Have distance irons harmed your golf game?

[bladehunter]

On 10/29/2020 at 11:17 PM, WarEagleGolf said:

Does anyone think the "flyers" are people actually hitting it flush?  Most other shots not being flush?  

 

Somewhat kidding.  Will be honest, I've improved with my i500s.  Love them, in fact.  Only fliers I've caught are when the ball is sitting up (middle face rather than low face - less spin, higher), or teed up. I know, right?  They get more distance when you hit higher on the face, but irons aren't supposed to be struck there.  I know this...and play it.  

 

Some of these are "players" irons....they command a good strike.  They aren't as "forgiving" as some believe.  I've also found a solid negative AoA seems to get better results.  Sweeping (for me), while not my common strike does sometimes get less spin for me, no distance issues, rolls out a bit more. 

Yes. But what you’re describing is hitting them flush ( up) vs not.  The i500 has an incredibly high vertical center of gravity.  They are really hard to hit truly flush.  Most who are playing them never hit them flush and complain of clanky feeling etc.  I played them around 8 months and this was Th e gripe I had.  The vertical cog is designed in my opinion for folks hitting it fat.  If you hit them fat you get the ball  high enough on the face to get that center of gravity to the balls equator. Which is what a flush shot is. Poor design that I hope ping fixes in the next version. I otherwise like the iron a lot.  

Edited November 1, 2020 by bladehunter

[bladehunter]

On 10/30/2020 at 10:39 AM, chippa13 said:

"Unexplained higher ball speeds" just isn't a scientifically possible thing. Two identical strikes on the same part of the face with the same face angle and angle of attack will not produce two different outcomes.

What is being said is that two different strikes will produce a much wider variance of carry than a solid head club.  Especially seen with players who have some speed.  
 

Think about how these irons work. The face flexes to  add dynamic loft right !? That’s how they launch higher.  If you deform the face more , they launch higher and potentially with less spin if flier conditions are present.  High launch and low spin is going to carry more.  So if you’re not deforming the face you may not see this. But if you’re a guy who was breaking flexible faces. You’ve seen it.  Read about all the i500 face failures. Most of us saw this condition with them.  The i500 threads were littered with it.  You know at impact when this happens. You could feel the face give and spring back just like a middled driver . This “ extra gear “ isn’t there with a solid iron.  It doesn’t flex.  

[HSgolfer32]

15 minutes ago, bladehunter said:

What is being said is that two different strikes will produce a much wider variance of carry than a solid head club.  Especially seen with players who have some speed.  
 

Think about how these irons work. The face flexes to  add dynamic loft right !? That’s how they launch higher.  If you deform the face more , they launch higher and potentially with less spin if flier conditions are present.  High launch and low spin is going to carry more.  So if you’re not deforming the face you may not see this. But if you’re a guy who was breaking flexible faces. You’ve seen it.  Read about all the i500 face failures. Most of us saw this condition with them.  The i500 threads were littered with it.  You know at impact when this happens. You could feel the face give and spring back just like a middled driver . This “ extra gear “ isn’t there with a solid iron.  It doesn’t flex.  

your completely right about all this, in Highschool I played 714cbs and then a set of psi tours, when college came around callaway being my schools highest discount I got a half assed fitting for some apex pros at the end of my full bag fitting and called it good, the driver,3w, and a few other callaway things I had in the bad from that fitting worked great but now I went from shooting 70-72 to blowing up sometimes and shooting in the mid 80s more consistently then I could break 80, which was not only frustrating to me but to my coach, I went from hitting a pretty traditional 7iron loft at 34 175 yards or at least traditional for modern golf to now hitting that apex 7 that is a strong 6 like 205-225 depending on strike and location, which just isn’t something that I could get used to and someone that is normally a good iron player lost 8-10 strokes a round cause of missed greens and bad approaches, then switched back to more players irons with a mmc/mizuno blade combo and the misses went away and I got my more comftrable distances back, I think switching to PDI irons really doesn’t make sense  other then for a select few groups of golfers who maybe play and score really well but are on the older side and really need that extra distance. Plus hitting a pitching wedge that really is an 8 iron or strong 9 into a green from 180 isn’t really the most confidence inspiring thing when you just feel like it’s gonna be short everytime. 

Edited November 1, 2020 by HSgolfer32

[HSgolfer32]

8 minutes ago, bladehunter said:

What is being said is that two different strikes will produce a much wider variance of carry than a solid head club.  Especially seen with players who have some speed.  
 

Think about how these irons work. The face flexes to  add dynamic loft right !? That’s how they launch higher.  If you deform the face more , they launch higher and potentially with less spin if flier conditions are present.  High launch and low spin is going to carry more.  So if you’re not deforming the face you may not see this. But if you’re a guy who was breaking flexible faces. You’ve seen it.  Read about all the i500 face failures. Most of us saw this condition with them.  The i500 threads were littered with it.  You know at impact when this happens. You could feel the face give and spring back just like a middled driver . This “ extra gear “ isn’t there with a solid iron.  It doesn’t flex.  

your completely right ablut all this, in Highschool I played 714cbs and then a set of psi tours, when college came around callaway being my schools highest discount I got a half added fitting for some apex pros at the end of my full bag fitting and called it good, the driver,3w, and a few other callaway things I hs in the bad from that fitting worked great but now I went from shooting 70-72 to blowing up sometimes and shooting in the mid 80s more consistently then I could break 80, which was not only frustrating to me but to my coach, I went from hitting a pretty traditional 7iron loft at 34 175 yards or at least traditional for modern golf to now hitting that apex 7 that is a strong 6 like 205-225 spending on strike and location, which just isn’t something that I could get used to and someone that is normally a good iron player lost 8-10 strokes a round cause of missed greens and bad approaches, then switched back to more players irons with a mmc/mizuno blade combo and the misses went away and I got my more comftrable distances back, I think switching to PDI irons really doesn’t make senesce other then for a select few groups of golfers who maybe play and score really well but are on the older side and really need that extra distance. Plus hitting a pitching wedge that really is an 8 iron or strong 9 into a green from 180 isn’t really the most confidence inspiring thing when you just feel like it’s gonna be short everytime. 

[Pepperturbo]

On 10/29/2020 at 8:17 PM, WarEagleGolf said:

Does anyone think the "flyers" are people actually hitting it flush?  Most other shots not being flush?  

 

Somewhat kidding.  Will be honest, I've improved with my i500s.  Love them, in fact.  Only fliers I've caught are when the ball is sitting up (middle face rather than low face - less spin, higher), or teed up. I know, right?  They get more distance when you hit higher on the face, but irons aren't supposed to be struck there.  I know this...and play it.  

 

Some of these are "players" irons....they command a good strike.  They aren't as "forgiving" as some believe.  I've also found a solid negative AoA seems to get better results.  Sweeping (for me), while not my common strike does sometimes get less spin for me, no distance issues, rolls out a bit more. 

 

Yes... 

 

I can't recall the last time I hit a flyer, probably due to my club head designs, and grooved swing that puts the sweet spot on the ball, most of the time.   If I miss the sweet spot I am 10yrds short, so I always grab enough club.

 

You're right @WarEagleGolf, my 620 CB player irons require a good strike, as was my 716CB's, not as forgiving as others player irons.  My 620 CB's were purposely designed to be a bit forgiving but play more like 620 MB's, and they accomplished that.  I applaud Titleist. 

 

As I see this topic, people play certain clubs mainly for forgiveness and strong lofts to gain or regain distances.  It's talked about on this board rather often, and both are fundamental arguments against playing blades.  If we look at the breakdown of handicap percentages it's confirmed.  Many golfers know they are not consistent ball-strikers, that includes some of my friends.  So, when they flush one long it's typically the result of being unsure of club distance, maybe a slightly faster swing that puts the clubhead sweet spot unexpectedly on the ball, bam. 

 

This past weekend I played with a guy that was long of the pin nearly every hole, even 18 surrounded by water he was 30yrds past the pin at the very back.  He was playing a newer set of SGI Callaway's.  As forgiving as his clubs were they were not helping him much. 

Edited November 3, 2020 by Pepperturbo

[GBBM]

I can only remember one blatant flyer in the last 10 years. I was walking 9 at lunch, in a hurry, playing some JDM blades and had a 9 iron approach shot at my home track which I played about 100 times a year back then. It flew the green, went over the cart path, and ended up about 25 yards past my intended target. I was flabbergasted. I can’t hit a 9 iron that far, I thought.
 

I eventually went back and looked at the club face and realized I hadn’t cleaned the face since my last range session and the grooves were packed full of dirt and grass. There was also fresh grass that had been smashed between the ball and the club face during the shot. I usually clean my irons after every shot and didn’t notice it at address before the shot. 

[chippa13]

I love how everyone has that one story of the guy playing shovels who wasn't good but none of the multitude of guys playing shovels that beat them. Selective memories and confirmation bias running rampant.

[GBBM]

3 minutes ago, chippa13 said:

I love how everyone has that one story of the guy playing shovels who wasn't good but none of the multitude of guys playing shovels that beat them. Selective memories and confirmation bias running rampant.

Fantastic straw man! 

[chippa13]

Just running with the thread.

[SwooshLT]

On 10/27/2020 at 11:45 PM, Clifford said:

I somewhat disagree. I sold my P790s because of that reason. My 7 iron would go 160-170, depends on how solid it was hit but every once in a while it would go 185  over the green into the trees or in the water.  Love the clubs but hated the extra 10-15 yards out of the blue.  I only have a 100-103 mph driver swingspeed, so a 185 yard 7 iron should be impossible.

 

 

I saw this from a middle aged friend.....he airmailed 5 greens last week and the look on face was complete shock.  ... p790s 

[SwooshLT]

Just got a set of T200 4-gw.....strong lofted yes but a very good look at address.....after some tinkering with shafts , I feel like now it's just a matter of playing to get yardages.....these are the SLEEPER irons ......flying under the radar......certainly gained distance but trajectory was/is far more important.......get very nice ball speed , again stronger lofts but nothing absurd 

 

Highly recommended!