You've Changed Irons. What did your handicap do?

[2Down]

I changed Irons a bit ago and while I haven't seen a huge change I believe  things have stayed the same, and that's a good thing.  

 

First and foremost I have maintained a fairly low handicap as I age.  I think that, in a similar fashion, while I'm not longer with driver X from nowadays compared to the ago days Driver I am near as long as I once was. Modern drivers have helped me stay long, so far.  Now I believe the same is true with my irons, modern distance drivers and irons have helped me.

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

[ucmike11]

Zero change, every iron allows me to hook the ball, hit it thin, and hit it fat!

[cwilk]

Zero change in anything from players distance, to more of a traditional players CB design, to full on MB's.  

[Nixhex524]

Yeah, it's not as dependent on the iron I am playing, rather the swing I am bringing that particular round.  I have literally rotated irons from 714mb to S55 to J15 cb and then Srixon 785 each round for the last 6 or 7 and it's pretty much stayed where it is, but I have been swinging well and short game has been strong.  I have a casual tourney this week but I think after that I am committing to the blades.  I even tried some GI irons (Ping i210) and they did nothing for me.

[Jamie_Tee]

Gained 2 strokes per round.  More shaft than head, but I've got a combo that allows me to hit the shots I see.

[LeftyMatt24]

According to arccos my strokes gained improved by 1.8 from 150-200 when switching from 919 forged to a t100/620cb combo. Also from 3 years ago with rsi irons ti my current combo my handicap has dropped 8 strokes, but I’ve played more, joined a club and had lessons. I bet I could score the same with SGI and the combo I have now. 

[Ger21]

No change.

[Spankapotamus redux]

Cobra F9 OL. Dropped my handicap from 24 to 19 since March of this year. Regularly hitting the mid 80s this year for the first time in 20 years. Not fair to put it solely on iron play, however. I updated my whole bag when I started playing regularly again for the first time in a few years.

[OKMrazor]

I've lowered it by just over a stroke - probably more shaft related than head related (though I love the new heads).

[North Butte]

My handicap is three strokes lower than it was four months ago, that was when I most recently changed irons. There's been more going on than just that equipment change, though. I've adopted a slightly different way of playing short game shots in that same time frame. Taking a couple golf lessons for the first time since before COVID has to have helped, as well. 

 

But I'd say, conservatively, there surely has to be at least a stroke or so of that improvement due to the clubs. Not enough to get excited about but it ain't nothing!

[shippy18]

I will tell you tomorrow 😬 first round for 18+ months.  
 

last round (played to around a 10hcp) 

Cobra F-Speed 10.5 Motore F3 60S, Benross V5 4w Accra Dymatch RT M4, Ben Hogan CFT Hybrid 3&4 BH5 5-Pw all Apex 3 steel. Vokey 52, RF Proto  55, Seemore putter

 

Tomorrows round. 

Cobra F-Speed 10.5 NV-F 55R (driver above sounds a bit dead, this is the spare, love this head), Benross V5 4w Accra Dymatch RT M4, Ping i200 5-Uw AWT 2.0 R, RF Proto 55, Seemore (11 clubs is enough) 

 

Swing has always been based on tempo, but made the mistake of going for a driver fitting and trying to knock the cover off of the ball 🙄.  Some people hate feeling the shaft flex, I love it. ❤️ 

 

Accept that I am not getting younger and the shaft in the Benross may change in the future, but it has been such a great club, not ready to make it more flexible, just yet 👍 

 

[Feelingofgreatness]

Miura 2008 with nippon modus 120 stiff, about 14hc

Switched to pxg 0211, accra i80 stiff, got to 8.5.

Now 0311, accra i80 stiff, TLT BUILT, flighted 9i to GW. 

Currently 5.9 index

No lessons but I'm also working on my swing and playing more. 

I don't know if it's the clubs or just improving my swing. 

[btyh]

I went from 716cb to 718t-mb same shafts. noticed more gir but haven't played enough to change score my score. of course the day I hit more greens my putting was off. Go figure. 

[Stanks]

Went from Srixon Z-Forged to Ping Eye2 (old school fun experiment) and handicap overall rose about 2 full points in a matter of 5 months. Played very not good. Changed from those to current set of Cobra Tour Forged One Lengths in 4-PW and handicap is one full point lower than it was with Srixon Z-Forged. 

It might be the sticks. I am just playing a bit more and feel very comfortable with these. Didn't feel that with the Eye 2.

[Tiptx1122]

My game is up and down as it usually depends on where I play and how much sleep I have had or if I feeling any pain as I have had several set that should have allowed me to shoot under par as that is a rare feat for me as I'm around a 76 -82. I'm pleased and love my new Srixon ZX5's. Occasional Pain in my back will keep my scores up but the pain I sometimes feel in my elbow is much better as my ZX5's feel so soft which has brought the level of enjoyment up a few points 

Edited July 27, 2021 by Tiptx1122

[Ghostwedge]

23 minutes ago, Stanks said:

Went from Srixon Z-Forged to Ping Eye2 (old school fun experiment) and handicap overall rose about 2 full points in a matter of 5 months. Played very not good. Changed from those to current set of Cobra Tour Forged One Lengths in 4-PW and handicap is one full point lower than it was with Srixon Z-Forged. 

It might be the sticks. I am just playing a bit more and feel very comfortable with these. Didn't feel that with the Eye 2.

Its the sticks...  King Forged Tec OL here, dropped my cap from 6 to 4 this year so far (75 rds). Putting the same swing on a 5 iron and a PW is very comfortable.

[Stanks]

Just now, Ghostwedge said:

Its the sticks...  King Forged Tec OL here, dropped my cap from 6 to 4 this year so far (75 rds). Putting the same swing on a 5 iron and a PW is very comfortable.

I definitely don't disagree. I habitually crowd the long irons, woods etc. The one lengths help take that setup element out of it but, I still hit different shots with different irons so, it only keeps my distance from the ball in check and that translates through the rest of the bag. They're very fun irons to play. Still need to do another gapping session.

[Pepperturbo]

Prudent choice in equipment should NOT derogatorily affect index.  I've changed club heads and shaft profiles and still hovering around 3-4ish.  What effects me most is the damn osteoarthritis.  Sunday 4 over and during the prior week, finished 2 over.   My handicap is governed by my ability to play around pain.

[Jim53]

Down 4 in little over a month with the new sticks. But I also like Mr. pepperturbo deal with some arthritis issues and got on new meds about the same time allowing me to swing much better.

[lefthack]

Nothing, but my level of enjoyment has improved 3 points.

[gsxrdn]

Depend on the change imo. I went from G410 irons to Callaway Apex Pro and it is fantastic better ball striking, control shot and lower my handicap by 5 strokes. 

[r3www]

Better feel but didn’t really improve all that much scoring wise. However I did make the switch to graphite with lighter weight to make it easier on my body which it does. Don’t feel as sore after the round. 

[jbrunk]

I played no fewer than 6 iron sets in 2020, stuck with my current Srixon combo set since March.

Scoring Stats (2020 to 2021)

Handicap: 11.6 to 12.9

Scoring avg: 84.8 to 85.4

SG avg: -17.19 to -17.52

Avg course rating/slope: 68.5/120.3 to 66.8/118.5

 

My conclusion, I am more or less the same golfer I was before my most recent irons change. The courses I play have a greater bearing on my handicap than the equipment I play.

[chafita]

I have seen little to no difference in my handicap when changing irons. I go from players CB Srixon Z745 to GI Srixon Z585 depending on the day. Only difference I see is that when I hit it not on center the GI goes further but it's still a miss hit. 

 

I do take in to account the loft differences though as the GI are normally stronger lofted that players CB. I think that's where people have the misconception that different irons with the same number stamped on the sole go "further" than others. 

[Jifmoli]

No change. Went from SGI clubs to GI clubs but hc stayed the same. I did drop 9 strokes last year but that's because I found a golden tip for chipping.

[diddy2]

Hit it higher and further, could have just been the shafts and not the heads, v it I like the heads a lot so that’s what I’m going with 😂

[QNTN]

Went from 0311 XF's to Z785's. Weirdly found that a slimmer profile was more confidence inspiring. HDCP is more or less the same floating between 17 and 18

[texas_golfer]

Swear for me it doesn’t matter. Can play blades to CB to everything in between and it stays the same. So I choose to just play what I like to look at. Since it doesn’t affect my score for good or bad.  

[Whereismydivot]

Distance control with irons is my strength (or least weakness).  Going to new irons is always a challenge and I rarely do it (about every 5 years).  Unfortunately two thumb and wrist surgeries have kind of made me go graphite to ease the strike/contact in my hands.  Went from T.M. to Srixons with graphite shafts.  Adjustment took a good 4-6 months and handicap rose from 7.8 to 9.2.  It's now 8.1 and dropping.  I gained a  higher iron ball flight and 1/2 club in distance.  Both took a while to get used to. 

[Catrick_Pantlay]

9 hours ago, Jifmoli said:

No change. Went from SGI clubs to GI clubs but hc stayed the same. I did drop 9 strokes last year but that's because I found a golden tip for chipping.

What is this golden tip you speak of?