Irons - the best you've had

[fundy]

The current set of Xforgeds, whilst getting a bit past their best are probably the most consistent ive had, in terms of beauty and desire it has to be the set of SB blades I had many years ago, so good to look at tho question whether Id be able to hit then these days lol

 

[Snelly]

My current irons are the best I have ever had because they suit me and are pretty easy to hit - Callaway X-16 pros with Tour Stiff shafts (whatever that means).

However, I have tried my friends Callaway Razr Tour irons recently and think that they are even better. I am a club longer with them, they look terrific and I am sure would surpass my current bats that are 10+ years old.

That said, having only played 2 rounds of golf in 2012 (and played really well in those two rounds with my current clubs), new clubs are a very low priority for me. Certainly a long way behind a summer family holiday and a new shotgun!

As a related issue, I also recently hit a nice driver called a Callaway black octane Tour. This was 10.5 degrees and had a regular shaft which should make it unsuitable for me but the one shot I hit was on a 320 yard uphill par 4 and I put the ball to 8 feet from the pin. Wind behind but all the same, it was 30 yards past my test ball with my current driver! Think I might fancy one of those when their price comes down.

 

[LanDog]

Worst set of irons I ever had was a set of MX200's. Had them custom fitted as well. Crap. Was only too glad to get shot of those.

What was so bad about the MX-200's

 

[hangover]

Ping I15's closely followed by Titleist AP2's

 

[thecraw]

Best has to be my TaylorMade TPMB's. Stunning feel and they look so good.

Only ever had Mizuno MP-37's and Callaway X12 Pro Series before them. Both were great also but shafts prob never suited me.

MB's will be hard to shift from the bag.

I thought a set which cant even get the lofts correct and badges that fall out of them would be shifted on quite quickly!!!

 

[thecraw]

Same as Bubba


I loved my S59's.

 

[JustOne]

I also recently hit a nice driver called a Callaway black octane Tour. This was 10.5 degrees and had a regular shaft which should make it unsuitable for me......

Depends how you load the shaft on the downswing... ego often dictates purchases

 

[Snelly]

L​

Depends how you load the shaft on the downswing... ego often dictates purchases

You are going to need to spell that out a bit for me mate! I honestly don't fully understand your point.

 

[Imurg]

Toss up for me between my TopFlite Tour irons from the mid 90's and the Callaway X-20 Tours that began my descent back to single figures.
The TopFlites were superb clubs - Dynalite R300 shafts with GP Tour Velvet Wrap grips. I could hit almost any shot with them. Got me from 14 to 8 but I wore them out...
The X-20 Tours were a very solid set although maybe a little soft in the shaft - had PX Flighted 5.0's.
Got me striking the ball really well after 3 or 4 years of barely playing at all.
The current Razr X Tours are going pretty well though and the MP58's I had before that were good too - but only on a good-swinging day, if I wasn't swinging well they were a nightmare....

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

I also recently hit a nice driver called a Callaway black octane Tour

That's the driver I'm currently using and I love it. I had a TM R9 previously which I thought suited me well but the Callaway is about 20 yards longer due to a more penetrating flight. I've got the 9.5 stiff version. They are available on ebay and golfbidder for sensible money now.

 

[GB72]

In all honesty, my old Orka irons. Biggest mistake I ever made ditching them. I still have an old Orka FK2 wedge in my bag and would not swap it for anything

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Which Orka's did you have? I've got the PS9 blades, absolutely gorgeous set of sticks.

 

[GB72]

Which Orka's did you have? I've got the PS9 blades, absolutely gorgeous set of sticks.

Wish I had the game for the PS9 blades. Are those the ones that you can have stamped with your name etc? Wish i could remember the name now, think it was the Kii irons. If I sell the Clevelands and a couple of other clubs then there is a strong chance that I would go back for another set of Orkas.

 

[JustOne]

L​

You are going to need to spell that out a bit for me mate! I honestly don't fully understand your point.

You have a fast but smooth swing, you load the shaft softly/continually for the duration of your downswing this means in reality that a you might not get the optimum action from a shaft that is too stiff whereas (for example) I load the shaft late and can literally feel a regular shaft bend in my hands... my swing is no faster (possibly even slower) than yours through impact, I just load it differently. The only way to really find out is to get properly fitted, and that goes for me too.... although I'm sure you can afford it

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

GB72

Yes, that;s the ones although I didn't bother with mine. They are actually surprisingly easy to hit for pure blades. 2 of my mates play with Titleist 710MB blades and the Orkas are much more forgiving on off centre strikes.

 

[Foxholer]

Depends how you load the shaft on the downswing... ego often dictates purchases

L​

You are going to need to spell that out a bit for me mate! I honestly don't fully understand your point.

'Hitter' type swings tend to need a benefit from/need a slightly stiffer/stouter shaft than 'Swinger' swings of the same swing speed. Rule of thumb is to use the softest shaft you (feel you) can control. Lag and what happens through the hitting zone is quite important too.

The ego thing applies to the the thought that ... 'I use a stiff shaft, therefore I'm a good player', where in fact, certainly in my case, the truth is 'I can't control the clubhead properly during my swing, therefore I need a stiff shaft to help'.

 

[Robobum]

Ping eye 2s (the illegal ones) - my first proper set, amazingly long with zero feel.

Cleveland TA7s - bit more feel, but still a bit chunky.

MP 60s - love em, even more so now that they are showing ball strike scars on the face. Some of the marks are relatively close the the sweet spot too!!!

 

[northernshep]

Ping Eye 2 also for me, Infact my old man's till he wanted them back!

Really like my S58's I've got now,

 

[Snelly]

You have a fast but smooth swing, you load the shaft softly/continually for the duration of your downswing this means in reality that a you might not get the optimum action from a shaft that is too stiff whereas (for example) I load the shaft late and can literally feel a regular shaft bend in my hands... my swing is no faster (possibly even slower) than yours through impact, I just load it differently. The only way to really find out is to get properly fitted, and that goes for me too.... although I'm sure you can afford it

Thanks for that - much appreciated. My friend's Razr Tour irons have a much softer shaft than in my current irons too and I have pondered how much this contributes to me being about three quarters of a club longer with them.

As you probably know, I take little interest in club technology, fitting, shaft flex and so on. I know that my clubhead speed is higher than most people because the ball goes further than most people that I play with - you being one of the notable exceptions in fact!

My simple equation for shaft flex choice is that I seem to hit it quite far compared to others, therefore I need stiffer shafts. The Tour X Stiff shafts in my irons feel good although if I try and belt a ball a bit harder for whatever reason, it seems easy to hit a hook, even though the swing feels okay. Any thoughts on this guru?

In addition, the shafts in my irons were so stiff that my mate who runs a big golf shop said that they were very hard to sell on which is why he gave them to me for £100 about 10 years ago. Same goes for my current driver which didn't cost me anything at all. The point being that whilst I could afford some new clubs and to get fitted, I resent the margin that the manufacturers make on new stuff so tend to only buy 2nd hand items. In fact the only new club I have bought in my life was a putter.

So when it comes to golf clubs, I don't give a huge amount of thought to what I buy and I am loath to spend much (which is out of character for me). No ego involved I don't think. Even though I have got a pretty big one!

I think I will borrow my friend's Octane driver with the regular shaft and do some comparisons against my current one at the driving range and go from there.


Sincere apologies for hijacking this thread too.

To bring it back on track, I have also had good sets of irons over the years that I didn't mention. In the 80's I had Titleist Tour Model Forged and they were superb but you needed an good game to get the best out of them.

In the 90's, the best irons I had were called McGregor DoctorX. They went miles! Further than Pings and I had some good results from them but man they were ugly! So ugly that they had to go in the end....!!!

 

[USER1999]

I always wondered what sort of tasteless git played with the Doctor X irons, and now I know. cheers Snelly. I never tried hitting any, as I couldn't get past the looks.