Moving to Player Irons

Hello all! Nice to be back! Usually don't see me here until mid-March due to the winter break. However, I am heading to Arizona in 2 weeks for a long weekend of golf.

I have just purchased new irons. I was playing the TaylorMade RAC OS2 irons. Large oversize head, large offset, large sole. Very forgiving. I have moved my handicap down to a 4-5 and decided that I want to move to more of a mid-low handicap iron. I selected the TaylorMade RAC LT2 irons. I am standard-standard in length and lie angle, so I got a great deal on eBay. Here they are...

http://www.taylormadegolf.com/product_detail.asp?pID=26

This will be my 1st time playing more of a player iron. I am calling on my friends here to offer any advice on the switch. I know these will be less forgiving but offer more of a penetrating ball flight with workability.

So, at the end of the day, do I need to change anything? I haven't even played a round with them yet.

Glad to be back, looking forward to the thoughts of the community here!

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What's in my bag....
Cleveland VP 2 Blade Putter
Ping Tour Wedges, 54 & 60
TaylorMade rac LT2, 4i thru PW
Tour Edge Exotics Iron-Wood 21* 3i - Aldila NV 90 Stiff Shaft
Ping G5 18* 5 Wood - ProLaunch Blue 75 Stiff Shaft
Ping G5 15* 3 Wood - Aldila NV 75 Stiff Shaft
Cleveland HiBore XL 9.5* - Fujikura Fit-On Red Stiff Shaft

Welcome back!

Nice looking clubs.

I shouldn't think you'll need to do anything different with them. I'm guessing you've felt you can change to a more workable club as you can consistently hit the bigger more forgiving ones out the screws more often, so just swing away with your new bats and enjoy them!

I'm considering changing to the Srixon Pro 100's. That's a sexy looking club.

http://www.srixon.com/club_irons.html

Oh my.

Just need to win at Bingo to pay for them now!

hi
what i will say if if you do change then stick with them and work with any difference you feel in the smaller head and less forgiving face. i know i have had faith in playing with the best clubs for me and i have never blamed the clubs only my swing. often when changing to new clubs there a few weeks were you take time to get adjusted to the new feel.
you may find you spray the ball a bit more at first but stick with it and you will soon feel the benefits. let us know how you get on with the new clubs.
best of luck
bill

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ping zing2 metal driver
ping zing2 metal 3 wood
ping eye2 1 iron
ping zing2 3/9 irons
ping ist 47% wedge
ping zing2 52% s/wedge
ping mb 56% wedge
ping c10 G2I broom handled putter
top flight "T" golf balls
white ping bag

Your ball position will change a little if there's less offset - a touch forward of where you're used to.

Trajectory will be lower club for club, and you'll certainly be more penalized for a toeside miss.

Thanks Neil. Yes, the Srixon's are sexy!

Bill, I will stick it out. I have read 100 reviews on these irons and everyone raves about them. I read a review titled "Top 10 Irons Ever," and they were 7th, above the original Ping Eye 2s.

Low, question for you. I went with X-Stiff due to the gram weight of the club. They are T-Step Professional 110 gram shaft, firm tip. Based on EVERYTHING I read, and all of the "online fittings," I should go with X-Stiff... Here are my stats from my last driver fitting, not very long ago...

*99-103 mph on the driver swing speed*
*150-153 carry distance with 8 iron*
*170-172 carry distance with 6 iron*
*257-260 carry distance with Driver*
*Aggressive swing with an above-average transition speed*

Based on that ALONE, without seeing me swing, does X-Stiff sound right to you? I am totally willing to reshaft these irons down the road. I got them SO cheap.

Thanks all!

__________________
What's in my bag....
Cleveland VP 2 Blade Putter
Ping Tour Wedges, 54 & 60
TaylorMade rac LT2, 4i thru PW
Tour Edge Exotics Iron-Wood 21* 3i - Aldila NV 90 Stiff Shaft
Ping G5 18* 5 Wood - ProLaunch Blue 75 Stiff Shaft
Ping G5 15* 3 Wood - Aldila NV 75 Stiff Shaft
Cleveland HiBore XL 9.5* - Fujikura Fit-On Red Stiff Shaft

I like XS in those irons. I'm a little leery about the lightweight steel, but if your swing is fine then going heavier won't help. If the constant comment about your swing is 'it looks quick from the top', you may want to go with heavier X shafts to help smooth you out.

Otherwise, I think you'll be just fine.

Sounds good. Glad to hear your thoughts on the shaft/iron combo.

The TM rac OS2 irons I had before were T-Step 90 (90 gram) with almost the same shaft torque (1.7 OS2 vs. 1.4 LT2). The club heads are beefer in the OS2. Swinging both clubs, the "feel" very similar in weight.

Also, my miss with the OS2 irons was left. Lots of hard draws. Not quite hooks. The XS with a firm tip should square that up.

I totally agree with you on the weight. I thought about going heavier to try to smooth it out. Thats solid advice. I am going to see my pro in March and see what he thinks. I could reshaft them with Rifle shafts for under $100 if necessary.

Your post puts me at ease. I didn't want to hit these for the 1st time and get all in a panic if things weren't going right. I feel I picked the right shaft. I need to trust my skills and get "dialed" in.

Thanks!

__________________
What's in my bag....
Cleveland VP 2 Blade Putter
Ping Tour Wedges, 54 & 60
TaylorMade rac LT2, 4i thru PW
Tour Edge Exotics Iron-Wood 21* 3i - Aldila NV 90 Stiff Shaft
Ping G5 18* 5 Wood - ProLaunch Blue 75 Stiff Shaft
Ping G5 15* 3 Wood - Aldila NV 75 Stiff Shaft
Cleveland HiBore XL 9.5* - Fujikura Fit-On Red Stiff Shaft

They look very nice clubs, as Bill suggested it may take a few games to get used to the difference. Hope you enjoy them.

I changed to Mizuno clubs recently and I just love the build quality, I got a hybrid set as I like using 3 & 4 recoveries and am fed up of putting the 3 & 4 iron of a set in the garage, the recoveries are properly matched to the irons. The first few times I played them I over hit the greens a few times as they seem to play a club longer than my old ones. I think it is nice to have a set of clubs that you really like and although they were expensive I just love playing with them, they are the first grain forged clubs I have used. I had Nippon 850 pro shafts fitted which are very light and suit my swing. I also bought a set of Mizuno MP R wedges, they are fantastic for feel and playability.

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Best Regards
Brian

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Funny o'l game!

hi Brian
i think when you have faith in the clubs you use you do play better and never have thoughts about other clubs being better than what your using. they also give you that little bit of confidence when you set up too
one less thing to worry about.
cheers
bill

I don't think you'll see a huge difference between the the LT2 and OS2 irons. A slightly lower trajectory, but probably not much else of a difference. The LT2 is still a cavity back iron, so it is still more of a forgiveness club than a club like the RAC MB TP (which is the most players club of the Taylormade line).

I moved from Titliest 762 DCI irons (which are also considered a players club) a while back to Taylormade RAC MB TP irons (the same style clubs Sergio Garcia has been playing) because I wanted irons with a more piercing ball flight, a softer feel, and something I could shape (in particular fade) without tying myself in knots. (Beside that my irons were extremely old and Titliest Quality Control department did an awful job in the build and check of the clubs ).

One thing that people often don't seem to factor in when considering shafts is that usually the stiffer you go the lower your ball flight will also become. If you have clubs that are already designed to go low because of a higher center of gravity or less loft (manufacturers are constantly lowering their lofts on new models). When you get to long irons your ball flight may be so low that you have trouble getting the ball to stop after it lands on greens. Usually club fitters and instructors will say its better to go with a shaft that is too flexible than one that is too stiff.

The defacto standard is to go softer in flex for more feel, yes. However, consistent yardages and trajectories are increased when dynamic clubhead movement through impact is minimized - through both shaft tip stiffness and quality swing mechanics.

The dominating idea is to play the floppiest shaft you can control, whereas my line of thinking is to play the stiffest shaft you can handle the bending feel of.

There's a reason all the fellas on Tour play X100's or equivalent; to control trajectory and spin. They don't need soft tips to help their launch conditions.

those sound like nice clubs, have fun on your trip.

Hi!
I went from the RAC OS2 to RAC LT2 and it was not a problem, and I am a 18 handicaper so it should not be a problem for you. You will probably loose a few yards per club but thats due to the fact that the OS2:s are 2° strong lofted.
The RAC lt2 is a great iron and I don't miss my OS2:s
/Samson

Wow...tons of great responses... Here we go:

BrianW: Love Mizunos. Really wanted the MP-57s, but dont have that kind of bank right now. I hit the *&^%$#%!*^#%! of of them. Pair them up with a 2 & 3 of the MP FLI-HIs and you have the sexiest set of clubs in the world. Problem is, fitted, they will run you over $1000 all in.

AvidGolfer: I hit the irons yesterday because it cracked 40 degrees here in the Northeast. Given it was cold and there was a 5-10 mph tailwind, I STILL got the clubs up pretty high in the air. I did notice the ability to WORK the trajectory. So my main concern of getting them airborne is no problem at all. I did not hit the 4i, but I did hit the 5 iron about 180 carry, with a TON of backspin.

Low: The ball flight itself was softer. Draws started straight and the curve kicked in mid flight. Instead of with my old irons where they curved right off the face. My classic miss, pull-draw, had this softer curve it felt more managable. I hit 10, 8 irons in a row. 8 of the 10 hit the practice green, 2 went just over. There was no hard miss left. I felt more control with these irons.

Samson: Yes, they did go a touch shorter than my other irons. HOWEVER, it was 42 degrees outside and I was hitting beat up balls. All in all, everthing I noticed was positive. I even got a little feedback on a toe hit or 2. I am very consistent with contact on the face, LW to 6i. 5i on up it gets a little worse.


Thanks for all the feedback. After hitting them, I know I made the right move. PW-7i is just plain fun. I was hitting it high, low, cut, hard cut. Way too easy to work and will be FUN on the course. Stiff instead of X-Stiff is still yet to be determined. Actually, I am thinking about a heavier weight shaft now to make my transition less "jerky." I can make this happen for $100, so its really tempting.

Anyone here ever switch to a HEAVIER shaft (like 110 to 130)? Results?

__________________
What's in my bag....
Cleveland VP 2 Blade Putter
Ping Tour Wedges, 54 & 60
TaylorMade rac LT2, 4i thru PW
Tour Edge Exotics Iron-Wood 21* 3i - Aldila NV 90 Stiff Shaft
Ping G5 18* 5 Wood - ProLaunch Blue 75 Stiff Shaft
Ping G5 15* 3 Wood - Aldila NV 75 Stiff Shaft
Cleveland HiBore XL 9.5* - Fujikura Fit-On Red Stiff Shaft