# Choosing the right irons?



## TheBynert (Jul 5, 2010)

hi ppl need a bit of advice on some iron sets been looking at ping g2 g5 and i3, just wondering which will be the best for me. also if u can think of any other brands which may be good for a high handicapper trying to improve his game thanks look forward to u responses


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## DingleBerry (Jul 5, 2010)

What have u now? Also what is your handicapp? And how much money have u to spend? And how dedicated are you to golf at the moment? I mean are you in it for life!!


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## HomerJSimpson (Jul 5, 2010)

Budget, ability and current line up. If you are new to the game my advice would be to have lessons and wait until you have a more repeatable action. If you already play it depends on how good you are already, what you've currently got and what your aims and budget are


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## TheBynert (Jul 5, 2010)

been playing for 3 yrs with a cheap cheap set of donnays which are falling to bits my handicap is 21, and yes i have the golf bug was thinking about spending around Â£300 mark what do u think


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## golfdub (Jul 5, 2010)

My mate uses slazenger ezz and they are about 200 with a driver from jjb and they are the easiest club to hit ( which I have used and I have tested a few sets )but they lack distance, they are all hybrids so hence the easy use , I know slazenger is not the best know make but they good clubs.
Hope that helps


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## TheBynert (Jul 5, 2010)

cheers for the advice so what do u think about the ping g2 irons


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## HomerJSimpson (Jul 5, 2010)

My advice would be to try before you buy and make sure it suits your game. Nothing wrong with Ping clubs (I nearly went for the I15's) but check out Cally X14/16, TM Tour Burner and some of the previous Mizuno incarnations.


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## RGDave (Jul 5, 2010)

Just buy a set of Callaways and be done with it.

Personally, I'd recommend a set of X14/16/18 irons....now cheap enough second hand. Big Bertha irons are also good but not to my taste.

You could buy some Pings, but even the best Ping game improvement irons are short of Callaway in terms of outright forgiveness.

I'm playing with X18s a.t.m. and it is almost laughable how easy they are to hit.


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## JamieT1977 (Jul 5, 2010)

I played Callaways for 3 years tried 2 diff sets and never got below 19, I now have a set of Mizuno Mx-20,s by far the most forgiving and best clubs ive ever had and now down to 12,
You could pick a good set up for around Â£100 ,


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## RGDave (Jul 6, 2010)

I played Callaways for 3 years tried 2 diff sets and never got below 19, I now have a set of Mizuno Mx-20,s by far the most forgiving and best clubs ive ever had and now down to 12,
		
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Each to their own. Your improvement has got nothing to do with your choice of irons. Comparing one vs the other, the MX-20s are not even half as forgiving as a set of Callaways. The fact that you hit them well is not a good recommendation for a beginner. 

I've played with T-zoids, MX-900s and even Tour Blades in the past. Until someone is seriously good, then a set of Callaways (or Pings) is a very pragmatic choice.

Having already had six sub-80 rounds this summer (in just 2 months) playing with a set of X-18s as opposed to my MX-900s, I can't agree with the theory that using super-game-improvement clubs stops players from getting better or making good scores.


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## Oddsocks (Jul 6, 2010)

hi ppl need a bit of advice on some iron sets been looking at ping g2 g5 and i3, just wondering which will be the best for me. also if u can think of any other brands which may be good for a high handicapper trying to improve his game thanks look forward to u responses
		
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i recently tried a few at american golf, Taylor Made Burners, Burner Hi Launch and to be honest wasnt really striking the ball overly well.  The guy in there got me to try the wilson DI9 steel fat shaft which had a uniflex shaft or something, basically the harder i swung it the stiffer the shaft was meant to get. with the 30 or so balls i hit in the netts i can say i was striking the DI9's so much nice than the burners, but im a taylor made man and put it down to a bad swinging day as i had just come back from a nightmere round.

But anyway, my point is these were awesome, and if im totally honest i reckon my purchase should have been the Di9's in favour of better scoring, their awesome and in my opinion at less than 300 now for a new set a great buy.


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## JamieT1977 (Jul 6, 2010)

Each to there own as you say, However I would totally disagree that mx-20,s are not as forgiving as any callaway iron, The soft feel and you get gives you alot of confidence and IMO they are nicer to look down on compared to callaways, 

However this is only my thoughts, 

The best suggestion I would say is if you have a budget of Â£300 you can get alot for your money go to your local shop that has demos and try and use as many as you can before you commit that way you geta good feel for what you like,


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## RGDave (Jul 6, 2010)

Each to there own as you say, However I would totally disagree that mx-20,s are not as forgiving as any callaway iron, The soft feel and you get gives you alot of confidence and IMO they are nicer to look down on compared to callaways, 

However this is only my thoughts, 

The best suggestion I would say is if you have a budget of Â£300 you can get alot for your money go to your local shop that has demos and try and use as many as you can before you commit that way you geta good feel for what you like,
		
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I guess a lot depends on whether a player wants to believe the science or instinctive personal response. I agree with you that a beautiful club (like most made by Mizuno) will make anything made by Callaway look ugly and shovel-like.
Like I inferred, a club like an MX-20 hardly gets into the game improvement category whereas Callaway irons are right at the top of the scale according to Ralph Maltby. As I have played with irons designed by Ralph (Tommy Armour) and tried many sets over the years, I believe there is method in the madness of his playability (MPF) charts.
f.w.i.w. Mizuno MX-20 score around the 500 mark, whereas most Callaways are up in the 900s or 1000s even.

I am playing with a set of X-18s a.t.m. to see if there is anything in it  *for me* and the initial results are good. I'm hitting the ball straighter and better with the X-18s than with my MX-900s.

Other than that, I'm happy to let anyone decide for themselves.


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## JamieT1977 (Jul 6, 2010)

lol, Do you work for Callaway? If not they should give you a job on the hard sell! 

Try as many as possible diff makes and models as poss. then make up your mind is the only way to get the right set for you.IMO if I,m aloud to have one lol


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## RGDave (Jul 6, 2010)

lol, Do you work for Callaway? If not they should give you a job on the hard sell! 

Try as many as possible diff makes and models as poss. then make up your mind is the only way to get the right set for you.IMO if I,m aloud to have one lol
		
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You are allowed to have an opinion....and it's great that you are here to counter my argument in favour of SGI irons. The things is *you* could easily play with any type of iron and, given your improvement, play well and get lower.
The OP was interested in clubs for a beginner (unless I'm wrong) and most of the clubs made by Mizuno and Taylor Made are not ideal for inexperienced players. I started with 1970s blades and then moved onto standard cavity backed clubs (Mizuno Astron/Tommy Armour 845). Ping G and Callaway X weren't around in those days.
If I was starting again, I'd get something suited to a beginner and for me, now, my opinion would be that it's better to enjoy playing with the best of modern technology.


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## GB72 (Jul 6, 2010)

I would add another name to the mix, Cobra. They have superb Nippon shafts fitted as standard in most models and the SZ thta I use are very forgiving without having the overly large heads found on many game improver irons.


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## HomerJSimpson (Jul 6, 2010)

At the end of the day irrespective of the name on the badge, its about how you hit them. My point remains in that to really make sure you get a set that will suit you, you have to go out and hit them and ideally on a range or practice ground and not just into a bay.


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## kid2 (Jul 6, 2010)

I would add another name to the mix, Cobra. They have superb Nippon shafts fitted as standard in most models and the SZ thta I use are very forgiving without having the overly large heads found on many game improver irons.
		
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I would 2nd this and Dave will probably also agree with me here....
I changed to the Cobra S2 Irons and although i have only played 3 rounds so far with them i have become more consistent strikewise with these.....Accuracy has improved and the only thing im out on at the moment is distance accuracy....There so bloody long its mental......Its the best decision i have made was to buy these and i know its for the better in the long run.....
They can be had pretty cheap at the moment but i ended up having to buy the 4Iron and gap wedge as extra clubs as my set only originally came 5 to SW.....And there's a 12 deg difference between PW and SW if you dont bridgeit with the 49 deg Gap


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## RGDave (Jul 7, 2010)

I would 2nd this and Dave will probably also agree with me here....
		
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Indeed I would. The current crop of Cobra cavity irons are comfortably up with the best. In fact, the S2s have almost identical figures to the i15s. Interestingly, the S2s have a higher MOI to the i15s, but MOI isn't everything, otherwise none of us would ever hit dodgy shots with our drivers.


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## GB72 (Jul 7, 2010)

If you decide to go down the Callaway route I got details of these offers through this morning
http://www.justgolfonline.co.uk/brandscat/Callaway/Golf-Clubs/Irons


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## haplesshacker (Jul 7, 2010)

This has been an interesting read, espeially with Dave's 'experiment' and his SGI Callys.

The only certainty is that as a beginner, what suits you now, may not suit you two years down the line. Both in looks and playability. It really depends what your 'stock' shot shape is, and what your ball striking is like.

Whatever you choose, you've got to be comfortsble with it at address. This is important simply for how it makes you feel stood over the things. It's also worth going for a 'brand'. This is not purely for 'snob' reasons, but for trade in and resale value further down the line.

I did a survey on here last year regarding the age of the clubs they play. I was surprised to see how many had irons that were less than two years old. So the above points are worth considering. (It appears we can't resist shiny new sticks!)

Fwiw. I started out with some Mizuno MX19's. Beginners clubs by any standard. Thicker top line, huge offset, large face, etc. They served me well to a point. My swing path and typical shot shape (a hook) weren't helped by the offset. So I changed to the Mizuno MX300's. Smaller, with less offset. I feel 100% better when stood over the things, and they generally respond better to the way I play. But it was trial and error with trying several different makes to find something I liked.

What suits one player, may not suit another, hence why I'm intrigued by Dave's experiment. Try whatever tickles your fancy, and enjoy the process. You might get lucky and find a club that sticks with you a bit longer than a couple of years.

But Dave's test proves that you don't have to be a high handicapper to still get the best out of super gi clubs.

Apologies for going on.


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## Hendy (Jul 8, 2010)

cheers for the advice so what do u think about the ping g2 irons
		
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Use Ping G2's myself.. Very good clubs i think, i had started with a half set of G5's but missed the likes of the 4 iron so sold them and got myself a full set of G2's second hand and have not looked back.. They play and feel the same as the G5 not alot of difference in them.

Have a look on the ping web site for what colour dot you need, based on your height etc.

Tho personnaly i feel my G2's will do me till i get close down to 9 or 10.. (if that every happens lol)


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