New irons, "better player" or "game improvement"

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colint

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I'm replacing my TM RAC OS irons and demo'd a few at the range tonight, Srixon i701, Nike VR Split Cav and Mizuno MX200. Despite my HC (17) I hit my irons pretty well, I fade / slice when playing badly but don't suffer many duffed shots etc.

I was expecting to struggle a bit as the ones I hit are less forgiving that the TM, but I hit them all pretty much the same as the TM. The only difference was that I thined a few, but they still went OK.

The thing I'm confused about is was I thining them more with these clubs, or could I just feel it. I'm struggling to see the point of less forgiving irons, is the idea that you can feel the bad shots more so know whats gone wrong ?
 
I have to be honest, and say as I've been told by fellow forum members, if you are off 17 you are doing pretty well so why look to change at all. I guess the Nike or the MX200's would be a good next step up and think from personal preference I'd go with the MX200's. Having hit the Nike's I didn't really like the feel of the club off the ball and struggled to hit them as consistantly as I hit the Mizunos.

I don't want to be a downer if you have your heart set on new clubs but beware buyers remorse. As I detailed the other day I went to a TM demo day thinking I wanted their TP irons. Having hit them I realised I wasn't good enough to do them justice and so have shelved that idea. Maybe try a few more makes and models and then see where you are then
 
I think it takes time to bed a new set or club in. When new we all make the mistake of expecting great and wonderous things from our new gear, almost hoping they will do all of the work.Once we get over the newness a clubs advantages/disadvantages begin to come to the fore.I really dont think anyone can make a decision on a new set based on an hour or so with them. Check out any golf stores second hand selection there will be lots of nearly new sets traded in after a week or so and not cutting it.good luck in your search.
 
I have to be honest, and say as I've been told by fellow forum members, if you are off 17 you are doing pretty well so why look to change at all. I guess the Nike or the MX200's would be a good next step up and think from personal preference I'd go with the MX200's. Having hit the Nike's I didn't really like the feel of the club off the ball and struggled to hit them as consistantly as I hit the Mizunos.

I don't want to be a downer if you have your heart set on new clubs but beware buyers remorse. As I detailed the other day I went to a TM demo day thinking I wanted their TP irons. Having hit them I realised I wasn't good enough to do them justice and so have shelved that idea. Maybe try a few more makes and models and then see where you are then
Click to expand...

I did have my heart set on burning some cash, but now just feel like whats the point ? I was expecting them to feel either fantastic, or hard to hit, but they just all felt a bit similar. I'm going to try the Ap1's again and maybe a few others, be interested to hear how you get on the Callaway demo day
 
AP1 are great irons, if possible try them at the same time as the MX200. I'm playing off about the same as you and narrowed it down to those two before going for the MX200 on looks (blue bits removed, they were too chavtastic) and feel.

As for what to go for..... That's the fun part left up to you. Take your time, enjoy it and love your selection.
 
my points for using less forgiving irons...

1. Centre hits feel really good
2. Easier to know which spot the ball hit the clubface and so it is easier to find your mistakes.
3. I think they look better to look down on them.
4. When somebody who doesn't know you sees you have them the bag they think you gotta be unreal at golf! :D
 
My arguments against that

Better clubs have smaler sweet spots (still bigger than blades granted) and so you need to strike well more often

Off centre hits aren't as rewarded as "improver" clubs which have more foregiveness

A lot of cavity backs now have thinner top lines so looks have been improved.

What difference does what a player have in the bag make. Its how he uses them bot what signals they give out
 
This might seem strange to some, but I've always taken the view that if I don't make a good enough swing to hit the ball well, I'd rather know about it than have the club compensate for me and the ball still goes well.

Obviously I want to improve, but I want to do it by hitting the ball better, so I prefer clubs that give enough feedback to tell where on the club I've struck the ball.

If I were playing for my wages then I'll take the clubs that will produce the best results every time, but I (as 99.9% of us do) play for enjoyment, and my enjoyment comes from knowing I've done something well rather than just seeing a good end result.
 
I know the feeling, I went to my Pro and asked if he could get me the Cobra S9-1 driver and fairway as HID said I could treat myself out of my redundancy and he just said "Steve, whats wrong with the kit you have and you need to work on your swing before thinking of buying kit for the sake of it" :(
 
I recently had a very similar dilemma. Playing off 15 with Mizuno MX19s. Didn't like them anymore because they were just too 'game improver'.

Tried out a few sets - Titleist 775s, TM Tour Burner, but i went for Srixon i701s. I hit them and they just felt right. They have enough forgiveness to accomodate off centre hits, but they let you know when you haven't hit it out of teh middle. For me, thats exactly what I was after. I paid £300 for mine (4i to PW), less £90 trade in for my well worn MX19s...which I thought was a bargain.

If you carry on with massive cavities you won't get that feedback on poorly struck shots, and in my opinion you wont improve as quickly.

These are my views. The only thing you can do is try some out for yourself. Don't be biased towards the big brands though, and make sure you get fitted.
 
Interesting to hear you're happy with the Srixon, if I had to buy a set based on last nights demo it would have been the 701's. Doing some more auditions at the weekend
 
Interesting to hear you're happy with the Srixon, if I had to buy a set based on last nights demo it would have been the 701's. Doing some more auditions at the weekend
Click to expand...

They are a cracking iron in my opinion, much better than anything else I tried. I wouldn't get the tour versions though, unless you are looking for something to butter your toast with!

If you do get them, i'd advise the Nippon shafts which are much lighter. Mine also have Lamkin grips, which I love.
 
The AP1 are a great set of irons. I was lucky in that I could justify getting them as my old irons were 12+ years old.

The only down side of the AP1 is they do mark easily so look worn after a short period, apart from that am very happy with them.
 
Had a custom fitting session today and tried a few more clubs. With the right shaft / length I was hitting the Nike split really well, tried the callaway X-22 tours which were good, but then tried the X-Forged. I was expecting to struggle with these as they're advertised for "highly skilled" players which I'm not, but I was absolutely nailing them. I was on a range so could see the flight, wasn't being conned hitting a net etc. Went back and hit a few more forgiving sets like the X22 and Tour Burner and they felt like shovels.

I'm totally confused, everything about the test said buy the callaway,I was hitting them miles better than my current TM's,not in distance but flight etc. But something keeps telling me that I'm surely not good enough at 17 HC to use them ?
 
Maybe it's the 17 h/c that is wrong - give it a few months and ask the question again ;)

Do the clubs suit a 14 h/c any better ? :rolleyes:

Or this time next year a single figure player, like yourself ? :eek:
 
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