Game Improvement Irons - When to move on

[AndyPing]

After 15 years away from the game, I picked up last August and have played roughly 70 rounds. Some of them 9 hole and par 3’s. I replaced some old Ping Zings with a full bag of Ping g410’s, 4 - LW. My 7i distance is 179. Power spec. Per Arccos, after 50 rounds, I am a 14.8 hc. I like the irons ok, and appreciate the margin of error. However, I am feeling like the fat sole is clunky on the wedges and the distances are not dependable. A pure strike might add 15 yards carry to any given iron. Or more. I am wondering when to consider a less GI model and what to look for in the Ping range? i210’s? i500? Thoughts? Should I replace the wedges with real wedges and not the 410? 

[xmanhockey7]

If you get good on center face strikes with something like the 210 go for it. A miss hit is a miss hit. GII really shine for people who can’t get good launch and spin numbers on center face strikes. I wouldn’t recommend hollow irons like the i500s if distance control is what you seek. i210, Callaway X Forged CB, Titleist T100, TMAG MC would be more up your ally in that regard.  

[RogerinNewZealand]

S55 S56  S58 I15

Colour Dot to suit.

Shafts to suit.

Grips to suit.

Big Chunky G's...

ps maybe a classic set of 695CB🙂

J33 CB......

[Nessism]

I've been playing 410's for more than a year and find their distance consistency just fine.  Change your irons if you want but I doubt your distance consistency will improve any.

[mukster]

What do you want from a new set of irons?

[vman]

There's never a "time" to move on from GI irons, but you may prefer the i210, in power spec, if you want a narrower sole and more predictable spin numbers.

[Billfitz]

I went to GI irons a year ago because they improved my game. Being 71 I don't see moving on from them. As for GI wedges versus 'real' wedges, most extended soles on GI irons are most obviously different from standard irons on the longer irons. For the most part they're not hugely different with the wedges, and the G410 soles are a lot shorter than some. The difference from my GI Cleveland HB sand wedge to my CBX 2 lob wedge is hardly noticeable. Distance consistency with wedges is a common issue, and the higher the loft the greater the variance. That's because when hitting a wedge you're often more concerned with going too long than going too short, so the tendency is to hold back. I know I have a hard time committing to a full swing with my lob wedge from only 60 yards out, and as a result my usual miss is too short. That's on me, not the club. 

Distance wise my GI are the same as my old blades. The difference is in the workability, which the blades did better at. But the other edge on that sword was accuracy, for which the GI are much better. I find I don't have to draw or fade as much to stay safe because I can count on the ball going straight even to a small target.

[ChipNRun]

If you stay in Ping-land, give the i210 model a try. Lots of variety in shafts, including two AWT models: AWT2.0 steel, and Alta CB graphite. The AWT stands for ascending weight technology - the longer shafts weigh less than the shorter shafts. Many golfers like AWT for improved launch and feel at the long end of bag.

 

And, don't automatically go with Power Spec lofts. The standard might give you more consistent yardage bracketing, even if it cost you a few yards.

 

This is definitely a case where you want to get fitted. (WRX Law No. 1)

[nitram]

Chips last sentence is what I was going to say. Go somewhere you can try before you buy and then have someone who knows what they're doing find your specs. You can then either buy from them or go somewhere else.

[nsxguy]

59 minutes ago, ChipNRun said:

If you stay in Ping-land, give the i210 model a try. Lots of variety in shafts, including two AWT models: AWT2.0 steel, and Alta CB graphite. The AWT stands for ascending weight technology - the longer shafts weigh less than the shorter shafts. Many golfers like AWT for improved launch and feel at the long end of bag.

 

And, don't automatically go with Power Spec lofts. The standard might give you more consistent yardage bracketing, even if it cost you a few yards.

 

This is definitely a case where you want to get fitted. (WRX Law No. 1)

 

 

For single digit or better #1 is "Get fit"

 

For 15s and up #1 is "Get lessons".

 

For 10-15 ??? 🙃

[nostatic]

I think it depends on where you're losing strokes and what aspects of your iron play are problematic. You have plenty of distance (certainly more than I do), and the conventional wisdom is that folks move away from GI irons to give them workability on shots. Some claim distance regulation issues but my take is that is more the "flyer" is a proper strike and the rest are some variation of mis-hit 🙃

 

Sole width and turf interaction are very real and for some folks are important. I currently have a non-conventional set as I'm hybrid up to 7H and then go to cavity back short irons and a muscle back AW. So I either need a big fat head or a small narrow sole evidently. Part of that is dialing in my swing after a long injury layoff, losing speed with age, and being somewhat nuts. Ymmv.

 

Agree with others to try different clubs - and with irons, on grass if at all possible. I played i210 and liked them, but right now I'm a bit better with my ZX7s.

[Nessism]

On 8/27/2021 at 9:03 AM, AndyPing said:

 Should I replace the wedges with real wedges and not the 410? 

 

That might be a good place to start.  Keep the U wedge but get more blade like S and L wedges.  I'm a huge fan of Ping Glide wedges.  They are durable and match Ping's family of irons well.

 

Oh, and for what it's worth, I just got back from the course this morning and had a better than average ball striking day with my G410's.  In particular my 8 iron, for reasons I can't explain.  What I do know though is that every iron I hit was dead on for the distance I was expecting.  I'm not gods gift to ball striking but I do love these irons.   

[kthomas]

I currently play Ping Rapture irons. They are great, and I wouldn't be tempted to replace them with any other GI/SGI set. 

 

However, I'm really intrigued with sets of irons with thinner soles, and the turf interaction that would come along with that. I really like the idea of the Ping i210's, amongst some other sets. 

[RogerinNewZealand]

Nsxguy

 

get fitted

get lessons

get a beer👍

get a vtec

[bladehunter]

Try some out.  Contrary to popular belief. Some folks hit a narrower sole better , easier snd more consistently.  

[MtlJeff]

I finished top 5 in my club championship last year at one of the top clubs in Quebec using Ping G410 4 iron through sand wedge, and an eye2 glide lob wedge.

 

If you don't like the irons, switch....But don't switch because you think you can't play better golf with them.

 

I mean heck i switched because my Forged TECs are way sexier and the G410's feel like you are hitting rocks, with slightly different kinds of rocks. But they perform very well

[Lobber]

I am moving on from PXG Fen 4 XP which are

looking for a good home.  They are being replaced by Titleist T100s.  I don’t take a big divor

and actually find the turf interaction on the Titliest 100s to be better for

me than the PXG Gen 4.  Actually striking ball better with The new 2021 T100 s. 

[LukeDonaldsTiger]

4 hours ago, nsxguy said:

 

 

For single digit or better #1 is "Get fit"

 

For 15s and up #1 is "Get lessons".

 

For 10-15 ??? 🙃

Practice short game 🙄

[AndyPing]

Thanks for the responses. I agree with most perspectives and appreciate the input. Yes, I am taking lessons and they are helping, slowly, but helping. Certainly agree an off center hit is an off center hit regardless of iron played, the GI's just penalize me less of course. Hitting a 7 iron "flyer" 229 yds instead of 179 seems like less of a possibility with a muscle back, but at 15HC I'm not there yet. I like the idea of waiting until I am a single digit to even consider changing. I did in fact get fit, however I believe I basically had 2 poor fittings. One at the big box which ordered black dots and power spec when I had no idea about the lie and loft options. Then I went to a well respected fitter (Golf MD) and got a poor fitting after these were ordered, the idea being to confirm I had the right club, lie, lofts, lengths . . . .He only watched me hit the 6 iron. He was in and out of the hitting bay doing other things. He had me perform one swing on the lie board. Mentioned they hated the AWT shafts I had, but I "seemed" to hit them well so no change there . . . (I was willing to spend $$). They manually bent a few clubs, but didn't give me a report to show me what irons and which direction. So I was very disappointed in them. SO -  I am sending the irons back to Ping for a 2 Deg. upright adjustment and put to standard lofts. I am 6'2 and have a 36" Wrist to Floor. Ping shows Green Dot and plus 1/2" for my static measurements, but I am playing them at plus 1/4" and feel good there. Perhaps once I get them back and play more rounds I will look at some wedges. See my gapping in photos - the wedge gaping is tough to handle! The 7i average is down because of bump and runs, chips . . .

[eht8266]

I'm actually looking to make my game easier. The more game improvement the better in my book. And the 2 things that I'd consider are:

1 - turf interaction and (in some cases the players' muscle back / muscle cavity help more than hurt)

2 - how much distance you lose on mis - hits

 

The shafts have a lot of influence so it does make sense to figure that part out - especially outdoors. Shafts are the engine behind the club. As far as the iron head goes, had jpx900s in the bag sand am considering the jpx 921 hot metal pro. The g410s are a very good option, but I didn't hit them very consistent - most likely due to shafts that didn't exactly work for me.

[jubilee_links]

I guess its been mentioned before but distance wise you have plenty of power - even with power spec lofts. Whats the dispersion like - irons may not be your main issue at 15 cap.
Whats your short game like - is it 'GI fliers' that are causing issues or is it that you have good swing speed and when you happen to nail the sweet spot it goes further than a standard poorer strike.

The main factor with GI clubs is forgiveness on off centre strikes so you may be getting good distance due to lots of good things in your swing apart from strike location.

 

Where are you losing strokes and whats the best way to sort that?