Who Are The Highest Ranked Players That Play The Most Forgiving Irons?

[dwboston]

4 hours ago, PhilWhitUK said:

I borrowed Monty’s biography a few years back and he talked about testing Callaway.  First time he hit them he hated them.  But he went back cos he realised they gave him consistent distance and that was what he was looking for.

 

strangely when I bought paper back update of the biography recently that bit had gone!

 

Mandela Effect renamed to Montgomerie Effect?

[iBanesto]

Niclas Fasth had some chunky monkeys back in the day.

 

 

[hollabachgt]

Kenny Perry reached 4th in the world back in 2009 using TaylorMade R7 irons

 

[TiScape]

M I the only one thinking none of these guys play for a living with MB blades??? 

[chachang25]

Zalatoris has been mentioned for playing his T150s, but I remember he even had a T350 3i in the bag

[PedronNiall]

44 minutes ago, TiScape said:

M I the only one thinking none of these guys play for a living with MB blades??? 

 

Tiger, Rory, Scottie, Fleetwood, Woodland, Rickie at times, Knapp, Scott, and quite a few others do. Players cavities are the majority but MBs show up enough. 

[TiScape]

1 minute ago, PedronNiall said:

 

Tiger, Rory, Scottie, Fleetwood, Woodland, Rickie at times, Knapp, Scott, and quite a few others do. Players cavities are the majority but MBs show up enough. 

Players cavities yes. Not the likes of the Cally shovels shown a lot in this thread. And, my post was served with tongue in cheek 😉 

[TiScape]

3 minutes ago, PedronNiall said:

 

Tiger, Rory, Scottie, Fleetwood, Woodland, Rickie at times, Knapp, Scott, and quite a few others do. Players cavities are the majority but MBs show up enough. 

And in no way does my post have anything to do with, or insinuate, guys on tour don’t play MB blades??? Well aware of what most guys play. I’m on WRX! 😁

[Pepperturbo]

Com'on, I had a set of T150's 4i-PW, they are not the "MOST forgiving" club.  Yes, they have some forgiveness, but so does T100, only most people that try them can't find it.  LOL 

 

Then there's this: Kevin Na playing Callaway Rogue Pro irons, now that's forgiving and funny.

[ac6]

9 hours ago, iBanesto said:

Niclas Fasth had some chunky monkeys back in the day.

 

 

 

Those Pro Series and X-Forged CBs were actually pretty nice at address. Definitely not the GBB shovels with 1.5" wide soles that Monty was playing. My theory is that Monty's old-school hip slide/extension move to hit that patented fade (which he makes work with all-time tempo and hands) is a swing that's prone to the fat miss and he tried a GI iron and it gave him the confidence back

[black bnr32]

Probably Anika and Monty playing Callaway in the 90s.

 

Those 2 would frequently not take a divot.

 

 

[LinkLow]

Fowler and his King Tours

[Tpbiker]

My mate still plays those big bertha irons used by monty, I sold them to him around 2002. I had a shot the other day for nostalgic purposes. I can truly say they are awful not to just look at, but also hit

 

I was gaming a set of x16 pro series until about 2020 and tbf they were much much nicer. 

 

Is the t150 a 'game improvement' club? It's no blade, but I have them now and they aren't a patch on something like a p790 in the forgiveness stakes.

[billyspan]

On 5/28/2025 at 10:04 AM, ram01002 said:

Hovland in the Ping i210s

THIS...the i210s are CHUNKY and have a very wide sole.  Crazy offset starting at 7 iron - ish.  Seen Cink, Westwood and a few others with those in the bag.

 

The i230s are a little slimmer.  I think those have to be the thickest irons that tour players use down to the wedge.  They are another level shovel compared to the Titleist 150s...

[mat562]

15 hours ago, Tpbiker said:

My mate still plays those big bertha irons used by monty, I sold them to him around 2002. I had a shot the other day for nostalgic purposes. I can truly say they are awful not to just look at, but also hit

 

'A topline you could park a van on,' was one comment I remember hearing when they first debuted in our pro shop.

[Tpbiker]

45 minutes ago, mat562 said:

 

'A topline you could park a van on,' was one comment I remember hearing when they first debuted in our pro shop.

Very much so! They looked absolutely ridiculous compared to my t150s

 

Oddly though, I can't remember them looking that large when I use to play them. Conversely however, I dug out the equivalent great big bertha driver from the same time period, and compared to my current gamer it was far smaller than I remember

 

 

 

 

[ColinKelvin]

On 6/3/2025 at 8:44 AM, mat562 said:

 

As well as being a machine at hitting a soft cut into the fairway with the driver, that was the thing I recall as being a hallmark of Monty's game in his prime. His distance control was sublime. He rarely hit an approach that was significantly short or long. Always pin high or close to it. One of his pearls of wisdom was that if you get the distance right on your approach shots you'll rarely be far away from the hole, as if you're any good you shouldn't be hitting your irons very far off line. The other one I love is 'If you hit the ball straight from the tee, it makes the game easy. Because they cut the grass for you.'

As a huge Monty fan back in the day, that quote about distance control with approaches cut deep on the final hole at Winged Foot.  The shot he had played so well his entire career deserted him... "what kind of shot was that?". 😞

 

I own a Yonex tour bag of his from 05-06 and a selection of irons and woods.  He was still playing GI designs in 06 but the shafts are X-stiff (maybe XX), not regs - I think the myth about that comes from an anecote about him borrowing a set of soft regs once and playing really well with them without realising.

 

 

 

[mat562]

I always wonder about that story, which I think comes from one of the caddies involved with the Ryder Cup that year. I know someone who played some amateur golf with him in his early days, and he was using stock Ping shafts and fairly substantial Dynamic Golds, according to him, and when he went to Callaway he apparently put some fairly stiff Rifles in them initially after the bore through design complicated things versus his old Wilson irons. It seems odd he would have played something so soft, even perhaps unknowingly.

[Ajgaguy83]

On 6/3/2025 at 5:45 PM, ac6 said:

X-Forged CBs

 

Not to nitpick, but these were actually called X-Tour. They were a great iron, and very innovative for Callaway from a size and shape standpoint. 

[jmck]

Had to really go digging for it, but finally found a picture of the OG Big Bertha irons at address.  It's hard to overstate how ugly they were if you never saw them in person.  These newer Pings like the i210s or 230s or whatever aren't in near the same class of shovels as these things.  Even historically chunky Pings like the Zing2s--more or less contemporaries of the OG Big Berthas and IIRC Chip Beck used them for a while when he was a top 10 player--looked svelte in comparison.  Anyway, behold:

 

 

And don't forget they had the number stamped huge and paintfilled on the face too:

 

 

OTOH, I've known two seriously good golfers who both swore by X20 Tours, each wearing out several sets while competing in high level amateur events.  Nice clubs, those.

 

Here's a Zing2 for comparison, a four iron like that Callaway monstrosity pictured above.

 

 

And here's Ping's modern lineup.

 

 

 

So anyway, the answer to the OP's question is definitely Monty being #2 in the world while playing the OG Big Berthas.  He's in a league of his own, with everyone else is fighting it out for second place.

[iNeedMoreGolf]

Me and chunky soles...

 

[PedronNiall]

On 6/5/2025 at 10:17 AM, jmck said:

Had to really go digging for it, but finally found a picture of the OG Big Bertha irons at address.  It's hard to overstate how ugly they were if you never saw them in person.  These newer Pings like the i210s or 230s or whatever aren't in near the same class of shovels as these things.  Even historically chunky Pings like the Zing2s--more or less contemporaries of the OG Big Berthas and IIRC Chip Beck used them for a while when he was a top 10 player--looked svelte in comparison.  Anyway, behold:

 

 

And don't forget they had the number stamped huge and paintfilled on the face too:

 

 

 

 

[Pnwpingi210]

Right now?

 

t150, king tour, i230/210

[thlongball]

Keegan plays zx5 series long irons

[fowlerscousin]

Freddie /thread

[Lord Viking]

Couples played the 845's, when i saw that i immediately went out and bought a set

[OBbogey5]

On 6/5/2025 at 7:17 AM, jmck said:

Had to really go digging for it, but finally found a picture of the OG Big Bertha irons at address.  It's hard to overstate how ugly they were if you never saw them in person.  These newer Pings like the i210s or 230s or whatever aren't in near the same class of shovels as these things.  Even historically chunky Pings like the Zing2s--more or less contemporaries of the OG Big Berthas and IIRC Chip Beck used them for a while when he was a top 10 player--looked svelte in comparison.  Anyway, behold:

 

 

And don't forget they had the number stamped huge and paintfilled on the face too:

 

 

OTOH, I've known two seriously good golfers who both swore by X20 Tours, each wearing out several sets while competing in high level amateur events.  Nice clubs, those.

 

Here's a Zing2 for comparison, a four iron like that Callaway monstrosity pictured above.

 

 

And here's Ping's modern lineup.

 

 

 

So anyway, the answer to the OP's question is definitely Monty being #2 in the world while playing the OG Big Berthas.  He's in a league of his own, with everyone else is fighting it out for second place.

But Sorenstam? She was the best player on her tour by far. 

[OBbogey5]

 

FRED COUPLES' PERSONAL 3-IRON GIFTED TO 1989 RYDER CUP HONORARY CAPTAIN PRESIDENT BUSH

The PGA of America organized a special gift of appreciation in the form of each 1989 US Team Ryder Cup member gifting a personal club of theirs to President George HW Bush. President Bush, also a World Golf Hall of Famer, served as the Honorary Captain for the United States team for the 1989 contest. This club is Fred Couples' personal Tommy Armour .845s 3-iron Silver Scot has "FRED COUPLES" stamped on the club head in white lettering. 39" from the top of the shaft to the bottom of the heel. It is in good condition, with only slight wear.
 

https://www.thegolfauction.com/president_bush_s_1989_ryder_cup_honorary_captain_g-lot46665.aspx