Get Fit For Clubs: Average Joe

A lot has been written and said about getting clubs fitted to you and your swing. It’s generally accepted wisdom that anyone buying new clubs should be fitted. But what is not so often shared is just what the process involves and what, if any, are the tangible effects of getting fit. So – since I had been swinging the same Pings for about twelve years, I decided to jump in and get fit for new clubs. What follows is what that meant for me and what results I saw after getting my first fitted set.

A quick call to the folks at Golf Discount Superstore netted me an appointment. With significant research over the past year, I had it narrowed down to three – maybe four – different models. My plans to check out those different clubs was all I provided veteran fitter Jim Hayward.

The Process

With a golf glove, my old Ping 6-iron, and my golf shoes on, we got started. After some basic discussion about how far I hit my 6-iron, what my handicap was, what my typical ball flight looked like and so on, we got to work. He began with a static fitting. Static fitting is a technique made popular by Ping back when they introduced their color-coded dots on the back of each iron to indicate if the lie angle (the angle between the shaft and the clubhead) was standard, upright, or flat; and by how many degrees if upright or flat. Static fitting is still used by Ping and just about every other manufacturer or fitter.

“What static fitting gives us is a starting point,” Hayward said. “It tells us if we should start with a certain length or lie of club based on your physical characteristics like your height, the distance of your wrist to the floor, and even the size of your hands.” Basically, if you are tall, you probably need longer clubs. If you have short arms relative to your height, you might need clubs that are more upright, and if you have big hands, you need big grips.

Well, lo and behold, my static fitting said I probably needed clubs that were upright. Based on my divot shapes with my standard (black-dot) Pings, that analysis made sense. If the toe is digging into the ground, more upright clubs would raise the toe (decrease the angle between the shaft and the top of the toe) and allow the club to bottom out better. In other words, if the lie angle of your clubs is right, the middle part of the sole comes through the turf which gives a golfer a larger margin for error since the whole clubface is coming into the ball.

Static fitting was just the first step though. We next had to get the feel of my new club prospects. This was where I finally got to take some cuts at a ball. Hayward taped up about five clubs – all 6-irons – in an effort to do a bit of a blind feel test (recall that I still don’t know what manufacturer or model I want). As I warmed up, he asked me how different clubs felt and how I liked each one. I had a vague idea of when I had a Callaway or a Titleist in my hand, but I played along and tried to see if I could feel a difference. Throughout the experience, he threw in a few others that weren’t on my original list just to see if anything jumped out at me.

With my feedback on feel neatly stored away in his notes, Hayward then took off the concealing blue tape and applied a thin sticker across the sole of each club and another across the face. This was impact tape and would show us where the club was striking the ground as well as where on the face I was hitting the ball. What this exercise did for us was provide another set of data points about the lie angle I needed in my irons. By swinging each club with impact tape at a ball placed on a hard plastic board, I created marks in the tape. A mark out on the toe of the sole meant the club was too flat, while back on the heel indicated the opposite.

We also noted that with some clubs, the mark was up on the leading edge – the part of the sole that transitions to the face. With others, it was more towards the trailing edge of the sole. Hayward explained that we wanted to see the mark near the leading edge, indicating a descending blow down and into the ball. As a golfer who sometimes cups his left wrist through impact resulting in a nasty snap-hook, this was important. If the weighting of the clubhead helped me keep the leading edge coming through the ball, then I would be a better ball-striker. A club that promoted my swing fault (likely one with a lower swing weight) would result in the trailing edge hitting the board.

Throughout this whole process, we had slowly been reducing the number of models that were still in play. With only two models left, we noticed a decided difference in the impact spot on the sole. With the TaylorMade R7 TP, I somehow managed to consistently make a mark on the trailing edge. With the Callaway X-20 Tour, it was on the leading edge. We weighed the two clubs for both dead weight and swing weight. While they were nearly identical, there was a small difference that was making all the difference in how I swung them.

So that is where we ended it. I was swinging the Callaway’s great. I had told Hayward throughout my fitting process that they felt good and responsive. The tape on the sole told the story about what kind of lie angle and shaft weight I needed. My swing speed and typical six-iron distance indicated the flex and my standard height meant standard length clubs. With that information we ordered a set of Callaway X-20 Tour irons with the Project X 6.0 shaft in pitching wedge through three-iron (yes – I still carry a three-iron, but the old two was replaced by a hybrid last year). We could have gone on, but by then I had had a workout hitting balls and everything kept pointing us to that club in that configuration. We were done.

The Test Drive

The order was placed and about a week later, they came in. At my first chance, I took the 3-iron, 7-iron, and pitching wedge to the range. Right away I noticed a difference. My divots were wider. That meant the middle of the sole was bottoming out and the toe wasn’t digging or the heel dragging. One thing I had hoped for was a little more distance, but I didn’t seem to be hitting the ball much farther. Still, I suspended judgment on that front because I was hitting driving range balls (that means they are more durable than high performance) at static distance markers that read the same despite how far forward or back the tees were set up that day. Another thing I noticed was the feel and forgiveness. While still being “player” clubs, the X-20 Tour irons are fairly forgiving and certainly felt a lot better than my older Pings on miss-hits. Another interesting note is that nearly every time I hit them, especially the three-iron, it felt solid. A bad swing would result in a shot left or right, but not by much. So that’s what I took away from my first experience swinging fitted clubs. They don’t cure all but what they do is make it easier for your swing to put the club properly on the ball more often. That, and 20+ year old technology doesn’t hold much of a candle to what you can get now.

To The Course

Time on the range is all fine and good, but how about on the course? Well, another week later and the work load lightened up so I hit the course. My first shot was a six-iron from rough that I caught solid and sent directly at the flag. I was surprised then, when it came up 10 yards short. No worries, I told myself, you didn’t get a chance to warm up and maybe the headwind is a bit stronger than you think. The next hole was a long par-5 that my first swing with the five-iron found the center of the green. A couple of driver-wedge holes later and I got to pull the seven. This time I caught it fat – fitted clubs truly don’t cure all ills. And so it went. A nine iron over the green, a pin-high four iron, a nifty nine-iron to set up a birdie, a pitching wedge caught fat that snuck onto the front of the green, and so on. In the end, I think the short irons were flying a bit longer than my Pings but the long irons were about the same. Regardless, almost everything seemed to be flying straight.

So that’s where I am now. I’ll probably experiment with different balls and try to play as much as I can to get better feel for my yardages, especially in-between distances. As of now, I feel like getting fit was a great move and so while my score was about what it was before, my iron play will most definitely improve as the Callaways and I get used to each other.

—Tim Carrigan

GPS Distance Finders

What does it take to carry that fairway bunker? Booyah – that’s a long drive, I wonder how long? How far is it to the back of the green? Where in the %$@#&**$ is a sprinkler head?

If you have ever uttered any of those queries to yourself, your playing partner or the golfing gods during a round, you might be interested in the latest and greatest GPS distance finders. You might recall we published an article last year comparing GPS to laser finders and reviewed a few of the top manufacturers in each market. This year, we’ll focus in a bit more on the GPS devices because there are a lot of new models and new manufacturers to consider.

All units have various features but the common ones are:

Distance to the green (including front, middle, back for some)
Shot distance (so you know how far your driver goes – which might surprise you!)
Distance to various points on the current hole (like how far it is to the water’s edge or how far to carry that bunker)

And that, my friends, is where most of the similarities end. Some require a subscription while others do not. Some have internal, rechargeable batteries while others take AAs. Some automatically advance to the next hole while others require you to advance it. And some have a limitation on the number of courses it can download and store while at least one comes pre-loaded with more than 20,000 courses and never needs a download unless a new course opens up. So – read on, price compare, figure out what you need and be an informed buyer so you never curse those sneaky, hiding sprinkler heads again.

SkyCaddie has a number of models out this year including the new SG5 that we demo-ed. It’s available in local golf shops, but the online price is $429.95 – at the top of the range for this type of product. But it’s a great product! The display is fantastic in bright, clear color that is perfectly visible whether the sun is shining bright or it’s a dark, cloudy day. Like all current SkyCaddie models, it features Intelligreen, which gives you front, middle and back-of-the-green yardages and allows you to move a little crosshair icon around the green to get even more specific yardages. From the fairway, it has a number of other distances as described above (bunkers, doglegs, water and other hazards). And if you rip that big drive, you can punch a button on the tee box and when you get to your ball the device will tell you just how far you really hit it. Beware – this might take your ego down a notch or two. You’ll have to learn to live with an exact yardage of, say 272 yards, instead of doing some fuzzy math and declaring, “I bet it went at least 300 yards!” Unlike some of their competitors, you can come and go from the shot distance screen all you want – so you can give a yardage to your short-hitting buddy and still get your shot distance after you drive all the way up to your ball. All SkyCaddie models require an annual subscription that runs from $29.95 for state or regional coverage (you can add a second region or state for another $10) to $49.95 for national coverage to $59.95 for worldwide coverage. It’s these plans that were our biggest complaint. If you put down this kind of money for a unit (their cheapest SG2.5 runs $259.95), you shouldn’t get stuck for as much of an annual cost, or at least not have geographical limitations to each plan. The only other issue, although mild, is the storage. You have to manage your list of 10 course maps plus up to five courses you map yourself to make sure you have what you need when you play. That means for those of us who play all over the metro area, you’ll need to check what you have and download courses before you head out to a different track. Add that to the list of things to not forget!

GolfLogix is a product based on a Garmin GPS. (Although based in Scottsdale, Ariz., they use hardware from a local company, so we can almost call them one of our own.) Their only model runs $299.95 online but, again, is available at local golf shops. It has a single annual membership option – $29.95 gets you all the courses you want anywhere. It has all the same features as the SkyCaddie and most others. It gives yardages to the front, middle and back of the green (quick sidenote: for the editor of this magazine – a guy who often finds himself well off the fairway – these distances are sometimes almost the same). It also runs on two AA batteries which, for some, might be good or bad depending on if you can carry spare batteries on a trip or ensure you have a place to plug in your charger. The GolfLogix has capacity to hold up to 20 course maps, perhaps the one benefit over the SkyCaddie. One big item we struggled with was the “distance of last shot” feature. Once you hit the button, you cannot go back until you clear the screen. That means you are stuck there and cannot give any yardages to any playing partners unless you clear the screen and your marked starting location. Which, I guess, might be a benefit if you want an excuse to not give your buddies any help.

iGolf has a couple of units for distinctly different needs. Their full-size unit is called the GPS Caddie II and they also have a great new tiny unit called the NEO. You might recall the article in the April issue of KC Golfer Magazine in which we mentioned the tiny, lightweight NEO as a great new product we found at the PGA Merchandise Show. It’s about the size of a pager. (Again. for the kids who don’t know how big pagers were, think of a stack of credit cards ¾ of an inch thick. The NEO is just as thick but slightly smaller.) It only offers four custom points per hole but still gives front, middle and back yardages to the green. The NEO costs $149.99, making it an affordable little tool. It, too, has a $34.99 annual subscription offering unlimited downloads with a storage capacity of 10 courses on the unit at any point in time. However, once you download a course, it’s yours to keep. Once you have all the courses you want, you can let your subscription lapse and keep using it until you feel the urge to download something new. It has the shot distance feature too, but allows you to see how far you hit it while still getting yardages. The one drawback was that it required you to advance to the next hole – if you forget, it might cause an issue if you are halfway down the next fairway and a plausible distance from the last green. Regardless, for simply getting a distance, this is a great option since it’s cheap and fits comfortably in your pocket.

iGolf’s new full-size product is a bit of a different story. The Caddie II had a few challenges but the price point was better than the GolfLogix and the SkyCaddie. It runs $229.95 online and is also available at most of our great local retail golf stores. While the shortcomings of a tiny device are acceptable, in a full-size device they become annoying. Again, you have to advance to the next hole after you putt out each time. It also took us some reading to finally figure out how to get the shot distance feature to work – although once you get it, it’s pretty easy – just not intuitive, so keep your user guide. It stores up to 40 courses, which is nice. That feature, coupled with the ability to download and let your subscription lapse, means people who only play locally can probably get away with a subscription the first year and/or map courses themselves from there on out. Perhaps the weirdest thing was connecting it to a PC for downloads. You have to follow a very specific procedure. Get one step out of sequence and it won’t work. First, remove the belt clip. Then remove the batteries (don’t know why but batteries have to come out – takes a little patience and dexterity, too). Then connect the cable to the PC and the unit on the port that is under where the belt clip used to be. Login to the software on your PC and power up the device, selecting the Sync Handheld option. Then, with courses already selected and downloaded, you hit the Sync option on your PC and it will work like a charm. Power up the device before taking the batteries out and it won’t. It ends up a bit more funny than annoying, and it’s a good thing it holds 40 courses and you can get a lot on the device in one sitting.

GolfBuddy and their new product, the GolfBuddy Pro, deserve some mention here, although we didn’t get a test unit before print time. If the unit comes as promised, it could truly be a great product. For $349.99, it comes pre-loaded with 20,000 courses. Yes, you read that right: twenty-thousand. And it doesn’t require hardly any work on the part of the user. You don’t even have to select the course you are playing off the menu. Once you power it up, it just figures out since you are standing on the first tee at Bushwood CC that you are playing Bushwood and starting on the front. It automatically advances throughout the round and offers all the same features you find in the other top models – only you get those features about 20,000 times (not just 10 to 40). Imagine being on a golf trip and someone talks you into staying an extra day to play another course down the road. With most other models, you have to hope you have your laptop and can go get a download. With the GolfBuddy – unless the course just opened – you already have it and are all ready! The best part is it doesn’t require a subscription. You buy it and use it .

—Tim Carrigan

The Sunny Side of Golf

Are sunglasses really equipment? Well, the next time you launch a drive into the setting sun and realize you have no idea where it went, I think you’ll say yes. Ask any pilot, downhill skier and a lot of touring golf pros and they will emphatically say yes. This month, we turn from typical equipment to focus on sunglasses – the other equipment that must fit as much as any other equipment you take to the course.

The two main considerations in a pair of sunglasses are the frame style and the lenses. Frames are pretty easy to figure out. If you like the way they look, then you are on the right track. Next, check out how they fit your face. Make sure they sit level, hug the nose, and don’t let too much light in from the top, sides, or below. If they do, sometimes that can add glare to the “inside” of the lens and your vision will be compromised unless you wear a bucket hat or otherwise shade your face. Finally, you want to be sure they have rubber temples and nose pieces to keep them on when you perspire.

Lenses are more difficult. Besides the material of the lens, the tint and light transmission is also important. In the middle of summer or on that desert golf trip, you want maximum protection and a darker lens. On a cloudy day, you want an amber-tinted lens that lets a lot of light through. All other times, something lighter like a brown lens will work. Interchangeable lenses let you to match the lens to the day, but most of us tend to be a little too lazy to change them out (or we forget where we put the other lenses). Regardless of your lens-changing work ethic, interchangeable lenses do give you options to try and see what works for you under most conditions.

Finally, the biggest thing we check out when picking a pair of golf sunglasses is the contrast level of the lens. Lenses labeled “high contrast” filter out certain light spectrums and help illuminate objects like a white golf ball. That means the golf ball can literally “pop” against the sky and grass, making it far easier to track a long drive in almost any set of conditions than with the naked eye. A good way to quickly test glasses is to look at some clouds against a blue sky. If the clouds look brighter and the wispy edges have more definition, then you will likely see the ball better with them on.

With all that said, the last thing to think about, besides lenses and frames, is how much you want to spend. Perhaps you want a high-end pair that provides the best optics or maybe you want a very good, workable pair that you won’t cry when you accidentally sit on them or drop them from a moving cart (I’ve done both).

High-End Glasses typically run around $100 or more, and if you ask any of the players at this end of the market why their sunglasses cost so much, the answer is always because of their superior optics. That might include anything from a lack of distortion to anti-static coatings that keep dust and lint away.

PeakVision is a Kansas City area company making huge waves in the golfing industry. Just tune in to the Golf Channel and you are bound to run into one of their ads. Their answer to the predicament of choosing which lens to use is to give you two levels of filtration in one lens. A grey upper portion filters the sun’s strong rays and protects your eyes against glare. The lens transitions smoothly into an amber, high-contrast lower portion that enhances your ability to see contours and other subtleties. Now the trade off between maximum sun protection and maximum contrast is neutralized in one pair of sunglasses. During testing, the dual zones really kicked into gear on the course and we immediately saw why these glasses are so popular. Look up and the upper lens portion keeps the sun at bay. Look down to read your line, and the green surface is clear and bright, even with flat light. Additionally, PeakVision glasses also have virtually no distortion across the lens or at any contact points, giving you a better view all around. We tested the popular XR4 design, which is a metal frame that was a bit heavier than other models, but was still comfortable with spring-loaded rubber temples. You know how they say to hold the club like a baby bird – firm enough to keep it from getting away, but loose enough to keep it comfortable? Well, that’s what these frames felt like. Visit www.peakvisionsports.com for more.

Bolle is another great Kansas City company (parent Bushnell is in Overland Park) which must make our town the mecca of golfing eyewear. Their EagleVision2 Dark lenses are meant specifically for golf and are a great all-around dark brown lens that enhance contrast. This makes a white golf ball look bigger and brighter as it tracks against the sky while offering the right amount of sun protection. The Warrant style of frame we checked out comes with interchangeable lenses, which gives the wearer options, although we found options were not needed when it came to the EagleVision 2 Dark lens. We tested the Warrant and found it comfortable and light. No golfer could go wrong with the lens we tried out, although you should check out a number of styles to get the right fit. Of all the glasses we tested, the Bolle pair was the best all-around and the first that someone grabbed for a casual round after the testing was completed (www.bolle.com).

Oakley has long been synonymous with sporting sunglasses and golf is no exception. We tried on a couple of their top frame styles in the Flak Jacket XLJ with popular G30 lenses and the Radar Path with Slate lenses. These and most Oakleys tend to have an aggressive look while remaining comfortable and light. The allure of Oakley sunglasses, besides the name, is evident in their distortion-free High Definition Optics and their Hydrophobic lens coating. Hydrophobic doesn’t mean your glasses are scared of water, but that they repel water and other moisture. Oakleys are also anti-static to keep away dust and dirt. Water, smudges, sweat, dust, and dirt are typical in any round of golf – and our testing confirmed Oakley’s claims. The G30 lens was great – we could see the ball well and got medium protection from glare. The Slate lens is darker and better bright days (www.oakley.com).

Maui Jim sunglasses are cool, but the ones we tested were not only cool, but great golf equipment too. Both pairs we tried came with high-contrast bronze lenses. The Makaha sunglasses have a very lightweight plastic frame that is so light you forget you have them on. The other pair, the Moku, was even lighter and featured Maui Jim’s new Evolution lens. The Moku frame is made from Grilamid (no hinges, just very flexible, springy plastic arms that come off the sides of the lenses and spring back to shape no matter how you bend or twist them). Both pairs are more casual-looking than sporty, making them something you can wear to the course, on the course, and then to the beach (or pool) afterwards. One tester previously owned a pair of the sportier Turtle Bay, but in their darker grey lens. He immediately took to the bronze lens and has made it his choice for golfing. Besides what we tested, there are plenty of options – check them all out at www.mauijim.com.

Vedalo sunglasses have been traditionally targeted to pilots, but now their sunglasses are targeted to golfers with their HDL-3C lenses in copper-rose. We tested a pair of their Como and Torino glasses in the copper-rose and green lenses. Both are built with their HDL-3C technology, which uses filters vs. tints or coatings. What that means, they claim, is that they spend far more in manufacturing to deliver enhanced color sensitivity and contrast. We felt the Como, with its metal frame, was a bit heavy for our liking and the green lenses would not be our first choice for golf. The copper-rose lens, though, was excellent. A ball in flight looked huge and we could see green undulations and other details with clarity. Wearing them was like watching your buddies play golf in HD. The Torino frame was much more sporty and lightweight. It seemed to fit our expectation of a golf sunglass much better (www.vedalohd.com).

While all of the above are nice – sometimes what you really need is a great, functional pair of Mid-Level Glasses that run around $40-$65.

Tifosi was one of our favorite mid-level sunglasses. The Slip model we tested comes with a trio of interchangeable lenses. The GT lens is what Tifosi recommends for golf and is what we used most of the time to review the glasses. The AC Red (all conditions, red) lens allows slightly more light transmission and is not explicitly a golf lens, although at least one of our testers preferred it. Finally, the EC (extreme contrast) lens allows a lot of light to pass through but creates extreme contrast for low light or variable light conditions on the golf course. This set of lenses seemed perfect for any day and any set of conditions. The coolest feature of the glasses were the hydrophilic (fancy word for bendable) rubber temples. We could keep them straight and have them wrap and hold our head or curve them around our ears for a tighter fit – whatever we wanted or needed. The best part is you can modify the fit to change contact points or get a different feel if the wind kicks up. For the price, this is one excellent set of eyewear (www.tifosioptics.com).

Live Eyewear’s Polar Eyes line of sunglasses was another top performer in this segment. We tried their Islay model. It was comfortable, and the copper lenses helped us see and track the ball in flight. Islay sunglasses also come with flexible temples, which, as noted, is a major comfort feature allowing you to customize how they fit. Our testers said the Islay was light and comfortable – that the good-looking frames and lightweight polycarbonate lenses would let you forget you even had them on. There isn’t a lot of high tech going on in these glasses, but for the price and their lifetime warranty they are hard to beat (www.polareyes.com).

Sundog has long been a mainstay in golf – just ask Paula Creamer or Hunter Mahan. Targeted to golfers, Sundog has become almost synonymous with golf eyewear. Sundog glasses come with additional hydrophobic treatments to repel water and oil (recall the same with Oakleys above). We tried their Spin glasses with smoke lenses, but we would have liked to try their other lenses for golf. The glasses were comfortable, but they didn’t do much for visual contrast. These were good sunglasses, but you should try some of their other lenses for golf (www.sundogeyewear.com).

We hope that helps you find what you need in sunglasses. Again – think of them as equipment: Make the right kind of investment, and you’ll be much more comfortable on the course.

—Tim Carrigan

Iron It Out This Year

Irons are perhaps the most-used and least-replaced portion of your golf bag. A bad day of putting results in immediate replacement of the flat-stick. When your buddy finds a little more distance, we quickly jump to the newest, coolest driver in the quest for more length. But it’s those irons that stand the test of time. Sure, you might have kicked the 3-iron to the curb in order to get a fancy new hybrid in your bag, but for most golfers, the 4-PW (half our bagful of clubs) have stood the test of time – perhaps for too long.

If you haven’t checked out the new irons on the market in a while, then it’s time. With a lot of new product introductions last year and already a few more this year, there is a lot to see and try out at your favorite local golf shop. With advances in materials and club-making technology, irons coming out today have hotter faces, feature bigger sweet spots and even feel better to hit. As always, I cannot go into every iron out there, but some of the more notable manufacturers, as well as some of the coolest innovations are discussed below. Whatever you do – get fitted. Even if you got fitted for your last set eight years ago, you should do it again. You might be taller, stronger, older, better, thinner and, yes, maybe even wider than you were when you bought the old Pings.

TaylorMade last year came out with their new R7 irons featuring a lot of new innovations like their inverted cone technology and thin-face engineering to provide more distance and forgiveness, along with an innovative shock-absorbing web that is plastered to the back of the club to improve feel. Performance tests have supported the distance and forgiveness claims, and my own testing validates the claims about feel.

R7 irons come in three styles: R7, R7 Draw, R7 TP and the brand new for 2008, R7 CGB Max. The standard R7 is a game-improvement iron that should appeal to the majority of golfers. The Draw version is just that: draw-biased with a generous amount of heel-weighting to help slicers keep the ball online. Finally, the TP version (stands for Tour Preferred) has a slightly smaller clubhead, a thinner sole and a thinner topline to appeal to better players. All that said, the R7 TP is still a long ways from being considered a “player’s blade” with plenty of forgiveness built in. The new R7 CGB Max offers even more forgiveness and reduces overall club weight to help players swing with more speed.

The last iron from TaylorMade worth mentioning is their Burner XD iron. Like R7 CGB irons and the driver carrying the same Burner name, these irons are very light overall to promote speed. They are oversized and incorporate the same inverted cone technology seen throughout the TaylorMade lineup. Need more info? Check out www.taylormadegolf.com.

Callaway continues to bring great products to the market, building on their history of building clubs that combine maximum forgiveness while retaining the playability and shot-making capabilities that better players demand. Their newest introduction is an extension of their FT (Fusion Technology) lineup. The new FT i-brid irons are just what they sound like – a hybrid iron set built with multiple materials that allow Callaway engineers to place weight where they want it in the clubhead. In this case, it’s a lightweight titanium face surrounded by Tunite (a heavier, Tungsten blend they created) to create maximum perimeter weighting for forgiveness and distance. The back cavity is filled in with a polymer material to improve the feel and sound of the club. These hybrid irons complement their existing and slightly improved FT irons, and will be available this month.

The other mainstay in the Callaway line has long been the X-series of irons. Last year, they introduced the X-20 and X-20 Tour, along with a new X-Forged iron. The X-20 and X-20 Tour resemble the great heel-toe and perimeter-weighted irons of years past while the X-Forged is a step into the world of forged irons with a smaller clubhead and thinner lines created from 1020
carbon steel. The X-Forged offers a little less forgiveness, but has incredible feel and maintains great distance off every club. It also has a more solid sound at impact that some players may prefer over the X-20 series of irons. After hitting all of Callaway’s products, I loved the X-Forged because it hit just as easy but felt and sounded great. Don’t just take my word for it; check www.callawaygolf.com for more details on these products.

Mizuno finally stepped into the middle! They traditionally had their set of MP for better golfers that, quite frankly, never deviated from being true blades (read that as really easy to miss-hit). Then they added the MX line, which offered maximum forgiveness, including hybrid sets and other extreme perimeter-weighted models. But where did that leave all of us looking for something in the middle?

Finally, they introduced their new MP-57 irons late last year. These are a true cavity-backed iron crafted using their “grain-flow” forging, but built to combine forgiveness and playability. Plus, they look fantastic with classic nickel chrome plating and no overdone colors or graphics. If you want something that dazzles the eye like Las Vegas on a RedBull, then look elsewhere. All you get from Mizuno is the latest technology and exceptional feel in a classy look. Mizuno’s tend to run a bit pricey, so I’ll warn you not to check out their lineup if you can’t afford them. You are likely to forget your budget and buy them anyway – proceed with caution.

Like I alluded to earlier, Mizuno has plenty of other options for more forgiveness and more playability in their MX and MP lines, respectively. All of their irons are grain-flow forged, a process they highly tout to deliver exceptional feel. Their clubs all certainly look great and deserve a look. For a sneak peek before you head to the golf shop, log on to www.mizunousa.com.

Ping introduced their latest G10 and i10 irons at the end of last golf season. The G10 irons are the most player-friendly and feature their new Custom Tuning Port, which is placed low on the back of the clubface to stabilize it (similar to TaylorMade’s Inverted Cone) while adding weight low and away from the hitting area. The G10’s are thick across the sole and the top-line, while featuring some cool fire-orange graphics for a unique look. The i10 looks similar with its graphics but is much more of a players’ iron. It still features a fairly deep cavity-back on a smaller clubhead with thinner (although not close to blade-thin) top-line and sole. It too has the Customer Tuning Port to provide the same benefits to go with the versatility built into the club.

Ping still has their Rapture line, along with the G5, i5 and the true players’ iron, the S58. All are excellent clubs for different types of golfers. If you’re a Ping player, you should check them all out and pick what works for you. Their website is www.pinggolf.com.

As always, there are many more irons and many more manufacturers than we have space for. Notables include Adams, Cleveland, Cobra, Nike and Titleist, among others. In fact, as of this writing, some of the equipment companies still haven’t released their newest sets for 2008 yet. While they may be available by the time this article prints, right now the word on the street is Titleist is finally releasing two new sets of irons to appeal to those of us who don’t (or can’t) hit blades or clubs that closely resemble blades. Their AP1 and AP2 have a much deeper cavity and include a blend of materials including tungsten nickel to help add perimeter weighting. The AP1 is the more forgiving of the two and is cast stainless steel while the AP2 will be a forged offering, in keeping with the feel and playability expected of Titleist irons. I can hardly wait to check them out. If they turn out like I think they will, don’t be surprised to see them in my bag later this spring.

—Tim Carrigan