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Posted

Several months ago, made the decision to buy my first set of new irons in 12 years.  Being typically a bit on the cheap side, this was a big purchase and taking the advice you'll hear on this forum often, wanted to get fit for the first time.  Starting the process looking at clubs online and wanting something similar to my current set, went in favoring the Ping S55, Mizuno MP4, and Titleist 716mb.  Beginning the testing in October, although I had favorites, tried to keep an open mind and hit EVERYTHING....from players irons to super game improvement.  Being lucky, the outdoor range up the street has 80% of the current club offerings on the market to demo, and any others could be found at the pga superstore indoor.  Easily ended up hitting 20 plus different heads, with a number of different shaft combinations - hats off to the guys at the range as they were incredibly patient and open minded to the whole process (Highlands Golf Center in Carrollton Tx).  

In the end, the top 3 weren't the ones that started out as the top picks. Couldn't hit the S55's regardless of shafts, never felt right, although I honestly wanted these to be the ones.  The MP4 and Titlest 716Mb were amazing on best ball striking days, but on an off day, they proved to be too much club and punishing.  Game improvement and super-improvement clubs were fun to hit - although they didn't fit the eye and dispersion wasn't very tight, it was a blast hitting a 6 iron right around 200 yards on a few occasions.  After months and months, it came down to 3 - Callaway Apex Pro, Mizuno MP5, and Hogan Ft Worth 15's.  Dispersion with each was good, could work the ball with each, all had a little bit of help when the strike was less than perfect, but they also gave good feedback on off-center hits to drive learning/improvement.  Long story short, went with the Ben Hogan Fort Worth 15's in the Tour V stiff - they are assembled here locally, they're rep Jamie Pipes gave me a long, detailed fitting.....hitting different shafts, lofts, all carefully measured with a Trackman......he even had me hit their new HI irons, new cavity backs, and new hybrid they have coming out in April.  Ordered the clubs at my local range - they came in within a week and the guys at the Highlands Golf Center really took care of me, and they even checked lofts/lies upon arrival.  Will do a review on the irons after a few months to give some real insight.  The only real negative - I am the most vanilla golfer ever - months later, I was fit as standard/standard/standard.......

Takeaways:

1.  Get fit - you'll hear it from everyone here, but take the time and get it done.  

2.  Be open minded on brand and type of club - hit everything.

3.  Hit every shaft - the mizuno shaft optimizer helped start us in the right direction, but different shafts have almost, if not more impact, than different club heads...it's amazing.

4.  Take your time - it's a big purchase, test clubs against one another and use today's technology.

5.  Get fit - yep, doubly important - get a true fitting with a monitor and look closely at the numbers.

6.  Read - I read review after review, watched review after review on you tube.  Get as much info as you can and make an informed decision.

Finally, thanks for the help on this site - read so many posts in this forum on several different clubs.  Thanks for offering feedback and opinions that others can share and learn from....

Jason

  • Upvote 4

Posted

Good job Jason on being patient and resolve in your selection. Enjoy the new clubs.

Johnny Rocket - Let's Rock and Roll and play some golf !!!

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted
  On 3/8/2016 at 8:45 PM, Big Perm said:

Easily ended up hitting 20 plus different heads, with a number of different shaft combinations - hats off to the guys at the range as they were incredibly patient and open minded to the whole process (Highlands Golf Center in Carrollton Tx).  

Expand  

Finding a place where you can go and test gear out is a major plus - even just hitting the same clubs on different days can tall you things about how they are going to perform for you in real life.  Looking forward to your review of the Hogans.

Adam

:ping: G30 Driver 

:callaway: XR16 3W
:callaway: Big Bertha 5W
:ping: S55 4-W 
:ping: 50' , 56', 60' Glide Wedge
:odyssey: White Hot #7 Putter


Posted
  On 3/9/2016 at 12:42 PM, ZappyAd said:

even just hitting the same clubs on different days can tall you things about how they are going to perform for you in real life.  

Expand  

This is a really, really good point here......early in the process, I hit the Titleist MB716's on a great ball striking day - it was like magic, I felt like Adam Scott.  Two weeks later, on a less than stellar day, it was easy to see they were too much club - I only hit 5 of 10 shots well, and some of them were really bad.


Posted

I believe #2 is the key.  When fitted for a driver, we let the launch monitor results make the decision for me.

Same with new irons and fairway woods.  We just kept refining heads, shafts and lie angles until contact was as pure as my unrepeatable swing could produce.  Compared results on distance and dispersion and selected the clubs that worked best for my swing.

dave

The ultimate "old man" setup:

Ping G30 driver
Ping G Fairway woods - 5 and 7 woods
Callaway X-Hot #5 hybrid; Old school secret weapon
Ping G #6-9 irons; W and U wedges
Vokey 54 and 58* Wedges
Odyssey Versa Putter
Golf Balls

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted
  On 3/8/2016 at 8:45 PM, Big Perm said:

Several months ago, made the decision to buy my first set of new irons in 12 years.  Being typically a bit on the cheap side, this was a big purchase and taking the advice you'll hear on this forum often, wanted to get fit for the first time.  Starting the process looking at clubs online and wanting something similar to my current set, went in favoring the Ping S55, Mizuno MP4, and Titleist 716mb.  Beginning the testing in October, although I had favorites, tried to keep an open mind and hit EVERYTHING....from players irons to super game improvement.  Being lucky, the outdoor range up the street has 80% of the current club offerings on the market to demo, and any others could be found at the pga superstore indoor.  Easily ended up hitting 20 plus different heads, with a number of different shaft combinations - hats off to the guys at the range as they were incredibly patient and open minded to the whole process (Highlands Golf Center in Carrollton Tx).  

In the end, the top 3 weren't the ones that started out as the top picks. Couldn't hit the S55's regardless of shafts, never felt right, although I honestly wanted these to be the ones.  The MP4 and Titlest 716Mb were amazing on best ball striking days, but on an off day, they proved to be too much club and punishing.  Game improvement and super-improvement clubs were fun to hit - although they didn't fit the eye and dispersion wasn't very tight, it was a blast hitting a 6 iron right around 200 yards on a few occasions.  After months and months, it came down to 3 - Callaway Apex Pro, Mizuno MP5, and Hogan Ft Worth 15's.  Dispersion with each was good, could work the ball with each, all had a little bit of help when the strike was less than perfect, but they also gave good feedback on off-center hits to drive learning/improvement.  Long story short, went with the Ben Hogan Fort Worth 15's in the Tour V stiff - they are assembled here locally, they're rep Jamie Pipes gave me a long, detailed fitting.....hitting different shafts, lofts, all carefully measured with a Trackman......he even had me hit their new HI irons, new cavity backs, and new hybrid they have coming out in April.  Ordered the clubs at my local range - they came in within a week and the guys at the Highlands Golf Center really took care of me, and they even checked lofts/lies upon arrival.  Will do a review on the irons after a few months to give some real insight.  The only real negative - I am the most vanilla golfer ever - months later, I was fit as standard/standard/standard.......

Takeaways:

1.  Get fit - you'll hear it from everyone here, but take the time and get it done.  

2.  Be open minded on brand and type of club - hit everything.

3.  Hit every shaft - the mizuno shaft optimizer helped start us in the right direction, but different shafts have almost, if not more impact, than different club heads...it's amazing.

4.  Take your time - it's a big purchase, test clubs against one another and use today's technology.

5.  Get fit - yep, doubly important - get a true fitting with a monitor and look closely at the numbers.

6.  Read - I read review after review, watched review after review on you tube.  Get as much info as you can and make an informed decision.

Finally, thanks for the help on this site - read so many posts in this forum on several different clubs.  Thanks for offering feedback and opinions that others can share and learn from....

Jason

Expand  

 

This was quite a long process, thank you very much for sharing this experience with us.

At this point, I feel like my swing is developed enough to make it worth while to do so, and your experience definitely inspires me to do it.

:ping:  :tmade:  :callaway:   :gamegolf:  :titleist:

TM White Smoke Big Fontana; Pro-V1
TM Rac 60 TT WS, MD2 56
Ping i20 irons U-4, CFS300
Callaway XR16 9 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S
Callaway XR16 3W 15 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S, X2Hot Pro 20 degrees S

"I'm hitting the woods just great, but I'm having a terrible time getting out of them." ~Harry Toscano

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted
  On 3/9/2016 at 6:16 PM, Lihu said:

 

This was quite a long process, thank you very much for sharing this experience with us.

At this point, I feel like my swing is developed enough to make it worth while to do so, and your experience definitely inspires me to do it.

Expand  

@iacas  @mvmac 

I don't know if there has been a thread about this earlier.  I couldn't find one so sorry if this is something you've answered before.  At what point do you think fittings are a good investment?   I was considering doing a driver fitting last year but with changing my swing I wasn't sure if it was a good idea.  I guess another question is should we get to a certain level of consistency in our swing before we get fit?  Any help would be great thanks.

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted
  On 3/13/2016 at 4:20 PM, Jakester23 said:

@iacas  @mvmac 

I don't know if there has been a thread about this earlier.  I couldn't find one so sorry if this is something you've answered before.  At what point do you think fittings are a good investment?   I was considering doing a driver fitting last year but with changing my swing I wasn't sure if it was a good idea.  I guess another question is should we get to a certain level of consistency in our swing before we get fit?  Any help would be great thanks.

Expand  

To be honest, I'm going by a gut feeling, and the fact that when I get on launch monitor it accurately reflects what I hit on the course?

I knew that my swing was completely wrong a couple years ago, and it was very awkward. It didn't feel natural, and was very inconsistent. I never felt like I used the correct muscles while swinging and got all different distances with any particular club even on a driving range on "good" hits. So, there was no point getting fitted with a swing I couldn't repeat.

At this point, my swing feels reasonable, and my club head speed is fairly consistent as measured on various launch monitors, and I hit more consistent distances at the driving range. Obviously, I still hit all over the place on the course when looking at my GG statistics, but in a controlled situation they go roughly the same distances shot after shot.

I also did a bunch of on line fittings and they all seem to correlate with one another.

Other than that, I have no idea.

:ping:  :tmade:  :callaway:   :gamegolf:  :titleist:

TM White Smoke Big Fontana; Pro-V1
TM Rac 60 TT WS, MD2 56
Ping i20 irons U-4, CFS300
Callaway XR16 9 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S
Callaway XR16 3W 15 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S, X2Hot Pro 20 degrees S

"I'm hitting the woods just great, but I'm having a terrible time getting out of them." ~Harry Toscano

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted
  On 3/13/2016 at 4:46 PM, Lihu said:

To be honest, I'm going by a gut feeling, and the fact that when I get on launch monitor it accurately reflects what I hit on the course?

I knew that my swing was completely wrong a couple years ago, and it was very awkward. It didn't feel natural, and was very inconsistent. I never felt like I used the correct muscles while swinging and got all different distances with any particular club even on a driving range on "good" hits. So, there was no point getting fitted with a swing I couldn't repeat.

At this point, my swing feels reasonable, and my club head speed is fairly consistent as measured on various launch monitors, and I hit more consistent distances at the driving range. Obviously, I still hit all over the place on the course when looking at my GG statistics, but in a controlled situation they go roughly the same distances shot after shot.

I also did a bunch of on line fittings and they all seem to correlate with one another.

Other than that, I have no idea.

Expand  

That's kinda how u feel. Even to start last year I was still changing a lot of things in my swing. Now I feel like I I'm doing more tweaking than changing. More keys 4 & 5.

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted
  On 3/13/2016 at 5:47 PM, Jakester23 said:

That's kinda how u feel. Even to start last year I was still changing a lot of things in my swing. Now I feel like I I'm doing more tweaking than changing. More keys 4 & 5.

Expand  

Exactly. . .

  • Upvote 1

:ping:  :tmade:  :callaway:   :gamegolf:  :titleist:

TM White Smoke Big Fontana; Pro-V1
TM Rac 60 TT WS, MD2 56
Ping i20 irons U-4, CFS300
Callaway XR16 9 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S
Callaway XR16 3W 15 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S, X2Hot Pro 20 degrees S

"I'm hitting the woods just great, but I'm having a terrible time getting out of them." ~Harry Toscano

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted

Awesome post. Thanks for sharing. I didn't realize you could go multiple times to get a fitting done. I was going to attempt it all in one sitting. But we all know we dont' always swing the same every day. Some days were slump and are tired. Others, we're spot on. Great post. Thanks.

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted

I had my fitting in like 3 different sessions. I hit I swear 10 different iron heads on 6 different shafts each... and that was only the first session...

The wedge session was I think the easiest. We just had to figure out loft and bounce options with that....

I probably asked the fitter (I believe his name is Chuck) 10-12 important questions at each session. And like 50000 when we were done.

The fitter is going to ask you questions, don't let it become an interrogation, keep it a conversation.

  • Upvote 1

What's in Shane's Bag?     

Ball: 2022 :callaway: Chrome Soft Triple Track Driver: :callaway:Paradym Triple Diamond 8° MCA Kai’li 70s FW: :callaway:Paradym Triple Diamond  H: :callaway: Apex Pro 21 20°I (3-PW) :callaway: Apex 21 UST Recoil 95 (3), Recoil 110 (4-PW). Wedges: :callaway: Jaws Raw 50°, 54°, 60° UST Recoil 110 Putter: :odyssey: Tri-Hot 5K Triple Wide 35”

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted

That helps. I was thinking about irons first, followed by hybrids, Driver, and then my wedges. Oddly enough I'm most accurate with my short irons from 140yrds in, and need the most help with 150 to 200yds out. But with my HUGE cavity back irons I feel like I'm missing out on shot shaping and high soft landings that'll stop the ball. I struggle with my ball roll after the shot. On better courses this kills me because I hit a green and it rolls off the back. But my choke shot is the 165 to 185 hybrid to the green. I don't hit far so these get sprayed  or dribbled forward 15yrds. Anyway, thanks....

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted

The clubs I have now are the first irons I've had fitted, and unlike the OP, I ended up with the ones that I felt would be right going in.  After trying about 6 different ones, it was obvious that the numbers were going the wrong way.  Just to be sure it wasn't just fatigue that was affecting the numbers, we went back to the second best on the monitor, then to the top scorer, and the numbers remained constant.  The first club I tried was simply the most suited to my swing.  I had them built 1/2" longer and 1° upright.  I'm feeling good about where my game seems to be headed this year after just 45 holes so far.  I even hit the 4 iron halfway decently, and I hadn't even carried a 4 for more than 10 years prior.

Fitting definitely makes a difference.

Rick

"He who has the fastest cart will never have a bad lie."

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Posted
  On 3/8/2016 at 8:45 PM, Big Perm said:

Several months ago, made the decision to buy my first set of new irons in 12 years.  Being typically a bit on the cheap side, this was a big purchase and taking the advice you'll hear on this forum often, wanted to get fit for the first time.  Starting the process looking at clubs online and wanting something similar to my current set, went in favoring the Ping S55, Mizuno MP4, and Titleist 716mb.  Beginning the testing in October, although I had favorites, tried to keep an open mind and hit EVERYTHING....from players irons to super game improvement.  Being lucky, the outdoor range up the street has 80% of the current club offerings on the market to demo, and any others could be found at the pga superstore indoor.  Easily ended up hitting 20 plus different heads, with a number of different shaft combinations - hats off to the guys at the range as they were incredibly patient and open minded to the whole process (Highlands Golf Center in Carrollton Tx).  

In the end, the top 3 weren't the ones that started out as the top picks. Couldn't hit the S55's regardless of shafts, never felt right, although I honestly wanted these to be the ones.  The MP4 and Titlest 716Mb were amazing on best ball striking days, but on an off day, they proved to be too much club and punishing.  Game improvement and super-improvement clubs were fun to hit - although they didn't fit the eye and dispersion wasn't very tight, it was a blast hitting a 6 iron right around 200 yards on a few occasions.  After months and months, it came down to 3 - Callaway Apex Pro, Mizuno MP5, and Hogan Ft Worth 15's.  Dispersion with each was good, could work the ball with each, all had a little bit of help when the strike was less than perfect, but they also gave good feedback on off-center hits to drive learning/improvement.  Long story short, went with the Ben Hogan Fort Worth 15's in the Tour V stiff - they are assembled here locally, they're rep Jamie Pipes gave me a long, detailed fitting.....hitting different shafts, lofts, all carefully measured with a Trackman......he even had me hit their new HI irons, new cavity backs, and new hybrid they have coming out in April.  Ordered the clubs at my local range - they came in within a week and the guys at the Highlands Golf Center really took care of me, and they even checked lofts/lies upon arrival.  Will do a review on the irons after a few months to give some real insight.  The only real negative - I am the most vanilla golfer ever - months later, I was fit as standard/standard/standard.......

Takeaways:

1.  Get fit - you'll hear it from everyone here, but take the time and get it done.  

2.  Be open minded on brand and type of club - hit everything.

3.  Hit every shaft - the mizuno shaft optimizer helped start us in the right direction, but different shafts have almost, if not more impact, than different club heads...it's amazing.

4.  Take your time - it's a big purchase, test clubs against one another and use today's technology.

5.  Get fit - yep, doubly important - get a true fitting with a monitor and look closely at the numbers.

6.  Read - I read review after review, watched review after review on you tube.  Get as much info as you can and make an informed decision.

Finally, thanks for the help on this site - read so many posts in this forum on several different clubs.  Thanks for offering feedback and opinions that others can share and learn from....

Jason

Expand  

I agree with all of that, fitting is very, very important. 

I have one more thing to add. I actually got print-outs of my launch monitor data with my "favorites" before I made my decisions on my new bag. Though I ended up sticking with Tour Edge Exotics, I did hit other brands with a variety of shafts to compare results, then I took the results and a simple highlighter, and figured out the best combination for my game... I do better if I can see the results in front of me.

What's in Shane's Bag?     

Ball: 2022 :callaway: Chrome Soft Triple Track Driver: :callaway:Paradym Triple Diamond 8° MCA Kai’li 70s FW: :callaway:Paradym Triple Diamond  H: :callaway: Apex Pro 21 20°I (3-PW) :callaway: Apex 21 UST Recoil 95 (3), Recoil 110 (4-PW). Wedges: :callaway: Jaws Raw 50°, 54°, 60° UST Recoil 110 Putter: :odyssey: Tri-Hot 5K Triple Wide 35”

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Note: This thread is 3419 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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