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Recommended 3-5 year old cavity back irons ?

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pendodave

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Hi,

Interested in getting a set of mid-handicap cavity back irons to fiddle with this winter. Thinking of ping i series or equivalent (not really keen on the bigger buckets/offsets).

Apart from (say) the ping i5/i10, what fairly widely available models can be considered to have withstood the tests of time and are likely to be picked up reasonably cheaply second hand. Are there any 'classics' (such as the i5 for instance) which have acheived iconic status because of their wonderfulness ? Probably worth keeping it to major brands so I can have a bit of choice.

I think it's only fair that those with a set in the shed declare an interest....
 
Depends how much of a cavity/GI you want I guess. Personally have the original Callaway X Forged which have served me very very well and can be picked up on the cheap these days. If you want something slightly more forgiving then the X16/18/20s are a reilable option
 
Personally I like my Taylormade R7's but if you're looking specifically at Ping, I wouldn't have a clue

................ I'm not old enough :D
 
Original Callaway X Forged are a good shout.

Also any of the TM TP cavity back irons are pretty good, I tried some forged ones when looking a while back and were pretty decent clubs.

Never tried the i5 but came pretty close to buying some i10s aswell.

I would also look at Cobra, can get picked up cheap and every Cobra iron I've hit I've been impressed with

Had Cleveland CG Red which were really good clubs and will be dirt cheap now I'd imagine.
 
not ping specific search - on the contrary - but I thought that those models were typical of what I was thinking of and that pretty much everyone would know the type of clubs I was after.
 
I would have thought any of the main makers clubs would fit the bill. Its more what you can get them for and if you like the look/ feel of them.
 
If you want something forgiving but not chunky then the Cally X-20 Tour are worth a look. A few Pros played them on Tour when they came out but they're very manageable and wouldn't cost the earth now.
I think Callaway have made some quality "Pro" irons down the years that have much more forgiveness than comparable "Players" clubs.
 
I'd recommend a set of mizuno mp30s, there about 7yrs old but are a beautiful set of irons and providing you can hit the long irons consistently then you'll reap the rewards. You should be able to pick a set up for about £100-150.
 
Stuart_C said:
I'd recommend a set of mizuno mp30s, there about 7yrs old but are a beautiful set of irons and providing you can hit the long irons consistently then you'll reap the rewards. You should be able to pick a set up for about £100-150.
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ha ha ! I have a set of mp30s at the moment and have had a bit of an up and down year - have shot 80 and some other low 80s, but have also had quite a few days when the ball striking is not the best. I struggle to play more than once a week and don't get to a range more than once either, so just wondered whether a more helpful iron would knock a couple of shots off and fancied trying something this winter. I agree that they are lovely when well struck, but I wonder if they are not as helpful as I need on my bad days...

Certainly I'm curious enough to blow up to £150 to find out. The various cally options look interesting, but as DaveM says, it's really a case of finding a good deal on almost any of the (very helpful) options suggested.

Might just get a 6 iron of one or two if nothing turns up in a week or two.
 
I have a set of forged Bridgestone professional weapons I am going to put in the for sale section soon. Lovely soft irons with a cavity/muscle back for the mid handicapper. Not too big or small, forgiving and a nice topline, I put these side by side with my playing partners jpx800 pros and they look identical in shape from the top and bottom. I have brought my handicap down from 22 to 9 in 18 months with these and just treated myself to a set of mp-53's, three weeks with the mizunos and not noticing any improvement over the bridgestones!

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$(KGrHqZ,!h4E5dFlwZFvBOY8Uq2o2!~~_12.JPG
 
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pendodave said:
ha ha ! I have a set of mp30s at the moment and have had a bit of an up and down year - have shot 80 and some other low 80s, but have also had quite a few days when the ball striking is not the best. I struggle to play more than once a week and don't get to a range more than once either, so just wondered whether a more helpful iron would knock a couple of shots off and fancied trying something this winter. I agree that they are lovely when well struck, but I wonder if they are not as helpful as I need on my bad days...

Certainly I'm curious enough to blow up to £150 to find out. The various cally options look interesting, but as DaveM says, it's really a case of finding a good deal on almost any of the (very helpful) options suggested.

Might just get a 6 iron of one or two if nothing turns up in a week or two.
Click to expand...

You've good taste man!

I changed this year from mp30's to jpx pro800 and my all round iron play has improved, with a lot more consistency and almost the same feel as my mp30's. They have a thicker topline but not a massive amount of difference and still look pleasing on the eye.

If you could find the right deal for you then i'd most definately recommend the pro800's
 
Cally X14 were one of the best clubs I owned. The tour version of the X20/22 arent as chunky as the standard model and are quite good. Have a look at some of the older Mizzy or Ping. Why not log onto Golfbidder as they tend to have stock going back a few years to get and idea of what you fancy and then search the interweb for the best deal
 
I changed from MP30s (best looking non "blade" Mizuno ever made imho) to my current MX 25s and noticed an immediate difference. Much easier to hit consistently.

If you're a Mizuno fan then I think you are spoilt for choice. From bargain sets of MX20/23/25s through nearly new/old stock MX200/300 to JPX Pro.

Must be something there you'd like.

I have a decent set of MX23's with TT DG S300 shafts doing nothing at the moment but that's another story.
 
Lots of options available, do yo have a local pro shop / driving range that sell sets that have been traded in, get a hit with these and see if you like the feel, look etc.
 
Just read this, agree with nwjocko re cobra pro cb (well I should, i've just got some off ebay) they are fantastic - better feeling than most of the current crop (tried most of them when considering new clubs). Should be able to get a great set for around 140. They come with project x shafts as standard as well. Beautiful clubs.
 
Thought I'd update this as I had so much assistance.

Just got some cleveland cb7s delivered from the bay. 4 - pw. Good price. Now I know why those marketing departments invented custom fitting...

During my week long trawl through the bay I've been really impressed by how many sets of callaways are available at a really good price (£100 - £150). There have been a couple of sets of x-forged (decided they weren't forgiving enough for the purposes of this experiment) going for less than £150 which is surely a huge steal. loads of x16/18 and 20s available but in the end decided that the clevelands were probably helpful enough without being too much of a shovel. We'll see...

I also noticed while trawling this site that a few months ago crazyface started a thread along exactly the same lines as me. Must be something about mp30s that makes people want to buy buckets. I think I'll keep them for a while tho, and probably keep 8 - pw in the bag for around the greens. I have a few slots available, as I'm not a multi-wedge kind of guy.
 
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