what kind of irons ????? game improvement vs.

[esayers]

merry Christmas to me. my wife has given me the go ahead for a least 5 lessons this year and new irons both, yea. now the problem i'm having is i think i want to get fitted for pings irons im looking at g-30 and the newer gmax .. the g30 are listed as game improvement the gmax super game improvement. i guess my question is why wouldn't everyone want the super game improvement. im liking the gmax on paper, but i will probably get the one that feels best and that the guy giving me lessons recommends. as he will also be giving me the fitting . but i do worry as i think it will be hard to tell from just one use of each club . if anybody has hit both,or even other setups where they have the same name brand but different category of irons. would appreciate your feedback  as i will hope to keep these irons for a long time . also i will be working very hard this year to improve my play not sure if this will matter . will the g-30 give me more room to grow etc ?and for a little info i hit my higher irons pretty well  as far as consistency 7-pw good and 5-6 is hit or miss and 4 iron is brutal to hit of the deck..distances with current clubs are ..pw 100.....9i 110....8i 120....7i 130.....6i-130-160.....5i 130-175....4i 100-160.....so much info its very hard to understand what would be the best club for me .. thanks for any replies ....

[onthehunt526]

Have you ever thought of getting Hybrids for your 4, 5, and 6 irons? I'm not @Club Rat or @mvmac when it comes to PING equipment, but the GMax irons are good for a player of your caliber, but the G30 irons are just as forgiving and from the little bit of fiddling around with some PING irons, I thought the G30 felt better... I'm a low double digit handicap so I wouldn't know... I play Tour Edge Exotics..  But PING is probably #1 all time on Sales of GI irons... (PING made EYE 2 and EYE 2+ irons from 1983-2002, and are the greatest selling iron set of all time bar none.)

I would go with the G30 irons if you plan on growing in this beautiful game... I think you'll find these irons,in combination with lessons, will definitely improve your consistency and your distance... This time next year you'll be telling us about your 135 yard PW.

So in conclusion, Consider Hybrids for your inconsistent irons (4, 5, 6), if you plan on keeping a set of irons for a while, go with the GI model (G30's in your case), and remember when you get lessons, and are working on the range... Small Successes, small victories, and Golf is Hard.

[alleztom]

To piggyback on this thread - I think the question is also - why would you not want a GI club, what are the advantages (say you can consistently hit it in the middle) of more of a 'players' iron'?

[SavvySwede]

4 hours ago, alleztom said:

To piggyback on this thread - I think the question is also - why would you not want a GI club, what are the advantages (say you can consistently hit it in the middle) of more of a 'players' iron'?

GI irons make it tougher to flight the ball lower because of the lower CoG. That's their only downfall.

[esayers]

2 hours ago, SavvySwede said:

GI irons make it tougher to flight the ball lower because of the lower CoG. That's their only downfall.

isn't it better to hit the ball higher though . wouldn't it stop better on the greens etc. as long as you don't loose distance..? and the spin is the same on the ball ? that's what i don't understand.  

14 hours ago, onthehunt526 said:

Have you ever thought of getting Hybrids for your 4, 5, and 6 irons? I'm not @Club Rat or @mvmac when it comes to PING equipment, but the GMax irons are good for a player of your caliber, but the G30 irons are just as forgiving and from the little bit of fiddling around with some PING irons, I thought the G30 felt better... I'm a low double digit handicap so I wouldn't know... I play Tour Edge Exotics..  But PING is probably #1 all time on Sales of GI irons... (PING made EYE 2 and EYE 2+ irons from 1983-2002, and are the greatest selling iron set of all time bar none.)

I would go with the G30 irons if you plan on growing in this beautiful game... I think you'll find these irons,in combination with lessons, will definitely improve your consistency and your distance... This time next year you'll be telling us about your 135 yard PW.

So in conclusion, Consider Hybrids for your inconsistent irons (4, 5, 6), if you plan on keeping a set of irons for a while, go with the GI model (G30's in your case), and remember when you get lessons, and are working on the range... Small Successes, small victories, and Golf is Hard.

yes i may get some of the hybrids as well . as i have some cheaper ones now and don't typically hit 4 or 5 iron . but i thought with the lessons and hard work i could hit the 4 iron and 5 iron . as my hybrids are easier to hit but distance is harder to control and seems harder to hit straight as well . also i do not plan on getting a 3 iron . was thinking to get 4-aw but i  may choose 5-aw with a 4 hybrid in the bag . and that's the problem so many choices . was way easier when i thought all clubs were the same. did you like the g30 when you tried them ? 

[billchao]

2 hours ago, SavvySwede said:

GI irons make it tougher to flight the ball lower because of the lower CoG. That's their only downfall.

Performance-wise, that's probably about it. GI irons also tend to have bigger heads and more offset than player's irons and that can be a turn-off for better players as well.

14 minutes ago, esayers said:

isn't it better to hit the ball higher though . wouldn't it stop better on the greens etc. as long as you don't loose distance..? and the spin is the same on the ball ? that's what i don't understand.  

Better players tend to have better swings and don't need help to launch the ball in the air. You don't want to hit the ball too high as it can be harder to control distance and accuracy, and GI clubs also make it harder to flight down shots when you need to do so.

I played G30 irons for an entire season and I liked them a lot, but I switched for the reasons I stated above. If you don'the have any issues with that, they are excellent clubs. The important thing is you get fit and play the clubs that match your swing.

Honestly I don't like the whole player's, GI, and SGI categories that they slot clubs into. Every club is designed with game improvement elements and people should play whatever irons fit their needs the best, regardless of skill level.

[vangator]

I believe in getting all the help technology can provide.  I'd go with Ultra Game Improvement clubs if possible.  As was pointed out, the biggest drawback with the more forgiving clubs is the amount of offset.  I hate offset.  If I were to get conventional clubs, I'd be looking at the Ping lineup first.

Edited December 6, 2015 by vangator

[mvmac]

52 minutes ago, billchao said:

Honestly I don't like the whole player's, GI, and SGI categories that they slot clubs into.

I get what you mean. There's more and more irons coming out in the "gray area" between all those categories. Apex CF, i E1, MP 25, basically a tour player to a high handicapper can play those irons (and they do).

[billchao]

2 hours ago, mvmac said:

I get what you mean. There's more and more irons coming out in the "gray area" between all those categories. Apex CF, i E1, MP 25, basically a tour player to a high handicapper can play those irons (and they do).

Yea I really like how they're able to mix the technology to develop progressive sets. It used to be that you had to have a fitter order a blended set if you needed more forgiving long irons and player's short irons, but now most sets are designed with that built in already.

[WUTiger]

On 12/6/2015 at 3:03 AM, alleztom said:

To piggyback on this thread - I think the question is also - why would you not want a GI club, what are the advantages (say you can consistently hit it in the middle) of more of a 'players' iron'?

If you really hit the ball squarely, a Player's iron will offer less range dispersion than a GI or certainly an SGI iron. By this, I mean a well struck shot will have + / - 3 yards in distance variance, as opposed to + / - 7 for a GI iron, and maybe 10-12 yards for an SGI. Ideally, more precise approaches and more birdie putts.

But, this means you hit it squarely in most of the rounds you play. If your swing is off, player's irons really hurt. I had a scramble partner who played small college golf with a scratch handicap. In college, he played blades. A few years later, he had a job, a wife, two kids and a dog, and only got to pick up the clubs once or twice a week. He soon switched from blades to GI, because he didn't have the practice time to keep his swing well grooved. He scored much better with the more forgiving GI irons.

And, don't forget about the shaft. That's half the club, and should be matched to your swing in order to get the most out of your clubheads. And, get fitted!

[newtogolf]

The first new set I bought were Callaway Diablo Edges, I hated them but allowed the sales person to convince me they were the right irons for me since I was just starting out.  The loaner irons I started playing with were more GI than SGI and I hated the offset and thickness of the Diablo Edges.

I used them only one season and traded them in for Mizuno JPX-825's.  The 825's still were wider and had more offset than I liked and at the beginning of this year I traded in the 825's for a set of Mizuno 850 Forged irons.  The 850 Forged are probably a little less forgiving than would be ideal for my handicap, but I like how they look and feel confident that the ball will go where I want it to if I swing properly.

The lesson I learned is to buy the set you want to play for a few years that assumes a reasonable amount of improvement based on the time and money you have to dedicate to practice, playing and lessons.  Try out a number of different irons and don't allow the sales person to push you into buying a set that you don't like.  I also agree with @WUTiger make sure you try out different shafts, they have a huge effect on distance and ball flight.

[dkolo]

I really regret now not buying the SLDR irons when they were on sale for $300 on Amazon last month. Were beautiful with just the right level of aspiration for growing into them for me. Bah. 

[RFKFREAK]

4 minutes ago, dkolo said:

I really regret now not buying the SLDR irons when they were on sale for $300 on Amazon last month. Were beautiful with just the right level of aspiration for growing into them for me. Bah. 

I'm shocked you didn't.

[newtogolf]

35 minutes ago, dkolo said:

I really regret now not buying the SLDR irons when they were on sale for $300 on Amazon last month. Were beautiful with just the right level of aspiration for growing into them for me. Bah.

SLDR irons are nice irons, I picked them up used and had them in my practice bag for a while.  I'd say they were probably one of the most under rated irons in recent years.  TM didn't give them a big marketing push but everyone I know that has / had them liked them a lot.

[dkolo]

21 minutes ago, newtogolf said:

SLDR irons are nice irons, I picked them up used and had them in my practice bag for a while.  I'd say they were probably one of the most under rated irons in recent years.  TM didn't give them a big marketing push but everyone I know that has / had them liked them a lot.

They were a tweener in their cycle. The opposite of how the SLDR driver was. Where that lasted for a cycle and a half, it seemed like almost immediately after the SLDR irons came out, the 19 different RSi models got released and the SLDRs were redundant. 

[Golfingdad]

On December 6, 2015 at 5:48 PM, esayers said:

merry Christmas to me. my wife has given me the go ahead for a least 5 lessons this year and new irons both, yea. now the problem i'm having is i think i want to get fitted for pings irons im looking at g-30 and the newer gmax .. the g30 are listed as game improvement the gmax super game improvement. i guess my question is why wouldn't everyone want the super game improvement. im liking the gmax on paper, but i will probably get the one that feels best and that the guy giving me lessons recommends. as he will also be giving me the fitting . but i do worry as i think it will be hard to tell from just one use of each club . if anybody has hit both,or even other setups where they have the same name brand but different category of irons. would appreciate your feedback  as i will hope to keep these irons for a long time . also i will be working very hard this year to improve my play not sure if this will matter . will the g-30 give me more room to grow etc ?and for a little info i hit my higher irons pretty well  as far as consistency 7-pw good and 5-6 is hit or miss and 4 iron is brutal to hit of the deck..distances with current clubs are ..pw 100.....9i 110....8i 120....7i 130.....6i-130-160.....5i 130-175....4i 100-160.....so much info its very hard to understand what would be the best club for me .. thanks for any replies ....

g30's are fantastic, and I honestly think that they would be good for the entire range of handicaps.  I have i20s and am not in the market for new irons, but I hit the G30s earlier this year, and if I WAS in the market, they'd be the front-runners. Not the new i-series, but the G30s.

So, like others have said, I wouldn't really worry much about the categories, just try out a bunch of different sets and get the ones that you like the best.

[inthehole]

SGI clubs for sure - I played TM Burner Plus irons for the first 2 years I played (put over 200 rounds on them) ... they are great.    Actually, they're longer and more forgiving than my current Mizuno's, but are a bit chunkier looking.     GI clubs are just a bit more refined looking, which makes no difference to someone learning to play the game ...

[saevel25]

On 12/6/2015 at 8:48 PM, esayers said:

i guess my question is why wouldn't everyone want the super game improvement. im liking the gmax on paper, but i will probably get the one that feels best and that the guy giving me lessons recommends. as he will also be giving me the fitting.

1. At higher swing speeds they are hard to control the trajectory on since they are designed to get the ball up in the air, which those golfers do not struggle with. 

2. Aesthetically to some they look too chunky. I for one do not like a lot of offset and thick top lines on an iron. 

3. To some the really SGI irons are not as soft on the strike as other iron. 

On 12/6/2015 at 8:48 PM, esayers said:

will the g-30 give me more room to grow etc 

Sure. You can be a single digit handicap player and play any iron you want. You have plenty of room to grow.