What Equipment Have You Tested?

[GolfSpy_APH]

Just now, GaryF said:

Curious if you have tried Titliest T200?  If so, how does it compare to i525s and others?

Wanted to but RH only so I couldn't. From just looks the face seems a lot shallower than the others. That's about all I can give you tho. 

[GolfSpy SAM]

55 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Tested... well hit 5-10 shots with each so demoed may be a better term some irons today. 

Mizuno JPX 923 Forged
Thoughts - The club just felt heavy to me. I did have the Nippon 115 shaft in it vs the 105 in the others, but it wasn't only the club itself but the head just felt heavy. Ball speeds were fine, distance and spin was solid, but I truly really struggled finding the middle with much consistency. I really wanted to like this club... almost too much? However it just didn't jive with me. Maybe if I do a real fit I will go try a few different shafts and see how much of a difference that makes. 

Ping i525
Thoughts - As soon as this was put in my hand I felt a massive difference. It felt ... like home... weight was way more in line with what I am comfortable with and had significantly better performance immediately. Balls speeds reached up to 120 and 170 with a 7 iron for for distance. I really really liked this club. Spin rates were solid being low 5000s and had a decent angle 46-48 degrees so no worries in stopping power. 

Ping i230
Thoughts - Felt a bit heavier, but more in line with what I am use to. Solid shots were definitely a well different feel from the i525. Still strong and powerful with plenty of pop, but also just solid. Not super soft and definitely an improvement on the i210. Numbers were a bit shorter being 165 ish with similar height. Ball speeds were don from the i525 by about 4-6 mph in general... but the spin rates were through the roof! 6500 plus on all strikes. 

End thoughts - I guess I am just a ping guy? I loved the look of both the i525 and i230. They look so freaking good and the main difference being a slightly higher toe sections in the i525. Top lines are small, offset doesn't have much in it and if I was to go ahead and make a purchase today I would really be torn. My initial thought is to go i230 and make them a degree or two strong to knock the spin down a bit and gain that distance... its a real thinker!

Ian over at TXG just made the i230s his gamers for this year - he just couldn't speak highly enough about them.  As someone who misses right (historically), these would not be for me, but they're a VERY good-looking club.  I mean, they're no rusty CB, mind you, but...

[GolfSpy_APH]

5 minutes ago, GolfSpy_SAM said:

Ian over at TXG just made the i230s his gamers for this year - he just couldn't speak highly enough about them.  As someone who misses right (historically), these would not be for me, but they're a VERY good-looking club.  I mean, they're no rusty CB, mind you, but...

I need to bring my 659s in for s comparison. 

[be9872]

I just went through an iron fitting. I know this is all individual, but the ball speeds on the i230 were the lowest of everything I tested. The highest were the ZX5 and ZX7, but I really don’t want my 7 iron going as far as these 2 clubs were, the 223’s also were carrying too far. I really wanted to slot something new in that fits my existing gaps. For me that was the T-100, order placed. I kinda feel like I’m buying a car right before the new model year comes out, but what do you do…

[GolfSpy AFG]

I’m a devout Steelfiber guy, but I just read the MGS article on the new Fuji iron shafts.  I hereby volunteer to test them for MGS!  

[ejgaudette]

38 minutes ago, Getoffmylawn said:

I’m a devout Steelfiber guy, but I just read the MGS article on the new Fuji iron shafts.  I hereby volunteer to test them for MGS!  

Yup count me interested, especially on the 3 specific blanks design.

[MWLEFTY]

So I recently looked at new irons and I tested the following over a few weeks:

Callaway Apex

I hit around 15 shots with these and loved the feel. Spin was around 5700-6000 with 20° launch. Distance average 170yds. Very easy to turn over. I didn’t like how much the cavity stood out behind the ball but loved the forged feel. Swinging at 92mpg average.  

Callaway Apex Pro

I hit around 10 shots. Never found the centre of the face. Spin was 6000 with 21° launch. I’m not striking it well enough to consider realistically. Love the look. 

Callaway Paradym

I hit around 20 shots. Rocket launcher. Spin was in the 5500-5800 range. Launch 19° so distance crept to 175yd average. Hit a couple of heaters that went 190 from nowhere with low spin 3800-4000. Feel is outstanding. Again, not keen on the cavity peeking out behind the top line. Dispersion front to back on good shots was a little concerning. More of a me problem than the club. KBS Tour 130 X gave me best results with this. Swinging at 90mph average. 

Taylormade P790

I hit around 25 shots. Another rocket launcher. Spin in the 5600-5900 range. Launch 18°. Distance was wild. 180yd average. If I caught one skinny (my miss) spin didn’t disappear and distance would just go up 5-6yds or so. Like the look behind the ball. Top line chunkier than I’m used to but everything else really clean. Played around with lie angle and landed with standard length and lie. Was original one up which was overdrawing. Standard was high draws on repeat. Peak height and land angle were better than all other clubs - due to the increased ball speeds. Smash factor doesn’t drop away on miss hits like other clubs tried.  The Project X LZ 6.5 125g shaft is like a magic wand. Smooth, can really feel the energy transfer into the ball. A good fit for my slow takeaway and fast transition & downswing.  Swinging at 88mph average. 
 

As a note I hit 4-5 shots with the 2023 P770. They were identical in performance in every way to my old P770s. 

[e_c_poirier]

For the first time (20yrs of serious golfing), I got fitted.

As soon as the snow melts I look forward to swinging my new TM P790s.

The sim showed a 9yd gain on my 7iron, so - yeah - I'm anxious to see if that translates to lowering my handicap from 7 to 5???

[Deshootes]

Recently did an extensive search for a whole new bag.  What stood out was the putter testing, and how important proper putter fitting is and how few people utilize the available tools to do so.  After spending hours putting in front of cameras and monitors, with 8 different mallets from Odyssey to Scotty, I settled on a Bettinardi Innovai 8.0 slant neck in a length/loft/lie which suited my putting stroke.  For me, the only other close option was a Scotty Phantom, but ultimately the Bettinardi prevailed.

[AverageSpeedSwinger]

Recently tested paradym drivers and ping g430. The paradym felt great. Something about it just made it easy to swing, get more ball speed and also more distance vs my current gamer the Cobra F9. I also tried the the G430 and was getting similar numbers to the paradym but I just liked the look and feel of the callaway driver more. 

[cnosil]

1 hour ago, Deshootes said:

Recently did an extensive search for a whole new bag.  What stood out was the putter testing, and how important proper putter fitting is and how few people utilize the available tools to do so.  After spending hours putting in front of cameras and monitors, with 8 different mallets from Odyssey to Scotty, I settled on a Bettinardi Innovai 8.0 slant neck in a length/loft/lie which suited my putting stroke.  For me, the only other close option was a Scotty Phantom, but ultimately the Bettinardi prevailed.

What type of fitting did you do?   you said cameras and monitors; was it Quintic, Capto, Puttlab, something else.   Tell us more about the process. 

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

On course so far this year:

Sub 70 699/699 Pro V2 combo set - KBS C-Taper Lite shafts: Have gamed this set exclusively since late January for two rounds in Florida, one in Atlanta, two in Texas and one in Mass (thank you Climate Change!). Jason and the team have a winner on their hands. Jason told me in an interview that they've made these things really hot for ball speed and distance, and I'd have to concur. Loft-to-loft they're even with what I had been playing - Wilson Staff D9 Forged (also outstanding, btw). Same shaft in both - the 699s are a tad longer and are more forgiving. The five iron is a friggin' rocket launcher. I'd probably give the Wilson's the edge on accuracy, but not by much. Sound and feel are exquisite!

Wilson Dynapower 3-wood: This is the first fairway wood I've had in my bag that I haven't hated since my MacGregor Tourney persimmon. I absolutely love hitting it - it's easy to launch, very straight and forgiving and goes like hell. 

Titleist TSR 3+ wood - a like it a lot, just not as much as the Wilson. Do not underestimate the Wilson 3-wood. 

Titleist TSR3 Driver - I gamed the TSi 3 last year, and this is a worthy successor. Finds fairways and is plenty long - looks like this one will be in the bag for 2023 -- unless it misbehaves. 

Wilson Dynapower Carbon driver -- and if it does misbehave, this will be banging on the door. Played it for two rounds in Florida and I can say it's the best Wilson driver I've ever hit. Tried it against the Titanium model and they describe the differences perfectly, The Titanium is higher launching, higher spinning and slightly left biased. The Carbon is lower launching and spinning (more forward CG and heavier shaft), straight to every so slightly left biased - adjust is a little and it'll be a slight fade bias. 

Srixon ZX5 LS - I let my cousin Paul borrow it and haven't seen it since. I've never seen him hit more fairways. Sometimes a golfer finds the right driver, and sometimes the driver finds the right golfer. The only time I'll be seeing this driver again is when we play together. 

Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore wedges - I loved the previous ZipCores - they were a huge improvement over the previous RTX wedges in my eyes. These are worthy successors -- ZipCore seriously helps sound and feel, and they're as forgiving of a "tour" style wedge as I've ever hit. Bingo! Might have found my go to ball for 2023. Either that or the Srixon Z-Star Diamond. It's a little firmer with decent spin. 

Cleveland MB Soft Milled 10.5 putter - I can see why the Cleveland HB Soft Milled 1 took Most Wanted Blade putter. This small mallet is money. It has the All-In UST Mamiya shaft and the stability is terrific - I've hit more putts inside of 10 feet with this thing in the bag than I can ever remember. The shaft is the real deal, and for the money, the putter is money, at least for me. 

Have a set of the new MacGregor MT86 irons coming, as well as a set of the new Ram FX 77 irons. The Rams are going to be interesting - they sell for $399 for 4-PW with steel shafts, and are a TPU-filled hollow body construction. They look very much like the original Sub 70 699 irons (over 5 years old), and even resemble the first generation TaylorMade P790s.  Simon Millington told me they're open models - they saw no reason to invest in molds of their own design this yearly in the relaunch, especially for the price point they're targeting. It'll be fascinating to see how a $400 set of irons stacks up - what is there's little to no difference? What would you do? What should I do? Why do I keep doing this to myself?????

[The Mad Bomber]

I hit 3 yesterday just to see what’s out there. The Cobra King CB/MB combo (I hit the MB 7 iron), Srixon ZX7 MkII and the Mizuno 221.

I was surprised at how well the Cobra felt. That’s a really nice iron. It flew exceptionally high compared to my gamer but hit my number spot on with a pretty crazy descent angle and obviously a little less spin.

The Srixon felt firm to me, and it also flew high, but a good 8 yards longer than the other irons. Not my cup of tea. Really good to be sure, although I haven’t checked the lofts against the others. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a couple degrees stronger for how far it went.

Mizuno 221. Yep, that’s the one. Soft like I’ve come to expect, little lower ball flight and hit the number bang on. This is what an iron should look/sound/fell/fly/spin like. Looks like I’m still a Mizuno iron guy

Edited February 24, 2023 by The Mad Bomber

[PMookie]

On 2/15/2023 at 12:37 PM, Getoffmylawn said:

I’m a devout Steelfiber guy, but I just read the MGS article on the new Fuji iron shafts.  I hereby volunteer to test them for MGS!  

I need to direct you to the “How testers are chosen thread”, we don’t volunteer in just ANY thread… (said with sarcasm and humor)

[THEZIPR23]

Drove down to Bev Hills for a True Spec driver fitting earlier this week. My bag has been pretty set for the last year however my driver has not been the weapon it once was. Gaming the Stealth + with a GD XC shaft in X flex @ 45.5", and while the good drives are really good the bad ones are really bad as well. Just having trouble hitting the center of the face. Couple that with some face control issues and who knows where it will end up. Met with Sean, their lead fitter at that location. Good guy and very knowledgeable. Got warmed up and then hit about 7 drives with my gamer. And everything I was feeling was confirmed. Dispersion circle front to back was very large. Face impact was high toe, which according to Sean is where Taylormade heads excel, however it was too high and to toey. 

Red circle is my gamer. . Next up was trying to find the right shaft. We started with the Stealth 2 + with the same GD shaft. After a few more swings he pointed out, something I already knew, that I get too long with my swing which causes some power loss and control issues. He suggested a lighter shorter shaft and maybe even softer. I don't have a hard transition and have more of a drop of the hands to start the downswing rather than a pull down motion. Grabbed a 45" shaft and face contact immediately improved. Still a little high and on a toe but much better. Not where we wanted it but getting closer. Next shaft option was the Ventus with velocore, a shaft I have hit well at times. Results were close but I was having to work too much to get there. Next up was Diamana PD 6S @ 45", and BINGO! Center face contact good spin numbers and a decent launch. I haven't been hitting up recently as much as I have in the past, however I was still 1.5-2 up so not terrible. One interesting thing he told me about all the shafts on the wall, and there are a ton of them, is that the Ventus, GD AD series and Diamana are really the only distinct profiles, everything else is just a copy or tweak of those profiles. First time I have heard that, don't know how much truth there is to it but it was interesting as each shaft did produce a different result. So now we have the shaft it is time to see if we can find the correct head. In the above pic the Green line is the Stealth 2 with Diamana shaft so you can see it was going to be tough to beat. First head was Paradym (purple line) good results and very consistent but not better and left of my target pretty noticably. I wasn't a huge fan of the look, the color combo is nice but the head looked really boxy to me. Feel was very good though. Next up was TSR3 (blue line), which is gorgeous and feels exceptional. Top end ball speed was actually the highest with this combo, 159ish. However it was not as consistent as Stealth 2 and as he said is about the least forgiving driver on the market. At this point I am running out of swings and with only an hour, between the swaps and our conversations we were already out of time. He put the Stealth combo back together and I hit about 5 more and all were just beautiful. 3 yard draws launching just a touch under 12 with spin in the 2100 range. Pretty solid numbers. Dynamic loft went up and center strikes were the norm. The impressive part was the std dev. numbers, launch within .7 spin 199 and carry distance was 3. Hard to beat that consistency. While I would have like to test more heads, just to hit them I am pretty confident that I wouldn't have had any better results. I have always gravitated to Taylormade drivers and as Sean said they are the only one with a right bias, everything else seems to have a left bias according to him. It was a good fitting and I would recommend True Spec to anyone. As most everyone knows their build costs are pretty steep and driver prices are not cheap, so while I did get fit, I did not order through them. Can't wait to get it on the course and have the weapon back in my bag. 

[GolfSpy SAM]

On 2/24/2023 at 10:28 AM, THEZIPR23 said:

Drove down to Bev Hills for a True Spec driver fitting earlier this week. My bag has been pretty set for the last year however my driver has not been the weapon it once was. Gaming the Stealth + with a GD XC shaft in X flex @ 45.5", and while the good drives are really good the bad ones are really bad as well. Just having trouble hitting the center of the face. Couple that with some face control issues and who knows where it will end up. Met with Sean, their lead fitter at that location. Good guy and very knowledgeable. Got warmed up and then hit about 7 drives with my gamer. And everything I was feeling was confirmed. Dispersion circle front to back was very large. Face impact was high toe, which according to Sean is where Taylormade heads excel, however it was too high and to toey. 

Red circle is my gamer. . Next up was trying to find the right shaft. We started with the Stealth 2 + with the same GD shaft. After a few more swings he pointed out, something I already knew, that I get too long with my swing which causes some power loss and control issues. He suggested a lighter shorter shaft and maybe even softer. I don't have a hard transition and have more of a drop of the hands to start the downswing rather than a pull down motion. Grabbed a 45" shaft and face contact immediately improved. Still a little high and on a toe but much better. Not where we wanted it but getting closer. Next shaft option was the Ventus with velocore, a shaft I have hit well at times. Results were close but I was having to work too much to get there. Next up was Diamana PD 6S @ 45", and BINGO! Center face contact good spin numbers and a decent launch. I haven't been hitting up recently as much as I have in the past, however I was still 1.5-2 up so not terrible. One interesting thing he told me about all the shafts on the wall, and there are a ton of them, is that the Ventus, GD AD series and Diamana are really the only distinct profiles, everything else is just a copy or tweak of those profiles. First time I have heard that, don't know how much truth there is to it but it was interesting as each shaft did produce a different result. So now we have the shaft it is time to see if we can find the correct head. In the above pic the Green line is the Stealth 2 with Diamana shaft so you can see it was going to be tough to beat. First head was Paradym (purple line) good results and very consistent but not better and left of my target pretty noticably. I wasn't a huge fan of the look, the color combo is nice but the head looked really boxy to me. Feel was very good though. Next up was TSR3 (blue line), which is gorgeous and feels exceptional. Top end ball speed was actually the highest with this combo, 159ish. However it was not as consistent as Stealth 2 and as he said is about the least forgiving driver on the market. At this point I am running out of swings and with only an hour, between the swaps and our conversations we were already out of time. He put the Stealth combo back together and I hit about 5 more and all were just beautiful. 3 yard draws launching just a touch under 12 with spin in the 2100 range. Pretty solid numbers. Dynamic loft went up and center strikes were the norm. The impressive part was the std dev. numbers, launch within .7 spin 199 and carry distance was 3. Hard to beat that consistency. While I would have like to test more heads, just to hit them I am pretty confident that I wouldn't have had any better results. I have always gravitated to Taylormade drivers and as Sean said they are the only one with a right bias, everything else seems to have a left bias according to him. It was a good fitting and I would recommend True Spec to anyone. As most everyone knows their build costs are pretty steep and driver prices are not cheap, so while I did get fit, I did not order through them. Can't wait to get it on the course and have the weapon back in my bag. 

Awesome stuff - Michael fit me down at that True Spec in January, and it was an incredible experience.  Happy to hear you had a similar time, and that dispersion line with the PD - wow! 

Where in CA are you?  I'm up in Santa Clarita (about to clear the snow off my car ... kidding, kind of, but....what the hell was that about yesterday?) - if you ever want to play, I've got most Fridays free and have a few buddies who play a bunch.  

-Matt

[GolfSpy_APH]

14 hours ago, GolfSpy_SAM said:

Awesome stuff - Michael fit me down at that True Spec in January, and it was an incredible experience.  Happy to hear you had a similar time, and that dispersion line with the PD - wow! 

Where in CA are you?  I'm up in Santa Clarita (about to clear the snow off my car ... kidding, kind of, but....what the hell was that about yesterday?) - if you ever want to play, I've got most Fridays free and have a few buddies who play a bunch.  

-Matt

I believe @Golfspy_TCB will have some .lee content to throw in here.

If it ends up being too cold here today I am going to get into the shop and give the i230 and i525 another run. 

[ChuckZ]

Whenever it is time for a new club(s), I go see my certified fitter and see what Titleist is offering to test their new products with various shafts. He is someone I have know for over thirty years and can trust.  Do not always make a purchase.  Titleist is on a two year cycle and unless we can see an increase in accuracy and distance we do not make a change.  Once I get released from my physical therapist to return to playing, I plan on looking at Titleist new hybrids and am anxiously awaiting the release of their T300s in the fall with maybe a different shaft.  He owns his own shop but will not recommend a change to make a sale if it is not needed.  He is highly recommended and trusted in this area.  I have played most all other brands in the past and finally settled on the Titleist brand about thirteen years ago and have stayed with it as well as the Fujikura shafts.  They seem to get me the best results.   Have also done Titleist ball testing for Titleist and Fujikura shaft testing for this MYGOLFSPY.        

[THEZIPR23]

23 hours ago, GolfSpy_SAM said:

Awesome stuff - Michael fit me down at that True Spec in January, and it was an incredible experience.  Happy to hear you had a similar time, and that dispersion line with the PD - wow! 

Where in CA are you?  I'm up in Santa Clarita (about to clear the snow off my car ... kidding, kind of, but....what the hell was that about yesterday?) - if you ever want to play, I've got most Fridays free and have a few buddies who play a bunch.  

-Matt

Weather has been just insane. I am in the Fresno area. We will have to see if we can get out together. 

[Pete Thed 05]

Just did a fitting at CC and was pretty set on a new Callaway or Titleist driver. Have not been a fan of the look of the stealth or stealth 2 line, but you cannot argue with the results. Stealth 2+ was far and above the best of the 4 oem drivers I tested. Distance (club head and ball speed) and distribution gains were surprisingly significant for me. Should be in my bag in 2 weeks!

[richk9holes]

Titleist T200 irons I found an 8 and 9 iron used for $60 each and gamed them with vokeys at 48°, 52° and 58° setup to be PW, AW, SW. They are the original T200 before the redesign in I think '21 with AMT red shafts in them, which actually belong in a T300 set. They had been regripped with Iomic sticky 2.3 grips in red. I had a 27° and 30° tour edge hybrid/iron type clubs along with driver, 3w, 5w so a light Sunday bag. I still have most of the clubs besides the full wedge setup to use for guests in the event it arises.

My takeaways from playing them are they are buttery smooth and the high launch AMT red shaft really helps me hit high soft landing approaches. I would consider buying a set if I hadn't found my current irons which I feel like I'm tuning in more every time I play. 

A drawback is this set is where the power creep in strengthening lofts hit an almost silly point. Pretty sure a 43° PW is called a 9i and all those clubs are misnumbered, but I digress. Playing the 9i to a 48° left a huge loft gap whereas I had the same vokeys with older iron sets without needing another wedge. I ended up finding a tit. C16 PW 43° with a nippon gh 850 shaft to use in that spot. That club was like a samurai sword with its balance.

The chance introduction to Iomic grips made me a devotee, I have one on my driver and 6i now and will continue to replace them as they need grips.

[richk9holes]

Ping G25 Irons 7-9i orange dot (2° flat) TFC 189 SR flex graphite shafts.

I went through a phase where I tried a few different sets 7-9i finding the clubs either individual or buying from someone missing a PW. 

I had become accustomed to Vokeys at 48° 52° and 58° so I never felt the need for a "set wedge" until the recent loft power creep in sets.

This is the last iron set I found that the 9i gaps nicely with a 48° and I keep it in my garage because I imagine a day will come when my forty-something or perhaps future fifty-something self wants to ditch the steel shafts.

2° flat is what my clubs should be set at, if you believe my lie detector test..erm, my lie test. I really did game them well for the once every other week I was getting out back then. But every other set I've played has been standard lie and I get more adjusted to them the more I play them. So I'm not sold on the lie adjustment angle. Playing 2° flat irons helps me with digging and erases some "fat and short" type misses but often those are the ones away from danger 30 yd or closer I can spin a 56° to save. I still had misses, they were just different like skulling the ball OB.

I moved to Apex '19 with mid high launch steel shafts about 2 years ago and 6-AW is currently my comfort zone with an iron set. I'd like to get good enough with a 5i to hit one 175 and justify carrying one. So I keep my eyes open for a g25 5-6i for my future self.

Bonus review: The Ping eye 2 6w I used to carry with the g25s. 

Heel toe balance. Quite ugly. Catch it good and you could wallop it, off a path or deep grass or sand. Emphasis on "catch it good" because any miss hit is punished. Both the result and your hands will hurt if you miss the sweet spot. The wrap grip that's on it is a Tacki Mac that is I'm guessing a decade old. Still has some tack to it, I will admit.

Edited March 10, 2023 by richk9holes
Added photos

[golffun]

Tested the Ping G425 MAX versus G430 MAX.     other than the difference in sound, the clubs performed the same...    I'm 75 and my swing speed with the driver is approx 77 mph ...    so my testing may not be indicative of others with more speed.     

[SteveGH7]

2 hours ago, golffun said:

Tested the Ping G425 MAX versus G430 MAX.     other than the difference in sound, the clubs performed the same...    I'm 75 and my swing speed with the driver is approx 77 mph ...    so my testing may not be indicative of others with more speed.     

I saw the same, comparing the G430 max to my G425.  Sound was better, but dispersion was pretty much the same.  Maybe a couple yards longer.  Both are great clubs.

[Nunfa0]

I realized that months ago I was going to test the new Titleist drivers and I never got round to saying how it went...

I wandered along to my home club on a beautiful, warm summers day. Just a gentle breeze was blowing and conditions were perfect.

The set up that Titleist had put together was amazing, with all the clubs and shafts you could ever want. Nothing could stop me from having the best fitting experience ever!!

Did I say nothing? I forgot to factor in my own swing!! I was awful that day . 

It didn't stop Mathew Holten (Our local Titleist Rep in Christchurch, NZ) from making the most of the situation. After hitting a few with my Cobra F9, he had me try multiple different head/shaft combos and worked really hard to try and get me some gains. In the end he came up with a recommendation that surprised him. He also said that until the Cobra breaks I should stick with it.

So here is what he sent me as the best option....

Titleist Golf Club Fitting for John Hampton.

 

Location: Templeton Golf Club

Fitter: Mathew Holten

Fitting Date: Thursday, 12 January 2023

Driver: TSR3 9°

 

Dexterity: LH
SureFit Hosel Setting: D-2
SureFit CG Setting: Heel 1
SureFit Weight: +2 g
Length: -0.5"
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Red CB 50 TSR
Shaft Flex: 6.0
Grip: Standard
Grip Size: Standard Size

 

It's the second time Mathew has fitted me, I got my T100S irons through him, and I highly recommend him to anyone in NZ.

Anyway that's what I've been testing and to be honest, If I was seriously looking for a driver I wouldn't just try one brand but you all know that otherwise you wouldn't be here 
 

 

[Hook DeLoft]

I got to test a Mizuno 923 Hot Metal HL 7 iron on the course.  I hit it 4 times during the round with excellent results on 3 of 4 hits.  The bad hit was off hard pan.  The wide sole bounced on the hard pan and I hit a low burner.  As a low ball hitter, I have been looking for a high launching iron set.  The HL fits the bill.  Despite the weaker loft compared to so many SGI 7 irons, I was getting not only good height but also good distance.  On a par 3, I hit a shot that carried 145 yards slightly uphill in cool temps.  At my old man swing speed, this is very encouraging.  The sound was louder than you might expect from Mizuno but reasonable for a cast cavity back.  The feel was better than the sound.  I tested it with the stock Recoil in senior flex.  Also, I really give Mizuno props for not charging extra for the stock graphite shafts.  With other manufacturers, you will pay $12.50 or more per club for graphite instead of steel.

I currently have a set of Cobra LTx irons.  The Cobra 8 iron is the same loft as the Mizuno 7 iron but I don't hit the Cobra 8 as far as the Mizuno 7.  Must be a better combo of launch and spin for my swing.  The only downside for me is the performance off thin lies.  The wide sole doesn't like hard ground and my course gets pretty baked out in the summer.

If you need added launch and spin, look no further (farther?)

[cksurfdude]

Went to a Callaway demo day yesterday to try the Paradym/X iron - the distance gain with these is real!

On a good day my current 7i (0211s) will carry 145 to 150ish *if* I'm swinging freely and catching the ball nicely .. but yesterday with not swinging well at all, and not warmed up and being indoors (with an LM) which is always worse for me .. 145 was the min carry on any hit!

This new distance is nice buuuut.... It comes, at least for me, at the expense of spin and landing angle - these were both at the low end of a good value (a bit under 5,000 rpm and low 40s descent) so I was getting what seems like a lot of rollout for a 7i for extra total distance.

Would have really liked to be able to hit an 8i to see how that worked.

Did like the feel of the club, and the feel at impact; the fitter (really nice, helpful guy) and gave me a shaft that felt nice and suited to me.

Not sure I like, though, that a high %tge of the head weight is concentrated into a tungsten slug set all the way out on the toe; and despite the distance gains the really strong lofts .. which are effectively +1 club up .. give you a 27.5° 7i (so call that a 6i if you like) and a 46° GAP wedge (yes what a PW used to be).

Been trying a few different DTC 7i's, eg that you couldn't try at a fitters, and do plan to go in for a good iron fitting soon.

[Merlin1313]

3 hours ago, cksurfdude said:

Went to a Callaway demo day yesterday to try the Paradym/X iron - the distance gain with these is real!

On a good day my current 7i (0211s) will carry 145 to 150ish *if* I'm swinging freely and catching the ball nicely .. but yesterday with not swinging well at all, and not warmed up and being indoors (with an LM) which is always worse for me .. 145 was the min carry on any hit!

This new distance is nice buuuut.... It comes, at least for me, at the expense of spin and landing angle - these were both at the low end of a good value (a bit under 5,000 rpm and low 40s descent) so I was getting what seems like a lot of rollout for a 7i for extra total distance.

Would have really liked to be able to hit an 8i to see how that worked.

Did like the feel of the club, and the feel at impact; the fitter (really nice, helpful guy) and gave me a shaft that felt nice and suited to me.

Not sure I like, though, that a high %tge of the head weight is concentrated into a tungsten slug set all the way out on the toe; and despite the distance gains the really strong lofts .. which are effectively +1 club up .. give you a 27.5° 7i (so call that a 6i if you like) and a 46° GAP wedge (yes what a PW used to be).

Been trying a few different DTC 7i's, eg that you couldn't try at a fitters, and do plan to go in for a good iron fitting soon.

I found out that when I changed from the Chrome Soft X LS to the Chrome Soft X, I got a lot of the spin back with my irons. The launch was about the same, but they seemed to stop a lot faster. The Pro V 1X also did a pretty good job at increasing spin and descent.

[ejgaudette]

11 minutes ago, Merlin1313 said:

I found out that when I changed from the Chrome Soft X LS to the Chrome Soft X, I got a lot of the spin back with my irons. The launch was about the same, but they seemed to stop a lot faster. The Pro V 1X also did a pretty good job at increasing spin and descent.

Ball change can be a great option if it still works for you around the green

[Merlin1313]

2 minutes ago, ejgaudette said:

Ball change can be a great option if it still works for you around the green

the greenside control improved a few notches- so it was definitely worth it- just have to get better adjusted to my longer wedge shots and attempted "finesse" shots