Better player using max forgiveness irons; overkill?

[kody17]

 

I completely agree, and my results are a testament to that. I own three sets of irons; Srixon z785, Srixon z545, and Cleveland Launcher HB which are a full set of hybrid irons. If I cared about looks, the z785's would be in the bag all day everyday. But after too many times of inconsistent iron play and continued frustration, I decided to put my ego to the side and now game the Launcher HB's.

They allow me to do so much more with the swing I have. They are so forgiving whether you hit a little near the toe, heel, low on the clubface, a fraction before the ball, etc. And they put the ball on a nice mid/high trajectory on a very consistent basis, which is much more pleasing to me than how my irons look in the bag at this point.

 

It took a bit of trial and error, but after putting some DG X100s in them, they are absolutely the best irons for my game.

[Myherobobhope]

Id bet there are more scratch handicaps hitting one way than there are who hit opposite shots 10%of the time...

[ME27]

I’m currently a 4 and play srixon z585 irons. I could easily play 785 or even combo z forged in the short irons but I prefer the forgiveness of the 585 when I’m not swinging my best.

[Stinger83]

I guarantee you'd I'd play worse with something like a PING G iron.

 

[AB1981]

I go back and forth on this one but not for the normal reasons. I don't have any trouble flighting or working bigger cavity backs and don't really have distance control issues from irons like Ping I series either. But what I do have problems with is something with my swing/delivery seems to cause me to actually curve the ball more with cavity backs than and have more right/left dispersion than I do with blades. Richie Hunt commented in another one of these threads about the same trouble but I can't remember exactly what the technical explanation was. I am not sure which is the lesser of two evils. I have committed to playing the game improvement irons the rest of the season but not sure what I will do next year.

[nsxguy]

You have to remember that GI and SGI irons are aimed at the higher handicap player and those players almost always have problems SLICING the ball. So the features of those irons are to mitigate a slice.

That being the case, someone with a proper swing will find these irons curving more to the draw side than they would like and have to be conscious of that. Personally I've been playing my G20s for 8 years now and I can more or less eliminate the fade side shot unless I block it badly. I can't hit a fade to save my life.

[North Butte]

I loved my G20 irons eight years ago and while I like my current clubs, I've often wished I'd just stood pat with the G20's and saved myself a couple thousands bucks swapping irons every year or two. I personally think they represent "Peak Ping G-Series" and none of the later G-models were actual improvements in terms of the things I liked about the G20.

Sorry for the momentary thread-jack. Just sharing the G20 love.

[nsxguy]

I keep trying to replace them but can't.

In the 2-3 years I've bought the 2016 AP-1 and the 2018(?) Cally Epic Pro. Had some success with the AP-1s for a while. Had none with the Epics.

Back to the G20s,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, LOL

[North Butte]

I once had the full set 3-LW. Not sure I'd have stuck with the SW/LW long term (my goodness were they clunky) but that 3-iron was easier to hit high and straight than any hybrid I've ever seen. And the UW I'm pretty sure I could have literally hit a good shot with my eyes closed.

I had a brief (year or so) love affair with an 2018 AP-2 set but got tired of missing the sweet spot on the 7-iron by 1/2" and coming up 20 yards short of the green.

[bsavy83]

What the heck are you talking about...? The pro in question switched to game improvement... had no feel and came out the other end with a bad swing flaw. If he could'nt feel it how could anyone, myself included? That's my point. Had the irons given him feedback he could have avoided the hook. I don't understand what you're all worked up about. Not making any sense at all.

[Myherobobhope]

Why do you say that? I’m fairly confident I could learn to play anything non-sgi without much trouble... super game improvement would be an interesting experiment as my stock shot is a fade... no idea how that would play.

now I’m interested... might have to see if I can pick some up cheap.

[nsxguy]

Firstly look at the evidence of who is "worked up". LOL

The fact is you groove a SWING. The iron has little-to-nothing to do with it.

And if you don't think a pro can tell whether or not he's hitting the center of the face of the iron you're mistaken. I, and many others playing GIs and even SGIs can tell where on the face we're striking the ball.

So the Pro is certainly grooving a good swing AND hitting the sweet spot much more often than I am. The "duck hook" move he grooved is on HIM, not the club.

Enjoy your evening.

[ARL67]

My last sets over the last 10 or so years have been a variety of Mizuno CB and MB ( 57, 53, 54, 4, 5, 18-MMC, jpx-900f ) and the last few years have been with partial SL and shortened sets of Mizunos. I’m playing really good golf the last few years and even lower this season at about a 6 cap. That said I’m also in the midst of building a set of Wishon EQ1 irons, and boy those heads are long. I’ve never gamed anything that large headed so will be curious of my results. I want to give the SL set a go to satisfy that curiosity.

[Guest]

Heya, i know you're looking for 'max forgiveness', as whilst you won't get 'max' from MP-20 HMB'... i've switched to them from my 2014 TaylorMade TP Cavity Backs and I assume thanks to modern technology, much more forgiving and confidence inspiring. More forgiveness than other / pure blades and arguable against the P790s. So have a go...

[North Butte]

Well if you set your mind to it you can play worse with any club, that's more of a mindset thing than the physical nature of the club.
Kind of like when I was a kid and told my mother I hated green beans and they would make me sick. She kept insisting I eat them, we had a standoff for a while, I finally took a mouthful and immediately gagged them back up all over my plate. It wasn't anything about green beans per se. I didn't want to eat them so much that trying to swallow them made my physically sick.
The good news is in golf, nobody is going to make you use any kind of clubs you don't like so you'll never have to "swallow" a Ping G iron.

[golfschnell]

I went back and forth between GI irons and players irons before realizing for my swing I really maximize my potential with a combo set. GI irons and SGI irons were killing my proximity to the hole numbers in the 7-GW and 3-6 in players irons were just too inconsistent. Been playing combo sets for about 10 years now w current iteration being Apex 2016 pro 7-GW (had to adjust 7 iron loft) and 4-6 standard Apex and super hybrid in the 3 hole. Mindset had nothing to do with it, just years of actual results, play what works best for you, anything else is vanity or stupidity.

[Scottbox]

Yeah, held back by all those great scores and high, soaring draws!