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If I'm not mistaken, the XHot are cast, while the X Forged are well, forged. I'm concerned the feel would be too different. Like with the Mizuno set, I am considering the XHot in 4i-6i and then XHot Pro 7i and down. There was a recent private club demo day that I was unable to attend. I will wait for the next one to appear and go hit them all!

Their feeling is the Titleist is the hardest/least forgiving on mishits clubs on the market to hit. I may still give them a try, but again, I'd like to see a more forgiving club with my longer irons and more blade-like iron with 7 and down. Wish there was a set that embodied that concept.

Nice looking swing, IMO. Hard to tell from this angle what would cause a fade. Do you push fade, hard slice or hit a workable fade? Have you checked your divot to see if the ball follows the divot path? What type of shot do you want to hit? Without seeing your turn into the ball, you would need to examine all the common causes of a fade and try to determine what you may be doing. With a swing as solid as yours, its probably something small. I would check your turn - could you be sliding the hips, is your turn down the line or into the swing path? My other observation of your swing is in the finish. I've been told the through swing path usually mirrors the back swing path. Your through swing is high, while your back swing is flat. This means YOUR swing plane is changing through the swing. Maybe there is something here causing your fade shots. I'm no instructor, so take my words with a grain of salt! LOL Hope this points you in a helpful direction.

I currently have 704CB's and have been swinging them ever since they came out. I love the forged feel and have some great rounds with these clubs. However, it's time to upgrade. I haven't played much the last couple of years, but was a 7 when I was playing. At the ripe old age of 40, I am looking for clubs with a bit more forgiveness in the longer irons and shotmaker, ball control short irons. I haven't seen a set of irons that fulfill that role. I am considering JPX 825 Pro, MP64, Anser's, G25 and X Hot irons. The local pro shops are steering me away from AP1 and 2's. I am waiting to catch a demo day to hit them on a range. I can't tell much hitting into a net. Everything feels good off the turf. Right now, I am leaning towards the JPX 825 Pro's. But I like the look of the MP 64 7-PW better. Would you advise against mixing sets? Mizuno sells their clubs "by the club" and with both models being forged, the feel should be fairly close. Thoughts or advice?

LOL! Noticed the exact same thing. You know it as soon as you hit it - CHUNK!

Can't believe Fowler blew his chance with the water ballS. The pressure a professional must feel. And then to flub a sw! I'm not in the Tiger camp. I respect his play, but don't like the man. Unfortunately, he appears to be in control of his swing right now and that doesn't bode well for the rest of the tour. I guess we are back to Tiger vs. "the field".

I had high hopes for Sergio and the potential competition he posed to TW. Unfortunately, the swing changes, the god awful pre-shot waggle and continued putting woes seems to have taken his enjoyment out of the game. If this isn't the case, his body language suggest otherwise. He has never hid his contempt for TW or TW's fame and fortune. Problem is, Sergio wasn't golfer enough to back up his tuff words. I think his feelings towards Tiger are why Sergio takes the Ryder Cup so seriously. Sergio does have a good Ryder Cup record (16-8-4) which is much better than TW's 13-14-2.

Lag is what separates Pro's from weekend amateurs. Proper lag will/should result in solid ball striking. Solid ball striking is necessary to compress the golf ball to make it explode off the golf club. Too many high handicappers don't understand compression. I am like you in that I have been relentlessly chasing proper lag technique. I have an early release, also known as casting the club. This moves kills my power/distance and promotes poor ball striking. I've spent lots of time working with an instructor to correct the problem. His favorite drill was working the small swing. The point from 3 o'clock to 9 o'clock is where the lag appears, then releases to the follow through. He wore me out on these drills. 1. Set up to address - take the club back so your arm is parallel - look to check proper club rotation and wrist hinge - head back down - fire at the ball with proper release and hip turn. Over and over. I did this with an abbreviated follow through. Distance wasn't important. Ball striking and proper release were the focus. We did the same drill, but stopped the backswing when the club reached parallel. This drill really showed which hand fired at the ball. Point here was to pull with the left, not be overly aggressive with the right. 2. The other drill we did was starting from a proper contact position - hips mostly cleared - right leg/hip pushing down - right foot flat, wanting to roll down target line - left shoulder high, right shoulder low - hands in square contact position, with right hand slightly lagging (think Greg Norman "secret"). From this position, take the club back so shaft reaches parallel and then make contact. Over and over. To execute this drill, I found I needed to move the ball further in my stance and get closer to the ball. Both drills were to ingrain muscle memory and to exaggerate the feeling you want at contact. I've got copies on DVD, but they aren't HD. Hope that gives you something else to try. I still haven't mastered the lag!

Interesting thread. When you say "these days", you mean clubs models within 1-3 years of each other? My last driver change was a 5 year old driver (7 years ago) to a then current technology driver. Per the launch monitor, I was hitting the new driver consistently 15+ yards farther than the old. Now, I'm looking to upgrade my 8+ year old irons. According to the sales people I'm talking to, the current yardage gains are due to more aggressive lofts, NOT hotter face technology. I'm looking for the same forged feel, but with a more confident inspiring look. With lofts 2+ degrees stronger, I would expect 5-10 more yards out of a club. While there is an illusion about distance, if you are upgrading from 10 years ago, I believe a player will get more yardage out of new equipment.

Your question is a familiar one. I am on the hunt for a new set of irons and will be replacing my old Titleist 704CB's. I had them custom fit over 8 years ago and have loved them. I've shot some low rounds with those clubs, but am looking to replace them. In my recent visits to local golf shops, I'm being steered towards Mizuno JPX 825 Pro's or RocketBladz. I'm liking the look and feel of the Mizuno's and am not sure of the consistency behing Taylor Mades new slot technology in an iron. I grew up playing Pings and loved the playability, but moved away from them because I wanted a more blade like look. At 40 years old, I'm not sure my hand eye coordination will hold up as well going forward. Before you look to dive back into more Titleist irons, realize they are "PLAYERS" clubs. Your handicap may be more suited towards the Ping or Calloway - more forgiving with off hits. At $600, the new Calloway XHots are pretty interesting. I will have to give those a try before making a final decision. There are so many great clubs on the market right now, its all about what looks best to you. In the end, be sure to get custom fit. It doesn't cost any extra!