Soooooo many clubs to chose from

Hello. Im pretty new to this forum to bare with me If I do something out of line. Iv been playing golf seriously for around 12 months and have had the same irons since I started. Ping G15. I have come down in handicap and now play off 15. I have recently upgraded driver to a SLDR and absolutely love it. The irons however seem to be a little chunky and heavy in the end for me now. I have had some lessons and seem to be striking the ball a lot better than when I started and I feel now is the right time to invest in some different irons. The choices out there are vast so I was looking for some guidance from fellow golfers. Brand new or decent second hand clubs will do me but there are so many options. Obviously being fitted is the best policy but I want to get the general consensus on what irons are doing the business for a mid handicap golfer. Look forward to the replies and advice received will be greatly appreciated.

Depends, if you don't like chunky irons then play something more thin. Maybe try out Mizuno irons. I know guys who play more bladish irons, and some who play game improvement irons.

Find what looks best to you, and what you are comfortable with.

Welcome to TST!

Well, 99% of us will obviously always start off responding to these types of questions with "Go get fitted and try as many clubs as you possibly can".

However, if you're literally asking for a biased opinion based on what some of us are currently using, I would vouch for the Titleist AP1 712 or Titleist AP1 714 irons. If you can find the 712s, buy them as you'll most likely save several hundred dollars. If you want shiny and brand new, the 714s are probably going to last you "forever" in terms of ability. To me, personally, I find them to be extremely easy to hit, very forgiving and sweeter than any other club I have ever played.

But, I do have to reiterate the importance of being properly fit for your clubs. Not only loft and lie, but the club and brand itself. Try as many clubs as you honestly can, on a launch monitor with a respectable and educated individual at the helm to help you find what works for you. Don't make the mistake of buying something and trying to make it work for you. When you find the right clubs, you're only making this game easier. That's something that everybody wants to do in the end, right?

Greetings, and welcome.

Spyder said it well so +1 to most of his comments, particularly with regard to the Titleist AP1s.  I replaced my Ping G20s (yes, I also understand your comment about the G15s feeling clunky) with 714 AP1s a couple of months ago and couldn't be happier.

You said you were open to new or used clubs, but I've no idea of your financial position of course.  The thing with fittings is that a good one includes trying various shaft combinations as well as determining whether you need R-flex or S-flex shafts and measuring for lie angle.  I was amazed at how much variation in feel and ball flight you get with different shafts.  So if you can see your way clear from a money perspective I think a properly fitted new set would likely be the way to go.

If you are thinking of used, I'd at least go for a big-box store fitting of the brand and model you're looking at.  They may not have anything but the standard shafts to try, but at least you can determine flex and see how they feel before heading off to shop Ebay or whatever.

Finally, I personally think that mid handicappers are much better off sticking to game improvement clubs rather than diving into "players" models, even if they are pretty and feel good on the occasions you hit one cleanly.  There are a range of GI clubs, the Ping G15/G20/Karstan being out on the end toward Super GI, and the AP1s some Callaway Apex, and others being closer to the "Players" side of the spectrum.  But golf is hard enough without saddling yourself with clubs that are harder to hit than need be.

How to decide?  One valid way, IMHO, is to talk to your local pro and other good golfers you may know and ask who the good fitters are in your area.  The biggest reason my bag is stuffed with Titleist clubs is because there is a Titleist Advanced Fitting Center with an excellent fitter in the area.  Find a fitter you feel good about and then select brand/model based on that person's recommendation.

Guys, thanks heaps for your replies. I am located in the UK so I have made a call to American Golf who offer a fitting service for free. I can choose which brands I want to try and the relevant options so naturally I am going to test them all. The service is free so why the hell not. They test club head speed, grip thickness, shaft flex and loft/lie options. Sounds pretty good to me. Booked in. I will let you know which irons I get attached to.

For anyone who reads this thread here is my update.

I was playing ping g15 purple dot irons which were completely no good for me. My actual ping dot is a blue dot. ANYWAY! Went to get fitted for some clubs tonight. Standard length and standard lie were perfect for me as im 6ft on the dot.

I hit ping g25, titleist ap1 714 and callaway x2 hot irons. Didn't agree with the titleist from the off so i scrapped that. With the two that were left i found the g25 got more height but than in turn sacrificed distance. With the callaway x2 hot iron i found to gain a more penetrating ball flight with added distance. Most shots that didn't quite come out of the meat also went quite a way. These were the clubs for me.

I definitely feel better after going to get fitted. Thanks for the advice again guys.

Congratz on your new clubs, hopefully you'll see some lower scores with them..