Help Me Choose...

[Suited_Up]

I am in the market for new irons...

I was set on Mizuno's, but as everyone says, I went and hit some different ones. Unfortunately, I didn't hit them all on the launch monitor. But I did hit the Mizuno 950's, 100's and 200's.... I was originally leaning towards the 200's, even though I'm a high handicap, but I like the thought of growing into them, plus I like the smaller line at address.

I hit the 3 of those, and did like the 200's originally. The 950's were to thick and bulky, not different enough from my current clubs. The 100's were a bit better, but I liked the look of the 200's. But I went to this golf shop that wasn't Golfsmith, I had a chance to hit more clubs without feeling like I was wasting time. (Aka the launch monitor.)

So I also hit the R7's, Cleveland CG7 and the Callaway X-22.

I actually liked the R7's and CG7's more than I was expecting. I wanted to say, hey, the mizuno's are far and away the best, but I'm not nearly good enough to probably even know the difference. In fact, I felt like I might have been fading or slicing the 200's... but it was hard to tell without the launch monitor.

So I went to Golfsmith to try to get on it and get a better idea, but it was kinda busy, so I was only able to hit the 100 and 200's. I feel like I hit them both similarly, but the 200's looked better for me. But neither seemed all that straight. I found out my swing speed isn't as fast as I thought, and I've been playing stiff shafts in my first set, which seems to be wrong.

I hit between 70 and 83 in iron swing speed, so I guess that means regular shafts, but if that can get me a little extra distance, that's fine.

I forget what my main question was really....

The problem is that I was hitting mostly stiff shafts at the first golf shop, but I also hit a few regulars. One of which might have been the TM R7's.... But The Cleveland CG7's felt nice too.

Should I get some Mizuno's on Ebay, or some R7's, since they've dropped in price, even cheaper than the Mizunos... or is it worth getting the Cleveland's because they have this new deal where you buy a set of irons now, and you can get a new updated set in 2 years for free.

Thoughts?

[andef]

All are good iron sets but the Mizuno MX 200 are designed for mid-handicappers.
The R7s are a good set and the price is very low but I think you should probably go for the CG7 since they will give you a new set in 2 years' time.

[PiKapp23]

Any of those sets you mention are fine choices for what little we know about your game. The main thing is to go with the clubs that you feel confident in. I really like the Mizuno MX-200's as I think they are great all around clubs. They might technically be less forgiving than the other sets you mention, but in reality that might be better for you if you are really going to work at getting better. A smaller sweet spot is better if you want to work at it because it helps teach you to hit better shots. If you do not want to spend the time to get better then the MX-950 or 100 might be better for you as they are going to be more forgiving. Also, The R7's seem to be the longer irons (according to many people who own them) and the CG7 is also a very nice irons with a good feel. Like the previous poster mentioned, you can get another set from Cleveland in next year or so with the deal they currently have and that is good (providing you like Cleveland irons, of course). Good luck and go with what you like the look, feel of best and the set that you get the most confidence with as you are standing over the ball.

[goblue107501]

The only thing that should matter to you is the feel of the club when you hit a solid shot, if the look at address is appealing, and as a higher handicap, you want to know that mishits will not be penalized too much. All the stuff about fading this club, or this club went further, or I kept hooking this club, none of that matters. All that stuff is swing and shaft. Pick the clubs that you like the best based on feel and looks, then get fitted for the shaft and length and lie angle.

The clubs don't make the ball slice or hook. That is all swing, and to a lesser extent the shaft. So if you like the Mizuno MX 200, get them with the proper shaft and then fix your swing so they go straight.

[Dub]

I have a friend who bought a custom fitted set of MX200's back in April. I've playe a few times with him since and can say that he's had very positive things to say about the sticks and his results are excellent.

I hit his 5 iron on the range a few times. Thing feels very nice.


A ton of guys at our club are gaming the R7's. Our proshop sells a lot of TM products. Most of these guys bought 'em upon their initial release...not for the discounted prices you find online right now. A set of these now is selling for well under $400. That would be hard to beat for an iron that forgiving yet clean looking. If I could have gotten them in custom lengths and lie angles then I'd have gone this route....no doubt about it.


It's a buyers market for new sticks now....especially if you can game the normal sizes/flexes. Have fun shopping....tons of great buys on high quality gear. That is certainly an interesting deal on the Cleveland line. I tried some of their new wedges the other day....the model with the yellow piece on the back.....great feel and heft....if the irons are an extension of that......wow. I know Cleveland woods have really caught up and surpased many other manf.

[NativeTxn]

I hit all the ones that you mentioned when I was looking for new irons (plus many other models as well).

I ended up going with the X-22s, and so far, I have nothing but good things to say about them.

I really liked the MX-200s though. That being said, the R7s were probably in second place at the end of all my "trials". They felt really nice when I was hitting them on the launch monitors (obviously different than outside, but hey). The only issue I had with them was that on pure hits, it sounded like the clubhead was about to break in half. Other than the sound, I thought they were solid, and almost pulled the trigger on those but I found the X-22s new on EBAY for $450 shipped to my door.

I really wanted to like the CG7s since Cleveland is doing their deal to upgrade to the newer set by the end of 2011, but every time I hit them, they just didn't work for me. I was somewhat disappointed because it is a really good deal Cleveland is offering, but I figured that if the clubs didn't work for me, it was a really bad deal.

Only thing I'd say if you decide on one of the Mizuno's is maybe consider the 200s and you can supplement with hybrids for the longer irons until your game improves, as opposed to having the hybrids included in the set with the 100s. If you're committed to improving your game, you may outgrow the 950s fairly quickly. I suspect that the 200s will have better resale/trade-in value in the long run than the 100s and the 950s, but of course that is only speculation on my part.

In any event, if they all work for you, I would say that you couldn't really go wrong with any of them if they instill confidence for you.

For me personally, the top 5 of the ones you mentioned was:

1) X-22
2) R7
3) MX-200
4) CG7
5) MX-100

Good luck and have fun in your search.

[bhingston]

When I went to get clubs I tried out the MX-200s, X-22s, R7s, and G10s. Just didn't like the X-22s, and while I hit the G10s well I just didn't like that they had little feedback (IMO). I really hit the MX-200s and R7s well, but my money eventually went to the MX-200s as I thought they had slightly better feel and feedback. Really though, I don't think you could wrong with any of them. I've already learned that confidence in your sticks is a huge plus so get not only what you hit well, but what you like.