Picking new old irons

[rorykoepka]

Hey everyone, you guys have helped me make some awesome putter choices so wanted to see if I could get some help with some irons. I wanted to get a set of irons that are older but just as good as anything out today. Preferably something that has a cult following/tour verified. My initial research research led to things like the callaway legacy black, Daniel Berger’s TM irons and such. Forgiving blades(if that exists) would also be ok too

 

Little bit of background, currently playing the mp18 mmc with modus 120x shafts. Traveled all the way to Toronto to see Ian Fraser of TXG and I do really like these irons, just want to try something else. Played college golf, quit for 12 years and picked it back up 3 years ago and am a 2 handicap. I love playing tournaments but I’m obviously not winning anything with my scores. Excited to see what suggestions you guys have! Thanks!

[Jeff58]

https://www.thehackersparadise.com/taylormade-r9-irons-review/
 

Wish I had mine back. Stupid to sell them. Stupid…

 

Only issue is that they’re *very* hard to find at this point.

[Phabs]

I’ll never sell my mp5’s , MP15’s or my Hogan Apex plus.   I’ll still blow the dust off my MP15’s and MP5’s once or twice a year.  

[Mookieb10]

I’m a 33 year old former athlete playing to a 4.6 handicap. Driving and ball striking are my strong suit. I currently play a set of Callaway Legacy Blacks. For the majority of my golf, which is played in the Northeastern USA, I simply cannot imagine a better golf club. They are the softest feeling club I’ve ever hit. Also, I only lose 2-3 yards on slightly mis-struck balls. They really are quite good and I just saw a new set of heads on the big auction site for $1,100. On the down side, I play 3 months per year in Florida and they just don’t jive with the turf down there. The fla turf can be very finicky. I’ve got a set of Bridgestone J15 MB’s along with Miura CB1006’s to try down there. If you happen to live in CT, I’d gladly let you spend a month or two with any of my call girls except the Legacy Blacks to see if you enjoy. 

[DaRiz]

Can’t go wrong with 54s, 64s, or 4s

 

jpx800pro had a nice cult following too. Don’t need to run down the whole mizuno classic iron list..

 

here are some more modern classics or just generally beautiful clubs 

 

rac tp mb 

amp cell pro

j40 dpc or cb 

Vr pro combo

og pro combo

Vapor pro combo

mm proto

Apex 14 or 16

v foil 1025 cm or mb

Adams cmb 

 

 

 

[James the Hogan Fan]

Wilson FG Tour v2 and FG 62 (I play them as a combo set)

 

And then I have Hogan Apex blades from 99 and 03, both exceptional.

[JungleJimbo]

6 hours ago, rorykoepka said:

Hey everyone, you guys have helped me make some awesome putter choices so wanted to see if I could get some help with some irons. I wanted to get a set of irons that are older but just as good as anything out today. Preferably something that has a cult following/tour verified. My initial research research led to things like the callaway legacy black, Daniel Berger’s TM irons and such. Forgiving blades(if that exists) would also be ok too

 

Little bit of background, currently playing the mp18 mmc with modus 120x shafts. Traveled all the way to Toronto to see Ian Fraser of TXG and I do really like these irons, just want to try something else. Played college golf, quit for 12 years and picked it back up 3 years ago and am a 2 handicap. I love playing tournaments but I’m obviously not winning anything with my scores. Excited to see what suggestions you guys have! Thanks!

@rorykoepka Aren't there any irons that you lusted after "back in the day", but can afford now?
That would be my shortlist! 

FWIW... am a Hogan irons fan, and saw these  Radials (1983) and near-mint BH Grinds (1990-ish) yesterday on reddit! Thanks for your post, i too enjoy older irons & thought you'd enjoy these photos 🙂 



 

 

Edited July 23, 2021 by JungleJimbo

[rorykoepka]

1 minute ago, JungleJimbo said:

@rorykoepka Aren't there any irons that you lusted after "back in the day", but can afford now?
That would be my shortlist! eg Ping Eye2 BeCus?

FWIW... am a Hogan irons fan, and saw these  Radials (1983) and near-mint BH Grinds (1990-ish) yesterday on reddit! Thanks for your post, i too enjoy older irons



 

I actually never cared about clubs until very recently. I played a set of Mizuno mp14 in high school but had zero idea about equipment in general. There are some great ideas in this thread that I’ll have to look up.

[joostin]

12 hours ago, rorykoepka said:

Preferably something that has a cult following/tour verified.

Ones not mentioned yet: Srixon Z 745/945, Bridgestone J15CB, Adams MB2

[Nevek]

Wilson V6

[tr881430]

Just got some Titleist 714 Ap2's. Very solid, thought they were a little clicky when they first came out. 

[jvincent]

9 hours ago, JungleJimbo said:

@rorykoepka Aren't there any irons that you lusted after "back in the day", but can afford now?
That would be my shortlist! 

FWIW... am a Hogan irons fan, and saw these  Radials (1983) and near-mint BH Grinds (1990-ish) yesterday on reddit! Thanks for your post, i too enjoy older irons & thought you'd enjoy these photos 🙂 



 

 

@rorykoepka I'm going to second the recommendation for an older set of Hogans.

[Texas Golfer]

Titleist blades have been (and still are) in many Tour bags.  I have never hit them, so not sure if they offer any forgiveness or not.  I do see them for sale as used sets fairly regularly.

Edited July 23, 2021 by Texas Golfer

[Drewhill44]

Cleveland 588CB's or CB/MB Combo.  Loved the look and feel of these when I had them.  2nd choice would be Cobra's S3 Pro CB's or CB/MB combo.

Edited July 23, 2021 by Drewhill44

[rorykoepka]

So I went to roger dunn just to look around and stumbled on to the Bridgestone j15 mb irons. Absolutely loved the shape of the head and groove pattern. I noticed the groove pattern makes me think the sweet spot is more towards the toe than other irons. Does anyone know of any other iron heads that make you think the sweet spot looks closer to the toe than heel? Something about the top few grooves on the face did it for me. ESP the really short scoring line at the top of the face

Edited July 23, 2021 by rorykoepka

[R_Swanson]

Who cares if something has a following or is "tour verified"? 

 

I dont really get it.  Play what you like...

Edited July 24, 2021 by R_Swanson

[rorykoepka]

5 minutes ago, R_Swanson said:

Who cares if something has a following or is "tour verified"? 

 

I dont really get it.  Play what you like...

When it comes to old sticks I care. Especially when a player uses something old that they can’t get out of the bag. You wouldn’t get it

[R_Swanson]

1 minute ago, rorykoepka said:

When it comes to old sticks I care. Especially when a player uses something old that they can’t get out of the bag. You wouldn’t get it

Meanwhile I could list 15-20 old school sets of irons I love, because I played and/or lusted after them 20-30 years ago.  Not someone else on the internet.  Nice try bud. 

 

Go to some stores that have used golf clubs and mess with all the old clubs and see what you like.

[Seidinho]

Any model titleist ap2 will work. 

[boggyman]

22 hours ago, rorykoepka said:

So I went to roger dunn just to look around and stumbled on to the Bridgestone j15 mb irons. Absolutely loved the shape of the head and groove pattern. I noticed the groove pattern makes me think the sweet spot is more towards the toe than other irons. Does anyone know of any other iron heads that make you think the sweet spot looks closer to the toe than heel? Something about the top few grooves on the face did it for me. ESP the really short scoring line at the top of the face

Great set of irons. One set I wish I still had! Mine had Px 5.5 in them. 

[Ivyguy]

I currently hit Bstones J40 DPC, their great. 
 

I would also throw out Ping S59 (or anything in the S series). I know they aren’t forged but we’re great sticks. 
 

Adams MB2s we’re fantastic as well. 

[morgan1819]

On 7/22/2021 at 9:59 PM, Jeff58 said:

https://www.thehackersparadise.com/taylormade-r9-irons-review/
 

Wish I had mine back. Stupid to sell them. Stupid…

 

Only issue is that they’re *very* hard to find at this point.

Check these out on the Maltby playability rankings, or whatever they call it.  

I don't fully buy into his rankings, but it's interesting how low on the scale these rank.  Again, I don't buy into the rankings, just want to be clear there.  Lol

Edited July 25, 2021 by morgan1819

[jbrunk]

Off the top of my head…

Srixon Z745

Ping S55

Mizuno JPX 900 Tour

Callaway X-Forged 2013

Titleist 712 AP2

Adams CMB

[Jeff58]

52 minutes ago, morgan1819 said:

Check these out on the Maltby playability rankings, or whatever they call it.  

I'm don't buy into his rankings, but it's interesting how low on the scale these rank.  Again, I don't buy into the rankings, just want to be clear there.  Lol

Maltby numbers don’t lie. However, they occasionally don’t represent the club’s actual function in unusual cases. The i210 is an excellent current example.

The R9 has a wildly high vertical center of gravity, which would normally made shots too low and thin shots overly punished. They have several tricks up their heads though -

 

 

The faces are essentially inverted cone driver faces, where the entire face rebounds regardless of impact location,  and they’re filled with foam, years before PXG or the P790. They remain, arguably, the most technically sophisticated iron set yet produced.

 

[tets]

MP 32!

[Kale_m]

Love my p750’s 

[rorykoepka]

2 hours ago, Jeff58 said:

Maltby numbers don’t lie. However, they occasionally don’t represent the club’s actual function in unusual cases. The i210 is an excellent current example.

The R9 has a wildly high vertical center of gravity, which would normally made shots too low and thin shots overly punished. They have several tricks up their heads though -

 

 

The faces are essentially inverted cone driver faces, where the entire face rebounds regardless of impact location,  and they’re filled with foam, years before PXG or the P790. They remain, arguably, the most technically sophisticated iron set yet produced.

 

What are your thoughts on these r9 irons? Is there a certain one I should be looking for? Hearing there are different versions of this iron set.

 

So many good ideas in this thread. Right now I’m intrigued by

 

j15 mb

 

2013 callaway x forged (would love if someone can chime in on why these are so good)

 

callaway legacy black

 

Ping s55

 

2011 Taylormade tour preferred mc (if anyone has extra insight it would be great) 

 

titleist cb (if there’s a undeniable cb model better than others would love to know)

 

eliminated all Mizuno cause I currently have the mp 18 mmc and mp 14 and want to look at something different

Edited July 25, 2021 by rorykoepka

[Nixhex524]

S55.  

 

Just got back to a set after taking a break.  I have a set of Titleist blades that I love the look of, and a set of Z785 which is a more friendly CB... the Ping S55 is like a cross between the two.  Blade looks, cb forgiveness..  They are fun to play.

[Jeff58]

11 hours ago, rorykoepka said:

What are your thoughts on these r9 irons? Is there a certain one I should be looking for? Hearing there are different versions of this iron set.

 

 

There are standard R9’s and R9 TP’s. The TP’s transition from the high COR foam head earlier in the set and have less offset. For appearance, the TP wins. For feel and performance, the standard IMO. The TM site has very good documentation if interested.

[jbrunk]

The 2013 X-Forged were Phil’s irons for years, won the Open with them. P Reed kept them in the bag for a long time too. Japanese forged, I think, don’t remember where exactly. In the wake of the anti-square groove rule change, these grooves are spaced pretty tightly together.  I always wished I’d had a set but missed the boat.