New Bats

As I have a significant birthday in a few months, and buoyed by a half decent round yesterday, I thought I might treat myself to a new set of irons (realised mine are about 11 years old, where the hell did that go!). Completely out of touch with what's good to buy, I'd be happy with a last years model type deal, cavity back but not too ugly. Anyone bought any similar lately, have any suggestions for a good place to start looking?

It makes a big difference if you want cast or forged as that's going to make a big difference on what is ugly or not. Cast clubs are usually always less good looking.

There's a very long list to look at, but I'd start looking around some of your friends clubs next time you play, see if there's anything you like.

Cheers SR, budget won't allow for forged. I just mean a cavity that's not too clunky looking. Seem to be able yet get some good deals on Cleveland gear so maybe I'll go to American golf and try them out.
Is it Ben Ross that used to make good quality clubs at decent prices? I seem to remember they used to get some good comments on here.

Ben Ross and MD I think Diggers, though I've never used them.

I wouldn't be surprised if you could find a set of last years model of something fairly cheap. Something like the RSi irons could be a good shout as Taylor Made bring out models all the time the old ones depreciate in no time.

MD, that's the other one that I couldn't recall, cheers Super.

Diggers

If the choice is between something of the Ben Ross standard or good quality secondhand clubs, I would opt for the secondhand option.

As super points out you will easily be able to get hold of all the top end clubs of the last few years from the likes of golfbidder.

Also, I wouldn't rule out forged clubs as I am sure you could get something in your price range.

In fact if you could tell us roughly what your budget is we could suggest a few specific options for you to check out.

Alright Diggers,

I have Cleveland CG7 Black Pearl Irons, Ive had them 2/3 years, and really like them. I am inconsistent with my golf and these are good, they are also not big and chunky, and in black look pretty nice. I cant see them around but I can see the:

http://www.onlinegolf.co.uk/clubs/sets-of-irons/cleveland-golf-cg16-black-pearl-irons-steel-4-pw-211155.html

Which I assume are pretty similar and they start at 4iron while some sets are 5iron.

Hi Ben, I saw those Black Pearls, they look like a definite possibility. I don't really fancy secondhand Mac, I'm sure it makes sense but I just like the idea of a new set.

I will also say when I got mine from American Golf, I got a couple of Cleveland Wedges, and they have actually made me decent our of bunkers (sometimes).

The thing with my ones, are that they look normal sized heads but were so much nicer to hit than chunky heads.

Someone I know had the black pearl irons, and found that the colour faded where you strike the ball on the club face after a couple of years (he probably plays more golf than you ben).

Apparently it's just cosmetic and doesn't affect the performance of the club but he didn't like the worn out look so he bought new clubs.

I guess if you consistently strike the ball in the same place it will fade even quicker.... so maybe not an issue haha.

I would suggest going to an American golf with a driving range and hitting as many different irons as you can to get a feel for what you like, then once you've narrowed it down hunt around. Golfbidder and ebay will have second hand sets that are actually brand new.... I'm sure we all know people who splash out ridiculous amounts of money on the latest gear and then never use it.

One more thing... unless you're really short or tall, getting custom fit for irons isn't going to make much difference the amount of golf you play.

Cheers Ray, the American Golf near me has a virtual bat so will have a hit in there, might even pop down this afternoon.

I have noticed the black wearing a bit, clearly not from the centre of the club, and to be honest it gets a shiny silver effect, which also looks pretty good.

Diggers

Roughly what is your budget?

Tops 300 quid.

Spend it on lessons. £300 is not enough to get anything new worth having.

Really, I thought that was quite excessive. I'm sure I'll find something I'm happy with Mac.

Spend it on lessons, its such a w*anky thing to say.

If youve got the money to spend get some clubs, clubs have changed so much over the years, your swing wont be better, but, ive found, that newer clubs are more forgiving and have made the game more fun.

Thing is, I don't go to the range anymore and only play maybe 10 rounds a year, so lessons would be a waste.
I had 3 a few years ago and the guy said I had a decent enough swing, but I always do on the range. It's always been more about not being able to hit it the same on the course.
Now I find I don't care about the outcome so much, I actually am more relaxed and hitting the ball a lot better. If my clubs were still in decent nick I'd stick with them, but I think treating myself to a new set of more modern clubs will be fun. I'm not expecting any massive changes really.

Diggers wrote:Hi Ben, I saw those Black Pearls, they look like a definite possibility. I don't really fancy secondhand Mac, I'm sure it makes sense but I just like the idea of a new set.

Cleveland don't make Irons (or drivers) any more, only wedges and putters.

I've used "black pearl" wedges for years and yes, they fade VERY quickly, but it doesn't bother me much. The face of my 3 wood is the same and it now has a wear mark RIGHT in the middle, which is actually confidence building if rather cosmetically unfavourable.

You can still buy Cleveland irons though Super, obviously cheap as now discontinued.

Ben, I don't think you would think £300 worth of lessons was wnky when you are shooting way lower scores.  I reckon for £300 you could get 6 or 7 lessons and really transform your game if you were a higher handicap player.


I also get wanting different clubs but I would strongly advise spending £300 on used vs brand new.  It is the difference between having the best irons of the last 5 years vs the budget models.  

And forget about an American golf fitting being worth the bother.  They are practically f*cking useless.  Unless you go to a really good fitting centre or to the manufacturer themselves, a club fitting is massively overrated.

eg http://www.golfbidder.co.uk/models/4939/Titleist_Iron_Set_714_AP2.html?SearchClubType=3&ConditionMin=5&ConditionMax=10&YearFrom=0&YearTo=9999&PriceFrom=200&PriceTo=300&SortOrder=0&glf=v19Sh5

I won't ever buy from Golfbidder.

Mac, I'm not fan of outlets like American Golf, but they do have actual Pro's in their stores.

Don't ask me to give an opinion on which type of clubs to buy. But what I will say Diggers, is if you are going to treat yourself, and you fancy new, then buy new. You want something significant to remember your significant birthday and new bats might well do that better than lessons or second hand clubs. The pleasure and enjoyment will last a lot longer than a set of lessons in my mind.

I agree INW, will definitely be a nice and shiny new set. I wasn't going to get custom fitted at American Golf, just use the net to have a hit to see what a few clubs feel like.

Diggers

At the moment what clubs have you found that fit your criteria?

Haven't looked yet Mac, my youngest was 5 yesterday so had a mad few days. My significant birthday is not for 6 weeks so plenty of time. I can see myself going for the Cleveland clubs Ben has if they feel OK.

Get yourself an M2 driver also Diggers, you'll get the 2016 model at a knocked down rate. Absolute rocket launcher!

Loving my driver at the moment BTB, only missed one fairway last week (admittedly they were pretty generous) and actually found a bit of length.

Diggers, what diver is in the bag at the moment?

Can't argue with that Diggers.

A Cobra something or other. It's yellow.

Diggers wrote:A Cobra something or other. It's yellow.

Generated a Monday morning smile. Cheers!

Diggs you need to play more can you not come up with some strategy(lies)to get more time on course game will improve and you will not need new clubs .
Take a punt on golfbidder some nice graphite shafted cobra irons for next to nothing and a decent driver maybe last years model (obviously 50 yards shorter than the latest model) for £100 or so
Your not taking any risk at that .
By the way they get worse and expensive after 5 until about 25.
All the best mate.

Yeah I can see there is good logic for that price. Are carbon shafts the way to go, I must admit I've never hit it that far, do they help in that respect by giving a bit more flex?

Carbon shafts are associated more with the "senior" golfer Diggers.
I'd simply go for whatever suits you. Could be steel, could be graphite (though probably unlikely)

super_realist wrote:Carbon shafts are associated more with the "senior" golfer Diggers.
I'd simply go for whatever suits you. Could be steel, could be graphite (though probably unlikely)

Interesting isn't it, that on places like GolfWRX etc, where people are (internet) bombing it 350+ off the tee, it's all about what graphite you have in your driver, 3w etc. No-one thinks twice about graphite in woods and hybrids. Didn't someone play graphite in their irons at the recent Mexico WGC?
It's coming to a pro shop near you in the not too distant future - 20g shafts, huge clubhead speed and hitting pitching wedges 200 yards. You know it makes sense...

Good point actually Navy.
I knew a +hcp golfer at St.Andrews who used graphite shafts in his irons and it worked for him, just seems very rare in the public domain.

My main requirement for a club is tight grouping and consistent distance, if a graphite shaft helped me improve that, I'd get them in a heartbeat and wouldn't care if people thought me an old duffer.

It appears to me that some clever person with the know-how could make a nice niche for themselves in this department. Maybe the next Taylor Made irons will go yet another 10 yards further.

Do amateurs really claim to hit it 350?

Yes I do.

Takes me a drive and a wedge, mind.

super_realist wrote:
Do amateurs really claim to hit it 350? :laugh:

You know they do because we get some of those claims on here. The average driving distance on this board is 280+.

Are they playing at the top of Everest?

McLaren wrote:

super_realist wrote:
Do amateurs really claim to hit it 350?

You know they do because we get some of those claims on here.  The average driving distance on this board is 280+.

Umm, no. It isn't.

Just popped into American Golf and they have the new Cobra "one length" irons in the shop window. Every iron has a 7 iron shaft, so you are always standing a consistent distance from the ball with every club and swing on the same plane.

A very interesting concept - getting quite a bit of publicity at the moment due to Bryson Dechambeau (or Deee Sham Boo for our American readers).

Guy in the shop said they were proving massively popular, much more than Cobra anticipated, and there's a 2 month waiting list for them now.

Anybody tried them?

From what I've seen about them Ray the longer irons (if you know what I mean) come out very low meaning it's hard to stop the ball.
I thought it an interesting concept, but if the idea was to make it easier to hit the 3,4,5,6 irons etc, then if the result is a low shot which is more difficult to control distance on, then I'm not sure what the point is.

Super/ray

I agree that it would be hard to get the long irons high or far enough, you are going to have quite a big drop off in clubhead speed compared to a regular long iron length of shaft.

Yes that's right super to some extent.

The club heads for "longer" irons" are weighted differently to standard irons to compensate for shorter shaft length and get speed up. A good player like you would be able to swing the club fast enough to get the height from a 5 iron, but a beginner / senior player would get a much flatter trajectory, so a 5 iron would probably fly the same distance as the 7 but then roll out further. OK on links, not so good if you're trying to play a high shot in to an elevated green.

The reverse is true on the shorter irons, where you get a high trajectory with loads of spin when hitting a wedge with a 7 iron shaft. Personally I think I would struggle pitching and chipping with a club with a significantly longer shaft.

Ray, It's people like Rick Shiels and Mark Crossfield who have said that, so I doubt I'd get the height I would want. I already have a low ball flight due to being a links player. I wouldn't want it much lower.

Saying that though, I would like to test them even though they'd not be well suited to links golf.
It's an interesting idea, and I'm sure lots of people like them.

The guy who told me that was the pro in AG (note to Mac - AG has golf pros in its shops) who had been doing club fittings on the launch monitor in store.