Lynx Master Irons

sunofsand · August 25, 2013

I've been playing with Ping Eye2, Ram Laser ZX, Macgregor Tourney Perimeter Weighting CB's and have never hit a more modern iron. My mothers friend owns a dime store/antique type business and went in about a week ago and found a set of these Lynx Master -raised cat on back- irons. They looked in fine shape and I thought the logo was cool so I bought the set for $27. Took em out on the local grass/sand range Plum Creek -no affiliation- and hit a bucket. AWFUL! OMG. Barely got a handful in the air. Hosel dipsy do's toe dipsy do's ..better 60ft curveballs than golf shots. Thought I had made a terrible mistake and the irons were as they seemed to be ..old junk. OLD JUNK! Just like my grandfathers old junk clubs and just like the rest of the CanOCLubs at that store

worse= I'm not as good a golfer as I thought.

"yeah, those are old. Those are hard to hit."

The few I got up in the air gave me hope

went home

did a sweet spot test after reading blades are meant more for hits nearer the hosel

hit some chips focussing on that sweet spot

felt better

regripped a couple clubs as the old had literally melted to the shaft and were crumbling in my hands as I hit them

4 days later to the range

Niiiice. 9 irons on the green 150 yards away, 7's 175+ and 5's 200 on my better couple hits. Normal, majestic, high trajectory

Very few mishits. In fact, I was hitting dead straight. I'm always been a straight ball hitter with occasional slice

tried to find info on the irons and on blade irons in general as I had no knowledge

these have flat soles, no bounce, sharp leading edge.

yesterdays technology for yesterdays courses and perhaps limited use to most living in todays world

well, I liked em

early 80's.

They look just like the earlier Lynx Master model and the liberty and usa and whatever other models produced between 71-84

similar to Hogan Directors of the mid-late 80's, Titleist Accu-Feel, Spalding? Elites

Seems all the companies made their own version after Lynx had been stuck on this one style of blade for 15 years straight

How would you classify these Masters etc with a scooped-out back? Near cavity-back blade? Forgiving blade? game improvement blade?

What makes a blade a blade/muscleback a muscleback?

Most reviews on them are that they're very easy to hit. Most are very high on them as in some of the best

I went back to that shop and dug through and found a few Hogan APex II's white cameo to compare against

I like Lynx better. I like the higher toe and maybe the longer blade, too. Apex II is nice but I like the head shape of Lynx better at address

The "Equalizer" Is a very nice hitting club. I love my 588 BeCu wedges but for whatever reason I can chunk them on occasion and haven't chunked a single Equalizer yet.

I tend to fear hitting over the flag and fall short of where I wish having them land

I'm a converted sweeper of the ball. growing up playing in the yard and at local parks I couldn't go around digging up grass. I tend to take nice healthy beaver pelts now and do feel it helps to produce a more solid impact when I don't fear tearing up the place.

Spending this weekend with my Aunt who lives on a wet/lush executive course -winding creek Victor, ny

so I can play em out.

Doing really well.

Learning how to shape the ball right now only because I have blade irons which supposedly are more ..capable?

Learning about sole grinds. Performed one with an instinctual P-like grind for flop shots.

So

what makes a better forged iron? I've seen scooped/traditional muscle/3 tier muscle..

what do the differences in design make for?

sunofsand · August 25, 2013

Did you read it?

anyway this evening I took out on the course the 9 iron Lynx as well as a 6 iron Apex II and Equalizer

I have to say I was crushing the Apex II. I hadn't hit but a few balls with it before and thought I'd put in some work
I still like the look of the Lynx better. Felt like I was flushing the irons
from ladies tee pond lining the left 192 yards. Landed on fringe straight on the flag and stuck. I never get any roll. Ball will plug and bounce 1 ft forward or 1 ft backward. It was already dark and flushed 3 of em to the fringe within 10 feet of one another. HIt em and went searching for em it was so dark

yesterday the lynx 5 iron was going the same distance.

EIther Im getting better and better at finding the sweet spot or the apex is a touch longer.

In the rough from 175+ landed the ball 8 feet to the flag and stuck
did this yesterday with the 5 iron lynx.

Maybe it's a combination of things but for whatever reason I feel like I hit these better than good vintage cavity backs

the lynx shaft bands were too worn to read but they were lynx bands. Orange. I read Lynx lite or dynamic was available

what was lynx lite?

Hogans have I believe Vector shafts. No labels. Unusual little bulge step up nearer to grip.

Knowing nothing about shafts and how they can change an irons playability
the Lynx irons for whatever reason when mishit and especially when a divot is taken -which I'm trying not to do as much-
for a split second I get a feeling that I've damaged the shaft ..like I've broken it.

I know that I haven't but it seems weak and I check it over each time

I regripped these from standard to an oversized midsize GP tour wrap beefing up the shaft tape and the difference is measurable
I have long skinny fingers and the jumbo chamois on the Pings feel great to me so tried to recreate it.

same soaring ball flight. I probably lose some distance but this is how I've hit since i was 10 years old. I think I follow through with an arch in my back instead of powering through with a more upright and forward leaning stance
been working on it

so still

what makes a better blade?

super20dan · August 27, 2013

the lynx is cast-hogan forged

Ironmaster Oddities · August 27, 2013

Lynx is a good, solid iron. from the early 1970's. that was back when Ping. Was just about the only that used investment casting. the person who started Lynx may have left Ping to start Lynx. dont quote me on that. none of the big boys wanted anything to do with the process. they always said it was too expensive. of course, they were all set up for forging and broaching. taylor Made and Callaway didnt exist. most of the better players wouldnt game Ping or Lynx back then. although a lot of tour players putted with Ping, and several had a Ping. 1-iron in their bag. Ping also began a huge push with collegiate golfers to turn them on to their irons.
so Lynx was really ahead of the curve just behind Ping. Lynx may have expanded too fast and ended up stretched for working capita! Or maybe the owner sold out for a bundle. Regardless, Lynx ended up being owned by Zurn, a huge foundry conglomerate. Zurn's flush valves are on most of the urinals in public and commercial buildings in the USA. As is typical with huge companies buying smaller companies, Zurn changed about everything and screwed up Lynx.

I don't know when Fred Couples started playing lynx. But he didn't get on the tour until the 80's. aside from the senior tour, which was still in its infancy, and a several LPGA players, professional golf wasn't into cast, cavity back irons. I remember watching Bob Tway beat Greg Norman at Inverness for the PGA Tournament in 83 or 84. I thought it was such a novelty that he was playing Pings.

Uncle Bob

sunofsand · September 5, 2013

The founder of Lynx was John Riley Sr

interesting story and guy

[size="3"]"There he designed a celebrated classic- The Lynx Master Model" [/size]
[size="3"]First metal wood patent[/size]

[size="3"]Don't see it being celebrated much online[/size]

[size="3"]somewhere else I read of him being the one who perhaps pushed karsten into ending his career at GE to focus on Ping[/size]
[size="3"]they were very close friends[/size]

[size="3"]I'm wondering if there were any other irons with that scooped out design before the Master Model[/size]
[size="3"]"master model" being what they call the master mold? from which the cast clubs are created[/size]

[size="3"]He was very much into word play[/size]
[size="3"]Lynx=links course [/size]