Degree Increments in Iron Gaps

[NiftyNiblick]

Has anybody tried 5º?

 

I've found that uncertainty and lack of full commitment tends to sabotage a shot. If I'm between irons, and I'm not sure if I'm going too strong or too weak, neither weak nor strong will be my only problem as I may mishit the shot altogether.

 

 

With 5º increments, I'm committed to the longer club because I know that I won't get there with the shorter one. Usually, I'll put a smoother stroke onto the shot which is rarely a bad thing.

 

 

Another advantage of 5º loft increments is that it leaves room in the bag for an extra club. If you have a shot-specific utility like a driving iron, a dedicated sand-only iron, a chipper, a lofted keel-soled utility wood, or just an extra wedge which you'd like to bag but don't have room, 5º increments in the irons solves that problem.

[hckymeyer]

4 degree or 5 degree is pretty close.  For the majority of golfers they aren't going to be able to tell the difference.

 

I think your rational is flawed though.  The bigger the gap between clubs the higher the probability that you will end up with an in-between distance that will require you to really step on it or try and take a little off.

 

It really just comes down to what you are comfortable with.  Will you save more strokes in a round by having smaller gaps or by having that extra "specialty" club in the bag that you use once or twice every couple rounds?

[NiftyNiblick]

Your point that wider gaps will result in more "tweeners" is well taken, 'meyer, but again, the longer club default mode also facilitates the commitment.  Of course, if there's a pond full of 'gators immediately behind the green and a clean fairway cut all the way up to the front fringe of the green, an exception would likely be made!  Gators are thankfully rare in new England, however.  The greenskeeper's big coonhound is the only "wildlife" for which we must be aware, and having treats in your bag to give him keeps the animal very friendly.

 

I just like the set configuration options that Hogan gave me by allowing me to not only choose my  lofts from 44 available, but also the increments between them.  As you can see, I like lofted fairway woods and bag a full complement of them.  Normally, with four degree increments, that would necessitate the choice between a high loft short-side-miss wedge and a long iron with which to hit line drives beneath the wind.

 

Admittedly, in this case, the longest Hogan iron was purchased only with an eye to having a complete set.  A more forgiving dedicated driving iron replaces the longest Hogan in actual play.

[RoverRick]

A 5* gap is exactly what TMag has done to create "Longer Clubs". In many of the Rocketwhatever clubs they were 1/2 inch increments and 5 degrees. (TMag is not alone doing this.) So when you compare the distance of their 7 iron to others it was a full club. But since they were consistent through out the set it simply a 14-15 yard gap vs a 11-13 yard gap.

 

As far as creating more in between shots, you can simply choke down on the club 1/2" and decrease any iron by 1/2 a club.

 

Now if you are one of these guys that tries to swing out of your shoes, you don't get the consisitency anyway.

 

However, you are right, I have looked at this pretty hard wondering about freeing up more space at either end of the bag, but I opted to vary the length and achieved the same results.

[KCLeo12]

The loft is less important then the gaps. Go do a gap fitting and get the gap distance you want. For what ever reason on my last set my 3-4 irons were only 2* loft difference but still maintained my 15 yard gaps.

[Kor.A.Door]

In the longer clubs or seems more feasible, but when it get to the wedges it gets difficult, for me anyway, I have a 5* gap between PW, and my 50* wedge, and that is causing some issues, one is 135, the next is 120, that's too big of a yardage gap I think, I need to take all my weges 1* strong and hopefully eliminate such a big gap. I can hit the 50* wedge 125-128, but I really have to hit it hard and j don't like to do that

[sp0rtsfan86]

I personally like where my stuff is at. Only big thing is the long clubs are inconsistent mainly because of my swing. I can comfortable hit my clubs, plus I know the distances and half distances. I'm not sure having exact lofts would help, so much as the distance gaps being 10-15 yards have helped. Just my thoughts.

[NiftyNiblick]

Another consideration is the matter of how far off the beaten path a player is willing to go. Golf tends to be a conservative game, and many players are reluctant to throw out the book with their set configuration.

 

My inclination is to set the book on fire.

 

I won't bag a deep face driver that forces me to tee my ball high.

 

I love high loft fairways woods--go directly from them to my middle irons with no hybrids-- but carry a driving iron because it's a completely different shot.

 

I often carry a wedge solely for bunker or rough play that's not a part of my turf club loft progression.

 

Walking the course as a young kid, I used a trolley like an old man when all my friends carried their bags--and couldn't care less what anybody thought about it.

 

I tried graphite shafts on irons when I saw Donna Capone playing them in the Boston Five Classic. At that time, I had never seen a male playing with graphite shafted irons and I didn't care. They felt better to my damaged hands. I figured the actual performance would take care of itself once I got used to them. I eventually played to an eight with graphite shafted irons.

 

I think that if you box as a kid, you know that there's no such thing as machismo on a golf course so you don't worry about it.