Starting Up again. GI or SGI?

[korndawg]

Hello everyone. I've finally ready to start up golf again. I took a 5 year vacation from the game and now I got the itch again. I'm due for some new irons. I currently have Armour Ti100's (go ahead, laugh) and I've never been a fan of them. Way too big! Yesterday, I went to the proshop to hit some new irons and too, to see if i could still hit the ball at all. To my surprise, I was :) The only clubs I was able to try were the 2008 Big Bertha's. I was quite impressed on how I hit those. I was hitting my 7 iron a solid 160+ but for the life of me, i couldn't get used to he #4 i-brid. The ball had a very nice trajectory and they all went straight. However, the 'feel' of them wasn't that awe-inspiring. Maybe it was the 45 degree weather, the range balls, or the mat i was hitting off of, but they seemed to have alot of 'sting' to them. Other that that, I like them much more than my old clunkers.
Now my question, what other clubs to u think I need to be looking at? SGI irons only or GI? I for sure want to try the new TM Burners and Burners Plus and also the new Mizuno MX200's. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Also, I shoot usually in the mid 90's. Putting needs the most work :)

[korndawg]

Also, there is a Golf Galaxy a couple hours from my place that I'm thinking about goin to. How much trust should I put in their simulators to find me next irons?

[TomDonS]

Great topic. My dad took a 15 year Hiatus from the game until I picked it back up. He got cheapos. Thats how he is. So when I got the ability to buy clubs for him like he always did for me WHENEVER I needed equipment, I bought him the Adams Idea 3h 4h 5-w, and some good high bounce cleveland, callaway blade wedges. 54 58 60, and I gave him a 64 pelz x wedge. The adams Idea hybrid set is a standard game improvement set. He was an 18 hdcp before he took a break and now is down to a 14. He attributes alot of his success to the irons. I think SGI's are for people JUST starting out or have a lot of problems in their swing. If you were a competent golfer before your break I think GI's would do you fine. But get HYBRIDS I cant say that enough.

[Range King]

Hi,

I picked up a golf club for the first time last august.
After hitting the ball for a couple of weeks, it was clear to me that SGI irons are NOT for me. Even though the ball went straight, I did not feel any connection between my swing and the result. There was just a 'tock' and off goes the ball. No idea if it was a good or bad hit. (I tried Fusion wide soles among others)

I am fully convinced, that if you shoot in the 90s, you should minimum go for GI irons (eg AP1, G10, Tour Burner, X22, .....)

[GaijinGolfer]

If you already have a solid base, you probably dont need SGI irons. Also, if you dont like your, "big" old irons, you probably would prefer GIs over SGIs.
Id personally go with the MX-200s if it were me. Especially when it comes to irons, you cant beat Mizunos.
Theres lots of great irons on the market though, so all you can do is test hit as many different sets of irons as you can and just go with what feels good to you.

[korndawg]

Thanks. I definately am looking forward to hitting the Mizuno's and the new TM Burners. I need to go somewhere to try out some Ping G10's also. Heard good things about em.

Noticed some great online prices on the G5, but aren't Pings usually custom fitted? So would it be wise to buy online?

[Dub]

Thanks. I definately am looking forward to hitting the Mizuno's and the new TM Burners. I need to go somewhere to try out some Ping G10's also. Heard good things about em.

Korndawg.....we both have simular tales to tell. I also to a 5 year break from the game and have been getting back into it for not quite a year now.

First thing I had to do was change out my woods. My old driver and 3 wood had shafts way to stiff for me....had to get some help there. It turned out to be cheaper to replace the club than reshaft the old ones. Irons.....sort of the same issue. My old shafts are a bit stiff for me now. I can't get into the super game improvement clubs....but I think a game improvement set of irons with the right shaft is the ticket for me. I'd love to hit the ball the same distances with each club, but on a higher trajectory. I thought about simply reshafting my old irons.....but the cost of reshafting and regripping would roughly be about the same as me trading them in on a set of G5s. The Ping G5 iron represents a heck of a deal right now. I called one of the local golf shops yesterday and checked....they can custom fit, order and recieve the new sticks inside of two weeks for about $450 or so. From what he and others have said the performance is very, very close to the newer G10 iron. I stongly think a set of G5's may be in my future. I know it's not the arrow but the archer....however I do yearn for those towering iron shots once again and know that with my old gear....it will not happen. The Callaways that you mentioned are available in two different set styles, I believe....one has the long irons way more "hybrid-like" than the other. Take a look at both.

[korndawg]

I've been looking online a ton tonite reading about the G5's and on paper, they look like those may be the ticket. I'm gonna do some calling this week and hopefully find a place where I can try them out and get fitted. I hope I can get the trajectory and distance I was able to get with the BB's, but with a 'softer' feel.

[leo3]

The G5's are a great set, you can't go wrong with those, but I'm not so sure they will feel "softer".

[korndawg]

I'm just not sure what to contribute the 'sting' on the BB's to. Could very well have been the mat, weather, or range balls. Definately need to do some more testing.

[GaijinGolfer]

I've been looking online a ton tonite reading about the G5's and on paper, they look like those may be the ticket. I'm gonna do some calling this week and hopefully find a place where I can try them out and get fitted. I hope I can get the trajectory and distance I was able to get with the BB's, but with a 'softer' feel.

G5s are nice, certainly no one is going to deny that Ping knows how to make sweet clubs and you can get G5s for pretty cheap nowdays, but if you want soft feel, I think you should go with the Mizuno MX-200s.

They are a GI iron, so they will be super easy to hit, but they are forged, so they have a soft feel.

[Dub]

The G5's are a great set, you can't go wrong with those, but I'm not so sure they will feel "softer".

I'm not expecting them to feel very soft, either.....better get the Cushin insert as an option.

[Prairie Golfer]

I'm coming off a fifteen year hiatus and trying to put together a new set. I've tried out a lot of clubs in the last few weeks. It's been good practice too and my swing is about back where it was. Unfortunately, that swing tends to hook everything and the GI clubs aren't helping. It's a higher hook that goes further with the new clubs, but I think I just need a club with no offset and a bigger sweet spot.

[PuterPutter]

I started back playing 2 years ago after almost 18 years off.

I settled on the Big Bertha Irons. I owned the 2004, 2006 and 2008 versions.
I kept the 2008 version and still hit them.

I do have a set of Ping eye 2 irons that I used in late 1980's and still hit them
ocassionally.

May move on to another club this year.

[GaijinGolfer]

I'm coming off a fifteen year hiatus and trying to put together a new set. I've tried out a lot of clubs in the last few weeks. It's been good practice too and my swing is about back where it was. Unfortunately, that swing tends to hook everything and the GI clubs aren't helping. It's a higher hook that goes further with the new clubs, but I think I just need a club with no offset and a bigger sweet spot.

Or you need to work on your swing.

[Prairie Golfer]

Or you need to work on your swing.

With what? I need to get clubs first.

Then happily ignore my full swing in favor of the short game.

[korndawg]

Haha. I KNOW I have to work on my game too, but I'm like u, I'm not gonna do so until I have clubs that feel good, that i hit well, and that I have confidence in. I'm hoping to head down to Golf Galaxy for a couple hours tomorrow to hit as many clubs as I can and hopefully make my decision on which ones to buy.

[GaijinGolfer]

With what? I need to get clubs first.

You said that your swing is coming back, but its a high hook and you need clubs with less offset.

My point was that perhaps instead of looking for clubs that fix your swing flaws, why not try to eliminate or at least reduce those flaws.