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Iron lofts and wedge transition


chemclub

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Hello folks, new guy here,

 

I have finally decided to buy a new set of irons this summer after gaming the same set for ~15 years. Have never been fitted for irons either.

 

Primarily looking at Titleist AP2/CB, Mizuno H5/MP-15, or the new Hogan hi/PTx (always admired the Hogan Apex Plus). I am not an equipment junkie so I am really going to take my time with this decision. I am an ok ball striker with a horrible mental game. 

 

My current set has 4* gaps with a 48* PW which gives me 3 wedges up to 60* (love my 60*, too much probably). I spoke with a Mizuno fitter who was really surprised that I would want to bend every iron to keep my current specs. He said it just wasn't modern. Modern meaning 46*PW. I really like having a uniform progression up to 60* (perhaps my attraction to the new Hogan philosophy). It works really well with my distances so that my 8i (40*) goes 150y. Distance isn't as big of a concern as constant yardage gaps for me.

 

I realize this is probably an old and tired question, but how do you folks deal with the new 'modern' lofts? Do you bend them? Carry wedges with larger degree gasps (assuming you want a 60* wedge)? Am I missing something? Please educate this equipment dinosaur.

 

 

Bag: Bennington Quiet Organizer 9-Lite (link)

Cart: :Clicgear: 3.5+

Driver:  :cobra-small:  F9 speedback, Accra iWood

Woods:  Sonartec GS Tour 14*, Fujikura Six S
DI:  :titelist-small:  T-MB 2 iron, KBS Tour-V 120 X,
Irons: :Miura: PP-9003SN 4-GW, Nippon 1150GH Stiff
Wedges: :Miura: 1957 K-grind SW, LW, Nippon 1150GH Stiff
Putter: :odyssey-small: EXO Indianapolis (link)
Ball: :Snell: MTB
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Lots of different options and you've mentioned a couple of them.  Personally my PW is 45°.  So I go 50/54/58 from there.

 

One thing to remember is that loft is just another number, and not necessarily the most important number.  Look at how far you hit the club regardless of what is stamped on the bottom.  Find what club you hit 150 with the new set and then gap off of that.  You may find that new irons will require a re-gapping at the top and bottom end of your bag as well.  It's also possible you end up with 5i-GW and they go the same distances as your previous 4i-PW.  Don't discount modern lofts just because it's stronger, just build your set off the distances you want to hit.

 

Best of luck with your search!

 

One last note, if you start bending clubs that much you might start to see differences in turf interaction when you get to the course.  Probably wouldn't be as noticeable if hitting off a mat indoors so be careful of that.

Driver: :taylormade-small: SLDR w/ Fujikura Ventus Black

3w: :taylormade-small:'16 M2 hl w/ Diamana D+ 82

5w: :cleveland-small: Launcher HB w/ HZRDUS Yellow

Hybrid: :cleveland-small: 22 deg. Launcher HB w/ HZRDUS Black

Irons: :cleveland-small: 5i - gap Launcher CBX w/ Nippon Modus 3 125

Wedges: :cleveland-small: 54 CBX & 58 Zipcore w/ Nippon Modus 3 125

Putter: :odyssey-small: Red 7s

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If you go with the Hogans, you'll actually get a choice of both lofts and loft increments, the latter often called "gaps."

 

The PTx and FW-15 iron lines go from 20 to 47º.  Wedges, specifically TK-15s, start with 48, so if you enjoy living in the past the way I clearly do, at least as far as golf is concerned, congratulations on rediscovering the 47º 9-iron!

 

 

 

 

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I think you'll want to combine hckymeyer and Nifty on this one. If you're one that likes the specific club numbering system, you'll probably have to go 5i-Gw to replace your more traditional 4i-PW, then get numbered wedges.  If actual loft is the most important, go with Hogans so your clubs are exactly what you want as the new Hogans have a head/weight design that is slightly altered every 4 degrees to maintain their design philosophy.

 

I have Mizuno JPX 800 PROs and have a 3 degree gap from 4i-5i, then had them bent to be 4 degree gaps from there on out through PW which is at 47 degrees. My wedges are Mizuno MP-T11s at 52,56,60, but I had them bent to 50/55/60 because i rarely take full swings. I know i lost bounce on the 52 and 56, but haven't noticed much of a difference.

 

I'm looking to try new wedges in 2016 that have more bounce all around to see if they make any difference for me.

 

I don;t think you can go wrong with either set of clubs. Good Luck!!

What's in my  :cleveland-small: bag:

Driver :  :cobra-small: F9 10.5, Fujikura Speeder 757 TR 

Fairway  :cobra-small: F9 15.5° Aldila Rogue White 80X

Hybrid:  :cobra-small: King F7 18° KBS Tour PROTO Hybrid 95 S+

Irons:   :srixon-small: z585 4i - 6i,  z785 7i-PW, Nippon Modus 120X

Wedges:  :cleveland-small: CBX  50.11, 55.11, 60.10  TT DG S400 Black

Putter:  post-53756-150768041262.jpg Honey Badger 34" 

Ball:  :srixon-small: Q-Star Tour

 

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How often do you hit your 52* wedge you have now, and what types of shots do you use it for? Is it for full swings or pitches? In modern sets with the stronger lofts, the gap wedge is like a pitching wedge from 15-20 years ago. I think it makes sense to buy a gap wedge that matches the rest of your irons and use it for full swings, they are usually around 50*.

 

If you go that route, how will you be using your other wedges? If your current 56 is your sand wedge and your 60 that you really like is for pitches to tight pins, you should be covered.

 

I like the idea of constant gaps in theory, but to me, constant gaps means a constant swing from all your irons for the constant distance increments. How often do you swing your 60 as hard as your 5 iron? I know I never do. I think once you get into the wedge 50* and up, constant gaps are of less importance.

 

Like hckymeyer said too, changing the lofts also changes the bounce which could cause problems.

 

 

I see you are looking at higher end forged offerings. I'd add to your list the Srixon 545 or 745 irons. I got a chance to hit them and they are incredible. Unfortunately, I didn't have the coin for them so I went with an older set of Srixons. Beautiful forgings.

WITB:

Stan Thompson “Reactionizer” persimmon woods 1-4

Spalding Tour Edition 3-PW

Spalding Top-Flite E.V.A. Sand Club

Rife Legend Z Putter

 

 

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Thank you for all the suggestions. 

 

The constant gapping is probably a mental thing. If my 8i (40*) goes 150y, then if I follow the progression, my 60* goes 100y on a full swing (although, I am not always comfortable taking a full swing with it). I like knowing I can put a ball anywhere between 100-150y and have options. 

 

Like I said, I have never actually been fit for a set of irons so a lot of these gap questions might be resolved when I start testing.

 

I like the look of the Srixon 745s. I just need to find a place where I can actually hit them. Not sure about the 545s. I'm not sure how I feel about clubs described as having hot faces. I don't need distance, I need constant yardages. One of the reasons I was apprehensive about trying the MP-25.

 

Thanks again

Bag: Bennington Quiet Organizer 9-Lite (link)

Cart: :Clicgear: 3.5+

Driver:  :cobra-small:  F9 speedback, Accra iWood

Woods:  Sonartec GS Tour 14*, Fujikura Six S
DI:  :titelist-small:  T-MB 2 iron, KBS Tour-V 120 X,
Irons: :Miura: PP-9003SN 4-GW, Nippon 1150GH Stiff
Wedges: :Miura: 1957 K-grind SW, LW, Nippon 1150GH Stiff
Putter: :odyssey-small: EXO Indianapolis (link)
Ball: :Snell: MTB
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Actually I don't I still hit old stuff no joke. Seriously Hcky had some good sound advice

Driver ---- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha  Speeder 565 R flex- 5W TM V-Steel Fubuki 60r--- 7W TM V-Steel UST Pro Force Gold 65R----- 9 W TM V Steel TM MAS stiff---- Irons 2015 TM TP CB Steel Fiber 95 R--- GW Callaway Mack Daddy 2 52* shaft unknown junk pile refugee. SW Callaway PM Grind 56*  Modified sole grind--- KBS Tour Wedge-- LW Vokey 58* SM5 L grind--- Putter Ping B90I Broom Stick 

 

 

 G

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  • 8 months later...

What irons are you currently playing? Mizuno or srixon are great choices and the new hogans look sick. I like the idea of the lofts instead of numbers so it is easier to customize the set a bit.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy mobile app

Driver- Mizuno jpx Ez 9.5(set to low) with Matrix Red tie limited edition masters green with multicompound red platinum 44.5" f3 wood- Adams tight lies 16* Mitsubishi rayon fubuki x flex3-9 irons- Mizuno T-zoid pro irons s300 w sensicores47*, 56* Mizuno s5 wedge white satinPutter- odyssey #9 pro with super stroke 3.0All other clubs have different coloured multi compounds

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I bent a 50* SCOR to 49* and a 54* SCOR to 53* in order to keep the 4* gaps..........I have not noticed any turf interaction issues from the 1* bend.  Remember, the SCOR irons have a "V Sole" as do the new Hogans.

Driver: image.png.6ba1c8a254ad57aa05e527b74c2e04ba.png0311 XF 10.5* w/Project X Cypher 40 gram Senior shaft or 0811 XF 12* w/Evenflo Riptide CB Senior shaft

Fairways:  image.png.80321f01fc46450b6f428c7daf7b3471.png0211 5W & 7W w/ Evenflo Riptide CB  regular shaft and Tour Edge E521 9W w/Fubuki HD50 regular shaft

Hybrid: None in bag at the moment

IronsTitleist T300 5-PW w/Fubuki MV Senior graphite shafts w/Golf Pride Tour

Wedges: Edison forged 49*, 53* and 57* wedges with KB PGI Senior shafts(80 grm).

Putter: 33” Evnroll ER6R or  ER2 or Bellum Winmore Model 707,   or Nike Method Core Drone  w/Evnroll Gravity Grip

Bag: Vice cart bag(Black/Lime). 

Ball: Snell MTB Prime X, Maxfli Tour/S/X CG, Titleist Pro V1x or Titleist TruFeel

Using Shot Scope X5 and Pinned Rangefinder

 

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... After playing traditional lofts for so many years and knowing my distances, I was also reluctant to go modern lofts. Went with a set of Cobra Amp Forged that were 1 club stronger so my 44* pw is the same as my old 44* 9 iron. So all I had to do was transpose the clubs in my head. Old 9 iron 140 so new pw 140, etc. 

... As far as the Srixon 545 irons are concerned, I played a set of Cleveland 588 TT's this season along with my Cobra's. The thin face caused them to launch a little higher but not really any longer. They are also more forgiving of slight mishits so maybe a hair longer on mishits but well struck shots traveled a similar distance. Your mmv of course. 

Driver:     :taylormade-small:  Qi10 10.5* ... Ventus Red Velocore 5R
Fairway:  :cobra-small: Aerojet 3/5 ... Kai'li Blue 60R
Hybrids:  :ping-small:      430 Hybrid 22*... Steelfiber 780Hy 
                  :taylormade-small:  DHy #4 ... Diamana LTD 65r 
Irons:       :titleist-small:         '23 T200 5-Pw ... Steelfiber i95r
Wedges:  :taylormade-small: Vokey 50*/54*/58* ... Steelfiber i95r
Putter:     :cobra-small:  Sport-60 33" 
Ball:           Maxfli     Maxfli Tour

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Agreed with the gist of the posts here. I'd test out the new PW and see how far it goes and go based off that. Basically you want to see the distance spread. Just because it's a lower loft doesn't necessarily mean better distance (may swing differently with it and the like).

 

From there I think there's no right or wrong answer of how to proceed. You can choose to bend them or go the other option and change the loft depending on you and what your fitter think would work best.

 Driver:   :callaway-small:  Epic Flash 12 Degree

Wood: :callaway-small:  GBB 3 Wood
Hybrid: :callaway-small: Razr 4 hybriid stiff stock shaft.
Irons: :callaway-small: X2 Hot 4 iron (pro version) 5 iron - Gap Wedge (non pro version).  KBS 120g Shaft stiff cut 1/2  inch bent 1°upright
Wedges: :vokey-small: 52° 56° and 60°.
All grips are Golf pride grips midsized
Putter (lefty):  Odyssey Metal-X #8 34", stock shaft bent 2° Superstroke grip
Golf Balls:   :titelist-small: 2018-9 Pro-V1x and Prov1s
Shoes:  :footjoy-small:  Dryjoy tours

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Thank you all for the great advice. I tested the Mizuno JPX-EZ and actually learned a lot from the experience and that Hcky had it right. I have now gone completely over board from playing off the rack to scheduling a full fitting for next Spring with a local fitter who came highly recommended by Tom Wishon himself.  So you guessed it, I am going to get a set of Wishon irons. After reading as much as I could and experimenting with a lot of OEM offerings, for me at least, I think a fitting matters more than the heads. I guess I am skeptical of all of the "technology" claims by the OEMs (wind resistance turbulators put me over the edge on the BS detector, although I really did hit the PING G30 well). At some point I really want to hit and likely purchase the Wishon 919THI. I drank the koolaid folks. I'm all in. (does everyone go through a mid-life Wishon phase?)

Bag: Bennington Quiet Organizer 9-Lite (link)

Cart: :Clicgear: 3.5+

Driver:  :cobra-small:  F9 speedback, Accra iWood

Woods:  Sonartec GS Tour 14*, Fujikura Six S
DI:  :titelist-small:  T-MB 2 iron, KBS Tour-V 120 X,
Irons: :Miura: PP-9003SN 4-GW, Nippon 1150GH Stiff
Wedges: :Miura: 1957 K-grind SW, LW, Nippon 1150GH Stiff
Putter: :odyssey-small: EXO Indianapolis (link)
Ball: :Snell: MTB
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