New Killer Forged iron from Lynx...Lx Tour Mc!!!

[mosesgolf]

This cavity back design concept looks a little different and a little interesting. The minimal offset is obviously pretty much for scratch players. Which makes me wonder ... Where does Lynx think they are going to sell enough of these to even break even?

 

As far as the finish of the cavity back ... I have to agree with others that the moment I saw the first picture the only words that formed in my head were "cheap" and K Mart or Costco. Not being nasty or petty or disrespectful in any way. Maybe it's the lighting or the focus or some photographic anomaly. Maybe try taking the pics again in different lighting and from a slightly different angle. But, if these clubs look in real life like they look in those pics I think these things are doomed from the start.

 

People who play forged blades, and I'm usually one of them, usually fall in love at first sight and then see if the feel and playability is equal to the look. You don't hear people who play forged blades say, "I absolutely love these blades but I have to squint my eyes slightly out of focus before looking at my bag. That makes it kinda hard to pull out the right club sometimes but these babies are worth it!"

 

Try the pics again. Maybe we'll yet fall in love.

 

 

I think you're crazy if you think they look cheap. I think they look great, and much better then all the crap that OEM's come out with. They guys that say these look cheap are probably the guys that love the clubs with plastic crap all over them. I agree that the chrome looks a little too "chrome" but I would imagine that would wear off with some use and look really good. I'm really interested in these. I bet if they were from Titleist or Mizuno everyone would love them. Everyone has their own opinion but there is nothing cheap about a 1035 forged and cnc'd iron.

 

Although I am NOT a big fan of TM products, the Japanese OEM forged R7 irons are some of the nicest ever on the market:

 

 

With that in mind, I think that Lynx just tried to do "too much" in that cavity instead of going with keeping it clean and simple.

First thing that popped into my head when I saw this pic is QUALITY on every level. First thing that popped into my head when I saw the Lynx is BLAH. Honestly those Lynx look really cheap. Just expressing an honest opinion. I wouldn't even buy those Lynx for $199 even $99. To me they just plain look terrible.

[benz5521]

I still like them with the paint removed for what they are. Many other clubs in this category look a lot worse I think. These seem to be pretty forgiving forged clubs. Of course they don't look as good as some Titleist or Mizuno blades but they are also a lot easier to play and you don't need a scratch handicap to hit them well from what it looks like. It's a unique look and probably looks a lot better in person.

[chisag]

[quote name='mjtoal' post='2044720' date='Nov 4 2009, 02:59 AM']I don't think that anybody should take offence at others not salivating over these.[i] [b]But if you ask for opinions,[/b][/i] you need to be ready for those which don't agree. I don't see anyone taking shots at them, just respectfully disagreeing.[/quote]



... I didn't ask for any opinions. ; ) But I certainly do not take offense at anyone that doesn't like the look of the cavity. If the cavities milling or paintfill are a big concern to you, you are not a candidate for a forged players iron, you are a candidate for a pretty club and that certainly narrows your options. To most serious golfers, irons are not "accessories" they are an instrument to pound into the ground, get dirty and propel a golf ball toward a specific target with the kind of feedback you want. The ball, the scorecard and most good players don't care what the cavity looks like or at least will not discount an iron because they don't like the way the cavity looks. At address, these are some of the best looking irons I have ever seen and that is all that matters to me about "a look".

... All that said, any individual that chooses his clubs by the way they look is certainly entitled to that opinion and I would never say they are wrong. But I do not write reviews for those individuals. I find clubs whose performance I am passionate about and share that info with the forum members. I try to hit everything but have no vested interest in any of the clubs I review. While it is certainly fulfilling when someone reads a review, plays the club and lets me know they bought it because of what I wrote, it does not bother me in the least that someone reads my review and thinks the club reviewed is ugly to their eye. Personal aesthetics are why there are a ton of irons available or we would all be playing the same irons! I am not interested in taking more pictures to give them a more favorable lighting. Either you read the review, look at the address and face shots and think you would like to demo these irons based on the fact that they are $200-300 less than other similar forgings, their 5 step forging process producing a very sweet feel, outstanding heel/toe weighting, ease of use and performance in a players iron [i][b]OR[/b][/i] you base your opinion on the way a club looks while in your bag. Everyone has a right to their opinions and again I take no offense at those whom the review was not written for.

[ava08]

[quote name='BEND OF THE RIVER GC' post='2043597' date='Nov 3 2009, 04:35 PM']I would like to see a pic at address, but so far they look "kind of cheap". Can you post an address picture? Lynx were definitely hot irons in the early 1990's.[/quote]

I am sure there are many other comments like this, and I noticed that someone posted pictures of R7 TP's, but I will be honest I didn't read all the posts. My point is they have many similarites to some of the major OEM's in regards to looks, and yet they get no love. I would say 9 times out of 10 that if this Titleist, Mizuno or Callaway made these they would be getting praised.

[Hifade]

Sam, sweet review. As a former Parallax and Black Cat player, I loved the irons back in the day and can appreciate their attempt at a newer forging. I, too, would love to have seen the original Parallax re-released as a forging. Oh well, these look great at address and even better with the paintfill removed.

Thanks for the review.

[oaklandgolfer]

Well, I play the Lynx Tour MC's from 2007 and I think they are good clubs. Much better looking then the current offering.

 

[63Brummie]

[quote name='jaskanski' post='2043686' date='Nov 3 2009, 05:05 PM']Agree with the X-forged styling. Only these look cheaper. I would have stuck to the simple design of the original Parallax - imagine those but forged - nice. As for the pedigree of the Parallax - anyone recall Ernie being the first player to post 4 sub-70 rounds in the Open (1993)?[/quote]
I remembr that well...

[corky]

thing is.... if they could get some tour usage to back up the looks of the club they might generate some interest but until then..... they still look cheap in a chinese 'knock-off' kinda look... they should've gone down the satin route.

[benz5521]

[quote name='corky' post='2045354' date='Nov 4 2009, 12:28 PM']thing is.... if they could get some tour usage to back up the looks of the club they might generate some interest but until then..... they still look cheap in a chinese 'knock-off' kinda look... they should've gone down the satin route.[/quote]

I like the fact that they aren't on tour and Lynx doesn't have all these ads and stuff. That keeps the price down. When you buy major OEM stuff the price is marked up a ton due to paying players a ridiculous amount of money to be seen sportin the stuff, plus all the other advertising and marketing. I'd rather have a high quality club that you don't see everywhere and something that every other guy on the course will have.

[TimeToFly]

Well, I play the Lynx Tour MC's from 2007 and I think they are good clubs. Much better looking then the current offering.

 

 

 

hey now, those look great!

[harold baines]

I think the only knock people have is that the styling in terms of the finish is a bit dated looking

if they play well, (which it sounds like they do) people should give them a shot

I personally won't ever consider them, because I'm LH

[chisag]

[quote name='benz5521' post='2043834' date='Nov 3 2009, 06:15 PM']Also, to the OP, maybe I missed this, but can you compare these to any more popular OEM clubs that we may have hit?[/quote]

... I guess the closest iron is the Callaway X-Forged, but the Lynx have a much better grind with a blunted leading edge and more camber as well as a slightly higher COG. Hope that helps...

[chisag]

[quote name='harold baines' post='2045688' date='Nov 4 2009, 03:30 PM']I think the only knock people have is that the styling in terms of the finish is a bit dated looking

if they play well, (which it sounds like they do) people should give them a shot[/quote]

... I hear ya HB and am so glad I am not an oem trying to decide what graphics, milling, colors, etc I should put on my irons. I had a long conversation with the Marketing Director of Bridgestone and while forum members loved the J33's simplicity, the average guy on the street and the golf shop owners thought they had no "shelf appeal" and Bridgestone had to "dress up" the J36's. They got hammered by the fashion police on the golf forums for their use of blue. I think things got out of hand several years ago with inserts/colors/plastic/aluminum and really don't pay any attention to the back as far as aesthetics go, I just care about performance and the look at address. Back in the day, designs were pretty simple, but now the only way to get an iron to suit your eye is to have someone like Scratch build you a custom set...

[rgk5]

[quote name='mosesgolf' post='2043749' date='Nov 3 2009, 05:33 PM']Yup. Looks cheap. I remember the days when Lynx was pretty much on top of the golf equipment industry when they had Boom Boom.[/quote]


They were on top in the late 1970s with the Master and USA model, not the 1990s.

[High Plains Driver]

People keep saying "Lynx" as if they are still around. Lynx is a Golfsmith house brand just like Killer Bee.
Dress it up anyway you want, but it is still a Golfsmith head.

[TimeToFly]

People keep saying "Lynx" as if they are still around. Lynx is a Golfsmith house brand just like Killer Bee.

Dress it up anyway you want, but it is still a Golfsmith head.

 

 

so are these... and i think these look great

vvvv

[chisag]

... Just a heads up for WRX'ers. These irons are now on sale for $399!!! That is a steal imo. Here is a link to the sale:

http://www.golfsmith.com/products/LX8230/Lynx/Lynx_LX_Tour_MC

[mcduff]

[quote name='chisag' date='03 November 2009 - 04:10 PM' timestamp='1257282620' post='2043535']
The Lynx look a little larger than the average players iron head and have most of the weight distributed to the heel and toe.[/quote]

I'm a mid-handicapper (15-ish) and relatively decent ball striker. My current irons are Acer XK Pro (think Callaway X-20 Tour) with Apollo Hump steel shafts (R flex). I keep thinking I want to "graduate" to forged irons and these look intriguing (even more so on sale for $399 at Golfsmith). Was wondering if you thought these would be too much of a "players" iron for someone who is more in the "better player" category?

BTW, in you "at address" pics what iron is that? My 5 iron is spec'ed at 3.8mm offset and 7 iron is 3.3mm. Any idea how the Lynx LX Tour MCs compare?

[AmazinBlue]

The best iron Lynx ever made was a FORGED version of the Parallax that Freddy played back in the early 90s. I got my hands on a set back in 97 or so and sent them to Lynx to be bent(like a real dumba$$). Never saw them again. I cried several times over that. Lynx replaced them with a set of Parallax Tours or some other crap.

The old forged Parallax(pre-Golfsmith) had almost no offset, smaller head and cavaity and the transition from the topline to the hosel was much cleaner than the old Parallax. I think I owned about five different sets of Parallax over time, once I really saw how offset they were I couldn't play them anymore. Those old commercials with Freddy were awesome.

Those Japanese r7 forged gave me a chubby. I want a set of those. I had the r7 TP and really liked them except for the really harsh cast feel.

[mcduff]

Just in case anyone else is interested, I found some info on the specs for the Lynx LX Tour MCs:

Club, loft, lie angle, offset

3, 21 °, 59 °, 4mm
4, 24 °, 59.5 °, 3.5mm
5, 27 °, 60 °, 3mm
6, 31 °, 60.5 °, 3mm
7, 35 °, 61 °, 2.5mm
8, 39 °, 62 °, 2.5mm
9, 43 °, 63 °, 2mm
PW, 47 °, 64 °, 2mm

Lofts are the same as my Acer XK Pros. Lie angles are about 0.5 ° less upright and offset is about 0.5mm less. So all things being equal (I know they never are), I'm thinking I could probably hit these. So my interest continues.

[GolferJeff]

I remember this guy I played a few rds w/when I lived in SoCal, who played a Lynx driver(oversized), and that thing was bad a**. This was just before the 460cc drivers were out.(I want to say it was around 420cc's), I hit it 2 times, and the ball flew off the clubface. Lynx also made a vg GI iron years back(that looked alot like these cool Nickent irons), and those things were cool too.

Lynx/Nickent...were supposedly "knock off's" of Callaways, and another brand, Nickents were amazing to hit, the old ones were anyways. Lynx Im sure, is probably the same way? Same stuff....just cheaper. Nickent was a VERY good quality made product. Im sure Lynx is as well? I think Lynx is Golfsmith's version of a high dollar iron?

[mozgolf]

dont good looking clubs have to be painted black these days

[mcduff]

I finally pulled the trigger on the Lynx LX Tour MC irons. Couldn't pass up 15% off plus free shipping for Father's Day from Golfsmith. $212 shipped! For a set of cavity-back forged irons??? Yeah, they're not a "big name" set of Titleist, Mizuno, or Callaway forged irons. But they're also not $800+ (even the previous Callaway X-Forged model on sale cost $700). And for my level of play, I don't think an extra $600 is going to make any real difference. Can't wait to take them to the range and then play with them.

[mcduff]

They arrived today and I went out to the range to hit ~50 balls. All I can say is ... s-w-e-e-t! I don't know that I hit them any further or better than my cast cavity back irons (Acer XP Pros that are a lot like the Callaway X-20 Tour irons), but for sure I don't hit them worse. It's not the first forged iron I've hit, but it's the first time I've hit a whole bunch of balls with a forged iron. I can definitely feel the difference. Softer is the only way to describe it. And what I like about the design of the Lynx LX Tour MC irons is that they're relatively forgiving (they feel as forgiving as my Acer XP Pro irons). So, at least for me, they are just about "perfect." I know I'm not good enough to hit a forged blade. But these seem to be in the sweet spot for me. Time will tell. Will play a round with them this weekend.

[mcduff]

Played my first round with the Lynx LX Tour MC irons in my bag and all I have to say is that they're everything and more I had hoped for. Sweet, soft feel of a forged iron. Forgiveness of a notched cavity back. Although not a game improvement iron, stable and easy to hit. They suit me just fine and I imagine would a lot of other mid-handicappers playing with cast irons who are interested in forged but couldn't (like me) play a forged blade. Say what you want about Lynx not being a "name brand" iron (it's a Golfsmith brand and not played on any of the pro tours) or the looks (yes, it's a little on the chrome-y side), but so what? If it was possible to do a true blind test (I'm not good enough to hit a golf ball without looking), I'd bet most people would be hard pressed to tell the difference between these and the Callaway X-Forged (particularly the previous model), for example. And would the difference, if any, be worth spending $500+ more for? Having hit the Callaway X-Forged, my answer is "no." But that's just me. YMMV.

[chisag]

... You certainly cannot tell any difference between these and any of the Oems like Mizuno, Titleist or Callaway. Fit and finish is awesome. Feel and playability are as good or better than any forged iron I have ever hit. If the heel/toe weighting with a mid size head suits your game, there is not a better bargain in irons.

[mcduff]

I guess enough people decided that the Lynx LX Tour MC irons on sale at Golfsmith were too good a deal to pass up. All gone! Glad I snapped up a set when I did.

[mcduff]

[quote name='mcduff' date='29 June 2010 - 02:43 PM' timestamp='1277837003' post='2544946']
I guess enough people decided that the Lynx LX Tour MC irons on sale at Golfsmith were too good a deal to pass up. All gone! Glad I snapped up a set when I did.
[/quote]

Apparently, I was mistaken. When I went to the Golfsmith website yesterday I got one of those "oops product no longer available" messages. But today the Lynx LX Tour MC irons are showing up as available and for sale.

[jdanlaw]

[quote name='mcduff' date='30 June 2010 - 12:33 PM' timestamp='1277919185' post='2547013']
[quote name='mcduff' date='29 June 2010 - 02:43 PM' timestamp='1277837003' post='2544946']
I guess enough people decided that the Lynx LX Tour MC irons on sale at Golfsmith were too good a deal to pass up. All gone! Glad I snapped up a set when I did.
[/quote]

Apparently, I was mistaken. When I went to the Golfsmith website yesterday I got one of those "oops product no longer available" messages. But today the Lynx LX Tour MC irons are showing up as available and for sale.
[/quote]


Gee, now that FF promotion is over, Golfsmith found more sets of the irons.

[domer]

They might perform like champs, but they look like a 10-year-old kid was asked to supervise the production of an X-Forged knockoff, and then he fell asleep. The sales pitch should definitely start with the phrase "Yeah, they're ugly, but..."