Hitting "players" clubs better than G.I. clubs?

[Tree Levino]

Yep it is incredibly helpful. Almost any handicap could do a blade or players iron in 9 and PW. As you get better you can add more and more. Nice thing about the 760s is that they are a combo set in effect.

[Ovalles593]

Even Mizuno JPX 919 Tour and Forged blend well together from what I’ve seen and read. Aesthetically too.

[Tree Levino]

Yeah they blend decently well. If you go that route I would only go to 8 iron in the tour and bend the forged all 2 weak to match the lofts and add bounce (the Forged have a wide sole and are pretty low bounce.. IMO not the most forgiving turf interaction unless you are a true picker). I would say that although the Tour look reasonably forgiving because of the visual cavity design, they are essentially a blade and are meant for very strong ball strikers. At your cap I think the Forged would give you everything you need including performance to carry you well down into the single digits.

My one gripe with combo sets is that even though manufacturers are marketing it, they still only provide a single 7 iron for fitting. You're essentially blindly ordering your combo.

[Ovalles593]

Haha that’s exactly what happened at my last fitting.

 

I tried the forged 919 but since I take a decent size divot and come in steep It was bouncing off to ground to much. Which lead me to either the 919 tour and the P760. Again like you said 919 tour looks and felt great but one those occasional miss hits the P760’s forgiveness came out on top.

I had really bad forward shaft lean and didn’t bother changing it since there was still some tournaments in the Golfweek Amateur Tour I joined last year but I’ve been grinding it out the last two month and half hitting the range 3-4 times a week.

**side note** I know “what the hell is a 1st year golf rookie doing playing in stroke play events?!?” haha The third time ever playing 18 holes was in a stroke play tournament and boy did I get my a$$ kick even in my handicap flight.

[Tree Levino]

 

Hey I'm all for diving in head first. Played like 100 rounds my first season and managed to start breaking 80 in my first 6 months. My buddy who taught me was not pleased. I think it's awesome that you started playing stroke play events right away. It sounds like you're serious about improving and you're going about it the right way. One thought, maybe look at the P770 as well. Can be had for VERY cheap and they are great irons. Very soft, pretty forgiving, and good spin/height. If your miss is heavy I would 100% stay away from the Mizunos. That's just me though. Did you try the Ping i210 in your fitting?

[Sean2]

I agree...you still have to put a good swing on it, regardless of the club. As far as the professionals go, they see irons as scoring clubs, not distance clubs.

[chippa13]

They see everything not driver as scoring clubs.

[BobaDefett]

I've been considering going down the blended route myself. I really like the apex pro/apex blend, the Mizuno blend is really nice too, but to be honest the Cobra mb/cb blend is in my opinion the sexiest set out there. It's just too bad no one carries the Cobras so you'd have to buy them without ever hitting them first.

[Ovalles593]

unfortunately so do we sometimes.....or me at least haha

[Ovalles593]

Only reason I did it was because none of my close friend played golf (Suddenly they play now because of me). So I figured if I'm gonna learn I'm going to learn the hard way and the right way.

First tournament I shot a 117 finished 15 strokes behind the second to last player. Had the best time of my life and I played the round with 1 ball haha I didn't even have a fairway wood or hybrid just driver then 4-PW, some crappy hand me down putter that was like 30" with a jumbo grip and two wedges.

December 2018 girlfriend bought me the M4 driver and my first pack of ProV1x, a month later I bought the 3 wood M4 and 3 Hybrid. around April I found a brand new Ping Sigma G answer on Craigslist for $40, in June purchased 3 Vokey wedges (52,56,60)..... now its time to get some irons!

Fortunately for me one of my old high school friends is the assistant pro at a nice GC and he allows me to play whenever so before or after class I'd sneak in a a quick 9 or play 18. GC has a big putting green and a practice bunker.

[nsxguy]

"now its time to get some irons!"

With all due respect for your enthusiasm, now is the time to take that cash and get lessons.

It ain't sexy but if you really enjoy the game that much, THAT is the next place to spend your $$$.

[Ovalles593]

So to not stray away from the original topic. I’m curious to see how long did it take y’all to make the jump from GI to blade/players irons? When did you notice you needed a change?

[mahonie]

Just bought Cobra King CB/MB Flow set (2016 model I think) as my son has just started playing and taken a shine to my MP4s!! Tbh, I thought I was getting a full set of the MBs until I got to the store when I was told that the set was not as advertised. I hit a few shots with the 7-iron and got them bent to my specs then got them back home for some back-to-back testing with the MP4s. The feel is definitely different, not quite that Mizuno feel, but somehow more powerful if that makes sense. In terms of the CBs (4, 5 and 6-irons) I don’t really see any additional forgiveness over the MP4s on mishits. The blade length is slightly shorter and more compact in the Cobras throughout the set but they are no harder to hit.

[Sean2]

I am a bit anal about keeping my equipment clean, one think going for MB's is there is no cavity to try and get dirt and debris out of. For that reason alone I would consider getting a set. :-)

[NiceParDavid]

When I started to actually try and get better at the game about 5 years ago (I was probably somewhere around a 15) I bought some MP-30's because I liked the way they looked. Got a little grief from my buddies at the time because I was a mid/high handicapper but almost immediately my iron play took a HUGE leap forward. I'm still just a mid handicapper but my irons aren't what's holding me back. I think just liking the feel of the smaller head is why they work for me.

[HenryBall]

When I start the game 30+ years ago, the pro at the time told me I should start with blades to learn how to work the ball. Although it sucked shanking shots left and right, when it was pure it was worth it. Granted, I did go to game improvement irons and then back to blades multiple times since then, the mental aspect of this game makes or breaks golf clubs. Whether you think the irons work for you or not, you are right.

[Tree Levino]

The apex combo is noticeably more forgiving than the Cobra. I like the cobra but the MB are actually quite firm feeling. The sole grind isn’t the best for me either. They look great and the black is very durable. Mizuno MP20 is drastically better feeling and performing to me.

[BobaDefett]

I wonder if the firm feeling of the Cobra is just a personal thing to you, or if they just play firm like the ping blueprints do according to the reviews.

[BobaDefett]

Are you happy with the Cobras?

[mahonie]

First round with them last weekend...my initial impressions of them feeling ‘powerful’ compared to the MP4s was confirmed as I seemed to be getting 5 yards more distance with a more penetrating flight (although I think that is largely down to the C-Tapers v S300s). Distance control and feel with 8-iron chip shots is on a par with the MP4s...overall I am really impressed and can’t wait to get some more rounds under my belt and really looking forward to some better weather!!

[ssfranny]

You can get 0311T gen2s on Ebay for $1300-1500 is that ridiculously expensive?

[ssfranny]

Ahhh the MP 30s had more than a few sets of those when I played them I was a pretty good ballstriker but just a great iron from Mizuno.

[ssfranny]

Apex 2019 combo set is a great option. Honestly Im not a fan of the looks of the Apex too thick topline but love the Apex Pros and with a stronger loft in combo set.

[ssfranny]

well lot of back and forth on whether a higher handicapper should play less forgiving blades. I have in 30 plus years playing this game never played blades except for 2013 when I got a set of MP68s. Prob one of my best seasons playing but at the time I was probably a 4-5 handicap. Great feel and blades certainly give you feedback. Over the years I had played occasionally the unforgiving CB like a Apex PLus and MP 30. Great feel but if youre off by 1/8 inch heel ot toe they lost too much distance. I do think that when I turned my slice/fade into a draw I had trouble playing the callaway offset shovels. Generally now as Ive aged I need all the forgiveness I can get.

 

It comes down to why does anyone blades? Many mid-high handicappers like that they make you look like a player? Until you skull top that tee shot into the water on a par 3. Thats fine I know people like that but at the end of the day they throw up a 90 when couldve been an 80. If just starting like OP if you want to get the feedback from a off centershot and are willing to put in the time and effort into getting better, than play blades. For me, I need forgiveness and iron play has been one of my strengths over the years. Best advice anyone gave in this thread is go buy a nice set of $300 irons and spend $1000 on lessons. Wish I wouldve done that 30 years ago. With all the money Ive spent on gear in the last 30 years I could have Butch Harmon on call haha

[Marco Colo]

Frankly I skull top that tee with GI irons too ??

Sometimes it is not the ego, just what you feel better for you, and the mental part is huge in this game, you can find that players CBs work better than GI irons with wide soles and tons of bounce

[ssfranny]

Well sure but I dont see it visually when I look down at a small blade and know that if slightly off Ill lose 10-20% of distance. And this is coning from a low handicapper for 20 plus years. To each his own.

[Marco Colo]

Can’t argue with that, although I didn’t see night and day results playing a round with G410s and S55s. The thing is that I learn faster if I get punished, because I don’t want to be punished again. I recently switched from the 410s to a less forgiving iron (not enough mad to think I can play S55 as my gamers) and I have learnt more in the last month than in the last year! Maybe it is a coincidence and I am just levelling up in the learning curve, but a bd shot with the 410s was still a bad shot and much much more erratic and being erratic is a big issue for me. I prefer 10 yards shorter but straight than being 15 yards right or left

[Marco Colo]

The more I know my game, the more I consider GI category for a good player that loss speed and needs 10/15 yards back, but I don’t necessarily see them as a must to go solution for high/mid handicappers

[nsxguy]

"The thing is that I learn faster if I get punished, because I don’t want to be punished again. I recently switched from the 410s to a less forgiving iron (not enough mad to think I can play S55 as my gamers) and I have learnt more in the last month than in the last year! Maybe it is a coincidence and I am just levelling up in the learning curve, but a bd shot with the 410s was still a bad shot and much much more erratic and being erratic is a big issue for me. I prefer 10 yards shorter but straight than being 15 yards right or left"

 

The problem with that ("punishment") is "if wishing made it so".

Also, with all due respect, all (other) things being equal the SAME bad shot/strike with a G410 will NOT be "much more erratic" than with another iron. Other clubs will NOT be straighter.

If you touch a hot stove you learn very quickly not to do that. Same goes for plenty of other things. But those things simply involve knowledge, not motor skills.

If you keep pounding balls, with ANY club, if you have reasonably good motor skills you will get better. The question is how MUCH better and what your goals are.

If your goal is to shoot the best scores you should not play blades; at least not yet. You will not (ducking quickly) shoot your best scores.

If however, your goal is to be the best striker of the golf ball you can possibly be,,,,,,,, well,,,,,,, keep on pounding balls. You WILL get better no matter what irons you hit. That said, whatever your goal is, GET LESSONS. The teaching pro knows how to get you where you're going. YOU do not.

[Tree Levino]

Agreed here. Without a doubt, blades provide vastly superior feedback, but 1. You have to be decent enough to interpret and actively apply that feedback to your swing 2. No matter what anyone on here says your bad shots will be worse and it’s easier to manipulate the club face with a thin sole and low MOI.