When did you change from GI irons to blades or semi-blades....and how did it go?

[Hacker Khan]

From the Muzuno website reffering to MP58s

Handicap Guide, Suitable for V.Low - Low Handicap

Interesting that you are playing of 28 and can hit a club primarily aimed at single figure handicappers. How about going and getting fitted and seeing what the stats say? One one hand if it works then great. On the other if you can hit MP58s then there may well be a slightly more forgiving club that will work even better for you.

Oh, and be careful saying you play of 28 then turning up and flushing some MP58s!! Questions may be asked

 

[Bucket92]

I treated myself to a set of mp57 once i got down to 10 from 24.

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but how long did it take you to get down from 24 to 10? Hoping to do the same myself..

 

[Shakey]

From the Muzuno website reffering to MP58s

Handicap Guide, Suitable for V.Low - Low Handicap

Interesting that you are playing of 28 and can hit a club primarily aimed at single figure handicappers. How about going and getting fitted and seeing what the stats say? One one hand if it works then great. On the other if you can hit MP58s then there may well be a slightly more forgiving club that will work even better for you.

Oh, and be careful saying you play of 28 then turning up and flushing some MP58s!! Questions may be asked

Great points, HK.

I didn't mean to bid on them, but got them at such a soppy price that anyone would have done it!

It was only meant to be a cheap-ish experiment, to blend a few short MP58 irons into my old set - if I was lucky

And I don't mean to sound cocky, and say I can REALLY hit them. I still duff/whiff at least half a dozen iron shots every round.

I'm very much a learner, but was shocked that I could make a half-decent fist of it with these babies.

 

[patricks148]

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but how long did it take you to get down from 24 to 10? Hoping to do the same myself..

Iwas down to 12 by the end of that year but took me another 2 to get to 10.

 

[Shakey]

Interesting read that :thup:

I stated on another thread (This morning) it's not the irons but the swing you put on them.

My iron play has always been the 2nd best part of my game, with putting being the 1st.

When I took up the game proper I got myelf a set of Taylormade R7 irons. Lovely clubs. They got me from a 28 handicap to 19 in just over my first full season.

Then, I hit a plateau. No matter how well I hit it I couldn't score better. I know, I know this is down to my swing or course management and not the clubs.

One night I get a phone call from my dad.

"You wanted to try a set of players irons didn't you?"

To which I reply

"Yes, why?"

Next thing I know, I'm in the passanger seat of my dads car on the way to see a chap selling a set of Mizuno MP32's. Loved the look of them at address. Took them onto a field out back of his house, just the 6 iron, flushed it straight out of the screws.

I was that impressed with the feel, flight, everything about them, I didn't even haggle, but for £80 for 5-W It was a steal anyway. What made it better was my old boy paid the chap and says to me.

"My treat!"

Gamed them for the whole of last season and dropped from 18.5 to 15.7

Then, about 3-4 weeks ago, I had a windfall from some mis-sold PPI. I decided to take the plunge and get fitted for some new irons.

Nothing wrong with the 32's, just found myself in the financial situation where I could afford a change. Added to the irons was wedges, then a driver, then a fairway wood

If you look at my sig', this is how my bag now looks.

Pretty much a full bag of new clubs ..... Not what I intended. I decided to go for the 63's as I wanted a smidgeon of forgivness for when my shonky swing went out the window.

After a round without carding a score, just to get a feel, I decided to go out and see what was what.

77.

77 shots with a complete new bag instilled the virtues of custom fittin IMHO.

The following week I decided to make some swing changes, for the long term improvement of my game. Went out just for 9 holes at the weekend and shot +4.

Could I have done that with the R7 game improvers? Of course.

In addition. After I'd played the MP32's for a while, I thought, for a laugh, I'd revisit my R7's to see if the magic would rub off. I couldn't even stand too look at them at address. Too much offset, to lone was too thick, gaping cavity.

Since then I've never gone back.

Yes, on strikes that aren't quite out of the middle I lose a bit of distance, but that's just and incentive to hit the next one better :thup:

I just re-read this Gareth. A 77....you must have been grinning like a Cheshire cat (if they grin), mate!

At this rate, you'll be scratch by the summer.

By the way, are you hanging onto those other sets? Don't worry, I'm not after them!.....it's just that I'll probably keep my cavities, as they're worth more to me than I'd get for them (if you follow what I mean) and I may well need them at some point!!

 

[Foxholer]

Yep. Go what feels best for you.

There's an argument for the use of blade-ish clubs by high-cappers wanting to improve as the feedback (good or bad) is much 'better' than from GI clubs.

I know a Pro whose cast GI irons feel softer than the Japanese forged blades in my combo set. I've also used some (Miura) blades that felt better, and easier to hit, than the same company's Cavity Backs!

 

[Wolfman]

I have recently changed from GI irons to JPX 825 Pro irons and was fitted

I hit them as good as the standard GI irons and decided i iked the more compact head size

I can tell better if i hit a dodgy shot from the feel off the face,

I play off 20 HCP and again they according to Mizuno are not suitable for my hcp ( rubbish )

I think if you have a decent swing you can use most irons a high hcp can be due to other parts of the game, for me short game

I have looked at also getting the MP53 !

 

[Hacker Khan]

I have recently changed from GI irons to JPX 825 Pro irons and was fitted

I hit them as good as the standard GI irons and decided i iked the more compact head size

I can tell better if i hit a dodgy shot from the feel off the face,

I play off 20 HCP and again they according to Mizuno are not suitable for my hcp ( rubbish )

I think if you have a decent swing you can use most irons a high hcp can be due to other parts of the game, for me short game

I have looked at also getting the MP53 !

I don't think it's a case of clubs not being suitable (apart from a happy hacker trying to hit blades I suppose). It's more a case of other clubs helping someone more. So logically if someone is a relatively high handicapper then chances are they will need as much help as they can when striking the ball. And some clubs will provide more help than others.

It's not to say they can't play with better player irons as of course they will be able to, especially as they are becoming more forgiving. But the question is if a club offering more forgiveness and help to a higher handicapper would be better for them than a club offering less forgiveness but more 'workability'.

 

[MadAdey]

There are certain things to consider here. First one being those handicap guides that the use with clubs, what a load of rubbish they are just a rough guideline. They are just useful for people but you are better off trying them anyway.

Do not be in too much of a rush to get some fancy looking clubs in the bag. It is ok having some nice little compact headed irons in the bag as they look really good, but if you can't him them with any consistency then you are wasting your time. I know some very low handicap players that still use GI style clubs as they hit them really well and prefer seeing the bigger head at address.

When is the correct time to change to compact players head or a blade? Well that is up to you, when you can hit your GI irons consistently and you are hitting them too high then that is time to change. Remember if you change to a players iron then they will not help get the ball airbourne like GI iron will and will not be as forgiving on off centre hits.

If you feel the need to change then go for it. But do it for the correct reasons not just so you can have a pretty looking set of irons in the bag.

 

[Fader]

I switched from Nikes version on a GI cavity in the VR Cavity to my current clubs after I went from 19 to 12 in about 8 months. Still think they are a cracking club that perhaps I should have stuck with a while longer as once I got the new clubs I stagnated for a while. But once I got use to them I love them and wouldn't swap them.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

I didn't have an official h'cap when I went from Callaway X12s to Ping S59s but was probably playing to about 15. I wasn't convinced I could hit them but I got a bonus from work so thought I'd spend it. I had the intention of working my way into using them and went to the range to do a comparison. I hit one shot with the S59 7 iron and never hit the X12s again, they were sold within weeks.