Outgrowing Clubs/when do I need to switch to players irons/etc.

[cnosil]

We see the question often:  when do I switch from game improvement irons to players irons?   Lots of members post about playing the most forgiving clubs you can manage or when you need to do more things with the ball flight.  I enjoy the Plugged in Golf site and today they released a good article on that topic.    

https://pluggedingolf.com/the-golf-equipment-idea-that-must-die/

 

Basically, you don’t have to switch to “better” irons.  We don’t typically switch to less forgiving drivers or putters when we improve at golf so why are irons different?    What are your thoughts? 

[GolfSpy_APH]

I'm with you there on plugged in golf. They have some great shaft reviews. 

The idea or thought makes sense. I guess we for some reason gravitate towards clubs more similar to the pros and they use blades and less forgiving irons traditionally and therefore have the mentality that when we get better that's what they do so we should be doing something similar?

[vandyland]

LONG POST INCOMING......

This is a really timely post @cnosil. I bought a new hybrid recently and the distance gains was so intoxicating I began thinking about going back to stronger lofted irons. The initial reason I switched out of my old clubs (Cobra F9 speedbacks) is that I was getting too many "rocket launched" irons shots where a center strike on a 7i could go either 165 or 175 and too often I was unsure of how to account for that. So I got into some Ben Hogan PTxPros, which I love, but the 7 iron is 34* and I *only* can carry it about 160 with 90 mph 7 iron speed and now I am drooling at the idea of a 31* 7 iron (really a 6 iron at that point) that could be carrying 170 but would likely introduce the original problem I had...too much variability in carry. 

So why do I want new clubs? Well there are two things, (1) there is the "hope springs eternal" aspect of THIS club will fix THIS problem because it couldn't possibly be me! and (2) it's fun to get new clubs/equipment. But, if I am honest with myself, my iron play is not what holds me back as a golfer. I also tested like 9 different sets of golf clubs and the hogans were the best on numbers, they look good and they were a great price point. What would sway me into getting new irons? Well, if I could get irons that went 10 yards farther per club AND maintained the same land angles/spin rates AND had carry distance consistency AND the same dispersion that would do it. Of course, if you are hitting your clubs 10 yards farther then obviously launch parameters have to be different which likely means spin rates are different and naturally dispersion should widen in most cases since you are hitting it farther. So, all in all, I am happy with my irons. 

1 hour ago, cnosil said:

We don’t typically switch to less forgiving drivers or putters when we improve at golf so why are irons different?

This is a great section to repeat and highlight as you did above. I play a "game improvement" driver in the Cobra XB (10.5* with only a backweight) because I want forgiveness and launch. I play a "game improvement" hybrid in the Rogue ST Max 3H because I want forgiveness and launch. I use a LAB Golf DF 2.1 because I want forgiveness. So, really, the least forgiving clubs in my bag are my wedges followed by my irons. I typically play courses on the shorter side for my relative "distance" off the tee -- I play par 72 golf courses at 6,200 yds or less without exception (most commonly at 5,900-6,000 yds) and my carry distance with a driver is 260-270 yds so that means the avg par 4 is about 340 yds which is typically Driver + GW/SW most of the time, in fact during my last 9 hole round I hit GW/SW (both Ben Hogan Equalizer IIs) as the approach in regulation into 5/9 greens (of the 4 that were not two were par 3s and the other two were longer par 4s). I basically bought those wedges sight unseen. So I think next time I should be as careful testing wedges (they aren't bad by any means, just untested) as I was with my irons considering I go many rounds without even touching 1/2 my irons...