Old irons vs. New Irons

[Schultz]

I had been playing with an old Wilson set of irons that are 15+ years old. Recently I bought a Callaway XR set. I went from hitting the old 7 iron 155-160 yards (and mostly straight) to 175 yards (and consistently straight) with the new ones. I couldn't believe the difference, not only in the distance but also how much straighter I hit the ball and how much better properly fitted clubs felt to swing.

 

[newtogolf]

9 minutes ago, Schultz said:

I had been playing with an old Wilson set of irons that are 15+ years old. Recently I bought a Callaway XR set. I went from hitting the old 7 iron 155-160 yards (and mostly straight) to 175 yards (and consistently straight) with the new ones. I couldn't believe the difference, not only in the distance but also how much straighter I hit the ball and how much better properly fitted clubs felt to swing.

 

No question newer irons can increase distances but how have they impacted your scores?

[vangator]

3 hours ago, 9wood said:

I live close to Niagara Falls, right on the American/Canadian border. Jamestown is in the bottom portion of the State. But if you are ever going to be in the Niagara Falls, NY area send me a reply and we can get together for a round of golf.

Nothing cast in stone, but if so, I will ping you.  I've been to Niagara Falls many times.  There's a nice looking golf course near the Whirlpool.  Probably pretty expensive.

2 hours ago, inthehole said:

thing is ... any iron will do if you hit it on the screws.

The real advantage to the modern iron technology is the forgiveness on toe & heel shots.   Its pretty amazing actually how far the ball flies on really bad toe shots with modern game improvement cavity backed clubs.   It helps me ... ALOT

The main advantage for me with forgiving irons is that the shot goes straighter on toe and heel shots.

[Schultz]

1 hour ago, newtogolf said:

No question newer irons can increase distances but how have they impacted your scores?

Seeing as it's the middle of winter and I don't like playing in the cold, that's to be determined. However, my point is, longer and straighter with the new irons should impact scores in a good way.

[9wood]

1 hour ago, vangator said:

Nothing cast in stone, but if so, I will ping you.  I've been to Niagara Falls many times.  There's a nice looking golf course near the Whirlpool.  Probably pretty expensive.

 

I don't know the price for a round there, but from what I hear playing a round of golf in Florida usually costs more than a round up here. I usually play during the week days which give me a reduced rate as compared to weekend prices, and I can get a senior discount to save even more at some courses. One of the more popular local golf courses near me is Willowbrook which has 27 holes and is well maintained.

[vangator]

I checked out Willowbrook.  So you're in Lockport.  One of the nines from the black tees looks like a good challenge.  Rates look good.

There used to be a high school quiz show on WBEN back in the 70's called "It's Academic".  My HS lost in the finals to Lockport HS.

[Dan42nepa]

I had been using tommy armour 845s for about 10 years. I got fitted for Ping G30's  and my game has improved drastically. I have been playing alot more also getting used to the clubs but my last 3 scores have been 84 when I had been pushing 90 before that. I have more distance and even mis hits get me near the green,  I expect to improve more since i had putting issues and just replaced my putter also.

[9wood]

9 hours ago, vangator said:

I checked out Willowbrook.  So you're in Lockport.  One of the nines from the black tees looks like a good challenge.  Rates look good.

There used to be a high school quiz show on WBEN back in the 70's called "It's Academic".  My HS lost in the finals to Lockport HS.

Interesting - it's a small world, isn't it.

[stealthhwk]

I had a very nice set of Callaways but switched to a 200 dollar set of wilsons from dicks sporting goods and voila!!! My girs doubled, the irons felt better at contact and the narrower soles really helped me stop the fat shots. Best golf purchase i ever made! 

[dsal89]

Personally, don't let other people tell you you're not good enough to play a certain style of iron. I'm far from a good player and everything I read about the AP2 irons pretty much made me feel like I didn't have the game for it. I went to a fitting and hit the ap1 and ap2 and I hit the AP2 just fine and they are not in my bad and I actually hit those better than my ping g25s. 

 

The he only one hat knows how a certain iron is going to feel when you hit it is you, so get out there and swing a bunch of clubs and pick what feels best to you 

[Lefty-Golfer]

I switched from Mizuno MP-59 to XR Pro's from Cally. they are just more forgiving and have helped my game. I still have not hit a better club then the Mizuno's but you have to work, practice and stay sharp. none of those things are high on my golf list...I don't have time for that. The XR pro is still a workable unit and is much more forgiving.

[9wood]

6 hours ago, Lefty-Golfer said:

 I still have not hit a better club then the Mizuno's 

Then why did you switch?

[colin007]

The only definitive testing I've seen shows that toe/heel hits with blades will fly straighter and shorter. The same hits with SGIs will be longer but also farther off line.

[Lefty-Golfer]

16 hours ago, 9wood said:

Then why did you switch?

I play 75 or so rounds a year. once week for 9 or 10 months, occasionally twice and the a few golf trips where I pick an extra 20 or 25 rounds in spurts. what I have found unless I am swinging a couple times a week the mizunos are just to tight. I want a club that I can hit fairly well and not get punished....and maybe actually doesn't kill me if I hit a bit on the toe or whatever.

if I was retired and playing 3 or 4 days a week my swing would be different and the 59's might be perfect.

[vangator]

17 hours ago, colin007 said:

The only definitive testing I've seen shows that toe/heel hits with blades will fly straighter and shorter. The same hits with SGIs will be longer but also farther off line.

I always thought the SGIs would have a tighter dispersion.  Never heard about further off line before.  Been a long time since I've hit blades though.

[Yukari]

My old set is Mizuno MP-68 blades and my current set is Yonex EZone blades. I tried cavity back irons but they looked huge compared to blades.

i love both Mizuno (now my travel set) and Yonex. To me there is nothing like feel of a pured muscle back iron. 

[vangator]

1 hour ago, Yukari said:

My old set is Mizuno MP-68 blades and my current set is Yonex EZone blades. I tried cavity back irons but they looked huge compared to blades.

i love both Mizuno (now my travel set) and Yonex. To me there is nothing like feel of a pured muscle back iron. 

I don't think I ever hit a pured shot.  That's why I went to SGI irons.

[colin007]

3 hours ago, vangator said:

I always thought the SGIs would have a tighter dispersion.  Never heard about further off line before.  Been a long time since I've hit blades though.

 

Not really. The term "forgiveness" really refers to helping you not lose distance on off center hits. So the ball flies farther, but not straighter necessarily, due to where the mass is on the SGIs versus something smaller/more compact