Hi, how to decide on an upgraded iron set?

[RogB]

Hi all,

Signed up to the forum recently after reading the tips and banter for some time. I've been playing social golf for about a year, mainly in SW London / Surrey but occasionally up to Scotland. As a total beginner (in my forties, not played as a kid) I got a Ben Sayers package set, against perceived wisdom but the choice initially was too daunting and I wanted to get stuck in. I've had a couple of sets of 6 lessons so feel the basics are getting ingrained properly. Over the year I've been replacing the clubs which worked least well for me to a tight budget - putter to a yes Madison, driver to MD superstrong, and then after a big gap the hybrid and finally 3 and 5 (all MD). These have all proven to be a marked upgrade in performance (less marked improvement in my scores ) - I'm now wondering about the irons. I hit them quite well, bad shot is a hook but that is due to a lazy turn at the waist and not following through fully which I continually work on.

Had a sh!t day at work so popped in to AG at Birdhills to try some GI irons to see if the grass was greener (not been before, nor tested any clubs properly). Tried Di9, Di11 (which I'd read a lot about and thought would suit me best) and the managers suggestions of callaway x-22, nicklaus and of course my own. Then I was asked what iron and I realised I hadn't thought much about how to test them. I chose 7 irons as I figured the strike paper would mask any spin on long irons and i needed to see how far they carried so no point picking a 5 and guessing where it went!

So after much rambling - how do you systematically test for a new set of irons? Is a 7 iron sensible or should I have picked an extreme or 2 clubs from each set? Could you tell after 10 balls if it would ever work for you?

Cheers for any thoughts and advice
Roger

PS I hit 10 balls with each and came out with a running order of x22>nicklaus (but grips too skinny)>di11=My Ben Sayers>di9 for distance but only the x22 felt noticeably better and had a significantly smaller dispersion on the strike paper on the shop clubs - nearly all on the face:rofl:. Very strong right to left wind but most of my shots went pretty straight - no hooks! and trajectories all quite similar on a good strike.

 

[G1BB0]

firstly welcome to the forum.

I am similar to yourself, took golf up last year age 39 and bought a cheap bundle on ebay. Slowly replaced them and since then have changed my irons 3 times!! (along with everything else)

I had Nike VR full cavities prior to my current irons but really struggled with them after initially hitting them really well. My advice is go with the ones that feel the best but also you feel confident looking at them at address etc.

The reason I say this is for some reason the Nikes, as good a club as they are just didnt look right even though I hit some great shots with them. I always felt I was gonna balls it up.

The Ping G10 I have now look huge in comparison but I have been hitting some of my best irons since I started playing.

X22 are a very good iron (as are the Di9/Di11) from what I have read and have seen them in a few bags at the range

If it was me I would go with the 22's as I hit the x20's and was a gnats testicles from buying them. why not go back and try them in maybe a 5 iron and a 9 iron, see how they feel at both ends of the bag.

Good Luck :thup:

 

[ArnoldArmChewer]

Hi & welcome

I use x22 (tours) and find them to be a very good club, as you will note from numerous threads just watch yourself at AG, it appears that their agenda is often to sell you the stock with the best profit margin. Go back and try out right thro' the iron set(s), you should buy what you feel happiest with. Good luck and happy buying.

 

[chrisd]

Hi Rog and welcome

A good set of clubs will certainly help you play better and a custom fit set is the way most of us go.

If you asked me whether I would go to AG for a fitting - no, I absolutely wouldn't as, for me when I was a beginner, they clearly mislead me into choosing the clubs that they wanted to shift without really caring whether they were the right ones for me.

I would go and try the top makes and see which ones you like the look of, asthetics is vitally important as in the moral " if they look good they will play good". If you choose a maker and model then most of the top makes will do factory custom fit these days and if the budget stretches to it, for me, thats the way to go.

If you trust your golf teacher I would suggest that you talk to him about the clubs he feels would best suit you, he may sell clubs and be able to demo you a few. I certainly would take your time and make a considered choice and not be pushed by an eager store salesperson. Furthermore, I would carefully check the pricing of the clubs to make sure that you really do get a good deal, and I wouldn't rule out secondhand as you could get a really top quality club at a much reduced price and you may even get a chance to try them before parting with the readies.

Best of luck whatever you decide

 

[Ethan]

I would take my time upgrading. If you have only been playing seriously for a year, then your game is still developing fast and what you get today may be unsuitable in 6 months or so. AG at Bird Hills is not one of the worst ones, but their suggestions of X22 and Nicklaus are rather unsurprising given that they have a promotion on the former and always push the latter.

If I was you, I would look for a good value second hand set of something. If you like MD golf already, they might fit the bill. You should be able to hit the second hand set at the range, and more than just the 7 iron.

Then in a year or two when your game has stabilised, get fitted and get a new set of shinys.

 

[RogB]

Thanks for the welcome and suggestions chaps. As Ethan suggests I probably (hopefully) am still building a swing which would make an early upgrade an intermediate step. To be fair to the guys at AG I never felt pressurised and could take what I liked to try at the range - after pointing out my budget was ~£300 I accepted the suggestion to take the x-22 just for comparison. While I thought it better it wasn't really significantly better so perhaps I will hold fire and try a few different makes in the meantime. I guess I was wondering how people recognise a club that really suits - does it just stand out like a sore thumb or is it just marginally better initially and you grow into it?
As a scientist I find it a bit subjective but then its a game built on subtlety and precision and everybody is different so probably no hard and fast rules. My other upgrades each came in at less than £50 (apart from the driver) and each were a big step up - I was hoping something would be apparent in the irons. Early days - back to practice, a round tomorrow, and quiz my pro when I next need something fixed!
Cheers
RogB

 

[In_The_Rough]

If your taking lesson matey liase with your Pro regarding changing clubs when the time comes. By then you will hopefully be a better player than you currently are and then see what he can offer you and even perhaps get fitted for them. If I were you steer clear of AG regarding clubs as my feelings on them for equipment is well known and the readings the give you from the launch monitors is quite frankly a load of cobblers, Homer on here is another fierce critic of AG as well but everybodies experiences of them are different.