Game improvement irons

[tshapiro]

First, your cast iron taylormade's don't take to adjusting well.  You may have trouble finding a club fitter that will do it.  If you want clubs that you can tinker your best bet are forged club heads.

A couple of things to keep in mind when looking for new clubs:

• Shafts have a big impact on the feel of the club and your ability to generate max club head speed at just the right time.  If you're looking for improvement do analysis on your current shaft and the shafts you consider buying
• A lot of your success with clubs will be mental - if you like the way it looks at address you'll swing easier.  Theoretically, a players cavity back is more consistent than a blade.  To my eye, a blade sets up better so I swing them better.  I also like the way they feel at impact.

I personally believe that golf is something we do for fun and it's ok buy clubs that you enjoy... even if they don't make you 'better'.  

Edited August 6, 2016 by tshapiro

[pganapathy]

On ‎7‎/‎30‎/‎2016 at 8:23 AM, Josh90 said:

So I have been golfing for about 5 months now and been working on swing inside to outside which is coming along nicely thanks to a practice net I bought about a month ago. I finally broke into the 70s with a 79 and was starting to wonder when I should possibly upgrade my clubs? Right now I'm using taylormade aeroburner irons 5- approach wedge and then I have the tour preferred sand and lob wedges. And after researching my irons I know that they are game improvement irons so they are forgiving but aren't gonna give me the same consistency that higher end irons will. Would anybody recommend when might be a good time to upgrade? Any advice is greatly appreciated

Why do you want to change your clubs??  Is it because you are not hitting well with them??  Or is it just because they are SGI??  You should know that there are pro's playing on the PGA tour who use SGI irons.  'Nuff said about not changing for the sake of changing.  Only change if your clubs don't suit you or because the clubs you have tested are remarkably better, principally in dispersion and accuracy.

[HokieGCC]

I basically have a similar question about pro versus game improvement irons.  My clubs are a hodgepodge set of used clubs some pro some game improvement.  I am in my mid 50's and shoot low 90's average and get into the 80's at times.  I want to buy an actual set of irons when I retire and play almost daily and see what I can do.  I hit from the back tees as I hit long (I'll get longest drive in local tournaments at times) but lose strokes chipping and putting and hitting behind the ball when I am not focusing and I figure playing more often will help that.  So, assuming I am buying one set do I work into pro irons or do I make this as easy on myself as possible and buy good game improvement irons?  My lean is game improvement but am not sure.

[pganapathy]

1 hour ago, HokieGCC said:

I basically have a similar question about pro versus game improvement irons.  My clubs are a hodgepodge set of used clubs some pro some game improvement.  I am in my mid 50's and shoot low 90's average and get into the 80's at times.  I want to buy an actual set of irons when I retire and play almost daily and see what I can do.  I hit from the back tees as I hit long (I'll get longest drive in local tournaments at times) but lose strokes chipping and putting and hitting behind the ball when I am not focusing and I figure playing more often will help that.  So, assuming I am buying one set do I work into pro irons or do I make this as easy on myself as possible and buy good game improvement irons?  My lean is game improvement but am not sure.

Get yourself tested and see what irons give you the best dispersion and accuracy.  Pick those.  Of course, that assumes that the new set you look at performs better than your existing set.  One thing I have found is a lot of golfers adjust to their sets over time.

For the short game pick a good set of wedges that suit your swing and the conditions you play in.  At the end of the day there is no substitute for practice, irrespective of how good your equipment is, so I assume the additional golf rounds will automatically lead to a better score

[zero]

I love my TM Burner 2 game improvement irons. They allowed me to have more fun, play more, and therefore improve faster than had I started with more expert clubs. I'm still only in the high 80s avg but feel I can use these for several more years until I'd benefit from upgrading.

I do wonder though, since I bought them used and have used them a lot, if they would benefit from groove sharpening? I also do tend to take a choke 1/2-1" down on them. Is that fine vs. having them cut down?

I have no advice other than once your start dancing with the idea of a new club it's hard to let it go...

[Tat14]

54 minutes ago, zero said:

I have no advice other than once you (sic) start dancing with the idea of a new club it's hard to let it go...

Truth.

I've gone backwards in index this season, so I've put the player's CBs away and broke out a fresh set of Adams New Idea SGI clubs. All on a lark, but the difference it makes in the mental approach to this rather difficult past-time is worth it to me. Oh, and they're shamefully forgiving.

If you've been playing well and progressing quickly, why not stand pat for at least a little while? Unless you're past the point that zero mentions above, in which case go get fitted and be done with it.

[Josh90]

I also have a couple more questions. Should game improvement irons still give you the same ability to apply backspin when your going for the green. My home course has very soft greens and the ball sinks way in when it hits so it doesn't go very far but if I don't get the loft I need they will skid right across the green and not stop at all. Is that operator error on my part or do these type of clubs not have the same abiltity?

[boogielicious]

19 hours ago, Josh90 said:

I also have a couple more questions. Should game improvement irons still give you the same ability to apply backspin when your going for the green. My home course has very soft greens and the ball sinks way in when it hits so it doesn't go very far but if I don't get the loft I need they will skid right across the green and not stop at all. Is that operator error on my part or do these type of clubs not have the same abiltity?

Yes. You will get virtually the same spin. The 'game improvement' part is the forgiveness for off-center hits and not losing as much distance as an off-center hit on a blade or cavity back iron would do.