The problem is a lot of golfers obsess over distance with their clubs and the manufacturers feed their ego by making stronger lofted irons with distance as a major selling point. In contrast the better players and more sensible of us realise we have 14 clubs to use and are more interested in playability, correct gapping and scoring well). I remember when I first started playing seriously (I am 56 now) the "standard" (if there is such a thing) loft for a 6 iron was 30 degrees - and going back a little further to 1970 it was closer to 35 degrees. So when I first started buying speciality wedges in about 2000 I could go for a 52, 56, 60 combination without any gaps at the bottom end of the bag (I thing my pitching wedge back then was somewhere between 46 and 48 degrees). Now the pitching wedge in my set (I play Srixon Z585 irons) is 44 degrees and I have had to change my wedge configuration a few times over the last 20 years such that I now have wedge lofts of 48,54,58 in order to avoid gaps. The opposite is true at the longer end of the bag where lofts are too strong for those of us with lower swing speeds - virtually nobody uses a 2 or 3 iron and very few even a 4 iron these days - so we carry fewer irons and move into fairway woods (and hybrids) much earlier. Funny how we buy fewer irons in our sets these days (perhaps 4-pw or even 5-pw) yet pay more money for them!

@xjrj

3 ай бұрын

Well said. I hit shorter distance than my buddies but usually score equal or better. Distance does not matter. Know your gapping and pick your club accordingly. Most of all.. have fun.

@dsnobs78

3 ай бұрын

While I agree with some points, I have a really high ball flight and have no problem hitting distance irons with stopping power...maybe I'm an anomaly 🤷‍♂️ One thing I have considered is going back to cavity backs cause I'm sure they have more forgiveness then when I started playing golf and distance control

Just Bought Ping G430,, power lofts,,senior 45g shafts,,, old 7 iron went 131-135yds,,G430 7 iron go 138-142yds,,,Love Them in Florida,,,,,,

For me the golden time for lofts was the 1950s and 1960s. At that time a sand wedge was around 56°, a pitching wedge 52°, a 9 iron 48° and so on up to a 2 iron at 20°. So you could buy a set of irons, 2 to SW with 4° gaps right the way through, all matched and no need to spend more money on additional wedges.

It’s also how hot the centre of the face can be with springy faces, I’d rather have a less hot centre with more forgiveness over the rest of the face to minimise drop off and be more consistent for my off-centre shots and not have centre hits flying 20 yards further.

The srixon zx5 is an absolute beast. Ive tried everything out there and they are by far the best Ive had. Even took my Mizunos out of the bag for them.

One of the reasons I compared the lofts of my previous irons before I purchased my Sub70 699pros. Lofts were the same which gave me some confidence buying DTC irons.

Wilson d9 forged are still fantastic . .such an amazing iron .

I'd like to see Dave test Cleveland and Wilson irons. Good Luck, Dave!

Aren’t there more things at play here? If the COM is such that the launch is high then you may need a stronger loft to get a suitable flight for that club - otherwise a 7 iron would fly like a 9 iron. You have to consider all the characteristics of the club rather than just thinking about loft.

I play a set of original ping eye 2 coppers. I played PXGs, Tour Edge, Nike (when I started) and others. The pings are the easiest to aim, produce great high ball flight, and hold greens. I dropped in a 170 yard 5 iron yesterday on a par 3 that rolled 1 foot from the divot. The only real downside is the wind can play hell with me because they hit so high with such backspin but I’m not scared to club down because they won’t accidentally produce a “hot” shot with “too good” of a strike and the backspin ensures they stick where they land.

It was Hogan that put the lofts on the irons.

@daveharrison1160

3 ай бұрын

Those are the ones 👍

@VonTwinzig

3 ай бұрын

Got them on my old Tommy Armour’s too.

I have found that with my 75mph club head speed that whilst I see gains in the shorter irons with stronger lofts things begin to fall off after the 7 iron. In fact my 30 degree 6 iron goes better than most of the stronger lofted 6 irons I have tried. Even with my traditionally lofted irons I need to go to a hybrid to maintain the yardage gap between 6 and 5 iron.

I think Dave should try the cobra forged tec irons. That you have tested with great results.

I believe that distance should be left to woods. Irons are about shot making and carrying each one a certain and consistent distance. That's just my opinion though, hope everyone is playing well. Cheers

very intresting!

I had the P790s but not good for me, so changed to Tour Edges E722 graphites regular and what a difference, I’m ganna go for a ping G730 fitting soon

I'm intrigued to see if you are able to get a set of the Ram FX77 irons at £3-400 on their website. Yet another brand not many people would know of unless they remember them in the past, but offer value in a set like these

@Owinksi_

3 ай бұрын

i game these and they are great, amazing set for the money

What shaft is Dave playing in the Takoma's? It would be a nice comparison if all clubs tested used the same or very similar shaft for the comparison. Love these videos. Keep up the great work. ⛳️

As a higher handicapper i dont get very much spin if any at all so i rely on decent angle to stop my ball on the green, I was fitted for new clubs last year and my 7 iron is 28 degrees loft however it goes the distance of my old 6 iron but with the peak height and decent angle of my old 8 iron so in my case thats a win win

Test the Wilson ai fitting system

Would love to see Dave test the new Wilson Dynapower Forged. They look mint

@VonTwinzig

3 ай бұрын

Me too. I’ve tried the demo club out. It felt great and had a good balance of distance and descent angle.

Great video, thanks to both of you fine gentlemen. I would please like to see Dave hit some PXG 0211 irons and perhaps another higher price point PXG iron, thanks again!!!...

Would love to see Dave test the Cobra Forged Tec X.

@darylhoskins5696

2 ай бұрын

Have them and love them !!!

@davidhawley4393

2 ай бұрын

@@darylhoskins5696 I bought Gap wedge through 6 iron last year. Love them as well.

@darylhoskins5696

2 ай бұрын

@@davidhawley4393 Yes Sir Great Feel ,Gap thru 5 Iron !

How about Mizuno Pro P225 or P245?

I have been a ping guy for years but may go try pxg this year

I would like to see Dave test the wilsons

I don't like strong lofted clubs unless you are a senior golfer n wants abit more distance

No Ram FX77? I’d would have loved to see how they got on against those ones you tested in this video.

Looks like the Callaway A.I.Smoke were the best clubs for him. It looked like he hit those the best. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Callaway has the best Irons with the A.I. Smoke for 2024 hands down. I hit them a few days ago and I was totally blown away by them. I also tried Titleist T350's and I was not impressed by them. Cobra's look horrible this year, and I've never been a Taylor Made guy so I didn't even bother with those. I've always been a Callaway guy and I have to say the A.I. Smoke Irons are the best irons Callaway has ever made by far.

How about testing the new Ping i530 with the Retro spec loft and Graphite shafts..eg UST Dart 65 and 75

I really liked the Ping 525 and was very consistent with them. So as Dave has shown each club will react differently to each user.

I really wanted to get fit for my new irons but i ran across a really good deal on the clubs i was wanting slightly used with upgraded shafts ....in what i thought was in my spec ....i 230 black dot stiff 120 gram project x lz 6.0 ...i was playing mp5s standard stiff ....then started gaming a set of very nice s55s but they were blue dot ....and i really hit them well but have always been fitted for blck or red dot in past .....but 3 rounds in now and even though i am striking the i 230 bang out the middle ....it start out straight at target....but just about the time they hit peak hight they peel right ....could this be a lie angle problem ....like i said i hit the blue dots straight but most strikes are toe side ....now that i am out the middle with the i230s .....having issue i mentioned any suggestions

Should of had the srixon zx5 mk11 irons

What about the pxg bats and the Wilson D9’s

Hi Chris I have just put in Stealth reg flex 7 and 6 hybrids feels so wrong but results do good. Worth a try with MH Dave ?

Dave should try the new g730 irons retro lofts

@Stirly67

3 ай бұрын

Dave should try bowls!! 😂

When playing with others some turn it into an "I can hit my 7 iron further than yours" competition. Just know your distances. PS I've got 101Ts and luv'em.

Putting the loft on the club makes ZERO sense. It would only be more confusing. Remembering 1 number is easier than 21, 25, 30, and so on. Club brand to club brand the loft may not be the most important factor of spin and launch angle. CG and ball strike can be more important in the long run. I hit may 7 iron about 200 (around 100 mph club head) and it generally only rolls out 6-10 feet. Mizuno JXP 923 pros. Does the loft really matter. I hit a 7 my buddy hits a 6. Same flight different loft. The purist that want all old lofts would have my gapping screwed. Loft jacking only matters in a negative way if the design is not correct to still get proper launch angle and decent angle. The JPX line does not have that issue. I do run 5 wedges and forgo the 3 wood for gapping.

I am not a tour player, I don't carry many long clubs. Driver, 4h, 6i, 8i. They do the job of getting within 130 yards from the green. Within 130 yards I have a full range of wedges, pw-58, chipper and my putter. It suits me better and helps keep the bag light. Downside is that I payed for several irons I don't use. I own a full set of irons (well, several sets of irons), but I rarely use a full bag on course. I havn't got the skill to lob a 4i onto the green, so I don't even try. And it is rare that I even need to, I plan ahead and choose clubs that don't leave me 200 yards from the green. Having a game plan is better than trying to max distance every shot.

Takomo 101 against 101ts

Why do reviewers do this boring stuff in a studio-most of them have dreadful boring voices as well. Mostly nonsense .

@richardkent2200

3 ай бұрын

Thank you I am tired of these people no one has heard of hitting golf balls at a screen it is all false and meaningless