Jump to content
Subscribe to the Spin Axis Podcast! Γ—
Note: This thread is 6218 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Recommended Posts

Posted
This might be a stupid question, but why don't more low handicap players use game improvement irons? If they can help a 20 handicapper hit high straight shots, wouldn't they make the game much easier for a skilled player? I know that the the bulky irons are more difficult to work left and right, but what's wrong with a straight shot? I would think that a scratch player using a forgiving set of irons would never miss a green.

Posted
Thats a great questions. my buddy whos a 3 handicap golfer uses callaway cavity irons, a salesman at our local golf store who is a 4 handicap golfer but older, I would guess in his 60s just switched from mp33 blades to cleveland all hybrid irons, he said why make the game harder plus his swing speed is slower now, also he has graphite shafts.

I play mp33 blades but will soon consider using my ping eye 2 becu for a couple of rounds to see what difference I might have. I might create a combo set with my blades and Ping eye 2s.

Titleist 910 D2 9.5 Driver
Titleist 910 F15 & 21 degree fairway wood
Titleist 910 hybrid 24 degree
Mizuno Mp33 5 - PW
52/1056/1160/5

"Yonex ADX Blade putter, odyssey two ball blade putter, both  33"

ProV-1


Posted
as Joshtpa said, you loose alot of feel. I also beleive less muscle backs and blades go further in a flush shot (which low handicappers acheive more than the average golfer)

Posted
As the others said, there isnt as much feel with cavitybacks. Also, its more difficult to work the ball with cavitybacks.
Straight shots are great, but theres also times where it helps because able to do a fade or draw, such as if you have a hole with a dogleg and you want to hit around trees.

Whats in my :sunmountain: C-130 cart bag?

Woods: :mizuno: JPX 850 9.5*, :mizuno: JPX 850 15*, :mizuno: JPX-850 19*, :mizuno: JPX Fli-Hi #4, :mizuno: JPX 800 Pro 5-PW, :mizuno: MP T-4 50-06, 54-09 58-10, :cleveland: Smart Square Blade and :bridgestone: B330-S


Posted
They tend to have a real deep center of gravity which throws the ball up real high in the air and that tends to bother me... you could combat that with a specific shaft choice but then it just becomes harder to control trajectory

Daniel Duarte
905R UST Proforce V2 76g 44" S
904F 15, Graphite Design YS6+
MD Hybrid, 19 Degree, UST V2 Hybrid S
Pro M Gunmetal 5-PW, Nippon 1150GH Pro SVokey Oil Can 52 - RAWVokey Spin Milled Oil Can 56, 60 - RAWTEI3 Newport II - Torch Copper- Prov1x


Posted
Lack of trajectory control and workability. Good players are above average ball strikers. As a result, they value better ball control over forgiveness for mishits.

If you play in areas where the wind can be a factor, playing with super game improvement irons like Callaways is death. All they can do is hit the ball high in the air, where the wind basically either kills all forward momentum (against the wind) or makes the ball sail completely over the green (with the wind).

If Rocco had played Tiger on a windy day at the US Open, the outcome wouldn't even have been close....

Posted
Simple answer:
A well hit ball with a forged players' club will be a better strike than a well struck ball with a game improvement iron.

Game improvement irons are easier to hit straight, on mis-hits. But if you don't have that many mis-hits, then you want the well struck players' club, as it will be the better strike.

I use game improvement irons for my mid and high irons, shots where I might mis-hit them a bit and would like the forgiveness. But from 150 yds in (8I or less), I don't have as many mis-hits, and I am looking for precision over forgiveness.

If I'm 175 away, I want to hit my 6I pin high, with a reasonable amount of accuracy. A game improvement club makes that easier.

If I'm 135 away, I want to stick my 9I like it is a 52 degree wedge from 105 yds away, I want precise accuracy, and a player's club gives me more precision with that shot.

I don't hit many off center wedges, I don't hit many off center 9I's, and when I do, they are still reasonable in terms of contact. I will, however, catch a 5I off the toe sometimes, and the game improvement iron will still give me a respectable shot.

What's in the bag
Driver: FTI
3W: 15 Degree
2H: X
4I-7I: X-188I, 9I, PW: X-Forged52 Deg: Vokey Oil Can, all rusted out56 Deg: Vokey, Chrome 60 Deg: Black PearlPutter: Catalina Two


Posted
While I'm agreeing with a lot of the answers, the original question was "Why Don't Low Handicappers use Forgiving Irons?".

The answer is: a lot of them actually do.
Personal preference, strength or weaknesses, style of play, location, time to practice, etc.

Also, this depends on your definition of low handicap. To me, that starts around a 5 hcp.

"Never let reality interfere with your perception".

TaylorMade r7 Superquad 9.5Β° -- RE*AX 65 S
Cobra S9-1 F 3w 15.5Β° -- JavlnFX M7 R
Adams Idea Pro Hybrid #3 20Β° -- Aldila VS Proto Hybrid 80 R
Titleist AP1 4-PW,W -- DG HL S300
Cleveland CG14 BlackPearl 54Β° -- Traction WedgeCleveland CG14 BlackPearl 58Β° -- Traction WedgeNeverCompromis...


Posted

I'm not a low handicapper, but I prefer the more traditional, thinner topline. I also love to work the ball, I find it exciting even if it doesn't always workout.

Driver Ping G10 10.5*
Hybrids Ping G5 (3) 19* Bridgestone J36 (4) 22*
Irons Mizuno MP-57 5-PW
Wedges Srixon WG-504 52.08 Bridgestone WC Copper 56.13
Putter 33" Scotty Cameron Studio Select #2


Posted
I have a really, really hard time keeping a game improvement irons trajectory low... if there is any wind I'm dead in the water

my brother plays the mx25's and I hit them a good 5-7 yards longer than my macgregors but pretty much straight

Daniel Duarte
905R UST Proforce V2 76g 44" S
904F 15, Graphite Design YS6+
MD Hybrid, 19 Degree, UST V2 Hybrid S
Pro M Gunmetal 5-PW, Nippon 1150GH Pro SVokey Oil Can 52 - RAWVokey Spin Milled Oil Can 56, 60 - RAWTEI3 Newport II - Torch Copper- Prov1x


Posted
  DDBowdoin said:
I have a really, really hard time keeping a game improvement irons trajectory low... if there is any wind I'm dead in the water

Really? I just move my irons 1-2 balls back in my stance and have no problems playing the Adams I use low. Then I will move it 2-3 balls up in my stance to play it high.


  • Administrator
Posted
  joshtpa said:
Really? I just move my irons 1-2 balls back in my stance and have no problems playing the Adams I use low. Then I will move it 2-3 balls up in my stance to play it high.

Ummm.... good for you? Game-improvement clubs, by definition, tend to hit the ball a little higher given that they're designed to help players get the ball up in the air. I don't think it's a rarity that he doesn't find it easy to hit GI clubs low.

Let's stick to topic.

Erik J. Barzeski β€” β›³ I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. πŸŒπŸΌβ€β™‚οΈ
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution β€’ Owner, The Sand Trap .com β€’ AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 β€’ WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted
Joshpta...i find you extremely annoying..

With that out of my system, my answer.


Im not a low handicap, but my iron play is better than most,

I prefer a lesser forgiving iron (even tho the tp's are pretty forgiving)
A)i can work the ball
B) IT gives me more fedback so i can improve my swing
C)THey look more suitable at address
D)THey dont hit super high shots
E) Final reason, i draw the ball a bit with my normal swing, and any GI irons generally have a heaping addition of offset. Draw+offset=Left side of teh course for Brian.

THats why i do.

|Callaway FT-9 Tour Neutral 9.5 Diamana BlueBoard| TaylorMade TourLaunch 14.5 Matrix Ozik F7M2 X| Adams Idea Pro 20 Matrix Ozik Altus X| Mizuno MP-32 4-PW TTDG S300|Titleist Vokey 50| Tour Issue Titleist Black Ni Vokey SM 54|Callaway X Forged 62 || Kirk Currie Brazos| Callaway Tour IX/...


Posted
While workability and trajectory are some reasons, they aren't the bulk of why I switched (at a ~22 handicap) from SGIs to MP-57s. I'm just now learning how to do those things.

With my SGIs, I got haphazard with long iron shots, and then with short iron shots, and then with all my shots. The SGIs were great to begin with, but after a while, I was accounting for the forgiving and neglecting basics. And then the forgiveness didn't save me from that.

I find my shots with the -57s are better than with the old SGIs, in part because I have to pay attention when hitting the shot.

-- Michael | My swing! 

"You think you're Jim Furyk. That's why your phone is never charged." - message from my mother

Driver:  Titleist 915D2.  4-wood:  Titleist 917F2.  Titleist TS2 19 degree hybrid.  Another hybrid in here too.  Irons 5-U, Ping G400.  Wedges negotiable (currently 54 degree Cleveland, 58 degree Titleist) Edel putter. 

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted
2 main reasons, they both have to do with control...

1) To make working the ball easier, after all working the ball can simply be a controlled mishit

2) To learn from your mishits, if every shot you hit felt the same but the results were different, how can you improve or learn from your shots?

I compare it to coloring, when you're young and just starting out coloring you get those simple pictures with big shapes and generally you can use big crayons that hardly have any point, you occasionally sharpen them but they don't stay sharp for very long so you are happy with basically filling in shapes with color. As you get better at coloring you move onto more complex pictures and spots in the picture a crayon, no matter how sharp, just simply can not keep the colors within the lines. So you start coloring with something like a pencil crayon, they have a more precise point and can get into those smaller areas without going outside the lines. You may progress to markers and then finally to a paint brush and not even needing the lines anymore.

Could Picasso be a better artist then just about anyone using Crayons, probably but he is at his best when using paints and brush, just like the pros on the tour, could they take any of our clubs and beat us with our own clubs, yes but they would probably beat us even more with their own clubs.

  • Administrator
Posted
  beung said:
1) To make working the ball easier, after all working the ball can simply be a controlled mishit

Mmmmm.... no. Huh? Working the ball is not a controlled mis-hit. The goal is still to hit the ball on the sweet spot. I suspect you know this, as a 5.

Good players (often) don't like forgiving or game improvement irons on the "working" front because the GI irons tend to have low centers of gravity (gets the ball up in the air, tough to knock down), bigger faces, wider soles, and a few other things that aren't (usually) favored by better players.

Erik J. Barzeski β€” β›³ I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. πŸŒπŸΌβ€β™‚οΈ
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution β€’ Owner, The Sand Trap .com β€’ AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 β€’ WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Note: This thread is 6218 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


Γ—
Γ—
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to TST! Signing up is free, and you'll see fewer ads and can talk with fellow golf enthusiasts! By using TST, you agree to our Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, and our Guidelines.

The popup will be closed in 10 seconds...