Smallest (most compact) AND most forgiving Iron head?

[LeoLeo99]

I'd look at Apex.  I waggled them at the store over the weekend.  Very nice shape to them.  

 

Last weekend on a not so dramatic 178yd Par 3, using my G400 shovel 4i, I clanked a TriSpeed Tour through the rough on the left side of the green and it rolled on the green pin high left, drained the putt for one of three birdies that day.  I found the sweet spot on a total of four iron shots in 18 holes and shot a tidy 1 over that would have been lower if I judged a couple easy chips a bit better.  The only explanation is modern technology.  I was also hitting an old blade 1 iron without too much difficulty at the range but I'll take modern technology on the course when we're keeping score.

[eric61]

Irons that often get mentioned as forgiving despite their relatively small size and place in the "players" category are T100/T100S and ZX7. I'd probably start there. 

 

I have the Mizuno JPX 921 SEL -- the lefty blend of a Forged 4/5 iron and Tour 6-GW. I've been pleasantly surprised how forgiving they are. I used to have a JPX 900 Forged set and I'd say these are comparable. But I haven't hit the Titleists or Srixons, so I really can't compare. I'm guessing the 921 Forged might be a sweet spot for forgiveness and compact/players' shape, but since they don't make them for lefties I really can't say beyond the 4/5 irons. 

 

I also have the TaylorMade P7MCs. They're nobody's idea of a forgiving club, but I do find that they help out a lot more than I'd expect with low and heel misses. Since those are my misses, they're forgiving to me. You might find something similar -- an iron that isn't what most people would consider forgiving just happens to work well with whatever your typical misses are.

[billybaroo]

1 hour ago, DallasSteve said:

Wow, this is a tough crowd!  I'd like to know which long haul tractor trailer rig, empty, has the best acceleration.  "You can't have both."  "Long haul tractor trailers don't have good acceleration!"  I'm  going to guess that ONE of the rigs accelerates faster than the rest; not as fast as your Corvette or Porsche, but quicker than the other tractor trailer rigs.  Come on, give the OP a break!  We all have a tremendous sense of what is "compact" and what is more "forgiving" in irons.  Of all the teeny tiny irons you've hit, which one has seemed the most forgiving to you?  Not an impossible question to answer, fellas!

Except he explicitly stated no trade-offs, you are talking about the fastest semi-rig, so you are trading off acceleration for cargo. You need to make a trade-off:

 

 

Edited August 11, 2021 by billybaroo

[Pepperturbo]

Like saying, I want a car that seats 4, goes 190 mph but costs less than 30k, please. LOL

[BTP]

Cobra s3 pro MBs are a solid compact head design and pretty forgiving IMO

[raaandy]

6 hours ago, HappyGilmore22 said:

T100 and it's not even close 

 

This x100

[raaandy]

5 hours ago, MountainKing said:

Compact and forgiving don't go together. 

 

They don't go together in terms of absolutes but it's all relative.

 

Forgiving for a compact head makes complete sense though.

 

Obviously T100/Apex Pro/ZX7 aren't classified as forgiving irons, or are forgiving compared to T200/Apex/ZX5 - but they're forgiving for what they are.

[billybaroo]

3 minutes ago, raaandy said:

Forgiving for a compact head makes complete sense though.

As does compact for a forgiving head...hence the need to prioritize.  

 

[Valtiel]

12 hours ago, Pepperturbo said:

Smallest and forgiving do NOT go hand-in-hand.

 

12 hours ago, rooski said:

That's a bit like asking what the fastest AND the slowest car is, those two are inversely proportional so its gonna be a tradeoff for the most part

 

12 hours ago, From_Parts_Unknown said:

That's a good comparison.  It's like asking what is the fastest and heaviest car.  Tesla Plaid is the only answer.  

 

10 hours ago, MountainKing said:

Compact and forgiving don't go together. 

Disagree here as this is painting with too broad a brush. A lot of it depends on your measure of forgiveness, but the most objective measure, MOI, can be achieved in a compact package. Yes the bigger/chunkier heads can have more "perceived" forgiveness from a psychological standpoint, and you do get more protection from the ground with a bigger sole, but high MOI is the rising tide that floats all boats for a vast majority of players when it comes to mishit forgiveness. 
 

10 hours ago, Ripken08 said:

Titleist homers are gonna say T100  😂

And they aren't wrong. The T100, despite its compact package, has a ridiculously high MOI, higher than many GI/SGI irons, and this absolutely deserves to be mentioned. 

If a player's idea of forgiveness involves turf interaction and protection from slightly fat shots however then that is a different story and they'll be harder pressed to find a compact solution. 

 

Edited August 12, 2021 by Valtiel

[MtlJeff]

following this thread

 

Once we've settled this i will put them in my ultralight staff bag which is filled with balls that are both the highest spinning and lowest spinning.

[Golf64]

Blue Prints for me.

[Dos]

Maltby TE Forged. Looks like a players iron but is super forgiving. It's a 10 year-old design that still sells well on Golfworks to stay in the line-up year after year.

[Nard_S]

2nd the Blueprints. 

 

 

 

Edited August 12, 2021 by Nard_S

[naj959]

My vote goes to the 2018 Ben Hogan Edge irons (not the new model). Very compact and short blade length. Have a bit more offset then I like. Foam filled heads are very forgiving.

[bnperrone]

Have hit both but not gamed either, and my experiences suggest the MP20 MB and Wilson Staff Model blade are both more forgiving than makes sense.

[BirdieBob]

9 hours ago, Sean124 said:

0311T is very forgiving for the size. 

DITTOS

[PorkChopExpress]

Miura baby blades or 001. 

 

the blueprints headsize get bigger in the longer irons

[cflo2382]

I was looking for this forgiving/compact combo for a while and I've been on the S55s all year. Love them. I gamed the Blueprints last year and those were also surprisingly forgiving for how small they are.

[boggyman]

1 hour ago, bnperrone said:

Have hit both but not gamed either, and my experiences suggest the MP20 MB and Wilson Staff Model blade are both more forgiving than makes sense.

I’ve played the Staff blades and to me, they’re not what I’d call compact, although for the design they are pretty forgiving. 

[Seidinho]

Callaway Apex. Not the smallest head on the market, Bur short blade length. Fairly forgiving to hit. 

[Ivyguy]

6 hours ago, LeoLeo99 said:

I'd look at Apex.  I waggled them at the store over the weekend.  Very nice shape to them.  

 

Last weekend on a not so dramatic 178yd Par 3, using my G400 shovel 4i, I clanked a TriSpeed Tour through the rough on the left side of the green and it rolled on the green pin high left, drained the putt for one of three birdies that day.  I found the sweet spot on a total of four iron shots in 18 holes and shot a tidy 1 over that would have been lower if I judged a couple easy chips a bit better.  The only explanation is modern technology.  I was also hitting an old blade 1 iron without too much difficulty at the range but I'll take modern technology on the course when we're keeping score.

What does this mean?!?!?

 

 

 

[golfnhack]

Think of it as a "bang for buck" question... except in a "forgiveness for size" style. Does that clear up what I am looking for?

[North Butte]

Where you gets depends on which end you start from.

 

If you want the smallest clubhead that's very, very forgiving then I think the Ping G425 is as good a suggestion as any. Not blade-like but plays slightly more compact and looks much more compact than any other proper Super Game Improvement irons I know of. 

 

If you want the a blade-like (or nearly so) clubhead that's as forgiving as possible given that size and shaping then the T100 is a good choice. Or any of the other players irons with gobs of tungsten to give them a bit more MOI and toe weighting. 

 

But a T100 is much more compact than a G425 while a G425 is far more forgiving than T100. There's a whole popular category of "trade off" irons nowadays. It's kind of the growth category for golf irons I guess. The new P790 is a great example that's in between T100 and G425 in both forgiveness and size/shape. There are many others from various brands along those same lines. 

[Asiangolfer1995]

The answer has gotta be T100...

[NoTalentLefty]

The Mizuno Hot Metal Pro 

[Red4282]

Forgiveness and size dont have a correlation, but is definitely a factor. Forgiveness comes in many forms, ball speed retention, dispersion, even low strike forgiveness which has nothing to do with blade size. I think for ball speed retention size and moi offer more forgiveness, but alot if recent tests have shown blades to outperform higher moi irons in terms of dispersion. So its a very complex answer.

Edited August 12, 2021 by Red4282

[dlygrisse]

The title of this thread was phrased wrong.  It should be "What is the most forgiving compact head" Not Smallest (most compact) AND most forgiving Iron head?

 

The first criteria is small and compact, not most forgiving.  

 

 

[mstorey720]

ZX7

[Pepperturbo]

17 hours ago, Valtiel said:

Disagree here as this is painting with too broad a brush. A lot of it depends on your measure of forgiveness, but the most objective measure, MOI, can be achieved in a compact package.

 

but high MOI is the rising tide that floats all boats for a vast majority of players when it comes to mishit forgiveness. 

 

You're welcome to disagree, but we're NOT talking about the vast majority of ALL golfers, here, are we?  Generally speaking,  smallest and forgiving do NOT go hand-in-hand, least from my years of experience.

 

Measure of forgiveness, is NOT about how a person intellectually measures forgiveness, but their skill level in relationship to said forgiveness.  Using specs such as MOI to argue in support of what is possible is NOT a good argument.  Its NOT a rising tide either.  Of all my golf friends, from two pvt clubs,  a limited number have heard of MOI, the others, never heard of it and don't know what MOI or MPF acronyms mean.  Most of the people I know measure forgiveness by what happens to their ball when they think they hit it poorly, it's that simple.

 

Also, there are two majorities, Golfwrx or all golfers; which are you talking about?  They are not the same.  Yes, choice is up to each person, but if I am advising small and forgiving club heads to someone that fits in the vast majority of golfers, I am NOT offering club heads like Conventional 620 CB with MPF 465 and "12.5863" level of MOI.  Unless someone says their game is similar to mine or better, I advise based on my knowledge and experience, NOT theirs.   And, I don't believe in giving them too much detail, as most of what I know won't be understood by vast majority of people that play golf.  Like when I say good ball striking is about "attention to details."   Common response, what details?

 

 

[DFS PFD]

12 minutes ago, Pepperturbo said:

 

You're welcome to disagree, but we're NOT talking about the vast majority of ALL golfers, here, are we?  Generally speaking,  smallest and forgiving do NOT go hand-in-hand, least from my years of experience.

 

Measure of forgiveness, is NOT about how a person intellectually measures forgiveness, but their skill level in relationship to said forgiveness.  Using specs such as MOI to argue in support of what is possible is NOT a good argument.  Its NOT a rising tide either.  Of all my golf friends, from two pvt clubs,  a limited number have heard of MOI, the others, never heard of it and don't know what MOI or MPF acronyms mean.  Most of the people I know measure forgiveness by what happens to their ball when they think they hit it poorly, it's that simple.

 

Also, there are two majorities, Golfwrx or all golfers; which are you talking about?  They are not the same.  Yes, choice is up to each person, but if I am advising small and forgiving club heads to someone that fits in the vast majority of golfers, I am NOT offering club heads like Conventional 620 CB with MPF 465 and "12.5863" level of MOI.  Unless someone says their game is similar to mine or better, I advise based on my knowledge and experience, NOT theirs.   And, I don't believe in giving them too much detail, as most of what I know won't be understood by vast majority of people that play golf.  Like when I say good ball striking is about "attention to details."   Common response, what details?

 

 

The player doesn't matter, that's irrelevant to the question. The question should be read what is the most forgiving small profile clubhead? As forgiveness and size used to be directly correlated, that is not always the case now. T100 is very compact, and very forgiving. Not just related to it's size, but more giving as @Valtiel mentioned relative to some GI or SGI club heads based on MOI measurements. He didn't ask to be educated on the terminology, he asked a question with a simple answer in mind. The T100 is very small AND forgiving clubhead. You can get out in the weeds as much as you'd like with your semantics and anecdotes, but they are irrelevant to the question at hand.