GI x thin sole

[bigdriveandy]

For context I’m a former 3 hcp that doesn’t really play much anymore and never practices. If I had to guess I probably play like a 6 or 7 today. Iron striking is by far the worst part of my game. On the heels of Johnny Wunder’s revelation about why wide soles are bad for pickers, I’m looking for something as forgiving possible with thinner soles and great turf interaction. Bonus points if they aren’t gigantic with a bunch of offset. I’m thinking maybe zx5?

[tomg1969]

13 minutes ago, bigdriveandy said:

For context I’m a former 3 hcp that doesn’t really play much anymore and never practices. If I had to guess I probably play like a 6 or 7 today. Iron striking is by far the worst part of my game. On the heels of Johnny Wunder’s revelation about why wide soles are bad for pickers, I’m looking for something as forgiving possible with thinner soles and great turf interaction. Bonus points if they aren’t gigantic with a bunch of offset. I’m thinking maybe zx5?

I'm looking for something similar, but would add that it would also be helpful if someone could offer a suggestion for irons with thinner soles, low bounce and a low COG. I think the ZX5 are very nice but the soles are pretty wide. ZX7 might be a better fit. I have a Srixon combo set and the ZX7 are pretty forgiving and not hard to hit. The V sole might be a challenge because to me, it plays like a wider sole

[lefthack]

I'm thinking you might be in the right area. I hear the soles are funky for some people, but they fit the bill. I have not hit the Srixon ZX, but really want a ZX5/ZX7 combo set. 4-6 in the 5, 7-PW in the 7. I wish the Z Forged were in lefty, but nope.

[IL2AZ]

The Mizuno 921 Forged are pretty forgiving and have been slimmed down in all directions.  The sole has a trailing edge bevel that, along with a lower bounce than comparable irons, makes it play even thinner than it is.

[nostatic]

1 hour ago, bigdriveandy said:

For context I’m a former 3 hcp that doesn’t really play much anymore and never practices. If I had to guess I probably play like a 6 or 7 today. Iron striking is by far the worst part of my game. On the heels of Johnny Wunder’s revelation about why wide soles are bad for pickers, I’m looking for something as forgiving possible with thinner soles and great turf interaction. Bonus points if they aren’t gigantic with a bunch of offset. I’m thinking maybe zx5?

ZX5 vs ZX7. I’m double digit hcp, and I find the ZX7 easier to hit, likely due to the narrower sole. Ymmv.

 

 

[jomatty]

Apex pros are something to look at.  Definitely not GI but also offer good amount of help with a fairly narrow sole.  

[bladehunter]

T100

[bigdriveandy]

24 minutes ago, bladehunter said:

T100

I’ll be honest I can’t  stand the look of those at address. The top line is too thin and the hosel looks so big

[CasualLie]

New Level PF-2.  Nothing about them is GI, however they are not a really small CB.  Narrow soles, excellent feel, and a classic design.  There's something to be said about a standard CB design with correct weighting to be all the forgiveness a single digit needs.

[bladehunter]

6 hours ago, bigdriveandy said:

I’ll be honest I can’t  stand the look of those at address. The top line is too thin and the hosel looks so big

Lol. Both things I love. They mimic the older titleist blades I started the game with.  But that’s why we have options.  
 

I don’t know of any other GI iron with the same thin sole that cuts through turf .  

[mvhoffman]

If you want to go old school, the Mizuno JPX825 Pro would be a great option.  Thin sole, thicker beveled top line creating a visually thinner topline, progressively forgiving thru the set 

[rsballer10]

35 minutes ago, bladehunter said:

Lol. Both things I love. They mimic the older titleist blades I started the game with.  But that’s why we have options.  
 

I don’t know of any other GI iron with the same thin sole that cuts through turf .  

Agreed. T100 short irons frame the ball as well as any blade I've seen. The topline is thinner than my MP-18 MB's that I've played for the past 3 years.

[bladehunter]

4 minutes ago, rsballer10 said:

Agreed. T100 short irons frame the ball as well as any blade I've seen. The topline is thinner than my MP-18 MB's that I've played for the past 3 years.

Yep. Titleist did a great job. And my biggest pet peeve on any set is the pitching wedge.  If it doesn’t look right , Ill ditch the whole set.  That and turf interaction.  The T100 is the absolute best compromise of all I’ve ever seen.  

[Hougz79]

I'd also vote for T100/AP2 for max forgiveness in a thin sole.  Might be worth hitting MP20MMC.  I love how tiny the soles of my P7MC are, but they are not too terribly forgiving.  

[mogc60]

12 hours ago, tomg1969 said:

I'm looking for something similar, but would add that it would also be helpful if someone could offer a suggestion for irons with thinner soles, low bounce and a low COG. I think the ZX5 are very nice but the soles are pretty wide. ZX7 might be a better fit. I have a Srixon combo set and the ZX7 are pretty forgiving and not hard to hit. The V sole might be a challenge because to me, it plays like a wider sole

This statement is a misunderstanding of the v sole. The v sole plays NARROWER than what the sole is because the front half of the V is in play and the back part is out of the way. It allows the lead edge to get into the turf and the v kicks it out of the turf and keeps it moving. For a sweeper it just keeps the lead edge lower and should actually help ball striking. It allows them to put more weight low in the head without affecting the sole performance like a true wide sole high bounce iron. If you look at the attached pics only the front of the V has wear and the back of the sole has almost none. 

[hartrick11]

i500 is reasonably thin-soled with a pretty big sweet spot and retains ballspeed on off-center hits well IMO; sound/feel is less than ideal compared to some of the others mentioned above though. i500/iblade combo set would probably be a contender if you wanted better feel in the scoring irons and didn't get along with the Srixon soles...

[Duffer222]

On 4/28/2021 at 10:59 PM, IL2AZ said:

The Mizuno 921 Forged are pretty forgiving and have been slimmed down in all directions.  The sole has a trailing edge bevel that, along with a lower bounce than comparable irons, makes it play even thinner than it is.

I gave up the 921 forged after taking a chance on the ZX5’s.  There’s zero comparison in ease of play.  I shot better my first round with them with shafts that I won’t keep because they’re so bad for me.  Didn’t stop the ZX5’s from putting me on the green and close.  Still haven’t switched out the shafts, but that’s next.  The ZX5’s are truly amazing and SO easy to play well with!

[bnperrone]

On 4/28/2021 at 11:25 PM, bladehunter said:

T100

Why have none of the follow-up posts said you're crazy to suggest the T100 in any kind of GI-oriented discussion. I've made the same statement as you (adding the MP20 MMC), and every single time I'm told that they don't count.

 

I agree with you, btw.

[Cwing]

In to read the suggestions.

Edited May 5, 2021 by Cwing

[phizzy30]

On 4/28/2021 at 7:01 PM, tomg1969 said:

I'm looking for something similar, but would add that it would also be helpful if someone could offer a suggestion for irons with thinner soles, low bounce and a low COG. I think the ZX5 are very nice but the soles are pretty wide. ZX7 might be a better fit. I have a Srixon combo set and the ZX7 are pretty forgiving and not hard to hit. The V sole might be a challenge because to me, it plays like a wider sole

New Level 623-M.  Yes they are technically blades but think of them as oversized MBs.  Lower COG, check, thinner sole, check, larger than a dime sweet spot, check, minimal offset, check.  Ball striking in general is the weakest part of my game and these babies are as forgiving as they come but with all the features of a player's iron. 

Edited May 5, 2021 by phizzy30

[bigdriveandy]

Most of these suggestions are hilariously far from “game improvement” irons, but I appreciate the thoughts. I literally want irons that just go as high and straight as possible, without having a huge sole that gets in the way of me getting to the back of the ball, and a ton of offset that will make my draw turn into a pull hook.

[OttoVonBizMarkie]

If you wanna fall back a couple years to when YJS and Elon Musk were still balding, Mizzy JPX 900 Forged have a beveled sole and are "GI-ish". Haven't hit the 921s, but I know the 919s had a fuller sole.

 

Tbh, Ping iBlades also fit this if you're looking at high and straight. Not quite GI, but more forgiving than they look.

[bnperrone]

21 hours ago, bigdriveandy said:

Most of these suggestions are hilariously far from “game improvement” irons, but I appreciate the thoughts. I literally want irons that just go as high and straight as possible, without having a huge sole that gets in the way of me getting to the back of the ball, and a ton of offset that will make my draw turn into a pull hook.

T200

P790

 

Low offset, thin sole, relatively speaking. Can weaken lofts to further reduce offset and launch higher.

[bigdriveandy]

4 hours ago, bnperrone said:

T200

P790

 

Low offset, thin sole, relatively speaking. Can weaken lofts to further reduce offset and launch higher.

Yes but weakening affects bounce, sole geometry, turf interaction

Edited May 7, 2021 by bigdriveandy

[bnperrone]

7 hours ago, bigdriveandy said:

Yes but weakening affects bounce, sole geometry, turf interaction

Yes, but it isn't something you're required to do. It's just another option if you want to get away from power lofts and back to modern standard. Actually, the P790s are already pretty much there. It's the T200 set that is quite strong. But then again, there's nothing wrong with that.

 

Suppose you took a T200 and bent it one degree weak. You'd add one degree of bounce, as the general rule. The sole geometry would shift slightly. What exactly do you think you would notice if you hit it side by side with a stock one in a blind test?

 

I'm not trying to be rude, but we can get too focused on specs and what happens on paper.

[dmeeksDC]

8 hours ago, bigdriveandy said:

Yes but weakening affects bounce, sole geometry, turf interaction

1 or 2 degrees will be imperceptible to the player except for seeing a slightly changed flight. Irons are designed to allow for loft adjustments either way to get gapping right between clubs. You’d have to bend them a lot to mess with turf interaction. One degree is a tiny change. 
 

As for an iron with some GI attributes and a thin sole, I’d say T200, JPX 921 Forged and ‘21 Apex Pro. 

[MattC555]

JPX 921 Forged or even the Hot Metal. 

[cardoustie]

I prefer the same

 

here are the iron sets I have liked the most & played the longest in recent years 

 

Ping s55

Cally Apex cf16

Mizuno 919t

Srixon ZX7

 

I also love Ping blueprints but they are pretty small

[Lasorcier]

0311T have a pretty thin sole and are more forgiving than one would think.   For really thin, that would be blueprints.

 

I do agree with picker = thinner sole.

[gridironesq]

On 5/5/2021 at 6:53 PM, bigdriveandy said:

Most of these suggestions are hilariously far from “game improvement” irons, but I appreciate the thoughts. I literally want irons that just go as high and straight as possible, without having a huge sole that gets in the way of me getting to the back of the ball, and a ton of offset that will make my draw turn into a pull hook.

Super forgiving with minimal offset has to be 921 hot metal pro.  921 forged has thinner sole but to me it’s not the level of GI that it seems you’re looking for.