Equipment
How old is too old for irons? – GolfWRXers discuss
In our forums, our members have been discussing older irons. WRXer ‘R5Two’ kicks off the thread, saying
“I pulled my old Titleist 695 CBs (cr 2006) out of storage to hit a few balls. I have seen many videos about how much faster the ballspeeds are these days, but I don’t know if I care. I’m a blade guy. Isn’t a hunk of metal a hunk of metal?
How old is too old for forged irons? What are we missing? Non-confirming grooves maybe? Maybe a little forgiveness?”
And our members have been sharing their thoughts in our forum.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- PEI_Golfer: “Irons are all about accuracy and distance control, not ball speed… Nothing wrong with the 695’s (my first OEM set of irons); I still bring out my 690.CB’s from time to time and OG Nike blades.”
- Tar_Heel_93: “I’m with you. I prefer a solid forged iron. Not looking for a lot of tech. Here are the irons I am testing for next season. Apex MBs have been in the bag for several seasons. Others are recent additions. Titleist CB and Wilson Staff CB have Tungsten in the mid and long irons. However, so far my favorite CB is the Bridgestone J33 CBs circa 2006.” (Photo above proved by Tar_Heel_93)
- mrfuz: “I recently regripped my old 690MBs and pulled out my Eye2s. They’re not replacing my Sim2 Maxes, but they’re fun to play with.”
- HoosierHacker89: “695 CB irons are great! One of my all-time favorites. I found them to be really forgiving especially the long irons. This was one of the few sets I was confident in the 4/5 irons. I played a set of Srixon 765 irons the last 3 years. Honestly can’t say there was much if anyone difference in the heads Of both sets.”
Entire Thread: “How old is too old for irons?“
More From The Forums
This week, we have our Tour Photographer, Greg Moore, on the ground at the OccuNet Classic at Tascosa Golf Club in Amarillo, Texas, for the 14th event of the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season. With that, we see some great things in the Lead Tape Report as we roll into Amarillo.
Joel Thelen
Monday Qualifier, Joel Thelen is in the field this week. He has played on the Korn Ferry Tour for a full season in 2023, and he is back in action this week. A couple of clubs caught my eye this week in his bag.
First off: His trusted Titleist 816 H2 hybrid. This club came out in October of 2015, and it still remains strong in the bag. Also, take a look at this Odyssey White Hot OG 7, putting a capital S in the 7S model. This custom neck has some impressive lean for an arm-lock-style putter. The bottom of the putter is covered in tape for optimal weighting.
Mitchell Meissner
Taking a look at Mitchell Meissner’s bag this week, we have some great lead tape coverage. Top to bottom working from fairway metals, irons, and wedges. We can see on the short irons and wedges that there is tape at the base of the grip, adding a little counterbalance. Along with that, some tape on the short irons and wedges as well. Moving to his putter, he rolls the Odyssey 7 Bird putter. Meissner putts left-handed and strikes the ball right-handed.
Bud Cauley had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament.
Driver: Titleist GTS2 (8 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: Titleist GTS3 (15 degrees, B1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 70 TX
7-wood: Titleist GTS3 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 80 TX
Irons: Titleist U505 (3), Titleist 620 MB (4-9)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 8 X, True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putters: Scotty Cameron Tour Prototype, Scotty Cameron GOLO 6.3 Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
In our forums, one user has offered up a prompt for the true sickos, inviting fellow forum members to share every set of irons they’ve ever owned. As to be expected, this is a lengthy forum topic.
@Lamosteve began:
Can you name every set of irons you’ve owned? Here’s mine
Spalding Dots
Spalding Eclipse
Ram Lazer FX
Lynx Parallax
Mizuno EZ Comp
Ben Hogans
Cleveland CG Red
Taylor Made R9s
PING i20
PING iE1
Taylor Made M6
Our members in the forum have been offering up their own collections. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- macedan: “Started with a hand-me-down Golden Bear set from my brother when I was in high school, never really played more than once a year or got into the game until about summer of 2017. First purchased a set of Cleveland CG4’s (I actually really miss this set sometimes, soft & not terribly large for a GI iron), moved into Nike Vapor Fly’s by the end of the year. Those lasted until spring of 18 when I decided I wanted new, so I traded them in for TM Rbladez. Honestly, although I liked the Rbladez, poor decision on my part, I think this was really about the only time so far that after a week or two I was kicking myself for not staying with what I had. Rbladez stayed with me until late last summer when I switched to P790’s and (knock on wood) I am hoping this will be my longest lasting set.”
- JimmyC59: “MacGregor Jack Nicklaus Triple Crown. Palmer The Standard. Still play these.”
- jgrzask: “Tommy Armour 845u
Mizuno MP-32
Mizuno MP-33 (2 sets)
Bridgestone J33cb – still own
Srixon i-302 (2 sets) – still own
Tourstage X-Blades – still own
Mizuno Hot Metal – still own
Nike Forged Blades – still own
Titleist 714 AP1 – still own
Cobra Forged SS – still own”
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Bud Cauley had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament. Driver: Titleist GTS2 (8 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura...
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Driver: Titleist GTS3 (10 degrees, D4 SureFit setting) Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Diamana RB 53 S 3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees,...
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Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 S 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (16.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue...
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Driver: Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond (9 degrees) Shaft: KBS PGW 3-wood: Callaway Elyte Titanium (15 degrees) Shaft: KBS PGW 5-wood:...
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Mike
Jan 14, 2022 at 4:34 pm
I think the main differences are the lofts. But I do think a comparison would show that a 2021 iron will fly a bit higher w/ the same distance) as a 2005 iron.
Hunter
Jan 14, 2022 at 10:56 am
I learned to play with TaylorMade Tour Preferred TD blades from the late 80’s. I then switched to Hogan Apex Plus irons and played them for many years. 5yrs ago I found a set of the old TM blades and started playing them again. I was loving them, but then I snared a set of Ping i210s, and the difference is night and day. I can miss-hit the i210s and still find the green. They go 10-15yds further than the TM blades. While I still like the look of blades better, I’ll never go back to playing them. The benefits of newer technology far outweighs old school looks.
JungleJimbo
Jan 13, 2022 at 9:25 pm
To GolfWRX team/Gianni Magliocco: As you’ve used a contributor’s photo (i.e. @Tar_Heel_93 ‘s), as your thumbnail/ Leading photo…
i think you should attribute a photo credit, in this article?
Link to photo: https://forums.golfwrx.com/topic/1852273-how-old-is-too-old-irons-edition/?do=findComment&comment=23972310
Hugh Givzaphook
Jan 13, 2022 at 9:47 pm
Found the only guy in the world who gives a %$#@
Ping Eye 2
Jan 13, 2022 at 7:28 pm
………Don’t you know I’m still standing better than I ever did
Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid
And I’m still standing after all this time
Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind
I’m still standing. Yeah, yeah, yeah
I’m still standing. Yeah, yeah, yeah……….
Everardo
Jan 13, 2022 at 7:17 pm
Just did a test myself with two sets of irons that were 15 years old vs a newer set from last year. My older sets (were fitted for me mind you) and performed the same or better than the newer set. So I’m selling the newer set since they have better resale value. I had all 3 sets checked for loft, lie, length, flex, etc to make it a fair comparison and tested them all on the same calibrated launch monitor, same ball and over multiple days just to keep things fair.
Brooksy
Jan 14, 2022 at 1:07 pm
I am curious, what were the clubs?