Equipment
How old is too old for irons? – GolfWRXers discuss
In our forums, our members have been discussing older irons. WRXer ‘R5Two’ kicks off the thread, saying
“I pulled my old Titleist 695 CBs (cr 2006) out of storage to hit a few balls. I have seen many videos about how much faster the ballspeeds are these days, but I don’t know if I care. I’m a blade guy. Isn’t a hunk of metal a hunk of metal?
How old is too old for forged irons? What are we missing? Non-confirming grooves maybe? Maybe a little forgiveness?”
And our members have been sharing their thoughts in our forum.
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.
- PEI_Golfer: “Irons are all about accuracy and distance control, not ball speed… Nothing wrong with the 695’s (my first OEM set of irons); I still bring out my 690.CB’s from time to time and OG Nike blades.”
- Tar_Heel_93: “I’m with you. I prefer a solid forged iron. Not looking for a lot of tech. Here are the irons I am testing for next season. Apex MBs have been in the bag for several seasons. Others are recent additions. Titleist CB and Wilson Staff CB have Tungsten in the mid and long irons. However, so far my favorite CB is the Bridgestone J33 CBs circa 2006.” (Photo above proved by Tar_Heel_93)
- mrfuz: “I recently regripped my old 690MBs and pulled out my Eye2s. They’re not replacing my Sim2 Maxes, but they’re fun to play with.”
- HoosierHacker89: “695 CB irons are great! One of my all-time favorites. I found them to be really forgiving especially the long irons. This was one of the few sets I was confident in the 4/5 irons. I played a set of Srixon 765 irons the last 3 years. Honestly can’t say there was much if anyone difference in the heads Of both sets.”
Entire Thread: “How old is too old for irons?“
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Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @8.25) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9 X
Irons: TaylorMade Proto (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9) Buy here.
Shaft: Project X 7.0 (4-9)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB) Buy here, Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks (58-K @59) Buy here.
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X3 Buy here.
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol Tour
Ball: 2024 TaylorMade TP5x Buy here.
(Photo courtesy of TaylorMade)
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Rory McIlroy’s WITB in the forums.
View this post on Instagram
The winning WITB is presented by 2nd Swing Golf. 2nd Swing has more than 100,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
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- Kevin Tway what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX
Irons: Wilson Staff Utility (2), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 100 TX (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F @51, 56-14F), SM7 (60-10S)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: Scotty Cameron Black Baby T
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus4
More photos of Kevin Tway’s WITB in the forums.
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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Mike
Jan 14, 2022 at 4:34 pm
I think the main differences are the lofts. But I do think a comparison would show that a 2021 iron will fly a bit higher w/ the same distance) as a 2005 iron.
Hunter
Jan 14, 2022 at 10:56 am
I learned to play with TaylorMade Tour Preferred TD blades from the late 80’s. I then switched to Hogan Apex Plus irons and played them for many years. 5yrs ago I found a set of the old TM blades and started playing them again. I was loving them, but then I snared a set of Ping i210s, and the difference is night and day. I can miss-hit the i210s and still find the green. They go 10-15yds further than the TM blades. While I still like the look of blades better, I’ll never go back to playing them. The benefits of newer technology far outweighs old school looks.
JungleJimbo
Jan 13, 2022 at 9:25 pm
To GolfWRX team/Gianni Magliocco: As you’ve used a contributor’s photo (i.e. @Tar_Heel_93 ‘s), as your thumbnail/ Leading photo…
i think you should attribute a photo credit, in this article?
Link to photo: https://forums.golfwrx.com/topic/1852273-how-old-is-too-old-irons-edition/?do=findComment&comment=23972310
Hugh Givzaphook
Jan 13, 2022 at 9:47 pm
Found the only guy in the world who gives a %$#@
Ping Eye 2
Jan 13, 2022 at 7:28 pm
………Don’t you know I’m still standing better than I ever did
Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid
And I’m still standing after all this time
Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind
I’m still standing. Yeah, yeah, yeah
I’m still standing. Yeah, yeah, yeah……….
Everardo
Jan 13, 2022 at 7:17 pm
Just did a test myself with two sets of irons that were 15 years old vs a newer set from last year. My older sets (were fitted for me mind you) and performed the same or better than the newer set. So I’m selling the newer set since they have better resale value. I had all 3 sets checked for loft, lie, length, flex, etc to make it a fair comparison and tested them all on the same calibrated launch monitor, same ball and over multiple days just to keep things fair.
Brooksy
Jan 14, 2022 at 1:07 pm
I am curious, what were the clubs?