Sets of Irons - Technology

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michaeljpoole

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Currently I game Maxfli Revolution Black Spot Irons. I carry 4-SW. This set of irons must be close to 15 years old now (how did that happen!) They were originally released in 1999. Apart from having to get them regripped they are still in very good condition

Why haven't I upgraded? To be honest I am not really sure. I feel comfortable with these irons. I know how far I hit each club and distance is not a problem on them. I am sure I could hit new irons longer (which are probably stronger). But its comforting knowing how far you can hit an iron.

In addition the feel off them when you hit that perfect shot out the middle is just incredible like a knife through butter and the reason that makes you keep coming back to golf.

I have looked at potential new irons and playing off 12 i feel there is a bit of a gap in the market. I am not good enough to play with blades/players irons but then again beginners irons look so big over the ball. One thing i love about my irons is the look over the ball a really thin top line but they are not too small so you think you can't hit the ball.

This gets me onto my point. I fully believe technology in woods have benefited our games in the last 15 years. I wouldn't dream of using a 15 year old driver. Currently i am playing a R11. However my question is how much do we think irons have improved over the last 15 years? Am i missing out on something by not upgrading? What have people found the main benefits are?
 
Those Revolutions were a quality piece of kit when they came out, nearly took a punt on a set myself.
I think, year on year, there's not a huge gain from one incarnation to the next.
For example, G15-G20...not much real difference. But G15 to G25...? Possibly a decent enough improvement to warrant a change.
If you look at Snelly's account of his day with the Ping fitting van you'll see. I believe he used Cally X18's or similar..after fitting he has gained distance and decreased dispersion.
But there is a huge gap between X18's - from a similar era to the Revs - and i25.....15 years!
Is there a REAL, discernible improvement to be found between, say, 2010 AP2 and 2014 AP2...?
Maybe, but is it more down to the shaft than the head...?
 
When you say "game them" do you mean " play with "?

I have to say that the improvement in irons in the last few years is immense, the technology has come one so much and that is reflected IMO throughout the club as a whole. My new Callaway x2 Hot irons have three things that make them hugely better, the face is thin and it gives a trampoline effect that I can absolutely feel, they are tweaked one club strong but still seem to retain the height they should and the 85g shaft is a joy to hit with a slowish swing. On test I hit a 6 iron a measured 210 yards and now play up to 2 clubs less that I did with my Titleist AP2's - so, I get a higher trajectory and so much easier strike to aid consistency.

I suggest you go out and game a few demo clubs - I think you'll be amazed!
 
As far as a replacement goes, I'm a bit of a Mizzy fan and I think they offer excellent options for low/mid handicappers who want a bit of feel with some forgiveness but without too much clunkiness. Try any of the MP 53, 54, 59, 64 or JPX Pro 825s. I think you'll find something you like in that lot.
 
Thanks for the replies guy. I definitely think its time to try a few sets and see how I get on. I guess the other advance over the past 15 years is custom fitting. My current irons are just off the rack whereas i cant see how a set custom made for me can't help.

One of the problems i face is that i live in Hong Kong, but I am back in the UK in a couple of weeks for a couple of weeks so I think i will take a look then as prices seem to be lower in the UK.

MashieNiblick - Thanks for the advice i was looking at the JX Pro 825s or the EZ's. Mark Crossfield plays with the EZs so if a pro doesn't find them too big I don't think i have a leg to stand on here
 
I'll keep an eye on this thread, my irons are also circa 15 years old and I'm always window shopping at the latest high handicap offerings and asking myself the same questions as the OP

Its a bit too difficult for me to try clubs as there is next to no choice anywhere near here so if Michael doesn't mind if anyone's replying to iron technology/advancement for his 12 handicap you might also consider your thoughts on the high handicap market too please ;)
 
NO please feel free Slab. Recently on holiday I played with a set of Callaway Razr irons. Completely wrong for me massive offsets resulted in big pulls left (I battle a hook as it is!) but they made a solid contact and the ball took off. Just not right for me. Call me a traditionalist but they just looked far too chunky when looking down at them.
 
Its just a bit of metal on a stick.... if you want to get better then practise till your hands bleed
 
guest100718 said:
Its just a bit of metal on a stick.... if you want to get better then practise till your hands bleed
Click to expand...

Maybe I should have added above I am actually in a series of lessons at the moment. Going through a complete swing overhaul. First major set of lessons in 10 years so I am more than aware of the standard answer spend the money on lessons. This is already being done. My point is all things being consider what advances has there been in tech over the last 15 years to make a new set of irons worthwhile
 
michaeljpoole said:
Maybe I should have added above I am actually in a series of lessons at the moment. Going through a complete swing overhaul. First major set of lessons in 10 years so I am more than aware of the standard answer spend the money on lessons. This is already being done. My point is all things being consider what advances has there been in tech over the last 15 years to make a new set of irons worthwhile
Click to expand...

New is nice, but id be just as happy with set of eye 2s as my MP53s.
 
chrisd said:
When you say "game them" do you mean " play with "?

I have to say that the improvement in irons in the last few years is immense, the technology has come one so much and that is reflected IMO throughout the club as a whole. My new Callaway x2 Hot irons have three things that make them hugely better, the face is thin and it gives a trampoline effect that I can absolutely feel, they are tweaked one club strong but still seem to retain the height they should and the 85g shaft is a joy to hit with a slowish swing. On test I hit a 6 iron a measured 210 yards and now play up to 2 clubs less that I did with my Titleist AP2's - so, I get a higher trajectory and so much easier strike to aid consistency.

I suggest you go out and game a few demo clubs - I think you'll be amazed!
Click to expand...

Agree with this - I tried a good few clubs to narrow down my fitting to the head I wanted last week - difference in feel and performance for my swing between models was incredible - once it was narrowed down to the iron I wanted it was even more eye opening to see what the same head with different shafts did.

My current irons have 80gram graphite shafts - my previous set were Ping Eye 2 - the fitter said that the Pings probably had 130gm shafts as that was the norm a decade ago.

Stock shaft in the Speedblades I'm getting are 85gm and we tried that and two other shafts - ball flight and dispersion was much worse with a 130gm shaft but the stock shaft and Dynamic Gold SL (109gm shaft) were exactly the same flight and dispersion.

I'm exactly standard loft and lie and could have taken away a set of off the shelf clubs which I'd have been happy with but the Dynamic Gold just felt a touch more solid at impact so it will be next week before I get the new sticks.

Like Chris I could feel that trampoline effect - at my level of golf it definitely made a difference.
 
davidy233 said:
Agree with this - I tried a good few clubs to narrow down my fitting to the head I wanted last week - difference in feel and performance for my swing between models was incredible - once it was narrowed down to the iron I wanted it was even more eye opening to see what the same head with different shafts did.

My current irons have 80gram graphite shafts - my previous set were Ping Eye 2 - the fitter said that the Pings probably had 130gm shafts as that was the norm a decade ago.

Stock shaft in the Speedblades I'm getting are 85gm and we tried that and two other shafts - ball flight and dispersion was much worse with a 130gm shaft but the stock shaft and Dynamic Gold SL (109gm shaft) were exactly the same flight and dispersion.

I'm exactly standard loft and lie and could have taken away a set of off the shelf clubs which I'd have been happy with but the Dynamic Gold just felt a touch more solid at impact so it will be next week before I get the new sticks.

Like Chris I could feel that trampoline effect - at my level of golf it definitely made a difference.
Click to expand...

The ZZ, JZ and CS lite shafts were not 130 gms... lol, id say you couldnt make it up, but you did.
 
guest100718 said:
Its just a bit of metal on a stick.... if you want to get better then practise till your hands bleed
Click to expand...

At which point your faults will be well and truly grooved and virtually impossible to correct!

If you want to get better, learn how to play better and practice - until you develop calluses - what you learn!
 
michaeljpoole said:
Currently I game Maxfli Revolution Black Spot Irons. I carry 4-SW. This set of irons must be close to 15 years old now (how did that happen!) They were originally released in 1999. Apart from having to get them regripped they are still in very good condition

Why haven't I upgraded? To be honest I am not really sure. I feel comfortable with these irons. I know how far I hit each club and distance is not a problem on them. I am sure I could hit new irons longer (which are probably stronger). But its comforting knowing how far you can hit an iron.

In addition the feel off them when you hit that perfect shot out the middle is just incredible like a knife through butter and the reason that makes you keep coming back to golf.

I have looked at potential new irons and playing off 12 i feel there is a bit of a gap in the market. I am not good enough to play with blades/players irons but then again beginners irons look so big over the ball. One thing i love about my irons is the look over the ball a really thin top line but they are not too small so you think you can't hit the ball.

This gets me onto my point. I fully believe technology in woods have benefited our games in the last 15 years. I wouldn't dream of using a 15 year old driver. Currently i am playing a R11. However my question is how much do we think irons have improved over the last 15 years? Am i missing out on something by not upgrading? What have people found the main benefits are?
Click to expand...

First of all im giving advice but im not technically minded so all you are getting is a hackers opinion ..

I think the highlighted bit CAN be a bit of a myth , id say its right in alot of cases but not them all , you need to try a range of clubs to know what suit you best personally not what is suppose to suit you ..

I was in the same position of being comfortable with my irons and their yardages etc , i DIDNT believe in custom fitting as i expected that most people would sell you what they had in stock before selling you what you really needed ,

i was then lucky enough to win a Titleist fitting with GM and i found the clubs i was comfortable with were in fact
1/2 inch too short , regular instead of stiff shafts , grip was not right size (too small) and clubs needed to be 2* flatter ..

Still too early to say if they will make a massive difference or not but early signs are promising and the fact im playing injured is not helping .. Having had the technology of the the new clubs over my old clubs explained to me i believe Irons in general have come along way ,(take into consideration i was getting not buying the clubs so there was no sales pitch involved ) once you have the right ones..

To me i dont seem to get the same feed back through the stiff shafts as i did with the reg shafts , but i can say without doubt i have a much more controlled ball flight and the bad ones don't seem as bad (short time evaluation so far only)

Hope this is of some help
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the advice Bladeplayer. I live in HK but I am back in the UK in 2 weeks so i am going to head down to my old local club as the pro custom fits Mizuno's and try out a few different irons after all the advise here.

I think its clear custom fit is the way to go. But one more question, would people trust custom fitting at an american golf store per say? Or is it better using the local pro who may not have as much of a range? Would appreciate your thoughts

thanks
Mike
 
michaeljpoole said:
Thanks for the advice Bladeplayer. I live in HK but I am back in the UK in 2 weeks so i am going to head down to my old local club as the pro custom fits Mizuno's and try out a few different irons after all the advise here.

I think its clear custom fit is the way to go. But one more question, would people trust custom fitting at an american golf store per say? Or is it better using the local pro who may not have as much of a range? Would appreciate your thoughts

thanks
Mike
Click to expand...
I personally have no experience of AG or the Likes mate so wouldnt be fair of me to comment , if you were a member of a club , id possibly go with the pro attached to that club as loyalty might be a factor in him treating you right ..(your old local could be the job)

but as i said being sold something for the good of the shop before the good of the Me was my biggest fear ..

Just an idea if you want to say what part of the UK you will be back in , some of the local guys on here might be able to advise on a good pro or shop ,

im in Eire so im of no use to you there
 
bladeplayer said:
Just an idea if you want to say what part of the UK you will be back in , some of the local guys on here might be able to advise on a good pro or shop ,

im in Eire so im of no use to you there
Click to expand...

I used to be a member along with my Dad who still is at Whitehill's in Hertfordshire if anyone has heard of it, so anyway around the East Herts Area. As you say though I will go to the local pro first to try and support them providing prices aren't silly. I appreciate all the suggestions thanks
 
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