Are newer clubs really that much better?!

[Ogriv83]

Ok let me start by saying im as much as a club hoe as most. I love trying out the new clubs when released and my pro hates me as im always "borrowing" clubs to try, but i cant bring myself to pull the trigger. I love my current gamers (original Taylor Made Burner Tour irons) and my reserve (962B).

II just really havn't found anything since the x14 pros that have made my jump to buy them. I'm just comeing to the conclusion that there really isn't that far left for clubs to go in improvement. I would love to be wrong. I hate the big headed 460cc and square drivers and im not keen on ovesize irons but i appreciate there importance and usefullness esp. to beginners.

Just wanted to have it confirmed that im the only one who doesn't get new tech.

[etlreams]

Seems to me you might be right - when it comes to "players irons." I mean, forged steel is forged steel, right? Perhaps the "improvements" really only come in the form of weighting structures/placement and the endless options of shaft choices. But a traditional blade or muscle back club head, yeah, not much has changed.

Game improvement irons and metals/woods...sure...there's lots of room for technological advancement.

I played the very traditional looking/feeling/playing Titleist 962s for about 7 years. Not much to those clubs. Pretty straightforward, no-bones-about-it iron. Last summer I bought a new set of Titleist AP1s - supposedly loaded with new technology. Are they more forgiving and better for my current game? Yeah, they are. But $700 better? I don't know. Though to say. I hit those old 962 pretty good, as well.

[kingface12]

I've been thinking EXACTLY the same thing. While I understand the merit of taking advantage of new technology, I don't want to be that person who spends money on things...just because it's the latest and greatest. Heck, my Taylormade LCG irons are 12 years old...and I LOVE them. I hit them pure, can shape shots and still put spin on them. I clean them every round, sharpen the grooves every month and regrip them every year....it's the strongest part of my game...why change??

[Wet Doggg]

I am in full agreement. I have been away from the game for about 10 years and have decided to come back and play on a regular basis. So I also decided to get a new set of irons with all the new technology and such. I hit a lot of different clubs and I still could not find anything I liked better than my MP-11s. I still love how they feel and the ball flight I get. In fact, they are even a better club with today's ball technology. So I just replaced my 2 and 3 iron with Adams hybrids and called it a day. Very happy with my decision.

[kfowler]

From one year to the next, I agree with you. When you start talking about five years, I think there's a difference. Look at the Mizuno player's irons. They are starting to incorporate a lot of forgiveness attributes into player's irons. The MP-58 are a good example.

Golf Digest has some up coming articles on this very topic. Should be interesting.

[sean_miller]

Ok let me start by saying im as much as a club hoe as most. I love trying out the new clubs when released and my pro hates me as im always "borrowing" clubs to try, but i cant bring myself to pull the trigger. I love my current gamers (original Taylor Made Burner Tour irons) and my reserve (962B).

I empathize with golfers who, for reasons they'll never fully understand, just can't compress the ball. Assuming they're taking lessons of some kind, there are still more things they could take advantage of.

We read about how club fitting is necessary for "game improvement" (GI and SGI) mid irons, hybrids, drivers and even wedges, but I never seem to hear about mid-high handicap players having their putters fitted or using a ball suited to their personal swing speed. Possibly the most underrated and important tech advancement in the past decade? Rangefinders and GPS - but I still haven't taken the plunge. I also find it odd that with so many options for proper physical training that people never take advantage of it. If we want to golf for a lifetime, our fitness it's worth more than any new set of sticks.

[Shindig]

As someone who just purchased a new Nike SQ2 fairway wood yesterday afternoon , no, I don't think newer clubs are that much better, compared to the past few years.

[Bump-n-MI]

Not sure about the club-heads themselves, but shaft technology sure has improved over the last 10 years.

[chriskzoo]

Unless someone is a forged, muscleback •••••, there is a lot of reason to look at the "latest and greatest." As mentione above, the new Mizunos (and lots of "players" clubs) are incorporating forgiveness into them without sacrificing feel or playability.

I think the biggest shift has been in the willingness of pros to go the route of the hybrid to replace their long irons. There is simply no reason for anyone to carry a 3-iron in their bag anymore and even a lot of pros aren't starting their iron sets until they get to the 5-iron.

[WUTiger]

If you only retool once a decade, technology changes can be a factor. And, life changes impact also. I'm 59, and one thing I did in last year's switchout was dump stiff shafts.

Also, there's learning curve for using the new technology. I went from a 330 cc. headed Air Zevo driver (circa 2000) to the 460 cc. headed HyperX Tour. Despite the fact that HyperX won out on the driver fitting, I was really hot and cold with it. Then I discover why....

Stumbled onto a Callaway launch monitor sequence aver Thanksgiving, and found out I was teeing the ball too low . Slo-mo showed players hitting the big drives off the top half of the clubface. I had assumed with the bigger head you wanted to be just under the face's dead center for best carry, etc.

I'll see if this helps in the new season.

[sean_miller]

Unless someone is a forged, muscleback •••••

That's not enough dots for "aficionado" or "connoisseur". What word were you thinking of?

[Dub]

+1 for the X-14 Pro irons. I played a set for several years. Very accurate sticks.

[jamo]

It can be a big deal mentally, but a lot of times that is the only reason. Exceptions include worn grooves, broken clubs, can't think of any others.

[Blades4me]

This of course is just my opinion, but "yes" I agree with you. The last big thing with irons was the cb. Since then all they have done is move more weight to the sole of the club and out towards the toe to make it more forgiving, getting the ball up in the air faster and distance. The modern irons seem to me to be all about forgivness and distance and nothing else.

I have a old set of 1978 Wilson Staff Tour blades, 1-pw that I've played over the last couple of years intermittently for fun and have decided that I really like these irons. I'm reshafting them with 5.5 PX shafts. The design of these irons is different than modern irons. They have skinny soles, the muscle back is about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch above the bottom of the club, the hosels are longer, the club heads are smaller & heavier by around 4-5 grams of modern irons and the sweet spot is more towards the shaft.

As much as a Mizuno fan that I am, the Wilsons have kicked the Mizuno's out of the bag for the good weather. Yes they require a decent golf swing and yes the heads are noticablly smaller than modern irons, but dogonit when I pure those babies they are soooooo sweet. I've also noticed that they are better out of the rough, better around the greens especially the frog hair, better out of tight lies and easier the work the ball, all of which can back fire on you if you don't put a good golf swing on them; but then again thats one of the biggest reasons I like them--they are like a really fine sports car or a really hot babe, they don't put up with crap.

IMO the old irons, like my 78 Wilson blades were versatile percision tools that were designed for craftsmen whereas todays irons are designed with only forgivness and distance in mind so more ppl will buy their equipment. One can make the arugment that they pro's play this stuff and thats true. However we are talking about the top 1% of the golfers in the world who could hit a ball with a rock tied on the end of a stick and it is a different game played by pros today, but I don't think anything has changed for we am's.

[chriskzoo]

That's not enough dots for "aficionado" or "connoisseur". What word were you thinking of?

w-hore, LOL

[Ogriv83]

Blades,

I think you nailed my thoughts exactly. I like the new gear and can happily play it but my TM's and 962's really have a different feel.

Also I dont like the way many modern clubs seem to be developing this slightly toe in look at setup. I tried the AP2 for example last week and felt that the really pushed my hands forward when set square due to the angle of the shaft in relation to the clubhead.

The older sticks were much more neutral i find.

[jsocas]

I agree that there's not much difference from one year to another. More than anything this year I think it's stupid for the weekend golfer to buy this year's clubs. If looking for a new set definetily I'd be looking for 2008-09 irons. They are 1/2 or even 1/3 the price, have basically the same technology and you have the benefit of having sqare grooves. I think it is totally ridiculous for the companies to be releasing clubs for the everyday golfer with no option other than the U grooves. That rule is going to affect us in 14 years.
For now I'll stick with my cci's forged for a while. And if I choose to replace them will be for oneds with sqare grooves for sure.

[Shanks A Million]

There is simply no reason for anyone to carry a 3-iron in their bag anymore and even a lot of pros aren't starting their iron sets until they get to the 5-iron.

Do not agree with that at all. Pros carry hybrids cause their greens are like rocks, and they cannot stop a ball with a long iron. When you get to a certain point, the only question is about trajectory. I don't generally miss the center of the face, so forgiveness is not really an issue, but I like a little bit of it just for the sake of peace of mind, and to hit the ball a little higher, even though I hit it high as hell already, I like the long irons to drop like a rock. A hybrid is much harder to control, and impossible to use into the wind.

I empathize with golfers who, for reasons they'll never fully understand, just can't compress the ball. Assuming they're taking lessons of some kind, there are still more things they could take advantage of.

This

is a huge factor. When you go down to the range, pay attention to how many people actually compress the ball with any regularity. I find that most people don't. Sometimes you'll see someone say, "wow, did you see that shot? That went a mile! Wow, it felt like nothing!" These people rely on their clubs to help them. Most of them could not hit a blade, so the technology does help quite a bit. If you compress it properly, it jumps off the face, and rockets into the air. You want every club to go about 100 feet in the air if you have a 110 mph swing speed. Don't know what altitude is right for other speeds.

It can be a big deal mentally, but a lot of times that is the only reason. Exceptions include worn grooves, broken clubs, can't think of any others.

Yes, I think you're right. I have clubs from different eras, and different styles, and they are certainly different, but not so much that any set would be useless now.

This of course is just my opinion, but "yes" I agree with you. The last big thing with irons was the cb. Since then all they have done is move more weight to the sole of the club and out towards the toe to make it more forgiving, getting the ball up in the air faster and distance. The modern irons seem to me to be all about forgivness and distance and nothing else.

I agree with that. A blade and a CB are vastly different on a mishit, but a CB is a CB, not a huge difference between them.

I agree that there's not much difference from one year to another. More than anything this year I think it's stupid for the weekend golfer to buy this year's clubs. If looking for a new set definetily I'd be looking for 2008-09 irons. They are 1/2 or even 1/3 the price, have basically the same technology and you have the benefit of having sqare grooves. I think it is totally ridiculous for the companies to be releasing clubs for the everyday golfer with no option other than the U grooves. That rule is going to affect us in 14 years.

Nike's Forged clubs are better than I thought they would be.

Anyway, I agree. A club that's 3 years old is not much different. The Callaway X-22 is about the same as the X-18. The Burner isn't much different than the R580. The Machspeed isn't too dissimilar from the Slingshot. Save money, buy last year's model.