Titleist vs Mizuno vs Taylormade etc.

[Kudu]

Hi all. Great to be here and talking to some fellow golfers. 

I am looking at getting new irons for the 2018 season. For the past year ( last leg of 2016 to present ) I have been taking my golf really seriously. I have dropped from a 15 Handicap to a 6 in the last year. I want to change my irons. I am looking at Mizuno mp 18 MB , Titleist 718 MB , Taylormade P730 and Callaway Apex MB. From a little of my own research I have found Mizuno to be the best "Blade" according to people ( This is based on my own research ). Which out of these will be the better brand? Second question. What are your opinions on forged iron durability. I hit alot of balls 3 - 4 times a week. Its my own personal driving range so I hit my own "range balls". I hit of Kikuyu grass on the range. Will this cause more wear on forged clubs than normal ones ? I currently play Taylormade m2 Tour irons. The course I play has hard fairways. As I am from South Africa this is the norm for a lot of courses in my area. This will be first set of proper players irons. Reason : As I am improving I am starting to wonder if the more forgivable irons are covering weaknesses in my swing. I am pushing for scratch mid next year. 

Kind Regards 

Kudu

 

[DaveP043]

They're all good clubs.  I played Mizuno MP30s for about 7 or 8 years, and now I'm on my 4th year (I think) with Titleist AP2 714.  Lots of good players use some degree of "player-improvement", so its not critical to buy a pure blade.  Probably most important is to hit them all before buying, especially if you can try out the various available shafts, especially if you can do a comprehensive fitting. 

As for wear, you're going to cause wear when you practice and play.  Its inevitable, the only way to keep your clubs new and shiny is to put them in a closet.  Go ahead and play, don't worry about wear,   

Oh, I almost forgot, welcome to TheSandTrap!!!

Edited November 14, 2017 by DaveP043

[dennyjones]

Welcome to TST! 

[Denny Bang Bang]

@Kudu My last few sets of irons have been in the Mizuno MP line, and I’ve been happy with all of them.  All the irons you listed above are nice irons, you’ll  want to hit all of them, and make the decision yourself.  Go with what you like best, they’ll all perform well.

As far as wear... don’t worry about it.  All clubs take a beating over time

[Pretzel]

The only conditions that are particularly rough on golf clubs are those where the soil is sandy and the air is humid. The sand gets on the range balls as you hit them and really wears down the grooves faster than they would otherwise, and then the humidity can begin to help corrode the metal in the areas where beating sandy range balls has worn off the chrome finish. I don't know what the soil in your area looks like or the local humidity for you, but those are the primary wear factors. These can be mitigated by not letting the range balls roll on the sand (pick them up and place them), especially when the ground is damp, and by making sure to store your clubs dry and check them every so often. With your frequency of play the humidity probably won't be an issue, as that's usually only a problem when people put clubs away in a humid area or on a humid day and then come back to rusty clubs a month later. 

Regardless the wear will be about the same for all of those clubs that you mentioned, so I wouldn't let that make your decision for you.

As for the brands, I personally prefer Mizuno because I like how they feel, but you should see if you can find a shop where you can test all the options out. I don't know what the availability of places where you can test clubs like that is in South Africa, but it's a great way to figure out if you like or dislike a certain club. I was certain I'd love the Titleist 716 MB's and all the pictures looked great, but when I set the club down in front of me the toe just looked really sharp and kind of funny shaped. I ended up loving the MP4's though, they both felt and looked better than the 716's, and they're what I plan to play for quite a while now. Whatever looks and feels best to you will be the best option.

[WUTiger]

@Kudu

Welcome to the tribe!

As far as forged irons and durability, remember that forging and casting are different manufacturing processes. The actual steel formula in the iron's heads is what's critical as far as durability.

It just so happens that compared to cast, forged irons tend to have softer metal in the heads.  Because of this, you will need to get the loft and lie checked more frequently on forged because they will bend out-of-spec more readily in normal play.

A female college golfer I know plays Mizuno irons. She gets loft and lie tweaked twice a year: Once at start of spring college season, and a second time before summer amateur events.

[Kudu]

  On 11/14/2017 at 10:16 PM, DaveP043 said:

They're all good clubs.  I played Mizuno MP30s for about 7 or 8 years, and now I'm on my 4th year (I think) with Titleist AP2 714.  Lots of good players use some degree of "player-improvement", so its not critical to buy a pure blade.  Probably most important is to hit them all before buying, especially if you can try out the various available shafts, especially if you can do a comprehensive fitting. 

As for wear, you're going to cause wear when you practice and play.  Its inevitable, the only way to keep your clubs new and shiny is to put them in a closet.  Go ahead and play, don't worry about wear,   

Oh, I almost forgot, welcome to TheSandTrap!!!

  On 11/15/2017 at 2:50 AM, Denny Bang Bang said:

@Kudu My last few sets of irons have been in the Mizuno MP line, and I’ve been happy with all of them.  All the irons you listed above are nice irons, you’ll  want to hit all of them, and make the decision yourself.  Go with what you like best, they’ll all perform well.

As far as wear... don’t worry about it.  All clubs take a beating over time

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Thank you for the welcome :D. I have booked a fitting at a Pro shop. Will see what the numbers say. I am also going to have a look into the CB variations of the Mizuno , Taylormade ect. True words spoken why do we buy golf clubs in the first place.. 

  On 11/14/2017 at 10:57 PM, dennyjones said:

Welcome to TST! 

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Thanks for the welcome really appreciate the friendly people on this forum.

  On 11/15/2017 at 3:36 AM, Pretzel said:

The only conditions that are particularly rough on golf clubs are those where the soil is sandy and the air is humid. The sand gets on the range balls as you hit them and really wears down the grooves faster than they would otherwise, and then the humidity can begin to help corrode the metal in the areas where beating sandy range balls has worn off the chrome finish. I don't know what the soil in your area looks like or the local humidity for you, but those are the primary wear factors. These can be mitigated by not letting the range balls roll on the sand (pick them up and place them), especially when the ground is damp, and by making sure to store your clubs dry and check them every so often. With your frequency of play the humidity probably won't be an issue, as that's usually only a problem when people put clubs away in a humid area or on a humid day and then come back to rusty clubs a month later. 

Regardless the wear will be about the same for all of those clubs that you mentioned, so I wouldn't let that make your decision for you.

As for the brands, I personally prefer Mizuno because I like how they feel, but you should see if you can find a shop where you can test all the options out. I don't know what the availability of places where you can test clubs like that is in South Africa, but it's a great way to figure out if you like or dislike a certain club. I was certain I'd love the Titleist 716 MB's and all the pictures looked great, but when I set the club down in front of me the toe just looked really sharp and kind of funny shaped. I ended up loving the MP4's though, they both felt and looked better than the 716's, and they're what I plan to play for quite a while now. Whatever looks and feels best to you will be the best option.

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Really really dry air in northwest where I live. Sunny about 99.9 % of the year. South Africa actually does have decent golf shops we only have 2 companies Golfers Club and The Pro Shop. Almost both of them have franchises in every large city. Guaranteed to not pay more than any other international store so prices are top notch. From the posts I have seen it seems like the forged irons will last as long as cast. Thank you for your input I agree with you looking at a picture of something is one thing but actually seeing it is a whole different ball game. I have always had the mentality that I must like how to club sits behind the ball. Otherwise you will always be lacking the confidence ( Which is a must when you start playing better players irons ) to hit the shot you want. 

  On 11/15/2017 at 4:06 AM, WUTiger said:

@Kudu

Welcome to the tribe!

As far as forged irons and durability, remember that forging and casting are different manufacturing processes. The actual steel formula in the iron's heads is what's critical as far as durability.

It just so happens that compared to cast, forged irons tend to have softer metal in the heads.  Because of this, you will need to get the loft and lie checked more frequently on forged because they will bend out-of-spec more readily in normal play.

A female college golfer I know plays Mizuno irons. She gets loft and lie tweaked twice a year: Once at start of spring college season, and a second time before summer amateur events.

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  Thank you for clearing up my misconception about forging vs casting. Silly question will large golf shops have the ability to check lies or will I need to to go to a specialist ?  

Thank you to everyone who replied it's nice to be on a friendly forum.

 

[4right]

I've always loved the feel of my MP-14's. Your handicap may take a turn for the worst at first. The miss hits are amplified with a blade. With practice you find the sweet spot more often. Shots are much more workable with a blade. They give you maximum control, you can easily get out of control for that reason. When you feel how pure shots feel when you strike it square, you will not be disappointed. I have my lies checked maybe once a year, but I'm more of a weekend golfer these days. I'm actually going the other way. I just bought the new Mizuno JPX 900 forged irons to give myself a little more room for error. 

[Kudu]

  On 11/15/2017 at 6:30 AM, 4right said:

I've always loved the feel of my MP-14's. Your handicap may take a turn for the worst at first. The miss hits are amplified with a blade. With practice you find the sweet spot more often. Shots are much more workable with a blade. They give you maximum control, you can easily get out of control for that reason. When you feel how pure shots feel when you strike it square, you will not be disappointed. I have my lies checked maybe once a year, but I'm more of a weekend golfer these days. I'm actually going the other way. I just bought the new Mizuno JPX 900 forged irons to give myself a little more room for error. 

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I like to think to myself that I will become a better player if I start playing blades. It will force me to concentrate more on hitting the middle of that club face but then again we mortals usually think we are better than we actually are  . Mondays to Thursdays I spend a lot of time ( the time that I have after work Usually 2+ hours ) working on irons and putting. I have a different schedule for everyday of the week. Fridays I got out and play 9 holes and Saturdays I do 18. Like I said in my previous post I am adding the the CB variants to the mix as well. Excited to go hit them   

Thank you for the reply much appreciated !!  

[WUTiger]

  On 11/15/2017 at 6:27 AM, Kudu said:

Silly question will large golf shops have the ability to check lies or will I need to to go to a specialist ? 

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A golf shop that does repairs and reshafts will have the equipment to do this. Often the shop will list the price for loft-and-lie checks. Some shops that only do regrips wouldn't have the equipment.

[golfintheworld]

Welcome to the club! 

I have played Mizuno for the last 15 years. I just like the feel. I had rotator cuff surgery in January. I had PT for 4 months.I played once this year in August. I lost 15 yards because of the surgery. I realized I can't swing the stiff anymore. At 60 I should go to a senior shaft. I haven't decided if I'm going to reshaft or buy new. I pretty sure I'll stick with Mizuno. 

[MarvChamp]

  On 11/15/2017 at 4:58 PM, golfintheworld said:

I realized I can't swing the stiff anymore. At 60 I should go to a senior shaft. I haven't decided if I'm going to reshaft or buy new. I pretty sure I'll stick with Mizuno. 

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Yes to this. I have forged Mizuno MX200's (GI) as well as Mx100's (SGI) and JPX800 HD's (SGI). I will stick with Mizuno.

I'm 72. A little over a year ago, I thought I needed all senior shafts in my irons. Ended up with Regular, one soft-stepped. My pro fitter said that was best for me for the shafts I had selected for my irons. Only my driver is senior but that shaft really works for me as the shaft has been shortened.  The re-shafting can be expensive compared to new clubs, but cost can be reduced by getting new pull-outs. And it's worth it if you really like the clubs you have as I do. Best wishes to all, -Marv

[Kudu]

  On 11/15/2017 at 4:58 PM, golfintheworld said:

Welcome to the club! 

I have played Mizuno for the last 15 years. I just like the feel. I had rotator cuff surgery in January. I had PT for 4 months.I played once this year in August. I lost 15 yards because of the surgery. I realized I can't swing the stiff anymore. At 60 I should go to a senior shaft. I haven't decided if I'm going to reshaft or buy new. I pretty sure I'll stick with Mizuno. 

  On 11/15/2017 at 7:00 PM, MarvChamp said:

Yes to this. I have forged Mizuno MX200's (GI) as well as Mx100's (SGI) and JPX800 HD's (SGI). I will stick with Mizuno.

I'm 72. A little over a year ago, I thought I needed all senior shafts in my irons. Ended up with Regular, one soft-stepped. My pro fitter said that was best for me for the shafts I had selected for my irons. Only my driver is senior but that shaft really works for me as the shaft has been shortened.  The re-shafting can be expensive compared to new clubs, but cost can be reduced by getting new pull-outs. And it's worth it if you really like the clubs you have as I do. Best wishes to all, -Marv

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Thank you for the welcome great to be here among fellow golfers. Good the hear you are playing golf again after you surgery! I will have to wait and see when I go hit the mentioned clubs along with their CB counterparts. I am not going with my heart set on Mizuno but I hope those are are the ones that perform. < sounds a bit biased