Are using forgiving clubs bad in the long run

[kaveman44]

I started really getting into golf about 1 1/2 years ago and was a 15 handicap. I currently still have the P790’s and always wonder why would I get anything different. They are long and forgiving. With the new TaylorMade P770’s I’m thinking about switching, my handicap now Is 6.7 . Would less forgiving irons help me?

thanks guys , Jimmy

[Tepi90]

My first irons were some wilson cavity backs with some offset. I felt the difference in carry distance between a flushed shot and slightly bad one was huge. I also started to dislike how they looked at address and I ended up getting myself Mizuno MP-64's, which were quite of shot in the dark. They are some kind of semi-blade clubs with some forgiveness (I'm not much of a equipment guy).

However after starting to play with these, I noticed my carry distances got much more tighter between the good and slightly bad contacts, which surely helps scoring better. If I were to buy new clubs now, I'd go get fit for them with some pro telling what's the best for me. I'd still probably give alot value to the looks tho.

[TourSpoon]

You have made great progress to get to where you are in a short time. What exactly is holding you back from getting lower? Is it your iron play, off the tee, short game, greens in reg, putting? Give us something to work with. It sounds like you are on the right track so far. 

[kaveman44]

2 hours ago, TourSpoon said:

You have made great progress to get to where you are in a short time. What exactly is holding you back from getting lower? Is it your iron play, off the tee, short game, greens in reg, putting? Give us something to work with. It sounds like you are on the right track so far. 

Best part of my game is my iron play, up to 6 iron that is! I’m a above average hybrid and fairway wood player, short game and putting is getting better but short game and driver are probably my 2 that need the most work. My average swing speed is 113-116 with driver, but my driver is a 2 way miss

[TourSpoon]

2 minutes ago, kaveman44 said:

Best part of my game is my iron play, up to 6 iron that is! I’m a above average hybrid and fairway wood player, short game and putting is getting better but short game and driver are probably my 2 that need the most work. My average swing speed is 113-116 with driver, but my driver is a 2 way miss

If the irons are the best part of your game, then less forgiving doesn't make sense especially in the long irons. I would definitely demo them, but if they don't improve your consistency then why would you get them? Your opportunities seem in getting that driver under control, making your wedges sharp, and ultimately dropping more putts. That's going to help you more than anything else based on your comments. 

[Shindig]

I used to think that it might be the case, and adopted players' irons shortly after I broke 90 for the first time.  I think that impeded my improvement as a golfer.  I plan to continue using my G400s for a while, even if I find myself with a single digit handicap. 

[colin007]

No.

[boogielicious]

7 hours ago, colin007 said:

No.

Can you be a little less verbose?😜

[TourSpoon]

8 hours ago, colin007 said:

No.

That was my original answer. 

[klineka]

Especially since you said iron play is a strength of yours, I would keep the P790s for now. The only thing I would monitor with the P790s is the random "hot" one, where you catch it perfectly flush and it goes an extra 10 yards further than you expect, but if you aren't getting many of those right now then I don't see a reason that you NEED to switch. 

That being said, if you WANT to switch, the P770s would likely be a good choice, I've been playing the original generation P770s since I was like a 10-12 handicap and they've been solid, I don't have any complaints. I feel that they are forgiving enough, and the yardages are consistent, I don't get the random hot ones like you might get with the P790s or other more game improvement style irons.

If you do decide to go the P770 route, I recommend getting custom fitted, one thing they could do to give a bit more help on long irons is put you in a combo set with a little loft tweaking, they could give you P790 in maybe 4/5 irons then P770 on 6-PW.

[kaveman44]

13 minutes ago, klineka said:

Especially since you said iron play is a strength of yours, I would keep the P790s for now. The only thing I would monitor with the P790s is the random "hot" one, where you catch it perfectly flush and it goes an extra 10 yards further than you expect, but if you aren't getting many of those right now then I don't see a reason that you NEED to switch. 

That being said, if you WANT to switch, the P770s would likely be a good choice, I've been playing the original generation P770s since I was like a 10-12 handicap and they've been solid, I don't have any complaints. I feel that they are forgiving enough, and the yardages are consistent, I don't get the random hot ones like you might get with the P790s or other more game improvement style irons.

If you do decide to go the P770 route, I recommend getting custom fitted, one thing they could do to give a bit more help on long irons is put you in a combo set with a little loft tweaking, they could give you P790 in maybe 4/5 irons then P770 on 6-PW.

This is exactly what combination i was looking at doing, i might buy the 4/5 in 770 but just keep the 790 until i feel comfortable with the 770, Im absolutely getting fitted as well!

[Patch]

I moved on from game improvement. Irons recently. This after several decades. My score were not improving. 

Switched to TE CBX irons. Saw a little extra length, and workability in my play. Dispersion is a little worse, but not enough to worry about.

Switching from my old clubs was not something I planned on ever doing. But, circumstances changed my thinking, and I made the switch.  

No real, final verdict yet, but so far I am seeing some scoring improvement. Already broke 80 with them. 

So imo, once your game improvement clubs are no longer showing any improvement, perhaps a change might be in order. You never know until you try. 

[David in FL]

On 8/16/2020 at 11:01 PM, colin007 said:

No.

^^^ this ^^^

[Twists]

12 hours ago, Patch said:

I moved on from game improvement. Irons recently. This after several decades. My score were not improving. 

Switched to TE CBX irons. Saw a little extra length, and workability in my play. Dispersion is a little worse, but not enough to worry about.

Switching from my old clubs was not something I planned on ever doing. But, circumstances changed my thinking, and I made the switch.  

No real, final verdict yet, but so far I am seeing some scoring improvement. Already broke 80 with them. 

So imo, once your game improvement clubs are no longer showing any improvement, perhaps a change might be in order. You never know until you try. 

Are you improving because you moved to less forgiving clubs, or because you moved to new clubs with better technology? 😉