Moving on From GI Irons

[Bo the Golfer]

I was wondering when it was a good time to move on from game improvement irons. I currently game the Tour Edge c521 in 5 to A wedge with stiff graphite shafts. I have been a 20 handicap trending up and my ball striking has improved a lot over the last six weeks. Thinking about the p790's, i500's, or possibly the Takoma 101's. Any advice wpuld be appreciated

[snapfade]

My two cents. 18 handicap stick with the what you have for now. Best advice, go somewhere that does fittings and see what they recommend based on what you have going on. Another thing to look at is where are you losing shots? Why are you an 18 handicap? Putting, approaches, not hitting fairways? A little bit of everything?  Technically changing irons might not be what you need right now. If you want new irons by all means get them. I have the best irons money can buy, Titleist T-300's 😃 but changing from Wilson Staff D-9's did not take strokes off my game. In fact, the D-9's play longer, dispersion is the same for me, lighter shaft than the 300's but I can chunk the Titleist's just as good as I can with the Wilson's. Point being, I would not switch to a players iron unless your ball striking is dead on. Just my opinion. 

[Bo the Golfer]

37 minutes ago, snapfade said:

My two cents. 18 handicap stick with the what you have for now. Best advice, go somewhere that does fittings and see what they recommend based on what you have going on. Another thing to look at is where are you losing shots? Why are you an 18 handicap? Putting, approaches, not hitting fairways? A little bit of everything?  Technically changing irons might not be what you need right now. If you want new irons by all means get them. I have the best irons money can buy, Titleist T-300's 😃 but changing from Wilson Staff D-9's did not take strokes off my game. In fact, the D-9's play longer, dispersion is the same for me, lighter shaft than the 300's but I can chunk the Titleist's just as good as I can with the Wilson's. Point being, I would not switch to a players iron unless your ball striking is dead on. Just my opinion. 

I hit every shot great until I don't. I know that sounds a bit foolish but I'm the golfer that will go 4 over on 6 holes and blow up the other 3. I really feel it's focus and mental lapses holding me back as my body knows how to produce quality shots. 

[Carl3]

22 minutes ago, Bo the Golfer said:

4 over on 6 holes

That is 12 over on 18 when you feel that you are hitting every shot great. I play the Ping E1's which are something between a players club and GI. I am thinking of going to more of a GI iron. Background: My goal for a number of years is to have 1 bogey for every 2 pars. Last year I averaged a 78.2 on 39 rounds. So far this year I have an 80.1 average playing a harder course. I don't hit may shots that I feel are great in a round.

As suggested above, get fit and probably steer clear of so-called players irons. I have not heard good things about the i500. The P790s are Game Improvement. Never heard of Tacoma.

[StuM]

I concur with comments above.  If you feel you need (or simply want) new clubs get a good fitting and take whatever gives you the "Best" shots.  Note that "Best" is subjective.  Do you want longer distance, less shot dispersion or a combination of both?  Do not worry about them being called "Game Improvement" or anything else for that matter.  Other than for durability I would also ignore brand.  Hit lots of different clubs in a fitting and find what makes you most comfortable.  Personally, I would not care if the fitting put me in a ladies club & shaft if that is what I hit the best.  Its all about results, not image.  Go in with an open mind and do not even consider brand name, loft, shaft, etc. when hitting for the fitting.  Just let the balls fly and you will find what is right for you.

[billchao]

Don’t think of the type of iron you should play as being dictated by your handicap. What iron design you need to play should be based on your launch conditions and needs. I know guys who are single digits who play with GI clubs because they launch the ball higher.

[p1n9183]

Played GI Irons all my life, I got down to scratch with them using also 2 piece balls. I'm still playing 2 piece balls but upgraded to Callaway Apex Pro 21' irons. To be fair the feel of a center strike is of course an amazing one, I'm no longer afraid of random flyers but now I'm hugely penalized for off center hits. When a water hazard is in front of the green knowing that a miss hit is probably going in is not a good feeling. 
Overall I'm happy with the change but as a scratch player. I wouldn't recommend it to a 10/20 handicap unless all he cares about is feeling from time to time a flush shot.   

[Darkfrog]

There are good options between Super GI and pure player's style irons. I play Srixon ZX5 irons, which fall in this category. They have more of a player's iron appearance, but offer some extra forgiveness for off center hits.

That said, the two best golfers I have played with in the last year (both low single digit handicap) had full GI sets.

[mdl]

Sure there are limitations in control of the golf ball with super GI irons, like they're designed to get the ball up in the air so it can be difficult to knock balls down under the wind. But really for us mortals who don't need to be able to hit like 15 different shapes (hard fade, baby fade, straight, baby draw, hard draw, at low, mid, or high trajectory), my understanding is that the biggest issue is swing speed. I game driver SS around 110mph and can get it up to 120mph on the range with not game worthy consistency of results. I get fit to the player's irons side of the spectrum because with my swing speed I hit balloons and fliers with irons on the super GI side. If you're not swing particularly fast there's no need to get fit because you've gone from a 20+ to an 18 index! Like others have said, you can play very very very good golf with super GI irons. Though if you have recently caught the bug and just want new irons, go for it

[ChetlovesMer]

As others have said. Don't stress over GI vs Super GI vs Players vs Players Distance etc... Those are fine in terms of giving you an idea of the type of construction of the iron. Thinking of them in terms of handicap is probably a mistake. Of all the guys who play in the tournament I play every year, the two guys with the lowest handicaps... One of them has all hybrids. One of them has butter knives. ... So, yeah. 

If you think you "need" new irons, here's some tips:

• Bring your old gamers with you to any fitting you get. 
• Compare your old gamers vs the new set.
• Test at least 3 of the irons if you can, short iron, long iron, mid iron. Only testing a 7 iron isn't good enough if you are about to drop big bucks on a fitted set. 
• When you decide on what you want. If possible, don't buy them that day. Come back another day and confirm the results are repeatable. (This isn't always possible. But often is. Just ask about it.) 

If you just "want" new irons, here's some tips:

• Don't bring your old irons to the fitting. You are getting new irons anyway. No reason to bring the set heading out to pasture, unless its for trade in value. 
• Again, ask to test more than the 7-iron when you are getting close to pulling the trigger. The longest and the shortest iron you plan to get should be tested if possible. 
• Once again, if you decide on a new set see if they'll let you come back another day and test them again. See if the results are repeatable. 

Lastly, if you ever have the chance to hit clubs off grass take it! 

BTW - The irons you use are a very underrated set. The C521's are good irons. Tour Edge has poor resale value, because they aren't thought of with the big boys. But they make a quality product with a lot of value for the money. 

[Bo the Golfer]

3 hours ago, ChetlovesMer said:

BTW - The irons you use are a very underrated set. The C521's are good irons. Tour Edge has poor resale value, because they aren't thought of with the big boys. But they make a quality product with a lot of value for the money. 

I do really like these irons. I think I've been going with want more than need. According to my wife, I'll be sticking with my irons for a little bit lol.