Do you play irons that are below your handicap or skill level?

[nvr3putt]

Yeah, I know this question may be considered blasphemy on this forum. I don't care. 😛

 

Anyway, like many people here (*cough* hackers *cough*), I don't have the talent nor practice time to effectively play blades or players irons as a weekend golfer.

I currently have a set of T100s but I occasionally struggle during a round especially on par 3s. Can't seem to dial in the distances (ie hit the sweet spot) on a consistent basis. 

 

Do any of you use Game Improvement or SGI irons, perhaps as a secondary set?

I'm seriously ready to pull the trigger on a new set. Any suggestions are welcome. TIA!

 

 

[ThatGuy27]

im a 3 handicap who switched from blades to the T100's and its amazing. I dont know if that counts or not but for me, taking that part of my ego out of the game, is very freeing. 

[Roody]

I'm a 6 index, and been playing Callaway Apex's since 2014. They're GI irons. 

[strug'-a-ling]

Titleist T100s are in my view in the category of Mizuno JPX 921 Tours, Callaway Apex Pros, my Hogan PTx Pros, and clubs like that.

 

Not pure blades but definitely not GI.   

 

These  clubs may not be shovels but they're definitely playable for recreational player like myself and most likely yourself as well.

 

I wouldn't give up on them.  When you're not a little tense, you hit them, so remember that you're playing a game you enjoy and don't be tense.

 

Prison is intimidating-- golf is not.

Edited November 12, 2021 by strug'-a-ling

[Blonde Line Lizard]

Take what you have and PRACTICE with them.

 

All the newest clubs you can get your hands on won't do anything if you don't use them.

[thebogeyputt]

1 hour ago, nvr3putt said:

Yeah, I know this question may be considered blasphemy on this forum. I don't care. 😛

 

Anyway, like many people here (*cough* hackers *cough*), I don't have the talent nor practice time to effectively play blades or players irons as a weekend golfer.

I currently have a set of T100s but I occasionally struggle during a round especially on par 3s. Can't seem to dial in the distances (ie hit the sweet spot) on a consistent basis. 

 

Do any of you use Game Improvement or SGI irons, perhaps as a secondary set?

I'm seriously ready to pull the trigger on a new set. Any suggestions are welcome. TIA!

 

 

I can understand where you are coming from, but just make sure you're making the switch to GIs for the right reason. If it's so you can hit a shorter club (that will be delofted vs traditional one) and hit a certain distance while mis-hitting it, then sure. Overtime I have just found GIs to be bad for me in the long-term given the distance control will be even tougher once you get better at hitting them (i.e., fliers).

[elwhippy]

4 Hcp. P790s. Not sure they are staying in the bag as almost impossible to work the ball either way.

[Pepperturbo]

2 hours ago, nvr3putt said:

Yeah, I know this question may be considered blasphemy on this forum. I don't care. 😛

 

Anyway, like many people here (*cough* hackers *cough*), I don't have the talent nor practice time to effectively play blades or players irons as a weekend golfer.

I currently have a set of T100s but I occasionally struggle during a round especially on par 3s. Can't seem to dial in the distances (ie hit the sweet spot) on a consistent basis. 

 

Do any of you use Game Improvement or SGI irons, perhaps as a secondary set?

I'm seriously ready to pull the trigger on a new set. Any suggestions are welcome. TIA!

 

 

There is NO absolute answer to your dilemma.   If you don't have time to practice time, you should play clubs that accommodate your time & skill or lack thereof.  I have been playing MBs for near 30yrs, so what I play has no bearing on what anyone else plays.   Yes, I have a set of original x-forged CB player irons that I played for a number of years, they are now in storage.  Most of my mid-high cap friends play SGI, and it sounds like their choices are similar to what you're thinking.

 

I don't know what your handicap is but T100's are mostly for better players.  One other consideration though, missing the sweet spot can be due to poorly fit shafts and or swing weight.  Before I had my MMT 125s shafts swing weighted I hit some clunkers, after adjustments all is sweet.

 

 

Edited November 12, 2021 by Pepperturbo

[TwistedSister]

Some days I am some days I am not.  Depends on how I am playing on any given day.

[596]

I'm a 9 cap....I play basically the easiest clubs to hit that I can hit.  I play hybrids all the way down to 7 iron.  I have only 6 irons in my bag.  8,9,pw, 48, 52, 56.  My hybrids are considered SGI.  Cobra Fly Z XLs.   You should play what you score best with.  Be it a blade, a GI or a SGI.  No one else really cares.

Edited November 12, 2021 by 596

[BIG STU]

This has been debated on here and other golf sites many times over the years. There are lots of subjective factors and everyone is different. Main thing is on any iron ( and other clubs too) whether it is a blade GI or SGI is to first off get the lofts and lies set for you then the weights shafts and bounces. That is called Total Fitting on a club. I am not going to call the head debate on skill level or handicap either. 

[puresurfr]

im a 3 cap and i play the biggest most forgiving Epon irons, the AF706.....i also have a few sets of blades that i enjoy hitting as well but the SGI are definitely my gamers.  

[Precis1on]

I've got the Blueprints. I will say they're easier to hit than something like the TM 730s, but I couldn't go wrong with more forgiveness either.

[MikeW2]

I play off a 6 and use Ping G30 irons. Couldn’t be happier with them.

[Barfolomew]

Prediction..... Future golfers of the future will use very forgiving clubs not harder to hit clubs.  GI clubs will constantly get better and even pros need help.  Any club is workable. There will be GI clubs with very little offset for good players.

[GolfCsty]

I’m a scratch playing i500. There are times I wish there was less offset especially on the shorter irons as I have a tendency to over draw them. But with only playing 9 holes about every other week at best I really enjoy the forgiveness. Different strokes for different folks but it’s what work for me. 

[phizzy30]

5 cap here and playing the 623-M which are technically blades BUT, the heads are enormous compared to a traditional blade and the sweet spots aren't the size of a dime.  I would classify these as a hybrid between a cb and mb.  They blend good things about both into one head.  Forgiveness with the ability to work the ball high/low, left/right.  You don't have to be a single cap to get the most out of these bad boys but ball striking should at least be decent. 

[liquorandpoker]

No. I play improvement irons, as I should.

 

I am a 2hc for ref.

 

[Obee]

I am below scratch when healthy.

 

I play 5, 6, 7 hybrid in these:

 

 

I win. 😉

[bobfoster]

I'm probably just old, and old school. Started playing as a kid in the late 60s. There was no such thing as "game improvement" clubs. If you sucked, you didn't buy new clubs, you fixed your swing. 

 

I'm in no way opposed to the incredible new technology that science has produced. Eagerly adopt it. Love my new Mizzys, and Miura wedges. But at the end of the day, the number at the bottom of my scorecard is 90% swing, and 10% club. It always has been, and always will be - despite the tens of millions of dollars the OEM marketing departments spend to convince people otherwise. 

[naval2006]

The idea of clubs below your hdc is quite peculiar.  The  golf industry organises and pidgeonholes clubs but real life goes beyond that classification and usually better players try and try until they find the clubs that suit them. You see very low hdc players with GI or SGI irons more and more often, especially because a golfer who doesn’t play a lot is, to a certain extent, an inconsistent golfer.  Technology, especially with better players, helps to fill those gaps like a toey shot that still covers the distance to a pin or a bounce that glides through on a little fat stroke, or even height with hybrids for those low single digit senior players. 

 

The other day I brought to the practice tee a set of irons I used like 30 years ago: tiny blades with heavy shafts. That was the only stuff available back then and we made do with it.  A very good teenage golfer on the next gate looked at them and asked me if he could try them out.  Sure do.   After a dozen shots he asked me “you seriously played with this crap back then?

[jamgam]

I’m an 8.  New level 902s in 6-W and hybrid 5,4,3. Recently put the 5H in the bag and love it

[dschenker]

I'm a 12 hcp and play the mavriks. They're super GI and chunky and I've been thinking of getting something a little less GI (think p790 or zx5) due to the topline and being able to work it a little more. 

[AndersUK]

As a self confessed club ho I am not convinced any clubs are above or below any handicap level.  This is just a marketing ploy that has successfully convinced many amateur golfers that they are missing out on better scores.

 

You play what you like and what works for you.  I have gamed everything from baby blades to G710's and not seen any obvious changes in scoring.  I tried the G710 as an experiment and at a time when I was struggling with my ball striking.  I was hitting them all over the face and distance control was woeful.  Low face hits just went for miles.  I was more consistent with players irons because at least I knew how they would react.

 

There is a strong argument that the better player and more consistent ball striker benefits from a more "forgiving" club than the higher cap.  Sometimes the GI and SGI clubs are too inconsistent with off center hits, which completely defeats the object.  

[Lefty_3Jack]

Ended the year as a 3.6 HC and play Srixon 565's.  I switched from AP2's back in 2018 and am happy I did.  I played AP2's, was a decent golfer with them, could play them now and I don't think it would hurt my HC, but I'm more comfortable with the off center hits using the fatter irons.  The new hollow core clubs offer a bit of both worlds so you don't really have to choose.  

[nvr3putt]

On 11/12/2021 at 2:17 PM, thebogeyputt said:

I can understand where you are coming from, but just make sure you're making the switch to GIs for the right reason. If it's so you can hit a shorter club (that will be delofted vs traditional one) and hit a certain distance while mis-hitting it, then sure. Overtime I have just found GIs to be bad for me in the long-term given the distance control will be even tougher once you get better at hitting them (i.e., fliers).

Primarily I'm looking for more forgiveness and as a consequence consistency into the green. 

I feel a GI/SGI could improve that over my T100s. Just trying to maximize the joy of playing amateur golf while not losing money to my buddies. 😀

[nvr3putt]

On 11/12/2021 at 3:14 PM, Pepperturbo said:

 

I don't know what your handicap is but T100's are mostly for better players.  One other consideration though, missing the sweet spot can be due to poorly fit shafts and or swing weight.  Before I had my MMT 125s shafts swing weighted I hit some clunkers, after adjustments all is sweet.

 

 

I shoot in the high 80s, low 90s. (No official HDCP).

Your comment about shafts might be the answer. I just may go back to my fitter and ask to try lighter and lower swing weighted graphite shafts. 

[Pepperturbo]

On 11/12/2021 at 1:52 PM, Barfolomew said:

Any club is workable

Though there's truth to that statement, there's a great deal more to the topic.  Most of which is tied to "attention to details", or lack thereof.

 

Years back I had a 2i-PW set of Titleist 735CM with Rifle 6.5 shafts.  They were Titleist's first attempt at a blended set.  The short irons were MB blades, mid 7i-5i were shallow cavity back irons and long 4i-2i were full on deep cavities with strong perimeter.  Where problems occurred was when I wanted to hit a baby fade or draw using 2i-4i.  The deep forgiving full cavity backs worked against any exact manipulative trajectory shot.  Main design purpose of deep perimeter weighted CB's are forgive miss-hits, and keep the ball flying straight, which they those irons did really well.  So well, they were annoying and were sold a year later.  I went back to blades. 

 

The main purpose of any forgiving deep cavity back is to make hitting the ball straight, easy, but if the user misses hits the ball, the club's forgiveness masks the error and the ball flies much if not all expected yardage.  Just sayin... you have a good day.

Edited November 17, 2021 by Pepperturbo

[dvq9654]

Both? I play both Apex Pros and MP33 any given day. You can debate what type of clubs a low single digit should play with, but the MP33 are certainly more penal than the Apex Pros, and at times I feel like the Apex Pros are a bit too chunk for my liking. One day I'll find a middle ground, but playing both has been a good approach for me thus far. 

[Pepperturbo]

36 minutes ago, nvr3putt said:

I shoot in the high 80s, low 90s. (No official HDCP).

Your comment about shafts might be the answer. I just may go back to my fitter and ask to try lighter and lower swing weighted graphite shafts. 

Two of my buddies play sub-90g graphite shafts.  I play heavier composite shafts, but I am not suggesting others play them.  Though they are great at preventing wear and tear on the body, quality steel shafts like my ole PX 6.0 still reign supreme. 

 

Guessing the swing weight of my buddies clubs are maybe C9.  I know that because I've hit them, and notice the difference from my shafts.  Swing weight in conjunction with too light or too heavy shaft weight can result in poor ball striking.   It took a 2nd visit to my builder to get swing weights right on my irons.