Iron selection difficulties

Hello all, my name is Matt im a first time visitor. I am currently in the market for new clubs and im struggling with which irons I should select. I have already purchased a putter new (Odyssey white hot xg marxman mini) and Driver from a friend (Walter Hagan aws 9* w/aldila shaft) The driver isn't the greatest of brands, but I hit this thing better than any other driver i've ever tried so until I find something I like better this will remain in the bag.

I am a 20 handicap currently and I'm looking to improve my game. I have a budget of around $500. The sets I've looked at thus far are:

Taylor Made Burner/ Burner Plus

Callaway x20,22

3 of the 4 here are within budget and would allow me some room to invest in a new driver provided i find one i like.

The reason for my post here is id like assistance with comparing these. Over the last few months I've researched and tried to find comparison material between these and have had little luck finding usable material. If any of you are currently using, have used these or something similar please let me know what you think. I was tricked into buying a cheap set from a sporting goods store in Ohio a few years ago and I do not want to waste my money again. I play 1-2 times per week work and woman permitting so they will get a fair amount of usage. I really like the look of the Taylor Made clubs but a co-worker told me to stay away from the Taylor Made Irons..

Thanks in advance!

-Matt

Hmm I'd be curious to see what your buddy's reason is for staying away from Taylor Made irons?

They seem comparable to other leading companies in quality (Calloway, Ping, Wilson, Nike, etc).

I am in the same boat as you.  I too bought a cheap set of irons (Maxfli fire) 2 years ago and had a bunch of quality issues.  Since Maxfli's irons sector was sold off to Dick's I was up a creek without a paddle so to speak.

So I am in the market for a decent set of game improvement irons in the $400-500 range.  Check out my thread I started this week a page or 2 down.  I was asking for recommendations in that price range.  Might be worth a look to you.  I had the same irons you mentioned above in my list of irons to check out.

betweeen those I'd choose the TM's.

thanks for the heads up i checked it out, seems there are quite a few differences in opinion throughout your thread... have you made any decisions yet? still leaning toward the ping's?

I play the X20s. The stock version comes with a metal, Uniflex shaft. According to Callaway specs, Uniflex ranges in weight from 106-120 grams, a bit lighter than average, and has low torque and a midkickpoint. While the X20 head design gets the ball up quickly, the midkick means you're less likely to balloon the ball on windy days.

I tried the Ping G10 irons at the time, but G10 got the ball up too high.

Check out the X20s. Also note that:

* The heads are rather large, and tend to be a bit sticky when hitting out of the rough.

* Some people just don't like the Uniflex. (U supposedly is designed to handle both regular and slightly stiff needs).

I haven't.  I don't plan on buying until this spring when I start playing again.  No sense paying now and having the price drop in a month or 2.

My plan is to start heading over to Golf Galaxy on my lunch break and just hitting every iron they have in my price range.  Narrow it down that way.

Or I may even visit the Golftec in my area who was rated by Golf Digest as one of the top 100 fitters in the country.  They supposedly suggest clubs for you based on your swing, etc.

NASTYNATI - I sent you a Private Message

Of course everybody's going to recommend what they play but, personally, I think your co-worker's full of crap. I recently bought a set of Burner 2.0 irons and they're absolutely the best irons I've ever played. I couldn't be happier.

I play with the x-20s and have had pretty good luck with them.  Callaway has a great preowned website www.callawaygolfpreowned.com you should check it out if you haven't already (I assume other company's do to).  I bought my clubs new, but have since purchased forged wedges from the site, and wish I would have bought my irons there and saved some money.  The thing with buying new is the clubs only look new for a couple of rounds.  Plus the freedom to piece your set together is an added bonus.  I got my irons at a box store and they limited my selections (i.e 4-PW, 4-PW, SW/AW, 3-9). I hit a 3 hybrid so that rules out the 3-9 set additionally like the feel of forged wedges from under 120 so that rules out the PW/AW/SW. Long story long, I was left buying an extra club.

I played the TM r7s for 2 seasons and in my opinion they are not worth the money. I picked up the x22 tour set last year and I have only positive things to say about them. They have a good feel and sound, consistent yardages, and they provide an adequate amount of forgiveness while still leaving you with the ability to work the ball.

Obviously there are a lot of golfers who are TM loyalists for TM to be as successful as they are but in my opinion, and many other people I play with (but not all), their irons are inferior to other leading brands. However, they do manufacture some of the best drivers available.

Consider buying your irons from Golf Galaxy. They usually have great deals on last seasons equipment and they provide free club fitting when you purchase a set of irons.

I'd ask the same question a couple of others have, "whats wrong with TM's"? I like Mizuno better, but there is nothing wrong with TM. In short get the irons you like best. Some things to consider are, how well you hit them, how well they s/u to your eye and how comfortable you are with them. In short, whatever it takes to have confidence over the ball.

Very nice post.

Since I am in the market for irons in the $400-500 range I went to GG last week and hit about 10 different irons in their simulator.  Anything from Ping G10's to TM Burners, Tour Burners, Burner 2.0, Burner Superlaunch, X22's, Cobra S2 Max, etc.  you name it, I hit it.  :)

I went in dead set on wanting to buy Ping G10's.  Granted it was just on the simulator but I found that the cheapest club out of the ones I hit (TM Burner Plus $399) seem to work the best for me.  I hit the G10's ok but it was something about the Burner Plus that I really enjoyed.  Club looked good at address and just had a confidence standing over the ball.  I actually hit the demo 6 iron better than the G10 demo 7i.

Before I make my final judgement I plan to go back over a couple times and see if I replicate the results.

In my opinion I think the darkness of the area around the simulator does not play to Ping's advantage at all.  Being their club is dark grey it was sort of tough to see the club stike the ball.

The shiny finsih on the other brands were easier to see in the dimly lit simulator.  Just an observation.