Old Berthas vs. New Tech

[geauxforbroke]

Originally Posted by fishbig36

I play 2004 Berthas, and have been pretty satisfied with them.  BUT....  I am wondering if I am missing out on the new tech, particularly in terms of distance.  I am wondering if I can make an improvement, with out busting my wallet.  Game improvement irons will still be in my bag for the forseeable future.  Any thoughts?

Maybe. But probably not worth the money to upgrade. If you hit your irons well, go with it. My irons are 20+ years old, and I don't play with too many people that are longer through the irons.

[Old Timer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

You are off-topic, but no disrespect was intended.

Actually, I tried a friendly and respectful tone except for the first part - where I did not see him respond to a direct question. I agreed with the poster on certain issues, and disagreed on others. If you review the thread, I asked directly which irons he had compared against his BB's and received no response - in many places, that is an answer by itself. The remainder of the post was respectful discussion. He seems to be a good guy who loves what he has - I don't find a need to agree with the poster that advances in technology over 17 years have made no difference in iron performance. The ball has changed, shafts have changed, iron design has changed... I was trying to find the basis for his opinion that there is no difference and I did not see his basis ... and it's okay.

This is a discussion board with facts and opinions, not an "agree" board. We may not agree, but I do try to respectfully disagree, although I am human and do falter at times. For that, I apologize. And you'r right - I "beat up" people too much, but not purposely. It's my job to cut through issues, and when I post, it's mainly in between working. I will try to limit my posting to the night or weekends, when I'm not in working mode.

You asked no direct question in the first part.

If you had I would have answered.

Here is your post.

Quote:

When you say equally well, you don't compare it with anything - you compare BB against everything in general, meaning nothing really to the reader. I've got to think that someone still using the big, clunky, hot spot BB Irons of 1996, as I once did either is too economically minded to purchase a new set, or doesn't bother to try new irons.

There are also lots of Big Berthas - BB, BB FT-3, etc. Which one is working for ya?

Comparison's to my choice of club is not the focus of the thread.

The thread creator asked if new technology would help his game..

I stated that my clubs are older and work fine for me at which point you felt compelled to shift the focus to me..

You then basically called them garbage, and I replied with golf reviews that dispute your claim.

I think the OP should try new clubs if he wishes, I just never felt compelled to.

[geauxforbroke]

Children, children. Let's all play nice now.

[Mr. Desmond]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Timer

I play Big Bertha 1996 irons.

They hit the ball as sweet as anything out there.

[teamroper60]

Originally Posted by Old Timer

I play Big Bertha 1996 irons.

They hit the ball as sweet as anything out there.

Originally Posted by Old Timer

At 61 years old, I don't feel the need to put out several hundred dollars just to gain maybe 10-15 yards distance.

I just hit one extra club for the second shot.

We don't know if your are hypothesizing in this statement or have actual knowledge of a distance difference but you are appearing to acknowledge there could be at least some improvement in the newer model clubs.    You then give your opinion on whether that distance improvement is worth the money.    Fair enough there, no one is or should, blame you for making the choice to continue using the clubs you have..

Originally Posted by Old Timer

Comparison's to my choice of club is not the focus of the thread.

The thread creator asked if new technology would help his game..

I stated that my clubs are older and work fine for me .........

Actually club comparison is exactly what this thread is about and by asking for thoughts on the matter, the OP virtually invited others to offer comparisons to their choice of clubs.

Ironically, the OP asked for thoughts on whether he was missing out on improvements and specifically mentioned distance.   Your quote above also specifically mentioned distance and implied there was in fact a distance gain with newer technology (although we still do not know if your statement was based on fact or presumption).

Finally, to bring this back around, you actually stated your clubs "hit the ball as sweet as anything out there".    This is an entirely different statement than "my clubs work fine for me".    The former implies a head-to-head comparison with virtually all of the newer clubs on the market.   The latter is a statement about your level of contentment with the clubs you own.

[Dave2512]

Even if technological advances are minimal there's a chance a golfers needs have changed. As someone that played yesteryear's GI club (845s) for the better part of 2 seasons it took me a while to see the light. Mostly because the comparisons I was making weren't real world comparisons. It was difficult to see the difference at fittings where I hit a handful of balls with my old clubs and whatever the fitter suggested and looked at launch monitor data.

The eye opener for me was a local club maker sent me out some demo clubs to try. Putting those into play gave me the feedback I needed to go further in the search. In the end I went in a different direction and bought name brand clubs and I can honestly say the difference is more than I expected. No it didn't give me vastly different distances because I'm making club selections based on loft and length not the number on the sole, so what if my PW is what my old 9i was. The real advantage is where my mishits go, the new clubs definitely minimize the mistakes. For me more of a fitting issue as it relates to the technology.

[fishbig36]

Didn't mean to kick over an anthill.  Yes, I did, infact, want opinions on whether the new tech may help me in some areas, and what recs, if any, you all had.  I like my Berthas.  But an extra 5 to 10 yards per club wouldn't hurt my feelings, either.  And i am aware of juiced lofts, with lower cg's.  i really don't care, though, if my new tech 7  iron has the shaft length and loft as my old 6 iron, as long as the trajectory and ball flight are similar to that of my 7 with the added distance. (with out a sacrifice in accuracy).  And, with all due respect to Old Timer, I expect there are better irons out there FOR ME.  And that is the advice and info I am after.

A buddy of mine is trying to steer me towards Rocketbladez.  I am not keen on the look, but i wasn't keen on the looks of their fairway woods, and I KILL them.  I can adjust to that.  Leaning more towards JPX 800 right now.  The reviews are more than solid, and they fit the budget.  Would love to play more of a 'player' iron, but my game is just not there, yet.  The JPX 800 seems like a good compromise.  Thoughts?

[fishbig36]

Originally Posted by Dave2512

Even if technological advances are minimal there's a chance a golfers needs have changed. As someone that played yesteryear's GI club (845s) for the better part of 2 seasons it took me a while to see the light. Mostly because the comparisons I was making weren't real world comparisons. It was difficult to see the difference at fittings where I hit a handful of balls with my old clubs and whatever the fitter suggested and looked at launch monitor data.

The eye opener for me was a local club maker sent me out some demo clubs to try. Putting those into play gave me the feedback I needed to go further in the search. In the end I went in a different direction and bought name brand clubs and I can honestly say the difference is more than I expected. No it didn't give me vastly different distances because I'm making club selections based on loft and length not the number on the sole, so what if my PW is what my old 9i was. The real advantage is where my mishits go, the new clubs definitely minimize the mistakes. For me more of a fitting issue as it relates to the technology.

Exactly!!!  Who cares what it says on the sole??

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by GaijinGolfer

Its interesting how incredibly disrespectful you are to anyone who disagrees with you.

He's pretty much right.

Where was the disrespectful bit?

[Dave2512]

Originally Posted by fishbig36

Exactly!!!  Who cares what it says on the sole??

I only care what it says on my scorecard and stats. That's what it took to get me out of my old clubs, before I finished the first round with the new ones I knew I'd made the right choice. Actually took about 5 holes, 4/5 GIR and one over on the 6th tee was enough proof for me. The silliness of it all was I couldn't get past the looks of the new clubs. I made a complete flip, I'd play hybrid irons if that's what it takes to play better golf.

[hammerhead]

Originally Posted by fishbig36

I play 2004 Berthas, and have been pretty satisfied with them.  BUT....  I am wondering if I am missing out on the new tech, particularly in terms of distance.  I am wondering if I can make an improvement, with out busting my wallet.  Game improvement irons will still be in my bag for the forseeable future.  Any thoughts?

My buddie just got the new X hots this year. I tried them out during a round. I'll stick with my 04's

[teamroper60]

Originally Posted by fishbig36

Alas, those those may not be in my budget.  And my sticks don't have to be brand new.  The x hots are sweet, though.  Hoping to hit the 825's soon, and look for a deal.....

Have you looked at the RazrX clubs? They are selling for quite a bit less than a comparable set of X hots and have a very similar look/profile.    That link is to Callaway's pre-owned site.   There may be a similar site for Mizunos but I have never looked..

[fishbig36]

Thanks for all the input.