Around three-quarters of tour players have a combo iron set with more than one iron model in the bag.
Justin Thomas uses a mix of Titleist MB and CB. Ian Poulter uses both Titleist AP2 and AP3. Brooks Koepka won the US Open with a Nike Vapor Fly 4-iron to go with his Mizuno JPX900 Tours.
Justin Rose has a TaylorMade P790 4-iron in the bag to go with his sleeker P730s. Even Tiger Woods has a UDi utility iron to break his set up. I could go on.
But why do so few club golfers not follow suit and go for a combo iron set?
The truth, in my opinion, is that most manufactures design sets to be bought as sets. It does make life much easier for them.
In fairness, there is often progressive technology which makes the longer irons easier to hit. Leaving the shorter irons more workable.
And, sometimes there are loft issues between two different models. This could create gaps that are too big or too small.
But I still think that too many fitters fit players based on a 7-iron. And, then just give them the rest of the set to match.
The fitting process with tour players is obviously a lot more in depth and they work to get the right numbers and ball flight with each particular iron whether that’s using one, two, three or even four different models.
We caught up with Bill Price, Mizuno’s custom fit manager to find out how, why and when club golfers should be looking at going for a combo iron set…
How might the fitting process highlight where a golfer needs a combo iron set?
In the fitting process – you have your fundamentals in the same way you have your fundamentals in the golf – grip, stance, posture and alignment.
