It took me about a month of practicing to get used to the new shafts. The heavier weight lead to being able to feel the club head better and just a different feel really. I’d be willing to bet you will be fine playing either iron since you are just starting out basically. The fitter should have set you with something that is pretty close to what you need. As for distance- are the lofts the same? Does the new shaft feel so heavy you aren’t loading it well? The sweet spot gets smaller as irons get smaller, are you hitting it all over the face? Center face contact will get you back a good 15-20% of your distance. Just some ideas to think about. It is an adjustment to switch clubs but losing that kind of distance means something is off. I’m willing to bet the contact is way less forgiving than you think and the heavier weight is slowing your club head speed. That combo loses distance.
Lots of good advice through experience here. Take them and filter out for what works for you at the moment. Some might not be making any sense right now but it will eventually down the journey.
One word for distance, Quote Ben Hogan who was regarded as the GOAT for iron play. “Accelerate through the golf ball”.
Chew on this for a few moments, the top speed of your golf swing is not at the golf ball but pass it. Just like the divot from the iron play, should be in front of the golf ball.
The heavier static weight hindered your ability to accelerate through. Not only physically but mentally you have to train yourself to accelerate the club head through the golf ball with a heavier weight. It is not just a mere 20 grams of extra weight sitting there, swinging the extra weight with 70-90 MPH meant a lot more weight felt. There is a formula to calculate the equivalent weight but I’m not digging it out of the far corners of my mind from college classes.
If you’re not physically limited from age or condition, you will get the distance back and more when you get used to the new set up. Don’t let that worry you. If you are physically fit to swing a heavier set of irons, you will love it.
Came on this thread as I have similar issue. Like @Craigers above, I also played the same set for 25 years !
Ping Zing 2 (who remembers them ? !) - green dot.
I was custom fitted for replacement set & they said I needed white dot, which is next up steeper lie angle. Bought Ping G430 irons white dot.
I weighed old vs new 8 irons & they were surprisingly identical in total weight : 445g
Should really have gone to range first but played a round today as I couldn’t wait to use them, & was shanking/slicing most shots right, which is something I never used to do. I need to go to range & get familiar with them, but was very surprised today how, even when trying to close the clubface a little, I was still shanking/slicing a lot of the time.
Thoughts welcome.
Welcome!
Surprising the new G430 irons would be as heavy as the old Zing 2’s, but maybe the fitter found that worked best for you. Usually static weight is important, but balance can be a factor as well.
Sometimes just a different looking clubhead (more offset or whatever) can alter your takeaway and you just need to get used to the look and make your normal swing. If things still don’t feel right, a good fitter should continue to work with you to get them right.
Yes I was also really surprised that weight was the same - but that wasn’t by design - retailer wasn’t aware of what I had previously.
Your point about different looking is so right - at first I was clearly holding the club too open. Just need to practice.
The ironic thing is the first ball I hit with the new clubs was on our opening par 3, & I put it centre of the green with 7 iron - it all went downhill from there!
There is also likely something in the slight lie angle adjustment they’ve given me, moving from green to white dot. I likely have to adjust my stance a little to accommodate that, & I need to do that on the range.
We can’t expect to switch over to another set of golf clubs and fit right into the new ones.
It’ll take a little time to fit into the new from the old.
It’ll take me some time to switch between the sets of irons I have collected over the years. All of them are with similar spec, except for the maker of the shafts.
You had just game the new set of irons cold turkey without range session. so give it a little practice and time to say hi.
When I bough my set of blades I had only broken 90 once. Then 3 of my next 4 rounds were in the 80s… I went straight to shooting my best ever rounds. Plus the 50 shots I hit on the range learning how to get them in the air before working out I need a one piece takeaway.
You’re a much better golfer than I was.
My first set of Ben Hogan Apex, took me a whole season to start to getting aquinted with it. Not until several seasons later when it became my gamer.
Those first 40 shots that never got in the air made me wonder but then a wide one piece takeaway worked and made me realise that with my old set I was picking the club up instead of turning the shoulders etc. So buying a set of blades improved my swing. My handicap was 34 back then so easier to play under your handicap as you improve. Played well last Monday hitting 9 gir for the first time. 7 pars and a pitch in birdie and only 2 doubles for 11 over. Two butchered pars with 3 putts.
You were brave to tackle to blade design when you were an index 34, because you had other options offering easier way out.
I was a 15 index when I bought my first set of Apex, simply because my instructor was getting a new set every season ( a true Hogan fan), and the Apex looked so beautiful, still does.
You are correct on practicing with the blades will force you to find the sweet spot more often. The size for the sweet spot between a blade and a cavity back design is like comparing a dime to a quarter.
The game improvement comes in the forgiveness from mishits.
Blade will lose more distance and directional control from mishits, not to mention the shocking reminder of the unpleasant vibration traveling up the shaft to the hands.
Yes, you were probably not using your core before, as most the beginners would be afraid of not catching the golf ball if they turn their hips and shoulders.
It is okay to start with the hands dominating golf swing, to catch the golf ball more often. Just need to progress the golf swing to the correct way of using the core to motor the swing within a short period of time.
Don’t let the handsy swing grooved in.
For myself, I found regressing the skill of swinging a golf club after using the game improving irons for awhile. Sometimes I’d go back to my first few sets of irons which are G.I. design because the weather, the condition of the golf course or after a short layoff from the game thinking it would be easier.
Not always the case. The forgiving G.I. design usually made my golf swing sloppy.
I learned to play with blades as a kid. They got stolen. I got cavity backs as a replacements. But then as soon as I was making good ground contact I went back to blades. So shiny, such a thin top. Other people look at them and wonder how I can hit them. The smaller head doesn’t bother me.
I went to the range the last 2 days & concentrated on using a one piece takeaway for every shot for the first time ever, & almost every shot went straight & to distance !
Thanks for the tip. Playing tomorrow morning, so let’s see how I get on !
Glad to help. It makes a huge difference.
Back when my father took us to the driving range, there was no other option but muscle back irons. Later on when I started working and my boss encourages us to golf, I started by a few clubs from the bargain bin. I remember it was some cast cavity back loosely stashed in a large 75 gallon bin. I picked out a OW, 8i,6i and a putter. First set of irons I bought brand new was Mizuno cast Cimarron. Many sets following that.
I an gaming my third set and and not planning on a new set anytime soon. Nailing a 3i blade feels so good knowing most others couldn’t do it. I know others hit much less club then me but at least my blades are consistent in distance. I am sure those other sets have stronger lofts.
I have too many sets of irons from the last 4 decades .
I don’t feel odd when a youngster carry his 5 irons over 200 yards. I used to do that with my 3 iron which is about the same spec.
Were the shafts the same? The feel difference there might be the issue.
Haven’t tried the G430 irons, but the G430 hybrid is a controllable rocket-ship. +1, highly recommended. Would hit again.
Yes shafts were steel regular flex, with same midsize grips. Only difference was the new lie angle which is white dot, which is next up from green which I had for 25+ years previously - and of course the look of the clubheads themselves, which are very different & likely just need some getting used to.
As I note above, probably not the smartest to just go straight on the couse with them unpracticed ! 
All of that can be true, and they can still have different feel. E.g., KBS C-Taper 130X is going to feel different than DG X100 vs Rifle 6.5. Even though all are steel, and all weigh ‘about’ the same.
Ping, especially early Ping, is known for having their proprietary shafts in things, and while the JZ shafts weren’t “bad” per se, they were certainly different in feel.
Checked shafts, at your prompt.
My Ping Zing 2 shafts were JZ, black with red sticker.
Here it explains that my old shafts, unbeknownst to me all this time, have for 27 years been….stiff !
My new shafts are Ping AWT 2.0 steel, regular shafts.
Interesting!