I had my first fitting for irons in more than 10 years. Here's how it went.

[ChetlovesMer]

I went on a Monday afternoon to go look at getting fit for new irons. The “kid” at Golf Galaxy set me up in a booth with several clubs. Taylormade P790’s, both 2017 and 2019 versions, Titleist T100’s and T200’s, Mizuno Hot Metal and Hot Metal Pro, and one or two other irons. Although the P790, T200’s, and Hot Metal Pros were the serious contenders.

After hitting clubs for almost an hour, I felt there was a clear winner in my mind. The “kid” at Golf Galaxy had checked on me about every 10 minutes to ask me if I needed anything. Finally, I asked him if I could be fit for the Mizuno Hot Metal Pros. The kid said “Sure, I’ll be happy to do that for you.” I admit I was a little apprehensive because the kid looked like a high-schooler.

It turns out I was wrong to be apprehensive. The kid a great job. I hit shots with almost a dozen different shafts and again a clear winner emerged. The shaft I ended up with was not only the longest for me, but also had the tightest dispersion by a lot.

That could have been the end of the fitting, but it wasn’t. The kid went on to check the distances I hit each club 4 through GW to check that I had about the right gapping. He checked how far I hit my sand wedge, to make sure I didn’t have any holes at the bottom of my bag. He even had me hit my hybrid to confirm the gapping at the top of my bag. We could have bent some of the irons a couple of degrees stronger or weaker to get the gapping right, but it turns out we didn’t need to.

We did end up going with one degree upright just to clean up the last few yards of ball flight. It seemed to be about perfect.

Some things that I learned.

1 – Don’t judge a fitter by his looks. This “kid” looked so young, but I feel like he did a great job. Knowledgeable, no pressure, gave me lots of time to tinker on my own, etc…

2 – Mizuno has what seems like a million shaft options. The cool thing about Mizuno is there is NO UPCHARGE for any of them.

3 – Getting custom fit is a great idea in terms of getting a shaft you like. Having not been fit for irons in more than 10 years, I was quite surprised at the difference a shaft can make in terms of distance and more importantly in terms of dispersion.

4 – Another great thing about Mizuno. I was fit for clubs on Monday afternoon, I played golf with them on Friday afternoon.

So, in summary. Going in I was sure I was going to end up getting the new P790’s. As it turns out, I am really happy with the Mizuno Hot Metal Pros.

10-12 years from now I’ll get fit again as I only replace my irons every 10-12 years.

[Sandy Divot]

I picked Mizuno Hot Metals with Recoil 95 shafts over Pings because of the shaft choices with no upcharge. I had been a loyal Ping player since 1986, but I would have had to pay $30 per club to get that shaft in Pings. I wonder why Mizuno can offer so many options with no upcharge, and the other companies don't?

[ChetlovesMer]

1 hour ago, Sandy Divot said:

I picked Mizuno Hot Metals with Recoil 95 shafts over Pings because of the shaft choices with no upcharge. I had been a loyal Ping player since 1986, but I would have had to pay $30 per club to get that shaft in Pings. I wonder why Mizuno can offer so many options with no upcharge, and the other companies don't?

Great question. The same was true with Taylormade and Titleist. They both had up-charges for many of the shafts. With Mizuno, you just keep trying until you find the shaft that fits you best. You don't have to worry about the cost. Honestly, that wasn't why I picked the Mizuno clubs, but it was a nice perk.

[ChetlovesMer]

Even without the shaft thing. The Mizunos were the least expensive of the final three clubs in my decision set.

Mizuno Hot Metal Pros = $999

Titleist T200's = $1199

Taylormade P790 = $1399

All pretty expensive, but the Mizuno's were the best value of the bunch. 

[Sandy Divot]

I believe Mizuno was the same price for steel or graphite. All the other companies charge more for graphite.

[Piz]

Further evidence that it does not matter where good information comes from.  

[Zippo]

Glad to hear the fitting went well. I expect to see that handicap dropping sharply and quickly! 

[ChetlovesMer]

6 hours ago, Zippo said:

Glad to hear the fitting went well. I expect to see that handicap dropping sharply and quickly! 

Me too, brother.