Game Improvement irons or Players Irons

[Pablo68]

On 10/27/2017 at 11:46 PM, Typhoon92 said:

" Play the most forgiving iron u can stand to look at"...something I read a long time ago.  Callaway Apex and Steelhead, Ping G and G400 are examples of irons I have no problem looking down at.  

+1

I am currently hitting MP-59s and love them but they're worn pretty good. I went through a launch monitor a couple weeks ago, hitting MP-18 SC and liked them. There was a good amount of drop off on mishits which I have with my MP-59s. The guy handed me a Cleveland CBX and at first glance the top line threw me off. After seeing a substantial decrease in drop offs for the mishits and there basically being no difference feel wise when near the sweet spot, the top line became inconsequential to me. I ordered the Clevelands and saved $500.

There was a pickup of yardage but that's because it's basically a 6 iron length with a 5 iron loft. 

[Typhoon92]

6 iron length with 5 iron loft = better accuracy.  Nice!

[RussUK]

I found some of the older style "GI" irons worked better for me. I had Wilson Staff DI9's SGI irons and couldnt hit them, hated them. So i picked up some Hippo Beast's for £40 as an experiment (nearly new).

These are the same age as the Wilsons but have a very shallow cavity. Look more towards the better player end of the scale imo but forgiving and soooo nice to hit.

 

[vpdonahue]

On 10/20/2017 at 4:37 AM, Berty42 said:

Hey guys,

Ive been thinking about getting some new irons. I’m an 8 handicap. Right now I am playing Taylormade RSI TP irons. Should I stay with players irons or go back to game improvement irons? I like the feed back of players irons. But could I also benefit from game improvement irons? Just asking to see what people have to say. 

with an 8 handicap I assume you are a solid ball striker. If so, I would stick with players irons. I play the Ben Hogan Ft. Worth 15s that are a very forgiving forged blade with a nice slender top line. I hit those far better than any game improvement iron and I'm an 11 handicap at my best. Handicaps are a somewhat misleading measure to determine whether you should hit player's irons. For example, if you are a poor putter that might account for several strokes per round and have nothing to do with ball striking and iron play. Same can be said for some golfers who cannot control their driver off the tee but can hit irons without problem.

[Slugox]

On ‎10‎/‎28‎/‎2017 at 4:34 PM, arturo28mx said:

I'm a mid handicapper. I played Titleist AP2 for about three years. Some shots I hit well, some not so well. I just purchased a set of the new AP3 and I couldn't be happier. They look just as slim as the AP2, more forgiving and 5 yards more distance per club on average. I'm glad I switched. By the way, AP1 were just too chunky and too much offset for me. So the AP3 were perfect.

The AP3's are absolutely stunning. Had I not purchased a new set last year that's likely what I'd have gotten.

[Lihu]

On 11/19/2017 at 7:38 AM, vpdonahue said:

with an 8 handicap I assume you are a solid ball striker.

I wouldn't make any such assumption.

 

On 11/19/2017 at 7:38 AM, vpdonahue said:

If so, I would stick with players irons. I play the Ben Hogan Ft. Worth 15s that are a very forgiving forged blade with a nice slender top line. I hit those far better than any game improvement iron and I'm an 11 handicap at my best. Handicaps are a somewhat misleading measure to determine whether you should hit player's irons.

This is true, but it could also be what's holding you back from scoring better?

 

On 11/19/2017 at 7:38 AM, vpdonahue said:

For example, if you are a poor putter that might account for several strokes per round and have nothing to do with ball striking and iron play. Same can be said for some golfers who cannot control their driver off the tee but can hit irons without problem.

This is a misconception. How does one actually consider themselves to be poor at putting? I putt 41 putts my last full round, but it wasn't putting that cost me the most strokes. It was my horrible up and downs. More so the "up" part. Many people associate high numbers of putts with putting strokes, but in reality it's their approach and chipping/pitching that is the problem. People should not expect to make more than half of their 6 foot putts. . .

[JxQx]

27 minutes ago, Lihu said:

This is a misconception. How does one actually consider themselves to be poor at putting? I putt 41 putts my last full round, but it wasn't putting that cost me the most strokes. It was my horrible up and downs. More so the "up" part. Many people associate high numbers of putts with putting strokes, but in reality it's their approach and chipping/pitching that is the problem. People should not expect to make more than half of their 6 foot putts. . .

By either being worse than the average or subjectively.

[Lihu]

29 minutes ago, JxQx said:

By either being worse than the average or subjectively.

I'll go with this. Obviously, I'm not a good putter, but just evaluating what happened on every hole I was able to determine that it really wasn't my actual putting stroke that cost me the most. Sure, 2 or 3 strokes a round possibly? I am pretty poor at the actual putting part of it, but the most strokes was because I was out of range or in a poor position on or near the green with double breaking and usually a lumpy landing area. If anything, I can even blame my game planning or lack thereof for more strokes than my putting.

Edited November 21, 2017 by Lihu

[JxQx]

48 minutes ago, Lihu said:

I'll go with this. Obviously, I'm not a good putter, but just evaluating what happened on every hole I was able to determine that it really wasn't my actual putting stroke that cost me the most. Sure, 2 or 3 strokes a round possibly? I am pretty poor at the actual putting part of it, but the most strokes was because I was out of range or in a poor position on or near the green with double breaking and usually a lumpy landing area. If anything, I can even blame my game planning or lack thereof for more strokes than my putting.

For sure, but without going further off topic 3 putting quite frequently should be a pretty good indicator of bad putting.

[Typhoon92]

Always have to try to heed my own advice.  Temptation is killing me but I drove away.  Saw a set of 2014 Taylormade MC irons 4-P with pxi 6.0 shafts at Play it Again Sports marked down to $150.

I had the identical set before and everything went left...but I think it was me.  They were a bit nicked up, some worn faces/rust.  I'm convinced I could hit them with a few different sandpaper grits, strip the paint fill and have them looking nice.

But...I have set of px satin shafts .370 that I could use if I picked up a set of Ping gi irons...maybe Rapture and reshaft.

Go easier, not harder....keep telling myself...but I got the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other one.

 

[MarvChamp]

@Typhoon92, did I tell you that I bought a set of Tommy Armour 845u Silverbacks on eBay the other day? About $65 incl shipping. I just got all nostalgic about how well I hit them back in the day. Plus the pictures showed them to be in pretty good shape. Plus all it will take is little regrip job, some fine sandpaper and polish etc. Plus I can then probably sell the for a good price. Plus I'm bored having to rest and heal up from injuries. The Devil WON! Regards to your Angel, -Marv

[Typhoon92]

21 hours ago, MarvChamp said:

@Typhoon92, did I tell you that I bought a set of Tommy Armour 845u Silverbacks on eBay the other day? About $65 incl shipping. I just got all nostalgic about how well I hit them back in the day. Plus the pictures showed them to be in pretty good shape. Plus all it will take is little regrip job, some fine sandpaper and polish etc. Plus I can then probably sell the for a good price. Plus I'm bored having to rest and heal up from injuries. The Devil WON! Regards to your Angel, -Marv

 

Yeah...devil is getting to me.  I have a set of Karsten 1 irons form the late 1970's woods and irons.  Tried selling them on forums  to no avail....I could trade those all in and that brings down the price.  I could clean them up nice over the winter and sell them for a profit.

Funny thing is the pxi shaft was one I was fitted for along with the Modus 105 i currently use.