Struggle town with new fitted irons

[okitoki]

ok; Confession time
So for the last 1.5 years since I have started playing golf again, i have been playing, testing, experimenting, mucking around with different brand and type of irons; I have had various success with some, while I didnt get along with others. Some people may say I have change more sets of irons in a short period of time, then I have bought new underwears over the last 5 years (and yes, that is true)

After much research, and going to demo days and trying out different brands of new clubs, I have decided to go the GI route; even though I strike well with some players iron (7-PW), i just dont have the swing speed to generate sufficient distance and height; plus the longer irons were not my strong points either. The JPX919HM was a good fit for me during the fitting day; Hit off grass; tried various type of shafts, even the 4 iron was easy to hit off the deck. Fitting came up with KBS Tour 110 regular, and standard length and lie; Grips were Golf Pride MCC grey with the thicker top section for my right hand. Feels great.

Received it last Wednesday, and took it to the grass range right away; 8-PW was perfect; same as how I remember it during the fitting day; now the trouble begins, the 7 iron was struggling, while the 5 iron just felt wrong; Felt like I was hitting the ground 6" behind the ball. ok shots felt like a thin top shot, while bad misses were just a heavy duff hitting the ground.

Last Sunday was my first game with them, and my iron game was just terrible.... I seemed to keep topping the ball left and even attacking the greens with the short irons were near impossible.
Went to the range yesterday again with just my 7 and 5 irons, and it was depressing.

Now....
- The biggest change I can feel with the current setup to my previous clubs is the feel of the weight of the club; it feels heavier, but balanced; while my previous sets are around C9, D0 where as the 919 is rated at D2. (the shafts I have felt good with were with either TT or DG S300)
- The Grips are different to the standard grips, where the right hand grips were smaller before.

Any suggestions of drills to ease myself into these irons? Am I suppose to ease into them, or should I be hitting them well from the get go? (not expecting laser darts)

After reading about getting fit for irons, how awesome people played with theirs, and finally biting the bullet to get the set I am hoping to finally keep for a long time. it just seems disheartening to be hitting this badly.

[thecollective]

Oki,

Sounds like your struggling with finding the low point (connection to ball) in your swing, there are literally 100's of youtube videos on this topic. Other than that could be your handle reverse pivoting as you mentioned previously struggling with the short game

Best two drills are; rocking the swing back and forth making connection with the ground ala Jordan Speith (Shawn Clement is obsessed with this drill), placing ball well ahead of low point (slightly past left leg) and hitting it (Crossfield drill)

[okitoki]

Oki,

Sounds like your struggling with finding the low point (connection to ball) in your swing, there are literally 100's of youtube videos on this topic. Other than that could be your handle reverse pivoting as you mentioned previously struggling with the short game
Best two drills are; rocking the swing back and forth making connection with the ground ala Jordan Speith (Shawn Clement is obsessed with this drill), placing ball well ahead of low point (slightly past left leg) and hitting it (Crossfield drill)

yeah cheers for that... will head to the range again for these drills
maybe I am expecting good shots from the get go with the new clubs, but it seems frustrating that I could change clubs easily before, but seem to struggle with this.

[thecollective]

yeah cheers for that... will head to the range again for these drills
maybe I am expecting good shots from the get go with the new clubs, but it seems frustrating that I could change clubs easily before, but seem to struggle with this.

Nothing to do with the clubs, perhaps the weight might of shifted the low point, but all you need to do is re-calibrate it

[okitoki]

quick range time during lunch time;
Only brought the 7 and 9 iron today;
Started off with some of the above drills, plus the flamingo drill...
Worked on concentrating on maintaining the head position, spine angle , slow steady back swing to "9 Oclock" position, relax my grip and not to sway the body; ,,,, phew... seems like a lotto remember during a swing
Have to remember to grip down on the shaft by 1" to my "normal" position also helped.

Strike with the 9i was probably 80% solid with a high ball flight... while the 7i was at 50% flush shots, while the rest were slightly thin but still fly at low to decent height towards the target. did sneak in a few topped shots or ones with a slice ..

Still not good, but much better than yesterday's range session.

Hopefully this is a sign of getting used to it.... will try to go to the course after work today and play with only 3 clubs (5,7,9) over a few holes.

I have noted that after swing the 7 iron for about 20+ shots, I find the 9 iron felt much more lighter.....

[wizard_of_oz]

I had a similar experience, so you aren't alone. Paid to get fitted, hit really well in the fitting session, and then was struggling more when I got them. I persevered as I knew I had been used to my irons after using them for 3 years plus and it would take some time to get used to the new irons and the different distance (I'm half a club shorter with the new irons but that's because I weakened the lofts by 1-2 degrees to get better gapping). Keep at it, there will come a light bulb moment.

[okitoki]

I had a similar experience, so you aren't alone. Paid to get fitted, hit really well in the fitting session, and then was struggling more when I got them. I persevered as I knew I had been used to my irons after using them for 3 years plus and it would take some time to get used to the new irons and the different distance (I'm half a club shorter with the new irons but that's because I weakened the lofts by 1-2 degrees to get better gapping). Keep at it, there will come a light bulb moment.

Yeah its kinda makes me worried when people say how awesome their fitted clubs were from day 1 onward, and if you are not hitting it well, it was a shit fitting, etc....

so started to doubt myself and/or the fitting.....

[3oneday]

If you got fatted, can’t you go back to them and ask what’s wrong??

[okitoki]

If you got fatted, can’t you go back to them and ask what’s wrong??

I guess I ate too much and gained some weight?

I will give it another few weeks; i am trying to figure out if my swing has gone screwy or its just a "get to know you" phase

[Steve57]

I guess I ate too much and gained some weight?

I will give it another few weeks; i am trying to figure out if my swing has gone screwy or its just a "get to know you" phase
I would go straight back before you develop further bad habits trying to get used to them.
They should be able to pick what you are doing wrong straight away.
They can also check that the build is correct!

[3Puttpete]

Did you hit the exact same set up you bought?

[Daves]

I would go straight back before you develop further bad habits trying to get used to them.
They should be able to pick what you are doing wrong straight away.
They can also check that the build is correct!

What Steve said. Every good fitting should include a post build review to ensure the fit is correct and you are happy with the clubs.

[BayBum]

You got fitted but have to grip down an inch ?

Did you swing normally at the fitting ?

[Hard_Pan]

This is very topical for me. I have the 919 Forged in mind. Hitting indoors does not work for me so I'm trying to see if I can get a fitting at a driving range. Been in touch with the Mizuno rep and he's willing to do a fitting at a driving range but as you've highlighted, at the end of the day, it is all really worth it?

The only way I can see a fitting really working is, getting fit, taking the clubs out for a few rounds and then getting fit again (including the option of changing shafts/lies etc again). I don't think anyone offers this.

[dowdsy]

Sounds like you are swaying off the ball in the backswing, this will cause you to hit fat shots all day if its your problem.

[okitoki]

In terms of build spec, i received the right shaft at the right length. Havent checked the lie.... but the issue i had doesnt seem like is lie related.
On the fitting day, i have played an average game of golf before it, and the i was hitting beautiful shots off these clubs (even 4 iron), so i thought it was a good indication it wasn't a fluke day
I always grip down on my irons with about 1/2 to 1 inch depending on the day.
I can see some improvement when i concentrate ok on not swaying yesterday at the range.... so im hoping thats the case.

Since i only received it last thursday, i would assume a feedback review for the fitting will happen after another few weeks.

[thecollective]

In terms of build spec, i received the right shaft at the right length. Havent checked the lie.... but the issue i had doesnt seem like is lie related.
On the fitting day, i have played an average game of golf before it, and the i was hitting beautiful shots off these clubs (even 4 iron), so i thought it was a good indication it wasn't a fluke day
I always grip down on my irons with about 1/2 to 1 inch depending on the day.
I can see some improvement when i concentrate ok on not swaying yesterday at the range.... so im hoping thats the case.

Since i only received it last thursday, i would assume a feedback review for the fitting will happen after another few weeks.

Oki, were you hitting off mats instead of turf?

[okitoki]

Oki, were you hitting off mats instead of turf? Was on a grass range

[okitoki]

Sounds like you are swaying off the ball in the backswing, this will cause you to hit fat shots all day if its your problem. Well... as stupid as it sounds... it seems over the last few weeks i have developed a narrow stance to my setup. Causing a sway to my swing.During the clinic session tonight it was pointed out to me and i seem to be able to make contact more solid with the irons. Will see how it behaves this weekend during a game

[Jazz18]

This is very topical for me. I have the 919 Forged in mind. Hitting indoors does not work for me so I'm trying to see if I can get a fitting at a driving range. Been in touch with the Mizuno rep and he's willing to do a fitting at a driving range but as you've highlighted, at the end of the day, it is all really worth it?

The only way I can see a fitting really working is, getting fit, taking the clubs out for a few rounds and then getting fit again (including the option of changing shafts/lies etc again). I don't think anyone offers this.

I don't know about the others but I'm pretty sure Ping would offer this type of service. They may not give you option of changing shafts for free but I'm almost certain if there was a need for a change that lie angles would be done for free with them. Maybe even a change in length if it meant just cutting shafts down. Speak to the local Ping rep to see what they offer there.

[3Puttpete]

at the end of the day, it is all really worth it?



I doubt it

[D22marshall]

I don't know about the others but I'm pretty sure Ping would offer this type of service. They may not give you option of changing shafts for free but I'm almost certain if there was a need for a change that lie angles would be done for free with them. Maybe even a change in length if it meant just cutting shafts down. Speak to the local Ping rep to see what they offer there. But ping is poo

[Jazz18]

But ping is pooBetter than that JDM [emoji90]

[thecollective]

But ping is poo

The inventor and founding father of the forgiving club

If you do your homework PING is like the God of golf clubs; us golfers owe a lot to Karsten Soleheim

[pt73]

The inventor and founding father of the forgiving club

If you do your homework PING is like the God of golf clubs; us golfers owe a lot to Karsten Soleheim
Correct and Scotty Cameron wouldn't have had a product to copy to make his most popular putters.

[thecollective]

Scotty Cameron & Karsten Soleheim is like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs

complete and utter plagiarism

[Hard_Pan]

Have you got Bill and Steve in the wrong order? I’ve seen Pirates of Silicon Valley... ;)

[Jazz18]

He's just putting shit on me guys cause I'm back into Ping gear. Pay no attention to him [emoji16]

[thecollective]

Have you got Bill and Steve in the wrong order? I’ve seen Pirates of Silicon Valley... ;)

I hate windows so my natural response is no

[Hard_Pan]

I hate windows so my natural response is noActually you're right, Bill ripped off Steve and that dude he bought the OS from for nix.

[okitoki]

Well... today's game was half and half.... hitting the irons pretty well actually... still not 100% with the 5i but the rest are hitting ok.... windy and wet today but didnt really played well...

But did mess up 3 holes by doing something stupid and missing a fair few easy putts.

Still need to learn how to chip and run with these hot irons... balls seems to just bounce off them on light chip and runs.

Getting a set of old mizuno mx wedges seems to blend in pretty well... the 60 is just awesome out of the bunkers today (plenty of them)

Still a lot of WIP to go