New set of irons

Keen golfer off handicap of 6. Planning on changing my set of irons this year. I currently play Titleist 735 CM, they are a combo set with 3 iron starting off as cavity and progressively work their way into muscle back for 6 & 7, blades for 8, 9 & P, dynamic gold S300 shafts. I love these irons, very solid feel, extremely workable, and quite a compact head without being too difficult to hit the long irons as say a set of full blades. I'm changing as I have had them for 6 years- I feel I may require a new custom fit in terms of a lie and also I believe the project X flighted rifle shafts may suit me better.
Anyone recommendations from anyone who has changed irons recently? Feedback welcome on sets which, I suppose, cater for the better ball striker, without being as tough/unforgiving as a full blade?
Anyone ever play the Titleist 735CM and what did you think of them? I genuinely think that they were a wonderful iron and it's a pity Titleist aren't currently offering a combo set

jeff

Titleist do offer a combo set, you can order any combination you like from the 710 range, there are CB's and MB's available. Have a look on the Titleist website, everything you need to know on there

Jeff, you could go to a Titleist fitting centre and they'll fit you for whatever you need.
If hat happens to be a mix of clubs within their range such as AP2's in the long irons, CB's in the mid and MB's in the short irons then they'll do it.

Check out the Mizuno range of irons, I play with the MP37 blades, but I like the MP68s and you might pick up a good deal at American Golf

Check out the Adams MB2's they look fantastic, Alternatively the Cobra Pro MB S3 are awesome or the Nike VR Pro Combos another great club

All,
Thanks for the suggestions.
drive4show and superrealist- I just assumed I would be getting them from my club pro sho wouldn't offer such a service but I think looking at it now i shouldn't feel tied to him through some sort of obligation to support. If I decide to stick with titleist then this is exactly what i will do. The freedom of being able to make my own combo set would appeal to me greatly.
Oldparwin- mizuno players swear by them, never tried them out but perhaps now is the time to try and see what kind of feel i get for them.
Maverick- the nike combo set is definitely an option too, they also seem to be excellent value compared to some others on offer.

Thanks for taking the time out to advise, it is greatly appreciated. Speak to you all soon no doubt on other forums

Jeff, titleist fittings are arranged through a pro, you can then just hand in your specification sheet to anyone who deals with them and they'll order them for you. A good pro will also pay the fitting for you, after all you'll be giving them the thick end of 600 so its good practice for them.

super_realist- thanks again. maybe we need a new club pro!!! Armed with my new found knowledge I shall approach him with such and resist his advances to try sell me a set of callaways!!!

I suppose it just depends if you live near a fitting centre.

jeff

2 of my regular playing partners had Titleist fitting sessions in the last 12 months. They went up to the national fitting centre at St Ives in Cambs, got measured up and paid for the fitting. When they ordered their clubs, the cost of the fitting was then deducted off the cost of the clubs. Once you've had the fitting, you can order through any outlet ( pro, superstore etc)

They both said it was a brilliant experience and very, very comprehensive.

Good luck

It's no secret I'm a huge Mizuno iron fan, so you won't be surprised to read my recommendation, but their new MP-59 irons have been designed specifically for the type of player you have described.

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/499561-mizuno-mp-59-and-69/

goldwolf wrote:It's no secret I'm a huge Mizuno iron fan, so you won't be surprised to read my recommendation, but their new MP-59 irons have been designed specifically for the type of player you have described.

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/499561-mizuno-mp-59-and-69/

goldy

Mizuno haven't made a decent set of irons since my beloved MP60's

drive4show wrote:
goldy

Mizuno haven't made a decent set of irons since my beloved MP60's

Ha ha yeah they are a very good set of irons, I believe Kaymer shot a 59 with those in his bag before he was contracted to anyone.

I still have the 62's in the bag, not that I have been in a position to buy new irons lately, but I don't think I would have anyway, I love em! I'm not that keen on the diamond muscle sets they have brough out recently but do like these new versions a lot.

I tried the 63's when they came out last year, felt really good. It was in a net on a trackman so hard to get a real feel for what the ball was actually doing. Results weren't that different to my 60's so no benefit in changing other than to have the latest model in my bag.

Think my 60's could be in the bag for a while yet

I've got the Nike Pro Combos and I love them. Won the '606v2 Southern Open' with them!

SmithersJones wrote:I've got the Nike Pro Combos and I love them. Won the '606v2 Southern Open' with them!

That was indeed an impressive win! Big galleries round the 18th green watching the last group come in. I think that may have been the last win for Nike seeing as their star man isn't doing too well right now

drive4show wrote:

SmithersJones wrote:I've got the Nike Pro Combos and I love them. Won the '606v2 Southern Open' with them!

That was indeed an impressive win! Big galleries round the 18th green watching the last group come in. I think that may have been the last win for Nike seeing as their star man isn't doing too well right now

I will get tired of mentioning at every available opportunity. But not just yet!

As a side note to Nikes top man not doing well, last Nike Tour player to win was as recent as this month/less than a month ago, Simon Dyson.

Whats more impressive is Nike's Meterioc rise into the golfing stratosphere with their clubs and equipment. Many will attribute this to having Eldrick as their flagship player and partially this will be correct, but more of a factor is the amounts of cash they have injected into research of how to make a top quality golf club.

If you'd said to me 10years ago i'd be using a Nike Driver and thinking it far better quality than the other big brands about i'd have laughed you out the door but now having tried everything I love my Nike Driver and looking at changing my irons to

Remember Mickelson comment years ago about Woods using inferior equipment when he signed for Nike?

The Titleist 710 blades are Orgaismic !!

drive4show wrote:Remember Mickelson comment years ago about Woods using inferior equipment when he signed for Nike?

The irony at the time of that comment was if you looked in Woods bag he didn't actually have any nike equipment, he was using titleist blades, a Cobra Driver, titleist 3 wood and a Cameron. Just all in a Nike bag and head covers. Then when they'd done their research they brought out the blades and they were far from inferior.

good point maverick, they have done an excellent job to convince serious golfers that they are more than just a cool brand, that they are to be taken as a serious golf club manufacturer. Their strategy of pinning TW as their image (if the greatest golfer of his generation is using the clubs people will take notice) and paying top dollar to poach the best guys with mountains of experience from the already established golf club manufacturers has paid off. To invoke such a strategy they needed a bag load of cash and they made a major commitment in that respect. Reaping the rewards of that risk now.

jeffkenna wrote:
Reaping the rewards of that risk now.

Anyone know what the manufacturer's margins are on golf equipment?

Bob_the_Job wrote:

jeffkenna wrote:
Reaping the rewards of that risk now.

Anyone know what the manufacturer's margins are on golf equipment?

No idea but if you compare the cost of say a driver, top brands are £250-300 compared to someone like MD golf at £99. The MD has a top quality Proforce shaft in it and in tests, scores as well as any of the big boys. Difference is, they don't sponsor anyone on tour which costs £M's a year.

I suspect that the margins are pretty high

Jeff, I'm not sure you could ever describe Nike as a cool brand under any circumstances. To me they always seem to appear when a sport becomes popular in a johnny come lately kind of way and flood the market with 'catch all' generic, safe but not terrible exciting or innovative equipment.
I remember when they tried to get into snowboarding with their ACG range and they were pretty much laughed out of town.
They make some nice stuff now, eg the blades, but I'm not sure id ever buy something which was produced by such a painfully transparent company, not to mention their sponsorship of the intolerable Woods

Super_realist- i meant to put cool in inverted commas i.e. "cool"- as defined by the masses!!

super_realist wrote:Jeff, I'm not sure you could ever describe Nike as a cool brand under any circumstances. To me they always seem to appear when a sport becomes popular in a johnny come lately kind of way and flood the market with 'catch all' generic, safe but not terrible exciting or innovative equipment.
I remember when they tried to get into snowboarding with their ACG range and they were pretty much laughed out of town.
They make some nice stuff now, eg the blades, but I'm not sure id ever buy something which was produced by such a painfully transparent company, not to mention their sponsorship of the intolerable Woods

The thing with brands is that everyone will have a different opinion of them because we all usually have our own favourite brands. If you ever go to Niketown at Oxford Circus (whish is a pretty cool store) you will find it packed with people who undoubtably think that Nike is a very cool brand. Whether you feel that them thinking Nike is a cool brand makes it a cool brand is of course another matter.
By the way well done for writing a post about Nike and not having a pop at its main man Tigger, that most have taken some self restraint.

I know what you mean Diggers and while some people undoubtedly rate it as a brand as 'cool' whatever that means I can't help think that their presence in golf is somewhat contrived, cynical and almost out of place. Perhaps if it was done in a less obvious way such as the adidas/taylor made tie in, I might be more inclined to use some of their equipment.

I know what you mean on the golf side, they seem to try a bit too hard. I do have a few little Nike utility clubs though and I like them, but just bought them because I hit them well when trying a few different ones out, not because I wanted to buy Nike gear.

Diggers wrote:I know what you mean on the golf side, they seem to try a bit too hard. I do have a few little Nike utility clubs though and I like them, but just bought them because I hit them well when trying a few different ones out, not because I wanted to buy Nike gear.

I think thats the best answer to anything, forget the brand and the hype around it no matter who or what, whether it be Ping, Nike, Callaway, Mizuno or and MD golf. Just try them all and buy what is best suited to you.

Interesting question though. Which of the OEM's are seen as respectable or 'cool' in yoof vernacular and which are seen as a bit tawdry?
Difficult to say which are the most coveted but Wilson are looking a bit dowdy as a company these days although the blades are nice.

Good point SR.

If you were looking at is as a YOOF. I would say Wilson would be classed as what the old boy down the road has in his garage, and Ping to them would simply not look cool enough for their street Cred.. I'd imagine we'd see a host of White Headed TM's and a bagfull of Nike VR's and probably a some form of TM ghost putter

Maverick wrote:

Diggers wrote:I know what you mean on the golf side, they seem to try a bit too hard. I do have a few little Nike utility clubs though and I like them, but just bought them because I hit them well when trying a few different ones out, not because I wanted to buy Nike gear.

I think thats the best answer to anything, forget the brand and the hype around it no matter who or what, whether it be Ping, Nike, Callaway, Mizuno or and MD golf. Just try them all and buy what is best suited to you.

Does mame me laugh when you get a Mr Nike, someone who is literally head to toe in Nike and all the clubs Nike as well. You would think that some other manufacturer made a product that suited them better, but no, has to be Nike for everything. I cant think of any other golf brand that gets someone quite as hook, line and sinker.

Especially ironic Diggers when they are somewhat out of place in the golf world.
A bit like Kenwood usually known for mundane kitchen appliances turning their hand to Audio products. It just doesn't look right somehow.

Diggers wrote:

Maverick wrote:

Diggers wrote:I know what you mean on the golf side, they seem to try a bit too hard. I do have a few little Nike utility clubs though and I like them, but just bought them because I hit them well when trying a few different ones out, not because I wanted to buy Nike gear.

I think thats the best answer to anything, forget the brand and the hype around it no matter who or what, whether it be Ping, Nike, Callaway, Mizuno or and MD golf. Just try them all and buy what is best suited to you.

Does mame me laugh when you get a Mr Nike, someone who is literally head to toe in Nike and all the clubs Nike as well. You would think that some other manufacturer made a product that suited them better, but no, has to be Nike for everything. I cant think of any other golf brand that gets someone quite as hook, line and sinker.

I can Taylormade....

My brother who is a decent player off of 1. Is the complete golfing fool when it comes to brands. Up until this year he was as he says "a Ping man" I prefered the term "brand tw@t" but he had everything Driver, Woods, Irons, Wedges, Putter, tour and carry bags even clothing had to have ping on it somewhere! That was until this year when as he calls it "he made the switch and became a TM man" again my term "made the switch and still a brand tw@t".... Now he still has his Ping driver (with an R11 head cover) R11 3wood and Hybrid, TM MB irons and wedges and a TM Rossa Ghost putter, TM staff and carry bags and you guessed it Adidas clothing..... He is far from all the gear no idea as he is a good player but looks a complete bum with his equipment.

Admittedly Nike have probably cornered the market in this type of player, but there are so many out there that have everything the same because they like the way it looks in the bag, rather than the practicality of whats best suited to their games.

super_realist wrote:Especially ironic Diggers when they are somewhat out of place in the golf world.
A bit like Kenwood usually known for mundane kitchen appliances turning their hand to Audio products. It just doesn't look right somehow.

Or Amstrad making...well anything really.

I think it's easy to say that mizuno and titleist are highly respected and have a huge customer loyalty based on a reputation for quality and dedication. MD are understatedly cool, a cult following among real players who don;t care one iota for brand identity, just a top quality product. tawdry- i'd have to agree wilson, never been a fan of tailor made, i have always found their clubs to be a bit vulgar and i do believe the new white headed woods are a bit style over substance.
I'm just thankful that Adidas haven't started making their own branded clubs, if they did they would all have three great big hideous stripes on them, their clothing range is gawdy enough as it is!

It just sounds crap doesn't it, like those other cheap and nasty electical companies, Bush, Alba and Morphy Richards.

so there we have it. Nike are the Matsui of the golf equipment world.

super_realist wrote:It just sounds crap doesn't it, like those other cheap and nasty electical companies, Bush, Alba and Morphy Richards.

so there we have it. Nike are the Matsui of the golf equipment world.

With the difference being the tiger Woods effect ?

Like a sprig of parsely on a dog turd.

super_realist wrote:Like a sprig of parsely on a dog turd.

I would possibly be inclined to agree except i love my Nike Driver.....

In my defence I don't have the standard Nike Dog turd shaft. Upgraded that to an Aldila RIP as for me the shaft is the most important thing.

Maverick wrote:

super_realist wrote:Like a sprig of parsely on a dog turd.

I would possibly be inclined to agree except i love my Nike Driver.....

In my defence I don't have the standard Nike Dog turd shaft. Upgraded that to an Aldila RIP as for me the shaft is the most important thing.

That's what Mac's Mrs told me last time I popped over whilst he was out trying to hunt down Hickory clubs and Doak books.

SR that deserves a Boom Boom basil brush style...
Prepare yourself for a tirade via PM on inappropriate looking at another mans mrs because obviously none of us do that

Mind you, SR if you actually did that don't you need adding to the same register as Mac for liking under age witches....

Ha ha, Indeed Mac, I retract my previous statement. It must have been his mum that said that to me.

Phew, that was a close one. I think i got away with it.

SR I think that retraction means you got away with it......
Your safe from the register for another day.

On a side not talking about Shafts....... I'm always amazed at the for want of a better word what cr@p the standard stock shafts usually are in most top end brands.. Admittedly some will be able to use these and notice no difference whatsoever, but for me the shaft is far more important than any clubhead modifications, I'd be willing to wager using TM as an example if you put a superior but the same shaft in both an R7 and an R11 you would notice no difference whatsoever in performance and shot dispertion and would basically negate the marketing hype of the new improved clubs they so called made unfathomed advances with

super_realist wrote:Like a sprig of parsely on a dog turd.

s_r

I think that's the most complimentary thing you've ever said about Tigger

drive4show wrote:

super_realist wrote:Like a sprig of parsely on a dog turd.

s_r

I think that's the most complimentary thing you've ever said about Tigger

What? That he's a dog turd?

Maverick wrote:SR I think that retraction means you got away with it......
Your safe from the register for another day.

On a side not talking about Shafts....... I'm always amazed at the for want of a better word what cr@p the standard stock shafts usually are in most top end brands.. Admittedly some will be able to use these and notice no difference whatsoever, but for me the shaft is far more important than any clubhead modifications, I'd be willing to wager using TM as an example if you put a superior but the same shaft in both an R7 and an R11 you would notice no difference whatsoever in performance and shot dispertion and would basically negate the marketing hype of the new improved clubs they so called made unfathomed advances with

Mav:
So if you're someone like me; middle-aged, 17 h'cap and swing speed of 90 - 95 mph, what mods would you recommend to the standard shafts you buy in driver, fairways and hybrids? Would it make that much difference to someone like me to get new shafts fitted to standard off the shelf kit?

Shanks, it's not so much to do with swing speed, as the characteristics of how you swing and therefore how you hit the ball. For instance, how much spin you put up on the ball, launch angle, Smash factor (transferring swing speed to ball speed), trajectory, dispersion, etc etc etc. The only way of finding out is to get properly fitted on a trackman radar monitor (other devices are available). From the results you can get a shaft which works with the charateristics of your swing to get as close as possible to optimum stats for your physical condition/ability/swing
It won't mean you'll suddenly be hitting it 280 if you only hit it 220 before as if you don't have the swing speed to convert it it doesn't matter what driver or shaft you have, but it might mean that your bad shots are less bad and an overall improvement in consistency should result.

One thing that is often overlooked by your handicap bracket (patronise alert) is the importance of course management (finding the safest part of a green or fairway basically).
It's just common sense, but costs nothing and with a bit of thought and consideration could slash several shots off peoples score, if only they didn't automatically reach for the driver at every opportunity.
Rossa is a perfect example of this and reaping the benefits last time we heard from him.

SR pretty much answered that for me there Shanks.

The shaft can help cut down your shot dispertion if correctly matched to your swing. Which would mean your misses would not be as far and wide, meaning more likely to be in play more often than not. This can help aid your course management, I like SR am a massive advocate of this it's the best tool in the bag and costs absolutely nothing other than a little thought