fitting questions

i live in central al (about 45 miles morth of birmingham). i just recently found this site and ive been doing alot of reading. i took a two year hiatus from golf (son was born) and now recently ive started getting back into it, and now im full blown addicted again. when i originally stopped i was seriously a 15 handicapper with my putting costing me a few strokes. i have two sets of mizunos. one is the mp 37 which what i was paying and a set of mx25 that i came across that i couldnt pass up. ive started playing again but i absolutley cant hit the 25 and the 37 are forged blades and i hit them much better but right now im so inconsistent. here is the problem im having. i keep reading on here not to go to golf smith or box store to get fitted but ive tried to find a different route but not having much luck. i found a few places but they are at high end country clubs and i can drop some dough but not enough for those people plus cost of the irons. ive never been fitted so i thought maybe mid summer my swing should be much more consistent but like i said there arent a lot of choices from what i can find. how bad are the box store such as golfsmith?

There are some do-it-yourself options.

- You could post a video or two of your swing in a swing thread.  Maybe you're just a little rusty.

- Spend a little bit of money (after a lesson or two), getting your existing irons bent to your specs (if required - don't underestimate the rustiness). The MX25s are forged too, but they're a lot more of a "game improvement" iron than the MP37s which are classic blades (offset in the short irons is not my thing, but some people like it). Here's  discussion about the 25s. http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/52977-mizuno-mx-25/

They've apparently been discussed a few times over the years on this site too. http://thesandtrap.com/search.php?search=mizuno+mx-25

- To be honest there haven't been any earth shattering advances in irons in spite of what they say on TV - okay the new tour Nikes look kind awesome, but they also look like they'd be a complete bitch to clean after an early season round. But like I said, if the lie angle is wrong, especially with the 37s, you'll struggle to make clean contact with the ball on line. Here's a really old discussion on these classic blades. http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/727-mizuno-mp-37/

Now take this for what it's worth (i.e. not much - I'm a huge fan of older Mizuno irons), but if you can get comfortable with the MX-25s and MP-37s they'd could be blended together to make a great combo set. Example: 3-6 in the MX-25s and 7-PW in the 37s.

yeah i didnt really think of that angle. i guess it appealed more to me to find out what my swing speed is to begin with. (im pretty sure its about average) and other things. i guess i got a little caught up in some of the newer stuff and most of the time getting fitted for free if u buy clubs from them all played a role. but i think u have a valid argument.

I would suggest looking for a local club fitter, I'm sure there are some independent fitters in the Birmingham area.  There is a fitter in my area that charges $45 for a fitting and doesn't require you to buy clubs or anything like that, but if you chose to buy from them they will reduce the cost of the clubs by the cost of the fitting.  I have done the box store fitting and the local fitter was better.

Look for a Mizuno demo day in your area.  You will find them on their site.  They have that computer club that will tell you a lot.

REMBER:  Unless a fitter is ordering you your clubs or building them, they are not a "custom club fitter" they are a salesperson, selling you what is in stock.