Building your irons?

[RaginCajun 13]

Hey guys! I have a situation here. Im looking for somewhere that I can purchase a set of used irons but just the heads. So Ive gone through a fitting at a boutique fitting shop here in Denver so I have all of my specs and would have someone build them for me. Just trying to not pay for then trash good shafts and grips. Im not sure what kind of market is out there for used OEM shafts but would rather not deal with it. Im planning on taking lessons but the instructor that I get along with will not teach untill I have a set thats made for my swing. 

[MattF 9,042]

Ebay is your best bet for just iron heads.

[ChitownM2 259]

Are you looking for a specific head or just anything within a specific category (GI, player's distance, etc.)? Used heads come up for sale on the BST here pretty often and there is another larger forum that has dozens of items listed for sale daily and someone is probably selling a different set of heads there every day. 

 

Out of curiosity, what specs were you fitted into and what shafts are you planning to use?

 

Buying shafts at retail and having the clubs built can be as expensive as buying a new set from many manufacturers who offer no-upcharge shaft options. Titleist, Mizuno & Srixon have a large list of shafts available at no extra cost and there are on-line shops you can purchase from if you know your specs who can cut you a deal off of standard retail pricing.

Edited November 20 by ChitownM2

[wely324 20]

A good idea might be to look for a set of used clubs that match your specs, including shafts. Maybe not worry about the grips as changing those out isn't too costly. There are tons of used golf clubs out there including full iron sets in great condition. 

[cnosil 13,693]

As others have said, heads only often come up for sale on various forums, ebay, and used club sites   or you can look for clubs with the specific shafts you want.   Since you want to put your own shafts in the clubs,  you can often get discounts if you buy clubs with senior or super stiff shafts;  smaller market drops the prices.  

[HardcoreLooper 4,907]

If you're not stuck on a particular brand, check out Maltby/Golfworks. The TS lines are getting good reviews, and all their stuff is solid. 

[RaginCajun 13]

7 hours ago, ChitownM2 said:

Are you looking for a specific head or just anything within a specific category (GI, player's distance, etc.)? Used heads come up for sale on the BST here pretty often and there is another larger forum that has dozens of items listed for sale daily and someone is probably selling a different set of heads there every day. 

 

Out of curiosity, what specs were you fitted into and what shafts are you planning to use?

 

Buying shafts at retail and having the clubs built can be as expensive as buying a new set from many manufacturers who offer no-upcharge shaft options. Titleist, Mizuno & Srixon have a large list of shafts available at no extra cost and there are on-line shops you can purchase from if you know your specs who can cut you a deal off of standard retail pricing.

Im looking for the wilson staff c300 forged heads. Dont know why but during the fitting my ball striking was more consistent with the smaller heads. I guess less thought on power and more into properly hitting the ball.

Specs were as follows:

TrueTemper xp 95 taper, Stiff, +.5

Midsize grips

Lie +2*

The customization would be an option but im trying to buy a model from a couple years ago that will last for the next 5 years as my game progresses. Cant justify spending $1200+ on irons with my game, but dont want to spend $1200 on irons over the next few years either. 

Anyone in the maket for some KBS tour 105 stiffs?? Thats what comes stock in the c300 forged...

Which online shops would you recommend? 

 

[RaginCajun 13]

29 minutes ago, HardcoreLooper said:

If you're not stuck on a particular brand, check out Maltby/Golfworks. The TS lines are getting good reviews, and all their stuff is solid. 

 

Was looking at maltby for their wedges. Do you have any experience with them? 

[edingc 6,790]

57 minutes ago, RaginCajun said:

Im looking for the wilson staff c300 forged heads. Dont know why but during the fitting my ball striking was more consistent with the smaller heads. I guess less thought on power and more into properly hitting the ball.

Specs were as follows:

TrueTemper xp 95 taper, Stiff, +.5

Midsize grips

Lie +2*

The customization would be an option but im trying to buy a model from a couple years ago that will last for the next 5 years as my game progresses. Cant justify spending $1200+ on irons with my game, but dont want to spend $1200 on irons over the next few years either. 

Anyone in the maket for some KBS tour 105 stiffs?? Thats what comes stock in the c300 forged...

Which online shops would you recommend? 

 

On the plus side, the XP 95s are pretty common shafts. I would expect you can find pulls for reasonably cheap (not sure about +1/2" pulls though - and you need to consider the bottom bore to ground measurement of the C300s vs. whatever the shafts came out of, unless you don't mind adding some short extensions).

Mike's Golf Outlet does buy back used shafts but you may have more luck selling on here, eBay or one of the other golf forums. 

59 minutes ago, RaginCajun said:

Was looking at maltby for their wedges. Do you have any experience with them? 

The TSW wedges have gotten pretty good reviews around here. I have the M-Series+ wedges (the black DBM finish ones), they are good if they meet your specs since they really can't be bent. 

[ChitownM2 259]

8 hours ago, RaginCajun said:

Im looking for the wilson staff c300 forged heads. Dont know why but during the fitting my ball striking was more consistent with the smaller heads. I guess less thought on power and more into properly hitting the ball.

Specs were as follows:

TrueTemper xp 95 taper, Stiff, +.5

Midsize grips

Lie +2*

The customization would be an option but im trying to buy a model from a couple years ago that will last for the next 5 years as my game progresses. Cant justify spending $1200+ on irons with my game, but dont want to spend $1200 on irons over the next few years either. 

Anyone in the maket for some KBS tour 105 stiffs?? Thats what comes stock in the c300 forged...

Which online shops would you recommend? 

 

Honestly, I think you're going to have a hard time putting that together on the used market. C300 heads aren't super common and finding XP95 shafts that are +1/2" is going to be difficult as well. Have you already found the shafts?  Otherwise you're looking at probably $150 to find used shafts + adding the extensions + new grips + cost to assemble the heads after you find them + lie adjustment. In my opinion it wouldn't be worth it.  My guess is that you could safely assume that you could sell your shaft pulls on the BST here for $50 maybe $75 but then you will have shipping and PP fees so not a lot of money to be recouped there.

 

If you're looking for a non-oversized or "smaller" head then maybe you should take a look at the sub70 model 699. You can order that new and have them made with the midsize grips to your 2° up & +1/2" and get them with the True Temper Elevate 95 shaft which I believe is pretty similar to the XP95 (lightweight, high launch, high spin).  $498 for a 5-PW set with those shafts. Going to be hard to beat that price on heads, shafts, extensions, assembly, and grips plus you'll have new clubs.  Someone with more shaft knowledge should chime in on shaft selection as the KBS Tour V 90 may also be similar and that would knock $60 off the price as that is a no charge option.  Someone here with club fitting knowledge needs to answer that part or maybe go back and ask your fitter which of the sub70 shaft options would be best.

https://www.golfsub70.com/sub-70-699-iron.html

Otherwise, 2nd swing has some options with smaller heads with your shaft/flex. You could get one of these and just have someone add extensions.

https://www.2ndswing.com/pv-1563338234-taylormade-m1-iron-set-4-pw-gw-true-temper-xp-95-s300-steel-stiff-right-handed-380in.aspx

https://www.2ndswing.com/pv-1551716105-titleist-714-ap2-iron-set-5-pw-true-temper-xp-95-s300-steel-stiff-right-handed-380in.aspx

https://www.2ndswing.com/pv-1467005212-ping-2015-i-iron-set-6-pw-gw-true-temper-xp-95-s300-steel-stiff-right-handed-blue-dot-3775in.aspx

https://www.2ndswing.com/pv-1565029785-titleist-714-ap1-iron-set-4-pw-true-temper-xp-95-s300-steel-stiff-right-handed-3975in.aspx

 

Edit: you can also order a pair of sub70 demo irons to try out for $20, although they won't have the elevate shaft in them but that should give you a good idea of whether the head shape works for you.

Edited November 20 by ChitownM2

[ChitownM2 259]

Had to satisfy my curiosity so I messaged KBS about that Tour V 90. Turns out that is a OEM only shaft that is like the regular Tour 90 but with slightly lower spin and "tighter dispersion" (& parallel tip). Not sure how a shaft can be engineered for tighter dispersion as I would think everyone would want a shaft with tight dispersion. Regardless, it is probably similar to the XP95 according to them and it is the stock shaft in the 699 so if you did demo them you could take them to a LM and see how the numbers compare to the C300 & XP95 combo before investing in a full set.

Edited November 21 by ChitownM2

[HardcoreLooper 4,907]

12 hours ago, RaginCajun said:

 

Was looking at maltby for their wedges. Do you have any experience with them? 

No experience with their wedges, but @Popeye64 built me a TS2 7 iron to try out.  I was really enjoying it... and then I was picked to test the Wilson D7 Forged irons.  I'd probably have a set of TS2's in my bag if it weren't for the D7's.

[Kansas King 128]

I've actually found trying to by heads alone is generally as expensive as buying fully built sets on eBay. You're unlikely to find the C300 heads on their own. I would potentially suggest the TS2s, KE4 Tour+, and STw2 irons from Maltby if you don't care about brand but something that is really playable. The KE4 Tour+  and STw2 can be fully assembled by GolfWorks Custom Shop for under $450 (4- GW) based on a quick run through their website. The TS series would add about $200 to that price.

My guestimate for a C300 forged set (7 - 8 clubs) is you will have to spend around $500 for an okay used set, shafts will be about $27 each retail (~$200), grips will cost about $10 each with installation (assuming normal tour velvet grip), and the rest of the assembly will probably cost at least $10/club. So depending on what you find and what you're builder charges, a set of re-built C300 Forged irons will probably cost you at least $800 and over $900 if you don't find any deals.

A potentially good alternative to the C300 Forged are the i-series irons from Ping (i10, i15, i20, etc.). That have rather compact heads in the scoring clubs and progress more into GI long irons. You can pick up sets of i15, i20, and i25 for much less than the C300 forged (~$200 - $300). You might also check the shafts Ping used on those clubs because they might play similarly to the XP95. You would save a chunk of cash if you don't have to replace the shafts. 

I'm not trying to be a downer but the cost of acquiring and rebuilding clubs can add up quickly. I do recommend you get clubs in the ballpark of your specs (perfection is not required) because it makes learning the game so much more natural and enjoyable.

[Kansas King 128]

10 hours ago, ChitownM2 said:

 

https://www.2ndswing.com/pv-1551716105-titleist-714-ap2-iron-set-5-pw-true-temper-xp-95-s300-steel-stiff-right-handed-380in.aspx

Did you see they gave this set an 8.0 rating? I've usually agree with their assessments but that pitching wedge is straight up worn through. I'm shocked these weren't rated a 7 or worse because they are beat. I guess that is the good thing with buying from 2nd Swing, you get to see before you buy.

[Nolan220 486]

5 hours ago, Kansas King said:

Did you see they gave this set an 8.0 rating? I've usually agree with their assessments but that pitching wedge is straight up worn through. I'm shocked these weren't rated a 7 or worse because they are beat. I guess that is the good thing with buying from 2nd Swing, you get to see before you buy.

Yeah there usually pretty good .. that PW and club above it looking like it’s been through the ringer a bit. 

[Chip Strokes 1,262]

On 11/19/2020 at 12:07 PM, RaginCajun said:

Hey guys! I have a situation here. Im looking for somewhere that I can purchase a set of used irons but just the heads. So Ive gone through a fitting at a boutique fitting shop here in Denver so I have all of my specs and would have someone build them for me. 

am i missing something here? why wouldn’t the shop that fit you build the clubs for you?

[ChitownM2 259]

7 hours ago, Chip Strokes said:

am i missing something here? why wouldn’t the shop that fit you build the clubs for you?

 

Not the OP, but my guess is they don't have the C300s anymore as they aren't part of the current line-up and/or they want full retail price for them and since you can't custom order them OP would need to buy the clubs as-is and then have the builder re-shaft them. That's going to be over $1000 I'm guessing, which is more than he wants to spend.

 

14 hours ago, Kansas King said:

Did you see they gave this set an 8.0 rating? I've usually agree with their assessments but that pitching wedge is straight up worn through. I'm shocked these weren't rated a 7 or worse because they are beat. I guess that is the good thing with buying from 2nd Swing, you get to see before you buy.

I honestly didn't look at the individual sets very closely. I filtered their used options by XP95 stiff and then looked for heads that I thought would fit what he was looking for. I agree though that those AP2s are not in an 8.0 condition and probably overpriced at $400. 

 

I still think sub70 would be the way to go. He can get a brand new set of irons that scored very well in the 2019 MGS Players distance category and can get his exact specs for his budget. He can even demo two of them for $20 and head back to his fitter for a quick launch monitor session and see how they compare to the #s he was getting with the C300 combo they recommended. Very low risk with huge upside. That's what I would do if I had that budget and was looking for those specs.

Edited November 21 by ChitownM2

[RaginCajun 13]

On 11/20/2020 at 12:23 PM, ChitownM2 said:

Honestly, I think you're going to have a hard time putting that together on the used market. C300 heads aren't super common and finding XP95 shafts that are +1/2" is going to be difficult as well. Have you already found the shafts?  Otherwise you're looking at probably $150 to find used shafts + adding the extensions + new grips + cost to assemble the heads after you find them + lie adjustment. In my opinion it wouldn't be worth it.  My guess is that you could safely assume that you could sell your shaft pulls on the BST here for $50 maybe $75 but then you will have shipping and PP fees so not a lot of money to be recouped there.

 

If you're looking for a non-oversized or "smaller" head then maybe you should take a look at the sub70 model 699. You can order that new and have them made with the midsize grips to your 2° up & +1/2" and get them with the True Temper Elevate 95 shaft which I believe is pretty similar to the XP95 (lightweight, high launch, high spin).  $498 for a 5-PW set with those shafts. Going to be hard to beat that price on heads, shafts, extensions, assembly, and grips plus you'll have new clubs.  Someone with more shaft knowledge should chime in on shaft selection as the KBS Tour V 90 may also be similar and that would knock $60 off the price as that is a no charge option.  Someone here with club fitting knowledge needs to answer that part or maybe go back and ask your fitter which of the sub70 shaft options would be best.

https://www.golfsub70.com/sub-70-699-iron.html

Otherwise, 2nd swing has some options with smaller heads with your shaft/flex. You could get one of these and just have someone add extensions.

https://www.2ndswing.com/pv-1563338234-taylormade-m1-iron-set-4-pw-gw-true-temper-xp-95-s300-steel-stiff-right-handed-380in.aspx

https://www.2ndswing.com/pv-1551716105-titleist-714-ap2-iron-set-5-pw-true-temper-xp-95-s300-steel-stiff-right-handed-380in.aspx

https://www.2ndswing.com/pv-1467005212-ping-2015-i-iron-set-6-pw-gw-true-temper-xp-95-s300-steel-stiff-right-handed-blue-dot-3775in.aspx

https://www.2ndswing.com/pv-1565029785-titleist-714-ap1-iron-set-4-pw-true-temper-xp-95-s300-steel-stiff-right-handed-3975in.aspx

 

Edit: you can also order a pair of sub70 demo irons to try out for $20, although they won't have the elevate shaft in them but that should give you a good idea of whether the head shape works for you.

I appreciate the leg work!! Ive been looking at 2ndswing, rockbottom and others. They have some great options, im pretty set on the c300 forged since thats what I hit and liked. Ill have to look into sub70 clubs, not too familiar, but at that price its worth a look.

[RaginCajun 13]

On 11/21/2020 at 6:37 AM, Chip Strokes said:

am i missing something here? why wouldn’t the shop that fit you build the clubs for you?

They 100% would. Didnt want to buy an oem built set at ~$700, then pay for shafts, grips, and labor while wasting the oem stuff. 

[RaginCajun 13]

On 11/20/2020 at 11:20 PM, Kansas King said:

I've actually found trying to by heads alone is generally as expensive as buying fully built sets on eBay. You're unlikely to find the C300 heads on their own. I would potentially suggest the TS2s, KE4 Tour+, and STw2 irons from Maltby if you don't care about brand but something that is really playable. The KE4 Tour+  and STw2 can be fully assembled by GolfWorks Custom Shop for under $450 (4- GW) based on a quick run through their website. The TS series would add about $200 to that price.

My guestimate for a C300 forged set (7 - 8 clubs) is you will have to spend around $500 for an okay used set, shafts will be about $27 each retail (~$200), grips will cost about $10 each with installation (assuming normal tour velvet grip), and the rest of the assembly will probably cost at least $10/club. So depending on what you find and what you're builder charges, a set of re-built C300 Forged irons will probably cost you at least $800 and over $900 if you don't find any deals.

A potentially good alternative to the C300 Forged are the i-series irons from Ping (i10, i15, i20, etc.). That have rather compact heads in the scoring clubs and progress more into GI long irons. You can pick up sets of i15, i20, and i25 for much less than the C300 forged (~$200 - $300). You might also check the shafts Ping used on those clubs because they might play similarly to the XP95. You would save a chunk of cash if you don't have to replace the shafts. 

I'm not trying to be a downer but the cost of acquiring and rebuilding clubs can add up quickly. I do recommend you get clubs in the ballpark of your specs (perfection is not required) because it makes learning the game so much more natural and enjoyable.

Youre spot on. May keep the stock shafts that come in the c300 forged (kbs tour 105 stiff) to help keep the price down. Im a bigger guy so maybe the extra weight wont hurt. Thoughts about this?