Equipment
Forum Thread of the Day: “Most forgiving players iron made within the past 5 years?”
Today’s Forum Thread of the Day comes from moorebaseball who is on the hunt for the most forgiving players iron on the market from the last five years. Our members offer their suggestions to moorebaseball, with Ping’s S55 irons proving to be a popular recommendation.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- dpb5031: “Ping S55s if you prefer a more compact head, or the i200s if you want a slightly larger profile. Both are excellent, very forgiving “player’s” irons that have been used extensively on multiple Tours.”
- WonIron: “I just bought my Second (backup) set of Adams forged XTD’s with stock KBS C-taper shafts for $160 on eBay. That was a good deal, but you can find them at $200 or better easy. Beautifully setup players look at address, forgiving and longer than the true blades I’ve been playing all my life.”
- BigPapy: “Agreeing with others here on S55’s. Great clubs that most mid-cappers could play well.”
- shakester: “Nike Vapor Pros or Pro Combos are a great set of irons that offer plenty of forgiveness.”
Entire Thread: “Most forgiving players iron made within the past five years?”
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Equipment
Spotted: Tony Finau’s driver shaft change at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
Tony Finau has always been known as one of the longest players on the PGA Tour, but he has recently been working on adding a little more distance. Last year, Finau averaged 118.3 mph club head speed and 178.08 mph ball speed, all while playing a Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX driver shaft. This year, he has increased his club head speed to 123.93 mph and his ball speed to 183.32 mph.
However, Finau’s overall distance has decreased by two yards in that time. From a fitting perspective, something was amiss. We asked Tony about the shaft change at the Texas Children’s Hospital Open.
“[I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin. My driver’s been a little high spin for me over the last month or so, and so I just figured it was time to probably check out the equipment,” Finau said. “And it definitely showed me that I was using a shaft that’s maybe a little too tip-stiff for me, the way I load the club now. [I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin.”
Finau switched from the Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX into the Diamana GT 70 TX. The newer Diamana GT has a slightly different profile than the D+ Limited with the stiffest handle section in the Diamana lineup. The mid sections between the two are similar stiffness but the tip is just slightly stiffer in the Diamana GT. Both shafts are within one gram of each other in the 70 TX. The torque rating on the GT is 0.1 higher than the D+Limited’s 2.7 measurement.
Mitsubishi lists the Diamana GT as a shaft between the mid-launching Diamana TB and the new low-launch Diamana WB shafts. For most players, it would be considered a mid/low launch and low-spin shaft option. Mitsubishi’s Xlink Tech Resin System makes sure the maximum carbon fiber content is there for smooth feel without reducing the strength of the shaft. MR70 carbon fiber is used for reinforcing the shaft and boron is used in the tip for its high strength and compression properties.
Finau is still using his trusty Ping G430 LST driver in 9 degrees and has the adjustable hosel set to -1 degree of loft (standard lie angle). Finau’s long-time favorite Lamkin UTX Green grip is installed. He definitely has a few extra wraps of tape under that grip as you can see the bulge down where the grip meets the shaft.
One final note: Per Ping’s PGA Tour rep Kenton Oates, Finau’s driver is also adjusted to play one degree upright to help dial in his desired launch.
We’ll see how he fares with the new setup this week in Houston!
- Check out the rest of our pictures from the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
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Whats in the Bag
Zac Blair WITB 2024 (March)
- Zac Blair what’s in the bag accurate as of the Texas Children’s Houston Open. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist TSR2 (10 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Red 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade M5 Rocket 3 (14 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Speeder 757 Evolution V1 X
Utility: Titleist U510 (3)
Shaft: Aldila Tour Blue 85 X
Irons: Ping i210 (4-6), Miura MB-001 (7-9)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (46-10F, 58-08M @57, 60 @61), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (52-M)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 105 X
Putter: Scotty Cameron prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
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Whats in the Bag
Martin Trainer WITB 2024 (March)
- Martin Trainer what’s in the bag accurate as of the Texas Children’s Houston Open. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Wilson Staff Staff Model (6.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kai’li Blue 70 TX
3-wood: Wilson Staff WLabs Prototype (13 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Orange 80 TX
Irons: Wilson Staff Staff Model (2, 4-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Wilson Staff Staff Model (52, 56, 60)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Putter: Bobby Grace Greg Chalmers Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
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Miles
Feb 25, 2019 at 9:12 am
Mizuno MPH4
joro
Feb 22, 2019 at 12:36 pm
The most forgiving club, and I have tried all of them, is the 2002 Big Bertha Irons. They hit themselves, the balance was great and they were high. long, and straight. In fact I still have them, a complete set of lefties that I use occasionally and wonder why I don’t use them more.
F
Feb 20, 2019 at 3:59 pm
I find the P730 extremely easy to hit for some reason, easier than say 718MB and better feeling
F
Feb 20, 2019 at 4:00 pm
May be it’s the feel that fools me lol
Jed
Feb 20, 2019 at 2:25 pm
Will only be forgiving if the specs are right.
kevin
Feb 20, 2019 at 12:49 pm
this thread will probably end up as a list of every players iron made in the last 5 years, but my vote is
Bridgestone j15cb
geohogan
Feb 20, 2019 at 12:27 pm
May not be the longest or most forgiving, but a vote for Adams CMB, great feel and accurate and easily bent to zero offset IMO key to accuracy.
O
Feb 20, 2019 at 8:20 pm
So you increased the loft by how much to get to zero offset?
geohogan
Feb 21, 2019 at 4:36 pm
@O; havent checked loft but guess its minimal change
offset off the shelf: PW is 0.096 inch; 4I is 0.168 inch
Newt
Feb 20, 2019 at 10:23 am
If you don’t give the Maltby TS1 irons from Maltby at Golfworks a look then your doing yourself a disservice. They are outstanding…. great feel… great looking… super forgiving and WAY less expensive then any other club that gets mentioned on her. I’ve tried them all. Check out on Golfworks.com
Actual Facts
Feb 20, 2019 at 10:17 am
Here’s another vote for the Adams XTD Forged and the Ping S55 irons. I’ll also throw in the TMag SLDR irons. Calling them a pure player’s iron is probably a stretch but they’re forgiving and workable so…