Forged irons

[lineape]

I'm a high handicap player that uses hybrids instead of long irons. Are there any high handicap players here that use forged irons in the shorter irons for feel? I've hit a few different forged irons in a 6 iron and like the way they feel and look. Misfits aren't that much different than my ap1's, and flush hits look and feel better.

[saevel25]

They will find they will struggle with the long irons unless they actually have high clubhead speed.  Higher handicap players typically have too slow of a swing speed to hit it far enough to be useful. 

Taylormade found this out in a study that high handicap golfers hit their 5 or 6 iron just as far as their 4 or 3 iron because the launch conditions were not optimal for their swing speeds. 

[mvmac]

1 hour ago, lineape said:

I'm a high handicap player that uses hybrids instead of long irons. Are there any high handicap players here that use forged irons in the shorter irons for feel? I've hit a few different forged irons in a 6 iron and like the way they feel and look. Misfits aren't that much different than my ap1's, and flush hits look and feel better.

Why not go with a full set. Mizuno, Callaway and Srixon make forged irons for mid-higher handicappers

http://www.mizunousa.com/Golf/Products/JPX-EZ-FORGED-4-GW-XP95-RH

http://www.mizunousa.com/Golf/Products/JPX-EZ-FORGED-4-GW-XP95-RH

http://www.callawaygolf.com/golf-clubs/irons-2016-apex.html

http://www.srixon.com/us/irons/z-565-irons/MZ565-EA.html

[lineape]

I don't go with a full set because I hit my hybrids better and longer than 3-5 irons.

[mvmac]

5 minutes ago, lineape said:

I don't go with a full set because I hit my hybrids better and longer than 3-5 irons.

Gotcha. Point was you can use forged clubs that are still forgiving.

[lineape]

How forgiving are mizuno mp-63 in short irons?

Edited February 4, 2017 by lineape

[mvmac]

49 minutes ago, lineape said:

How forgiving are mizuno mp-63 in short irons?

https://thesandtrap.com/b/clubs/mizuno_mp-63_irons_review

[WUTiger]

4 hours ago, lineape said:

Are there any high handicap players here that use forged irons in the shorter irons for feel?

Remember that forging and casting are manufacturing processes. It so happens that forged iron heads traditionally have appeared in irons for better players. 

The past decade, more SGI and GI irons with forged heads have emerged. The Nike VRS_Forged from 2012 was one such very user-friendly forged, cavity-back iron.

Now, the cast vs. forged may be blurring a bit. Callaway bills its GI niche Apex CF16 as " ...our first face cup in a forged players iron." The head has multiple parts in it.

So, you can get forged irons in the GI and SGI range.

[MarvChamp]

Please research Mizuno. Many better players play different models of Mizunos in their short and/or long irons. I play older MX-200 cavity-back forged GI irons part of the time. They require me to seriously focus on each shot. The mid and long irons have an undercut cavity, so easy to hit! Short irons have a "power bar", i.e., no undercut, for (they say) more precision. Today, Mizuno is still making forged GI irons. But if you just want short irons, research Mizuno and then maybe you could buy single irons on Ebay. Anyway, I hope you find what you are looking for and report how it turns out! -Marv

[lineape]

Thanks Marv. I've already started hitting a few at gg on their simulator. Actually like the mp-h5 6 iron.

[Hacker James]

not exactly the same thing, but as far as forgiveness in a forged iron. When Ben Hogan came out with the cavity back forged irons such as Edge, and Apex Plus, they were marketed to the masses as forgiving. I have owned a couple of sets of them. I find they give plenty of feedback on mishits, but not as demanding as a muscle back blade. I have also owned modern GI and SGI irons and was not that impressed. I found the larger head sizes cumbersome shovels. Like anything else, you have to get used to them and I concede they probably have helped a number of people, just not for me.

[lineape]

I think that's my problem and why I like the smaller forged irons. 

[Denny Bang Bang]

@lineape it seems like maybe it's not necessarily just a forged iron you're looking for, but also something with a smaller profile.

Check out the Mizuno JPX 850 Forged.  It's forged, has a medium profile, and still a bit of forgiveness.  The long irons are pretty easy to hit (for a long iron), but you can get a set just PW to 6i and stick with your hybrids beyond that if that's what you want to do

[OrangeHog]

Over the last year I've had the opportunity to test and demo pretty much everything on the market.  Oftentimes I think people look to forged irons as a bit of a unicorn.  I'm a Srixon guy and play a blended set myself.  They are exceptionally good performing and feeling golf clubs.  However, the 'forged' stamping wasn't a selling point for me at all.  Ultimately, performance and looks won out in my fitting.

For a higher handicap player I'd highly recommend the Z545 or newer 565 irons.  The Mizuno JPX900 Forged and Hot Metal irons are really good, as well.  Outside of those the Titleist 716 AP1 irons were some of the best feeling and performing GI irons I hit all year.  I've got friends who are single-digit handicap players and they bag the AP1 irons.  Those guys will knock down pins all day long, too.

[saevel25]

Mizuno JPX series is good. Also note that some club makers put a softer metal insert for the club face so they can caste the club but still maintain a softer feel. 

Just try out clubs and see what level of feel works best for the level of forgiveness you want. 

[Hacker James]

good points about modern day club makers and inserts. I really have not tried many newer clubs and although I have had several different drivers and fairway woods, I have not had hardly any newer irons saving a set of Adams Tight Lies and a set of Adams combo irons. Other than those, the irons I have owned are Titleist DCI Blacks and older Hogans, Mcgregors, Bobby Jones, Spalding. 

[JonMA1]

19 hours ago, lineape said:

I'm a high handicap player that uses hybrids instead of long irons. Are there any high handicap players here that use forged irons in the shorter irons for feel? I've hit a few different forged irons in a 6 iron and like the way they feel and look. Misfits aren't that much different than my ap1's, and flush hits look and feel better.

I may catch some #@^t for posting this, but I have a set of forged Hogan radials from the early to mid 80's. The heads are quite a bit smaller than today's clubs but the short and mid irons are not that difficult to hit - and I suck at this game.

Smaller heads mean smaller sweet spot (I would assume), so anything too far towards the heel or toe and the shot suffers unlike today's GI clubs. I can't compare distances because the clubs are relatively shorter and the lofts weaker. But these clubs were designed to get more height and that seems to be the case.

That said, if I had $100 riding on a shot, there's no way I'd opt for a club from this set besides maybe the "E" wedge, which was great from 100 yards in.

[Lihu]

14 hours ago, lineape said:

I think that's my problem and why I like the smaller forged irons. 

You can also purchase that used set of the MP-63. They are prettier, and if you are not hitting them well at least you can enjoy good looking clubs to look down at.

I bought a set of MP-52 before they made sense for me to use. Now, I love them. The difference with players clubs versus GI clubs is you hit shorter and lower with them if you don't have the swing speed. That's pretty much what @saevel25 told you in his first post. That and the fact that they feel like absolute crap on a mishit.

Even the shorter irons will go shorter than any GI/SGI club, but, again, they look good.

 

1 hour ago, JonMA1 said:

I may catch some #@^t for posting this, but I have a set of forged Hogan radials from the early to mid 80's. The heads are quite a bit smaller than today's clubs but the short and mid irons are not that difficult to hit - and I suck at this game.

Smaller heads mean smaller sweet spot (I would assume), so anything too far towards the heel or toe and the shot suffers unlike today's GI clubs. I can't compare distances because the clubs are relatively shorter and the lofts weaker. But these clubs were designed to get more height and that seems to be the case.

That said, if I had $100 riding on a shot, there's no way I'd opt for a club from this set besides maybe the "E" wedge, which was great from 100 yards in.

Just play what you enjoy. If you can't swing fast enough to "take advantage" of them, who really cares?