Players Distance Irons help - thin misses

[LPSISCO]

I am a 10-11 handicap, and missing greens is my biggest scoring issue. I’m a picker, taking maybe one divot per 18 holes (you might call that one divot a chunked shot, just saying..). So my most common miss hit by far is the thin shot that flies low and loses 15 yards of distance. My natural shot shape is a draw, so lots of offset isn’t my vibe.

 

So, my question - which Players Distance type clubs would be good to demo to help the thin miss, and not exaggerate the draw that can easily turn into a hook? I currently play ZX5 OG with Recoil 95s; last two prior sets were PXG XPs that lasted about two weeks, and prior to that ZX7s that I played for 18 months and really liked, but wanted more forgiveness.

 

Thoughts? 

[Pnwpingi210]

T150

[Kmagnuss]

I have a similar shot and scoring avg... I tinker with irons A LOT.  I've found the Wilson CB to be a perfect mix of feel and forgiveness... especially on thinned shots or shots out on the toe.

My old Mizuno MP18SC's were really good with thin shots also.  They felt terrible but they went straight and just as far... lower with a bunch more spin so they actually would stop on the greens.

P790's were good with thin shots also, but I didn't really get along with them otherwise.

[Wardonation]

27 minutes ago, LPSISCO said:

I am a 10-11 handicap, and missing greens is my biggest scoring issue. I’m a picker, taking maybe one divot per 18 holes (you might call that one divot a chunked shot, just saying..). So my most common miss hit by far is the thin shot that flies low and loses 15 yards of distance. My natural shot shape is a draw, so lots of offset isn’t my vibe.

 

So, my question - which Players Distance type clubs would be good to demo to help the thin miss, and not exaggerate the draw that can easily turn into a hook? I currently play ZX5 OG with Recoil 95s; last two prior sets were PXG XPs that lasted about two weeks, and prior to that ZX7s that I played for 18 months and really liked, but wanted more forgiveness.

 

Thoughts? 

Players irons over the last 5 years are great but if you are a picker not so much. The soles of irons have increased in width over those 5 or so years. The club you are looking for does not really exist right now IMO. I currently play the Cobra King Tours but the sole is still too wide for me. I am going to go back to a low bounce blade iron next year. I never take a divot and my AOA with a 7 iron is +1, so big time picker. I played my best golf with MB's and the last five years I have messed around with players irons. Go demo some blades on a trackman and compare to your current set, I think you might be shocked. You will for sure hit the sweet spot more often and the thin miss will be way less thin. Dispersion will be tighter as well but you have to suck up the ego and might have to hit an extra club for the same number due to lofts.

[driveandputtmachine]

Also check out the Cobra Tours.   

 

I have a set of ZX7's and a set of Ping Blueprint S here at the house.  The cobra's are way more forgiving than either of the others, I also have a 4 iron in a ZX4 and ZX5 and a 5 iron in ZX5.  The Cobra tour is more forgiving that the ZX5 but not the ZX4.

[LPSISCO]

Titleist had a demo day at my club earlier this year, I just don’t like the sound or the feel of their irons. I might have a different take if they had had a decent graphite shaft in any of the various demo 7 irons, but perhaps I’m just not enough “playah” for Titleist…

 

I’ll take a look at the Wilson CB. 

 

Wardonation, I’m thinking your misses as a +2 aren’t quite like mine 😂. I will take your thoughts under advisement though. I did play MP32s and Callaway X Forged in the past, and not sure my scores suffered with less forgiving irons. It’s the yo-yo effect for me - I want better feel, then I want more forgiveness, then feel, then forgiveness….

 

I will check out the King Tours. I actually googled them the other day and it seems there are 42 iterations over the last 5 years so not sure which ones guys rave about. Any further details would help.

 

 

Thanks so far, keep it coming…

[bcflyguy1]

'24 Apex Pro excels at covering a slightly thin miss; worth giving a try.

 

Have you experimented with slightly longer shaft length?

[BraxtonFullerton]

1 hour ago, Kmagnuss said:

I've found the Wilson CB to be a perfect mix of feel and forgiveness... especially on thinned shots or shots out on the toe.

 

I'll second this. I'm much like you OP in that I tend to pick and thin shots. In the scoring clubs, the CBs will spin enough to keep you from sending it 15 yards clear over the green.

In the long clubs I went with the Dynapower Forged, the "power slots" on the bottom help keep ball speed up, so you don't get penalized and come up short, but the club still spins enough that you don't get the huge fliers either.

I built myself a split set, 5-PW that starts at 24* and then bent clubs so it goes in a 4* progression all the way down to the PW.

[BirdieBob]

Taylormade P790 ....Speed Pocket!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 23, 2024 by BirdieBob

[fundy]

I’ve played P770s for 4 years and find they handle thin shots well.

[Jeff58]

Short answer - i530

 

Long, boring answer -

 

I have 2021 P790’s and the OG ZX5’s as well. If the thin shot is assisted by the lie, either a thin lie or deep rough, the P790’s are grossly superior. The ZX5’s leading edge bounce just can’t get the club into an optimal position without a very negative attack angle.

On the other hand, if the thin shot is purely one of impact location, the club with the most mass under the impact position wins, and the ZX5 maintains loft better than the P790, which tries to maintain ball speed.

 

The i530 has a narrow sole, much like the P790, and lofts that are jacked through the roof. In order to make the “7 iron” behave anything like a normal 7 iron, there is a boatload of tungsten very low in the club. I would have likely bough the i530’s, except the PW/GW translation just doesn’t work for me.

[Mikey_HACKilroy]

https://www.golfdistillery.com/shot-errors/how-to-fix-thin/

🙂 When I worked on transitioning away from being a picture, this stuff helped. For a while I felt like I could do no wrong.

That didn't last, but there were other reasons for that (one of them being entirely too much tinkering.... LOL)

Edited August 23, 2024 by Mikey_HACKilroy

[vman]

Improve technique for the thin miss and any of the players distance irons will be a good fit. Offset isn’t really an issue on any players distance irons, it’s fairly minimal. So many great options from Ping, Mizuno, Taylormade, Titleist, PXG, etc.

[CROUSE99]

Funny you should ask.  My answer is get fit somewhere they can change not only shafts and lie angle, but also grip size and swing weight.  Like you, my miss is thin, I hit a draw and approach play is the worst part of my game.  I also hit the ball too low much of the time.  I recently had a fitting with PXG.  I was hitting the different heads ok until the fitter added the heaviest weight to the back of the club head.  All of sudden I was striping it.  With a 73 to 75 mph club head speed I was flying the 32 degree 0317T 150 yards with a good landing angle and great spin.  Don't assume a good fitting can't change your impact dynamics.  I've never been to a Club Champion but it might be worth spending the money for a thorough iron fitting.  If you don't want to pay their ridiculous prices for the clubs, take your specs elsewhere to order.

[realitycheck]

Wilson CB also gets my vote on the low miss

[Lobber]

Wilson Dynapower Forged for me.  Long, great feel, forgiving, workable, etc.  Very underrated and in my hands superior to others I have tried including TM P790 and others.

[black bnr32]

The Cool Clubs youtube channel measures this with a robot.  They’re all about the same.  But the Callaway Apex 2021 was better than average.

[holdem75]

My opinion the thin miss is possible with any club. Some misses might feel less harsh, go further, etc, depending on the club, but I would focus on swing adjustment vs specific irons

[jrg75]

Check out the Maltby Playability Factors at the following link https://www.golfworks.com/head-mpf-ratings/.

 

Ignore the MPF rating which is some sort of mashing of data into a forgiveness score.  Instead, focus on individual parameters you need help with to help narrow down your selection.  For someone wanting to minimize effect of thin shots, look for the lowest VCOG you can find.  P790 is probably a good starting point, VCOG of 0.693".

[BYK]

Apex has been great for me on thin misses. 
 

[dmeeksDC]

On 8/23/2024 at 11:18 AM, fundy said:

I’ve played P770s for 4 years and find they handle thin shots well.

+1. I think the 770 is hard to beat on thin shots, especially in the sole slotted 4-7 irons. Not really a player’s distance iron as it is more of a tweener, but it delivers consistent distance and retains spin and pretty good height even on the thinnest shots. And it does not have a lot of bounce or a very wide sole, which typically add to the problem on thin hits. Lofts are not super strong either — a 33 degree 7 iron. Jacked lofts are not your friend on thin misses. 

[wam78]

Have to say, nothing really manages a thin miss like a Zx7/5.  770 is really good as well.  But I’ve hit some god awful thin shots with Zx7 that should have never ended up where they have.

 

However, if you are constantly hitting thin shots, I would have your lengths & lies checked.  Depending on your delivery it could be an easy fix.