High school freshman in the market for new irons

There are a lot of factors.  I would suggest going to a golf store and hitting a bunch of different irons and see what feels the best to you.  If cost is an issue, PX 6.0 is a popular shaft and can be found on many different irons on E-bay or used gold equipment sites.  There are loads of "Last Years" models that can be found on e-bay or even at golf stores for a lot less.  Beware of new clubs whose price seems too good to be true.

If money is not an issue and you want a set that will last, go to a good fitter in your area and work with them.  A good fitter will know that you are growing physically and that your ability will improve.  This is the best option in the long run because you will be properly fitted and end up spending less in the long run.  The fitter can also adjust your clubs lie and loft as you grow.  Some will do this for free.

Forum members can recommend good fitters in your area.

Take your time in testing irons and don't rush the choice. 

I would steer clear of ebay, to many counterfit clubs out there

Global golf is a good site if your looking for used clubs, they rate there clubs on a 5 tier system for how worn they are, similar to baseball cards

As for type of irons, 13.3 HDCP and still just a freshman in highschool, i would look at more of a player iron. But even then you can go with a more forgiving player iron like a ping i20, or a less forgiving, like a titliest muscle back. I can tell the difference, but really, the feel difference isn't that great for me to want to spend that much more money on a pure muscle back iron. I rather have some forgiveness. What if your in a match, on a par 3 and you slightly toe a shot. A ping i20, you might just be off the the side of the green, with a muscleback you might be in that bunker you wanted to carry. Golf is a tough game, i like to get as much feel as possible, with the level of forgiveness i want. 

As for golf shafts, your probably looking at 3 brands

Dynamic Gold

Project X

KBS 

all three are good shaft choices, i like the flighted system by project X, it just fits my trajectory better, and i like there system for stiffness. Dynamic gold is a bit stiffer than KBS when comparing same flexes. 

Not sure when you want to get these clubs, but demo days are the best way to find out. You can actually hit them outside and see the flight, the club to ground interaction, ect.. 

As for irons, do some research online, read up on irons, check out the MPF ratings by Ralph Maltby, it can help you find out which irons are more forgiving than others. You can also go on there website and find what stock shafts are optioned. This way, if you like a Dynamic Gold, your not going to spend extra for getting them new shafts. Many companies offer different shafts, but upcharge. I know callaway offers project X shafts for no upcharge. 

Once you do that, go to a demo day and hit the irons, and find out which ones you like, then just figure out the price range, and stuff. If your looking for used clubs, thats a bit tougher, especially a few years old. Go to a few golf courses, many pro's there have older irons you can try. I know my pro had some older callaway player irons with project X shafts in them, so it gave me a sense of, hey this is a player iron feel, with this shaft, and that flight. 

Looks like you're in the area of Game Improvement irons (using Golf Digest Hot List classifications).

Hitting "a bunch of different irons" including SGI and Players could take a month, so I'll recommend some models in the GI range:

• Cleveland CG16 Pro, or 588 TT or 588 Forged CB
• Callaway RazrX Tour or XHot Pro (or maybe X Forged); among earlier models, Callaway Pre-Owned generally has a few sets of  X20 Tours (from 2009) shafted in PX 6.0  
• Bridgestone J36 / J38 / J40 Pocket Cavity
• Titleist AP2
• Mizuno and Nike have models in the GI range.

I would go to a golf shop and try out the clubs. Stay away from eBAy, because you don't get to test-hit that particular set of clubs online, and there is a danger of counterfeits. If you get a GI iron model that is on clearance, you can save some money over new irons. Also, as a HS golfer interested in competition, you might want to establish a relationship with a good golf shop that can take care of you and help you tweak/regrip your clubs as needed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WUTiger 

Looks like you're in the area of Game Improvement irons (using Golf Digest Hot List classifications).

 

Hitting "a bunch of different irons" including SGI and Players could take a month, so I'll recommend some models in the GI range:

• Titleist AP2

 

Don't you mean AP1 as Titleist's GI club?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harmonious 

Don't you mean AP1 as Titleist's GI club?

According to the Golf Digest 2012 Hot List, yes, AP1 = GI. For 2012, the AP2 and CB 712 got listed as Player's irons.

Good question. I was using Ralph Maltby's full seven-category rating system (based on Maltby Playability Factor equation), where AP1 comes out like this:

AP1 710    SGI       MPF= 838

AP1 712    SGI       MPF = 779

(Golf Digest uses a three-category system, SGI, GI and Players, In years past, GD/SGI roughly captured Maltby's SGI and UGI, GD/GI captures lower SGI and GI, and GD/Players captures lower GI and the rest.)

Well, it looks like I gave bad advice on GI. A couple of club lines that used to be SGI are GI as of the 2012 Hot List:

Game Improvement irons

Adams Redline

Callaway RAZR X

Callaway RAZR Black

Cleveland CG Black

Cobra AMP

MacGregor Tourney

Mizuno JPX-800

Mizuno JPX-800 Pro

Nicklaus Polarity 3.0

Nike VR_S (Forged)

Ping G20

PowerBilt Air Force One AF2

TaylorMade R11

TaylorMade RocketBallz

Titleist AP1

Tour Edge Exotics XCG-5

Tour Edge HT Max-D

Wilson Staff Ci11

Yonex Ezone SD

Mizuno has the most player irons,

MP-59's are just amazing clubs

Ping i20 isn't forged, but its a very good club

Taylormade R11's is a very solid club

Callaway Raxr X Tour is a good club as well

Really, i am not a mechanical swing person, you can give me any club and i can find a way to hit it, so for me, i don't see big differences. I can say Mizuno has the best feel of any irons i have hit. The R11 is shockingly receptive. 

i highly recommend adams pro a12.. they are a players iron with a little bit of help. come with stock kbs tour 90 shaft and golf pride multicompound grips. the finish wears rather quickly but thats what happens with the dark finishes, however, they feel like butter off the face. if your consistently in the low-mid 80's, these could work very well for you and the shaft will probably be about perfect. they're not cavity back irons but theyre not blades either, still have a lot of workability. with the shaft and and small help on the bottom of the iron, its a high launch and easy distance control. 

Why do you care what company you represent? As long as your hitting a club that you like, its all good

I've tried out the Callaway forged, i would put it as a good player iron, i has a good feel to it, i don't see anything wrong with the irons. Still the question is, finding a iron and shaft combination that fits a shot type you want, and with mixing feel with forgiveness. I can't say, "Go pick this iron," because it might not work for you. 

Oh, Ricky Fowler is with Cobra