In a news release about the OWT Wide Sole Irons, company director of club development Michael Blair is quoted as saying they "are made from superior materials, utilize the latest design concepts, and are a fraction of the price of the custom-fitted irons offered by the major brands."
The company slots the OWT Wide Sole Irons into the super-game improvement category, and the array of game-improvement techniques employed in their construction includes:
- Wide soles, as you probably guessed. Wide soles serve two purposes: prevent the club from digging into the turf, and also moving more weight low and back of the clubface to put the center of gravity in a position (deeper and more rearward) advantageous to recreational golfers.
- Oversized faces for a larger sweet spot.
- An undercut cavity on the back of the clubhead, another trick for adjusting the center of gravity. A lower, deeper COG aids in achieving a better launch angle, helping the ball get airborne.
- A thick topline, something many mid- and higher-handicappers prefer.
- And there is progressive offset in the irons, more in the long irons and less in the short irons. More offset in long irons gives the player a few extra moments to square the clubface for impact, helping with slice reduction and trajectory.
Most of these elements also go to increasing the moment of inertia, which is all about adding forgiveness. And forgiveness - lessening the effects of mishits, even if only by a few degrees - is something any game-improvement club must be designed to do.
Our testers gave the clubs high marks for looks. The dual use of chrome and sandblasted finishes complement each other on the clubhead, and the bright blue nameplate on the back of the clubhead adds to the aesthetics.
Despite the oversized heads and wide soles, the irons don't feel a bit heavy - in fact, they feel very light - but the bulk makes the clubhead easy to be aware of during the swing.
Well-struck shots from the fairway produced a nice, shallow divot, no digging, and very clean feel. The only downside for myself came with the pitching wedge from tight lies in the fairway. I didn't feel I was able to strike the ball as crisply as I wanted or control the trajectory the way I wanted, but with a super-game improvement club the assumption is that golfers needing that category of club will more likely be using the wedge from off the collar or from the rough. From any area with a little more cushion below the ball, the wedge performed very well. Also, I was pleased with my PW results on shots requiring a full or three-quarters swing from all areas of play.
One thing everyone remarked upon was the feel of impact, more specifically the lack of vibrations traveling up the shaft. For golfers who suffer frequent mishits, this is a great thing - no stinging hands. Better players prefer more feedback than the OWT Wide Sole Irons offer, but the clubs' target audience should love this quality.
Bang for the Buck
What about value? What about price? Well, a set of G.R.I.P. OWT Wide Sole Irons includes nine clubs and checks in (at the time of this writing) at $270. That's a pretty good price for nice set of irons no matter how you slice it; after playing these irons ourselves, we call it a bargain.An easy conclusion to reach about the OWT Wide Sole Irons is that any golfer in the market for a super-game improvement set should include this set on his or her list of candidates.
Golf Research In Play gives its customers some options, too. The set is available in men's and women's versions, and men and women can each choose from three set configurations (most popular, hybrid lovers and iron lovers) - or build their own set configuration through G.R.I.P. customization tool. Unfortunately, the set is currently available only in right-handed.
