Which Irons to Buy?

[Knockglock]

So, my birthday is coming up in two days, and for my birthday I am going to buy myself a set of irons. However, the problem is, I am very new when it comes to golf equipment. I have been using old clubs. Recently, I upgraded my old Wilson driver to a used Taylormade R7, which i've really enjoyed so far (my first good piece of equipment ever).

I'm a left-handed golfer. Recently picked it up again after a several year break a few months ago. I went to Golfsmith and hit a bunch of clubs. My swing speed was roughly 80 miles per hour or so. My price range is $400-$600, however, I would be willing to get to $700 or even $800 if it would really be worth it. I was wondering what recommendations everyone has for me (as well as a recommendation on whether steel or graphite would be better). If it helps, I shoot right around 100 average (sometimes better, sometimes not). I'm about 6'1" bare-footed, and 6'2" with golf shoes (roughly). I'm fairly good with my short irons. I hit 7-9 irons pretty consistently, and the 6 iron decently. The 5 iron and below I don't hit very well. I have a somewhat steep swing, and also swing from out to in.

I also need new wedges, and a hybrid or two. My tentative plan at the moment is to buy a set of irons, and replace the 3 and 4 iron with hybrids, and, if the set doesn't include one, a pitching wedge and a sand wedge.

I'm having a hard time pulling the trigger, and am feeling very unsure and hesitant. Please help me out in any way you can.

Thanks.

[Aaronsrix17]

I hate to say this. Equipment can only get you so far. You can't buy a game. Trust me my parents havent spent a dime on golf equipment. When you say I also need wedges, and I hybrid or 2, and the irons. Your talking 1500$. Do you know how much more a lesson or buying countless issues of golf digest and 3 large buckets a day for a week would be for your game? Trust me I'm talking all from experience. Been playing golf only 3 years. Never taken a lesson in my life. Just read the magazines worked on my swing and spent hours hitting balls. Now I undertsand that you odviuously have a full time job so you dont have that kind of time necesarily. If your shooting around 100, unless your using blades, or wooden clubs, changing irons will get you know where. Sorry to burst your bubble. I'm not trying to be rude here but seriously. I was using a set of spalding executives before I could consistenly brake 100 in my first year so your money will be better spent on instruction and range balls.

[Andycapped]

I would invest in a newer used set and pick up some lessons with the rest of the money.

And I'm not just speaking for you. I think whenever I buy a new set I'm going to force myself to save some and spend that money on a set of lessons. As far as I'm concerned, new clubs are primarily to boost confidence. They're not really going to improve your game. Lessons with a knowledgeable instructor is where it's at. No matter how much I learn, I constantly find that a 30 minute lesson with someone who knows my game is worth way more than a $100 club. I mean you can go ahead and buy that club. I'll buy a cheaper one, get a 30 minute lesson and hit mine better than you hit yours.

I think a lot of people are reluctant to spend money on lessons, but let's get real... if you want to play better, YOU have to be better, not the club. Even pros have coaches. It's seriously worth it. Having said that, some people have a difficult time learning. Not everyone is adept in being coordinated. If you find lessons aren't helping a lot, ask your instructor if he/she has any props or specific drills you can run on your free time to help you figure things out.

[bIGwIRE]

  Aaronsrix17 said:

I hate to say this. Equipment can only get you so far. You can't buy a game. Trust me my parents havent spent a dime on golf equipment. When you say I also need wedges, and I hybrid or 2, and the irons. Your talking 1500$. Do you know how much more a lesson or buying countless issues of golf digest and 3 large buckets a day for a week would be for your game? Trust me I'm talking all from experience. Been playing golf only 3 years. Never taken a lesson in my life. Just read the magazines worked on my swing and spent hours hitting balls. Now I undertsand that you odviuously have a full time job so you dont have that kind of time necesarily. If your shooting around 100, unless your using blades, or wooden clubs, changing irons will get you know where. Sorry to burst your bubble. I'm not trying to be rude here but seriously. I was using a set of spalding executives before I could consistenly brake 100 in my first year so your money will be better spent on instruction and range balls.

^I'm not quite sure what to say about that post, except I disagree...not to say getting some lessons would be bad, thats probbably a good idea, but clubs you feel good about

will help. His 1500$ price tag is exagerated as well.... by alot. My top company for a beginer to look at is Adams. They have alot of options with iron and hybrid combo sets for around 400$ and much less online. I would reccomend iron shafts, in regular flex for you. For wedges, Cleveland, Taylormade, Titleist... can't really go wrong with a name brand. Just swing them awile before you buy. If you go to a pro shop they will ussually include a fitting with the purchase of a nice iron set... Doing that I heavily reccomend. Its better to have junky clubs that fit you than premium ones that don't. Best of luck and enjoy your new sticks.

[iturn463]

For a simple guide you can check out Golf Digest's Hot List for 2009. They divide their irons into players, game improvement, and super game improvement, and then give ratings etc.

All the ratings can be helpful -- but they are not the same for everybody. After looking at that I'd suggest going to try a few out at Golf Galaxy or Golfsmith. Then after narrowing it down check ebay for some good deals on a used set.

[Aaronsrix17]

  bIGwIRE said:

^I'm not quite sure what to say about that post, except I disagree...not to say getting some lessons would be bad, thats probbably a good idea, but clubs you feel good about

Ok so 1500 is exaggerated is it ? Really were talking at least $500 for a set of irons, probably about 250 for 2 hybrids, and then a couple wedges well be about 275 so there you've got about 1000 bucks, AND THOSE ARE MINIMUMS!

[Knockglock]

  Aaronsrix17 said:

I hate to say this. Equipment can only get you so far. You can't buy a game. Trust me my parents havent spent a dime on golf equipment. When you say I also need wedges, and I hybrid or 2, and the irons. Your talking 1500$. Do you know how much more a lesson or buying countless issues of golf digest and 3 large buckets a day for a week would be for your game? Trust me I'm talking all from experience. Been playing golf only 3 years. Never taken a lesson in my life. Just read the magazines worked on my swing and spent hours hitting balls. Now I undertsand that you odviuously have a full time job so you dont have that kind of time necesarily. If your shooting around 100, unless your using blades, or wooden clubs, changing irons will get you know where. Sorry to burst your bubble. I'm not trying to be rude here but seriously. I was using a set of spalding executives before I could consistenly brake 100 in my first year so your money will be better spent on instruction and range balls.

My clubs are about 7 years old. They were pretty much always intended as merely a really cheap starter set, but when I took a long break from golf, I didn't upgrade and so these are my only usable clubs (can't borrow sets from friends, as I am a left, and none of my family plays). The biggest reason I want new clubs is too that my clubs are juniors, which I bought when I was about a foot shorter than I currently am.

I want to buy a good set that will last my for several years and meet my needs. Why is it considered buying my game when I want to buy new clubs? Especially considering my clubs are 7 year old extremely cheap junior clubs which are a bit too short for me. I need new clubs. I basically need a whole new set. For the purposes of this post, let's pretend that I currently have no clubs. The clubs I have don't fit me anymore. So if people could please help me choose a good set of irons that will last me a while and meet my needs as I improve, i'd appreciate it. Also, I noticed a huge difference between my junky driver and my new driver. I also notice a difference with other irons. So please don't tell me that equipment isn't important (to some degree).

[Knockglock]

  bIGwIRE said:

^I'm not quite sure what to say about that post, except I disagree...not to say getting some lessons would be bad, thats probbably a good idea, but clubs you feel good about

Thanks a lot for this response. Very helpful.

Iowa Hawkeye also was extremely helpful and he showed me these clubs: http://www.adamsgolf.com/products/irons/a7_set.php I'm definitely strongly considering them. $599 (for steel, $699 for graphite) for 3 hybrid, 4 hybrid, 5i-Pw. Pretty much all i'd need to buy on top of that is a wedge. So I can probably get everything for maybe $650-700? More when I include fitting. Seems like a great deal to me, and way less than $1500 or $1000 dollars :D Again, thank you for the helpful posts! Edit: I still need help. What are the main differences between steel and graphite shafts? (and someone else mentioned I should consider iron shafts as well? Which should I go for? I have a fairly slow swing speed, about 80 mph. Also, which shaft flex am I going to want? X,R,S, or A? Sorry I have a lot of questions.

[Iowa Hawkeye]

  Knockglock said:

Edit: I still need help. What are the main differences between steel and graphite shafts? (and someone else mentioned I should consider iron shafts as well? Which should I go for? I have a fairly slow swing speed, about 80 mph.

Steel is the most common in irons. Iron shafts are shafts that are for your irons, not made of iron

. Imagine the weight of those puppies... I'd suggest trying out regular flex with a slower SS. And I'd also stay away from the graphite. People our age (college students) don't need them, and chances are your swing is going to speed up with work, over time.

[jonnythan]

Go to a shop and drop $400 on a fully fitted G5 set. Or save a bunch of bucks and get some Gigagolf P2s.

Then spend $200 on a 5 or 6 pack of lessons from a PGA pro. Worry about more clubs later.

[Dizzle]

Golfsmith has Taylor Made R7's on sale right now for $399. I just picked some up today and really like them through two buckets of balls.

[ks8829]

1) I recommend the Comp EZ oversize forged irons set for about $150 - $200 used on ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Mizuno-Ez-Comp-T...3A1%7C294%3A50
2) 3 wedges Mizuno forged used wedges for about $100 - $175

If you are new to the game, I would also want to buy a new set of iron too, and would be willing to spend $400- $800 but try to resist the temptation and buy used since the equipment only helps about 10% and the rest is your own game, besides once you improve your game and take it to the next level you are ready for improvement set of iron soon.

spend the rest of the money on green fees and lessons to accelerate your learning curve.

Its no secret but the fastest way to improve your overall game is by practicing your short game from the putter backwards. Putting, chipping and pitching within 50 yards, since most of your scoring is within 50 yards.

just my 2 cents of advise or in this case $400-$800 dollars worth.

[creedm66]

I just got a brand new set of nike cci irons for 299 and im pretty sure dunhams has them going for that right now so far im liking them a lot

[jaragon126]

If I were you, I wouldn't pay more than $400-$500 for clubs.

I was in your boat, ready to buy my first set of brand name clubs. I went to Golfsmith & took a look at the Callaways and Taylor Mades. The guy there told me the Callaways were better ... and I liked the way they felt better than the Taylor Mades. Rather than paying $800 for that year's models of Callaways (the X-20), I got the previous year's models (the X-18) for half the price. I think rarely do companies make super drastic changes from year to year ... so the differences in the X-18 vs the X-20 were minimal.

The other posters are right too ... buying expensive clubs isn't going to make you great.

[Certifi_able]

I know I'm biased but Wilson Ci7s are very forgiving and quite resonable. $279 buy it now on EBay 4thru GW

[bIGwIRE]

  Knockglock said:

Edit: I still need help. What are the main differences between steel and graphite shafts? (and someone else mentioned I should consider iron shafts as well? Which should I go for? I have a fairly slow swing speed, about 80 mph.

I would say go with steel shafts, they will stand up to abuse better and are less expensive. You will generally get a little more distance with graphite, but will lose a bit of control. Again, getting them fitted is important. If they aren't set up right for your body you will compensate for the mismatch, possibly learning poor swing mechanics along the way. Who knows, maybe off the shelf set up will be just right for you, but I'd check it out anyway.

If you get fitted prior to ordering online you can order your specific set up. Most likely you would want a Regular shaft flex. Also, I'm not sure how you feel about playing pre owned clubs, or how you feel about E-bay... but you could get a premium used set for the same price as a new mid level set. just an idea... Best of luck.

[bIGwIRE]

  Knockglock said:

(and someone else mentioned I should consider iron shafts as well? .

I meant steel, lol.

[Knockglock]

Still could use more opinions and advice :D