56 replies to this topic

[jmeyerson2004]

I am in a constant battle with myself.  I am still playing to a 1 handicap but know that I could benefit from something far more forgiving than the blades I currently play.  For those of you that are at or near scratch that finally gave in, what irons did you finally settle on?

[kmayer99]

You dont have to go all the way game improvement from blades, why not go to something like the MP-59?

[jewofgolf]

Personally, I believe you either go all the way or stick with blades.  I'm at +1, ballstriking is always variable for me, and I went with J36 PC.  Forged 1020 steel, little offset, clean look.  It is further my belief that both blades and GI clubs will produce the same accuracy on solid shots, and that forging quality is the key to consistency, not club design.

[rwill]

I am a 3 handicap and play mp32's. I recently decided I needed more forgiveness to push me over the edge to scratch and bought some cavity backs. I played them 3 rounds and put my mizunos back in play. I just flat out hit my blades better. I couldn't believe it but I will be sticking to the blades.

[prouse25]

Most of my golfing life, I have used sone type of forged blade.  I have had two GI "experiments".  About five years ago I tried a set of TM Burner irons.  While easy to hit, there were too many "hot spots".  Some shots would fly an extra 15 yards - almost like a flier lie.  Those clubs last for about four weeks.  Last year I tried GI's again.  This time it was the Ping G20's.  They are still in the bag and probably will be for the entire season.  I am currently at a +1 and loving them.  The biggest transition was learning g to look at a very large head with offset.  One range session was all it took.  

Please note that on a good day, there is no performance difference between my blades and the pings.  On those days when the swing is off a little, the Pings really shine.  If you can get over the ego and the heckling from friends, the GI's are hard to beat.

[elp3022]

I'm an 8 and curretly play MP-63.  Looking for a little more forgiveness myself and considering going to the G20's.  Nice to hear someone having success with them.

[24vince]

prouse25, on 09 April 2012 - 10:33 PM, said:

Most of my golfing life, I have used sone type of forged blade.  I have had two GI "experiments".  About five years ago I tried a set of TM Burner irons.  While easy to hit, there were too many "hot spots".  Some shots would fly an extra 15 yards - almost like a flier lie.  Those clubs last for about four weeks.  Last year I tried GI's again.  This time it was the Ping G20's.  They are still in the bag and probably will be for the entire season.  I am currently at a +1 and loving them.  The biggest transition was learning g to look at a very large head with offset.  One range session was all it took.  

Please note that on a good day, there is no performance difference between my blades and the pings.  On those days when the swing is off a little, the Pings really shine.  If you can get over the ego and the heckling from friends, the GI's are hard to beat.

Nowhere near the +1 level you are at but recently went for club fitting thinking I was gonna get i20's....bought set of AP1....I tried the AP2 and i20 but could not get over the results I was having with the AP1's, felt great flew better....I bought and tried 2 play with mp-59 early this season, clearly 2much club for me but still almost kept them (ego,pride,cool,etc)....Luckily my brain won out

[Nessism]

jewofgolf, on 09 April 2012 - 09:06 PM, said:

Personally, I believe you either go all the way or stick with blades.  I'm at +1, ballstriking is always variable for me, and I went with J36 PC.  Forged 1020 steel, little offset, clean look.  It is further my belief that both blades and GI clubs will produce the same accuracy on solid shots, and that forging quality is the key to consistency, not club design.

What does "forging quality" mean?

[Left Rough]

I'm around  a 2-4 index and I went from the MP-32's to  JPX-800 Pros and MP-59 combos.  I'm really glad I made the switch - the 59s don't give me as much variability on yardages whereas the JPX-800 Pros, while super easy to hit tend to give me a little more unpredictability on distances.... not a problem from 170 yards out, but when I'm closer I like to be more precise.  Good luck!

[cmrl1986]

I play to a 1.2 index. I've played blades since senior year of high school. They just set up so much better to me, and I love the distance and shot control. I did try some GI's this year already though. I bought and experimented with a set of Adams CB2's. They didn't last long. Felt good, just too much offset for my liking. Sold them. I just built a set of Cleveland CG7 tours for $110 and I do like them a lot. Thin topline and cavity, with pretty much the same amount of offset as my Titliest ZM forged blades. They're really competing for full time status as they are just a bit more forgiving and the misses aren't near as bad when ball striking isn't perfect. Distance control is really the only issue with them as I do notice about a 3-4 distance variation from time to time. Hopefully that just means a bit more practice and they will be gold. If not, hey, I spent $110 on the heads and s300's combined. Not too shabby.

[mozgolf]

Nessism, on 09 April 2012 - 11:58 PM, said:

jewofgolf, on 09 April 2012 - 09:06 PM, said:

Personally, I believe you either go all the way or stick with blades.  I'm at +1, ballstriking is always variable for me, and I went with J36 PC.  Forged 1020 steel, little offset, clean look.  It is further my belief that both blades and GI clubs will produce the same accuracy on solid shots, and that forging quality is the key to consistency, not club design.

What does "forging quality" mean?

aka purely subjective elitist golf club snobbery that has no bearing  in the real world.

There were quite a lot of low quality cast PINGs at the top of the Masters leader board in the weekend? Taking the argument to extreme do people really believe, Bubba, Louis, Lee and Hunter would suddenly be 3 shots better if they switch to a forged club. It's clearly BS, but that's effectively what the argument is saying.

That feels better, great start to the day with a wee  mini rant  

[rockiesgolf]

Playing at a 4 handicap and hoping to go down a few numbers this year.   I just ordered Ping G20's which are suppose to arrive in 2 days.  I took a few irons out on the course before making the change from blades to GI irons and was throwing darts into the green. I was suprised I was still able to work the ball.  On a good range day I may hit 7 out of 10 solid shots with my prior blades, but with the G20's it is more like 10 out of 10.  Hoping to gain a few extra strokes with the added forgiveness. The aesthetics of the GI irons will take some time adjusting to, but I think range session will cure that.  Also made the change to a belly putter this year.  I feel like I am cheating at the game of golf this year.  

    

[kjbowen]

I went front combos to callaway diablo forged.. God i miss not being punished so much for a slight mishit

[Thrillhouse]

I feel like Ping makes the shoveliest shovels of all.

[JustCause]

I'm a 4 and after playing blades for the last 10 years I bought the TM Tour Preferred CB last year.
I am loving it. Still feels good and solid and the long irons are infinitely easier to deal with.

[DLiver]

The bottom line to this entire subject is this: what is your area of precision when striking the ball with an iron?

If your ball strike area on an iron is the size of a nickel, you can play any club design you want without paying a penalty for your "bad" swings. If your area of precision is the size of a quarter, then you can play "near blades" without a problem. If your area of precision is the size of a half dollar, then you need to look at GI clubs. If you are all over the face of the club all the time, then it's shovel time.

Of course, the above guidelines apply mostly to people who are looking to shoot the lowest scores. If part of the fun of playing golf is the feeling of flushing a forged iron, then play a club that delivers that feeling--and the heck with your score!

[chillr710]

This is all soooo relevant to me at the moment. 7 marker playing MP69s. Really REALLY trying to get down to 2-3s. Im beginning to think that a GI iron is what might get me there. Love piercing shots with thes clubs... but it sucks when you feel like you put a good swing on and you catch it (for me) on the heel a litte. Ba Bow. Front bunker im yours. Not sure I could go anything too chunky tho! Plus I have the ego too.. looking a 69s in the bag. YUMMO. Would the S56/Anser be a a heap better for me?

[leoh923]

So you need to decide what matters more, soothing your delicate ego, or posting a low number.

[kjbowen]

chillr710, on 10 April 2012 - 05:59 AM, said:

This is all soooo relevant to me at the moment. 7 marker playing MP69s. Really REALLY trying to get down to 2-3s. Im beginning to think that a GI iron is what might get me there. Love piercing shots with thes clubs... but it sucks when you feel like you put a good swing on and you catch it (for me) on the heel a litte. Ba Bow. Front bunker im yours. Not sure I could go anything too chunky tho! Plus I have the ego too.. looking a 69s in the bag. YUMMO. Would the S56/Anser be a a heap better for me?

if your gonna get something ping and want both worlds.. Try the i20s.. I demo them and they were pretty good.. I went with the diablo forged due to price as i liked both equally. Problem with ping in my eyes is their upcharges are very high. I believe.it was 27 a club for project X. And c-tapers were over 30 per club.. I have heard the.stock offerings in the x-stiff play.very comparable to an x100.

Good luck.. If u are even debating you need more forgiveness then you do

[st997777]

rockiesgolf, on 10 April 2012 - 12:46 AM, said:

Playing at a 4 handicap and hoping to go down a few numbers this year.   I just ordered Ping G20's which are suppose to arrive in 2 days.  I took a few irons out on the course before making the change from blades to GI irons and was throwing darts into the green. I was suprised I was still able to work the ball.  On a good range day I may hit 7 out of 10 solid shots with my prior blades, but with the G20's it is more like 10 out of 10.  Hoping to gain a few extra strokes with the added forgiveness. The aesthetics of the GI irons will take some time adjusting to, but I think range session will cure that.  Also made the change to a belly putter this year.  I feel like I am cheating at the game of golf this year.  

I'm a 3 handicap and went from the X-forged to G20s late last season. I agree with the above post, if you have a decent swing and can get over the looks, this is basically point and shoot.

[jewofgolf]

mozgolf, on 10 April 2012 - 12:16 AM, said:

Nessism, on 09 April 2012 - 11:58 PM, said:

jewofgolf, on 09 April 2012 - 09:06 PM, said:

Personally, I believe you either go all the way or stick with blades.  I'm at +1, ballstriking is always variable for me, and I went with J36 PC.  Forged 1020 steel, little offset, clean look.  It is further my belief that both blades and GI clubs will produce the same accuracy on solid shots, and that forging quality is the key to consistency, not club design.

What does "forging quality" mean?

aka purely subjective elitist golf club snobbery that has no bearing  in the real world.

There were quite a lot of low quality cast PINGs at the top of the Masters leader board in the weekend? Taking the argument to extreme do people really believe, Bubba, Louis, Lee and Hunter would suddenly be 3 shots better if they switch to a forged club. It's clearly BS, but that's effectively what the argument is saying.

That feels better, great start to the day with a wee  mini rant  

Forging (or casting, i suppose) quality simply means how tight and consistent the molecular structure is.  For example, one poster mentioned "hotspots".  These do exist when the club is low quality.  The fact that the club was TM doesn't surprise me.  Anyway, you have to have a good forging process, or you end up with tiny hotspots.  If you have a crappy casting, there are bigger hotspots.

This is not golf snobbery: there are good quality clubs and bad quality.  You have to do your research and trust the company.  Regarding PING: though I may not ever put a PING iron in play, they seem to have a very good and consistent casting process.

[CosmosMpower]

Thrillhouse, on 10 April 2012 - 01:27 AM, said:

I feel like Ping makes the shoveliest shovels of all.

Cleveland hibore hybrid shovels?  Nike sgi hybrid irons

[CosmosMpower]

chillr710, on 10 April 2012 - 05:59 AM, said:

This is all soooo relevant to me at the moment. 7 marker playing MP69s. Really REALLY trying to get down to 2-3s. Im beginning to think that a GI iron is what might get me there. Love piercing shots with thes clubs... but it sucks when you feel like you put a good swing on and you catch it (for me) on the heel a litte. Ba Bow. Front bunker im yours. Not sure I could go anything too chunky tho! Plus I have the ego too.. looking a 69s in the bag. YUMMO. Would the S56/Anser be a a heap better for me?

Anser and i20s are way more forgiving, s56 is more forgiving but still look like a blade.

[gvogel]

I play a combo set of AP1/AP2.  AP1 in the longer irons, AP2 in the shorter irons.  I like the more compact size of the AP2 for pitching and chipping.  The AP1's feel pretty good as well.

[Nessism]

jewofgolf, on 10 April 2012 - 07:20 AM, said:

Forging (or casting, i suppose) quality simply means how tight and consistent the molecular structure is.  For example, one poster mentioned "hotspots".  These do exist when the club is low quality.  The fact that the club was TM doesn't surprise me.  Anyway, you have to have a good forging process, or you end up with tiny hotspots.  If you have a crappy casting, there are bigger hotspots.

This is not golf snobbery: there are good quality clubs and bad quality.  You have to do your research and trust the company.  Regarding PING: though I may not ever put a PING iron in play, they seem to have a very good and consistent casting process.

The reason some GI clubs have 'hot spots' is because certain spots on the club face have a little spring effect, like a driver face, thus the ball fly's a little farther when struck in this place.  Casting imperfections or "forging quality" have nothing to do with this problem, which is greatly exaggerated by the way.  This is a design issue, not a manufacturing issue.  

Forged clubs, which are made with low grade steel, are thicker, and the thicker face doesn't deflect so it's devoid of any spring effect.  Better clubs, like the i20 or G20, have ribs cast into the back side of the club face to stiffen them up so there is no spring effect, thus distance control is enhanced.

EDIT: found this little tidbit about the G20's in support of my comments...http://golfweek.com/...line-g20-clubs/
The face of the G20 is 10 percent thinner than the face of its predecessor, the G15, and it has extra structural support in the middle of the clubhead to avoid any unwanted trampoline effect.

Edited by Nessism, 29 April 2012 - 10:01 AM.

[Toph84]

Thrillhouse, on 10 April 2012 - 01:27 AM, said:

I feel like Ping makes the shoveliest shovels of all.

PING irons are good for gardening! I have just never been able to like the look of PING irons. The drivers and fairway woods are a different story though. Love my G15 3 wood.

[jli2636]

I actually am going the other way. I had a set of Callaway X 20s and am now gaming Mizuno MP 30s. The X 20s were VERY chunky and had a lot of offset. I dont have an actual handicap since I dont belong to a club, but if I had to guess I'm around a 12 or so. I have seen significant improvement in my ball striking with the MP 30s. Now I realize the MP 30s arent a true blade, but they are more of a blade than the X 20s haha.

[NRJyzr]

Thrillhouse, on 10 April 2012 - 01:27 AM, said:

I feel like Ping makes the shoveliest shovels of all.

That would be Callaway.  

To be topical....

I am a 7, I've played assorted blades for the better part of the last 11+ years.  Golden Rams, Muirfields, FG17s, Wood Bros, MP-37, MS-11, etc., etc.  In spite of that, I've always had an odd soft spot for Ping, particularly the ISI.  I guess they appealed to my inner nerd.  

Last fall, I found a set of Eye2+ at the local 2nd Swing, went to check them out.  They fired up the launch monitor for me, I compared them to my MS-11s, found I was getting a lot of spin with the Mizuno (over 7k with 6 iron), but 1500rpm lower spin, on average, with the Ping 6 iron.  Decided I'd try the Pings, see if they helped me, particularly in the wind performance arena (usually get killed into the wind).

So far, I like the Pings well enough, but it's been an adjustment, especially visually.  Have noticed a significant improvement in performance upwind, which was the goal, and got the side benefit of a bit better play with long irons off the tee.

All that said, my scores haven't changed much that I've noticed.  We'll see what more time in the Ping world does for me...

-ed

Edited by NRJyzr, 10 April 2012 - 01:53 PM.

[Thrillhouse]

CosmosMpower, on 10 April 2012 - 07:40 AM, said:

Thrillhouse, on 10 April 2012 - 01:27 AM, said:

I feel like Ping makes the shoveliest shovels of all.

Cleveland hibore hybrid shovels?  Nike sgi hybrid irons

No, those shovels are not as shovely as the pings.

[Thrillhouse]

NRJyzr, on 10 April 2012 - 01:52 PM, said:

Thrillhouse, on 10 April 2012 - 01:27 AM, said:

I feel like Ping makes the shoveliest shovels of all.

That would be Callaway.  

That was Callaway back in the late 90's, Ping took over with the G2, the G2 was game changing as far as shovels go.