Problem getting comfortable with the offset at address.

**slide13** · April 18, 2010

Last year I switched from some hand-me-down blade irons to my current Ping G5's. I liked the Pings pretty well last year but never quite got fully comfortable with the look of the offset at address. Made it out to the range for the first few times for the year this week and my iron shots are killing me. I was chunking them and shanking them all over the place...until I grabbed my old blade 7 iron and I just started hitting solid shot after solid shot. Not I have nowhere near the ball striking to hit blades so I'm thinking it might have something to do with how the club looks at address and was helping me. The offset on the Pings have always looked weird to me and they tend to sit rather closed on the ground which I find myself fighting.

Does any of this make sense? Any suggestions for clubs I could look at that are nice and forgiving but have little offset and look a little more like a traditional blade at address?

**kennay92** · April 18, 2010

Last year I switched from some hand-me-down blade irons to my current Ping G5's. I liked the Pings pretty well last year but never quite got fully comfortable with the look of the offset at address. Made it out to the range for the first few times for the year this week and my iron shots are killing me. I was chunking them and shanking them all over the place...until I grabbed my old blade 7 iron and I just started hitting solid shot after solid shot. Not I have nowhere near the ball striking to hit blades so I'm thinking it might have something to do with how the club looks at address and was helping me. The offset on the Pings have always looked weird to me and they tend to sit rather closed on the ground which I find myself fighting.

look at the nike VR split cavity.

**Gordon McTavish** · April 18, 2010

Have you considered the Ping i15 irons? They are much easier on the eyes compared to the G-series of irons.

**CrazyXGolfer** · April 18, 2010

I understand why you would not like this, but it's in your mind sorry to say. (TBH I don't think they sit closed hehe)

I don't like the look of the G serious either, but you just need to learn to get the offset thought out of your mind.

But if you don't like the look/sound/feel of the clubs, I think you should get rid of them ASAP they are only doing damage to your game, then and find somthing that you do like (I15's and the nike's are both good sugestions)

Good luck!

**slide13** · April 18, 2010

I agree that it is in my head, no argument here, just not sure if I can overcome that (didn't quite happen last season) or if it's just better to find some clubs that appeal to my eye a little more at address.

**Zack** · April 18, 2010

I bought some Callaway x-20's and did not like the offset(or at least I felt there was an offset) at all. I found an older set of pro combo irons from Nike and love the way they look at address. Now it's just going to take some time to hit them :)

**CrazyXGolfer** · April 18, 2010

If you have the money sure why not.
go find clubs that you love, get them fitted, lie angle, shaft, you know that stuff.
But then again if it was me, I would just be trying to hit the g5's the same as every other club and I would not quit until I did so.... haha but thats just me

**goblue107501** · April 18, 2010

I agree that it is in my head, no argument here, just not sure if I can overcome that (didn't quite happen last season)

If you can do that, do it. Having a club you feel confident in, and like looking at, is half the battle. If you look down and don't like what you see you won't have any confidence in the shot you are about to hit.

Many people say that smaller clubheads that are less forgiving are not for everyone. I like to take it the other way. Big clubheads with perimiter weighting and big offsets are not for everyone either.

**tsajjad** · April 18, 2010

look at the ball. =D srously though, once u start hitting them and every shot starts going right.......
i know, because i used to hit old lynx master model forged blades, before recently switching to the raptures in my sig. I had the exact same problem that u have. a monthe on and i dont even notice the offset. if anything i have grown fond of the looks. sounds weird i know, but trust me u'll learn to love them

**Gordon McTavish** · April 18, 2010

Many people say that smaller clubheads that are less forgiving are not for everyone. I like to take it the other way. Big clubheads with perimiter weighting and big offsets are not for everyone either.

I totally agree with this. I tried the G15 hybrids a few weeks ago after reading all the glowing reviews about their miraculous forgiveness and apparent tendency to produce one flight pattern... high and straight.

After slicing one around some trees to get back on the fairway, I wondered if I was even using the same clubs that were supposed to be so straight and forgiving. In the end I decided on a 909H and have enjoyed playing it for the past four rounds. I also switched from X22s to i15s. I'd rather learn how to hit solid, consistent shots than try to rely on a shovel to mask various swing flaws... not mention that I find more of an incentive to actually focus on what I'm doing with smaller clubheads.

**Dub** · April 18, 2010

I also went from a non-offset "players" iron to the G5.

I enjoy the offset, though. I find that I get the best results when I set up with a small amount of forward shaft lean.

It is a large visual difference at address, though. I can fully understand your struggle to get accustomed to it. Like others have said, maybe the I series is your stick.

**slide13** · April 19, 2010

Well, I stopped into the local golf shop today and started looking around at the different iron offerings. Ended up finding a set of use Mizuno MX200's in 5-PW (which is what my G5's are). They have some nicks and dings here and there from bag chatter, but the face and grooves hardly look used. Priced at $400 I started talking to them about my situation with the G5's and in the end they offered them to me for $300 with a one week refund policy and a 30 day store exchange policy.....so I walked out with a new set of irons today and took them to the range to compare to the G5's. Totally didn't intend to buy any irons today but the price was right and I can either return them or keep them and sell my G5's for something at least close to the price of the Mizunos.

I have to say...I'm hitting these things so much better! They look so much better to my eye at address and I was hitting great shots with them. With my G5's I was chunking them and shanking them all over. With concentration I could get over the offset for a shot or two but never with any consistency and they didn't feel as natural as the MX200's.

I think one issue for me is that I play Vokey wedges and I practice a lot with them. They have no offset so transitioning from them to the G5's is hard for me. Maybe if I had offset wedges too I would have an easier time getting used to them, but with the Mizunos the offset is so minor I don't notice it at address making it easy to go back and forth.

So, what do you all think? Good move or bad move? I have a whole week to try them out with a refund option at the end so I see at least a few more trips to the range this week to see if my shot making with them holds together, but so far I'm thinking they are showing a lot of promise.

**Dub** · April 19, 2010

You've got to go with the set that inspires confidence and works best for you.

You can sell your G5's to soften the blow or order some G5 wedges ($60 each) to match your set. I personally love mine more than the Vokeys, Clevelands and Bridgestone wedges I've tried. I realize that goes against the grain of what most on here would say.

**etlreams** · April 19, 2010

I agree you have to have a set you feel confident in. What's subjective is how important the look at address is. I think it's important to everybody, but some fixate more than others.

I tend to adapt pretty quickly. Perhaps that is what you need to do. Maybe it will take one range session; or maybe it'll take 20. But, if you are happy with the performance of the new irons, in time you will have forgotten what the offset on your old irons looked like.

I was very apprehensive about getting a square driver, as I always prefered the traditional rounded head. But after a few range sessions, it looked "normal" to me. Now my old traditional driver looks weird at address.

Same with the topline on my AP1 irons last year. The topline is very thick and there is more offset than my previous 962 irons. I was thrilled with the performance of the AP1s that it wasn't too long before I didn't notice the difference in the topline and offset of the AP1s vs 962s

**max power** · April 19, 2010

I'm glad it worked out for you-but I have to agree that the issue is psychological. If you have a decent repeating swing, you can hit any golf club that's put in your hand. Blades may require a little more precision, but if you start shanking GI clubs then you're altering your swing. My Zing 2s looked fat when I got 'em, a few rounds later and they were butter. But I don't need half the stuff I've purchased, so enjoy your Mizunos!

**slide13** · April 19, 2010

You'll get no argument from me about it being all in my head....I can hit the G5's just fine, just not with consistency. Those things that are "in the head" can be tough to get over sometimes though and in this case the Mizunos are just working great for me so far, we'll see how a few more trips to the range go before the final decision is made.

Also, I wonder if the shafts have something to do with it feeling better with the Mizunos. My G5's are stiff, the MX200s are regular. I've always had a fast swing but that is something I have been trying to dial back a little lately as my swing was always inconsistent and I used to have a bad slice. Slowing down and focusing on my form has helped me keep from coming over the top like I used to.

Charlie1947 · April 19, 2010

Yeah, the offset looks a little weird, at first. However, the slice is mostly gone now.

**WUTiger** · April 20, 2010

Had same trouble with my X20s at first. Solution: Use square floor tiles to practice your set-up. If you square clubface to tile line perpendicular to your line of flight , your eye will learn what a square face setup looks like.

My old clubs were Ping Eye2 clones, and in comparison the X20s looked square when they were actually a couple of degrees open. Your eyes just need to get retrained.

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Problem getting comfortable with the offset at address.

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