Edel SMS and SMS Pro Irons - 2023 Forum Review

[cnosil]

21 minutes ago, revkev said:

Plus from what I'm seeing here the Edel irons are at a disadvantage in a test like the Most Wanted one because a big selling point is to dial in the weights.  Perhaps Csnoil will be peaking in here and can enlighten us as to whether or not testers were allowed to do that or not (probably used the generic setting.)

We used the default setting during most wanted testing.  

[revkev]

14 minutes ago, cnosil said:

We used the default setting during most wanted testing.  

Thanks! Did you have an opportunity to monkey with them on your own by any chance or do you have an opinion about what the best setting for you might be? 

[ejgaudette]

36 minutes ago, revkev said:

Plus from what I'm seeing here the Edel irons are at a disadvantage in a test like the Most Wanted one because a big selling point is to dial in the weights.  Perhaps Csnoil will be peaking in here and can enlighten us as to whether or not testers were allowed to do that or not (probably used the generic setting.)

 

So the SMS would be the "Player's Distance" one?  

 

Also I have a question about the sole.  Is there a difference between the sole in the Pro and the straight SMS?  Is the turf interaction noticeably different?  I will be looking to replace my irons at the end of this season - I love the D7 forged, they've been very good to me but they are coming up on their 4th birthday so it's just about time (4-5 years for irons for me.)  

 

I'm heading for an edel wedge fitting in a couple of weeks.  But if I get a couple of those wedges they will have a grind that will be different from what the irons will be like.  

 

Very interested in the sole turf interaction of the irons and the type of conditions you guys are playing in.  Thanks

So there is indeed a difference in sole between the two clubs. The SMS Pro has the tri sole with some relief in the front and back and the milled look. The SMS irons have a regular sole with just hint of relief on the trail side. The Pro is supposed to play narrow with the leading and trail relief and not dig, and I have found it to move through the turf pretty well, even when I am playing knockdowns with my PW which can get very steep. The SMS is a wider sole but I have not found it to dig, though I only have it in the 4 and 5 iron so tend to be shallower with those clubs. Overall I have enjoyed the turf interaction of both models. I play on a course that can get pretty soggy and has been with all the rain this year with no issues. We will have to see what its like when things dry out if that ever happens.

[cnosil]

16 minutes ago, revkev said:

Thanks! Did you have an opportunity to monkey with them on your own by any chance or do you have an opinion about what the best setting for you might be? 

I took part in this lab test: https://mygolfspy.com/labs/edel-sms-irons-test/  There were difference between the setting, but would be based on individuals perception if the differences would be considered significant.  When I asked Phillip about making the adjustment during most wanted he indicated that based on the lab results, the decision was made to use stock.  
 

I found the toe heavier helped me avoid the left miss I want to avoid.  However, through practice I am better at avoiding that miss; more swing related than club.  

[revkev]

3 hours ago, ejgaudette said:

So there is indeed a difference in sole between the two clubs. The SMS Pro has the tri sole with some relief in the front and back and the milled look. The SMS irons have a regular sole with just hint of relief on the trail side. The Pro is supposed to play narrow with the leading and trail relief and not dig, and I have found it to move through the turf pretty well, even when I am playing knockdowns with my PW which can get very steep. The SMS is a wider sole but I have not found it to dig, though I only have it in the 4 and 5 iron so tend to be shallower with those clubs. Overall I have enjoyed the turf interaction of both models. I play on a course that can get pretty soggy and has been with all the rain this year with no issues. We will have to see what its like when things dry out if that ever happens.

Great feedback - thanks!

 

And yes I will be wondering about when it dries out, too.  I may play year round but I'm certainly not playing the same "course" as in conditions year round.  Things become radically different once rainy season starts (it's very late this year.)  Generally we become fast and firm from February until the end of May and very soggy from June through October.  

[GolfSpy AFG]

16 hours ago, Triple_Putt said:

Stealing @Getoffmylawn's idea, I too have made my own chart to see how the Swing Match System actually effects my swing!  Over two nights at the public simulator, I scribbled down numbers on my notepad and swapped out weights(which is a total breeze I might add), and had quite a few folks come over and ask the obvious "what the heck are you doing man?" as they passed by to grab another beverage from the bar. I imagine I looked something like this:

After chatting, they all wanted to give the Edels a try though, which I gladly handed out to give myself a break and try to keep the numbers consistent! 

So here is what I ended up finding.  For each, I hit 12 balls and threw out the best and worst, leaving me 10 balls to average(easier math for me) for each.  Each chart was for each night, and you can see where my weights are trending, at least on paper.

  From the data it appears that having more weight out by the toe allows me to carry the ball the farthest, and is a middle ground on keeping it going in the same spot each time. The higher I weighted the heel, the worse things got for me.  Obviously my yardages are on the lower side, and my side to side dispersion is on the high side(I am a high handicapper after all), but compared to my current gamers these Edels are a huge improvement in getting the ball where I want with a lot more confidence. 

On the course they are helping keep my confidence up I am trusting my little yardage cheat sheet for each club more and more.  

I have two more tee times scheduled in the next week and am looking forward to keeping the testing going!  Any questions feel free to ask!

Imitation is the highest form of flattery.

Nice job; some good numbers there.

[GolfSpy AFG]

@revkev, @ejgaudettenailed it, but as the other combo guy in this test I figured I should add a few thoughts, and maybe some pics to help you visualize the difference.  (Sorry I haven't replied sooner...moving is hell.)

So here's a few pics of a 6 iron SMS next to an 8 iron SMS Pro...

As you can see, the SMS Pro (on the right in each pic) sports the CNC-milled Tri-Sole, while the SMS only has a bit of relief at the trail edge of the clubhead.  Like @ejgaudette, I do not perceive any excessive digging from the 5 or 6 iron.  That said, I can tell you the turf interaction with the SMS Pro is nothing short of PHENOMENAL.  I play on a Pennsylvania muni where the rough can get a bit tall, and I am able to get a much better strike with the Pros as compared to my gamers in a similar club.

I'll talk about it more in my final review, but the transition from SMS to SMS Pro (in my case from 6 to 7 iron) isn't seamless but it's damn close. I went with the SMS in the 5 and 6 because I wanted a little more offset in the longer irons and I tend to choose my setup based on maximum forgiveness for those days when I just don't have it.  That said, despite being a "players" iron the SMS Pro is much more forgiving than I expected.  If you're in the market and you truly trust your mid-iron ball-striking then go for the Pro's.

[revkev]

Great feedback too - thanks both of you. I would still probably go combo or straight SMS. I am definitely a Players Distance guy anymore - you guys both are younger and stronger than I am. 
 

My ball striking has been very solid lately. 6 iron just made its way back into the bag. That’s where I top off for longest iron though. If I were to combo I’d break at the 8/7 

[GolfSpy AFG]

Got on the range with my oldest son.  His baseball season is over so I’m willing to let him swing a golf club a bit now. Oh, and had some good-looking irons on the range with me too.

Continued to be impressed with the combination of forgiveness and workability found in both the SMS and SMS Pro.  I am not one to try and shape shots on the course, but on the range I try to go through multiple ball flights in an Adam Young-inspired practice trying to focus on skills rather than technique.  Anyway, I’m able bend it much more easily with the Edel’s than with my previous gamers.

[ChitownM2]

Apologies to everyone as work has been insane the last few weeks and I haven't been able to post as often as I would have liked.

My league night on Monday went pretty well.  I'm definitely hitting these clubs better than my gamers.  On 2 different holes I actually had iron shots that dropped and stopped instead of rolling out due to my low launch and lack of spin.  This definitely makes a huge difference in my game because my distance is the same or slightly better but without the 15 yards of run I was getting before.  Driver game is still a bit off but if I can hit recovery shots like these two it certainly helps.  

I also went out to the range to mess with the weights a little and I think it's safe to say I'm going to be leaving them where I had them set originally (4-10-6 / H-C-T).  To start with, shot shaping on command is not something in my arsenal so I rarely try it and that is mainly because of the inconsistency in my swing.  Unsurprisingly the SMS don't fix my swing flaws all by themselves, that said, they did seem to help a little.  My Mevo doesn't do side angle or side spin but it was obvious to the naked eye that biasing the weights towards the toe helped stop me from pulling the ball as much.  When I swapped the 4 & 6 everything was going to the left so I'm guessing the extra weight out at the toe keeps the face open just that fraction of a second longer to allow me to hit it relatively straight.  The only other thing I might try is going to a 4-8-8 set up and see what that does.  I really like the swing weight where it is at so I'm hesitant to just throw the 8 in the toe as that will bring them up to D4 or D4.5 and I think that will be too much for me.

Anyway, I'm taking my father out for a round today so we'll see how I hit them and I've got league night again tomorrow so hopefully I can post some low scores.  My rando partner and I are in second place currently but we're also a week behind the leader so hopefully we pass them once we catch up to the same # of rounds 

 

[Triple_Putt]

Played a nice round with the family, continue to be impressed with these Edel irons! I have shot my lowest scores to date now too!(87)

Had some great luck on the putting greens which certainly helped but keeping the ball in regulation off the fairways is what is really doing it! These irons just feel comfortable and confidence inspiring. Had some great shots but this was the best from about 120 yards out

[GolfSpy BOS]

Doing some range testing today after a not-so-good ball striking weekend down in NC. 

took a split bag to do some head to head comparisons. More or less to see feeling differences with the Steelfiber vs Modus.  There’s a chance I might take these Edel’s in for a reshaft, but it might also just have been a few bad rounds. 
 

I will also note that good shots are awesome, but I’m very inconsistent on contact as of late. 

[Triple_Putt]

And also your daily reminder how nice these irons look...

 

[GolfSpy AFG]

To borrow a page from @Triple_Putt, another reminder of how beautiful these sticks are…

 

[Triple_Putt]

29 minutes ago, Getoffmylawn said:

To borrow a page from @Triple_Putt, another reminder of how beautiful these sticks are…

 

The sole on the pros I have dozens of beauty shots on my camera but don’t want to clog up the thread 

[GolfSpy AFG]

On a slightly less than positive note regarding these sticks, like @GolfSpy BOSI’m very likely looking at a re-shaft of the Edel’s once the offseason arrives.  That’s certainly not Edel’s fault; I relied on specs from 2 years ago, and the i95 Steelfibers would appear to now be a little too light…I’ve had several playing partners (to include a club fitter and a club pro) observe that my ball flight is just generally a bit too high.  Add in some slightly high spin numbers across the board, and I’m at least going to go see @McGolfand investigate options.

I’m partial to Steelfiber’s so the i110 will be at the top of the list, but the Accra TZi shaft will get a look.  Maybe even Fuji’s Axiom, but obviously money will be a limiting factor.

Just one self-inflicted blemish on an otherwise extremely positive playing experience with the SMS and SMS Pro’s. 

[Triple_Putt]

[GolfSpy BOS]

Let’s not forget the sound as well:

 

[revkev]

On 6/19/2023 at 11:52 AM, Triple_Putt said:

Played a nice round with the family, continue to be impressed with these Edel irons! I have shot my lowest scores to date now too!(87)

Had some great luck on the putting greens which certainly helped but keeping the ball in regulation off the fairways is what is really doing it! These irons just feel comfortable and confidence inspiring. Had some great shots but this was the best from about 120 yards out

You're in CT? - Go Huskies - what course is this?  I grew up there, have played lots of courses but I've been away since 1989 so obviously there are a lot of new ones.  

[GolfSpy AFG]

On 6/19/2023 at 12:19 PM, GolfSpy BOS said:

Doing some range testing today after a not-so-good ball striking weekend down in NC. 

took a split bag to do some head to head comparisons. More or less to see feeling differences with the Steelfiber vs Modus.  There’s a chance I might take these Edel’s in for a reshaft, but it might also just have been a few bad rounds. 
 

I will also note that good shots are awesome, but I’m very inconsistent on contact as of late. 

So what did you decide based on this range session?  TBD?

[Triple_Putt]

1 hour ago, revkev said:

You're in CT? - Go Huskies - what course is this?  I grew up there, have played lots of courses but I've been away since 1989 so obviously there are a lot of new ones.  

This is at Lyman Orchards. Perfect spot to walk one of their three courses and then go get an apple cider donut for the ride home!

[GolfSpy BOS]

2 hours ago, Getoffmylawn said:

So what did you decide based on this range session?  TBD?

So....  I did get some interesting results.

we will start with the good: 

The Edel's, loft for loft, are performing very well against the Cobra's Hollow-Body-Foam-Goo-Filled-Frame.  I am actually surprised I haven't seen a reduction of carry on good shots with the PW.  That's actually one of my issues now until I decide on wedges because I have a big gap between the Edel PW and my 52* Cobra.  It's not the end of the world when I'm swinging well, but partial shots have been an issue, so I need to be mindful of that gap when hitting approach shots on par 5s and shorter par 4s to avoid that 110ish yard shot.  I had that one a lot down in NC, and I think it was part of my problem scoring well.

The 8 iron is a half-club weaker but is basically keeping up as I seem to be swinging the low end of the bag a little faster, which is keeping the ball speed on par.  The 6 iron tarts to show a deviation, but the Cobra is almost a full club stronger at that point.  The ball speed is still neck and neck at this point.  And the surprise of the session was seeing the Edel 4 iron, of same loft as the Cobra 5 iron, outperforming the Cobra by a decent margin on Ball Speed and Carry.

Here's some views of dispersion and trajectory.  Note that the Edel's are the PW-8-6-4 on here and the Cobras are listed one club different so 9-7-5-3H on the chart.  I'd not here that my right side tendency here was more driven by inaccurate aim on the centerline than losing a lot of balls to the right.  The 3 balls most right were ones I hung out there,  the rest were all along the line I was aiming, but I guess I wasn't positioned perfectly with the radar.

Overall I like a lot of what I see here.

 

Now onto the bad. 

I had to delete more shots with the Edel's than I did with the Cobras to get good data... now I don't just mean that one was hit weak..  There were a few S**nks in there (like 3-4) that did not happen when I swung the Cobras.  I did have a few heavy hits with the Cobras, but nothing quite as bad as the Edel there.  No Iron that I know of hits it well off the neck.... so I'm not placing any blame on the Edel's here, I'm still leaning towards a swing-and-shaft mismatch as it seems to be a consistency issue as my good shots are really stellar with the Edel's.  

The Path Forward:

I'm going to get back out on the range and repeat this test to see if I get similar results.  There's still a dang good chance I'm the problem here, and based on some of the upsides with the shaft I want to give them a fair shake.  If I do decide to swap it will likely come down to plugging in the Modus 120x which I have a good history with, trying the PX LZ 6.0 that was one of the recommended shafts after my fit (and I have experience with the 6.5) or heading back to my fitter and seeing if there's a better fit that wasn't in the Edel fitting cart that he can install.  I know I took a few swings with the DG 120 x100 and thought they felt pretty nice which was surprising to me.  At any rate, I'm happy I tried the Steelfiber's so far, and The SMS Pro's bring a lot of punch in a beautifully compact package.

 

 

 

 

[revkev]

4 hours ago, Triple_Putt said:

This is at Lyman Orchards. Perfect spot to walk one of their three courses and then go get an apple cider donut for the ride home!

I know that I've played there - one of the courses at least - don't they have a Robert Trent Jones one?  I remember it being really long - I always played the tips in those days and it seems like it was a 7,000 yarder - back when I had persimmon woods.  

[revkev]

You guys are doing a really nice job - thanks!  

 

In the unofficial Srixon thread I commented that I do have an iron fitting scheduled for July 5th.  The main reason was to get the chance to hit the Edels and compare them straight up to the Srixon's.  I'm more than likely going with one of those two irons and more than likely the straight Players/Distance iron - so the SMS in the Edel rather than a combo with the players one.  I love the idea of the combo but I'm the classic target for a Players Distance iron - an aging single digit handicap looking for some help.  6/7 iron is where I need to move to hybrids or woods or s GI of some sort so if I were to combo the Srixon it would be the X4 ii in the 5-7 - which is a possibility also.  That sort of option isn't available with Edel but the platform, sole, looks like it would be helpful enough that I'd be okay at 6 iron anyway.  

 

How have you found changing the weights thus far?  Does it make an impact?  Have you tried it much?  If you had a fit did they fit for that?

[MattWillGolf]

5 hours ago, Triple_Putt said:

This is at Lyman Orchards. Perfect spot to walk one of their three courses and then go get an apple cider donut for the ride home!

The best apple cider donuts are from there.

[GolfSpy BOS]

2 hours ago, revkev said:

How have you found changing the weights thus far?  Does it make an impact?  Have you tried it much?  If you had a fit did they fit for that?

It does make an impact. I know Hayes shared his results, and I don’t have the data that he has for it, but in my fit we saw the differences as we moved the weights around, and changed the total weight as a way to get the swing weight dialed in.  
 

since then I’ve had a few shots out of the toe that performed way better than they should have. Rather than over drawing they’ve been a nice, high, and tight draw. It can just sync up so nicely to your individual strike pattern and dial in the feel and performance for you. 
 

And since no post is good without pictures… has anyone mentioned that they look great in the bag?!

 

[Triple_Putt]

3 hours ago, revkev said:

You guys are doing a really nice job - thanks!  

 

In the unofficial Srixon thread I commented that I do have an iron fitting scheduled for July 5th.  The main reason was to get the chance to hit the Edels and compare them straight up to the Srixon's.  I'm more than likely going with one of those two irons and more than likely the straight Players/Distance iron - so the SMS in the Edel rather than a combo with the players one.  I love the idea of the combo but I'm the classic target for a Players Distance iron - an aging single digit handicap looking for some help.  6/7 iron is where I need to move to hybrids or woods or s GI of some sort so if I were to combo the Srixon it would be the X4 ii in the 5-7 - which is a possibility also.  That sort of option isn't available with Edel but the platform, sole, looks like it would be helpful enough that I'd be okay at 6 iron anyway.  

 

How have you found changing the weights thus far?  Does it make an impact?  Have you tried it much?  If you had a fit did they fit for that?

During my fit we did not change out weights, but that was mostly because it was my first ever fitting and we had to spend a little more time getting my into the shaft I needed.  I've been on the simulator twice now and moving weights around is definitely noticeable, even from a double digit handicapper like me.  Here's my little chart from a few pages ago which chronicled one night of moving weights around and its data 

 

41 minutes ago, GolfSpy BOS said:

It does make an impact. I know Hayes shared his results, and I don’t have the data that he has for it, but in my fit we saw the differences as we moved the weights around, and changed the total weight as a way to get the swing weight dialed in.  
 

since then I’ve had a few shots out of the toe that performed way better than they should have. Rather than over drawing they’ve been a nice, high, and tight draw. It can just sync up so nicely to your individual strike pattern and dial in the feel and performance for you. 
 

And since no post is good without pictures… has anyone mentioned that they look great in the bag?!

 

Why yes, yes they do 

 

[GolfSpy AFG]

So in the process of drafting my final review, I have to admit being a little conflicted about how to account for a few variables that might be negatives…

1) The overall experience of receiving the clubs, specifically the slight delay, shortage of a grip, and the less than stellar packaging.  Obviously none of that is relevant to the performance of the clubs, but they were factors in the overall experience.

2) How to account for differences in a blended set.  Edel offers a combo set of SMS and SMS Pro’s, but they are two different clubs.  While they blend well, it’s not seamless.  But, is it supposed to be?  Struggling with how to score a blended set from this standpoint…

[revkev]

17 hours ago, Getoffmylawn said:

So in the process of drafting my final review, I have to admit being a little conflicted about how to account for a few variables that might be negatives…

1) The overall experience of receiving the clubs, specifically the slight delay, shortage of a grip, and the less than stellar packaging.  Obviously none of that is relevant to the performance of the clubs, but they were factors in the overall experience.

2) How to account for differences in a blended set.  Edel offers a combo set of SMS and SMS Pro’s, but they are two different clubs.  While they blend well, it’s not seamless.  But, is it supposed to be?  Struggling with how to score a blended set from this standpoint…

I struggled with something similar in the Garsen Grip review - if I were doing my own review they would have scored a bit higher than they did, but the rubric was the rubric so I followed it.  Perhaps Edel wants to know how the sets blend and what the issues might be for future iterations.  You might be doing them a great service in that area even if it knocks their overall grade down a bit here.  Plus a perspective buyer needs to know - for example I'd like to know what the issue is and what you might do differently in the ordering, fitting process to combat it.

 

I once owned a set of Nicklaus irons that came "blended."  I performed incredibly well with them too - I'm surprised that more manufacturers haven't tried that approach - Mizuno did once but it never gained any traction - if they are built "blended" I think it resolves the gapping issues.  

 

Your review will be of great interest to me regardless of how I go with irons - 

 

Thanks for taking it on!

[GolfSpy BOS]

18 hours ago, Getoffmylawn said:

So in the process of drafting my final review, I have to admit being a little conflicted about how to account for a few variables that might be negatives…

1) The overall experience of receiving the clubs, specifically the slight delay, shortage of a grip, and the less than stellar packaging.  Obviously none of that is relevant to the performance of the clubs, but they were factors in the overall experience.

2) How to account for differences in a blended set.  Edel offers a combo set of SMS and SMS Pro’s, but they are two different clubs.  While they blend well, it’s not seamless.  But, is it supposed to be?  Struggling with how to score a blended set from this standpoint…

All we ask is to be fair.  I think some discussion around the blended aspect is worthwhile as they do promote it as such online.

The shipping and unboxing aspect of it can be tough.  On the one hand we were told that everything online was in stock, and then on the other I'm not sure if I'm not partly to blame for waiting to get feedback sooner from them?  Certainly not a perfect transition.  Although I know the news of the new owner broke at that same time too, so who knows if that had anything to do with it.