Getting Fitted for New Irons Tomorrow

Legalize-It-Ags

6:10p, 3/20/24

12-15 handicapper (for now) getting fitting for the Callaway Apex Pros or the Apex Pro CBs. Pretty stoked to finally get these in the bag. Also going to take my first few shots with the AI Smoke driver and woods. Those might be in the bag in the coming month.

Not sure how I'm going to like the pros hallow body vs the fully forged head of the CBs. Swing speed is around 93-95mph with irons so distance is never an issue with me. Definitely going with X flex on my irons for sure. I'm 32 and this is the first time I've ever gotten to do this. Can wait to share how it goes with y'all.

Big Walt Law Firm

8:48p, 3/20/24

What sold you on the Callaway irons? I almost pulled the trigger on an iron fitting this year, but talked myself out of it. Have swung used clubs since high school and finally trying to improve my game versus just hacking around on the course.

Keep us updated on if the new irons are a game changer for you.

Old Sarge

9:23p, 3/20/24

I was a diehard Callaway guy, when I quit over a decade ago. Full set irons, sans one Ping wedge, and all the woods.

Met with a master fitter with several lines of clubs before I came back, purely by chance. Talked in depth about the fitting process and what would be required, of me. Stamina, and a consistent strike and swing. Once that had returned it was time. Of course, thinking Callaway across the board based on history.

Then a friend that had been through the process asked me a question. Are you going to go to get fit for a brand/line, or what is the best clubs for you? Are you going to trust the numbers? (what the monitor and club agnostic fitter relays) This kept hanging in my head. I loved Callaway, it was proven for me. Played my best golf ever with them, and converted my Dad back then to them.

Am I going to trust the numbers?

I went for two fittings, one for irons, one for woods. The fitter fit every major brand, shafts, etc. (not Club Champion fitter). Two hours on irons alone. He asked me to have 4 clubs I thought it might be, which I had told him in advance. He had those and several other heads waiting. A quick measure for length after watching me warm up with my 7 iron and strike location proved longer shafts were needed from my old set. Got shafts ready with heads and off we went. Hit all the ones I had listed with several others mixed in, based on what he saw with numbers and ball strike with each. Some were even "blind" testing. In the midst of it I had good and bad with different lines, and stock irons shafts options with each. I thought for sure it would be one of the two Callaway irons I had listed. Not even close. I ended up hitting what I thought would be a harder to hit iron waayyy better and consistent than anything I had listed and it was not even close. And it was a Titleist.

So, I bought Titleist.

Then came the woods a couple weeks later. Same thing, provided what I thought was a sure and wanted list. Hit those and others. Had two on my list that I did not want based on looks, one of those on sound from a knock around. Gave it my best on every one, because trust the numbers. Wanted the Callaway Paradym, Titleist TSR, etc., even the Cobra Aerojet, just not the other two, but in the mix I hit them as well. Ended up with a driver (not the Ping) that I did not like the looks of whatsoever, but hit it 20-30 yrds farther with less dispersion. With a driver 2 deg. stronger than I thought I could ever hit.

So now my challenge is learning the new stuff on the course and the old addage of technique, which is a lifelong chase.

My score is dropping from my new "new" after all those years and should be back to my best game after a decade or more much more rapidly than I would have thought. If i had tried to slot myself into my old Callaway brand, which is good, but not for me after the fitting, it would be a long time to return to the "old days" based on the fitting.

So, are you going to get fit for a club/line, or go club agnostic and trust the numbers?

If one is going to put the time and effort into a fitting, or two, why not flush the head (your head not the club) and accept what is the best club(s) and stock shaft combo available if it does not cost one dime more than off the shelf? Just a minor wait time to get them ordered to your specs (including grips, tape wraps, etc.) I understand there are places like Club Campion that do this, with specialty shafts, but the upgrades turn into big $$.

Maybe not for all, but going to a master fitter that cared more about the club match to me worked. Of course they would try and fit you into the club/shaft you desired, but what is best for your game?

Green is the new RED.

DargelSkout

5:52a, 3/21/24

In reply to Old Sarge

Where did you do this fitting?

Old Sarge

6:45a, 3/21/24

In reply to DargelSkout

Sent you a PM.

Green is the new RED.

Legalize-It-Ags

5:21p, 3/21/24

In reply to Big Walt Law Firm

Big Walt Law Firm said:
What sold you on the Callaway irons? I almost pulled the trigger on an iron fitting this year, but talked myself out of it. Have swung used clubs since high school and finally trying to improve my game versus just hacking around on the course.

Keep us updated on if the new irons are a game changer for you.

I work for Callaway and get a wicked discount lol

Legalize-It-Ags

5:22p, 3/21/24

In reply to DargelSkout

DargelSkout said:
Where did you do this fitting?

Callaway NADC in Roanoke,TX

Legalize-It-Ags

5:29p, 3/21/24

Bought apex pros 24. 4-PW with the +1 to the head lie angle since I have a fairly steep swing. X-flex Nippon NS Pro Modus Tour 120 shafts. Standard on everything else.

Hit probably about 20 shots with this setup.
- head speed: 97.3mph
- ball speed: 130mph
- backspin: 6100
- Carry distance: 182 yards
- total distance: 188 yards

Driver didn't go well but I'm struggling a bit with that atm.
My good shots with the AI smoke 8 degree were around 118 club head speed, 171 ball speed, and carry distance around 285-300 depending on spin. Need to practice to get more consistent.

Legalize-It-Ags

5:33p, 3/21/24

In reply to Old Sarge

So I went with Callaway because I work for the company. However the apex pros fit a pretty good niche for me. I want some irons that are considered players irons, but also add a degree of forgiveness. When I made contact with the ball, it was buttery smooth and explosive off the club face. The cbs were similar, but provided too much spin on good strikes and were far more punishing on ball ones.

AgBQ-00

6:43p, 3/21/24

In reply to Legalize-It-Ags

When will they be in for you?

Legalize-It-Ags

7:04p, 3/21/24

In reply to AgBQ-00

AgBQ-00 said:
When will they be in for you?

Says it's going to take probably about two weeks

AgBQ-00

7:27p, 3/21/24

In reply to Legalize-It-Ags

Awesome!

leachfan

12:55a, 3/23/24

I've got some apex 21, 1/4" long elevate 95 mph shafts on eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/145674566465?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=nbeAL3M9Qf2&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=nbeAL3M9Qf2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

BoDog

1:23p, 3/23/24

Did they keep you in a stiff shaft? I would think with that swing speed they would recommend regular... although maybe I am completely off base.

medog

4:00p, 3/23/24

Got fitted a couple of weeks ago to replace my 10-year-old Cobra Bio Cell irons. The biggest change my fitter recommended was to get lighter shafts. My current clubs have True Temper Dynamic Gold at 130 grams and as I've aged, they feel like I'm swinging a sledgehammer. He put me in 105-gram shafts and a -2 degree lie angle because I was missing everything left. I spent about an hour and a half hitting balls and the new clubs are much easier to hit and way more forgiving on mis-hits.

I finally settled on the Mizuno JPX 923 Pros and surprisingly, he kept me in stiff shafts. I thought as I've aged, my swing needed regular but he recommended against it. I'll have to adjust my distances as the new clubs are all about 1 club stronger than my last set. My normal 7 iron is 165 yards and I was hitting the new one about 178.

AggieDruggist89

4:15p, 3/23/24

In reply to medog

medog said:
Got fitted a couple of weeks ago to replace my 10-year-old Cobra Bio Cell irons. The biggest change my fitter recommended was to get lighter shafts. My current clubs have True Temper Dynamic Gold at 130 grams and as I've aged, they feel like I'm swinging a sledgehammer. He put me in 105-gram shafts and a -2 degree lie angle because I was missing everything left. I spent about an hour and a half hitting balls and the new clubs are much easier to hit and way more forgiving on mis-hits.

I finally settled on the Mizuno JPX 923 Pros and surprisingly, he kept me in stiff shafts. I thought as I've aged, my swing needed regular but he recommended against it. I'll have to adjust my distances as the new clubs are all about 1 club stronger than my last set. My normal 7 iron is 165 yards and I was hitting the new one about 178.

Your post has me curious what would've happened if you just swapped out the shafts and got your clubs bent.

Imo, finding the right shaft and the lie angle are two of the more important tasks of getting fitted.

Yes my iron heads are 24 years old. But I changed my shafts from 120grams to 95 and had heads bent 2 degrees flat. I've also added shock dampening foam insert and got measured for the right grip size, midsize.

What I didn't want changed was lofts to preserve my gaps and distance control. I've worked pretty hard in my distance accuracy and quite frankly I fear making changes. So I just keep using my old faithful.

medog

4:32p, 3/23/24

In reply to AggieDruggist89

That's a fair question and I did think about it. In addition to the lie angle, my old clubs had a slight offset that also contributed to my misses to the left. As my swing evolved over the years, I didn't need the offeset because my natural ball flight is a draw.

I have 3 Cleveland wedges 52, 56, and a 60 and he did bend them flat a bit for me but unfortunately he snapped my 60 at the hosel. He felt terrible and gave me a used Vokey to use. My new clubs are 5 iron through GW (which is the same loft as my current PW) so I just ordered 2 new wedges to replace my Clevelands. I'm getting a 53 and 58 to keep the lofts consistent across the set -- which means I'll take the 60 out of the bag. I didn't use it much other than the occasional flop which I'll just use my new 58.

To finally answer your question, at the end of the day, I just wanted new clubs

AggieDruggist89

6:01p, 3/23/24

In reply to medog

Fair enough!

Big Walt Law Firm

6:22p, 3/23/24

In reply to medog

Swapping my 60 out for a 58 has been a good change for me personally. The 58 feels more versatile and you can still open it up and flop it.

Drparker

3:06a, 3/24/24

Does anybody have any knowledge on the PXG line. I was thinking about looking into them. I have callaway stuff now

TexDill15

8:09a, 3/24/24

In reply to Legalize-It-Ags

Legalize-It-Ags said:
Big Walt Law Firm said:
What sold you on the Callaway irons? I almost pulled the trigger on an iron fitting this year, but talked myself out of it. Have swung used clubs since high school and finally trying to improve my game versus just hacking around on the course.

Keep us updated on if the new irons are a game changer for you.

I work for Callaway and get a wicked discount lol

TexAgs discount?!?!?

Legalize-It-Ags

12:57p, 3/28/24

In reply to BoDog

BoDog said:
Did they keep you in a stiff shaft? I would think with that swing speed they would recommend regular... although maybe I am completely off base.

i think you're off by a good margin. My swing speed is slightly above tour average. They put my in X-stiff. To quote the fitter "I have speed for days".

Legalize-It-Ags

12:59p, 3/28/24

In reply to Big Walt Law Firm

Big Walt Law Firm said:
Swapping my 60 out for a 58 has been a good change for me personally. The 58 feels more versatile and you can still open it up and flop it.

58, 54, 50 is whats in my bag.

Legalize-It-Ags

12:59p, 3/28/24

In reply to TexDill15

TexDill15 said:
Legalize-It-Ags said:
Big Walt Law Firm said:
What sold you on the Callaway irons? I almost pulled the trigger on an iron fitting this year, but talked myself out of it. Have swung used clubs since high school and finally trying to improve my game versus just hacking around on the course.

Keep us updated on if the new irons are a game changer for you.

I work for Callaway and get a wicked discount lol

TexAgs discount?!?!?

haha maybe

Legalize-It-Ags

1:00p, 3/28/24

In reply to Drparker

Drparker said:
Does anybody have any knowledge on the PXG line. I was thinking about looking into them. I have callaway stuff now

PXG is crap. Heavily marketed crap. Don't go anything PXG. Stick with the traditional brands. Callaway, Titleist, TM, Ping, etc.