My Birthday is Friday & I need some help with my present. A new set of irons.

[cnl390]

I have not been playing very long, & I am pretty lousy.  But I am hooked so I want to give myself the proper tools for improvement, which would be a fitted set of irons.  I am currently hitting a set of Ping G15 Black dot, regular flex graphite.  I like them but after running the Ping nFlight it looks like I need yellow dot, +.25 shafts with gold grips.  Of course this is where the actual fitting comes to play.  I know that Ping is not the only good club out there and was hoping to get some guidance/recommendations on some other good sets of irons.  I am 58 (59 this Friday) years old,6'2" about 265 lbs.  I his my 5 iron around 155, 9 around 130 & my 20 degree H about 170.  I am looking for 5-PW + SW + 20h in the $600 price range.

Thanks for the help

[Mr. Desmond]

You need more yardage from that 5i if you're hitting the 9i about 130.

One suggestion is the Callaway XHot Irons with KBS Tour 90 shafts (custom option). The XHots will give you extra ball speed. See www.callawaygolf.com for more info.

www.discountdansgolf.com has great pricing on irons.  I used them last time I made a purchase.

[flintcreek6412]

If you are really a 20HC you aren't as awful as you think relative to the general golfing community.

The G15's are not a very old club and frankly I wouldn't spend the money on an upgrade at this point in your game.  They are extremely forgiving clubs that would benefit you well if fitted.  You can send them back to Ping and get them changed to yellow dot.  Based upon your yardage gap between 9i and 5i I'm guess you don't make consistent contact well with longer irons.  A 20* hybrid can be a tough one to hit well also thus your lower yardage on that.  You may want to try a G15 or similar 23* and 27* hybrid.  The 27 would replace a 5i and may help you get better distance for that gap and get the ball up a little better.

But personally I'd get properly fit and work on your game before buying clubs.  Spend the money on lessons and your G15's will serve you well for years.

[WUTiger]

IF you like Pings, why not stay with them?

As for  your distances, you may be having shaft problems. If your 9i goes 130, your 5i should go about 170 yds. or so. The shaft is half the club, and you haven't told us your shaft type and flex (R, S). Same thing with your hybrid.

Be aware that the PingNFlight only gives you a rough fitting. You would take this info, and use it for a starting point in an actual fitting.

Also, a Yellow dot iron is only 1.5* upright, well within the bending range for a Black dot (neutral) lie club. If you got a lie bend, a 1/2' shaft extension and a regrip, you might be able to go with your current irons.

If the fitting says you need a different shaft flex, you might be better off trading in the G15 set and getting a new one. Or, if the flex is almost right, you could get the shaft hard-stepped or soft-stepped to tweak it. (Ask a clubsmith for details)

Note : Ping G-model irons all have a SW as part of the set. You might add one if you keep the G15s.

[billatthebar]

strange distances a 9i 130 is a pretty good hit where are your 6/7/8 going??  maybe u should get a set of hybrid clubs from the 6 down?

[jaysquared]

I'm with these guys.. You probably don't hit your 5 iron great if your hitting at 155.. I have the same distances as you 9i is 130 yard club and my 5 iron is my 170 club..

[cnl390]

I need to take a my hunting rangefinder and see just how far the 150 yard flag at the range actually is.  I have suspected it is farther than 150 for some time and now I really wonder.

My shafts are TFC149 Regular.  Yes I will get properly fit.  There is an Edwin Watts about half a block from my office.  From what I understand, that unlike a lot of other sports properly fit clubs actually help beginners and rotten players more than guys that are already very good.

I was planning on getting my clubs bent and re-gripped, and my 5i re-shafted because it broke at the hosel on Sunday.  (I was putting a tee in ground and using the club as balance and it broke.)  I got with Ping and was quoted the following...

• Re-shaft and re-grip the 5i  $62.50
• Adjust loft/lie angle            $18.00 ea.
• Re-grip                             $ 7.25  ea.
• Shipping to & from            $34.00

TOTAL         $298.50

Is it worth to spend this much on a used set of clubs?

Thanks, I really appreciate the input.

[WUTiger]

Your G15s are fairly new clubs. It's not like they're G2 irons from 2004.

As I said earlier, the PingNFlight is just a rough starting point for an in-person fitting. Have a local golf shop that handles Ping measure you in person and let you hit some shots on the lie board to make sure the lie change is just what you need. They may charge you a few $$ extra, but it's worth it. If you take those measurements and ship the clubs back to Ping, it keeps the warranty going.

I'm not familiar with the Ping grip system, but if the Gold grips are a little thicker, that might stabilize your game. You're a big guy, so your hands might be larger than average too.

Get measured and tweak your clubs, and you should be ready to go. $298 (plus maybe $50 for the golf shop fitting) is well within your $600 budget.

Note on fittings: Different skill levels need different fittings. Beginners need a static fitting (focuses on physical fit), whereas more experienced golfers can benefit from a dynamic fitting (gets into actual performance issues).

[cnl390]

Originally Posted by WUTiger

Your G15s are fairly new clubs. It's not like they're G2 irons from 2004.

As I said earlier, the PingNFlight is just a rough starting point for an in-person fitting. Have a local golf shop that handles Ping measure you in person and let you hit some shots on the lie board to make sure the lie change is just what you need. They may charge you a few $$ extra, but it's worth it. If you take those measurements and ship the clubs back to Ping, it keeps the warranty going.

I'm not familiar with the Ping grip system, but if the Gold grips are a little thicker, that might stabilize your game. You're a big guy, so your hands might be larger than average too.

Get measured and tweak your clubs, and you should be ready to go. $298 (plus maybe $50 for the golf shop fitting) is well within your $600 budget.

Note on fittings: Different skill levels need different fittings. Beginners need a static fitting (focuses on physical fit), whereas more experienced golfers can benefit from a dynamic fitting (gets into actual performance issues).

Thanks for the help.  I am going to stop by Edwin Watts after lunch and get a fitting and take it from there.

I guess it would be more prudent for me to pay the $300 for essentially a new set of clubs.  I guess it is the thought of paying $300 for a set of clubs I could sell for $300.

Let me bother with another question.  If the static fitting comes out like the nFlight it will recommend +.25 on the shafts. Will this make that big a difference?

[WUTiger]

If static recommends +.25" on shaft? That's an awfully small change to make. If that's the recommendation,  I would talk to your favorite pro about this.

Again, an in-person fitting will better tell you what changes you need to make to the clubs. If the fitting recommends a lot of changes, you might trade in the G15s for irons that fit better. If it's just a tweak or two, keep the G15s.

Let us know what happens on the actual fitting.

[cnl390]

Originally Posted by WUTiger

If static recommends +.25" on shaft? That's an awfully small change to make. If that's the recommendation,  I would talk to your favorite pro about this.

Again, an in-person fitting will better tell you what changes you need to make to the clubs. If the fitting recommends a lot of changes, you might trade in the G15s for irons that fit better. If it's just a tweak or two, keep the G15s.

Let us know what happens on the actual fitting.

Thanks for all of your advise and suggestions, they came in extremely handy.  I went in for the static fit yesterday and he had me hit an iron with a little piece of tape on the bottom (pardon my nomenclature) and the tale of the tape determined that with my swing the lie on my clubs is just fine.  So basically all I need is to re-grip for my large hands.  Which opens up another can of worms.  Now I have the $$$ to buy a new driver & 3w that are fit 100% exactly correct for me.  And my driver right now is my biggest problem.  Do you have a suggestion as to what brand/model I should be looking at?

[Mr. Desmond]

Drivers?

This is the year of the driver.

Ping G25

Taylormade RBZ Stage 2, or R1 (less forgiving)

Nike Covert

Callaway XHot

Titleist 913

It seems as if the Taylormades and XHot are very popular.

Jump on a launch monitor and see what happens. Since LMs vary, I'd try drivers on the same LM.

[WUTiger]

Follow Mr. D's advice on drivers.

Grips : I think you'll be surprised how much the thicker grips will stabilize your shots.

[Mr. Desmond]

If your hands are big and the grips too small when trying drivers, bring some gauze tennis tape to wrap and build them up.

Remember, driver shaft length varies - you may want to grip down on some, so that the length is similar between drivers. I typically will get the driver down to 45 inches, but I have a club maker adding weight to the head, because on some drivers, getting to 45 inches may take off .5 inches to 1 inch. On several of these drivers, they have weight ports to add weight to the head - you either buy them from the manufacturer and adjust yourself (Titleist), or ask the OEM to send you a weight, or buy the driver and take it to a club maker who has an account with that manufacturer and can adjust the weights, or have a good clubmaker who adds several grams (but not too much) to the head internally (called "hot melt").

Too much hot melt adds weight to the head and can make it feel heavy or solid, but takes out the liveliness that I like - so I ask my guy to add as little as possible. Other guys make like that solid feel - more likely, I would think, are higher speed guys. But we're all different.

Being older and with a SS that is upper 80's to low 90's - I like a lively and hot feeling club - if that feel is your thing, you will appreciate the XHot. But feel isn't everything. Look at the numbers.

[cnl390]

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

If your hands are big and the grips too small when trying drivers, bring some gauze tennis tape to wrap and build them up.

Remember, driver shaft length varies - you may want to grip down on some, so that the length is similar between drivers. I typically will get the driver down to 45 inches, but I have a club maker adding weight to the head, because on some drivers, getting to 45 inches may take off .5 inches to 1 inch. On several of these drivers, they have weight ports to add weight to the head - you either buy them from the manufacturer and adjust yourself (Titleist), or ask the OEM to send you a weight, or buy the driver and take it to a club maker who has an account with that manufacturer and can adjust the weights, or have a good clubmaker who adds several grams (but not too much) to the head internally (called "hot melt").

Too much hot melt adds weight to the head and can make it feel heavy or solid, but takes out the liveliness that I like - so I ask my guy to add as little as possible. Other guys make like that solid feel - more likely, I would think, are higher speed guys. But we're all different.

Being older and with a SS that is upper 80's to low 90's - I like a lively and hot feeling club - if that feel is your thing, you will appreciate the XHot. But feel isn't everything. Look at the numbers.

Thanks a lot for all the great info, I am learning so much I might be getting dangerous.

Today I determined that the grips on my clubs are Ping Aqua which I am sure you know is one size under regular.  Using the Ping grip sizing chart it looks like I am border line between white and gold.  Of course I will confirm this when I take them in to be changed at either Edwin Watts or Golfsmiths.  This brings up another question.  As long as I am getting them changed should I stick with Ping grips or is there another type that might be better?

Once again, Thanks

PS  I will address the driver issue after I get my grips changed.  But I am an older guy (59 tomorrow) and do like (which I don't get much of anymore) a lively and hot feeling club.

[David in FL]

Happy Birthday! :-)

[cnl390]

Originally Posted by David in FL

Happy Birthday!

Thanks!  I think I will go buy a new hybrid

[Mr. Desmond]

Thanks!  I think I will go buy a new hybrid

Hybrid? Try the XHot driver - good stock shaft for most of us middle aged guys