Switching From SGI to Player's Distance Irons, Pros and Cons?

[onthehunt526]

Hello TST,

Some of you might have known I’ve bounced between all types of irons in my time on the site, blades, players irons, game-improvement, you name it I’ve played it. After some lessons I’ve found, it is not the club, but the player on the other end of it. 
 

I’m a 7.0 Index. I’m currently playing the Tour Edge Exotics E722 irons 6-SW. Anyway my ball striking with my irons is much improved. I know where my ball is going for the most part. (Working at a golf course has its advantages).

I’m seriously considering switching to a players distance iron this off season. I’m looking at 4-iron down, if the long irons are really forgiving maybe even a 3-iron. The reason I say players distance, is mainly because I’ve decided to leave my ego at the parking lot, I still need something forgiving on off center hits.

I’m looking at the Mizuno Pro 225, Taylormade P790, Tour Edge C723, Titleist T200 and the Takomo T101. 
 

So what are the pros of making this switch? And what are the potential cons? 
 

All comments are appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[gbogey]

What's your 7i distance? The reason I ask is that 3i and 4i (and sometimes 5i), IMO, are for very low handicappers or young guys with high swing speeds. Most of us should be playing hybrids and/or 7w/9w instead of 3i and 4i.

I moved two years ago from a game improvement iron to the T200's and love them. Right mix for me of playability and forgiveness. I actually use T300's for 5i-7i to get a little extra oomph and forgiveness on the longer irons. In retrospect, I wish the 7i was a T200 but otherwise have no regrets.

[klineka]

A potential con of Player's Distance Irons is that you can occasionally get the random jumpers/fliers even from the fairway, where you absolutely flush one and it goes like 20 yds further than you expect. Especially if you have s decent amount of speed.

Another con, although this is more of a general con whenever switching irons, is that you might need to adjust gapping elsewhere in your bag as a result of the lofts of the irons. Your wedge makeup or hybrid/fairway wood makeup might need to change which would be an additional expense. 

For example, the PW on your e722 has 42 degrees of loft but the P790 PW has 45. 

[ChiTown]

@onthehunt526 this would be a great time for a fitting. You’ve been playing all season, so your swing is in good shape. On a side note, I’m playing T200s 4I-48Gap and like them a lot. 

[onthehunt526]

4 hours ago, gbogey said:

What's your 7i distance? The reason I ask is that 3i and 4i (and sometimes 5i), IMO, are for very low handicappers or young guys with high swing speeds. Most of us should be playing hybrids and/or 7w/9w instead of 3i and 4i.

I moved two years ago from a game improvement iron to the T200's and love them. Right mix for me of playability and forgiveness. I actually use T300's for 5i-7i to get a little extra oomph and forgiveness on the longer irons. In retrospect, I wish the 7i was a T200 but otherwise have no regrets.

I carry my 7-iron around 170 yards. The ground is really soft here in Upstate NY so not a lot of run.

@klineka The fairway/hybrid gapping isn’t as much of an issue as one would think. I get flyers with the E722s from the fairway. Are there pros to switching?

 

@ChiTown It might be a good idea to get fit, because what do I know I’m just a 7 handicap.

[klineka]

1 hour ago, onthehunt526 said:

I carry my 7-iron around 170 yards. The ground is really soft here in Upstate NY so not a lot of run.

If you carry your 7 around 170 why do you want players distance irons? Just for the forgiveness?

Clearly you've got some speed so you don't necessarily need more distance. 

Obviously this is hard to say without seeing you hit any shots, but I think you'd be a great candidate for something like a P770, T150, Apex CB, or at least a combo set.

1 hour ago, onthehunt526 said:

@klineka The fairway/hybrid gapping isn’t as much of an issue as one would think. I get flyers with the E722s from the fairway. Are there pros to switching?

Have you hit all of those clubs you mentioned? It's difficult to list pros because everyone's swings are different. What you need out of an iron is going to be different than what I (or someone else) needs. The "pros" to switching would be evident in a fitting. Tighter dispersion both horizontally and vertically, improved turf interaction, more appealing to the eye, etc. I can't say if you will get any of those things as a result of switching or not.

1 hour ago, onthehunt526 said:

@ChiTown It might be a good idea to get fit, because what do I know I’m just a 7 handicap.

I had just kind of assumed you'd get fit before making the switch. 

[gbogey]

Quote

1 hour ago, klineka said:

If you carry your 7 around 170 why do you want players distance irons? Just for the forgiveness?

Clearly you've got some speed so you don't necessarily need more distance. 

 

EXACTLY!

[onthehunt526]

2 hours ago, klineka said:

If you carry your 7 around 170 why do you want players distance irons? Just for the forgiveness?

Clearly you've got some speed so you don't necessarily need more distance. 

Obviously this is hard to say without seeing you hit any shots, but I think you'd be a great candidate for something like a P770, T150, Apex CB, or at least a combo set.

Have you hit all of those clubs you mentioned? It's difficult to list pros because everyone's swings are different. What you need out of an iron is going to be different than what I (or someone else) needs. The "pros" to switching would be evident in a fitting. Tighter dispersion both horizontally and vertically, improved turf interaction, more appealing to the eye, etc. I can't say if you will get any of those things as a result of switching or not.

I had just kind of assumed you'd get fit before making the switch. 

The main reason for wanting player’s distance irons is forgiveness yes. My 170 carry with a 7-iron is a little bit of a misnomer the E722 has 27.5° of loft, where as most player’s distance irons are closer to 30°. That being said, if I lose a few yards it won’t matter.

I’ve considered a combo set, even considered the C723 from 6 iron down and 4 and 5 in E723. Maybe I’m weird, but I like the whole set to be the same.
 

Of the irons I’ve mentioned I’ve tried all but the Takomo T101. But with a fitting it might be different because I’m in a shaft right now that is optimal for me, so maybe with that shaft I could make a fair comparison. 
 

I’m at a 5 in forgiveness, looking to go down to a 4 or 3.5. Hard to work the ball if I need to with the E722s. Combo set is a possible solution, definitely will have to watch the gaps though.

[iacas]

20 minutes ago, onthehunt526 said:

The main reason for wanting player’s distance irons is forgiveness yes.

They are not really more forgiving.

And you can hit the ball almost identically and your distance control will be worse.

[onthehunt526]

2 hours ago, iacas said:

They are not really more forgiving.

And you can hit the ball almost identically and your distance control will be worse.

Distance control worse than SGI irons? Or just worse in general?

[iacas]

17 minutes ago, onthehunt526 said:

Distance control worse than SGI irons? Or just worse in general?

Yes. With SGI irons.

"Forgiveness" is almost entirely marketing.

SGI clubs have more weight in the sole, so they launch the ball higher with less spin, reducing distance control. The perimeter weighting might help a toe hit get a little closer to the green than it would with a muscleback… but at the cost of distance control a lot of the time, too.

[onthehunt526]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

Yes. With SGI irons.

"Forgiveness" is almost entirely marketing.

SGI clubs have more weight in the sole, so they launch the ball higher with less spin, reducing distance control. The perimeter weighting might help a toe hit get a little closer to the green than it would with a muscleback… but at the cost of distance control a lot of the time, too.

So basically the science says that the OEM’s are full of it?

Are you referring to the D-plane video from Mark Crossfield?

[iacas]

9 minutes ago, onthehunt526 said:

So basically the science says that the OEM’s are full of it?

They're marketing to you.

9 minutes ago, onthehunt526 said:

Are you referring to the D-plane video from Mark Crossfield?

I don't even know what you're talking about there.

The D-Plane has been understood since the late 90s.

I'm not sure what the D-Plane has to do with anything I've said.

[onthehunt526]

27 minutes ago, iacas said:

They're marketing to you.

I don't even know what you're talking about there.

The D-Plane has been understood since the late 90s.

I'm not sure what the D-Plane has to do with anything I've said.

I might be mixing it up. 
 

I was referring to a Mark Crossfield video you posted in a thread: Blades vs Cavity Backs a couple years ago. 

[iacas]

Yeah, it's not about the D-Plane. Okay.

That one?

There's also…

https://web.archive.org/web/20100618110100/https://www.obgolf.com/content/the+wedge+guy/golf+equipment/5-2032-Blades_Versus_Cavity_Backs_A_Golf_Club_Epiphany.html

and the below.

The Wedge Guy: In defense of blade irons

---

I ran across an article this past weekend from March of 2020, which identified the irons used by the top ten players in greens in regulation on the PGA Tour (at the time). What I have always found interesting and...

The Wedge Guy: A defense of blades

---

One of the longest-running and most active conversations in all of golf equipment is the subject of blades versus game improvement irons. Over the nearly 20 years I’ve been writing this blog as “The Wedge Guy,” I’ve...

 

 

[onthehunt526]

It seems like I’ve framed this wrong. So let me reframe this.

I’m looking to switch to player’s distance irons from my SGI Tour Edge Exotics E722. I do struggle with distance control, as I’ll hit one 7I 160 and the next out of nowhere 190.

I’m okay with some variance, but 30 yards is a lot. It seems that distance control could be a con of going up to a player’s distance iron. Are there pros to switching? I do get to at least practice quite a bit, and get a tune up lesson once a month. I bring it up because my pro suggested it. Thanks.

[iacas]

I’m recommending you go a step farther and just get players irons instead of players distance irons.

[Darkfrog]

I switched from players CB (Wilson FG tour v6) to players distance (Srixon zx5) a couple years ago. Toe misses are a little more forgiving in that I lose less distance, but overall distance control is worse, or maybe less predictable. My 6 iron is my 185 yard club, but occasionally I’ll it one that goes 200+ yards. Today on Mevo+ carry distances were 180-198 yards on the ”decent” strikes (ie not total miss hits/chunks).

I’m not unhappy with my current set, but I’ll probably go back to players CB when I decide to replace the zx5s.