The case for new irons

[marfau23]

I had been playing a beautiful set of 2011 Taylormade MC irons for about a decade. Absolutely loved the feel, the workability, the look, and the sound. As I started to play more, I noticed that I was in less control of the trajectories leading to balloons and being unplayable in the wind. All came down to a windy April day and hit a 5 iron off the tee into a 10pm wind for safety. It came up 45 yards short of what a “normal” strike should have. I figured it was time to start exploring at least new shafts to help the ball pierce a bit more. Went to club champion and got fitted into some P7MCs with lower flighted shafts. (Strangely enough, even though the irons were 12 years apart, I still felt the most comfortable with the look, weight, and feel of essentially the same model iron). When I took them out to the course, one thing immediately stuck out. Not the trajectory or the distances (actually lost a few yards) but the forgiveness on slight mis-hits blew me away. I had always thought that somewhat bladed irons (like any MC) was going to punish any mis-hit significantly and that’s what I grew accustomed to. Catch it a little thin and the ball comes out head level and sails over your target. Catch it a touch heavy and the irons would dig giving you no chance of getting it close to the green. I was absolutely amazed by the amount of forgiveness that manufacturers were able to cram into a “players” iron. First real mis-hit was with a 7 iron into the green. Caught it a touch thin and it still came out with a solid trajectory (granted a bit lower than a perfect strike) and the distance perfectly matched what I would have expected with a perfect strike. Since that first day, I’ve found the same result time and time again. Off center hits were punished significantly less, thin/heavy shots still came out with a solid trajectory and had significantly better than expected distance control. I had no idea that modern irons in the same “class” would have such a significant upgrade in forgiveness generation to generation. I see a lot of good players sticking with the blades they’ve played for decades because they “can’t find anything like them”. While I certainly get where they are coming from, maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe some modern tech/improvements in weight placement and turf interaction can be the missing piece to help shave a couple of hard earned strokes. Helped me more than I ever imagined, maybe it can help you too!

[cksurfdude]

Sounds like it was well worth the upgrade!!

This season I embarked on my own journey for "better" irons - didn't really define a specific goal or metric - and ended up testing and demoing, along with two different fittings, a bunch of different GI models.

This all coincided with some lessons and a lotta practice.

For me it was also worth the time, effort and cost and am happy with the result

[cbhenri10]

I purchased a set of T100S irons around Christmas this past year and they have made a HUGE difference in my game. I previously had the original Nike forged blades for about 15 years (2002 model?) that I bought off a friend from high school for $300 (because he was the guy buyong the latest model every other year). He was a very good player and I was probably a 25-30 handicap around that time but had heard that good players play blades so i felt the need to jump at that opportunity...needless to say it took me a decade to learn to hit them decently lol. I've never had a formal lesson but those things were a lesson in themselves with every ball I hit. Zero forgiveness. At least half of my approach shots were 20-40 yards short of the green except for the few that I "pured" that felt buttery smooth. Always instant feedback and really developed a pretty good, consistent swing IMO. Since the upgrade I'm rarely short on approaches anymore. Pin high, whether it's on the green or left or right, even occasionally long sometimes! The forgiveness with these are something I never knew could be a thing in Iron technology (until i started diving deep into MGS reviews). No regrets at all. I fully respect anyone out there that's played what they've played for awhile and are comfortable with that but my mind has really been opened as to the newer products available. Such a game changer for me 

[DPMGolfer]

On 9/9/2023 at 10:08 AM, marfau23 said:

I had been playing a beautiful set of 2011 Taylormade MC irons for about a decade. Absolutely loved the feel, the workability, the look, and the sound. As I started to play more, I noticed that I was in less control of the trajectories leading to balloons and being unplayable in the wind. All came down to a windy April day and hit a 5 iron off the tee into a 10pm wind for safety. It came up 45 yards short of what a “normal” strike should have. I figured it was time to start exploring at least new shafts to help the ball pierce a bit more. Went to club champion and got fitted into some P7MCs with lower flighted shafts. (Strangely enough, even though the irons were 12 years apart, I still felt the most comfortable with the look, weight, and feel of essentially the same model iron). When I took them out to the course, one thing immediately stuck out. Not the trajectory or the distances (actually lost a few yards) but the forgiveness on slight mis-hits blew me away. I had always thought that somewhat bladed irons (like any MC) was going to punish any mis-hit significantly and that’s what I grew accustomed to. Catch it a little thin and the ball comes out head level and sails over your target. Catch it a touch heavy and the irons would dig giving you no chance of getting it close to the green. I was absolutely amazed by the amount of forgiveness that manufacturers were able to cram into a “players” iron. First real mis-hit was with a 7 iron into the green. Caught it a touch thin and it still came out with a solid trajectory (granted a bit lower than a perfect strike) and the distance perfectly matched what I would have expected with a perfect strike. Since that first day, I’ve found the same result time and time again. Off center hits were punished significantly less, thin/heavy shots still came out with a solid trajectory and had significantly better than expected distance control. I had no idea that modern irons in the same “class” would have such a significant upgrade in forgiveness generation to generation. I see a lot of good players sticking with the blades they’ve played for decades because they “can’t find anything like them”. While I certainly get where they are coming from, maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe some modern tech/improvements in weight placement and turf interaction can be the missing piece to help shave a couple of hard earned strokes. Helped me more than I ever imagined, maybe it can help you too!

Thank you for your comments.  I have 2014 TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC irons and I am considering an upgrade; your post is giving me more motivation to make a change.