golf crew, some questions

[stag3]

so i've heard that once you go forged, you never go back. im currently using tommy armour 845u's. is it true that forged irons wear down the heel a lot faster than regular steel? how bad is it? my swing is getting pretty consistant now, and i wanted to get fitted for clubs and i like and have read nothing but positive reviews for the mizuno mp-37's. thoughts? tips ? i will probably go with steel shafts, stiff most likely.

 

[Gibsons]

Look into used clubs, you can save a bundle, the set I got (MacGregors) was near pristine.

Never heard or noticed anything about soles wearing faster on forged irons. But I've never hit anything other than forged irons so I'm not the best person to ask.

 

[Patt]

If you're brilliantly consistent, you will wear down any club over time, though not in a time frame likely to be of concern to you. Unless you pound balls like Vijay, or never upgrade again, you should be fine.

Oh, and I want the mp-37's too ... but will have to stick with my TaylorMade Firesoles for a few years yet due to fiscal constraints.

 

[GasX]

I just got fitted for clubs and it was a very cool process and I love my new clubs.

Sucks that I don't have a decent range any where nearby....

 

[meltdown75]

Man, I wish I had a consistent swing.

I too am in the market for a new set of irons, but I'm too broke. Buying used is an option, but I can't recommend it. I bought used and I am always thinking/feeling that my irons were designed for someone else's body/swing. I'd love to get fitted.

I've been a good boy. I think someone should just buy me some new irons. I'm currently hitting 1979-80 Dunlop Blue Max. Oh well.

*hacks way out of thread*

 

[Gibsons]

Originally posted by: meltdown75
Man, I wish I had a consistent swing.

I too am in the market for a new set of irons, but I'm too broke. Buying used is an option, but I can't recommend it. I bought used and I am always thinking/feeling that my irons were designed for someone else's body/swing. I'd love to get fitted.

I've been a good boy. I think someone should just buy me some new irons. I'm currently hitting 1979-80 Dunlop Blue Max. Oh well.

*hacks way out of thread*

if you look around enough though, you can find ones that fit. I saw regular and stiff shafts, steel and graphite, upright, normal and low lies, some with oversized grips, etc. I think my swing is pretty average, so I just go with regular lie and length. My game is bad enough where small differences like that aren't so noticeable anyway.

 

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: Gibsons

Originally posted by: meltdown75
Man, I wish I had a consistent swing.

I too am in the market for a new set of irons, but I'm too broke. Buying used is an option, but I can't recommend it. I bought used and I am always thinking/feeling that my irons were designed for someone else's body/swing. I'd love to get fitted.

I've been a good boy. I think someone should just buy me some new irons. I'm currently hitting 1979-80 Dunlop Blue Max. Oh well.

*hacks way out of thread*

if you look around enough though, you can find ones that fit. I saw regular and stiff shafts, steel and graphite, upright, normal and low lies, some with oversized grips, etc. I think my swing is pretty average, so I just go with regular lie and length. My game is bad enough where small differences like that aren't so noticeable anyway.

I'm right there with ya. My hdcp runs about a 12-14 so I definitely know how to struggle. If I could avoid blow up holes, I'd never have worse that a bogey (makes sense... hehe).

My scramble partner Saturday holed out from 145 or so. He was drunk and hadn't slept after working midnights. Could barely walk. It was the nicest bad shot I've EVER seen by far. He hit a 7-iron, it came out like a punch shot - only about 15 feet off the ground at it's apex. Hit in front of the green and rolled just like a putt - *plunk* right in the cup. Man oh man. a 2 on a par 4!

 

[slpaulson]

I'm also planning on getting some new clubs after finals.

I'm sick of my crappy Wilsons with graphite shafts that keep breaking.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: stag3
so i've heard that once you go forged, you never go back. im currently using tommy armour 845u's. is it true that forged irons wear down the heel a lot faster than regular steel? how bad is it? my swing is getting pretty consistant now, and i wanted to get fitted for clubs and i like and have read nothing but positive reviews for the mizuno mp-37's. thoughts? tips ? i will probably go with steel shafts, stiff most likely.

1) Forged irons will not wear down in the heel, that's pure bullshit. They're a little softer than cast and can ding up a little more and show wear more. If you play a lot and are a great ball striker it's possible to wear a little circular pattern in the face. That's something that a pro might do after 8 years of 1000 balls a day hitting in the same spot. It's not something you're going to see in your lifetime.

2) The supposedly incredible feel of forged is mostly a myth. The reason forged irons feel different from cast is because of the head design. Forged are generally low-offset, low perimeter weighted "players" club. With all the weight in the sweet spot a purely struck forged iron feels almost magical and a badly struck shot feels awful. A cast head is generally higher in offset and takes weight away from the middle of the clubface to move it to the edges and the sole. That will improve the performance of badly struck shots at the tradeoff of reduced feel on well struck shots. If you take an forged head and make an identical design that's cast of soft stainless you would not be able to tell the difference by hitting it.

3) Unless you're a really good ballstriker expect your game to suffer when making the switch. The 845u is a "shovel", it's heavily perimeter weighted and sole weighted to help mediocre players get the ball in the air. The MP-37 is a "players" club that'll offer very little help on your bad swings. "Getting pretty consistent" is not good enough to make the move to a club like the MP-37. Unless "grooved" and "nearly flawless" are the way to describe your swing you would not belong hitting MP-37. If you're improving and want a better club, that's too big a jump to make all at once. Look at the Mizuno MX-23 or MP-30 if you want to make the switch to forged.

4) Yes, get fit. And after you buy clubs, get them checked by a good clubfitter. Trust me, OEM clubs are complete crap and the sets are not even close to spec most of the time. They'll almost certainly need to be adjusted for loft, lie and flex before being usable.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: Mwilding
I just got fitted for clubs and it was a very cool process and I love my new clubs.

Sucks that I don't have a decent range any where nearby....

How did that whole process go? did it cost you any more $$$ to get fitted? I'm going to hopefully get some new irons in the next month or so and was debating if getting them fitted is worth or not.

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

I bought some clubs off eBay last fall after some recommendations here, and I'm really happy with them. I got an Adams Tight Lies GT Driver (the thing is massive compared to the one I was hitting before) and 845u irons. I'm a hacker though, so I'm just focusing on improveming now. Either way, these clubs are way easier to hit than the circa-1950 clubs I was using before

 

[stag3]

i've been playing since january, and have come down from 140s to the mid 90s in those 4 mos. ive been taking classes and my coach recommended i get fitted, what clubs would you recommend if the jump to mp-37's are to broad of a change? all i know for sure is when i last got fitted, i needed 1/2" under spec as i'm short. i need to get fitted for my heel/toe now as well.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Going from 140's to 90's that fast is impressive, but shooting in the 90's you don't even belong in the same room with the MP-37. Call me when you're in the low 70's, that's the level of skill necessary to handle a pure blade like that. You obviously have some skill at the game and might be best suited by a "tweener" club. That's something in between the high offset and zero feel shovels like Callaways and the zero-help, need-to-be-perfect blades like the MP-37. From OEMs if you want forged you'd probably be best suited by the Mizuno MP-30 or MX-23, the Nike Forged Pro Combo,Bridgestone J33, Titleist 804-OS or something similar.

I urge you to find a good clubfitter that can set you up with a set of custom built Snake Eyes 600XS or Maltby M-05 forged. They'd fit you better and should save some money over the OEM forged sets.

 

[Gibsons]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
Going from 140's to 90's that fast is impressive, but shooting in the 90's you don't even belong in the same room with the MP-37. Call me when you're in the low 70's, that's the level of skill necessary to handle a pure blade like that. You obviously have some skill at the game and might be best suited by a "tweener" club. That's something in between the high offset and zero feel shovels like Callaways and the zero-help, need-to-be-perfect blades like the MP-37. From OEMs if you want forged you'd probably be best suited by the Mizuno MP-30 or MX-23, the Nike Forged Pro Combo,Bridgestone J33, Titleist 804-OS or something similar.

I urge you to find a good clubfitter that can set you up with a set of custom built Snake Eyes 600XS or Maltby M-05 forged. They'd fit you better and should save some money over the OEM forged sets.

As a compromise, there are also iron sets that are perimeter weighted for longer irons (3-6) and more blade-like for higher lofts.

I agree though, I wouldn't dream of trying pure blades without a single-digit handicap.

 

[Tylanner]

If your serious about golf and your game and most importantly, got the $$$$$$$$$........WHY THE HELL NOT?

MMMMMMMMM Forged mmmmmmmmmmmm

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: Tylanner
If your serious about golf and your game and most importantly, got the $$$$$$$$$........WHY THE HELL NOT?

MMMMMMMMM Forged mmmmmmmmmmmm

Why the hell not? Simple, just because something costs more doesn't mean that it fits. Golf clubs are not socks, one size does not fit all. Spending a ton of cash on super-expensive clubs that don't fit or suit your skill level will MAKE YOU WORSE!! How's that for a reason why the hell not?

 

[stag3]

yea well ive had instructions with my coach for the past 3 mos every weekend, was only saturdays for the first 2 mos, and now i'm meeting up with him saturdays and sundays for 1.5 hrs each day. i goto the driving range 3x a week and work on my feel for distancing my clubs, that has by far been the hardest thing for me to do. when i first started i was horrible, but keeping at it, i've learned tons. i was able to finally shoot in the 90s the last 2 weeks or so, a 96 and a 97. working on only my shortgame for the past 3 weeks has been the most beneficial. it's funny how i got hooked, i was in hawaii on vacation and my friends dad ( friend lives in hawaii) invited me to go tag along. needless to say after that 18 holes and me shooting a 148, i was hooked haha. i will probably stick with my 845u's then for now, until i get into the 80s, which is hard now, when i first started the scores dropped down in huge increments, but now im lucky if i drop down 2 strokes each time. of course i still have horrible days where i shoot in the 110 range.

 

[meltdown75]

I love the golf chat. Looks like we have some knowledgable members.

I just got back from shooting 9. Fired a 40 with a double on 1, and bogeys on 3 out of the last 4 holes. :roll: That's my low-9 this year though, so hopefully on league night Thursday I can get it back down to the low 40s!

I can't cure my slice off the tee though.... it's back again! argh!

 

[caboob]

After getting down to a 9 handicap, I made the switch to forged. Found a great deal on a customized set of Mizu MP-32s off ebay.

 

[FreshPrince]

why change clubs when you're just getting used to your irons now? Since you're still learning, I would stick with your current irons until you get more consistent. switching irons now will only mess up your game.

 

[endscape]

I <3 my Nike Forged Blades, but they aren't for the faint of heart. For someone shooting in the 90's, I'd recommend the Ping G2s or something along those lines, a nice, easy to hit set of cavity backs.


E

 

[AU Tiger]

Ping G2s are the most highly rated non-forged club if you aren't set on forged.

I just started playing with Ping G2s a month ago as I wasn't happy with my iron play. At the time I was a 13 handicap. First time out I shot a 75, a week later I shot a 74 which is my all time low round. I don't think the G2s made that much of a difference in my play, but but they are a sweet hitting club and I do not regret the purchase at all.

Of all the changes I have made in my bag this year, I have most enjoyed the Cleveland CG10 wedges I added. I highly recommend them if you are looking to upgrade your wedges.

 

[Random Variable]

The best advice is to test out the irons yourself. I could tell you that I like my Cleveland TA6's, but what good would that do?