re: Player Distance Irons for getting back into golf, did I make a mistake

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he echoed what my instructor said. If I have only been back for 2 months, he doesn't see anything in my swing that says I need game improvement

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Not going to lie, this is pretty surprising. I'm sure you've made good progress in two months but I'm sorry, odds are you need GI irons.

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many, if not more, saying most players should not be in a "players" level iron.

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Yes. Same principle as too many players play from the wrong tees. People aren't as good as they like to think they are. Have a buddy that is really really bad at golf and hits his driver about 180 max, and insists on playing the tips or one ups with me, drives me nuts. There's nothing wrong with buying irons that are more forgiving at a time when your game needs the most forgiving irons.

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The benefit of playing a better club is you get more feedback when practicing. If you are serious about trying to get better and are ok losing some forgiveness while improving a better club is a good option.

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I concur with this.

If you are playing 6-12 times a year, and just want to score as best you can, GI irons are probably a good idea. If you just cant have fun playing golf because its too frustrating then GI irons are probably a good idea.

Problem with GI irons is you don't get the feedback you need to actually improve efficiently in my opinion. Also getting the face slightly more closed at impact will create outsized dispersion in distances which will sort of put a ceiling on how well you can possibly score. I'm a decent striker, when I hit GI irons (AI smoke, elytes, etc) on a sim, everything left of centerline is 10-15 yds farther than the average right of centerline. Pretty much feels like you are clicking the ball with a brick no matter how you hit it. When I hit players irons (blueprint S, P770, Mizuno S-3, etc), the dispersion in distance from draw to cut is almost nothing. the difference is the really poor hits will go nowhere with players irons, while they might still get you decent distance with a GI iron

With players irons, you can pretty much feel the mishit immediately and act on it. So while maybe frustrating, if your main goal is lowering your handicap and actually getting better and you are already say a 18 or lower and playing regularly, I would not recommend GI irons.

"Players distance" irons come in a couple different varieties, it's hard to call an apple an apple. Sometimes it's basically a players iron with stronger lofts, which is fine if you need the carry help. I did hit some Mizuno 925 Forged irons a couple weeks ago, and man did they feel nice; just still feel a little too hot for me; I don't need to hit my 7i 180, I just need it to go the same distance every time, that's what they make other clubs fo..

It's hard to say one thing which applies to everyone. You also have to look down at the club and feel confidence whatever that means to you. I guess at the end of the day, it's so easy to sell preowned clubs now, it's probably better to just get some irons and get out and play rather than obsess about making the right decision. End Rant.

When I got into golf and had no clue about equipment I bought some players distance irons because they looked better.

Played with them for a while and granted, they hurt my scores they in the long run made me better at golf because of the lack of forgiveness.

Played 9 holes today. First time with the new clubs and shot pretty well. Very cheap course in very rough shape, but wanted to get out there by myself and work on some things. Couldn't event putt because greens were as long or longer than the fairway, so score isn't "real" (7 over). Hell, one hole they put the pin on the side of the green in the fairway it was so screwed up. I put the ball 7 feet away but would do better putting in my yard. I assumed 2 putts within reason, all though I'm sure that was generous. Gave myself 3 putts if it was long. Was hitting greens any time I pulled out 7-9 from the fairway. One bladed worm burner off the tee with a 6 iron I was laying up with, but dropped it within a few feet with the pitching wedge on the next shot. Definitely need work on the wedges. I've got no feel anymore, but I knew that.

In any case, clubs are definitely less forgiving when I practicing. As some mentioned, they will certainly not help my scores, but hoping they'll make it easier to recognize where I need to improve. Got lucky today with almost all solid strikes. I may look to go with the t250 for 5 iron in the future, but can't complain so far.

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Nothing like feeling your ball go 20 yards short because you can't hit the center of th club face.

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That’s 100x more preferable to me than launching a ball 30 yards off line because a horrible toe strike still produces a 1.39 smash factor.

Idk about OP’s swing speed, but if you’re already a long hitter you better be a good ball striker to play GI irons.

I went for a fitting a few months ago and it did not go well imo. i was fit into jpx hot metals and during the fitting I’m hitting ~1.45 smash and 140 ball speed on a six iron. I don’t want my six iron going 230 yards and spinning 3800.

If my pw dispersion looks like a 7 or 8 iron dispersion it’s going to be tough to play good golf.

The fitter was obsessed with distance even though I told him from the start of the session I had no need for more distance. At the end of the fitting he was practically beaming that the hot metals added 20 more yards vs my gamers.