AP2's destroyed my game but AP1's made it better than I could have ever imagined.

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By Lee W

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  • 11 Replies
  1. Lee W

    Lee W
    Dinas Powys, Vale of Glamorgan

    Hello,

    I wanted to write a few words on here as my game has recently experienced highs and extreme lows. This may also guide some yet undecided Titleist iron shoppers.

    After 7 years of playing Cobra irons I decided it was time to follow my dream and get fitted for AP2's. I play off 14 and am a fairly decent ball striker. I was so excited going down to the Titleist fitting centre that I knew before I got there that they where right for me.

    I hit some balls, inconsistently and very low which is odd for me but I didn't care. I paid my money and a few weeks later they arrived. Stunning.

    For the next six months things got progressively worse, I was shanking short irons off the tee, and I mean shanking, 45 degs sideways! I lost all confidence and eventually I would stand over the ball, look down and see this tiny head and instead of wondering where it would land I just prayed for a decent contact. Handicap started rocketing up and didn't get past 20 Stableford points for months. Horrific.

    I went back to my Titleist guy, who is amazing and explained my despair. He agreed to take my irons back and we demoed the AP1.

    Wow. They were perfect for me, they looked and felt right and I struggled to hit a bad shot. I've only had them a short time but I'm back to peppering flags on the range and know 'roughly' where my ball is going to go on course. I feel great and I've got my passion back.

    So, long story short. If you are an average golfer like me and you are undecided, I would suggest the AP1. I talked myself in to the AP2 in as much as I would vow to play twice a week with range sessions four times a week and I would 'develop' in to them. Let me tell you, if you have a wife and kids and a job it's highly unlikely that will happen.I just want to turn up for my club comp every Saturday and go out and play awesome golf and try to win. If a supposedly game improvement iron is going to help me then I will gladly accept that help.

    The AP2 irons are exquisite but if you are not a single figure golfer , or heading in that direction try the AP1.

    cheers 

    Lee

  2. Chuck Z

    Chuck Z
    Mt Pleasant, SC

    Military

    Really sorry to see that you had such an issue with the AP2s.  I am 68 and went to the AP2s (forged clubs) for the first time in 2013 and I love them.  Great feel and results.  To be very honest I do not think that the clubs caused the shanks.  I had the same problem and went to an instructor and he told me I was putting too much weight on my toes and my alignment was poor.  He worked with me for about an hour and it really helped me a lot.  I have done it with different brands including the AP2s and am a 10 hdcp.   Practice and confidence gets rid of those things.  Even the pros have them.   Remember it is the indian that shoots the arrow.  Glad that you like the AP1s, there is a club for everyone.   Cheers, Chuck......

  3. Lee W

    Lee W
    Dinas Powys, Vale of Glamorgan

    Thanks Chuck, You're right, it wasn't the iron shanking it was the guy holding on to it! My point is that I was not a good enough golfer to confidently hit them consistently and in my mind, the head of the club just got smaller and smaller. I want to be clear that the AP2's are amazing both visually and when I did catch one sweet it was bliss, I just didn't catch them sweet very often and the off centre hits punished me hard. That being said, I have a good friend who is of a similar standard to me and he swears by the AP2. For me, it's a batch of lessons with the pro and a cavity back for now!
  4. Chuck Z

    Chuck Z
    Mt Pleasant, SC

    Military

    Lee W said:

    Thanks Chuck, You're right, it wasn't the iron shanking it was the guy holding on to it! My point is that I was not a good enough golfer to confidently hit them consistently and in my mind, the head of the club just got smaller and smaller. I want to be clear that the AP2's are amazing both visually and when I did catch one sweet it was bliss, I just didn't catch them sweet very often and the off centre hits punished me hard. That being said, I have a good friend who is of a similar standard to me and he swears by the AP2. For me, it's a batch of lessons with the pro and a cavity back for now!

     Lee, between those new AP1s, that new found confidence and working with a pro, you have some happy times ahead of you.  You know that old saying, be careful what we ask for we just might get it.  I have had people talk me out of what I really wanted and when I listened it paid off.  That being said, the future is whatever you want it to be.  Cheers, Chuck 

  5. Brandon A

    Brandon A
    Springfield, MO

    I sincerely hope that isn't my experience.

    I was fitted for a set of AP2s yesterday and hit them again today. I was ready to pull the trigger.

    Today was a day of the yips at the launch monitor! Slices, thick, thin, anything but pure shots.

    I then hit a different brand of club to the same results. I was quite discouraged and almost walked out without ordering a set of irons.

    I decided to try the AP2s again and this time I was hitting them more and more solid and started getting consistent results. It was that point that I realized that I'll have to up my game a bit and focus. 

    They'll arrive next week.

  6. Kevin R

    Kevin R
    ND Ile Perrot, QC

    Hi Brandon,

    I completely relate.  I had a couple of terrible sessions on the launch monitor before I pulled the trigger on my AP2s last year.  In my case, I made the decision in the early spring while my swing was very rusty.  Good shots were rewarded and bad shots were, well, very bad.  But I went into the process thinking that I wanted a set of irons that would reward the good shots, helping me improve. 

    During the season last year, I realized very quickly that I needed to up my game.  I needed to focus on every shot.  But, that's not a bad thing, because after all, every shot counts.  End result of the year, I shaved a couple of points off my handicap, and scored a new personal low round.

    That being said, the AP2 worked for me with PXi shafts.  The stock DG S300 shafts just didn't work for me.   I've hit the stock AP2 while warming up before a driver fitting, and it just confirmed how poor a choice that would have been for me.  I suppose that if I had bought AP2s stock, my experience might have been similar to the OP.

    Best of luck with your new AP2s!

    --
    Kevin

  7. Dino J

    Dino J
    Burnaby, BC

    Hi Brandon, I wish you great golfing with your new AP2's as well! My experience was not too dissimilar to that of Kevin's. I went through an extremely thorough fitting at our Titleist Regional Fitting Centre. I started off with the stock set up to establish a "baseline" for comparison purposes. Well, if my only choice would have been the stock DG S300 shafts, then I would not have bought the clubs. My fitter referred to the DG S300 shafts as "2x4"'s (construction wood). After swinging them, I totally agreed! I simply could not swing hard enough to consistently get the ball in the air with the proper trajectory. After several swaps of shafts, we found the one that fit me best ...being the KBS Tour shafts. Voila! We hit the magic combination. Since I received them, I have been practicing and playing, working on my swing, impact, ball striking and trajectory control. I have shot some of my best scores since...and just love my AP2's! Again wishing you all the best with your AP2's and hope that you went through a very thorough fitting ...preferably with a Titleist certified fitter.
  8. Steve M

    Steve M
    Hatboro, PA

    glad to hear that you have things figured out. did the fitter try to "educate" you on why to not go with the AP2? just curious as to why they would put you into a club that was not right for you.
  9. Lee W

    Lee W
    Dinas Powys, Vale of Glamorgan

    Thanks Stephen, The fitter did try but as I mentioned earlier, I had already decided I was going home with them. It was completely my fault, in my mind it was AP2 or nothing. Interesting to hear on this thread about different shafts, maybe I should have explored that before changing to AP1 but I'm so happy now I'm going to stay put. Cheers Lee
  10. Sam E

    Sam E
    San Diego, CA

    Lee,

    I can totally relate to you, its all about confidence at the end.

    A while back I went from Dynamic Gold shafts to some lightweight Nippon Steel shafts since it seemed to be the fad in my golf group. They felt fine at first but thing went downhill, I lost confidence because I couldn't feel the club because it was so light I was over swinging.

    Once I went back to heavier shaft everything came back

  11. Doug E

    Doug E
    Urbana, MD

    Though this response may be a bit too late, it is something to consider going forward.

    When I got fit for my AP2-712s, I was like you. I was only interested in AP2s and had no desire to even test an AP1. They were big and ugly in my opinion, with toplines that were way too thick. I was about a 12 handicap at the time and a little concerned the AP2 might be too much club for me. But, I just loved the way they looked, and frankly, that is a huge part of having confidence over the ball. Well, I bought them and started hitting them great, though the longer irons gave me a bit more difficulty. I hit my 9i great, but my 5 iron was iffy. After playing with the AP2s for awhile, I realized when I had a distance that required a 5 iron, I would think about choking down on a 4 hybrid. I lost all confidence in my AP2 5i. One day I saw an ad on eBay for an AP1 5 iron and thought, what the hell, let me give it a shot. Started hitting that new AP1 5 iron very well so took the AP2 5i out of the bag. When the 714s came out and I read all the hype on the new AP1s, I decided to buy a new 5i and 6i with similar specs to my AP2s of which I had been fitted for. They looked much better than the 712 version, to my eye anyway. Wow, I hit my 6i now better than I did before, and when I miss the sweetspot, I don't pay nearly as much as with my AP2.

    Don't get me wrong, I still love my AP2s and hit them extremely consistently. After 3+ years and over 350 rounds of golf (and range-time) on them they have quarter-sized worn-in marks on the sweetspots from PW through 7i. But now, my AP1 6i and 5i give me a little more forgiveness when/where I need it.

    So, the point is, because you had so much lust for AP2s, you might consider trying them in just the shorter irons. Get the best of both worlds. Carry a mixed-set. I carry 3 Vokeys, 4 AP2-712s, 2 AP1-714s. BTW, my index is now 9-10. Looking forward to replacing my AP2-712 PW-7i with the new AP2-716s in November. (Or will they be a new, totally different iron with new name? Time will tell.)

  12. LFernandez

    LFernandez

    I've played 712 & 714 AP 1 irons and have been very happy w them. Recently went to the 716 AP2. Love the feel and look, hit them well. What I noticed abously was the distance. I didn't think it would bother me but it's hard to get used to it. Ap1 7 iron goes 160, I need a 6 iron w the AP2's

    I'm going back to AP1's 716
    Main reason is I will get more consistency on slightly bad hits, which for a 10 you have your share in a round. The AP1 716 does feel quite a bit better than the AP1 714

    the new AP1 716 feel great!

    simple choice, get more help by switching

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