> The big innovation in players’ irons is the creation of “players’ distance irons”. These irons (Titleist TMB, Ping i500, TaylorMade 760, etc) look like blades but are much more forgiving. Worth looking at given that you are a mid-single-digit handicapper like me (I play TMBs and love them).

 

 

I don't know that they really are much more forgiving. MOI measurements don't show much difference.

 

Sticking with TM because the OP's current set are TP CB.... OP's set have an MOI of 13.8651. The P790 are slightly lower at 13.591, and the P760 are lower yet at 12.1861. The P730 check in at 12.5449.

 

That's really not much of anything.

 

Side note, the TMB are essentially the same as the TP CB. The i500s are over 15, but have a quite high CG, well over .900, probably tough to hit for some folks due to that.

 

Overall, I don't think there's been much of any improvements from 2011 to now in irons. The TP CB's are more than adequate IMHO

[VGVG]

Fine, but I wouldn’t classify the TM CBs as a typical players’ CB. The TM CBs are chunkier than any of the clubs listed above. I think the TaylorMade CM were much closer to the classic players’ cavity back irons.