Can 15 Year Old Clubs Still Compete?

[GolfLug]

19 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

I actually opened this thread thinking/hoping the consensus 😉

My old, old clubs are still even pretty decent IMO - Titleist DCI 981s from about 1998 or so.  Funny anecdote; the only time I've used these irons since 2012 was on a vacation trip in Montana - 

Why sir, would that the set that you lent me at Torrey? If so, I did hit them all day and as good as what I play now.

[Everardo]

4 hours ago, ChetlovesMer said:

I love in this thread how some have compared 15 years ago irons to "modern" irons. 15 years ago ARE modern irons! 

Irons from 2006 and/or 2007 had PLENTY of engineering behind them. It's not like in 2007 people were playing hickory shafted irons with stamped steel heads. 

I like shiny things as much or more than the next guy, but 2007 irons will be just fine. 

yup, pretty much why I started this whole thing, I like shiny things too and it's been fun to test these side-by-side over the past few weeks.

I posted my most recent session with them and the "old" irons are competing just fine when you compare the numbers. (see below)

On 12/20/2021 at 8:04 AM, Everardo said:

Here's another update, this time with the 7 irons but results have been very similar with 5-P. So as many of us answered, yes, old clubs can still compete just fine. 

Now since I'm not a robot, and recovering from back surgery, I've been testing all these irons together and separately for multiple sessions over the past couple weeks. Somedays I'm better than others but this snap shot is an average of the last 10 shots.

• All the lofts and lie angles were adjusted to match.
• The same ball and launch monitor were used. 
• KZG and Srixon both have RP Project X shaft, the Mizuno's have Oban shaft.
• Swing weights vary quite a bit, the Mizuno's are D0, Srixon's D4, and KZG's are D7

 

	Club	Ball	Smash	Launch	Spin	Height	Carry	Total
KZG Evolution (2004)	81.9	117.3	1.43	21.4	5865	99.4	170	180
Mizuno HMB (2020)	84.0	116.0	1.38	20.4	6782	95.7	166	176
Srixon I-506 (2006)	86.0	115.5	1.34	20.7	6917	97.8	165	174

Oh and I have some interesting numbers to share when I compared my 2006 Srixon Z-RW driver to a 2019 Callaway Epic Flash, and 2020 PXG 0211

4 hours ago, ChetlovesMer said:

You might even be able to convince me that the Taylormade R7 quad driver or the Ping G5 driver, both of which came out in 2005. If they are properly fitted to your swing. They would be able to compete pretty close to equally against anything from the 2021 class of drivers. I'll guess 5 yards... maybe 10 for a really long hitter. 

15 years ago was far from the stone age. 

 

On 12/26/2021 at 7:25 AM, xrayvizhen said:

I find modern clubs more forgiving of off-center hits but other than the fact the lofts on newer irons are stronger, if you can hit the ball on the sweet spot on a relatively consistent basis older clubs are just as "competitive" as newer equipment. In other words, to coin an old and politically incorrect phrase, "it's not the arrow, it's the Indian."

I thought this might be true but so far I'm not seeing that in testing my irons. 

[Golfingdad]

1 hour ago, GolfLug said:

Why sir, would that the set that you lent me at Torrey? If so, I did hit them all day and as good as what I play now.

That’s right!  Yes!  And another buddy, maybe two, have used them while visiting as well. Thanks for the reminder.

They will be getting more use soon - my oldest is now 12 and roughly 90 feet tall (ok, slight exaggeration- he’s 5-7 or so) and just about outgrown his moms clubs.

[Everardo]

Based on all this I just sold the HMB's. I'll admit I'm still a little sad about that because the gear junkie in me still wanted the new shiny Mizuno's to 'win' but hey I'll just save up for more lessons, or get some other fun gear at some point. 

Edited January 14, 2022 by Everardo