Best GI irons you've ever used. Also known as shovels, garden tools or paddles.

Here is my list. All of the irons below have been played by myself for 10 rounds or more. Player's cavities are excluded & not allowed.

1. Ping Eye 2+ Irons, 3-PW & SW with ZZ lite shafts. These are the best GI irons I've ever tried. They play more like a 'players' club due to the penetrating trajectory of the long irons and stiffer shaft. Wonderful feel to this iron. I love them. I really do.

2. Callaway X-20 with Uniflex. These here irons are damn nice. They feel wonderful, almost forged. I won my match against the infamous Kiwi Player with these paddles. Toward the end of the round he was like a bird with no wings...or a Kiwi.

3. Callaway Big Bertha 2002 Irons. One of the ugliest irons out there with soles wider than the first lady's hips. Still though, these babies were accurate as all hell and gone. Extremely easy to hit.

4. Ping Zing Irons. One of the most accurate irons I've ever hit. These want to go straight and nothing else. Short in distance.

5. Mizuno Comp-Ez. Mizuno has never replicated this iron. It's fairly large yet has very little offset and feels better than anything I've tried in the MX line of irons. The Dynamic Gold Plus shaft is much better than the Dynalite Gold they put in their MX line and I achieved amazing distance with them. Finally, I have never played an iron that had more backspin than the Comp-EZ. I still remember the 4 iron I hit to a par 3 where the ball backed up 12 feet. That's shizzle right there.

What is your favorite GI or SGI iron?

1. King Cobra Oversized iron , Hump shaft, ... first non-clone iron set I bought, my son loves them ... last year let my colleague from Taiwan used them, he liked them so much he offered to buy them but no....no....no...

2. Still have Cally 2002 BB, sole is wide but not too wide.... very easy to hit

3. Cobra S2 bought last yr... easy to hit , strong loft... will play them more this year

I had Mizuno mp33's at around 13/14 years old...

Pky6471 wrote:1. King Cobra Oversized iron , Hump shaft, ... first non-clone iron set I bought, my son loves them ... last year let my colleague from Taiwan used them, he liked them so much he offered to buy them but no....no....no...

2. Still have Cally 2002 BB, sole is wide but not too wide.... very easy to hit

3. Cobra S2 bought last yr... easy to hit , strong loft... will play them more this year

4. MX-23 set, I played them a lot last year and like them a lot, still have this set

FamousDavis wrote:Here is my list. All of the irons below have been played by myself for 10 rounds or more. Player's cavities are excluded & not allowed.

1. Ping Eye 2+ Irons, 3-PW & SW with ZZ lite shafts. These are the best GI irons I've ever tried. They play more like a 'players' club due to the penetrating trajectory of the long irons and stiffer shaft. Wonderful feel to this iron. I love them. I really do.

2. Callaway X-20 with Uniflex. These here irons are damn nice. They feel wonderful, almost forged. I won my match against the infamous Kiwi Player with these paddles. Toward the end of the round he was like a bird with no wings...or a Kiwi.

3. Callaway Big Bertha 2002 Irons. One of the ugliest irons out there with soles wider than the first lady's hips. Still though, these babies were accurate as all hell and gone. Extremely easy to hit.

4. Ping Zing Irons. One of the most accurate irons I've ever hit. These want to go straight and nothing else. Short in distance.

5. Mizuno Comp-Ez. Mizuno has never replicated this iron. It's fairly large yet has very little offset and feels better than anything I've tried in the MX line of irons. The Dynamic Gold Plus shaft is much better than the Dynalite Gold they put in their MX line and I achieved amazing distance with them. Finally, I have never played an iron that had more backspin than the Comp-EZ. I still remember the 4 iron I hit to a par 3 where the ball backed up 12 feet. That's shizzle right there.

What is your favorite GI or SGI iron?

Away come on FD. Weren't the irons you used in our match the 'pro' version with less offset, thinner topline and smaller clubhead. Still shovels by GR standards but not SGI.

When I first started playing this game in 2005 I played the Cleveland Ta6 irons a very nice, solid game improvement iron. If I hadn't started reading GR and become an equipment junkie I'm sure I would still be playing these and my handicap index (11.2) would be about the same. I haven't owned any other GI shovels but here are some I have played as rentals on vacation.

1. Ta6.
2. Taylormade OS 2 - also a nice GI shovel from the mid 2000's still seen in many golfers bags. Solid performer that offers plenty of forgiveness but enough feel in the scoring clubs to play touch shots closer to the green.


3. Callaway X-20 or X-18 or X-22 (they all appear exactly the same so who really knows?). Another solid performer but perhaps lacking the feel around the green of the others. Solid on full swings though and not so huge as to be off putting.

4. Ping G5 or 10 - truly horrible both in appearance and playability. Massive ugly monstrosities that arecast from metal that is hard as rock and that is how they feel to play. Barely serviceable on full swings and as for feel around the green fuggetaboudit!!! Huge ugly shovels with far too much offset and it's really lame that they put a 'W' instead of a 'P' on their pitching wedge.

5. Callaway Fusion - looks nice at address but not a great feeling iron. Nowhere near as bad as the Pings but let down in the feel dept for such heavily hyped, expensive clubs.

I've only played 2 sets on course.

1. Callaway X20's. Played them for 4 years and now use them as my Florida set.

2. Adams V3's. Replaced my X20's as my Longisland set. Easy to hit and long. Probably due to the lower lofts.

I've hit numerous other sets - all in the simulator. The Mizunos' are the best feeling ones I've tried. Still waiting for the spring and lessons before I pull the trigger on a set.

Never owned anything considered a shovel.
The closest was probably KZG Forged II irons.
Like Kiwi, I've had the pleasure of playing some Callaway X## irons as rentals. They felt unbelievably light and had no feel. They did absolutely crush the ball though.

Horseballs wrote:
Like Kiwi, I've had the pleasure of playing some Callaway X## irons as rentals. They felt unbelievably light and had no feel. They did absolutely crush the ball though.

If they improve our scores then why do we care? if I could hit K-mart clubs and consistently score in the high 70s or low 80s I will bag them, period

Pky6471 wrote:

Horseballs wrote:
Like Kiwi, I've had the pleasure of playing some Callaway X## irons as rentals. They felt unbelievably light and had no feel. They did absolutely crush the ball though.

If they improve our scores then why do we care? if I could hit K-mart clubs and consistently score in the high 70s or low 80s I will bag them, period

First, I never shop at Kmart. It is beneath me.

Second, I may have just hit the sweetest feeling GI irons that I've ever hit in a simulator....Callaway X-24 Hot irons with stock uniflex shafts. These babes felt great! Nice soft, yet crisp feel to them and a lively shaft that just whipped the head through the ball like a bat out of hell. I was hitting the 6 iron 170 in the air which is pretty good for me. Normally I hit a 6 iron about 160 to 165. What I liked most about them is the way they look. The black matte finish makes them appear smaller with less offset. They look similar to the X-14 but with stronger lofts.

There is no question that I'm going to acquire a set and keep them in my bag all year long. Maybe even for a decade!

On another note, I just experienced hitting the first driver that is perceptively longer than others...the Ping Anser 8.5 with stock Ping stiff shaft. The club is designed to deliver less spin and a penetrating trajectory. I was landing it at 260 yards and then getting another 20 yards of roll. I hit one drive that was 292. I tried other drivers and they were all 20 yards shorter including the new Callaway X-Hot, The Taylormade R1 and that new Nike monstrocity.

I tell you, I'm giddy. It's rare that I stumble upon such a fine driver who's fit and finish is second to none whilst delivering superb distance that only the finest of ballstrikers could appreciate...namely me.

Adios Muchachos!!!

Pky6471 wrote:

Horseballs wrote:
Like Kiwi, I've had the pleasure of playing some Callaway X## irons as rentals. They felt unbelievably light and had no feel. They did absolutely crush the ball though.

If they improve our scores then why do we care? if I could hit K-mart clubs and consistently score in the high 70s or low 80s I will bag them, period

Was there any mention of improved scores? On the rare occasion I've played with SGI clubs, I shoot much worse. It's easy to get lazy when the club is so big and forgiving. Bad swings still send the ball off-line, but at close to regular distance. That is not a good thing at all. Plus, I've found distance control to be suspect. I am at a level where I don't need or want the benefits of SGI clubs, which is essentially to hit the ball high. I'm trying to keep the ball down for the most part.

Horseballs wrote:

Pky6471 wrote:

Horseballs wrote:
Like Kiwi, I've had the pleasure of playing some Callaway X## irons as rentals. They felt unbelievably light and had no feel. They did absolutely crush the ball though.

If they improve our scores then why do we care? if I could hit K-mart clubs and consistently score in the high 70s or low 80s I will bag them, period

Was there any mention of improved scores? On the rare occasion I've played with SGI clubs, I shoot much worse. It's easy to get lazy when the club is so big and forgiving. Bad swings still send the ball off-line, but at close to regular distance. That is not a good thing at all. Plus, I've found distance control to be suspect. I am at a level where I don't need or want the benefits of SGI clubs, which is essentially to hit the ball high. I'm trying to keep the ball down for the most part.

Clearly something was lost in translation ... actually ... something was added in translation.

Zing ... Pretty good for me for a dozen years or more...

1. Mizuno jpx 800pro
2. Macgregor mt mids (thought these were great until i hit the mizzys)
3. Macgregor m455s - felt pretty good for such a large clubhead.

For my game and IMO
1. Mizuno mx-23 easy to hit, while still has a nice feel. Best of both worlds.
2. Mizuno mx-25 almost identical to the 23 slightly less offset
3. Mizuno comp ez best looking, probably my favorite. More GI than sgii
4. Mizuno mx-20 best performing and looking in the mx line.
5. Lynx parallax, probably the easiest to hit. Lacks feel, but forgiving.

These I've played for a season or more. 3 and 5 I still have in stock.

By the way on the subject of the eye 2 it's the massive offset that made loose my stomach about them. Other than the huge topline I like the size.
I kept these around for my kid, as there a little under standard. Becu baby.

You put hosels on Ping Eye 2 BeCu irons? That is unthinkable! They look much better without the hosels.

FamousDavis wrote:You put hosels on Ping Eye 2 BeCu irons? That is unthinkable! They look much better without the hosels.

I thought I'd pull one on you.
I bought these because they came with a ping eye 2'wood set, a ping hoofer bag, a ping pal 2 becu putter, and 3-sw Majique becu iron set with adila graphite shafts. Made in Arizona to hmm? And they look exactly, almost, like a ping eye 2 + becu. I should have cleaned them the last time I used them, there mint.
These are also like an improved Eye 2 as I believe the topline appears much nicer. I dig the cactus in the cavity. There kind of cool, and a great starter set for a kid.

FamousDavis wrote:You put hosels on Ping Eye 2 BeCu irons? That is unthinkable! They look much better without the hosels.

I believe you are referring to ferrules, not hosels, although 12 may indeed have the machinery and skill needed to weld or braze the Ping cast metal. Sometimes when I am in a hurry to reshaft a club and my local golf component shop is closed, I will just use some excess black epoxy to create mini ferrules. Looks like crap but the club is much less likely to be stolen from my bag.

Mostly German wrote:

FamousDavis wrote:You put hosels on Ping Eye 2 BeCu irons? That is unthinkable! They look much better without the hosels.

I believe you are referring to ferrules, not hosels, although 12 may indeed have the machinery and skill needed to weld or braze the Ping cast metal. Sometimes when I am in a hurry to reshaft a club and my local golf component shop is closed, I will just use some excess black epoxy to create mini ferrules. Looks like crap but the club is much less likely to be stolen from my bag.

I have indeed brazed cast, the supposed toxicity of becu could be a deterrent, though any welding has some dangers involved, the key was to get what your attempting to braze hot as hell first. I was usually trying to save some cylinder heads, or a block that was hard to replace, or stood out from the rest. Eventually the ever present spider cracks would develop, and you had a water sprinkler that was destined to be unreliable. You could drill a spot at each end of the crack, and maybe stop it. I would then apply some high heat epoxy in hopes of a further seal. Yeah I've been there done that.
I like the mini ferrule idea. Ping owners smack the hosel area to not necessitate them. Must be the offset.