MX-25 and MP-32? or ??

[REFLOG]

Begining to look for a new set of irons. I have been playing Ping I3+ irons and they have been nice irons (forgiving and straight on off center hits). The Pings do not provide much of a "solid" feel at impact and provide very little feedback. Every shot feels almost the same (except for really bad shots - then you can feel the error). I hit them fairly straight from PW through 4 iron. I have have some difficulty with the shorter irons being hit fat on some fairway grasses. The thick sole may have something to do with it.

I am looking for an iron that will give me more feedback on shots, provide more of a "solid" feel when ball is struck, and provide some forgiveness. I am about a 15 handicap with only playing once every 2 months. I will begin to play 2-3 times per month and scores will drop. I will also be visiting my local pro for 6 week worth of lessons. At one time I held a 10.3 index.

What are some irons that I should consider? I think straight out blades are nice looking, but may be too difficulty for me to hit consistently.

Ping G5's, I5's
Mizzy MX-23, MX-25, MP-32
Taylor Made
????

Thanks!!

[Davebud]

any of those Mizunos

[emc]

Nothing feels like a Mizuno

[Pa Jayhawk]

I am kind of in the same boat and have the i3+ as well, the offset is one of the main things that would drive me off from the i3+. You may want to give the MP60's a shot as well when you demo. I haven't tried the other Mizuno's, but compared to the i3+ you get a very distinct feel for how you have hit the ball with the MP60's. I have also tried out the i5's which have less offset, are more like the 13+ blades and where not a bad club. The S59 were not bad as well, but for stepping up from the i3+ and taking into consideration my handicap and what I look for in a club, which at this point was less offset, a thin top line and a thinner sole, the MP60's best met my requirements, and compared to the i3+ they just feel very nice. They still have a little bit of a cavity as a cut muscle, so they are likely more forgiving than say the 32's or 67's, however they certainly do not lack feel. I am currently at 14.8, so although I want a club that would provide me a little more to work with, I don't want to go overboard and still wanted a little forgiveness. In the same sense, I didn't see enough of a difference in the MX Series to justify getting new club. But again, offset is likely my top criteria mainly because I predominantly have a draw as my natural shot, and this does not help me, followed by top line and sole. Whereas if you predominantly hit a cut, then offset may not be an issue for you. For me it is also distracting with my alignment.

I think you would do yourself a disservice to not at least try the MP60's as you obviously are considering the Mizuno's.

Good Luck!!! And post what you demo and end up with, I would be interested to see what you think of the others in comparison to the i3+, possibly give me ideas as I may demo more later in the year.

edit 1 - BTW, from your current position, I would rule out the G5's, they are likely a step in the other direction. More offset, thicker top line, thicker sole. Very muted feel IMO. Great for forgiveness, but probably not best for trying to take the next step if muted feel is a problem with your current i3+. Them and the G2's were just downright distracting to me, and the G2 was my initial plan 3-4 years ago. I could actually see the sole over the back of the top line on anything lower than a 7i-6i at setup, at the time I thought the i3+ had a more traditional look, unfortunately the offset issues did not become apparent to me until a little later.

[DaveE]

I have the 23s and for me there is plenty of feedback and a good amount of forgiveness. You'd have to try them of couse but like others have said it's hard to go wrong with Mizuno.

[REFLOG]

How about the new Calli X-20's?

[warbirdlover]

You'll be sorry! I can't understand those who say they get no feel from a good shot with Pings. I had two exceptional iron shots last summer (one for ace) that felt better then any I've hit in my life. They were crisp and I immediately knew I had made a really good shot. Then there's the normal feel which bad shots also fall into.

[Pa Jayhawk]

Originally Posted by warbirdlover

You'll be sorry! I can't understand those who say they get no feel from a good shot with Pings. I had two exceptional iron shots last summer (one for ace) that felt better then any I've hit in my life. They were crisp and I immediately knew I had made a really good shot. Then there's the normal feel which bad shots also fall into.

At least with my experience, with other clubs you will have more than the 2 ranges of Absolutely perfect, and normal. I think you are right in that you can feel an absolutely perfect shot differently with the Ping G5's, G2's or i3+'s. From my experience with demoing other clubs, you get a slightly different feel from every part of the clubface. With the i3+'s I carry, it is sometimes hard to distinguish between towards the end of the Toe or just slightly to the outside, without looking at the clubface. It took a great deal of time, and practice for me to even be able to distinguish between towards the heel or towards the toe. I am still not convinced I really know the difference, more of "That was a bad feeling shot and since my divot just about missed the tee to the inside, it must have been off the toe"

Probably one of the reasons I like the MP60's, they are one of the first clubs I tried that I could really gauge a feel for where I was hitting the clubface, and I have heard from a many number of people they are forgiving. They may not have been any better than the others I tried, but it was remarkable to me the first time I hit them and could really feel a difference.

Based on my experience, most Cavity Backs lack this feel. The bigger the cavity back, the more forgiving, but the less feel to gauge where you hit the ball on the face.

Not saying the G5's are a bad club, you will see great results especially on a less than perfect shot. The problem lies in trying to adapt to less than perfect shots when you are a little uncertain on where you strike the ball. The i3+ gives a little less forgiveness for a little more latitude on how far off I am on my shot. The problem still lies with not having a great gauge between slightly to the inside or slightly to the outside. Off the tee I can use the tee as a gauge, off the fairway I can only guess. It is nice when the club can tell you though. This gives you a better chance to improve your swing. The key is finding a club that can do so and still be slightly forgiving so I can still have fun while I improve, and reach a point where I am a better ball striker.

At least for me, I think even the MP67's, MP23's and even the Ping S59's (and likely 58's) are too much club for me and my game would suffer. I may even gain a better understanding of my ball striking, but I don't want to drain my confidence in making my scores suffer too much for how I currently strike the ball. Where as I feel I am close enough to take less perfect results for the time being that would otherwise be a good shot with the i3+ or G5. The key for me is I really want to get to a point with my swing where more and more of my shots are that "Exceptional" feel, which is a little more difficult to do when I am not completely certain where the ball came in contact with the clubface.

Although the thought of getting a MP67 7-PW and MP60 5-6 (or even 7) is starting to sound more attractive at this point. Then again, I am still not sold I want to replace my i3+'s until my improvement Plateaus somewhat.

Just more or less thinking aloud I guess