Anyone play w/ Srixon I-701's? (Non Tour)

[Chris5573]

Do any of you play with these irons? I have demoed the tour model and they feel great, but I need something a little more forgiving. I have not been able to find a set of the regular, (non tour), I-701's to try out. What do you think as far as forgiveness? Since they are forged, do they feel as good as any other forged iron even though they are a game improvement iron? Any info would be appreciated!

[Masa]

Yep, using these irons, 5-PW, with Rifle shafts now, originally had the standard Dynamic Gold in them. They are pretty similar to the Mizuno MX-25s, slightly more pointed at the top of the toe, with a little different sole. The sole is thicker, but rounded at the front and back to give some relief. Feel is super soft. The face is a softer material (1020) than the rest of the body (1025). Feel is softer than any recent Mizuno to me. I absolutely the irons. They don't have a ton of offset, but they do provide a decent amount of forgiveness. I believe Stenson is still using a set of them. I would still suggest you try to find some to try out because they won't appeal to everyone, but they are definitely the favorite irons of everything I have hit, and I have hit just about every major release in the last 5 years. If you have any other questions about them, feel free to ask.

[Chris5573]

Yep, using these irons, 5-PW, with Rifle shafts now, originally had the standard Dynamic Gold in them. They are pretty similar to the Mizuno MX-25s, slightly more pointed at the top of the toe, with a little different sole. The sole is thicker, but rounded at the front and back to give some relief. Feel is super soft. The face is a softer material (1020) than the rest of the body (1025). Feel is softer than any recent Mizuno to me. I absolutely the irons. They don't have a ton of offset, but they do provide a decent amount of forgiveness. I believe Stenson is still using a set of them. I would still suggest you try to find some to try out because they won't appeal to everyone, but they are definitely the favorite irons of everything I have hit, and I have hit just about every major release in the last 5 years. If you have any other questions about them, feel free to ask.

Thanks for the info. How were they with the Dynamic Gold shafts?

[Masa]

The original Dynamic Gold shafts were pretty good. Definitely one of my favorite iron shafts. I'm typically a mid ball-flight guy and these were good for me. The 701s still hit the ball reasonably high, probably due to the cavity, but they can be hit low into the wind also. They have a nice soft feel and I love the ball flight. It's not the highest ball-flight I've ever hit by any means, but to me it's probably the most controllable as far as being able to keep it low or hit it high.

The only reason I switched to the Rifle was to get a little extra distance and a different feeling shaft. I'm kind of between the typical R300 and S300 for Dynamic Gold and the Rifle 5.0 happened to fit me well. I went through a fitting a few months ago and the Rifle shafts gave me a little more carry distance without sacrificing any shot dispersion so I went ahead and switched. I still have the DGs and can put them back in if I choose, but for now I think the Rifles are just slightly better suited to me.