Golf?

[James]

Anyone an avid golfer here?

Im in the market for new irons and am looking for opinions. Currently playing some older TM 360's which have treated me well but im done wth them. My handicap is about a 15 at the moment and ill be able to drop a few off of that as my irons (specifically the long ones) are the weakest part of my game.

Im drawn to players irons beacuse I like the way they look at address compared to those huge clunkers (ie: ping G10's , Callaway big berthas etc) but with a 15 hcap, my ball striking obviously isnt 100% and i could use a bit of forgiveness in my irons.

Ive swung the following;
-Mizuno mp-52
-Callaway X-22 tour
-Nike VR forged (split cavty, not the TW ones)
-Titilest AP1's
-Taylor Made Tour preferred
-Ping S57
-Ping i10

I found I hit the ping s57's and the nike's the cleanest however i was told that the nike's are far less forgiving than the Pings. I hit the Ping i10's well too, and have read a number of reviews on how they are more of a game improvement iron with a blade look than anything else which makes them more attractive.

Obviously it always comes down to feel but im looking for feedback if any of you play these particular irons or older versions of them (like callaway x20s or ping s58s or what have you)

[R_Ethug]

Re: Golf?

i'm rocking callaway hawkeyes now and love them..

father in law has last year pings that are a bright green on the heads and they felt really nice

[James]

Re: Golf?

i'm rocking callaway hawkeyes now and love them..

father in law has last year pings that are a bright green on the heads and they felt really nice

Ya those would likely be the raptures....classified as "Extreme forgiveness". Theyre great clubs (all pings are, really...pretentious perhaps but very well made! haha) but the sole on them is way too fat for me, makes my eyes puke

[R_Ethug]

Re: Golf?

yea fatter bottom means easier shots and more forgiveness.. sharp bottoms mean you gotta be hella accurate or its slice/shank city

the hawkeyes i have are kinda right in the middle..

[James]

Re: Golf?

yea fatter bottom means easier shots and more forgiveness.. sharp bottoms mean you gotta be hella accurate or its slice/shank city

the hawkeyes i have are kinda right in the middle..

Its all kind of a marketing scam if you ask me, I mean yes its true that a bigger club face and a spread out center of gravity (which is what cavity back irons do, essentially) makes your mis-hits fly longer. Straighter, no..if you hit off the toe on a blade or a cavity back, its still goin way right (or left if youre a dirty, soul-less south paw :P)...but who aims for a mishit anyways? lol

for me it all comes down to confidence; if I feel confident standing over the ball, im probably gonna make better contact..which is why i like the blade-esque/muscleback clubs, they make me feel like im standing over the ball with a knife instead of a brick :P

[Smarty39]

Re: Golf?

For a decent handicapper like yourself I would definately go for a set of split-backs (long irons are cavity and shorts are blades). Most of the weakness in 10-20 handicap golfers comes from their longer irons, which even slight cavity backs will help cure. I agree that the "full forgiveness" clubs are WAY too big but there is something to be said for hitting it pure a greater percentage of the time. Also, get rid of your 3/4 (and even 5) iron and replace with a utility club...they are magic lol! I used to hit a 2-iron back in the day and now that I have a utility club I don't know how I even hit the 2!

On the other hand, if you're actively looking to improve your game get a set of forged blades (not tour blades though, as they are rediculously small). I'm about a 3 handicap and have never hit full cavity backs in my life, even when I first started out. If you can learn how to hit semi-forgiving blades (or split-backs) you will be better off in the long run...not to mention you can really only shape shots with blades

Just my $0.02 of course

[James]

Re: Golf?

For a decent handicapper like yourself I would definately go for a set of split-backs (long irons are cavity and shorts are blades). Most of the weakness in 10-20 handicap golfers comes from their longer irons, which even slight cavity backs will help cure. I agree that the "full forgiveness" clubs are WAY too big but there is something to be said for hitting it pure a greater percentage of the time. Also, get rid of your 3/4 (and even 5) iron and replace with a utility club...they are magic lol! I used to hit a 2-iron back in the day and now that I have a utility club I don't know how I even hit the 2!

On the other hand, if you're actively looking to improve your game get a set of forged blades (not tour blades though, as they are rediculously small). I'm about a 3 handicap and have never hit full cavity backs in my life, even when I first started out. If you can learn how to hit semi-forgiving blades (or split-backs) you will be better off in the long run...not to mention you can really only shape shots with blades

Just my $0.02 of course

Yeah, you're pretty much bang on at what I was looking to do. The only problem is that there are very few combo sets available these days that dont come with hybrids, which I dont feel confident with.

So that is why when I initially started looking I was pretty much determined to get the nike split cavity VR's, and I was hitting them very solid at the range..then when i went in to buy them they only had the extra stiff shafts so I hit a few more clubs (as mentioned above) and found that I liked the ping s57s just as much. The sales guy told me the pings would be more forgiving (also $400 more for the set so...maybe that had something tod o with it )...but i have read reviews that say the s57s, while they are blades (non forged), are surprisingly forgiving.

The good part about pings is that you buy club by club, not a full set per se...that would mean i could pick up a hybrid (g10) 3 and 4, then grab 5-PW in the S57's...Or, seeing as imnot confident with the hybrids, i could pick up an i10 3 and 4 and s57 5-pw...

Im the same as you, I learned to play on some old ass hogan blades, then i played some cobras with graphite shafts, then i got these taylor mades im using now, which are cavity backs, but 8 years old so they look like a more traditional club. I have no interest in hiting full cavities, my dad is playing x22's and he hits them a TON but I just hate being able to see the sole of a club at address from the back!

thoughts?

[popp]

Re: Golf?

I have Callaway Steelhead x-14 irons and Nike Sumo drivers, they are very forgiving which is good cause I suck. I average 15-20 depending on year and amount of alcohol consumed.

I had Ping's a few years back with graphite shafts and switched to the callaway's with steel shafts cause i needed less flex in my swing,

[R_Ethug]

Re: Golf?

i used to have callaways x18s then went to the hawkeyes

i have taylor made r7 for my driver and big berthas for my woods

[popp]

Re: Golf?

when are we going to do a eurodrivers tournament? or just a 4-8some

[RONDAL]

Re: Golf?

whichever route you go i suggest buying out of the US. i have bought pretty much everything off of shops on ebay brand new and they are most of the time about 50% of what they are going for retail here.

Golf stuff is just so cheap in texas, florida and arizona and there are soooooo many online retailers you can buy from.

i just went and demo'd clubs here, figured out what i wanted and ordered brand new online

[RONDAL]

Re: Golf?

i have a mix and match set i put together.

titleist D1 driver with the lightweight mitsu shaft. The shaft alone was like $275 but due to employee incompetence i got it for free cause they forgot to ring through the shaft and the head. $450 drive for $185. YES PLEASE!
nike 3 sumoQ2 3 wood
nike 3 sumoQ hybrid
wilson staff Di7 irons 4-9, P, G, S
nike 60* loft wedge
taylormade Rossa mallet putter


i'm playing like 1.5 times a week at the moment and loving it. Started last June hitting in the 120's and im down to a solid mid 90's golfer. Looking to be consistently in the high 80's by the end of the season. My 20 yard and in game is what kills me. The loft wedge has made a huge difference in playability around the green and getting it up and down.

if someone wants to organize a couple of foursomes i'd be down.

[R_Ethug]

Re: Golf?

i usually only play 9 holes but i do 40-50 depending on the night of course haha

i'd be down to play for sure.. gotta heal first tho

[mDmVR6]

Re: Golf?

I have the Ping s57 iron and they are sweeeet that is for sure. They are more forgiving than the conventional forged blade, but when I hit them pure they are like hitting butter. I have heard nothing but great things about the AP2 irons. I guess if it was me looking I would demo a lot of different irons and then try to find the best deal and go from there.

[James]

Re: Golf?

I have the Ping s57 iron and they are sweeeet that is for sure. They are more forgiving than the conventional forged blade, but when I hit them pure they are like hitting butter. I have heard nothing but great things about the AP2 irons. I guess if it was me looking I would demo a lot of different irons and then try to find the best deal and go from there.

Thanks, exactly what i wanted to hear!

I did swing theAP's (cant recall if its 1 or 2..whichever is their supposed blade) and liked the feel of the pings better. Probably going to get fitted after work today and get the S57s, it really comes down to if I want hybrids or not. Im thinking ill likely get a hybrid 3, and 4-pw S57s