Are players irons really only for 'players' ?

[newballcoach]

Stroker, this thread has motivated me. I am really really wanting to pick up a used set of these "players" irons and try my hand at them. The only thing stopping me pulling the trigger is that divorce is expensive

 

I have enjoyed reading this thread and may live vicariously through you for a little while! I have been looking at some mizunos, got a great lead on some MP-25's

[LoganT]

Not sure how much they are going for now but I have a combo set of Cleveland 588 forged cb/mb irons and absolutely love them

 

 

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[Zylem]

You should play irons that you feel comfortable playing. At the end of the day it's your money and golf game.

 

With that said I believe everyone should try all the different types to see what fits them best. Golf is already hard enough we shouldn't be looking for ways to make it harder lol.

 

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[Shankster]

Everyone should try a blade once. You might be surprised.

[MDGolfHacker]

Everyone should try a blade once. You might be surprised.

I loved my Mizuno MP-32s. Don't know why I ever got rid of them...

 

MDGolfHacker

[bullldog]

Cobra Amp Cell pros

Used to own a set. SaWeet!

 

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[Shankster]

I loved my Mizuno MP-32s. Don't know why I ever got rid of them...

 

MDGolfHacker

Marketing told you that you need something different.

[chisag]

Everyone should try a blade once. You might be surprised.

 

 

... I agree it is something all golfers should experience at least once. And if you have the opportunity to play a full round with them, even more fun. But I will add just be honest in your ball striking assessment. I have seen too many hit someone else's MB or hit a set on the range and fall in love with the feel and the pride that goes with hitting them well. But hitting them well at the range and hitting them well on the course are just radically different.

 

1. You groove a swing at the range hitting the same iron, in the same stance at the same target. Aside from having a perfect lie and stance, after hitting a driver and jumping in a cart or pushing your cart to your drive, figuring the distance and hitting a MB 6 iron to a specific target is just light years different than being in a groove at the range.

 

2. And I cannot over state this but when hitting a shot at the range it doesn't count and your brain is well aware of that. You take a full hearty swing and if you hit a bad shot, you simply tee up another ball and swing freely a second time. When you are on the course the shot counts very much so we tend to get tight or guide the shot or just take a bad swing and this is when golfers need all the help they can get. Obviously some need more help than others, but even at the PGA Tour level, most have at least perimeter weighted players irons in their bags. 

 

... It is the very rare individual that can play their best golf with MB's. Maybe it is only a couple shots a round, but those shots can make a huge difference in your score.  I would never try and talk someone out of playing MB's if they already do and enjoy playing them. But I would advise anyone looking to move to a MB to just be very honest about their ability to hit the center of the club face under pressure. 

[RickyBobby_PR]

Play what makes you want to play or practice when you look at your sticks.

[tommc23]

I love my blades I'm changing my swing a little and its helping me hit them better. The mis hits hurt more than with GI so I actually have been hitting irons crisper than I ever have.

 

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[MDGolfHacker]

Marketing told you that you need something different.

Yeah ☹️ and that dang inside voice said I needed something more forgiving since I wasn't going to practice as much when the new baby was born. Went to callaway X-20s! Probably biggest golf club mistake I ever made. And in PX 6.0 which didn't fit my swing! Ah well, live and learn...

 

MDGolfHacker

[shinton0984]

Try finding Wilson staff fg tour V2 iron set, I played these as my "transition" clubs. They have great feel, compact and look good. They are a players CB and you can do some serious working the ball with these if that's what your after.

 

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[AH1980MN]

+10 this ^

[RickyBobby_PR]

Yeah ☹️ and that dang inside voice said I needed something more forgiving since I wasn't going to practice as much when the new baby was born. Went to callaway X-20s! Probably biggest golf club mistake I ever made. And in PX 6.0 which didn't fit my swing! Ah well, live and learn...

 

MDGolfHacker

My x20s were the biggest mistake I made in club selection too.

[revkev]

... I agree it is something all golfers should experience at least once. And if you have the opportunity to play a full round with them, even more fun. But I will add just be honest in your ball striking assessment. I have seen too many hit someone else's MB or hit a set on the range and fall in love with the feel and the pride that goes with hitting them well. But hitting them well at the range and hitting them well on the course are just radically different.

 

1. You groove a swing at the range hitting the same iron, in the same stance at the same target. Aside from having a perfect lie and stance, after hitting a driver and jumping in a cart or pushing your cart to your drive, figuring the distance and hitting a MB 6 iron to a specific target is just light years different than being in a groove at the range.

 

2. And I cannot over state this but when hitting a shot at the range it doesn't count and your brain is well aware of that. You take a full hearty swing and if you hit a bad shot, you simply tee up another ball and swing freely a second time. When you are on the course the shot counts very much so we tend to get tight or guide the shot or just take a bad swing and this is when golfers need all the help they can get. Obviously some need more help than others, but even at the PGA Tour level, most have at least perimeter weighted players irons in their bags.

 

... It is the very rare individual that can play their best golf with MB's. Maybe it is only a couple shots a round, but those shots can make a huge difference in your score. I would never try and talk someone out of playing MB's if they already do and enjoy playing them. But I would advise anyone looking to move to a MB to just be very honest about their ability to hit the center of the club face under pressure.

Finally - someone else expresses it! I know that most of the people in this thread believe he is the one who should be playing blades or a Player's MB.

 

Here's a player, a plus handicap, who has been a teaching pro. I suspect that if you went to your teacher, who knows your swing, he'd give the same advice. Notice the important fact the even guys on tour have some help in their irons.

 

Now if for fun you want to play Player's Irons because they make you feel good, by all means, please do. Golf is meant to be fun.

 

But be honest with us about that and particularly be honest to someone asking about advice.

 

And you guys will laugh that I had a dream about irons. I ordered some on eBay without ever hearing about them or seeing them. When they arrived they were the ugliest things ever.

 

 

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[fozcycle]

The second question is “How many Pros are now playing GI irons?”

 

 

 

 

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[chisag]

The second question is “How many Pros are now playing GI irons?”

 

 

... I don't think that is really a question at that level. Even on the LPGA Tour. GI irons not only help with more than slight mishits but almost always produce a higher trajectory, technology many higher index players can take advantage of, but players at the highest level have only slight mishits and more often than not want to flight the ball lower. Obviously there are exceptions and you will see some GI irons on the Pro Tours, but mostly players irons. Irons that provide some forgiveness on slight mishits with perimeter weighting and some of the more forgiving models provide a hair more weight in the sole to provide a slight increase in trajectory. I think the big difference between players irons and GI irons are PI's have smaller heads for some workability, a higher CG for trajectory control and more often than not, forged carbon steel for feel. 

 

[MDGolfHacker]

Finally - someone else expresses it! I know that most of the people in this thread believe he is the one who should be playing blades or a Player's MB.

 

Here's a player, a plus handicap, who has been a teaching pro. I suspect that if you went to your teacher, who knows your swing, he'd give the same advice. Notice the important fact the even guys on tour have some help in their irons.

 

Now if for fun you want to play Player's Irons because they make you feel good, by all means, please do. Golf is meant to be fun.

 

But be honest with us about that and particularly be honest to someone asking about advice.

 

And you guys will laugh that I had a dream about irons. I ordered some on eBay without ever hearing about them or seeing them. When they arrived they were the ugliest things ever.

 

 

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They were probably VAS irons... 😂 And you woke up in a pool for sweat after that nightmare, right 😂

 

MDGolfHacker

[Cbk57]

Bad weather at home today and had the day off so I drove to Greensburg Pa and went to a golf shop that has an indoor range.  I compared two clubs to my traditional Hogan Radials which are very much like a true bladed iron but with a bit more weight in the bottom center.  My Hogans were made sometime in the late 1980's  I got them as a gift in 1989.  Although i took almost 20 years off regular Golf these have been my primary Irons since thin.  I thoughts as a rule that I hit them well and really like them.  However when compared to modern clubs under objective circumstances they don't compare well.  

 

I started with a long warm up with my own clubs, then I tried a  7 iron Ping I200 and a 7 iron in the new G700.  Objectively I could hit my Hogan 6 iron the same distance as the Ping I200, about 150 yards.  However if I missed the ball a little off center my Hogans were dropping as much as 20 yards distance on a mishit. As long as I did not hit behind the ball or hit it thin the I200 shots were within 10 yards or less no matter where in the face I hit the ball.  My goods shots were going in the range of 150 yards.  I think with my Radials when directly comparing similar clubs, I hit one perfect shot that went 150 yards, most were going 140 to 145 some were even shorter.  The dispersion with the I200 was much lower.  

 

I tried the G700 last, I just looked at the lofts and it is more like my 5 iron in terms of loft as the loft angles are more aggressive on the g700 than the i200.  By the time I started hitting the G700's I was getting tired so my distances were coming down.  I had been hitting for over an hour by the time I got to these.  The shots were laser straight and going consistently about 5 yards left.  The fitter had me slightly strengthen my grip and then my shots shifted down the line and to the right.  These were very straight hitting.  

 

I liked the I200 the best of the two personally.  They are very close on look and feel at address, the G700 is a bit thicker in the top line.  I just marginally liked the feel of the I200 a bit more.  

 

I found the modern clubs to be much more consistent shot to shot than my traditional irons.  So to the point of the post I am replying to, any descent golfer can hit "players irons".  However most of us are simply going to play better with modern club designs.  I think I would play better with the Ping Irons without a doubt.

[Shankster]

This is a great video. Check it out.

 

https://youtu.be/6yRkpwiz8-c

[Peaksy68]

We hear a lot about how good a perfectly struck blade feels, and it's true. We tend to hear a lot less about how bad a poorly struck blade feels.

Nothing quite like a thinned blade on a cold morning to take all the feel out your hands for a few holes, potentially totally ruining your day and score.

 

 

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[Shankster]

Anything thin, of the hosel, or toe will feel like doo doo. Ain't much improving those misses.

[Zylem]

I think you have to be honest with yourself about your game and your goals when selecting golf equipment.

 

If your goal is to play MB blades like the pros then go for it. Golf at our level is about having fun.

 

One of the things that makes this game so unique is that I can grab my Mizuno blades and head to TPC Sawgrass and try to recreate Tiger's US Am. Or try to hit a drive down Hogan's Alley with a wooden headed driver at Carnoustie.

 

We are at an exciting time in club tech. Golf is getting more and more accessible with clubs that are easier to get higher in the air and further down the fairway. It would be a injustice to our games if we were to forego these advancements just because of the negative stigmas that surround certain clubs because they are deemed GI or SGI.

 

 

 

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[SuperDave]

Well let me tell you from experience. I'm a high handicapoer and a few months back I bought a used set of Callaway Apex MB's. I do not hit them any worse than I did any game improvement iron. In fact, when I hit them square and in the smaller sweet spot, I have gotten more distance. I like them alot.

 

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[chisag]

Well let me tell you from experience. I'm a high handicapoer and a few months back I bought a used set of Callaway Apex MB's. I do not hit them any worse than I did any game improvement iron. In fact, when I hit them square and in the smaller sweet spot, I have gotten more distance. I like them alot.

 

 

... Just saw the survey of club fitters that said 65% of golfers they fit should be using more forgiving irons. Now, I will say there are always exceptions to the rule. I had a student that was a 15 index and mediocre ball striker that played MB's. I tried to get him into something more forgiving but he always hit them as bad or worse. He was most definitely the exception as I had at least 10 other students I moved from MB's to players CB's and even GI irons and their play improved. 

 

 

[bens197]

Selling clubs was an eye opener when it comes to the buyers perceptions.

 

Raise your hand if you've ever tried fitting someone and the first paragraph includes “I need stiff shafts because regular is too whippy.” ‍♂️

 

Raise your hand if you were told that “I prefer a blade, I can't look at these chunky clubs, the blade will groove my swing.” ‍♂️

 

Once we get that out of their system the rest is fun. That aha moment of hitting something outside of their initial concept opened the door to anything...fact is most golf purchases are impulsive and a product of targeted marketing. Tell someone they need something and they'll believe it.

 

 

 

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[WardenGolf]

I just went to Mizuno JPX 900 Forged. Used to have Cobra “Game Improvement” irons. I hit the Mizunos more crisp and accurate.

[RoverRick]

I played MP68 blades all last weekend. I did this because I wanted to swing my C Taper originals. My MP64's are on C Taper Lites. I honestly don't think that the it only made a difference on one shot. I had a horrible lie in the deep grass and I caught it high on the face. And knocked it over by the fairway bunker where it was hanging in the deep grass there about waist high. Needless to say that didn't work out well either. No amount of forgiveness would have made those easy shots, but the lack of metal on the top of the blade is noticeable out of fluffy lies. This was more than a "fluffy" lie.

 

I prefer the "Player's Irons" more for the partial shots I play with them rather than the full shots. I also use hybrids 5 and above. I

[djahubes]

This is another one of the good threads that comes back now and again. Play whatever you like. I was shocked how much I like the new AP1s. They performed the best for me by far, and I've played “playa irons” forever.

 

 

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[Golfspy_CG2]

Last year I had a combo set of Srixon 565/765 and played the 765 end very well. I felt I comfortably could have played the 765 throughout the bag and I fluctuate between a 17-19 Index.

 

 

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