Good irons for a beginner

[Fatgigi]

Hello all... I was browsing the internet for a set of irons that wouldn't take me back hundreds of dollars and i found this set of

Cleveland Launcher Combo Irons

Do you think it is a set of clubs appropriate for a learning player? I seem to understand that they are quite forgiving and easy to control. What do you think? any other possible recommendations without spending millions?

Oh and which golf ball would be most appropriate for someone looking for control and forgiveness rather than super distance?

[MATTEO]

That's a good set of irons for a beginner. Anything with a wide soul usually has a lower center of gravity, makes it easy to get the ball up. I'm not a big Callaway guy, but they are perfect for beginners. Try to find something with a little offset to it..

Good Luck and Play Well

[GaijinGolfer]

Launchers would be a great set for a beginner!

[nuck81]

Any Cavity back with a large sole would be a good set for beginners

[Shindig]

Launchers are nice.  But before you get them, make sure you know what shaft flex to get -- getting that wrong will be bad in any set!  They're relatively recent, so if you're buying at a shop and they can order them, get checked for lie angle and shaft length too.

[Fatgigi]

Originally Posted by Shindig

Launchers are nice.  But before you get them, make sure you know what shaft flex to get -- getting that wrong will be bad in any set!  They're relatively recent, so if you're buying at a shop and they can order them, get checked for lie angle and shaft length too.

How do i know and decide which shaft flex to get? What are the differences? Forgive my ignorance!

[Shindig]

Originally Posted by Fatgigi

How do i know and decide which shaft flex to get? What are the differences? Forgive my ignorance!

Well, if you buy them in a store, they can measure your swing speed -- that's one major factor (but not necessarily the only factor) in determining the proper flex.  Mizuno even has a "shaft optimizer" club that measures your swing speed and a few other things and suggests various shafts -- down to some installation tricks if necessary.  For example, my shafts are stiff flex, but are installed in such a way as to soften them a bit, so they are really more like regular + 2/3 (where regular + 1 would be stiff).   And the store, if they stock the club, can generally order them set to your specifications, so get measured for length and lie angle also.

If you're not buying them in a store, there are some approximations for flex to this based on how far you hit particular clubs.

As a general rule, you want the shaft to move and distort properly based on how fast you swing it.  If the old ladies at my club and Tiger Woods were to swing the same driver shaft, you can imagine that it will contort differently for him than it will for them.  In fact, a club that works nicely for them will probably feel like swinging a (overcooked) spaghetti noodle to him. And one that's fine by him might as well be a board for them.

Now, that's an extreme example, but you can see why you want one that's right for you -- even the two most common among male amateurs, regular and stiff, are sufficiently different that you can feel it.  If you get one that's too stiff, you'll have trouble getting the ball off the ground (and you might blame it on your swing, or decide golf is too tough, or whatever).  If it's too whippy (light), the ball will likely balloon -- even when you don't want it to!

So, what's the lesson here?  Golf is tough enough as is.  But many beginners - and some experienced players - just grab equipment off the shelf, paying attention sometimes only to the club-head, and not the other components.  Why make it more difficult with ill-fitting equipment?  I'm not good enough to play with the wrong equipment.  Maybe someone like a tour pro could make do with clubs that aren't fitting to him (one did a year or so ago, using a club's loaner set when he put his on a plane thinking he'd missed a cut.  I forget who.  I want to say it was Alex Cejka, but I'm not certain).

Don't worry about the ignorance -- ask away!  It's things like this that I love talking about.

[Fatgigi]

Understood. Thanks for the patient explanation!

[GaijinGolfer]

Getting fitted and having your swing speed measured wouldnt hurt.

Regular flex shafts would most likely be fine.  A beginning player isnt going to swing a club fast enough to really need stiff flex.  Irons are all about control anyways, so you shouldnt be swinging at 100% and shouldnt need stiff flex.  Even most veteran players dont need a stiff flex shaft in their irons.  For a lot of people its about ego and they think that they swing a lot faster than they really do.

[jstaffa]

I liked the Nike NDS as a new player.  But they are sort of outdated now.