Giant Golf's New GX2 Irons

IRVINE, CA -- Giant Golf has launched new GX2 irons. This set of highly attractive irons comes with black, graphite shafts, black Winn grips and a sharp-looking, moderately large cavity. This slightly oversized head is based on the King Cobra II style of design. There is even a mild version of a weight protrusion on the backside of the hosel. While not a completely original design concept, it does have the advantage of being a time-proven one that has satisfied countless golfers for many years. The treatment given by Giant to the overall look and design has made it distinctive enough to enable them to call it their own.

These little- known irons out of California have won some hearts early on. Our testers have all hit them very well. Feeling is very solid and alignment is easy. The strong lofts create shots that are very long. The shaft choice and weight pattern give the trajectories ample height. In head to head testing with the Callaway X-14's and Nickent Musketeers, the Giants are winning not only the popularity test, but the performance tests as well. The positive responses run the entire gamut of irons. The long irons are as much liked as the short irons. We had assumed that all easy-swinging testers would have favored the other two irons, but that has not been the case.

This head design is moderately forgiving and very effective; it communicates well. It does not, however, provide the inherently soft and smooth feel of the newest breed of cavity-backs such as the Steelheads, Firesoles and Orlimar TriMetals. To offset this touch of harshness Giant has used soft Winn grips and filament wound shafts. The end result is a responsively firm and overall satisfactory feel. The weight pattern gives punch to hits made on the lower half of the face. Those who routinely hit towards the toe will find a slightly harsher feel and less forgiveness as compared to some deeper cavity irons. There is moderate offset throughout the set.

Aside from the attractive looks, what has impressed testers most is the instinctively simple ease of alignment and the ability of the irons to respond to aggressive swings. The regular flex shaft is responsive feeling and lively without showing the tendency of many graphite shafts to produce pulls and hooks when overswung. The shot patterns and temperament of these irons match their look and feel exactly.

• Innovative club design using CCP
• Dual sole cutaway toe.
• Lightweight, filament wound, graphite shafts.
• 3-Step weight system.
• Larger cavity back and oversized club head.
• GX2 irons come in an 8-iron set (3-PW).

June 2, 2000