What iron set has had the biggest incremental improvement in your game?

[ARL67]

 I have 2 bags , both with MP-18 MMC with different weight Steelfiber shafts .  Granted my swing , my game, my course management has greatly improved over the past 2-3 years, but the MMC have contributed greatly to much lower scores.  I could readily buy the newer MP-20 but feel minimal / negligible improvement over my current MMC. 

[Tree Levino]

Discovering combo sets. Going to 125-130g shafts with a flatter lie angle. Cap down to .7 now. Shot par today and wasn’t swinging well. Keeping miss hits online is key. The most important thing is feeling comfortable over the ball. People overthink irons in that regard. Tech is *mostly* BS. Slap it off the toe or chunk it it isn’t going anywhere. Timing and confidence. 

[Mookieb10]

On 9/5/2020 at 9:02 PM, BCULAW said:

Not so much irons, but iron shafts. Several years back, I was struggling with my irons. The best way to describe them was inefficient. My distance and consistency with them didn't match the rest of my game. I switched from stiff to x-stiff shafts and my iron game came to life. Got my scores down in the low 70s with a couple of under par rounds and the main reason was improved iron play moving to KBS Tour 130x from dgs300. 

 

Fast forward to this year and I had continued to play the heavy, x-stiff shafts, but the performance was not matching the effort. Scores consistently in the high 70s with a good round hovering around 75.  Sold my sets in order to fund new irons. While demoing, I put an old set of MP32s in the bag. They had DGR400 regular flex shafts. First round out with them, I shot 75 (+2). Next round was cut short by darkness but I was -3 through 16. Long story short, I put a set of ping Blueprints in the bag with KBS 110 regular shafts and have been playing lights out golf ever since. Highest round since July 4 was a 77 (+4) with 2 rounds of level par and multiple partial rounds at and under par. The shaft change had made the game much easier. 

interesting to see if this trend continues for you

[Mookieb10]

Jpx 900 Tours... by accident. 
 

i saw a great deal on a set of these guys new, and went for it. It turns out they were +.5”, which completely changed golf for me. I had a set of professionally “fitted”, brand new irons that I didn’t hit as well as this old-ish, “stock” set.

 

accidentally getting this + half inch set has changed golf for me. 

[PhilWhitUK]

On 9/6/2020 at 2:10 PM, Socrates said:

Since this is a passive brag thread....

 

About a decade ago I went to X-22's with graphite shaft (same as prev clubs) and went from about an 8 to a 3.  Also used the new Callaway X Forged wedges with crazy good grooves.  Man, that was a good summer!  Went to i20's for 2 years and played like crap.  Back to X2 Hot and back to a decent hcp.  Funny how you like a particular look and type of club.

I agree completely.  I think most OEMs make good clubs and yet some manufacturers work for me better than others and I think it is because they suit my eye or have a particular feel or something.  My first “proper” irons were Callaway X12 and every set I have had since then I have been trying to recreate that feel.  So for some reason that means I am happy with Callaway, Ping or PXG (my current 0211 irons bought in the recent deal). I have tried other makes but they just don’t feel right.  They aren’t bad clubs but I cannot play well with a club that doesn’t feel right.

[Golfah]

When I stumbled upon the correct iron shaft for me, my iron ball striking and accuracy took a huge leap forward.  

 

I picked up a set of Cobra MBs with Project X PXi's and my ball striking (accuracy and consistency) has never been better.

 

The odd thing is I cannot for the life of me hit either a regular Project X shaft OR a Cobra Mb with another shaft, but together, they are magic for me.

 

Also can't hit an extra stiff in any other shaft but I play a 6.5 in the PXi's and they are perfect.  I actually bought an extra set of shafts to keep on hand since they discontinued them!

 

[pinestreetgolf]

10 hours ago, TigerInTheWoods said:

Discovering combo sets. Going to 125-130g shafts with a flatter lie angle. Cap down to .7 now. Shot par today and wasn’t swinging well. Keeping miss hits online is key. The most important thing is feeling comfortable over the ball. People overthink irons in that regard. Tech is *mostly* BS. Slap it off the toe or chunk it it isn’t going anywhere. Timing and confidence. 

 

100% agree with this post.  I play hybrid through 5 iron re: combo sets.  All I'm trying to do from 200-210 or so (5 hybrid distance) is have a putter in my hand.  That's it.  The part about mishits is so spot on.  Good players miss thin and (for the most part) curving toward the target, not fat and/or curving away.  One of the reason I love my j40's is how big they are.  Totally agree tech in irons is BS, beyond some tech that makes *you* feel better.

 

And the most important thing is how you feel when you look down at it.  You can get good at golf by not making double bogey, and these things really help you hit driver to a look, slap an iron somewhere up near the green, solid short game shot and try to make a putt worst case.  Fat shots and shots that curve away from the target destroy rounds.  Thin shots and shots that miss, but curve toward it, are usually fine.

[ephmen]

None. Getting some lessons, improving ball striking and consistency, and playing smart (aiming for middle of every green, avoiding trouble , no hero shots) has dramatically helped my game. Biggest thing is getting on track with lessons and spending time on the range with 7i-SW scoring clubs. 

[ZacR88]

I started off this season at a new club which I have never played before, sitting at a 6 HC. Playing my Cleveland CG Tours for the last 5 years. Switched to some Titleist 710MB's and I am now a 1.9 HC. That being said there are many other areas of my game that have played a part in that but my ball striking is far beyond what it used to be. 

 

My issue now is if I have a bad lie in the rough with anything 170 yards or more out I am kinda screwed as hitting a 6 iron out of the rough at my course is rather challenging. Thinking of getting rid of the 4-6 irons an replacing them with a CB or something even easier to hit for just that reason alone. Lets be honest, even at 1.9 working a 4 iron the way I do an 8 is not the same. I will take all the forgiveness I can in a situation like that.

[hagimihale]

About 6 years ago I upgraded from Mizuno MX-23s to JPX-825 Pros.  I liked the 23s - my first set of forged irons - and still have them (residing up north with family so I don't have to fly with my sticks).

 

The 825 Pros were longer, had a better sole, less offset and (just as others have noted) getting fit with proper shafts really helped.  I went from S300 to X100 and started hitting lasers.  The X100s were a better fit for my aggressive release, and my distances became more consistent.  

 

I've since upgraded to MP-54s, but I'll never get rid of the 825 Pros.  Solid, underrated irons.  

[mallrat]

Is selling all my sets of blades and committing to CB’s for 2 years now and acceptable answer?

 

FWIW, ball striking has never been better. 

[WarEagleGolf]

My i500. The extra distance and bit of forgiveness (not much) made long irons a strength. Closed the gaps at the top of the bag, opened up more scoring clubs at the bottom. 

 

 

Edited September 25, 2020 by WarEagleGolf

[NoTalentLefty]

I’m down 3 strokes with the Mavrik irons currently. Still not as a low as lessons .

Edited September 25, 2020 by NoTalentLefty

[OrangeGravy]

I finally got my hands on a set of Ping G25s in my specs earlier this year and my iron play has been light years better. It has been an anchor in my game for a few years. A lot of it has to do with moving to +1/2", 3.5* up. It's amazing how different the game is when you can control your low point for the most point. 

[tim583]

I got a set of T100S after playing every set you could think of for 10 years. Most recently Z785. Never took a divot, miss was thin, cap was 11. For some reason the thin sole, low bounce, and sharp leading edge caused me to hit down on the ball, and now i take divots with everything down to 7 iron. Cap has gone down to 7. I keep getting scared at the small size but my God i flush them more than anything I've played before. It was a complete revelation for me. I can't stress that enough, folks. I have been TRYING to take divots for years and now I'm there. Brings tears to my eyes (mostly a figure of speech).

[cxx]

Switched to Titleist 962's from irons with wide soles. Those cut through the tough turf/ground around here instead of bouncing off.   

[nfogle]

I would have said Wilson ci11 up until this year when I bought srixon 545 irons with steelfiber shafts. I’m not sure if it’s the shafts or combination of shafts and clubs but I’m hitting my irons the best I have in my life. Too bad I’m hitting my driver like crap now so I really haven’t seen much improvement on scores