Irons - why is a thin profile desirable?

[delav]

Yes, KJ Choi plays G15s. However, most of us on the board don't play courses set up the way the pros do. If I were facing 500 yard par 4's all day long, I'd want the most forgiving 5 iron around.

But the truth is, my course is 6600 yards from the tips, and I prefer a workable 8 iron to a clunky one. I don't miss an 8 iron often, and a PW into a green isn't so scary. My butter-knife of a 3 iron suits be well of the tee on narrow par 4s, but I'm rarely hitting it into a green.

There "isn't anything more" to a GI or a player iron, there is no myth or secret that we are all blind to. More pros are playing cavity and GI irons, but the human body can only do so much with any club. If i were playing the courses they had to compete on, not only would I switch to a stiff shafted forgiving iron, I'd also likely crap my pants.

[Gordon McTavish]

I switched from a thick top-lined X22 to a much thinner i15. I must be some kind of Golfing freak though, because I find no advantage to the 'Super Shovel Improvement' irons that get such rave reviews about forgiveness and "helping to get the ball airborne." I've never seen anyone who needs "help getting the ball airborne" apart from complete beginners and those who violenty flip the club through impact... and they would do better with lessons rather than SGI clubs.

Personally, I don't need any assistance getting the ball airbourne. A fat shot is a fat shot regardless of the club I'm using, and the result is that I'm 10 yards closer to the hole.

A slice is also a slice, and no amount of "thick top-line" or "off-set" is going to sort that out either.

However, I much prefer the appearance of smaller clubheads in both woods and irons. Maybe it's because I'm 5'7", 110 pounds and like to keep everything in proportion! The G15s look and feel much too big to be usable.

[TigerWoodz]

I do prefer a thinner topline,to the sledgehammer look..My irons are a happy medium not too thin ,not too thick and most important of all im happy with the results i get with them...i tested the ap2's and they were really thin lined,but i didnt feel i hit them that well so i stuck with my old irons,no point changing them for irons purely on there look...

[Shanks A Million]

Not justifing anything, just dont agree with you saying I cant hit the ap2's well on the course. I found them to be more forgiving than other players irons Ive tried. Ive tried players irons and was completley turned away from them because they were so hard to hit, and that was into a net, lol. The ap2's are pretty forgiving for a players iron in this case.

AP2s are considered game improvement irons, at least by Maltby. Just because they're forged and a little less forgiving than the AP1s doesn't mean they're players clubs. Titleist's players line are the 710 CB and 710 MB.

I switched from a thick top-lined X22 to a much thinner i15. I must be some kind of Golfing freak though, because I find no advantage to the 'Super Shovel Improvement' irons that get such rave reviews about forgiveness and "helping to get the ball airborne." I've never seen anyone who needs "help getting the ball airborne" apart from complete beginners and those who violenty flip the club through impact... and they would do better with lessons rather than SGI clubs.

You might also not fully realize the proper ball compression and flight. I'm at the range daily, and few people actually compress the ball, let alone get it airborne properly. I didn't really get it until I was down to single digits, and even still am learning that I've got a long way to go.

For having such a bad swing, I hit the ball remarkably well due to almost inhuman hand-eye coordination (I have mild autism). At first, the truly purely struck ball was an anomaly. I found that when I first started compressing and launching the ball with any regularity, it was almost alien to me. When you get to a certain level, a shot that isn't purely struck seems miles from a shot that's solid and on target, but not pure. People see me get mad and drop the club in my followthrough and groan, and they say, "what's the matter with that one?" I just didn't pure it. I expect to pure, or at least solidly strike most clubs. I remember when I was starting to get more consistent, a friend of mine (who's a phenomenal player) said, "You see how the ball jumps there? That's compression. That's how you hit it so far, and spin it so hard with such an easy swing." He taught me it wasn't swing speed, it was compression that hit the ball far. I have a long long way to go, but I am looking forward to the journey. I'm not even near scratch, and yet I'm already upset when I don't catch one solid, and with shorter clubs, pure. I can't imagine what a scratch player, let alone a tour pro must feel.

I do prefer a thinner topline,to the sledgehammer look..My irons are a happy medium not too thin ,not too thick and most important of all im happy with the results i get with them...i tested the ap2's and they were really thin lined,but i didnt feel i hit them that well so i stuck with my old irons,no point changing them for irons purely on there look...

I've hit the Burner tours, they're like rocks, they are hard as hell to hit for me, I don't know why. Even the regular Burners seem hard to hit. I just never liked the feel of them.

[TigerWoodz]

Originally Posted by motteler621 View Post Not justifing anything, just dont agree with you saying I cant hit the ap2's well on the course. I found them to be more forgiving than other players irons Ive tried. Ive tried players irons and was completley turned away from them because they were so hard to hit, and that was into a net, lol. The ap2's are pretty forgiving for a players iron in this case.

I was mearly pointing out a thin topline is not always best,ap2's were just an example of clubs ive tried...they may be good for one and not so for another,thats why the golf industry is so huge and varied...to accomodate everyones taste i guess..

[Shorty]

held the ap2 up to the ball, I was thinking "this is how an iron should look at address" and they felt great through impact the entire time I was hitting. I was converted to a thin top line iron after that,

AP2s are not an example of a club with a thin top line. They are a little chunky!

[billysandy]

It's not that a thin topline is desirable for its PERFORMANCE, it is desirable to some because of the CONFIDENCE they have when they look at it.

[James_Black]

I don't like the look of the "shovel" irons. I've hit the G10's and while they do get the ball in the air very well they don't inspire confidence.
My FP's are in between a "player" iron and a "game-improvement" iron.

[Dave H]

So it really comes down to aesthetic inspired confidence, not really performance then.

I find that somewhat interesting that a good many people would be willing to sacrifice an easier to hit club for something that looks better. Seems like macho golf at its finest

That being said, I still dream about swapping out my Adams for more of a players iron but I don't think I'm ready.

[imtomtomim]

well, I like the thin topline because it makes me feel like I can chop through the ground if I need to. I know it's the sole that is contacting the ground, but the look of it just helps set my mind to cutting straight through when I'm in some deep grass or a divot or something like that.

[Galactica_Actual]

If you are hitting better with a player's club, you shouldn't be a 15 handicap.

Why not? Confidence adds a lot to your game. Something I just found out playing my dad's half-cavity backs (John Riley Repeaters). I bought the Nickent 3dx RC irons because they were supposed to be so much easier to hit and get in the air. After awhile I just couldn't get past how huge the clubhead is and how much I misalign due to the offset. I'll be playing the Repeaters until I find a new set, probably a similar style. I'm sure the technology is helpful but I just didn't like the way it looked/felt.

[tws1098]

How to put this nicely, you hate looking at big clubs, but don't mind looking at big scores? This is why there are "it's a manhood thing" comments.

How to put this nicely? That is one of the most ignorant things I have read on here. It has nothing to do with "manhood" are you kidding me? I am over a 20 handicap, I am going to play what allows me to hit the ball the best. I demoed many clubs before coming to the conclusion that these suited my game. And last time I checked, MP52s are not a blade so i am not sure why you even made the comment regarding pga pros (which I don't believe any of us on here are so that is a pretty moot point).

[Golfaway]

I used to think thick soles and top lines would make an iron easier to hit and give me more confidence. So I got the Mizuno MX950s. But after some time I realized that when I am hitting the ball good it doesn't matter what irons I am playing, and when I am hitting it bad, again it doesn't matter, I will still hit the ball bad even with SGIs. I learned my lesson. My next irons would be Mizuno MPs. I tried several thin CBs like Titleist and Mizuno MP52 and I found that not only does the thin top line inspire confidence at address, but the iron looks and feels much better and as a result my ball striking becomes much better.

I don't know when I'll be getting new irons, probably not anytime now, but I know they will be MP Mizunos. No more thick soles for me.

[tws1098]

I used to think thick soles and top lines would make an iron easier to hit and give me more confidence. So I got the Mizuno MX950s. But after some time I realized that when I am hitting the ball good it doesn't matter what irons I am playing, and when I am hitting it bad, again it doesn't matter, I will still hit the ball bad even with SGIs. I learned my lesson. My next irons would be Mizuno MPs. I tried several thin CBs like Titleist and Mizuno MP52 and I found that not only does the thin top line inspire confidence at address, but the iron looks and feels much better and as a result my ball striking becomes much better.

Yeah, this was similar to my experience. I enjoy the feedback I get from these. The second I hit one I can tell that I put it a little off the toe and I lose about 10-15yds of distance. It has allowed me to see some problems with alignment and my swing which has been cool.

Keep your eye out on ebay, I snagged my set (5-pw) for $310 with only a few rounds of use on them.

[billysandy]

The whole manhood thing is a really poor point.

[delav]

It's not a manhood thing, it's a feel thing.

And the PGA players are moving to cavity and GI clubs because they make their living posting low numbers. Unlike you and I, the courses they play require them to bomb a drive and hit mid and long irons into greens.

[motteler621]

AP2s are not an example of a club with a thin top line. They are a little chunky!

well heres a quote from Golf digests 2010 hot list on the titleist ap2 irons,

"It's not often you find the right combination of topline, blade length and sole width. This is it." Read More http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-equip...#ixzz0mnSi9uX0

[jamo]

As someone who used to play wide soled irons and now plays thin soled irons, I prefer the thin soles because I always felt like the wide sole got in the way. It might have been more of a mental thing, but I never like the huge soles on the bottom of my irons.