Equipment Question

softconsult · Jun 2, 2010

I always disliked Ping irons. However, the last time I tried one was probably circa 1980-85. Back then with my particular swing that balata ball just went too high with the Ping.

I played the last two years with Titleist 695CB's, Project X 5.5's. This year I have been playing Titleist 735CM's with DGS300's.

So I take a lesson with Michael Jacobs about 10 days ago. He has a beta module on his flightscope that graphs what the shaft is doing before and after impact. Very interesting. The Project X graph showed very good stability, but it was too stiff. The DG graph jumped around before and after impact. Conclusion was to go find the right shaft. He liked recommended KBS 5.0 for me.

Now Manzella brings up the G15's. The itch starts.

I went and hit them this weekend, and was very impressed. Solid, straight, and long. 7 iron was not dramatically higher than my 735. So next Thursday I have a fitting appointment at a place in Knoxville, TN that has a veteran Ping Fitter, and the n-Flight system.
We shall see.

Frans@France · Jun 3, 2010

softconsult said:
I went and hit them this weekend, and was very impressed. Solid, straight, and long. 7 iron was not dramatically higher than my 735.

Lof Iron 7
735 : 35
G15 : 32 !

So you should comparing a G15 #7 with a 735 #6

dbl · Jun 3, 2010

That loft for the 735 sounds kind of weak. Are you sure?

Frans@France · Jun 3, 2010

dbl said:
That loft for the 735 sounds kind of weak. Are you sure?

weak ???

1960 - #7 Loft 40°
2006 - #7 Loft 34°
2010 - #7 Loft 31°

Mbaker1979 · Jun 3, 2010

I have been following this thread with interest as a few years ago I bought an old set of Titleist blades to practice with but I was still going to play with my CBs. I never stuck with it and they got garaged.

So after reading this tonight I dragged them out of the garage and took them to the range for my practice session.

I must say that at first I struggled a bit as you need to be striking it really good but after 20 balls or so I was flushing them. I hit up through to the 4 iron then at the end got out the 1-iron. Felt so good to flush it....

Going to stick with it this time and looking at getting them re-chromed.

dbl · Jun 3, 2010

Frans@France said:
weak ???

1960 - #7 Loft 40°
2006 - #7 Loft 34°
2010 - #7 Loft 31°

Well, I thougth 735 were kinda old (like 5 years or so now). Anyway I have some 690MB and an older set, both with 7I loft of 36°.

duckjr78 · Jun 3, 2010

I'm not in the market for new irons anytime soon, but I was curious. Are there any manufactures out there making irons with the correct amount of length/loft any more? I still think that a PW should have 49 or 50 degrees of loft.

softconsult · Jun 3, 2010

There is no such thing as correct loft. There are no standards.
I don't get the point of listing 1960's lofts, 2006 lofts, and 2010 lofts.
Everyone already knows that clubs have evolved to longer, more upright,
and stronger lofts.

I think 735's are at least 5 years old. My 695CB's are, I think, 2006.
CB's are 1 degree stronger than 735's. I suspect it's to offset the cavity back
tendency to lauch higher.

Personally, I could care less about distance per se. I care about gaps and consistency.

birly-shirly · Jun 3, 2010

Mbaker1979 said:
I have been following this thread with interest as a few years ago I bought an old set of Titleist blades to practice with but I was still going to play with my CBs. I never stuck with it and they got garaged.

So after reading this tonight I dragged them out of the garage and took them to the range for my practice session.

I must say that at first I struggled a bit as you need to be striking it really good but after 20 balls or so I was flushing them. I hit up through to the 4 iron then at the end got out the 1-iron. Felt so good to flush it....

Going to stick with it this time and looking at getting them re-chromed.

Have you somewhere in mind for re-chroming work in the UK? I've heard nothing but good things about the Iron Factory in the States, but nothing at all about an equivalent service closer to home. I got a couple of wedges re-chromed years ago at a factory in Fife and it was a waste of time. The fresh chrome lasted about 9 holes.

From a playability point of view, I'd be sceptical of any great enhancement unless your existing grooves are worn away to nothing, or you plan on getting square grooves cut.

Lindsey Newman · Jun 4, 2010

duckjr78 said:
I'm not in the market for new irons anytime soon, but I was curious. Are there any manufactures out there making irons with the correct amount of length/loft any more? I still think that a PW should have 49 or 50 degrees of loft.

Miura - still does it right!
Miura Golf Inc.

Iron shots are all about precision! For me, the jury is still out on these moonlaunching, hybrid-ish clubs. I am looking to hit it the right distance and the right trajectory. If i was looking to hit my 7 iron anywhere from 170 to 190 the new stuff would be great, but i want to know how far it goes within 10 yards at a minimum. In the end, length is still determined by driver distance. at some point folks will have to carry 5 wedges with these jacked up irons. It's just foolishness!

softconsult · Jun 4, 2010

Lindsey Newman said:
Miura - still does it right!
Miura Golf Inc.

Iron shots are all about precision! For me, the jury is still out on these moonlaunching, hybrid-ish clubs. I am looking to hit it the right distance and the right trajectory. If i was looking to hit my 7 iron anywhere from 170 to 190 the new stuff would be great, but i want to know how far it goes within 10 yards at a minimum. In the end, length is still determined by driver distance. at some point folks will have to carry 5 wedges with these jacked up irons. It's just foolishness!

Exactly in line with my thinking. Played yesterday and absolutely was on with the irons. Pitching wedge at 47 degrees is 130, 7 iron is 165. If the G15's were to up that by +10 yards, then I will have the problem you describe. However, as the Memorial demonstrates, Mickleson is coping in spite of hitting his 9 iron 190 yards!

Lindsey Newman · Jun 5, 2010

softconsult said:
Exactly in line with my thinking. Played yesterday and absolutely was on with the irons. Pitching wedge at 47 degrees is 130, 7 iron is 165. If the G15's were to up that by +10 yards, then I will have the problem you describe. However, as the Memorial demonstrates, Mickleson is coping in spite of hitting his 9 iron 190 yards!

Coping for sure. He is insane long! If you're hitting 9 irons 190 I would suppose all you need is a driver, 3 wood 7, 8, 9, irons, 8 wedges and a putter to play a 7200 yard golf course. If you just remove the numbers from the clubs you still have 14 options. What's the difference. When golf courses get to 8000 yards I suppose I will need jacked up irons, but day in day out, I very rarely have iron shots of more than 200 yards, with most being in 150 yd range. I play a 7200 yd golf course and outside of the occasional long par 3 or the reachable par 5, I don't ever need that much added length to my iron shots
A good topic for much deliberation.

Mbaker1979 · Jun 5, 2010

Birly,

I found a couple of places that will do it. I got quoted £30 (min 8 irons) per head to re-chrome, then £20 each to fit some S300s. I have 3 to SW and a 1 iron so £500 for the lot. At that price I am thinking of trying the new MP68s.

I am definitely getting more out of my practice now I am using the blades. I get instant feedback on mis-hits and am forced to swing better. I am all for the idea that switching as a low double digit handicap speeds up your development.

mgranato · Jun 5, 2010

Lindsey Newman said:
Coping for sure. He is insane long! If you're hitting 9 irons 190 I would suppose all you need is a driver, 3 wood 7, 8, 9, irons, 8 wedges and a putter to play a 7200 yard golf course. If you just remove the numbers from the clubs you still have 14 options. What's the difference. When golf courses get to 8000 yards I suppose I will need jacked up irons, but day in day out, I very rarely have iron shots of more than 200 yards, with most being in 150 yd range. I play a 7200 yd golf course and outside of the occasional long par 3 or the reachable par 5, I don't ever need that much added length to my iron shots
A good topic for much deliberation.

I played an 8,092 yard course (February in Alabama no less), and trust me, you don't need jacked irons - you need more lumber

I'm with you, I think the irons are about distance and the woods are about direction.

birly-shirly · Jun 5, 2010

Mbaker1979 said:
Birly,

I found a couple of places that will do it. I got quoted £30 (min 8 irons) per head to re-chrome, then £20 each to fit some S300s. I have 3 to SW and a 1 iron so £500 for the lot. At that price I am thinking of trying the new MP68s.

Wow. You'd really have to be in love with your set to spend that on them. I picked up a set of Mizzy TP Originals recently. Probably 25 years old and the grooves are mint. 1 - SW. Cost me £60 by the time I'd sprung for new grips!

I've bought probably 4 sets of classic blades off fleabay or gumtree in the last few years. I doubt any have cost me more than £60. None were remotely in need of refurbishment. I had a set of VIPs that only started to lose their paint fill once I started practicing with them!

I would love to see my hogans pcs restored though, as I think they're probably the greatest looking iron I've ever seen. Will you let us know how you get on if you do try one of these services?

BrendanC · Apr 20, 2011

I recently switched from Callaway X-14s to Mizuno MP-32 irons.

Swing-wise, I worked with NHA, then SD, which gave me a better release, and am now back to NHA.

Hitting it better with the MP-32 for a whole pile of reasons, though I have lost a ton of yardage (or what I'll call 'range' yardage) by making the switch. I don’t try to hit the MP-32 vast distances because I kind of know it can’t do it…..weird but definitely true. Like a lot of people, I also think it is better to be a little short with a mishit than way offline and pin high. I just don't get those HUGE wides with the MP-32.

One question: I seem to need the ball up to near enough my left heel with the MP-32s. If I don’t, I tend to get a bit of a pull.

Is this to do with offset (the MP-32 has none, the X-14 has lots)? And is a fairly ‘up’ ball position normally useful/compatible with NHA?

drewyallop · Apr 20, 2011

you should be worried about trying to restrict the genuinely passive release of the angles in your hands/wrists

Birly,
Does this mean that you should restrict the passive release or you should not restrict the passive release?

Another question: is a passive release consistent with applying force across the shaft? I am thinking of Dr Zicks demonstration of application of torque in the Anti-Summit video. Didn't look passive to me but I could be misinterpreting what I saw.

Drew

birly-shirly · Apr 21, 2011

Drew

Sorry - looking back, I think I meant to type "shouldn't" rather than "should". I think I was trying to explain how I think it's a mistake to blame back-weighted irons for a flip - rather than make any more general point about technique.

Just goes to prove another of my theories though - that the internet makes a lot more sense if you hold open the possibility that the writer may have meant something 180* different to what they actually wrote....