MGS Most Wanted SGI Irons - 2020 Results

[russtopherb]

Main article on the site can be found here - https://mygolfspy.com/best-super-game-improvement-irons-2020/

My quick takeaways: The Cobra came in out of left field, because to be honest, I didn't even know that was a line that *existed*. The TA 845 Max wasn't too surprising based on the reviews that line has received from some forum members. The success of the Launcher HBs, T-Rails, and Launch Pads across the board are just more of a realization for me that I need to get out of my own head and try out hybrid irons. As someone who plays 2-3x a month, they're aimed directly at me. My poor experience with the Altitudes came at a time before I got lessons and I'm betting my swing may work with that style club a lot differently nowadays.

[Hook DeLoft]

No wonder I can't stop my Mavrik Max's on the green!  Very low spin.  To be fair, our greens are new and very firm.  They should be better next year.  But the results do highlight an issue with strong lofted irons.  I think most high handicappers and older golfers with slow swing speeds would be better served to play irons with either weaker lofts or higher spin rates.

[dlow206]

24 minutes ago, Hook DeLoft said:

No wonder I can't stop my Mavrik Max's on the green!  Very low spin.  To be fair, our greens are new and very firm.  They should be better next year.  But the results do highlight an issue with strong lofted irons.  I think most high handicappers and older golfers with slow swing speeds would be better served to play irons with either weaker lofts or higher spin rates.

Interesting. Unless I hit a thin one or super delofted one by mistake, my Mavrik Max's stop on a dime. 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

7 minutes ago, dlow206 said:

Interesting. Unless I hit a thin one or super delofted one by mistake, my Mavrik Max's stop on a dime. 

looks like you have a high launch shaft (basically light) that could be contributing to that.

[Hook DeLoft]

2 hours ago, dlow206 said:

Interesting. Unless I hit a thin one or super delofted one by mistake, my Mavrik Max's stop on a dime. 

It may just be that our greens are so firm. I can’t remember the last time I saw a ball mark on one. I do think 7 iron spin in the 4000’s is concerning. 

[cnosil]

It may just be that our greens are so firm. I can’t remember the last time I saw a ball mark on one. I do think 7 iron spin in the 4000’s is concerning. 

It will probably depend on the player. The SGI pool is generally the older group of testers. I participated and with enough speed the ball would spin more. As mentioned, the SGI clubs had lights shafts which made it difficult to really swing at full speed. I focused on contact and not speed.

[fixyurdivot]

2 minutes ago, cnosil said:

the SGI clubs had lights shafts which made it difficult to really swing at full speed

I realize the expense limits options, but it sure would provide more meaningful data if some shaft options were made available for these HIT Squad reviews.  Can't they set these up with CONEX or similar systems?

[cnosil]

I realize the expense limits options, but it sure would provide more meaningful data if some shaft options were made available for these HIT Squad reviews.  Can't they set these up with CONEX or similar systems?

We hit clubs as would be on the rack at the store. OEMs don’t put that type of system in their irons. There are some shaft options, but it depends on what the OEM sends.

[fixyurdivot]

29 minutes ago, cnosil said:

We hit clubs as would be on the rack at the store. OEMs don’t put that type of system in their irons. There are some shaft options, but it depends on what the OEM sends.

I would think that the OEM's would place more value on assuring the best fit possible with anyone/group doing testing of their products.  I presume (perhaps incorrectly) that the OEM's are providing the clubs to MGS (HitSquad)?

[Golfspy_CG2]

54 minutes ago, fixyurdivot said:

I would think that the OEM's would place more value on assuring the best fit possible with anyone/group doing testing of their products.  I presume (perhaps incorrectly) that the OEM's are providing the clubs to MGS (HitSquad)?

I'll let CNosil answer again as he is an actual tester. But the OEM's know that less than 1 to 2 percent of all golfers get fit.  The vast majority of club sales is bought off the rack in a retail store.  They might take one or two swings in a simulator and decide between 9 or 10.5 or Stiff or Regular, but they are not being "fit" in most cases.  

Even with the customization of specs that are now available, the number of players that actually get fit is still miniscule. 

[fixyurdivot]

4 minutes ago, Golfspy_CG2 said:

I'll let CNosil answer again as he is an actual tester. But the OEM's know that less than 1 to 2 percent of all golfers get fit.  The vast majority of club sales is bought off the rack in a retail store.  They might take one or two swings in a simulator and decide between 9 or 10.5 or Stiff or Regular, but they are not being "fit" in most cases.  

Even with the customization of specs that are now available, the number of players that actually get fit is still miniscule. 

Do they know something we don't? 

[Kansas King]

I understand that many people shopping in the SGI category want distance but the low spin numbers are ridiculous. However, it would be interesting to take some of the clubs and try to match their lofts as much as possible and retest for spin. This would determine if the low spin is driven by the club's design or if it is just a result of being a lower loft. I think the higher lofts are primarily what drove the higher spin numbers for Cobra but I could be wrong. 

[edingc]

Obviously spin is important, but remember the target audience. If you're consistently flying the ball to the green and wanting it to stop, you're probably going to move up to something that is either weaker lofted and generates more spin, or you probably swing the club hard enough to launch the ball higher and rely on the peak height and descent angle to help stop the ball. Flippers, who probably make up a good number of these golfers, are going to present a ton of loft at impact anyway.

My Cobra SpeedZones don't spin the ball a lot either, but by combating it with a spinny ball and enough swing speed/launch angle, I can't recall having too many issues getting the ball to stop this year. That being said, I do play most of my rounds on a course with old and soft greens.

I hate generalizing because I know several in this thread play these types of irons and have games that are better than your typically 110+ player who is more concerned about the quantity of beer drank than quantity of strokes during a round. But when I'm thinking of the target audience who is going to their local golf store and buying off the rack, I'm thinking about my father-in-law who needs every ounce of distance he can get, and is likely running the ball onto the green unless he's within chipping distance. If it comes in from the air it's going to have so much left-to-right slice on it the ball isn't going to stop anyway.

[NC Golfer]

Russ, Once you are hitting the ball well with hybrid irons, you'll get over the stigma quickly. I recommend the HB Turbos. If you can find an old set of HB3's, those are great.

[russtopherb]

19 minutes ago, NC Golfer said:

Russ, Once you are hitting the ball well with hybrid irons, you'll get over the stigma quickly. I recommend the HB Turbos. If you can find an old set of HB3's, those are great.

I've never gotten along with hybrids in general, and the Altitudes I had in the lower irons at one point didn't work out too well for me. It's not a stigma at all, rather a mental block at looking down at anything hybrid and thinking "this is gonna go way left" and then... it happens. 

[cnosil]

5 hours ago, fixyurdivot said:

I would think that the OEM's would place more value on assuring the best fit possible with anyone/group doing testing of their products.  I presume (perhaps incorrectly) that the OEM's are providing the clubs to MGS (HitSquad)?

I don't know them all, but there are actually rules on what can be submitted.  All clubs submitted must be available to purchase without any upcharges.   There have been manufacturers eliminated from testing because the clubs they submitted where not available for consumers to purchase.   MGS does their best to fit the testers to the clubs that have been provided.   In most cases the OEMs provide the clubs,  but there are instances where MGS purchases clubs for the testing; this generally happens when a high profile OEM doesn't submit clubs.  

As @Golfspy_CG2 indicated, most people don't get fit;  they walk into a shop hit a few clubs and decide which one they want.  From talking with golfers on the course most have very little knowledge about clubs.   As an example I was asked by someone on my golf team what kind of shaft I had in my driver because he previously had one and he didn't hit it well.  I responded that is was the new KBS TD Wood shaft and it was an aftermarket shaft.  His response was that he only wanted to know if it was stiff or regular.  

 

 

[fixyurdivot]

6 minutes ago, cnosil said:

His response was that he only wanted to know if it was stiff or regular.

LOL.  Tell him it is a regular stiff and watch for the look 

[Golfspy_CG2]

10 hours ago, cnosil said:

I don't know them all, but there are actually rules on what can be submitted.  All clubs submitted must be available to purchase without any upcharges.   There have been manufacturers eliminated from testing because the clubs they submitted where not available for consumers to purchase.   MGS does their best to fit the testers to the clubs that have been provided.   In most cases the OEMs provide the clubs,  but there are instances where MGS purchases clubs for the testing; this generally happens when a high profile OEM doesn't submit clubs.  

As @Golfspy_CG2 indicated, most people don't get fit;  they walk into a shop hit a few clubs and decide which one they want.  From talking with golfers on the course most have very little knowledge about clubs.   As an example I was asked by someone on my golf team what kind of shaft I had in my driver because he previously had one and he didn't hit it well.  I responded that is was the new KBS TD Wood shaft and it was an aftermarket shaft.  His response was that he only wanted to know if it was stiff or regular.  

 

 

What?? You didn’t give him the torque rating and bend profile

This is gold, and sums up every conversation between a forum golfer and a casual weekend joe golfer. 

[NC Golfer]

11 hours ago, russtopherb said:

I've never gotten along with hybrids in general, and the Altitudes I had in the lower irons at one point didn't work out too well for me. It's not a stigma at all, rather a mental block at looking down at anything hybrid and thinking "this is gonna go way left" and then... it happens. 

I will say that is the one downside of the club. They will go left. I suspect it is weighted that way as slicers are a good candidate for this type of club. I tend to hit the ball straight and an occasional left hit isn't a deal breaker. 

 

Personally did not like the Altitudes. But, there is a bit of a cult following for that club. 

 

[MNUte]

Well also think about how these clubs are also oriented towards people with bad striking and who don't play or practice all that often.

 

When i was first starting out, I had so many holes in my game that I wasn't paying attention to things like spin and how well the ball stuck on the greens. Instead, I was ecstatic hitting relatively straight, relatively high shots consistently. And these hybrid irons are designed just for that: forgive mishits and chunks, get the ball up in the air, and straighten out the not as bad strikes. 

 

So I think that they actually give their target audience what they're looking for. And for the more experienced players or as a new player develops, you learn that on most courses, you can aim a bit differently to account for the lack of spin.