Good morning, I havent posted in awhile but I finally get to go golfing this weekend so I've been lurking around and catching up! I've been using the Pinhawk SL irons for a few seasons now and figured Id chime in.
Im about a 15-18 handicap depending on how regularly I play, which right now has barely been a couple times a year. After losing a lot of weight due to surgery over the past year, Im hoping I can get out more and continue to excercise.
For me, the SL irons make the mental side of the game a lot easier. I'll echo what a few people have said on here, which is that on any given day with traditional length irons, I may hit the 7 well, or the 5 well, etc. With SL irons, I dont have to worry about which iron is my best iron on a given day. I know that Ill be able to hit everything pretty well. Despite my high handicap, I am a streaky golfer. I can get hot and go on runs and play 3 or 4 holes under par. I can then turn around and blow up and shoot a 9 on a hole and give it all back. My buddy would joke that if golf was only 16 holes, I might actually be a pretty good golfer. It is what it is lol
Being a streaky golfer, sometimes my swing will lock in and I play well, and then poof, it disappears. On traditional length irons, now its a constant battle of guessing what went wrong. Whats my goto iron to get a good swing back and try to build some momentum? Was my bad hit because I made a poor swing with a 4 iron, but a 7 iron would've been ok? I hit a nice 7 iron, but now have to hit a wedge in. I bladed it. Is it because I stood up on the ball? Or is it because the club was shorter and I stood too upright? All these things begin adding up, and then my disappointment and frustration get the better of me, and the round is shot.
With SL irons, I can be honest with myself. A bad hit is my fault. A good hit, was my doing. If i have a few poor swings, I can make an adjustment and recover much quicker than I could before. Also, with the shorter long irons, I find myself playing some different shots. I can play punches and runs from awkward lies. Again, this is my own mental game, but instead of seeing a 180yd shot as a solid 6 iron, I think of ways I could play a softer punch 5 iron, or get a little creative with it. While most golfers do this stuff regularly on a course, I never had the guts because I was always afraid I couldnt repeat it with another club. Now, I feel like if im swinging one club well, Im swinging multiple clubs well, and if one club goes wrong, I can fix it and everything will keep clicking.
My friend i mentioned earlier is a pretty good golfer, tried them out for a round since his clubs had been shipped for a move. At first, you could see he was really uncomfortable with the longer irons being shorter. He didnt think he would be able to make good contact at all. Then he started flushing shots. He ended up liking the longer wedges. I dont think he would ever change at this point, but he did see some benefit to it.
Long story short, I wouldnt say SL irons were a monstrous breakthrough for my game, but they do enable me to enjoy golf better, especially playing as inconsistent as I do. In most sports I play, I am a "feel" person and if I feel like Im lost, Im in big trouble. SL for me just means its easier for me to troubleshoot and narrow down where issues are, and to be honest with myself on when I make poor shots as to what exactly I did wrong