Players irons vs game improvement irons

[cmoneygo]

Hello all, I'm your average golfer who didn't start playing until my 20's and had no background of it, however I'm pretty athletic and have good to great hand -eye coordination. I've been playing nike mach speeds irons for the last 6 years or so and never had an issue with the equipment. now this past year I have been playing much more and went from shooting in the 100s to shooting mid to low 80s. the people I play with laugh at the idea that I shoot with irons off the shelf and have never  been fitted, so I finally get fitted and find out all my woods are the wrong flex for my swing speed and the loft is too high for my swing plane. he recommends me the 10.5 rogue with a accra shaft which I love but for the irons he suggested I get the forged callaway player irons. my worry is that I am getting ahead of myself ,even though I hit them well in the simulator. I just started really enjoying the game and would hate to struggle but would love to hear if anyone else has been at that crossroad and what were your experiences. 

[NM Golf]

First you shoot with a gun you play golf with irons. Anywho, if you have good hand eye and shoot in the 80's you are fine with a cavity back players iron. They will take some getting used to, but I think you will really like them especially since the Nikes you are currently playing are garbage . After a breaking in period I would think you will start to see improvement as the playability you will get from a good players iron will help you score, and getting fit will make a huge difference. Anyway good luck and have fun.

[klineka]

27 minutes ago, cmoneygo said:

I just started really enjoying the game and would hate to struggle

If thats the case then you are playing the wrong game. It could easily take you 3-4x as long to get from low 80s to low 70s as it did to go from low 90s to low 80s. 

If you liked the Callaway irons and you hit them well on the simulator, it shouldn't matter what a bunch of people on the internet think.

You didnt mention which specific model of forged callaway irons you were fitted for, so people can't even help by giving their own experience until we know which irons you are referring to. 

Callaway offers numerous forged iron models including the "X forged", the "Apex MB", "Apex CF 16", "Apex Pro 16", etc. etc.

Why did the fitter recommend that specific iron?

What was it that you liked about that iron?

Have you hit other "players irons" from different brands?

[cmoneygo]

12 minutes ago, klineka said:

If thats the case then you are playing the wrong game. It could easily take you 3-4x as long to get from low 80s to low 70s as it did to go from low 90s to low 80s. 

If you liked the Callaway irons and you hit them well on the simulator, it shouldn't matter what a bunch of people on the internet think.

You didnt mention which specific model of forged callaway irons you were fitted for, so people can't even help by giving their own experience until we know which irons you are referring to. 

Callaway offers numerous forged iron models including the "X forged", the "Apex MB", "Apex CF 16", "Apex Pro 16", etc. etc.

Why did the fitter recommend that specific iron?

What was it that you liked about that iron?

Have you hit other "players irons" from different brands?

x forged, sorry I wasn't specific,  , I'm not sure what all he had me swing but the x forged is what he recommended, now that I researched I found they were a player iron and not game improvement. I have very little experience in equipment as I started very late in life and first learned the game through video games. so I was just wondering what others experience was in making that transition. thanks

49 minutes ago, NM Golf said:

First you shoot with a gun you play golf with irons. Anywho, if you have good hand eye and shoot in the 80's you are fine with a cavity back players iron. They will take some getting used to, but I think you will really like them especially since the Nikes you are currently playing are garbage . After a breaking in period I would think you will start to see improvement as the playability you will get from a good players iron will help you score, and getting fit will make a huge difference. Anyway good luck and have fun.

you know I'm from texas since I want to use shoot for everything. yes I get a lot of slack for my irons and I got even more slack for the taylor made slider driver I had before the switch to the rogue, since it was 13.5 loft with a regular flex, it was going higher than my piching wedge

[klineka]

14 minutes ago, cmoneygo said:

x forged, sorry I wasn't specific,  , I'm not sure what all he had me swing but the x forged is what he recommended, now that I researched I found they were a player iron and not game improvement. I have very little experience in equipment as I started very late in life and first learned the game through video games. so I was just wondering what others experience was in making that transition. thanks

If those gave you the best numbers then by all means get those. Especially if you plan on playing a lot and keep getting better, IMO you'd save money by getting something like the X forged now, compared to getting something like the Rogue irons now, then realizing in a year you'd prefer a thinner, more players iron and then getting the X forged or similar.

I'm in a similar situation, I could get something like the Taylormade M3 irons now, but if I keep getting better, I know in a year or two I will want a thinner, less offset, players style iron like the P770, so for now the P790 is at the top of my list (Taylormade are the only irons I've demo'ed recently)

Low 80s probably puts your handicap in the 10-15 range, so I think you'd be just fine with the X forged. They are a very nice looking club and they are in my top 5 to demo when I start to look for new irons.

Edited April 9, 2018 by klineka

[cmoneygo]

So after 4 days of trying out clubs and narrowing it down to the P770 , rogue pro and x- forged. The rogue pro came out on top for me, it was the most consistent for me in yardage and accuracy and although its a pro club I believe its more in line with a players iron and is very forgiving. The pga pro at Edwin Watts was amazing as well, being patient with me as I continued to try out mostly the same clubs the last fews days. now to get my golfpride align grips on and see what I can do at the course!

[allenc]

6 hours ago, cmoneygo said:

So after 4 days of trying out clubs and narrowing it down to the P770 , rogue pro and x- forged. The rogue pro came out on top for me, it was the most consistent for me in yardage and accuracy and although its a pro club I believe its more in line with a players iron and is very forgiving. The pga pro at Edwin Watts was amazing as well, being patient with me as I continued to try out mostly the same clubs the last fews days. now to get my golfpride align grips on and see what I can do at the course!

When you get them post pics and a video of you knocking down a flag with one of them.

[SmiterofPV1x]

It's a day to day battle for me as to what I want to do. I wouldn't call iron play a strength most days but it's not a weakness. I have 4 iron sets that can see play. Cally Razr Forged, Mizuno MP18 Forged, Nike Vapor Speeds, and Tour Model 4's. I doubt anyone's even heard of the last set but I played them for 20 years and they're very good for my game. Similar to Ping Eye 2's. The Cally and Mizunos are very similar and are definitely more of a players club. They're both very consistent in distance. A well struck shot will go almost an identical yardage every time and if I have to turn it around a tree or hit a knockdown, they're great. But you've got to hit the sweet spot with them. The Nikes are rediculously long and forgiving. I've sailed the green with a bad strike before. If I was playing a wide open course with a lot of length and no wind, these would be my choice. The biggest issue I have with them is lack of distance control. They produce a lot of fliers. I've ended up over the green more times in the 30 or so rounds I've played with them than the rest of my life combined. The TM 4's would be out except for my familiarity with them. I'm very consistent (for me) with them. They're not really long and are only marginally more forgiving than the Cally or Mizuno irons, and they lack the workability of those. But dang if I don't feel confident behind the ball with them as they look and feel so familiar. 

Youre at that weird stage where you are probably good enough (if your iron play isn't a weakness) to play a MB type club. There really isn't a wrong answer. Whatever you feel most comfortable with is probably your best choice. I can assure you that the players clubs will lose a ton of distance compared to say my Vapor Speeds on slight mishits. If you're hitting the sweet spot 9.5/10 times, players clubs will suit you better. If you're not than I'd look more GI. 

Prepost Edit: Just saw you went with Rogue Pros. Probably a very good choice for you. I'd look at them long and hard if I needed new irons. Obviously I don't, lol! 

[cmoneygo]

14 minutes ago, SmiterofPv1x said:

It's a day to day battle for me as to what I want to do. I wouldn't call iron play a strength most days but it's not a weakness. I have 4 iron sets that can see play. Cally Razr Forged, Mizuno MP18 Forged, Nike Vapor Speeds, and Tour Model 4's. I doubt anyone's even heard of the last set but I played them for 20 years and they're very good for my game. Similar to Ping Eye 2's. The Cally and Mizunos are very similar and are definitely more of a players club. They're both very consistent in distance. A well struck shot will go almost an identical yardage every time and if I have to turn it around a tree or hit a knockdown, they're great. But you've got to hit the sweet spot with them. The Nikes are rediculously long and forgiving. I've sailed the green with a bad strike before. If I was playing a wide open course with a lot of length and no wind, these would be my choice. The biggest issue I have with them is lack of distance control. They produce a lot of fliers. I've ended up over the green more times in the 30 or so rounds I've played with them than the rest of my life combined. The TM 4's would be out except for my familiarity with them. I'm very consistent (for me) with them. They're not really long and are only marginally more forgiving than the Cally or Mizuno irons, and they lack the workability of those. But dang if I don't feel confident behind the ball with them as they look and feel so familiar. 

Youre at that weird stage where you are probably good enough (if your iron play isn't a weakness) to play a MB type club. There really isn't a wrong answer. Whatever you feel most comfortable with is probably your best choice. I can assure you that the players clubs will lose a ton of distance compared to say my Vapor Speeds on slight mishits. If you're hitting the sweet spot 9.5/10 times, players clubs will suit you better. If you're not than I'd look more GI. 

Prepost Edit: Just saw you went with Rogue Pros. Probably a very good choice for you. I'd look at them long and hard if I needed new irons. Obviously I don't, lol! 

thanks for the input smiterofpv1x , I am at a weird stage as I fell I have gotten to a point where I am striking the ball well with the wrong equipment, at first it didn't matter too much that they weren't fit for me as I wasn't making consistent contact. I totally agree about feeling comfortable and confident, if I am not confident you can kiss my ball goodbye.

I have to wait til Saturday before I get my hands on them again, since I dropped them off to be bent and get them re-gripped, but I am itching to see how I do on the course and to be honest the rogue pros are very forgiving , I hit a few on the toe that didn't lose any distance just pushed it to the right, I went in thinking the x forged were for me and they are probably the better iron but I was way more consistent with the rogue pro so it was an easy choice. thanks again