How did you know when you outgrew your irons & were ready for better clubs ??

Do you need to sell your burners to help finance the next set? If you can keep'em you'll have a back-up set in case it takes a little longer to grow into the new ones. That way you can kind of ease into the new ones.

the mizunos are a GREAT option - they offer a ton of forgiveness but at the same time have a very pleasing and traditional look from address.  the top-line is much thinner than anything you would find in the SGI category.  a great iron.

Mizuno's are great.  I'd not worry too much about the model or the 'recommend' handicap and just go get a fitting and try the whole series.

 

I went this year and thought that I'd have to choose between the JPX pros vs the MP53's.  I went with the MP 53 after hitting them.  Didn't like the JPX's

 

I hindsight, I wish I'd have just hit the entire product line.  I think the MP 63's would have been the better choice - regular cavity while the longer 53's have a deeper pocket - I think I like the shallow cavity better overall now.  That said, the 53's are great and I'll use them a very long time.
 

I know that mchepp really liked the R11s that he reviewed here. You may also want to look at both the PING i20s and G20s... the G20s are the more forgiving of the two but there is plenty of forgiveness in the i20s as well. The i20s were reviewed here by mvmac. I know golfingdad has them and likes them as well. I, myself, reviewed the Nike VR_S Forged here and really liked them... they were definitely forgiving and had good feel. Also, in the next month or two you'll see many of the Mizunos get reviewed, so if you wait a bit you can get some more info on those.

 

All of these are solid choices and it's hard to go wrong with any of them. I know you said you are a believer in fitting, and that is exactly what you should do... go to a shop, hit a ton of clubs and settle on what you like best. There will be something out there that will suit your game and eye.

I was in the same boat... Wasn't hotting my SGIs poorly but didn't the look and feel of them. I ended up with the W/S Ci9 irons and love them. More workable than I need (but was thinking long run) and I only payed 250 for 4-G. My only complaint is the stock grips.

It seems like the main reason for getting new clubs for you is the look. Based on that then the time is right whenever you say it is.

 

As for performance, you need to identify what it is you want to get out of them. Do you expect to get better with these new clubs? If so, how? Are you wanting to work the ball more? Do you want better feedback? Etc, Etc.

 

Personally I played Mizuno MX20s for years and played well with them. I then decided that I was Mr Macho and was good enough for blades and switched to TaylorMade Tour Preferred MBs. My main reason was workability. I LOVE to work the ball both directions and felt that the blades would do that for me which they have (although sometimes to much so). So for me that was the performance motivation. I did improve by the way. From about 12 with the Mizunos down to 6 with the blades but I've leveled off around 9 now. No way to say though that it was the blades that did it all. I think I could play as well with the Mizunos right now because my swing has gotten better which I will give some credit to the blades for. They FORCE me to hit the ball well since there is no forgiveness so I had to put in some serious time on the range.

 

I have recently thought about going back to the Mizunos (which I still have) and seeing if the improved swing coupled with more forgiving irons would trim a stroke or two.

 

@Skillet - Swap those grips out. I put on new grips about 9 months ago and my world changed. I got some Winn Mid something-rathers. Little larger and softer. Made a huge difference although they do wear out quicker.

 

My 2cents :)

Didn't think about it until I actually hit something else. Honestly I was playing decent with my G2's but the first time I tried the ancient 845's I play now I knew the G2 wasn't right for me. I started by taking the a 6i from each set to the range simply because I was curious. Within a few hits I knew I had been playing the wrong clubs. The biggest difference was the weight. That said better is a personal choice. I've been out looking at new clubs at least 3 times and I haven't found anything I like more than my 20 yr old Tommy Armour's I paid $70 for. I thought I did but after a 2nd demo bringing my current clubs along for comparison the numbers were so similar I really couldn't justify it.

A lot of my decisions have been based upon shaft flex. Years ago, I came back from the Marine Corps and found I was hooking all my clubs. So, I went to stiff shafts and the problem was solved.

 

A few years ago, I realized I was losing distance overall and couldn't hit my longer irons very well. So, I went back to regular shafts.

 

My first trip back to regular was with Callaway X20 irons. I hit the ball good, but never got many GIR, much less birdies. I went to X20 Tour irons in regular flex, and started getting more GIR and some birdies here and there.

 

Now, if I could figure out how to get rid of the hyper-hook misses (like, the ball is still rising when it goes OB) with my RBZ FWs and hybrid, I should be able to break 90 regularly.

I took up the game right out of college.  I was a newlywed and pretty much broke........

 

 

I outgrew those clubs as soon as finances allowed...LOL   It had nothing to do with my game. (for the most part)

For me it was a case that I just couldn't seem to shoot any lower on my handicap, driving passable, putting above average but even though I was hitting the ball well, I just seemed to be leaving myself too much to do.... Got down to 80 and then pretty much shot that score every round plus or minus a couple of shots. ( game improvment clubs brosnans gradys, pgf v8's and tommy 855's)

 

Didn't have alot in the way of money so went to a place that had heaps of sets of second hand clubs, went out and hit them all I think and ended up purchasing a set of wilson staff proggressives (proggresive blades).... was nearly not going to have a hit with them as they have small heads and my thoughts were, these will be harsh to hit, to unforgiving, long story short they felt like hitting the ball like butter and were extreamly straight. Also I found the distances very consistent.

 

So from my experience, you will know when you need an upgrade and need something specific, also, try heaps of different types and see what you like.

I took a golf swing lesson because I kept hitting balls to the right, even when the instructor would make changes in my grip and ball placement. Finally he gave me some other 6 irons to try. I him them much better than my own. That's when I knew. It was cheaper and easier to get a new set than to have my set reshafted and adjusted professionally (I bought the Adams A7 displays).

When the money is burning a hole in my pocket I go for new clubs. Now you all have me thinking about the Mizunos. I'll have to try them.

I disagree, i think the JPX irons are not necessarily for a better player, even the MP line offers a ton of forgiveness...

I just bought a new to me set this year when I started back playing after a few years layoff. My old clubs were Titleist DCI 990's and I noticed that I was constantly a club different than everyone else I played with. After a little research I found out that today's clubs are just about a full club stronger that my 15 year clubs. I tested a bunch of clubs at Golf Galaxy. Going in,  I had my mind set on Mizuno clubs but found I didn't like how head heavy they felt. My buddy tried to get me to purchase a set of TaylorMades like his. They were out of my budget. On a whim I tried the Callaway Razr X Tours. They felt great in my hands, seemed more forgiving than the Mizuno's and were closer to my budget. I stopped by the golf course on the way home and they just happened to have the same Callaway set for sale albeit used. The guy that owned them played 4 rounds with them and decided he didn't like them. So I got them for half the price than what I would have paid for them at the store.

I guess it's a matter of asking yourself "is your current set holding you back?"

 

I've been scouring Ebay looking for a deal on Mizunos (mostly MP-59s) but I just haven't found the right setup. I'm too cheap to pay full price for a set but I nearly had myself convinced that I needed those new ones to consistently break 80. A small tweek of my takeaway has me hitting the Ping I3 Blades (purchased in May this year) great. I may just get those reshafted since I'm getting the right trajectory with them now.

Only advice I would give you is to get some demo clubs and see if you can play them first.  I would also advise to be fitted with new clubs.  I done neither and ended up twice with the next best thing in clubs only to find out I played my originals better.  I know how you feel about the appearance of the super game improvement clubs, I have struggled with it also, but until I find something I play better with, I am using them.