Help on buying Irons

[slinkee]

It's come time that I replace my irons in this starter set I bought a while back. I'm looking for something very forgiving that'll give me extra distance as well. I've been looking at the Taylormade R7 XD's (big TM fan, hit their products very well for my high handicap), but that's one of the few sets I've researched so far and I've yet to actually try something out. I don't really know what to look for, and I'll be honest, I don't trust these commission guys at these golf shops in my area.

So what do I get? Steel shaft or Graphite? Does it matter or is it all just how I hit it? Any product suggestions for something forgiving, that'll get me some extra yards as well? And last question, I see a lot of these sets come with /either/ SW on the bottom and 4I on the top, or you can shift up one club, and put 3Hybrid on the top, and take off the SW. I really like a 3Hybrid a lot but ... I'm new to all this. Any help is news to me. Thanks :)

[Shindig]

It's come time that I replace my irons in this starter set I bought a while back. I'm looking for something very forgiving that'll give me extra distance as well. I've been looking at the Taylormade R7 XD's (big TM fan, hit their products very well for my high handicap), but that's one of the few sets I've researched so far and I've yet to actually try something out. I don't really know what to look for, and I'll be honest, I don't trust these commission guys at these golf shops in my area.

Hey, 1. What's your handicap so we can give advice related to this? There's a world of difference between 35 and 25. I know, I was both recently enough 2. Try out a ton of stuff. The manufacturers that I love didn't produce irons I liked. My love of Cobra woods and hybrids is well-known on this board, but my disdain for their new irons is also. I had never swung a Mizuno club or a Ping club or a Bridgestone club, and when I tried those, they found their way to choices 1, 2 and 3 respectively on my "next set of irons" list. 3. Steel v. Graphite is often debated, and I'll leave the bulk of this question to one of the club-fitters on the board. I use steel, and will probably opt for steel or light steel in my upcoming next set. Very important and often overlooked is shaft flex. If you don't know otherwise, you're probably R-flex, but check with the fitter (see point 6, below) 4. Typical sets are 3-PW or 4-PW + either GW or SW. Some are starting to sell 5-PW + GW & SW due to the habit of people taking out their 3&4 irons. The issue is, how new to this are you and how much of an athlete are you already? Some people are reasonably athletic and can start with a 3-iron and hit it successfully. Meanwhile, when I started, I had trouble with a 6-iron, and a 3-iron still presents some difficulty for me (I use a hybrid in its place). 5. Be wary of the "Extra yards" sales pitch. It's a common technique to strengthen the lofts and claim extra yardage. With the Cobra UFIs, I hit the PW as far as my current 9-iron. Then again, the lofts are the same, so it wasn't a surprise. They took a 9-iron and wrote "pitching wedge" on it. No wonder I hit the "pitching wedge" so far! And don't fall for "played by so-and-so on Tour" either. They're paid to play those clubs and they're built to custom specs for them. 6. Try to find demo days at a range near you. Promise yourself you'll try out X many companies' clubs before deciding on a purchase. Figure out which irons give you a ball flight you like and feel good to you. They should look good to you too, because that'll help with the confidence when you hit them. If you take lessons, you may want to ask the pro from whom you take lessons for suggestions on anything specific. And get fit for the irons. With most companies, this doesn't cost much more, if anything more, to get the right lie angles and shaft length. And it can make a world of difference, regardless of your ability. It's amazing how much more you can learn about the clubs from someone whose job it is to get you the right clubs, not the expensive clubs. And the commission guys at one shop near here used to try to get me S-flex drivers. Umm... no, guys, I know better. Best of luck, and if I missed anything or if you have more questions, please let me know.

[choran]

I would recommend trying the cleveland cg4's...they are very forgiving and good for a wide range of golfers (make sure you don't hit the cg4 tours as they are very different imo). Great feel and distance as well. Other Cleveland models are very good too, you just have to make sure not to get into some of the "players clubs" that are not as forgiving, and better for working the ball (like the black pearl's). The Nike Slingshot OSS are a great set of irons too. A friend of mine plays them and he's a collegiate golfer. Very forgiving though. TaylorMade's RacOs and RacOs 2 irons are another good set of sticks. Haven't hit the r7's, but I've heard nothing but good things about them as well. I would recommend going to somewhere like a Dick's sporting goods and hitting several different models.

As far as graphite or steel, graphite is generally a half inch longer standard, and they are a little lighter. I didn't think they had as much feel or accuracy as steel, but they were a little longer imo. Steel is generally a little heavier than graphite, but more accurate and a better feel. Again that is just my opinion, so I would recommend to try them all out.