Time to replace 20 year old Ping ISI-K irons?

[mazeroth]

I got a set of black dot Ping ISI-K irons used about 5 years ago after I decided to pick up golf again. I played non-seriously in high school on our small school's team and averaged around a 38-40 on 9. I now get about 10-15 rounds a year in and have been shooting between 75-80 without practicing much and no range time. I've always had a pretty natural swing and believe I have some potential if I ever decided to put some time in and try to improve. Well, I'm getting the itch to see how well I can do and do some range time and possibly get some lessons from an instructor.

Before I go ahead and start practicing I was wondering how much club technology has improved since these Pings came out 20 years ago? I hit them pretty darn well so I've been reluctant to change them. As far as how far I hit them I do about 130 PW, 155 7 Iron, 200 4 Iron etc.  I have a ~10 year old Taylor Made R580 9.5 degree stiff that I drive around 260-280. I'm not a long hitter by any means, and my drives seem to be much longer than other guys that hit irons around the same distance.

I'm open to spending up to $1000 for new irons, minus wedges. I've been using an Adams SW, GW, LW Tom Kite kit I got for $99 about 10 years ago which I do like.

Any insight is greatly appreciated.

[Rip62]

It's changed a lot. I just replaced 12/13 year old irons recently and what a difference. With your budget I'd go to a good golf shop and get fitted. You will really notice the difference as you demo clubs.

[SavvySwede]

It's changed a lot. I just replaced 12/13 year old irons recently and what a difference. With your budget I'd go to a good golf shop and get fitted. You will really notice the difference as you demo clubs.

I disagree. The lofts are jut stronger. Scratch the numbers off the soles of the ISI-K's and write on one number stronger and you'd have the equivalent of a modern set. My only concern might be the shafts. Older steel shafts might be rusted a bit on the inside and older graphite is inferior to what they're making now.

[cooke119]

Technology in the last 20 years has changed quite a bit, especially shafts. You will notice quite a difference with a new set of clubs. Your budget is enough to buy a great set of irons. If you hit Pings well you may want to start there but as suggested above, go try a lot of different clubs and get fitted. If you're thinking of taking lessons you may want to hold off buying new clubs and let your Pro recommend some based on your swing, etc. But be careful, if your Pro is affiliated with a Pro Shop he or she may push a certain brand. I hit Callaway irons and really like them but Ping makes a great club as well.

[ZappyAd]

I recently upgraded from a set of Ping i3 irons (which must be about 15 years old) to Ping S55.  I also tried out some G30 and i25 irons at the same time.  Technology has definitely changed but it isn't clear to me that it has made the game that much easier especially if you are already a good ball striker.  I certainly didn't pick up any club and feel like it was going to improve my scores by five or more strokes next time I went out on the course.

If your current set isn't broke (or about to break) then I'd say it might be worth spending a bit more time playing and just trying out getting fitted with different sets to see if there is something out there that really works better for you.  The time I spent getting fitted with a launch monitor for different makes gave me a really good feel for the difference between clubs with some useful data to back it up with.