Game improvement clubs or not?

Equipment
#1

I was working with the pro I go to for lessons. I play new level 620s, players irons, but considered forgiving. Working with the 6 iron, I hit 4-6 center face, carry is about 160. Don’t sneer–the loft is like a modern 7 iron. The misses are 20 yards short or maybe a little more.

He hands me a Callaway Mavrik Max. Ugly as sin. 7 iron. Boom, 170 dead straight. 5 more–I hit two off center–still within 5 yards, direction is good. Easy. Good feel despite being ugly.

He asks if I intend to compete–or just play social golf. I say compete. He says–then why aren’t you playing the game improvement clubs?

I think about it. I know golf is an individual sport. But–if I think of my clubs as my teammates–then: Would you rather play with the guy who is fast as hell, hits like a truck, covers your mistakes with a smile, but is ugly as sin–or the guy who is slowish, hits lightly, and snarls at you when you make a mistake, and refuses to give you any help–but he really looks good. Seeking advice here. Thanks!

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#2

I think this is always an interesting question… I do think there is value in LIKING the clubs in your bag… I"m playing Adams CMBs because I had wanted them since release… (I got them last year… 8 years later). I didn’t get fit for them and they are built with pulls from the pro shop. I hit them pretty well!

I think modern irons, you have to ask yourself 2 questions: The first covers all clubs… Does it improve my dispersion? If you are hitting them in a tighter circle (for similar distances) then they should help lower your scores.

The next question is: Do you need more distance? and how much dispersion does the distance add. I don’t play distance irons because the distance they add isn’t consistent enough for me, and makes it harder for me to hit targets… but I swing hard enough that I don’t need the distance anyways.

Overall, I think it makes sense to look at your irons. The overall goal should always be to make your misses smaller, and tighten your dispersion… I’m still working on figuring out how to properly test that!

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#3

I always chuckle at this. Golfers ego’s are so big they allow it to interfere with the results they are trying to accomplish. It is the only sport played where ego outweighs outcome.

The answer is simple, hit the irons that you are going to play your best with.

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#4

The (very brief) session I had showed both greater distance and tighter dispersion–heel toe shots on the Callways only cost me like 5-10 yards, versus 20 with the blades.

On your own stuff–don’t know where you live, but we have a driving range that has top tracer bays you can rent for 7 bucks an hour. Those show…everything including carry, roll, height, club head speed, ball speed, launch angle, location on the range, dispersion…

If you something like that nearby–take your clubs there a couple of times and work through them and see what you get!

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#5

I agree. Didn’t start playing until I was 40, and everyone kept telling me to be a better player, you need to play blades etc. Now–I think there is merit there for learning and practice, because you learn faster to hit the center of the clubface (or you quit).

But I never really thought it about in terms of “teammates”–once I did, the answer was blindingly obvious.

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#6

My irons are 30+ years old,. I have 2 sets. They are no longer manufactured, hence the 2 sets, The lie angles were adjusted to me back then. I am on third set of shafts. TT Dynamic Gold 200’s now. About 15 years ago I was playing with my uncle and I fanned a 3i. He said try this son, gave me his 7w I hit it great but my ego got in the way for a few rounds, but it’s permanently in there now. Again, reverting to my roots, golf is a game of how many, not how. Hell, Rich Beem won a PGA with a ladies 4w in his bag and he hit it alot at Hazeltine 20 years ago. Do we know that or care about that now? So in the end if you hit Driver LW or 5w 46* and one putt. It scores a 3. Ego must be checked at the driving range once you hit that first tee. And yes, lie, shaft flex, swing weight matter to you if you want to improve to be the best you can be. As far as blades, same thing, I started with blades and when I was playing 6 rounds + a week yea, I hit them great, when I got reduced to once every 2 weeks, I went to cavity which are way more forgiving on off center hits. Took me 4-5 severe mishits with the blades to say, I need to fix this

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#7

Play what produces the lowest score. That’s it. The second you start worrying about what anyone thinks about what’s in your bag or how you look you’re doing yourself a disservice. Let the score do the talking.

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#8

I have game improvement irons and play off a low single digit handicap. I like the added distance, and I don’t hit the middle of the face enough to not benefit from the increased forgiveness. You get used to the ugliness when you start hitting it better.

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#9

My thoughts as well–in no other sport would you let looks determine play. Well, maybe synchronized swimming.

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#10

Use what works best.
I have Pingi210 5i to GWedge, Vokey 54&58 wedges and game improvement long iron 7wood, 4 wood and driver. I play off 5.

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#11

Looks of a club matters when so much of golf is between the ears. If it doesn’t look right to you, you won’t swing with as much confidence.
That said, I gave up my Titleist Tour Models for a mixed set of Mizunos with more forgiveness- but only after trying many sets and deciding that the Mizunos still looked great at address while also being more forgiving.
Given all the choices we have, there’s no reason you can’t get performance and beauty.
And it’s not about what anyone else thinks or sees. It’s what I see and what I feel.
Plus, I still practice with the my Tour Model 2 iron just to make sure my swing works.

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#12

Ha, I agree on looks, but I’ll tell you I like the look of my putter 10x more now that it’s sunk some putts.

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#13

I couldn’t agree with both of you more completely! Haha.

When the Mavrik gave me 15 more yards, tighter dispersion, and I had to work to make a bad shot–it got a lot better looking. On the other hand–I play blades now–so lots of the more modern clubs (and some that are good looking) may do the same for me. I’m looking at Wilson D7s forged, D7 staff, Mavrik, Mavrik pro, Mavrik Max, Titleist t 200s and T-300s. Got an opportunity to hit them tomorrow. If there is anything else I should be looking at–LMK. Tai Chi Tom–you work with a tour model 2 iron to make sure your swing works? That’s a hell of a bar. I have some old Hogan blades I hit on occasion, to test the waters so to speak! Any advice appreciated–this place has lots of different clubs.

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#14

Check out the new cobras if you can… believe they are the king tech. I’ve heard nothing but good things.

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#15

^ This ^ totally agree.

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#16

Not that anyone would care but me–but I thought I would give an update on my search. I went to a golf store, and they let me hit the Callaway Mavriks and Mavrik maxes, and the Titleist T-200 and T-300.

Ohh–before I go on–this is probably only pertinent to my swing, your results may vary!

So–everything was an improvement over my blades. My BEST struck 7 irons were 149-151 (carry)- and there weren’t many. The Callaways–the maxes were a little longer–153, BUT really consistent. It took a bad swing to get a really bad result–not a minor mishit. The regular Mavriks were longer–155, again very consistent. However–I did look at total distance because these things were rolling out 20 yards–176 total consistently. That presents issues.

The T-200s just felt balky-and harsh, , but the results were comparable to the Maverik maxes. Not bad. The T-300 was the last club I tried–and I was tired, and was kind of hitting them out of obligation–I was there, why not? But no big hopes, or hope at all.

First swing–161 carry, 15 feet from the pin (the pin was 167). Second swing, 159.6, 20 feet from the pin. Third swing, 160.5 12 feet from the pin. A dramatic difference from every other club. Height was 85-92 feet, great descent angle, got @ 10 yards of roll-out–so 170 total distance, not different really than the Mavriks, maybe even a little shorter–but much better carry and hold!

I am surprised technology makes that much difference!

And to be honest–they look a lot better than the Mavriks!

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#17

I appreciate the follow up… are you done searching or still going to try some other stuff?

Did you change shafts at all?

#18

I’m all in of forgiveness. I bought CBX2 wedges and switched from P790’s to Cobra Speedzones last fall. I cannot believe how much better I hit the new irons. So much so that I am not trying to convince the wife that I need to check out more forgiving woods to see if I can get the same benefit in that part of my bag.

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#19

I’m going to give the Callaways one more try Tuesday. I did not really do a “fitting” just–tried out a bunch of stock clubs. The Titleist T300 “stock” is the AMT red. I play Elevate 95s–so not all that far off.

I don’t think the Callaways will win, and I’ll go back to the other place and do a “fitting”, where we will try different shafts etc. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if I cam out standard across the board, maybe a slightly a different lie angle depending on what Titleists are (I know I can look them up, just lazy). Then price will be a factor. When you know your specs and you are wiling to be patient–you can get some really good deals.

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#20

Yeah–I’m looking at my driver now too. I hit the Epic Speed for fun, got the same forgiveness as my Ping 410–but almost 20 more yards of carry. I am wondering if I can get the same distance out of a Mavrik–but for 100$ or more less.

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