How do you test a set of Irons??

[gilwood]

I'm just wondering what various members do to test out a set of irons.  I'm shopping for a set and when I go to the little range monitor in the store, I'll look for a few things:

How I generally feel about the swing of the club (is it heavy, is it light?)

Do I like the look of the head at setup?

Then hit a few balls does it feel soft or harsh?

How straight did the monitor say it went?

Is the distance / dispersion consistent?

I usually hit 3 balls for each club I'm testing.  Am I on the right track?

[Pblock45]

I go all on feel i take what i want to try to the range, for me i like to hit off real grass call me supersticious and if it performs great heck yea but i really want the feel to be thee i got through a huge range ball bucket just hitting 4 different irons i recently got some cleveland cg 16 tour that way i love them.

[Robato]

Sounds good to me. I just bought a new set last week. I also tested whether I could easily draw or fade the ball, as far as what the machine would display. Distance consistency is good, but forget being impressed by how far. I had the luxury of being able to test out different sets with identical heads and different shafts. Minimize the variables. And mix it up. Hit one ball to see if you can adapt to the club easily. I went to the course the same day and shot a glorious round.

[Willie Malay]

Feel is about all I go on. Monitor schmonitor!

I make sure I can work them and they feel good. Other than that I could give a rat's xxx what a monitor says.

Distance is relative. Who cares how far the ball goes with a particular iron as long as you have all the distances you need covered.

Wound up with Cleveland CG16s myself also. Great-feeling clubs.

[wadesworld]

Put some impact tape on them.  Hit a dozen shots or so.  If the impact tape shows hits all over the face, that model goes into the "No" pile. If the hits are primarily centered around the sweet spot, that model goes into the "Yes" pile.  Obviously watching the flight path and dispersion, if able, can be part of the Yes/No criteria too.

Once you've hit everything, take the Yes pile and go through them again, just looking for the ones that feel the best, look the best and just generally excites you.  No sense buying a club you have doubts about.

[Pblock45]

couldnt have said it better myself distance does not mean a thing find the clubs you love the ones that feel like money in your hands you can always step up or down a club to adjust distance when buying clubs i dont care whos clubs go farther i care about what clubs are more forgiving and have a more solid feel

[Datsyuk]

Look in person, read reviews, see what's the best performer, hit to confirm, head to eBay to look for similar models.