Airlie_Andy
Challenge Tour Pro
After taking the game up 3 years ago and starting with a set of Cobra S3 irons I've decided (in conjunction with my pro) that its time to move on to something a little more suited to me. Over the last few weeks I've been hitting various demo clubs from most of the manufacturers just to get a feel for those I like and narrow the field down ahead of a fitting. In the end it came down to going for Mizuno and a choice between the JPX825 pros, the EZ forged and the MP54. It did feel like the MP54 was stretching things a little but we kept it in for the fitting just as a comparison. So onto the fiiting itself.
Had a bit of a warm up then hit my own 6 iron to get a base line. My swing speed was 91-92 mph but the spin was on the high side and the flight was really high as well. So now I had my 3 swings with the swing DNA gizmo which was interesting. My swing speed came down to 89 mph (probably due to the shorter shaft) and my numbers were all 5s and 4s I think, my tempo was definitely a 5 anyway. This then recommended 3 shafts which I think were the Project X 5.5 the KBS and the Dynamic Gold S300. We quickly eliminated the project X (it just felt dead) and started working through the other 2 shafts with the 3 heads. After a while we discounted the MP54 as even though I hit it pretty well it wasn't quite forgiving enough for my current ability. Both the EZ forged and the 825 pro were giving me the best results in conjunction with DG S300 shaft so it became a bit of a shoot out between those 2 and the results between them were really close. My spin rate was down to below 5000 rpm and the flight was lower on both as well. Overall distance was higher for the EZ but that included a shot that absolutely flew off the face and was about 12 yards further than any other shot. Once that shot was removed the 825 pros suddenly started to look much better and actually the distances were much closer together and dispersion slightly tighter.
So we settled on the JPX825 PRO 4-PW with the Dynamic Gold S300 shafts 0.5 inch longer and 2 degrees upright. Standard grip with 4 layers of tape. I've also gone for a 3 iron from the MP-H4 range as I just don't get on with hybrids. We also looked at wedges and ive changed my wedges and wedge set up from a 52, 56, 60 to a 50 and 56 in the MP-R12 series which leaves a gap in the bag for the time being.
All in all a very enjoyable experience and even at my level its amazing how much of a difference the shaft can make so I'd recommend anyone to get a fitting when buying clubs even if only to get the right shaft.
Had a bit of a warm up then hit my own 6 iron to get a base line. My swing speed was 91-92 mph but the spin was on the high side and the flight was really high as well. So now I had my 3 swings with the swing DNA gizmo which was interesting. My swing speed came down to 89 mph (probably due to the shorter shaft) and my numbers were all 5s and 4s I think, my tempo was definitely a 5 anyway. This then recommended 3 shafts which I think were the Project X 5.5 the KBS and the Dynamic Gold S300. We quickly eliminated the project X (it just felt dead) and started working through the other 2 shafts with the 3 heads. After a while we discounted the MP54 as even though I hit it pretty well it wasn't quite forgiving enough for my current ability. Both the EZ forged and the 825 pro were giving me the best results in conjunction with DG S300 shaft so it became a bit of a shoot out between those 2 and the results between them were really close. My spin rate was down to below 5000 rpm and the flight was lower on both as well. Overall distance was higher for the EZ but that included a shot that absolutely flew off the face and was about 12 yards further than any other shot. Once that shot was removed the 825 pros suddenly started to look much better and actually the distances were much closer together and dispersion slightly tighter.
So we settled on the JPX825 PRO 4-PW with the Dynamic Gold S300 shafts 0.5 inch longer and 2 degrees upright. Standard grip with 4 layers of tape. I've also gone for a 3 iron from the MP-H4 range as I just don't get on with hybrids. We also looked at wedges and ive changed my wedges and wedge set up from a 52, 56, 60 to a 50 and 56 in the MP-R12 series which leaves a gap in the bag for the time being.
All in all a very enjoyable experience and even at my level its amazing how much of a difference the shaft can make so I'd recommend anyone to get a fitting when buying clubs even if only to get the right shaft.
