I just cant decide (irons discussion)...

[Minarets]

Usually by the time I buy a new set of irons, I am lusting after a certain model, or particular set.  I am turning 40 next month and want to buy a new set but cant really figure it out as there are so many nice offerings out today.  I currently play Gen 1 0311 (P) with steelfibers R, hard stepped twice.  I do really enjoy them.  I am currently a 5.1 HC but ball striking would be where I say my biggest weakness is.  I have hit the following irons but haven't done enough shaft swapping, but wouldn't mind staying with steelfibers although they can be hard to find in fitting carts from time to time.  Definitely want to stay graphite as i have tendonitis in the elbow and since switching have no problems.  

 

Apex Pro  love the look heel to toe and thin topline.  wanted a few more yards, but felt good 

Apex CF19  topline was first thing that stood out to me.  chunky, but feel was good

T100-s  feel wasnt as "forged goodness" as i was expecting, but loved the overall looks.  looked big after hitting apex pro.   more in range what i was hoping for distance wise, 4i looks intimidating  

0311P Gen 3  felts amazing.  expensive.  familiar as im hitting gen 1

921 F  wanted to love! loooong heel to toe.  felt great.  distance was good, but kept looking at how long heel to toe it was.  

P790  like the distance with these.  chunky topline.  afraid of all the "flyers" comments i always see.  like the 'lil offset.  havent hit the with steelfibers yet.

P770  wasn't impressed with feel and gave up soon on them.  want more distance.  if your missing feel and distance, then looks only carry you so far with me.  

 

 

all have had pluses and minuses.  feel/spin/distance/looks.  I do not hit the ball a long way and always crave a little bit, but don't know if I "need it"  my SS is around 82-84 with 7i and  I typically carry 158-162.  

 

any thoughts?  should i just pony up for club champion since they have more shafts to try?

Edited September 24, 2020 by Minarets

[doctorbloor]

No concrete suggestions regarding which to choose--those are all very nice clubs.  But, as a slow swing-speed short hitter, I've learned that consistency is even more important than distance (no matter what the ad guys tell you about longer, faster, better).  I'd go with whatever gave me the tightest dispersion as long as I can look at it from address.  Need more distance?  Pull another club.

[LeoLeo99]

Sounds like none of them did it for you.  What's left, Blueprints?  Srixons?  MP20?

[waltonsfinest]

I play the Apex Pros and have since 2016. Highly recommend. I may catch s*** for this BUT they have better feel than the 919 Tours I hit comparing them. 

[Minarets]

1 hour ago, LeoLeo99 said:

Sounds like none of them did it for you.  What's left, Blueprints?  Srixons?  MP20?

Don't think I'm good enough for the blueprints or mp20.  

[Baroo]

Go for a fitting, in my experience I can hit a head with one shaft and be like "meh", but with a shaft swap, the club will come alive.  You have a good list, couple of things you could also look at (I know you probably want to whittle down the list, not add)

 

Srixon 785- could start seeing good deals as the new irons start coming in

 

Cobra Forged Tec - these things were stupid long, and with the right shaft, the dipersion was quite good for me.

 

With that said, I got some crazy ball speeds with the Mizuno 921 Tours.  Currently own T100s but thinking of making the switch.

[jpbova]

Won’t be able to tell you which ones to pick with out spin, height, descent and distance 

[Drewhill44]

Maybe look at Ping 210's since you have the Glide 3.0.  Would blend nicely with those.  Based on your comments, sounds like the T100-s would fit what your looking for.

Edited September 24, 2020 by Drewhill44

[Golf64]

Srixon 585/X5, i500, T200, King Forged Tec., Mizuno HMB, Mavrik Pro are places to start. Try Mizuno shaft optimizer to get some suggestions for shaft. There is a graphite option on their too. They also have SF in their shaft matrix. 

[Minarets]

8 minutes ago, Golf64 said:

Srixon 585/X5, i500, T200, King Forged Tec., Mizuno HMB, Mavrik Pro are places to start. Try Mizuno shaft optimizer to get some suggestions for shaft. There is a graphite option on their too. They also have SF in their shaft matrix. 

I have bit hit the T200 yet.  I did hit the i500 in the bay the other day.  Very long. Seemed pretty forgiving.  Looks good down at the ball. The feel was off tho.   Didn't help hiring it after some forged irons I'm sure buy the feel was odd.  

[MattyO1984]

If it were me and I am a Titleist guy, I would go with the T100 up to 5 iron and through a T200 4 iron in.

[Minarets]

41 minutes ago, MattyO1984 said:

If it were me and I am a Titleist guy, I would go with the T100 up to 5 iron and through a T200 4 iron in.

If there were a lean in any direction, that would be it.  

[Fairway14]

Apex Pro.

[MattyO1984]

1 hour ago, Minarets said:

If there were a lean in any direction, that would be it.  

 

I love my T100. I think the AP2’s looked nicer sitting in the bag but behind the ball, I have seen blades that were bigger, such a good looking golf club and I have got to say that I was sceptical about the looks of the T200 but having seen them in the bag of one of the other guys at the club and taken a look, they look pretty decent behind the ball as well.

[Minarets]

3 hours ago, Fairway14 said:

Apex Pro.

my only concern with these was I wanted a little more distance.  I fear strengthening the lofts a 2* would cause me to dig too much.  no?

[Fairway14]

1 minute ago, Minarets said:

my only concern with these was I wanted a little more distance.  I fear strengthening the lofts a 2* would cause me to dig too much.  no?

 

Irons are for consistency in carry yardages and accuracy, not distance. The problem with "distance irons" is they compromise both distance carry yardage and accuracy.

Why do you want to hit a 7-iron longer yardages ? It's better to swing a 6-iron.

[Minarets]

3 hours ago, Fairway14 said:

 

Irons are for consistency in carry yardages and accuracy, not distance. The problem with "distance irons" is they compromise both distance carry yardage and accuracy.

Why do you want to hit a 7-iron longer yardages ? It's better to swing a 6-iron.

I'd prefer to be consistent with an extra 7 yards or so.  

[golfandtennisfan]

Minarets,

 

My recommendation without real details would be mizuno 721 F (if can handle size and probably most forgiving), apex pro (bend weaker if you want) or T100 not the S. All great clubs though. Good luck.

[Fairway14]

1 minute ago, Minarets said:

I'd prefer to be consistent with an extra 7 yards or so.  

 

You wrote in your OP that your 7-iron carry yardage is 160. I don't your scoring average or the strengths and weaknesses of your game. But I do know several guys who shoot par 72 or better that don't carry a 7-iron 160 yards.

My own 7-iron carry yardage is approximately 155-160. I've played irons designed for distance and they are fun to play shots with for sure. I liked hitting 9-iron from 150 and 8-iron from 160. hitting less club than other players on par 3 tee boxes etc... But I found the downside to the distance irons was that carry yardage was inconsistent. One 7-iron shot would carry 165 yards and then the next one could carry 175. It becomes a challenge on the course to club yourself, because you never know when a blasted iron shot 10 yards longer than you were expecting will happen.

I just think it's easier to score your best with irons that provide reliable, dependable shot distance, and from your OP list the Apex Pro meets that criteria.

But if you've never played a distance iron then you might want to just give it a try for yourself and see what happens. I absolutely agree that swinging an 8 or 9iron from places you formerly swung a 7-iron is fun.

 

[gdb99]

 

I probably carry my 7 iron a couple yards less than you.

 

A friend picked up a set of Callaway Epic forged a couple weeks ago. Those things are jacked! I was hitting the 7 iron, with range balls, past the 175 flag! It was fun, they felt great, look great, but what am I going to do with that? I was hitting an easy gap wedge at least 125. My current gap wedge is my 105 club. I would have to change a lot of clubs at the lower end.

 

Distance is great. But at 58 years old, and still hitting the same yardages I always have and that I'm used to, I'm not ready to buy strong lofted irons. I just don't see the point.

But hitting that 7 iron 175 sure was addicting.....

 

[aenemated]

1 hour ago, Fairway14 said:

 

But I found the downside to the distance irons was that carry yardage was inconsistent. One 7-iron shot would carry 165 yards and then the next one could carry 175. It becomes a challenge on the course to club yourself, because you never know when a blasted iron shot 10 yards longer than you were expecting will happen.

 

 

And this is exactly why my 0211 experiment didn't last long. I kinda knew what to expect going in but didn't expect it to vary SO wildly. I recall a round with them, I had two holes back-to-back where I had around 155 to the pin. First one, nicely struck 8 iron, carried just past the pin and stopped - nice shot! Second one? Same nicely struck 8 iron somehow managed to carry about a club and a half longer and airmailed the green despite contact and all conditions otherwise being pretty much the same. 

 

When I finally just went in for a brand-agnostic fitting and did my "baseline" 6 irons with them; it was nuts to me seeing just how huge the distance dispersion was, even feeling like I was hitting them all pretty well. The P7MCs I finally landed on ... sure, around a club-ish shorter but the distances were WAY more consistent. 

[getitdaily]

Always go mizuno.

[TwistedSister]

Srixon 765 or 785  I am a 3.5 and they are great.  You could even get the 4-7 in 785 and the 8-PW in 965  Makes a great Combo set. 

[Eagleman]

I’d look at the mp-20 MMCs, and maybe the HMBs in your long irons. Before I got the MMCs I had the Apex pros 2019s and I would get random fliers from them. The MMCs have been very consistent. And they are plenty forgiving

[ronnbee]

xxio

[platgof]

Who are you kidding, pony up for the Gen 3's.

[Minarets]

1 hour ago, platgof said:

Who are you kidding, pony up for the Gen 3's.

If Bob drops again next month even slightly, I just might.  

[Minarets]

3 hours ago, Fairway14 said:

 

You wrote in your OP that your 7-iron carry yardage is 160. I don't your scoring average or the strengths and weaknesses of your game. But I do know several guys who shoot par 72 or better that don't carry a 7-iron 160 yards.

My own 7-iron carry yardage is approximately 155-160. I've played irons designed for distance and they are fun to play shots with for sure. I liked hitting 9-iron from 150 and 8-iron from 160. hitting less club than other players on par 3 tee boxes etc... But I found the downside to the distance irons was that carry yardage was inconsistent. One 7-iron shot would carry 165 yards and then the next one could carry 175. It becomes a challenge on the course to club yourself, because you never know when a blasted iron shot 10 yards longer than you were expecting will happen.

I just think it's easier to score your best with irons that provide reliable, dependable shot distance, and from your OP list the Apex Pro meets that criteria.

But if you've never played a distance iron then you might want to just give it a try for yourself and see what happens. I absolutely agree that swinging an 8 or 9iron from places you formerly swung a 7-iron is fun.

 

But that's a specific iron issue no? Not a blanket "distance irons" issue.   They don't all go inconsistent distances, right? I do r really want a 185y 7i, I mean like said before it's fun at times but I'm used to the 155-160 carry 7 iron now.  More than squeezing out more yards I just don't want to go backwards unless I can't miss by going backwards. 
 

I think we all want to be the longest in our group of buddies, but I'll definitely take beating them every day and taking their money over being the last one to play their drive into the greenI think we all want to be the longest in our group of buddies, but I'll definitely take beating them every day and taking their money over being the last one to play their drive into the green

[LeoLeo99]

16 minutes ago, Minarets said:

But that's a specific iron issue no? Not a blanket "distance irons" issue.   They don't all go inconsistent distances, right? I do r really want a 185y 7i, I mean like said before it's fun at times but I'm used to the 155-160 carry 7 iron now.  More than squeezing out more yards I just don't want to go backwards unless I can't miss by going backwards. 
 

I think we all want to be the longest in our group of buddies, but I'll definitely take beating them every day and taking their money over being the last one to play their drive into the greenI think we all want to be the longest in our group of buddies, but I'll definitely take beating them every day and taking their money over being the last one to play their drive into the green

No one i know cares what iron you used for approach shots.  

[Minarets]

I haven't had a fitting yet and hoping it could be fixed but the 921F was the "one".  I was just sure of it before I got to hit it.  Felt great, was long, but my spin was WAY down.  Now, again, I haven't been fit but hit my 95g Steelfibers which is what I was for for my 0311 Gen 1 irons and was just shocked how low spin the 921F was giving me that day.  High 4000 with a 7i.