BostonBrew

I haven't found a set that has made me remove the MP-32s from my bag yet, but with that said, I like both the Titleist MB and MP-69s. If I had to pick a new set, it would be one of those two as well. Don't think you'd be going wrong with either choice. I'd just suggest hitting them both back-to-back and seeing which feels better.

My putter is too valuable to me to risk hahaha

I'd have to agree with others that my gun would be the first thing I went for, but if a golf club selection is in order (my clubs sit about 3 feet from my bed) I'd probably choose one of the wedges.

These are the yardages I use to make my club selection. I add or subtract from these by choking down and moving the ball position around. Driver: 250 carry 3 Wood: 225-230 carry 3i: 210 4i: 200 5i: 185 6i: 170 7i: 155 8i: 140 9i: 125 (I've found a perfect 9i is 133, absolutely love it when I get that yardage) PW: 110 53*: 105 56*: 95 60*: 75ish (never hit it full)

Do you play a cavity-back iron? They are known to be a bit inconsistent and can send one ~15 yards past your usual yardage. They even have inconsistencies with the robots in testing.

Well your swing plane looks good I think. No over-the-top motion which is a common cause for the slice. Hard to use the second video because of the deep "rough." What I noticed on the first video is a little too much sway on the back swing. You want to turn and coil instead of sway back. You can hit a good ball with a sway, but it's hard to be consistent and if you're timing is off, you would definitely strike the ball with an open club face which would cause the slice. Easy drill for that is to place a ball under the middle of the outside of your back foot. It forces you to brace your back leg and coil instead of sway.

This. Don't make the decision without hitting them both first. It also helps tremendously to get fitted, preferably with a TrackMan so they can also fit you to the right shaft.

I don't really have any issues watching either. I do prefer CBS though because of Faldo and Feherty. Johnny Miller just irritates me with his constant criticisms, i.e. "I just don't understand what he's thinking hitting that shot" or "he should have -insert hypothetical shot that would magically be 10x better-." And when the Swing Vision comes on, I usually mute Kostis.

Not quite what I mean. When I have trouble clearing my hips, I'm referring to my hips rotating too soon and pushing my right elbow out and that results in the clubhead moving away from me an inch or so. I try to feel like I'm driving my right elbow into my right hip on my downswing. And if my hips rotate too soon, then I'm in trouble because now my elbow (and of course clubhead too) have shifted out towards the ball. When the club gets to parallel with the ground on the downswing is about when I want my hips to start rotating towards the target. I feel like this allows me to deliver a square clubhead and stay on top of the ball. As for lateral movement, a shift towards the target at the top of my backswing is what I look for. Not a lot, but just enough to drive my weight into the ball. It's subtle and when I'm really on my game, I do it subconsciously. But when I'm off, it's my swing thought that triggers the downswing.

Hahaha, I caught that as well. I just shake my head sometimes when the commentators make certain comments. Johnny Miller (for his super arrogant criticism) and Chamblee usually make me do it the most.

That sounds like a good plan. You can come on here or any other site and read about how great the various iron sets are, but until you actually have them in your hand and hit balls with them, you can't make any decisions. I like your philosophy. My first set were blades and even though I couldn't hit them as well as I do now, the bad shots just forced me to make a better swing. The best equipment in the world doesn't mean anything if you can't make a proper swing.

That is frustrating to hear. I've come across a few different types of club pros. There is the one who is enthusiastic and really wants to help you play better golf. It's almost as if they feel bad that you're not striking the ball well. And then there is the one who just does it because its required of his position. He can play solid golf, but has no interest in helping others play well. He's just there to pick up his paycheck, play the skins matches with the members, and talk about the days he "almost made" the Tour. I've been fortunate and the only lessons I've received were from the head pro at the course I worked at. He was the type who would take the time out of his day to just spend 10-15 minutes with me if I mentioned something was wrong. It can be difficult to find an instructor who works well with you. It's almost like a bonding chemistry when you find that right instructor. I feel for you though. Hope you can find a pro that works well with you.

The perimeter weighting of the cavity backs limits the amount of twisting the clubface experiences on mishits. So the cavity backs are more forgiving to golfers who don't strike the ball well. That's the philosophy behind them being considered GI irons. As for overall mass, I don't know if there is much difference between a blade and cavity back. You might see a difference between a forged club and a cast club, but I doubt its much. I would think with the wider soles most GI irons have, they would have more mass behind the ball. I'm not a physicist either and I know club manufacturers often talk in terms that are beyond me.

Here's a video comparing the JPX-825 and MP-58. Also gives a brief description of the differences in a blade vs cavity back and why the cavity back is more designed towards beginners. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ6LICVXKi8

Was frustrated with this earlier. It wouldn't play on Google Chrome but it will play on IE. Figured I'd let it be known in case anyone else was having issues with it.

First, I would widen your stance. Eyes can be deceiving, so I check mine with a quick trick. I place a ball behind each of my heels and then step away. It can be a little shocking how close they actually are compared to how I perceive them to be. You want to feel comfortable over the ball, so in my opinion there is no set distance they should be, but a good rule of thumb is your shoulder-width (a little wider for longer clubs). Widening your stance should also help you resist that sway you have on your backswing. One of my favorite drills, because I used to sway back as well, is to place a ball underneath the middle of the outside of my back foot. It braces your back leg and forces you to coil and turn instead of sway. You should feel tension and weight in your right hamstrings at the top of your backswing and also be able to pick up your left foot. If you feel that tension and can pick up your foot, you're in a good position. Also, on your driver video, look at how much you come out of the swing the first time. I used to do this as well and would hit the BIGGEST slices I've ever seen (like 50 yards out and 150 yards right). Just so you can see why it happens, if you put yourself at an impact position, and then stand up, you'll see how much the clubface opens. So try to stay down through the swing more. I try to feel like I'm driving my left heel into the ground on my downswing and that typically keeps me from rising up. Hope this helps.

I too, unfortunately, get the shanks on occasion. Mine come from not clearing my hips which causes the clubhead to move away from me just enough to catch the ball on the hosel. When that happens, it tells me my lower body is moving too fast, so I try to start my downswing with my arms leading the way. I doubt my arms are actually leading the downswing, but that's what I feel like I'm doing. That typically gets me hitting the ball solid again. I also try to slow my tempo down.

Bag: Mizuno Staff Bag Driver: Taylormade R580 XD 9.5* with Taylormade 65 stiff shaft 3 Wood: Titleist 906F4 15.5* with Diamana 75 Fairway stiff shaft Irons: Mizuno MP-32 3-PW with Dynamic Gold S300 shafts Wedges: 2x Mizuno MPTs 53* (bent to 52*) and a 56*, 1x Titleist Vokey 60* Putter: Titleist Scotty Cameron Studio Select Newport 2 35" Ball: Titleist ProV1x Planning to replace the staff bag with a new carry bag, replacing the driver with a Titleist 913D3, and adding a 2 hybrid and removing one of the wedges.

Mizuno has the MP-64 at a +2 to 10 handicap range. But if you hit it (and I would suggest trying to hit a short, mid, and long iron) and like it, then who cares what handicap range they place it at. I would recommend hitting something with a larger cavity back though if you're not a solid golfer. I play a set of Mizuno's MP-32s, a muscle-back forged blade, and my friend, who isn't a good golfer, tried to hit a shot with them and claimed they hurt his hands (because he poorly struck the ball). I can't advocate this enough though, if you're going to buy clubs, any club, get fitted and hit them first. Iron sets can be very expensive (Mizunos can cost up to $1,300 for a set) and it would be a shame to spend that kind of money and have a set that you find are too unforgiving or that you don't like afterwards.

There are a lot of good iron sets out there. I would suggest getting fitted first and then finding a pro shop with multiple demo clubs or going to a demo day. As for brands, I'm partial to Mizuno's forged blades, because in my opinion they are the best feeling irons I've hit. But Taylormade, Cobra, Titleist, Cleveland, etc. all make good clubs. Really depends on how much you're willing to spend and what feels best to you. Getting fitted though is a must. It would be a waste of money to buy a set and months later find out you need a lie or length change. And fitting is almost always free, so there's no risk.

Here's a video of a drill Luke Donald does. Looks silly and kind of like he's imitating Charles Barkley, but he's trying to get the same sensation you're looking for I think.

There are only two ways to determine which iron is better: 1.) a robot and the numbers that come with it 2.) you hit both of them back to back and see which one you like better. In my opinion, the only way to judge a club is to hit it. Years ago, when the Titleist AP2 launched, the head-pro of the course I was working at let me hit his and I loved them. I put in an order through him, but they had something like a 3 month waiting list. A few weeks later, we had a Mizuno demo day. I picked up an MP32 6 iron and flushed about 10 balls back to back. I then ran up to the pro shop, grabbed the demo AP2 6 iron, and hit 10 balls. I immediately canceled my AP2 order and got fitted for a set of MP32s. I'll never buy a club without hitting it first and would recommend everyone else do the same.

Could try experimenting with the ball position forward in your stance with the longer irons (assuming you're not already).

It would depend on why you scored the doubles and triples. 3 putting, missed greens, missed fairways, poor short game? I like to keep track of my GIRs, fairways hit, and number of putts per hole on the scorecard. That let's me assess where I need to focus when I practice.

I don't think it'll ever be officially recognized as a Major, but in my mind, its the unofficial 5th. Very competitive and deep field, tough course, and the winner rightly earns it. As for Chamblee's comments about 17 being largely based on wind and luck, is that any different than 12 at Augusta? How many times this year did we see the first guy go long and the second guy come up short all because of the swirling winds?