Best Golf Clubs Of 2010 Part 2 - Irons

Irons are the bread and butter clubs. They used to give you 3-9, PW and SW. With the advent of the hybrid the longer irons like the 3 & 4 are more or less obsolete in some cases. If you walk in to a golf shop today you will easily find combo golf clubs in a bag. Usually they now come with the 3 & 4 in hybrids instead of traditional irons. This normally happens in the "Super Game Improvement" category. Meanwhile, some low handicappers prefer sharp looking more playable irons with less directional help which are less forgiving and found in blade like irons with little or no cavity behind or in forged irons (called Players' irons). Other single digit players may still prefer friendlier ones. Irons that are in between are the Game Improvement types which are mostly used.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dG9hb3_blo


It is most important that you are equipped with the right set of irons which when fitted well with your game is likely to last for quite some time. I'll skip the "Players" irons portion for good reason as not all single digit players use them too and go on to the others and also the Super Game Improvements which are suitable for players who need a lot of help not just in direction but also to get the ball up, kind of like idiot-proofed.

Irons


Game Improvement


Adams Idea a7 - a forgiving set of irons which includes 2 Tour-inspired hybrids. This is a optimally combined set designed to outperform traditional irons.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKuYzOA02zc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIdELnfmZxQ


Mizuno MX-300 - Mizuno is most famous for their quality and feel. In their stable, the MP series are sharp irons for better players and the MX series are for mid to high handicappers. For the first time, the MX-300 introduced is the closest gap between their MP and MX series ever made. The appearance is more like a player's iron but some added forgiveness and feel will also appeal to both set of players. It's a in-between of the low handicap's MP-52 and the high handicappers' MX-200.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OKDq2CxSE8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8yO9PBr6qM

 
Mizuno JPX-800 - Mizuno has the Super Game Improvement MX-1000 and the older MX-100 and of course the MX300 so they set out to make these irons by bench marking against all the other greats to make them more forgiving maintaining their trademark feel, to hit them longer and with more accuracy - a set suitable for the single digit player to a 24 handicapper. It has a hot metal face, a special cavity created for maximum energy transfer and a triple cut sole for ball striking from all lies which according to Mizuno exceeded all Mizuno irons created before and also the competition. This is no small claim. I did not like the blue at the back cavity though it's a nice colour but it doesn't look as sharp. I think Mizuno may be on to something but as usual they belong to the high end of the market. I dare not try it for now as Mizuno's superior feel can easily amaze me and get me hooked. Its too early for me to do some explaining to the wife and children why I could not afford more things for them but could lay hands on golf clubs.





Ping G15 - These are built for consistency. High launching and highly forgiving, these are explosive. Straight shooters and distance is impressive. What stands out for Ping is their club-fitting process which is probably the best in the industry.





TaylorMade R9 - Built for distance and control. It comes with an innovative shock absorption system packed in for better feel and superior sound. It has increased forgiveness and a specially designed beveled sole for better turf interaction for crisp contact.




TaylorMade Burner 2.0 - Burner 2.0 is like a software upgrade in computer. Anyway, Burner was not designed as a traditional set. TaylorMade's idea was to design each club as individual club for specific performance departing from the way most clubs were made.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYpFiKqssI0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwxiLbySB6k
I have told the story of TaylorMade from Gary Adams' invention of the first metal wood which today gave us so much joy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnwM9z5Ek0g


Titleist AP1 - where AP stands for advance performance. A larger cavity and thinner face creates lively feel and hottest hits. The sole has tungsten nickel for more stability and forgiveness.
Take note that most of us could only handle only the AP1 not the AP 2.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUrdbBrMFn4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1plN3qKmAOI

 
The sharpest looking clubs are Mizuno followed by Titleist, TaylorMade then Ping. In terms of forgiveness the easiest are Adams, Ping/TaylorMade/Titleist are all tied. Awards to TaylorMade/Titleist and Mizuno for best feel. For the best consistency category, Mizuno and Titleist ace it with Ping following. Distance-wise, the latest Mizuno JPX-800 and Ping G15 cuts it perhaps followed by TaylorMade R9.


So what's your beef? What are you looking for? As for me, I am very curious on the Mizuno JPX-800 maybe even the Burner but I will probably need a windfall to get them. C'mon wind, blow it my way!

My resolution for 2011 in golf would be to be even more consistent perhaps to reduce the score by another 3-5 strokes! So flex your knee a wee bit, lean a little forward, watch and maintain that spine angle. Most of all - "Stand Tall!"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Uncle Choo

Image
Preface It has really been awhile since I have last written and published an article on my blog with the last being in October last year. Before that I have been writing and publishing non-stop for 15 years since 2008.  I was not suffering from writer's block. They say running water never grows stale. So I have to move on to other things since the pandemic has ravaged and torn all asunder. No matter how passionate you are about anything, you will find that after an absence for sometime, the engine gets cold and you find it harder to start.  Just too darned busy and being too busy with one thing means one becomes lazy with the others. The law of compensation. A hiatus if you must.  Covid made it worse as there was no more travelling since borders were closed and eating locally and overseas were curtailed. So I could not write about these things. In fact, I laid out my travel luggage, sat down and spoke to them - "We are not gonna travel for a few years". They have since be
Read more

The Kallang Roar! (Part Three)

Image
Back in the good old days, we have four other national teams. Besides the National Team (The Lions), we also have a B team (The Cubs). Then we also competed in the Sultan's Gold Cup fielding a team called Singapore Malays. We have the Singapore Indians playing in the Bardhan Cup and the other being the Singapore Chinese team also competing aga inst Malaysian state teams in the same format and also the Ho Ho Cup triangular among Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. In 1976, Englishman Trevor Hartley became responsible for the Singapore team at age 28. I can't remember which year Singapore beat Malacca 6-2 and Lee Bee Seng was sent off for punching an opponent who must have trampled on him. Here is Bee Seng with Brian Rozario. In the same match Quah Kim Song was sent off too for fighting. And I said wow! Malaysia Cup is like that? I like! (Pix - Lee Bee Seng with Brian Rozario). And can you believe this? Before all these we have Mike Walker who played Kim Song a
Read more

The Hainanese

The Hainanese are people from Hainan who originated from Hainan Island - the smallest province of China at the Southern most tip. They were originally fishermen from Fujian and Guandong and later settled over there. The Hainanese, part of the Chinese dispora migrated to different South East Asian countries including late comers to Singapore worked in ships as sailors, opened their own coffee shops or restaurants, bakeries or bars and worked as cooks and chefs and others at local hotels.  Hainanese in Singapore made up 7% of the Chinese population. The Hainanese came to Singapore much later than the Hokkiens and Teochews who are already well entrenched in trade and commerce. Originally they also have problems communicating with other dialect groups as their language seems unintelligible to the others but they began to carve out a name for themselves working for wealthy Europeans including as canteen operators for military bases.  Hainanese are especially with food and beverage.
Read more