Moving on from GI irons

staylor1634 · August 28, 2023

I was wondering when it was a good time to move on from game improvement irons. I currently game the Tour Edge c521 in 5 to A wedge with stiff graphite shafts. I have been a 20 handicap trending up and my ball striking has improved a lot over the last six weeks. Thinking about the p790's, i500's, or possibly the Takoma 101's. Any advice wpuld be appreciated.

iutodd · August 30, 2023

It's hard to know for sure - it's personal for everyone.

I moved on from my GI irons to a "players/players distance" iron in part because I felt like the shafts I had were wrong. And I was at the point where I felt like my game could get better - so I got fit and then bought used based on the info I got from the fitting. And my game has improved.

If you feel like your game could improve and want to take the next steps then I'd recommend getting fit and/or taking lessons and getting the pro to give you advice on what irons to look at.

One thing to look at for sure is loft. Whatever you get will likely have different lofts than what you have now. If you switch irons be prepared to also get different wedges and hybrids/woods because your gaps can change.

Dpavs · August 30, 2023

Blindly leaping into a players distance iron or the like is definitely a crap shoot at best. I would agree that you should go demo a bunch of different types and see what seems to work for you and what you feel comfortable with. Once you have it narrowed down to a few choices, a fitting may make sense too.

Jeselnik · August 30, 2023

On 8/28/2023 at 11:10 AM, staylor1634 said:

I was wondering when it was a good time to move on from game improvement irons. I currently game the Tour Edge c521 in 5 to A wedge with stiff graphite shafts. I have been a 20 handicap trending up and my ball striking has improved a lot over the last six weeks. Thinking about the p790's, i500's, or possibly the Takoma 101's. Any advice wpuld be appreciated.

There is probably a chart that recommends design based on SS. Get the right shaft too, think titleist has the most option for head and shaft.

JNIK

tthomasgolfer605 · August 30, 2023

Get these. 😁

Binson · August 30, 2023

There is no guidance for when - if ever.

From a performance perspective, there is only a reason to change if there are measured benefits or if your current game improvement irons are costing you strokes. But, the solution may be another set of game improvement irons and not necessarily P790 or another iron with less mis-hit protection. The time to change is probably if you're making good swings but the result is not as good as it should be. If you're hitting them well, I wouldn't change it out mid season and expect your score to drop.

From a subjective perspective though, play what you like! See what happens to your score and go from there.