In our forums, our members have been sharing advice for those heading to an iron fitting for the first time. WRXer ‘dryb4k’ is planning to get fit for irons, and kicks off the thread saying:

“First time poster – I played golf growing up, didn’t touch my clubs for 5 years after moving to NYC, but got back into golf this year and dropped my handicap to a 15 before the end of the year. I recently started taking lessons, and got fitted for a driver at Pete’s Golf in Mineola, NY and have been loving it. My current irons are an old, old set of old Callaway Razr-X Black irons I have had since I was in college. I’ve decided to get fitted for a new set of irons at some point in early 2026 and ahead of my fitting I want to get a bit more informed about what’s out there, the different types of irons, and getting a sense of what to try out on my own before heading into my fitting. I have a very rudimentary understanding of the different categories of irons (blades v. cavity backs v. hollow bodied, game improvement v. player’s distance v. player’s) but I don’t have any clue what’s best for me apart from knowing I should stay away from blades/players irons. 

I have a pretty decent swing speed (sitting around 100-105, 150-158 ball speed with a driver), hit my 7i (30 degrees) about 155-160 (carry), hit a natural draw with an out-to-in club path. All my shots have a reasonably high trajectory, and I didn’t know until I was fitted for my driver (PING G440 LST, 9 degree, Ping Tour 2.0 Black 65 Stiff) that i should be playing with a stiff shaft. My coach has had me hit heavier (75g) shafted irons in practice sessions and they feel more stable to me.  With where my game is at right now, power is not an issue but ball striking consistency/reducing my dispersion is something I need to work on.

I’d like to head into my fitting in a few months (a) having a better understanding of the types of irons and which ones may be best suited to me, and (b) having tried out a few different sets of irons at my local shop that I think might be a fit for me. If anyone can direct me to any resources to learn more about the different categories of irons to head into my fitting more well informed, any resources that help me see what is out there in the relevant categories, and if anyone can point me in the direction of any specific iron sets to try out that might be a fit based on the info above, I’d be eternally grateful. Any other tips or questions I should have in mind as I’m looking for new irons. I’ve got the bug and am getting serious about improving, but when it comes to equipment I don’t know my a****** from my elbows …”

And our members have been sharing their top tips to him 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.

• caniac6: “Describe your game, as you did in your post, with your fitter, and they should be able to point you in the right direction. Based on your description, I would look at Ping G 440, Mizuno Hot Metal, Titleist 350 or 250. Basically, something with a good amount of forgiveness. Those are just some general guesses, and a fitter might put you into something completely different. Getting a good fitter is the key.”
• discostu35: “From everything I’ve heard about Pete’s, you’re in good hands. Here are just a few quick thoughts I have: – A fitter of that quality is going to put you in the right iron category pretty quickly after seeing you swing your current irons and get some baseline numbers. They won’t have you try anything without a reason for it. Plus, you said you love the driver they fit you in so be confident they’ll do the same for irons. -Know what you want in your irons. My fitter and I knew I needed more height and spin but I wanted a certain feel/sound. If I hit the numbers we wanted but I hated how the club felt, I wasn’t going to enjoy using them. – After my iron fitting 2 years ago I just sat and digested everything for maybe two weeks before I placed my order. I had OBSESSED over every single detail leading up to the fitting, during the fitting and the days after. I needed to take a step back from the process and I do think it made me make a better decision in the end.”
• Atmosblue: “I know some gear head friends who fly back to NY for Petes so I think you’re fine there. I met him once 100 years ago when he weirdly fit my dad into extra long irons, but no real firsthand fitting experience. He had a good rep way back when and still has a good rep.  Before your fitting, I’d recommend trying to find a way to hit as much different stuff as you can. Go to regular stores with bays, hit friends clubs, demo days, etc. It is impossible to test everything in a single fitting, and the only way to start learning what things you like is to try them. The top brands are all good so I’d start there with the game improvement stuff. Whenever you start noticing something you like that’s feeling easy to hit, that’s probably the most important starting point for the fitting. Bottomline, go in with an idea of something you like then hope the fitter can find something you like even more with the levers they will know how to pull (shafts, weights, better heads, etc). Don’t just go by numbers, make sure you like the feel and look of whatever you go with.”

Entire Thread: “Tips ahead of a first iron fitting”