Best of the 2020/2021 new players irons

[Cruisin1966]

18 minutes ago, kstrong84 said:

Has anybody tried or is planning to try the new Wilson Staff Model CB's? 

 

I know they are super new but they look sharp AF and quite comparable with the Srixons...either way, they are def on my radar for next year.

Very interested in trying the Wilson Staff CB's

[Theweekday]

51 minutes ago, kstrong84 said:

Has anybody tried or is planning to try the new Wilson Staff Model CB's? 

 

I know they are super new but they look sharp AF and quite comparable with the Srixons...either way, they are def on my radar for next year.

That’s another very good looking set. Those and the King Tour MIM’s are the unexpected sleeper hits imo. 

[BCULAW]

On 11/29/2020 at 11:12 PM, TigerInTheWoods said:

I've posted about it before but yes. I started golfing in 2018 and am now a + cap. Shot 67 today. Former pro athlete and have put hundreds and hundreds of hours into it. Was playing GI irons at the beginning but soon after got into players irons and blades. Helps with feedback and control. You’ve got the length. No reason those won’t work great for you. Find a good pro, groove the swing and put the time in. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or need resources in improving quickly in the game. 

Similar. I am also a former pro baseball player that picked up the game at age 24. Struggled mightily with iron play early on and kept going bigger and more forgiving as a result.  I didn't actually see improvement until I switched to a blade-like iron. Go with the MP20s.

 

One suggestion, though, if you start to struggle with them and get frustrated - switch to a weaker flex shaft and swing within yourself. Blades and players CBs are harder to elevate and generally produce shorter distances than other irons. If you get in the mindset of trying to hit them higher or longer, the swing can get sloppy and confidence wanes. A weaker shaft (maybe at tour weight if you are still strong) is easier to elevate and produces "easier" distance. You also tend to swing within yourself if you feel the shaft load, which helps avoid the sloppy passes I mentioned above. 

 

in short, I found success with blades, but then spent years yo-yoing into more forgiving clubs if my confidence faltered. The shafts can provide a degree of "ease of use" for those times when you feel you are struggling. 

[Theweekday]

Also kind curious to know.. I have seen a lot of people commenting on other threads and around the internet that the mp20's are very forgiving blade. How do they compare in forgiveness to the average players iron?

[doctorgriffo]

On 11/28/2020 at 1:03 PM, Richie65 said:

This subject is of great interest to me as I'm debating whether or not I need to replace my Nike Pro Combo (2014) set. Honestly, how can any of these irons improve on what Nike did? I'm no Nike fanboy by the way. 

 

However, I've had them for 4+ seasons and all the these new models are stirring my interest. Plus, let's keep the economy going!

 

Is there anyone out there who gamed the Nikes previously who could be of help? The Nikes feel awesome, sound great and are forgiving enough that I rarely need to practice to maintain a decent handicap. The only issues I have with the Nikes are the size of the shorter irons being little large and I'm not a real fan of the hosel flow.

 

Sorry, I'm not trying to thread jack, but trying to get more information.

I went from the pro combo forged to a blended set of x-forged/apex mb, and am now playing mp20 mmc/mb combo (Just the 9 and PW in the MB). Still hit the Nikes alongside them for comparison and they still feel great (though I didn’t use the wedge (replaced it with the 48deg vr forged wedge). 
I love the look of the apex mb, but while they are quite forgiving for a blade they still punish misses. The mp20 mmc have enough help in them but still let you know if you haven’t hit it flush (without killing the result), and I find that they hit them far enough. The one frustrating thing with the mp20 is the lofts are a bit strong and don’t blend as seamlessly as the other combo set possibilities - the mmc are 2 degrees stronger than the mb. Haven’t hit the Srixon or TM offerings,  but I prefer the look of the mizunos. Not much difference in the feel between the mmc and x forged, (2018 model) and it is a wash for distance and ball flight. In short, the Nikes still feel and play as well as anything I have switched to, so any change was just because I like trying new shiny things.

Edited December 3, 2020 by doctorgriffo
Added a sentence

[Yuck]

16 hours ago, golfer55082 said:

One way to look for what is the best  is to count how many “equipment free agents” play a certain iron. Historically speaking, quite a few free agents play player irons from Mizuno (jpx tour and MP) and Srixon (745, 785 etc), but very few play Callaway, Cobra, or Taylormade irons.  If this trend continues for 20-21 irons, it would be good indication about what is the best out there. 

A few play Ping also

[golfer55082]

1 hour ago, Yuck said:

A few play Ping also

Who?

[gstevens]

I have a mixed set of the Callaway X forged 18 (4-7) and Callaway MB (8-W).  I don't hit them as far as my playing partners do but I know their distances and can really control them.

I order a set of TM P770s this summer got them last month and while they are pretty easy to hit there's something about them that I don't love.  Might put them on Ebay and stick with the old reliables.

[TKnuth13]

This is great info, really excited for my fitting at Club Champion Saturday. I've been a wrx club hoe the past 3 years so i'm really excited to get fitted and see what the experts say. 

[ReidThompson]

52 minutes ago, TKnuth13 said:

This is great info, really excited for my fitting at Club Champion Saturday. I've been a wrx club hoe the past 3 years so i'm really excited to get fitted and see what the experts say. 

As a true CC fan for years now, my advice is to set price expectations up front.  Take into account if you are going to take specs and buy elsewhere, or buy there.  Unless you really want to pay up, I like to try make sure there are stock options in the fitting. 

[scooterhd2]

1 hour ago, golfer55082 said:

Who?

 

Sergio?

[OnlyBuilt4ScottishLinks]

19 hours ago, Cruisin1966 said:

Very interested in trying the Wilson Staff CB's

I'm in the same boat.  If they're anything like the staff blades they're going in my bag.  I'd either do a combo set with the blades or get a full set of the cb's for the days where I want a little more forgiveness.  

[nico12321]

MP20 MMC all the way! #nothingfeelslikeamizuno

[Bunkersarebigcups]

5 hours ago, golfer55082 said:

Who?

Couples

[golfer55082]

17 minutes ago, Bunkersarebigcups said:

Couples

I am under the impression that Fred Couples is a Ping player. Anyway I wouldn’t be surprised if Ping i210 and Blue Print turn some head in tour free agents. 

[Bunkersarebigcups]

43 minutes ago, golfer55082 said:

I am under the impression that Fred Couples is a Ping player. Anyway I wouldn’t be surprised if Ping i210 and Blue Print turn some head in tour free agents. 

Ah, that would make it my bad. I thought he was a free agent who recently switched into some PING stuff. But you could very well be right as well 

[Richsgbox]

On 11/27/2020 at 11:43 PM, hypergolf said:

 

I used to be a die hard Mizuno iron user but I don't know what has changed in the MP 20 range... Didn't like them at all. I never looked at Titleist irons until I tried the T100/T100S and 620 CB. Srixon?? Never even considered them but now they are in my bag... A strange year for me...

MP20 MMCs are so good. Unfortunately moved onto JPX921T and immediately regretted it. Now I'm playing T100S and they're just as good as MMC IMO. 

 

I'd prefer to keep these bagged in 2021 but really want to give ZX7s a run.

[Theweekday]

32 minutes ago, Richsgbox said:

MP20 MMCs are so good. Unfortunately moved onto JPX921T and immediately regretted it. Now I'm playing T100S and they're just as good as MMC IMO. 

 

I'd prefer to keep these bagged in 2021 but really want to give ZX7s a run.

What are the differences for you between the t100S and the MMC? And which do you like better? 

[mtex22]

Gonna see if these knock my J15cb's out of the bag. I went in wanting the X Forged CB's, tried these on a whim and had slightly better performance and was miles better in the feel department. Real world testing this weekend.

[Richsgbox]

11 hours ago, Theweekday said:

What are the differences for you between the t100S and the MMC? And which do you like better? 

The real differences between the two are headshapes. T100s are a bit smaller in terms of overall headsize. Otherwise, performance is identical and forgiving. I did have issues hitting my distance with the T100s 4i and ended swapping it with a U500 with a hzrdus. 

[Theweekday]

6 hours ago, Richsgbox said:

The real differences between the two are headshapes. T100s are a bit smaller in terms of overall headsize. Otherwise, performance is identical and forgiving. I did have issues hitting my distance with the T100s 4i and ended swapping it with a U500 with a hzrdus. 

Feel was similar as well? I’ve heard great things about the mmc and 50/50 for the t100 

[Richsgbox]

3 hours ago, Theweekday said:

Feel was similar as well? I’ve heard great things about the mmc and 50/50 for the t100 

I'd give MMCs a slight edge on feel and forgiveness but T100S the nod for looks behind the ball. 

[AtlantaGolf3]

On 12/2/2020 at 12:07 PM, RTSmith31 said:

I recently went to CC to try basically everything that is out there, all were tested with a PX LZ shaft (current gamer in Srixon 765)...a couple reactions:

1) 921 Tour came out on top for me - feel, strike consistency / dispersion, spin, trajectory were all on point - started striking these well pretty much right out of the gate

2) Titleist T100 was a surprise for me and a close second to the 921s...nothing bad to say, Mizunos were just a touch better across the board; ball speeds in line with 921T

3) X Forged CB took me a little time to warm up to, but started to get good results once I got comfortable with them...a little less consistent in strike quality and a little less ball speed on good strikes...likely just a feel thing for me

4) I wanted to love the TM line-up (p770 / p7mc combo) but couldn't get along with them...was just super inconsistent for me and even my good strikes didn't feel as good as the 921T 

 

One caveat to all of this - I didn't get to try the ZX7's.  I am going back to CC once they get a set in and will likely put them up against the 921T and T100.  

any update on you demoing zx7?

 

I hit 921T, zx7, zx5, p7mc, p770, MMC, MIM Tours at Pgatss. I didn’t love the v-sole And I am steep but I am curious as to how they feel on grass. Still open to them. 
 

P7MC were the softness.  Shortest by far, spun the most. 
 

921T were best all around package (looks, feel , distance , consistency in dispersion, spin) followed closely by MMC. 

 

Zx7 felt great but kinda jumped when sliding through the artificial turn in the simulators. Longer than 921Ts but they are 2° stronger. A little less consistent, but I attribute that to the turf interaction. 
 

MIM Tour and P770 were the longest. MIM Tour edged it out in distance. 770 was just straight shot after shot. 
 

I tested each of the above over multiple days. All standard Lie - 6.5 LZ, Tour Issue X100. 
 

I currently play 919Fs with DG 120 x100s. 

[RTSmith31]

4 hours ago, AtlantaGolf3 said:

any update on you demoing zx7?

 

I hit 921T, zx7, zx5, p7mc, p770, MMC, MIM Tours at Pgatss. I didn’t love the v-sole And I am steep but I am curious as to how they feel on grass. Still open to them. 
 

P7MC were the softness.  Shortest by far, spun the most. 
 

921T were best all around package (looks, feel , distance , consistency in dispersion, spin) followed closely by MMC. 

 

Zx7 felt great but kinda jumped when sliding through the artificial turn in the simulators. Longer than 921Ts but they are 2° stronger. A little less consistent, but I attribute that to the turf interaction. 
 

MIM Tour and P770 were the longest. MIM Tour edged it out in distance. 770 was just straight shot after shot. 
 

I tested each of the above over multiple days. All standard Lie - 6.5 LZ, Tour Issue X100. 
 

I currently play 919Fs with DG 120 x100s. 

 

Good timing, just went back to Club Champion this past weekend and demoed pretty much everything.  It again came down to 921T and ZX7 (as much as I wanted to love the new Apex Pros as well).  At the end of the day ZX7 blew everything out of the water for me.  Maybe there is some comfort given I've played the 765s for the last 5 years (and used to the v-sole).  The specific fitter is a friend as well, so I asked him to match lofts on the ZX7 and 921T for as close of a comparison as possible before making a final decision. 

 

To me ZX7 was consistently producing ~5 mph more ball speed on similar swings with better launch windows (a little higher for me).  Dispersion and spin were pretty consistent between the two.  They just felt powerful to me and probably offered a little more forgiveness vs. the 921T (testing in the middle of Chicago winter shines a brighter light on this aspect vs. mid-season form).

 

Final adjustment between this fitting and last - I did make a shaft change.  I went with the Oban CT 125 vs. PX LZ 125.  Just a little smoother profile resulting in me not needing to "work" as hard for some great results. Oban iron shafts are not something I've tried in the past, but was impressed. 

 

At the end of the day, it just came down to feel and comfort.  Both irons are great.  The familiarity with the Srixons likely factored into the slightly better numbers, but confidence in the swing / strike quality also factored into the decision to go ZX7.

[Tiptx1122]

2 of the best that deserve more love

KING TOUR Cobra MIM

Srixon Zx7

[AtlantaGolf3]

22 hours ago, RTSmith31 said:

 

Good timing, just went back to Club Champion this past weekend and demoed pretty much everything.  It again came down to 921T and ZX7 (as much as I wanted to love the new Apex Pros as well).  At the end of the day ZX7 blew everything out of the water for me.  Maybe there is some comfort given I've played the 765s for the last 5 years (and used to the v-sole).  The specific fitter is a friend as well, so I asked him to match lofts on the ZX7 and 921T for as close of a comparison as possible before making a final decision. 

 

To me ZX7 was consistently producing ~5 mph more ball speed on similar swings with better launch windows (a little higher for me).  Dispersion and spin were pretty consistent between the two.  They just felt powerful to me and probably offered a little more forgiveness vs. the 921T (testing in the middle of Chicago winter shines a brighter light on this aspect vs. mid-season form).

 

Final adjustment between this fitting and last - I did make a shaft change.  I went with the Oban CT 125 vs. PX LZ 125.  Just a little smoother profile resulting in me not needing to "work" as hard for some great results. Oban iron shafts are not something I've tried in the past, but was impressed. 

 

At the end of the day, it just came down to feel and comfort.  Both irons are great.  The familiarity with the Srixons likely factored into the slightly better numbers, but confidence in the swing / strike quality also factored into the decision to go ZX7.

Interesting shaft. I don’t have much experience with oban. Were you testing the 6.5LZ?  Which flex did you test for the CT 125?  The site says they have S, S+, X-, X, X+. 
 

I just shot my club pro an email. They don’t offer Srixon so I might go through a fitting at cc to see numbers with all the shaft choices.

[rxk9fan]

Srixon ZX7

Wilson Staff CB

Titleist 620 CB

[sadclevelandsports]

Blueprints for me! Seem just as "forgiving" as my old z785's while looking terrifying.

[RTSmith31]

4 hours ago, AtlantaGolf3 said:

Interesting shaft. I don’t have much experience with oban. Were you testing the 6.5LZ?  Which flex did you test for the CT 125?  The site says they have S, S+, X-, X, X+. 
 

I just shot my club pro an email. They don’t offer Srixon so I might go through a fitting at cc to see numbers with all the shaft choices.

I was playing the PX6.5 LZ in the old Srixons.  Still a good shaft for me, but wanted something a little smoother / a touch softer.  Thought about going to the PX6.0 LZ and hard stepping, but wanted the little extra weight.  The CT 125 allowed me to keep the shaft weight but get something a little softer.  Ended up going S+ which was a nice in between.

 

Would definitely recommend going to CC.  In addition to testing all of the shaft options, I found it beneficial to be able to test the contenders on an apples to apples basis from a loft perspective.  

[Pkcpga]

I was fitted a few days ago with Club Champion, tried a mess of heads/shafts and my clubs, PXG 0311t original model.  From looks alone I really liked the Taylor p7mc, unfortunately they were not a match for me.  The irons that gave me the best numbers was the Srixon ZX7 with KBS tour V, tour spec shafts, S+ flex.  My current gamer has S tapers in X flex.  The ZX7 gave me the best dispersion while still getting great numbers.  The p7mc even with heavy riffle shafts gave me too high of spin numbers which gave me a wider dispersion.  Club Champion uses a 6 iron and even with riffles I had 7,000 spin average, S400 dropped it to 6,400 with better dispersion but also dropped my distance by 8 yards.  The ZX7 I averaged 6,100 with the 6 iron, very tight dispersion, as even miss hits for myself got barely penalized.  Launch, peak height and distance were all great, 91mph average, 182 carry, 6,100 spin, peak height 95 feet, ball speed 126, land angle 49.6 degrees.  Also tried p770 gave he more distance but over a 100 foot peak and extremely low spin rate of 5,200.  And the Titleist t100, worst dispersion, I tend to occasionally hit a little in the heel on miss hits and these penalized me the worst.  The new PXG 0311t had too large of dispersion, very low spinning and very high launching, dispersion was only in distance for them.  But was over 10 yards in a 6 iron, seems if you hit higher on the face with them you get a very big flyer, some 15 yards over my average with extremely low spin.  Both Mizuno’s I had too high of spin numbers with and had poor distance with.  Strangely neither had a high peak height, just very high spin, over 7,000 with a 6 iron and peak height of 82 on the tour and mp20 was 85 feet, but both had a carry of 171 and 173 average, they are a degree weaker.  Doesn’t make up for the 10 yards less carry, even with high spin the first bounce was very large, so overall wasn’t as far off, do to the decent angle of 47 range with lower peak height.   Tried the King Cobra tour, got decent number but a little bigger dispersion then the ZX7, same with the Wilson Staff CB which surprised me, just not as forgiving on my type of miss hits.  The Callaway X forged were also just not as forgiving for my type of miss hit.  I guess the importance of a fitting, all great clubs but different heads/shafts work for different swings.