Been testing irons - still confused

[beatle]

I've been out today testing irons to replace my old Dunlop starter irons. I had a few models in mind from reading reviews on the net and in magazines. They were TM Superlaunch/Burner Plus/Burner 09's, Callaway Diablo Edge, Cobra S2 Max and possibly some Mizunos as their irons seem to have a good reputation.

Disclaimer, the following is how I got on with each of these clubs, not necessarily if that club is actually any good or not.

I tested the following:

TM Superlaunch - Totally underwhelmed. Did not hit these well at all. The large sole seemed to impede my swing on the mat. More likely my fault than an issue with the club. Either way, not for me.

TM Burner Plus - Nice club at a good price (£299). Seemed to hit this fairly consistently.

TM Burner 09 - Like this too. Couldn't tell too much difference between this and the TM Burner Plus apart from this one looked a bit nicer.

Callaway Diablo Edge - Really disappointed with this. I'd read a lot about this club and was looking forward to seeing how I got on with it. I didn't. Add that to the high price tag, this was definitely out of the running.

Adams Golf - Can't remember the model. Was OK but not in the running.

John Letters - See Adams golf

Nike SQ Machspeed - I don't know why, but these irons were ones I wasn't expecting to like. However, I was way wrong. I was hitting these cleanly and getting reasonable distance and accuracy. Definitely on the short list.

Mizuno MX100 - I just didn't like these. I expected I would, but I didn't. Simple as that really.

Ping G10 - Didn't look as snazzy as some of the others, but they seemed nice, quality irons. Towards the top of my budget, but still in the running.

Cobra S2 - The sales guy recommended these over the S2 Max. I thought these were pretty good and at an attractive price too.

So after testing all these I thought I'd have either picked out the irons for me, or at least narrowed it down to one or two models.

The one's still in the running are TM Burner Plus, TM Burner 09, Nike SQ's, Ping G10's and maybe the Cobra S2's. The real big surprise ones for me were the Nikes. The distance was good and they were very forgiving.

The search goes on, but at least I've narrowed it down to five...

 

[golfstick]

ping i15 -i really like this how come u havnt tried the newer model

........edit - whoops i thought u were testing drivers

 

[kid2]

Beatle,
I have the Cobra S2's......There great bats if the strong lofts dont bother you......Plus you can grow with them rather than having to change them when you get lower

 

[beatle]

ping i15 -i really like this how come u havnt tried the newer model

The i15's are over £100 dearer.

 

[beatle]

Beatle,
I have the Cobra S2's......There great bats if the strong lofts dont bother you......Plus you can grow with them rather than having to change them when you get lower

Yeah I quite liked these. The guy in the store echoed what you said that the S2's would be a better long-term prospect (rather than the S2 Max).

 

[golfstick]

whats ur price range, have u tried anything from titleist, the AP2 irons r really nice, bit expensive tho

 

[kid2]

They have a thicker top edge than some irons in the same category but after a few outings this isnt at all noticable...

 

[beatle]

whats ur price range, have u tried anything from titleist, the AP2 irons r really nice, bit expensive tho

Ideally £400 max really. I would go a bit higher if I tested something and there was a big noticeable difference.

 

[pokerjoke]

You say you were trying out irons,however are you being fitted or just buying off the shelf.

 

[beatle]

You say you were trying out irons,however are you being fitted or just buying off the shelf.

The ones I was trying were just off the shelf. However, my intention is to get fitted (see this other post of mine)

http://forums.golf-monthly.co.uk//showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/277876/Main/277876/#Post277876

 

[RGDave]

Interesting stuff beatle. Just remember to (mostly) disregard distance in your choice. I have a good few sets of irons and distance is not ever something to consider too much i.m.o.

If it was, I wouldn't play with Callaway X-18s....they are the shortest club I've ever owned!

 

[pokerjoke]

If i was getting fitted i would expect a full explanation of why i needed the clubs that the fitter suggested,i would also expect him to ask me a lot of questions about my game first before he recommended a club.Once fitted and happy ive only got myself to blame.Buying off the shelf is definately not the way to go if your paying out lots of cash.

 

[Smiffy]

Ideally £400 max really. I would go a bit higher if I tested something and there was a big noticeable difference.

I got my i15's (4-PW) for £440.00
Not much over your budget for a quality set of sticks.

 

[Herbie]

I don't understand why anyone would try so many golf clubs, maybe a little over kill to me. I think people spend far too much time testing/changing/borrowing clubs and wasting a lot of time and money that could be better spent on lessons.

Any number of lessons with a good pro is far more beneficial than constantly going through a wardrobe of clubs. But if you are loaded and golf shops are like a sweet shop to you then fill yer boots as all those golfers who cannot resist the pull of the newness of something make all new kit come down in price quicker.

 

[chris661]

I don't understand why anyone would try so many golf clubs, maybe a little over kill to me. I think people spend far too much time testing/changing/borrowing clubs and wasting a lot of time and money that could be better spent on lessons.

Any number of lessons with a good pro is far more beneficial than constantly going through a wardrobe of clubs. But if you are loaded and golf shops are like a sweet shop to you then fill yer boots as all those golfers who cannot resist the pull of the newness of something make all new kit come down in price quicker.

He is trying to narrow it down to a set that he likes then get custom fitted, from what I gather. That seems like a perfectly sensible idea. I do not get the impression he is looking for a quick fix more like something to last a bit longer!

 

[Alex1975]

I don't understand why anyone would try so many golf clubs, maybe a little over kill to me. I think people spend far too much time testing/changing/borrowing clubs and wasting a lot of time and money that could be better spent on lessons.

Any number of lessons with a good pro is far more beneficial than constantly going through a wardrobe of clubs. But if you are loaded and golf shops are like a sweet shop to you then fill yer boots as all those golfers who cannot resist the pull of the newness of something make all new kit come down in price quicker.

He is trying to narrow it down to a set that he likes then get custom fitted, from what I gather. That seems like a perfectly sensible idea. I do not get the impression he is looking for a quick fix more like something to last a bit longer!

I agree, no idea where that post came from


So anyway, @OP I was reading along thinking, hes going to love the MX100s, way shocked you had nothing to say about them. Having said that I thought I was going to love the Ping G15 and was very non plus when I hit them.

How come your looking at G10s and not G15s? Price?

What shop were you in by the way? I am guessing Direct Golf as I think they are the only guys who do Adams.

Did you think about the Callaway X22?

Al

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I don't understand why anyone would try so many golf clubs, maybe a little over kill to me. I think people spend far too much time testing/changing/borrowing clubs and wasting a lot of time and money that could be better spent on lessons.

Any number of lessons with a good pro is far more beneficial than constantly going through a wardrobe of clubs. But if you are loaded and golf shops are like a sweet shop to you then fill yer boots as all those golfers who cannot resist the pull of the newness of something make all new kit come down in price quicker.

He is trying to narrow it down to a set that he likes then get custom fitted, from what I gather. That seems like a perfectly sensible idea. I do not get the impression he is looking for a quick fix more like something to last a bit longer!

I disagree Herb. If you are going to fork out a large wad on updating your irons (remember he had an old set of Dunlop so he's hardly getting optimum performance) then I'd want to be trying as many as I could to find the best for my game.

There are so many good sets of clubs out there these days, particularly those aimed at the mid-high handicappers that it can be hard to find THE one and if the OP is then moving on to C/F he wants to know where to look.

 

[Region3]

I think the shaft has more to do with how a club feels than the head.

Did all the clubs you tried have the same shafts in?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I think the shaft has more to do with how a club feels than the head.

Did all the clubs you tried have the same shafts in?

I agree with you in as much as you need to be trying different shafts. A TM regular (in graphite) will be more whippy than most others. In steel there is still a difference between say a KBS and an R300

 

[Alex1975]

I think the shaft has more to do with how a club feels than the head.

Did all the clubs you tried have the same shafts in?

He was trying off the peg clubs so they will all have had there won shafts in.