Alpinestar217

Yea, I mean they were really great. I had the 965s and mixed up a set for a few rounds. There wasn't much in it as far as looks/blade lengths in the 965s (which seemed to be a larger blade overall) vs 785s. Very minimal difference - very similar look from the top. Forgiveness is exactly what you'd expect - a small increase over a blade, but not bounds of forgiveness. For me, just that tiny bit of extra height in the longer irons on the average shot, maybe a smidgen of help off the toe. My swing has changed (mostly for better) quite a bit, but if I had the 785s weakened a bit, they would be just about perfect right now. You'd definitely feel comfortable over the 785s if you're used to looking down at the Zforged. That would be a pretty slick set of sticks right there.

I got the Hogan PTX Pro's right when they came out. I have several sets of irons right now (919 tour/ctaper lite, 718 mb/PX 6.0) - the hogans always find their way into the bag. I really like them. What I find particularly attractive is that even though 7i-4i are hollow-bodied, they retain weaker lofts. Also, the longer irons start to get a smidgen of offset which isn't 100% pleasing to the eye, but are wonderful in play. The ball flight (for me) is everything that I want (got them in KBS tour V Stiff) - high and flat. Distances are 100% predictable. As with any iron, mis-hits really feel terrible and go nowhere, but I seem to notice it more in the Hogans. I've also gamed Z785s which are about as good as an iron can get. I also agree with those saying that if/when the new Wilson CBs come out, they will likely be wonderful. I've hit all the new Titleist and Mizuno stuff (the T100s are spectacular in every way). All of the new Honma stuff is great, too. We're lucky as golfers right now to have so many options, but it certainly makes it tough to pick just one!

I recently purchased the EXS driver (10.5) with Tensei CK Blue (60G, Stiff). For a driver that you can pick up off the shelf for $300 (now $249), I must say that I am fairly impressed. To mirror other comments in this thread, the shaft itself seems pretty reliable and predictable. It's sort of one of those things when you pick up a driver and wiggle it around and say to yourself "I'm not going to like this".. but when you add some speed, it feels pretty good. My brother has a tensei blue 50g stiff in his Nike driver and flushes it with a 111 club speed. I've been trying to talk him into something a little lower launching and with less spin for quite some time... but the formula still works for him, so why change? The shaft feels good at speed (I'm anywhere between 103-107 depending on how I'm feeling that day) and it is easy to locate the club head in the swing. I also have an F8+ with HZRDUS yellow 6.0 (63g)- obviously this is a complete different beast as far as launch and spin. HZRDUS yellow and tensei blue couldn't be more different as far as performance and feel (yet I find them both easy to hit after I added some weight to the F8). In short, obviously you should at least hit the EXS or tensei blue if you aren't going to get a full-blown fitting - but all things considered, it was easy (for me) to pick up and take to the course and have some fun.