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What Irons Are Right For You?

Did you wear green today? I did… but it was hard to find something green in my closet! And not that ugly lime green that Adidas had a few years ago…

Where to start…. we got an awesome email today from one of our regular readers. It had some great information about the Titleist 635 irons. First off… we should see these irons in June. The construction of the 635 irons is a bit different too. Sounds like the 6-PW will be the same construction as the current 690 irons. The 2-5 will be made more like the current 704 and 804 irons. We will keep searching for more information on the Titleist 635 irons but the company is keeping things very, very quiet!

An email from a reader that just ordered some Callaway X-Tour irons. He was able to try the irons at a recent demo day and ordered a set right on the spot. His comments echo my thoughts on the new X-Tour… fairly forgiving and great looking with a very solid feel. We have had a few emails from readers that have hit the X-Tour irons and I think all the comments have been positive.

And while I’m in X-Tour mode… we had another email from a reader asking about the offset on the irons. They have about the same amount of offset as the X-18 Pro Series or any Callaway Pro Series for that matter. These irons are designed for a fairly consistent ball striker that hits the ball fairly straight. Not sure what kind of ball striker you are? No problem. Take some duct tape and cover the face of your 5 iron. Then go and hit about a dozen balls. The balls will leave marks on the tape. What do the marks look like? Are they bunched together or are they spread all around the face? If they are fairly close together and towards the middle then a club then the X-Tour could be for you. If they are all over the place… save your money!

The same email also talks about the “gap” between a game improvement club and a club designed for the better player. I would agree that there is a gap here… often times you are forced to choose between the “big and bulky” and the “thin and unforgiving”. I think combo sets have bridged this gap a bit… especially a club like the new oversized combo set from Nike. It is hard to find a forgiving club that doesn’t have offset though… probably because the number of consumers in this category is fairly small. Thanks for the email!

A similar email but this time asking about Ping irons. Same type of question… the game improvement G2 irons or the less forgiving I3+ Blade? It’s a tough call… let’s look at it a bit closer.

– Try the duct tape test and look at your ball mark dispersion.

– Do you have a problem getting the ball in the air?

– Do you slice? Do you hook?

– Do you have a problem looking down on a really thick top line?

Make a list of your top three problems when it comes to irons. If either “miss hits” or “getting the ball in the air” is in your top three, then I would lean towards the most forgiving… the G2 in this case. Remember that most irons are forgiving… they just vary in the degree of forgiveness. An example… the Callaway Big Bertha is considered Callaway’s most forgiving iron. The X-18 is still really forgiving… probably more forgiving than your current set of irons, thanks to recent technologies. It’s just not as forgiving as the Big Bertha. Get an iron that instills confidence in you. If you want to know that you have the most forgiving iron out there… and you think that it will make you a better player… then go for it. Who cares what others think of your big irons… remember that the Ping G2, Callaway Big Bertha and the TaylorMade CGB are all bulky game improvement irons that have been or are being used on the PGA Tour. Also remember that there is no law saying that you have to order 3-PW or any combination of 8 irons for that matter. If you only use the 5-PW… then order 5-PW. Use the money you saved to get a hybrid or a utility wood. Buy clubs that you will use!

If you haven’t seen it already… www.titleist.com is now updated and features the 905 drivers among other things. I think we have told you pretty much everything you need to know about the new Titleist products already but sometimes it’s nice to “officially” see it.

And finally… I saw a “SirShanksAlot” the other day on a golf message board and he was being a bit of a pain. Someone even associated him with our site. Well… it wasn’t me. SirPuttsAlot and I go on message boards from time to time but we use totally different names… our way of flying under the radar I guess. So just keep that in mind as you surf around the net… mind you… why surf? We’ll tell you all you need to know! At the same time… if you do visit message boards, feel free to drop our name now and again! Have a great day.

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