What irons?

[jswoosh]

Hi all I'm a new member. I started playing golf properly about 18 months ago, I've just been given a handicap of 13. I currently use rocketbladez irons which have been great but can be a little erratic with distance. I have a range finder and know what my distances usually are, one of the lads at the local range has suggested going to a combo style of iron, which apparently will help with that. Is this a good idea and if so any suggestions Thanks

[DrvFrShow]

13 HC in 18 months is pretty good. Better than I'm doing. The Rocketbladez are 2012 game improvement irons. I really don't think that new irons are going to help that much with consistency unless there's an issue with shaft length and lie angle. Otherwise consistent club distances comes from making consistent contact. We can all improve there. I'd suggest posting a swing in the Member Swing section and introducing yourself to the forum. Read the instructions of how to do this before you do.

If you have a smartphone or iPhone, I'd suggest you set it to record your swing in slow motion so it records it in 120 fps. Use MS Movie Maker on your PC to up it to normal speed and then show it in slow motion. There is also a thread on how to record the video. It will tell you where to place the camera and all that stuff. Tripods are cheap, too. I use my Galaxy S5 for this. I think the iPhone 6 does 120 fps at normal speed.

[WUTiger]

Welcome to The Sand Trap!

In golfdom, many people use the Golf Digest Hot List rankings to rough-classify clubs in terms of user-friendliness. The three categories are:

• Players - clubs (especially irons) with heads designed to keep the ball lower. This is a high risk/high reward tool for skilled ball-strikers.
• Game Improvement - clubs which have more forgiveness than Player's clubs, but allow more control the the SGI models.
• Super Game Improvement - clubs with maximum forgiveness, that get the ball up but don't reward excellent shots very much.

Combo irons are a mix of help and precision: Combo sets would likely include GI irons in the long, more difficult to hit irons (3i -  7i), and Players irons in scoring clubs (8i through wedges).

The Rocketbladez irons (2013 arrival) are considered to be Game Improvement (GI) irons. The Rocketbladez have contain TM's first ever Speed Pocket slot behind the clubface in the 3i - 7i. The 8i - AW have more of a blade (Player's) structure without the Speed Pocket. So, the Rocketbladez are designed with a built-in  "combo iron" structure.

The GolfWRX website compared your irons with the follow-on TM model, the Speedblade, which also had a "combo" structure.

http://www.golfwrx.com/143879/taylormade-speedblade-irons-editor-review/

The GolfWRX guy said that the Rocketbladez Speed Pocket didn't always get the ball up as well as the "new-and-improved" Speedblade's speed pocket.

User comments on Rocketbladez vs. Speedblades are mixed. Some say the Speedblades are more user-friendly, others say there's no real difference.

In the whole Players / GI / SGI continuum, Players and GI irons will reward excellent hits more than SGI irons will; more precise distance control is one benefit.  But, you don't get much forgiveness on an off-center hit.

You're a 13 HDCP now, so you'll have to use your judgment on this. Do you have access to a launch monitor so you could compare irons? You would really need to do an iron fitting to decide if some other "combo" iron set would help you more.

Other TST regulars, help me. Any other advice for jswoosh ?

[DrvFrShow]

Well, I'm playing GI irons. Cobra's BioCells 2014 models. I really like them. They're long and very forgiving on mishits; and on a hit near the toe or near the heel will go about 5 yds shorter than a full center strike. I don't have problem with distance control. My distance control problem comes from the archer, not the arrow.

But if you're seriously in the market for a new set of irons I'd get fit. Do not overlook the Callaway Apex. They're expensive and have been around a couple years, yes, but you might keep them for a while. And check the Mizuno JPX 850 Forged.

[dkolo]

Well, I'm playing GI irons. Cobra's BioCells 2014 models. I really like them. They're long and very forgiving on mishits; and on a hit near the toe or near the heel will go about 5 yds shorter than a full center strike. I don't have problem with distance control. My distance control problem comes from the archer, not the arrow. But if you're seriously in the market for a new set of irons I'd get fit. Do not overlook the Callaway Apex. They're expensive and have been around a couple years, yes, but you might keep them for a while. And check the Mizuno JPX 850 Forged.

I adore the Apex clubs. I'm a hacker, but every time I've tested them, I've gotten even better numbers from the Pro version, which is rare for me. They're marvelous clubs.

[jswoosh]

thanks guys, 13 sounds better than it is, I play at course that's wide open and therefore not much punishment for missing fairways. Like I said I've been really impressed with the rocketbladez they go miles and are very forgiving but every now and again a one will go much further than it should, I do know what you mean drvfrshow and if I don't hit a clean shot there's no one to blame but me but it 's so frustrating when you hit a good shot and it flys 20 yards over the back when 90% of the time it would be on the green, I strike the ball ok and I've tried blades but I'm not good enough to hit a longer iron blade consistently yet. That's why I thought combos might be a good next move. The jpx850 look great and like the look of the new Nike vapour but apart from practicing a lot I don't really know much about equipment. If I don't need new then obviously that's good but I've heard a few pros say that the difference between a 10 handicapper and a 2 handicapper is mainly distance control, is it that the 2 handicapper is good enough to hit blades and that's where you get the best distance control from or is it that they can control distance better which ever irons they use? I'm going to have a fitting next week and they do have a launch monitor so will be interesting to see the numbers but it's only every now and again one will fly so it might not happen when comparing them to the newer ones

[WUTiger]

I wanted to clarify TM terminology mentioned in my first post.

Your Rocketbladez were the first TM iron to sport the thin face and speed pocket; for R'bladez, the speed pocket was the thin polymer-filled slot on the sole of the 3i-7i.

From Speedblades onward, TM changes up its terminology. Thin face became the Speed Pocket, which runs the length of the clubhead behind the face, allowing the face to flex. The original speed pocket became the Thru Slot is the polymer-filled slot in the sole of 3i through 7i.

See picture below (from SLDR irons, which also uses SP throughout, and TS in 3i - 7i.)

Distance variation? What you might consider is the shafts you have on your Rocketbladez. The stock shaft was the the Rocketfuel 85, which is extremely lightweight. This might be the cause of your distance variation.  When I hit irons in senior flex shafts, my carry variation is about 15 yards; with R-flex, it's about 7.

From your latest post: If you hit a few shots a round over the green, possibly you're catching the ball thin on occasion. That would be a swing problem, not a club problem.

[jswoosh]

Yes good point, I have stiff shafts atm but my swing has changed recently with lessons I've been told now I need x stiff so maybe that has something to do with it. That was another reason maybe for new irons. I'm trying the Nike pro combo but would like to try a few others and then mine again for a true comparison

[jswoosh]

I know what you mean by thinning the ball and it going further but I'm talking about cleanly struck shots

[mdaugherty24]

Give the Titleist AP1 irons a try bud.  Personally, I think they are one of the best irons ever made. Yea the newer models are nice! But i'm still playing the 2008 AP1's and i cant tell the difference other than looks. I have played the AP2's and MB's (similar to the Nike Pro Combos) which both are great if you are a perfect ball striker consistently. For your handicap i would recommend staying away from combo and blade style irons. Stick with something forgiving like the AP1's and get fitted before buy!!!!

[jswoosh]

Give the Titleist AP1 irons a try bud.  Personally, I think they are one of the best irons ever made. Yea the newer models are nice! But i'm still playing the 2008 AP1's and i cant tell the difference other than looks. I have played the AP2's and MB's (similar to the Nike Pro Combos) which both are great if you are a perfect ball striker consistently. For your handicap i would recommend staying away from combo and blade style irons. Stick with something forgiving like the AP1's and get fitted before buy!!!!

Cheers Problem is I'm probably the poorest golfer in England and once I've bought these irons they'll have to last a good while. I've given myself a target of being off 8 by the end of the summer and 4 by next summer at which point ill be needing better player irons and I won't be able to afford another set

[mdaugherty24]

I bought my 2008 Titlesit AP1's off ebay last year for $125 used (the older versions are just as good as the new ones). And I sold my new 914 AP2's (the ones the pro's use) to play these instead. I'm a 4 handicap and i will never go back to the AP2's or MB's ever again, its like cheating how easy to hit and work these irons. If you want solid irons for the next few years like you said, consider the AP1's or AP2's you wont be disappointed.

[jswoosh]

I bought my 2008 Titlesit AP1's off ebay last year for $125 used (the older versions are just as good as the new ones). And I sold my new 914 AP2's (the ones the pro's use) to play these instead. I'm a 4 handicap and i will never go back to the AP2's or MB's ever again, its like cheating how easy to hit and work these irons. If you want solid irons for the next few years like you said, consider the AP1's or AP2's you wont be disappointed.

That's a really good tip cheers, I don't know much about older irons as I've not been playing that long. Maybe I've got caught believing the hype that new clubs = new technology and therefore must be better

[taxgolf]

I would buy Japanese forged clubs. I don't think I have to explain it

[DrvFrShow]

But don't neglect used clubs....

Callaway Apex

Mizuno 850 forged

[joekelly]

I bought some Titleist forged in Japan irons last year but had no time to use them.  They had a cavity on the lower lofts, 4,5, but not so on the 9i or PW. Also came with a Japanese steel shaft of low weight.  Very nice buy as were close-outs on the internet for japan golf.

[taxgolf]

I bought some Titleist forged in Japan irons last year but had no time to use them.  They had a cavity on the lower lofts, 4,5, but not so on the 9i or PW. Also came with a Japanese steel shaft of low weight.  Very nice buy as were close-outs on the internet for japan golf.

VG3? Nippon shaft?

[joekelly]

Yes, VG3 and Nippon shafts. I like the forged feel.