Play the clubs that work, don’t decide on “forgiveness”

[Tinkerer]

It might seem a weird tag, but it comes from “tinkering” aplenty. 18 months after I broke 80 twice I am back to the same bag set up, upgraded but the same! I have the new 8802 putter, because it works the best. I play 2H over 3W and I have a 3UI. The 4H rarely makes it to the course. I play the new AVX which is miles improved on the previous version, especially around the green. 
 

I played today, hit my new 14 handicap. Drives around 240, 7 iron is 150 yards. I’m 56, tall and not the most flexible. Ive tried plenty of clubs that supposedly are more forgiving, which I think Is mostly marketing hype. I hit 3UI way better than a hybrid. I hit the 2H way better than any 3 wood. Not tinkering and the golf game approves. There’s a post many won’t like but curious if anyone feels the same … “don’t get drawn into forgiveness, it BS”

[Ger21]

Forgiveness is very overrated.

[North Butte]

The most important form of forgiveness in an iron for my game is a wide sole with a blunt leading edge and a little camber and bounce. Not immediately digging into the turf on steep or deep contact is more helpful than any amount of MOI on off-center strikes. 

[AzRoger]

Replace your XXIO 12 irons with a set of muscle back blade irons then report back to us on club forgiveness.

[Tinkerer]

8 hours ago, AzRoger said:

Replace your XXIO 12 irons with a set of muscle back blade irons then report back to us on club forgiveness.

LOL, do you hit those? I have a mint Nike pro combo set 3-PW. I take them out every now and again, shafts are heavier, they go just as well, just have to take an extra club to cover lofts etc. XXIO X are soft forged with good feel, but the misses are as bad as any iron if you miss it. Forgiveness is mostly hype but each their own. 

[Maine Golfer]

I have some 88 Wilson Staff Goosenecks , they have offset. I also have newer 2012 Cleveland's in practice you can hit all over the fact 6 thru 9 sometimes I get the Wilson's better, its all in my head I bet but i works 

 

 

[chinaski]

14 hours ago, Tinkerer said:

LOL, do you hit those? I have a mint Nike pro combo set 3-PW. I take them out every now and again, shafts are heavier, they go just as well, just have to take an extra club to cover lofts etc. XXIO X are soft forged with good feel, but the misses are as bad as any iron if you miss it. Forgiveness is mostly hype but each their own. 

 

Those XXIO irons are GI clubs. I agree that forgiveness is mostly overrated, but you aren't playing anything demanding. 

[gvogel]

On 4/14/2024 at 6:48 PM, Tinkerer said:

LOL, do you hit those? I have a mint Nike pro combo set 3-PW. I take them out every now and again, shafts are heavier, they go just as well, just have to take an extra club to cover lofts etc. XXIO X are soft forged with good feel, but the misses are as bad as any iron if you miss it. Forgiveness is mostly hype but each their own. 

I have some hickory shafted irons that I play every now and again.  They work when hit well.  But it's much harder work than the T300's that I played last year.

[mvvraz]

If you hit the ground 10cm before the ball no iron or amount of forgiveness will make a difference

 

If you hit a decent shot, but miss the center by a bit and end up staying 10m short of the green instead of being on the fringe or the start of the green will make a big difference to your score

 

That being said, there's a lot of different types of forgiveness. I personally need clubs with a sharp, small sole (low bounce on all my wedges for example, and MC502 blade-ish irons) to feel comfortable on the course

 

I do need some forgiveness on the toe side of the club though, because losing 10-15m on a shot because I missed the center will be pretty detrimental to a lot of rounds 

 

[grochol17]

On 4/14/2024 at 10:20 AM, AzRoger said:

Replace your XXIO 12 irons with a set of muscle back blade irons then report back to us on club forgiveness.

 

But, with the blades the OP will concentrate more...

[iNeedMoreGolf]

This is very true. I have mp5 blades and mb18 cally blades that i consistenly can shoot mid low 80s with but i had some p790s recently that felt terrible and looked like i didnt even know how to strike and iron at all with. They very much added to my score all round long when im told they were supposed to help save me on bad days lol no iron can help a bad day and if thats the case give me some cbs or mbs and i will club up on shots when i have to. The precision and feel is just wayy better and that ends up equaling accuracy and forgiving to me.

[boggyman]

I’ve got a set of FG 17s from the late 80s. They flat out work but I’m always trying to find something that’ll be better to no avail for whatever reasons. Played a set of all hybrid style irons today and other than a few shots over a couple trees I hit, I’m not convinced they made the game easier all that much today. My misses are much more on line with the blades and  on good strikes, I know what’ll I’ll get from each iron. 

[nsxguy]

On 4/14/2024 at 9:03 AM, Ger21 said:

Forgiveness is very overrated.

 

It's OK. *I* forgive you.

[nsxguy]

On 4/14/2024 at 6:48 PM, Tinkerer said:

LOL, do you hit those? I have a mint Nike pro combo set 3-PW. I take them out every now and again, shafts are heavier, they go just as well, just have to take an extra club to cover lofts etc. XXIO X are soft forged with good feel, but the misses are as bad as any iron if you miss it. Forgiveness is mostly hype but each their own. 

 

Yeah, no forgiveness in those.

 

 

 

Oh, and by the way,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

 

 

[teewinot]

I’m a terrible yet passionate player.  I would probably be better off with the most forgiving irons out there.  Just can’t do it.  I play with Mizuno and Bridgestone forgings.  That one out of ten shots feels right