Experiment

[sub80]

I conducted the below experiment, pretty unscientifically, but with a launch monitor.  Current handicap is 14 trending down.  I wanted to see how much difference there was between my game improvers, blades, and refined cavity backs.  I usually love hitting 8 irons--so that is what I hit, except in the Hogan because the 7 iron is basically an 8 iron in modern terms.  I'm working on my swing (well, who isn't) but I have some big power leaks I'm curing--but I tried to be making similarly good (or bad) swings.   Interesting results:

Hogan blade really old—7 iron 36 degrees. Some kind of Apex shaft--unreadable

Titleist T300 8 iron—33 degrees.  Steelfibre 115s  standard length stiff

Wilson fg tour V6—39 degrees  DG s300 standard standard for Wilson.

Wishon 550 mc forged—38 degrees.  Stiff steel shaft—half inch long.

Results—(all normal swings—not trying to swing out of my shoes, or softly.

Longest at 148—T300.  I expect I could have gotten more.

Second—tie—Hogan blade  and Wilson-- --good swings were all 142—146 with both clubs.  Average swing 135-139.  More good swings with blade.

Shortest—the Wishon—even really good strikes were only 140.

Best dispersion –Hogan blade and Wilson, tie.  Pretty tight—the Hogan tended to miss short, the Wilson a little more side to side.

Worst—t300—big misses.

Middle—the Wishon.

Maybe I should be playing blades, or players cavity backs.  I was really getting more out of the blade and the cavity back than the T-300 by a long shot.

 

[ChuckZ]

I play the T300s and went to the AP1s because I found the them to be more accurate than the AP2s which is more of a bladed club and requires a much better that I have.  When the new T300s came out I changed from the AP1s to the newer model and love them.  Find them to be tighter and did pick up distance.  At the fitting I was hitting my 7 iron 165, using a trackman and on a driving range where we could see the results.  At my age, 75 I need all the accuracy and distance I can get.  I have played Wilson clubs before changing to Titleist and with respect, never looked back.  And was fitted by the guys at Wilson also.   After being fitted in 2019 and becoming acclimated to the new clubs I found that I have issues with spurs L5 and had to have surgery in February 2020, which affected my ability to walk.  The clubs went in hibernation.  During that time our club was closed for renovation and it reopened this year.  The doctor's put me in PT for three months the end of last year and I was allowed to putt, do some very light work on a range and I began to play again the beginning of this year, when the course reopened.  My handicap holds around 15.  Our renovated course is very tough and is ranked by golf.com as #19 of the the top 30 municipals course in America.  I am finally getting my game respectable, except for those four throw-a-away holes.  Being off for a year hurts and the side effect of back surgery does not help.  If I make good contact with my eight iron, I can move it over 140 because I do not hit a high ball and depending on conditions have hit it 150.  I find the T300s to be one of the most forgiving irons that I have played and I have played a number of brands before settling with Titleist (Ping, Wilson, Taylormade, Callaway).  The first set of irons I owned when I first started playing in 1985 were Wilson FG17 blades, which was a mistake on my part.  A beginner in todays market, without a teacher to learn proper technique and a proper fitting is just wasting money getting a off the rack set of blades.  Again, went back to Wilson before changing over to Titleist.  With respect.  I am glad the test got you the results you were looking for.  Like you I am into consistency and like to know when I pull a club I can hit it the distance I have in mind, but if I need to jump on it, I can with accuracy.  Cheers, Chuck.   

[bdw1234]

My HDCP floats around 7-8. I have a SIM in my garage with a GC2 and have done the same comparison as you. Forged or cast irons didn't seem to make that much of difference but when you add the spring face type irons, (T300, Callaway Epic Forged) into the mix the standard deviation was double that of a standard i210/Wilson V6 type iron.  The spring face irons are longer but that is really not the goal is it?

[sub80]

2 hours ago, ChuckZ said:

I play the T300s and went to the AP1s because I found the them to be more accurate than the AP2s which is more of a bladed club and requires a much better that I have.  When the new T300s came out I changed from the AP1s to the newer model and love them.  Find them to be tighter and did pick up distance.  At the fitting I was hitting my 7 iron 165, using a trackman and on a driving range where we could see the results.  At my age, 75 I need all the accuracy and distance I can get.  I have played Wilson clubs before changing to Titleist and with respect, never looked back.  And was fitted by the guys at Wilson also.   After being fitted in 2019 and becoming acclimated to the new clubs I found that I have issues with spurs L5 and had to have surgery in February 2020, which affected my ability to walk.  The clubs went in hibernation.  During that time our club was closed for renovation and it reopened this year.  The doctor's put me in PT for three months the end of last year and I was allowed to putt, do some very light work on a range and I began to play again the beginning of this year, when the course reopened.  My handicap holds around 15.  Our renovated course is very tough and is ranked by golf.com as #19 of the the top 30 municipals course in America.  I am finally getting my game respectable, except for those four throw-a-away holes.  Being off for a year hurts and the side effect of back surgery does not help.  If I make good contact with my eight iron, I can move it over 140 because I do not hit a high ball and depending on conditions have hit it 150.  I find the T300s to be one of the most forgiving irons that I have played and I have played a number of brands before settling with Titleist (Ping, Wilson, Taylormade, Callaway).  The first set of irons I owned when I first started playing in 1985 were Wilson FG17 blades, which was a mistake on my part.  A beginner in todays market, without a teacher to learn proper technique and a proper fitting is just wasting money getting a off the rack set of blades.  Again, went back to Wilson before changing over to Titleist.  With respect.  I am glad the test got you the results you were looking for.  Like you I am into consistency and like to know when I pull a club I can hit it the distance I have in mind, but if I need to jump on it, I can with accuracy.  Cheers, Chuck.   

Thanks Chuck--good comments!

[sub80]

One thing I am seeing in responses to this post and in other places is it seems folks thought I had a particular kind of iron I wanted to get, and a result I wanted to get.  I really didn't.  I just spent money on game improvers (T300) and would have been more than happy to stay with them.  However, the results haven't been great, and really inconsistent.  I saw Crossfield do this experiment, and thought I would try it out.  I was stunned that the Hogan blades did so well.  I never imagined I would be able to hit them, let alone hit them well.  The only good thing out of this money wise is that blades don't really change, and you can get a really good set cheap.  My pro has a set of clean MP 33s he is going to lend me, and we will see what happens!

 

[vandyland]

I had a similar experience with Wilson Sam Snead Blue Ridge Blades from the 1970s. I was playing Cobra F9s and decided to pull out these blades (they were my grandfather's) and have them regripped for fun. Then I took them to the range just to see if I could hit the 9 iron...and I could. I was flushing it. It had a tendency to dig a little more than my F9s but that also required me to consciously shallow out. The other benefit was now I knew where I was missing the ball (feel) on less than stellar strikes. Also, the reduced offset made it seem like there was less possibility to shank it (not sure if this is true in practice but it looked that way). So then I brought out the 5 iron and 7 iron and, again, the differences were not nearly as much as I would have thought. In fact, I found for whatever reason, that the Cobras were pushing the ball right a bit more than the blades even though the Cobras have more offset. All in all, it led me to the club testing I am doing now which includes "power blades/hollow blades" and players CBs with less offset and a few muscle backs. 

I have to admit I used to see guys who were double digit handicaps swear they hit blades better than cavities and I never believed it. I would like to apologize to those gentlemen, I was seduced by the marketing gurus at the OEMs. I think every person is different and owes it to themselves to challenge some of these accepted norms of equipment. You may find you fall into the club that is suggested for your HDCP, you may not but I think you will enjoy the experience of finding out.