How old is too old? Irons Edition

[R5Two]

As I contemplate which new irons to 'club ho' on this year, I find myself not really drawn to anything... however...

 

I pulled my old Titleist 695 CBs (cr 2006) out of storage to hit a few balls. I have seen many videos about how much faster the ballspeeds are these days, but I don't know if I care. I'm a blade guy. Isn't a hunk of metal a hunk of metal? 

 

How old is too old for forged irons? What are we missing? Non-confirming grooves maybe? Maybe a little forgiveness? 

 

Don't hold back! Is this idea as crazy as it sounds? 

[EDT501]

Honestly, I don’t think you’d be missing out much playing an older model, even 15 years old, if you’re planning to stick to single piece forged CBs or blades anyways. Sure some of the modern stuff is probably a little better on distance maintenance on mishits, but I’m not sure for the recreational player I doubt that outweighs the fun and confidence in playing what you like. Like you, I don’t really feel the call to ho with todays offerings, but I do have a set of minty MP64s in the closet that maybe should finally replace the blades 

Edited January 14, 2022 by EDT501

[PEI_Golfer]

Irons are all about accuracy and distance control, not ball speed...  Nothing wrong with the 695's (my first OEM set of irons), I still bring out my 690.CB's from time to time and OG Nike blades...

[cgasucks]

Unless you play in USGA sanctioned tournaments, then your irons aren't old. 

 

You can only pound or cast a hunk of metal into so many shapes to make a blade or a Player's CB.

Edited January 13, 2022 by cgasucks

[Tar_Heel_93]

I’m with you. I prefer a solid forged iron. Not looking for a lot of tech. Here are the irons I am testing for next season. Apex MBs have been in the bag for several seasons. Others are recent additions. Titleist CB and Wilson Staff CB have Tungsten in the mid and long irons. However, so far my favorite CB is the Bridgestone J33 CBs circa 2006. 
 

 

Edited January 12, 2022 by Tar_Heel_93

[drumdude96]

Just because a set of irons was made before 2010 doesn't mean the grooves are non-conforming.  I play MP 30's and it's not an issue because Mizuno has never made a set with the non-conforming grooves.  I don't know about Titleist, but it's at least worth checking into.

[drumdude96]

1 minute ago, Tar_Heel_93 said:

I’m with you. I prefer a solid forged iron. Not looking for a lot of tech. Here are the irons I am testing for next season. Apex MBs have been in the bag for several seasons. Others are recent additions. So far my favorite CB is the Bridgestone J33 CBs circa 2006. 
 

 

Those New Level irons are dead sexy.  It has taken everything within me to not order a set.  But it has been VERY hard not to.

[Tar_Heel_93]

The PF2s sold out before I could pull the trigger so I had to pick these up second hand. Initial results in the simulator are promising. Launch angle, spin and distance are very consistent. Feel is great. Have not hit them on grass yet to know how they really perform. 

[R5Two]

7 minutes ago, drumdude96 said:

Those New Level irons are dead sexy.  It has taken everything within me to not order a set.  But it has been VERY hard not to.

I keep looking at those too and searching through the forum! They look good! 

[R5Two]

1 minute ago, Tar_Heel_93 said:

The PF2s sold out before I could pull the trigger so I had to pick these up second hand. Initial results in the simulator are promising. Launch angle, spin and distance are very consistent. Feel is great. Have not hit them on grass yet to know how they really perform. 

Would love to know how that turns out! 

[R5Two]

11 minutes ago, Tar_Heel_93 said:

I’m with you. I prefer a solid forged iron. Not looking for a lot of tech. Here are the irons I am testing for next season. Apex MBs have been in the bag for several seasons. Others are recent additions. Titleist CB and Wilson Staff CB have Tungsten in the mid and long irons. However, so far my favorite CB is the Bridgestone J33 CBs circa 2006. 
 

 

It is crazy how many J33s I still see. People love those things! Those New Levels have been catching my eye they look to do a great job. Goodluck with testing, let us know what wins! 

[bladehunter]

10 minutes ago, drumdude96 said:

Those New Level irons are dead sexy.  It has taken everything within me to not order a set.  But it has been VERY hard not to.

695s are conforming.  Most everything titleist made is except the dci triangle lines , but even the 962/b is conforming…. 

[Shilgy]

18 minutes ago, drumdude96 said:

Those New Level irons are dead sexy.  It has taken everything within me to not order a set.  But it has been VERY hard not to.

Good news for your pocketbook….the New Level PF2 are discontinued and out of stock so you’d have to buy used.

 

Loving mine though!🙄

[Phabs]

Shot 6 under my last round this year using 11 year old irons..Age doesn’t matter.

[drumdude96]

1 hour ago, Shilgy said:

Good news for your pocketbook….the New Level PF2 are discontinued and out of stock so you’d have to buy used.

 

Loving mine though!🙄

They still have them in left-handed, on clearance no less.  The model is PF4, which is the same as the PF2.  So tempting...😬

[iNeedMoreGolf]

If you dont have the latest and greatest your not going to stop shanking and will never make a hole in one. Plus giving up at least 30 yards all over the face.

[HoosierHacker89]

695 cb irons are great! One of my all time favorites. I found them to be really forgiving especially the long irons. This was one of the few sets I was confident in the 4/5 irons. I played a set of Srixon 765 irons the last 3 years. Honestly can’t say there was much if anyone difference in the heads Of both sets. 

[btyh]

8 hours ago, R5Two said:

As I contemplate which new irons to 'club ho' on this year, I find myself not really drawn to anything... however...

 

I pulled my old Titleist 695 CBs (cr 2006) out of storage to hit a few balls. I have seen many videos about how much faster the ballspeeds are these days, but I don't know if I care. I'm a blade guy. Isn't a hunk of metal a hunk of metal? 

 

How old is too old for forged irons? What are we missing? Non-confirming grooves maybe? Maybe a little forgiveness? 

 

Don't hold back! Is this idea as crazy as it sounds? 

With mb and cb they are really just a hunk of metal. As far as changes since the 695 the 716 and 718 added tungsten in the irons and made them really forgiving. Try them out if you don't see a change then keep the 695s

[bvanlieu]

As commented, for relatively good golfers we can strike an iron and it comes down to subtle improvements over larger data sets. Yes you play blades but if fit into a CB with some tungsten you may hit a few extra greens vs. bunkers over the course of 100 holes. 

 

I've broken 80 with my  Ping Eye2s, 2017 modern CBs, and modern tech irons. I even broke 80 with blades ones upon a time. Being honest with my capabilities, I don't want to play blades above a 9 iron, hence my 'score matters' set has evolved to include headcovers and tech help. I bust out the looks like blades but still are CB 1008s for holiday/fun day rounds but even then I leave the 4i at home 🙂 

 

- b

Edited January 12, 2022 by bvanlieu

[R5Two]

1 hour ago, btyh said:

With mb and cb they are really just a hunk of metal. As far as changes since the 695 the 716 and 718 added tungsten in the irons and made them really forgiving. Try them out if you don't see a change then keep the 695s

That is a great point. Even blades like the P7TW have a tungsten plug. Great point thank you! 

[btyh]

8 minutes ago, R5Two said:

That is a great point. Even blades like the P7TW have a tungsten plug. Great point thank you! 

No problem!

[Ger21]

9 hours ago, Phabs said:

Shot 6 under my last round this year using 11 year old irons..Age doesn’t matter.

Especially not when they are one of the all time great irons.

[LoopySwing13]

Just picked up a set of these.. don’t think the head will make a huge difference compared to my current set.. I do plan to put my steelfiber in them though. As others mentioned, blade/CB irons I don’t think change as much.

[NRJyzr]

10 hours ago, drumdude96 said:

Just because a set of irons was made before 2010 doesn't mean the grooves are non-conforming.  I play MP 30's and it's not an issue because Mizuno has never made a set with the non-conforming grooves.  I don't know about Titleist, but it's at least worth checking into.

 

I can't say I'm remembering this with 100% certainty, but I believe MP30s are actually on the conforming list.  They've been submitted and passed.  Officially.

 

Along with MP33 and MP37. (100% certain on these two)

 

Edited January 12, 2022 by NRJyzr

[lefthack]

My KZG blades feel incredible, but I am missing 6 iron and they are non conforming. I don't play in tournaments, so the lack of 6 is the only reason I stopped playing them. 

 

Lacking a 6 allowed me to try other 6's like the Mizuno MP-32 and MP-68, both I thought were also top notch and now kick myself for not grabbing the MP-32/33 combo that was on ebay. 

[NRJyzr]

The farther you go back in time, you might have to pick your spots a bit, but I think you can go back to 1980 comfortably, and maybe even a bit farther.  Wilson Staffs in the 60s and 70s were pretty well amazing, the MacGregor 67 VIP is the same as the 90s VIP, and the mid 80s Muirfields, and so on. 

 

And there's the most forgiving blade I've ever hit, the Palmer Standards.

 

I'm regularly playing Golden Ram sets from 1992, the TW276 set gave me my best scores of 2021.

 

And if you hate offset with a passion, 1986-1995 brings the Tommy Armour 986 Tour into play.  Legendary for their lack of offset.  They sneer at modern low or no offset clubs.  😉

 

A nice aspect to playing clubs from the early to mid 80s and prior, they're almost certainly conforming, because they'd have V grooves.  The Eye2 square grooves iron didn't arrive until the last part of 1984, other companies were a bit slow to adopt.  

 

Side note:  Mizuno is kind of a special case, they made a choice not to follow square groove club with their MP products.

 

[TallGuy90]

No such thing. It’s a matter of how you hit them. My Wilson Tour RX ( 2011)box set irons where better for me then 90% of irons to come out after 2017

[drumdude96]

1 hour ago, NRJyzr said:

 

I can't say I'm remembering this with 100% certainty, but I believe MP30s are actually on the conforming list.  They've been submitted and passed.  Officially.

 

Along with MP33 and MP37. (100% certain on these two)

 

ALL Mizuno forged irons from pre-2010 have conforming grooves. I read that in an article from 2019 that talked about Danny Lee using a set of MP 32's from Luke Donald's private stash. I'd link the article, but I'm lying in bed on my phone and it sounds like too much trouble to not do that on my PC.

[R5Two]

32 minutes ago, TallGuy90 said:

No such thing. It’s a matter of how you hit them. My Wilson Tour RX ( 2011)box set irons where better for me then 90% of irons to come out after 2017

Love it! I feel the same. Fornwhatever reason the only other irons that felt right were the 2013 X-Forged from Callaway. Never should have sold them!

[m3fuz]

I recently regripped my old 690MBs and pulled out my Eye2s. They’re not replacing my Sim2 Maxes, but they’re fun to play with.