Bearing in mind that with golf clubs and shafts its all subjective but here is my 2 pence worth.
Irons
I would rate the clubs in the following order:
1) Mizuno MP60
2) Bridgestone J33 CB
3) Taylor Made TP
I have hit both the MP60s and the J33CBs before and the difference between the two is very very small and it will come down to personal tastes and feel.
I liked the look of both sets of irons and they have the look that I am looking for which is a blade like look with a thin topline and a narrowish sole profile. Anything that looks gimmicky or plasticy then its out.
As for feel the Mizuno's are buttery soft and you can't be a pured shot out of the middle with them. The Bridgestone's whilst they a bit 'clickier' than the Mizuno's they are still very soft. Again it comes down to personnel preference. Given the choice I would be happy to play either. If you are worried about quality I would rate the Bridgestone's slightly higher than the Mizuno's. The Mizuno specs and tolerances can be out a little (as can all clubs) but the Bridgestone's that I have (J33 Combos) came out bang on spec.
I have not hit the Taylor Mades but I have seen them a few times and they are not that bad looking but they do look a bit too busy for me and also after help reshaft a few TM drivers and irons, I am not that enamored with their build quality. I have read reports that the irons do feel harsh and that they are not a soft as say the Mizuno or the Bridgestone.
Shafts
I have been playing PXs for the past year or so. I feel that they are butt stiff shafts and even thought they play stiffer than say your Dynamic Golds they are not harsh but feel very smooth and pretty progressive.
The ball flight that I get from them is pretty flat, the ball starts off with a high launch and then plateaus at the top of its flight whilst still going forwards. Its a good shaft if you want to keep the ball down a bit better whilst still having a high launch.
But in saying that I am going back to Dynamic Golds for a while. Not as smooth as the PXs but they are heavier as I found that I liked the weight and feel better in the DGs. Sometimes with the PXs I felt that I could not feel where the club was and that I could not get that sensation that I was looking for on good hits and on mishits.
Thanks guys. I was just trying to stimulate some back and forth banter about "players cavity backs". Right now I play Mizuno
MP-37"s. I'm a 4 handicap and have been playing for 40 years. Trust me the 37's are demanding irons. (They were kind of an impulse buy. Afterwards I realized the offset INCREASES as your progress to the pitching wedge.)Everything I've played has been a muscleback style blade. Old Wilson Sam Snead Blue Ridge, Hogan BH Grinds, Titleist bulletback blades then Mizuno 37's. Trust me, I don't change irons very often. But I'll be 52 next year and I'm thinking the swing won't be getting anymore precise in the years to come. Will a players cavity or a total players improvement iron like an Eye 2 make a difference?
I apologize to those who shank with dowels or play in suspended animation.
Hogan BH grinds were nice - so nice some Ba#@a%d stole them from my car! Still have a 5 iron to remember them by... The more recent Hogan blades don't seem quite the same...
Mizuno TP9s are beautiful - so soft! Agree with Nuke that they have a special "dense and soft" feel... the density is something to really fall in love with... again not felt it so much with the newer mizuno blades...maybe shaft issue ... so hard to get an exact comparison ( same shaft... different head... similarish swing weight ) .
TM 300 forged cavity back are nice as a players cavity but their best never feels as good as the best Mizuno TP9 shots... but maybe 1-2 extra green per round... but does being on the front of a green 40 foot from the flag mean a lower score than 50 foot from the flag and in the front bunker??
Not with my short game! down in 3 from both!!
Last edited by golfbulldog : 11-14-2006 at 01:31 PM.
Haven't played any of those irons, so I can't give any feedback on those specifically. I played the MP-29's for about 4 years (with one re-finishing job) and loved em. From those I went to Ping S-59 Tours.... a close substitute looks-wise, but not quite the same "forged feel". I'm considering going back to the new Mizuno modified cut-muscle next year if I don't try to hang for another season with the Pings. I'm still partial to Mizuno's, regardless of the model.
Interestingly enough I had heard a lot about the PX shaft and happened to have a playing partner show up today with those in a 6.5 model (he had a set on loan that he got this week). I have DG-X100's in my Pings and like them, and my friend wanted me to hit his PX's on the range to get my input. He's played professional golf, primarily at the mini-tout level, and I'm a 0-2 handicap. I didn't care for the PX's at all, and he wasn't enamored with them either. They felt verrry stiff and provided little feel.
Keep it up boys. Good discussion so far. I have not kept up with the business end of what is happening but I've heard that True Temper now owns Royal Precision who made Rifle's and Project X's. Am I correct? If so, I wonder what they will do with those two product lines.
Hogan BH grinds were nice - so nice some Ba#@a%d stole them from my car! Still have a 5 iron to remember them by... The more recent Hogan blades don't seem quite the same...
I just remembered I still have an old beat up set of Hogan Redlines in the garage which I use in the offseason at the dome. Your right, those older Hogans were beautiful.
Keep it up boys. Good discussion so far. I have not kept up with the business end of what is happening but I've heard that True Temper now owns Royal Precision who made Rifle's and Project X's. Am I correct? If so, I wonder what they will do with those two product lines.
From what I have read over the Internet and through other sources this is correct. TT have bought over the property rights and possibly Royal Precision outright. The last report has said that they are going to have both lines running side by side and that they are going to start up the manufacturing of new stock of RP shafts soon.
Alex
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