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Question about sole width vs. bounce


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I'm a sweeper with my irons, rarely taking a divot.  However, I am not a good ball striker.  It seems irons that are designed for the most forgiveness have wide soles and a lot of bounce.  I keep going back and forth between SGI irons and more "players" style irons with thinner soles.  The SGI irons work better on off center hits, but the wide soles only seem to work from lush lies.  I find the players irons have much better turf interaction but are much less forgiving on off center hits.  So, the question is:  would having a clubmaker grind the soles of GI irons like the Ping G series to give them less bounce improve their friendliness for someone with a shallow swing? 

Edited by Hook DeLoft
added a verb

14 of the following:

Ping G430 Max 10.5 degree

Callaway 2023 Big Bertha 3 wood set to 17 degrees

Cobra F9 Speedback 7/8 wood set at 23.5 degrees

Callaway Epic Max 11 wood

Ping Eye 2 BeCu 2-SW

Mizuno 923 JPX HM HL 6-GW

Hogan sand wedge 56 degree bent to 53

Maltby M Series+ 54 degree

Ping Glide 3.0 Eye2 58 degree

Ping Glide 3.0 60 degree

Evnroll ER2

Ping Sigma 2 Anser

Cheap Top Flite mallet putter from Dick's, currently holding down first place in the bag

TaylorMade Mini Spider

Bridgestone XS

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I was (probably still am to some extent) in the same boat. I used to rarely if ever take a divot and always seemed to do better with blades than GI or SGI irons. In theory, grinding the soles might be helpful, but then you're messing with mass properties and CG location. Also, I'm not sure I've ever heard of someone taking a grinder to a cast GI/SGI iron before and I'd assume there's probably a good reason why. You're probably best off searching for a new model that fits somewhere in-between the two extremes.

Driver: :mizuno-small: ST190 9.5* Fujikura Atmos Blue 5S
Fairway Wood: :mizuno-small: ST190 15* Fujikura Atmos Blue 6S
Hybrid: :mizuno-small: CLK 17* Fujikura Speeder EVO HB
Irons: :bridgestone-small: J40 CB (3-PW) Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: :taylormade-small: Milled Grind 2 54* & 58* Dynamic Gold S200
Putter: :odyssey-small: Tri-Hot 5k Two 34"
Bag: :titleist-small: Players 5 Stand Bag
Ball: Maxfli Tour

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I agree that it is not a good idea to grind away.  

I am also in the same boat.  The wide sole clubs work just fine even from tight lies when you strike the ball properly; so do high bounce wedges btw. I am taking lessons to improve my ball striking; I can play SGI irons from very firm turf and score well... some days.  I love thinner sole clubs, and I hope to go back to them one day, but until then I will stick with what helps me the best.

We don’t stop playing the game because we get old; we get old because we stop playing the game.”

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39 minutes ago, Kenny B said:

I agree that it is not a good idea to grind away.  

I am also in the same boat.  The wide sole clubs work just fine even from tight lies when you strike the ball properly; so do high bounce wedges btw. I am taking lessons to improve my ball striking; I can play SGI irons from very firm turf and score well... some days.  I love thinner sole clubs, and I hope to go back to them one day, but until then I will stick with what helps me the best.

I'm definitely better with GI/SGI clubs now than I was when I first started in golf. The lack of a sharp leading edge and low bounce make it difficult to get under the ball if you don't take turf.

Driver: :mizuno-small: ST190 9.5* Fujikura Atmos Blue 5S
Fairway Wood: :mizuno-small: ST190 15* Fujikura Atmos Blue 6S
Hybrid: :mizuno-small: CLK 17* Fujikura Speeder EVO HB
Irons: :bridgestone-small: J40 CB (3-PW) Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: :taylormade-small: Milled Grind 2 54* & 58* Dynamic Gold S200
Putter: :odyssey-small: Tri-Hot 5k Two 34"
Bag: :titleist-small: Players 5 Stand Bag
Ball: Maxfli Tour

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Thanks for the replies.  I suspected grinding would be a bad idea but I figured I'd ask.  I may be wrong, but I really think high bounce is more of an issue for me than a wide sole.  I think I could be happy with a wide sole iron if it had low bounce.

Edited by Hook DeLoft

14 of the following:

Ping G430 Max 10.5 degree

Callaway 2023 Big Bertha 3 wood set to 17 degrees

Cobra F9 Speedback 7/8 wood set at 23.5 degrees

Callaway Epic Max 11 wood

Ping Eye 2 BeCu 2-SW

Mizuno 923 JPX HM HL 6-GW

Hogan sand wedge 56 degree bent to 53

Maltby M Series+ 54 degree

Ping Glide 3.0 Eye2 58 degree

Ping Glide 3.0 60 degree

Evnroll ER2

Ping Sigma 2 Anser

Cheap Top Flite mallet putter from Dick's, currently holding down first place in the bag

TaylorMade Mini Spider

Bridgestone XS

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10 minutes ago, Hook DeLoft said:

Thanks for the replies.  I suspected grinding would be a bad idea but I figured I'd ask.  I may be wrong, but I really think high bounce is more of an issue for me than a wide sole.  I think I could be happy with a wide sole iron if it had low bounce.

What is the bounce on your current irons? For comparison, my irons progress from 3* bounce in the 4-iron to 10* bounce in the PW.

Driver: :mizuno-small: ST190 9.5* Fujikura Atmos Blue 5S
Fairway Wood: :mizuno-small: ST190 15* Fujikura Atmos Blue 6S
Hybrid: :mizuno-small: CLK 17* Fujikura Speeder EVO HB
Irons: :bridgestone-small: J40 CB (3-PW) Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: :taylormade-small: Milled Grind 2 54* & 58* Dynamic Gold S200
Putter: :odyssey-small: Tri-Hot 5k Two 34"
Bag: :titleist-small: Players 5 Stand Bag
Ball: Maxfli Tour

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My previous Ping G irons go from 5 degrees in the 4 iron to 12 degrees in the PW.  Titleist doesn't list the bounce numbers for the irons I'm currently using, 718 AP1's.

14 of the following:

Ping G430 Max 10.5 degree

Callaway 2023 Big Bertha 3 wood set to 17 degrees

Cobra F9 Speedback 7/8 wood set at 23.5 degrees

Callaway Epic Max 11 wood

Ping Eye 2 BeCu 2-SW

Mizuno 923 JPX HM HL 6-GW

Hogan sand wedge 56 degree bent to 53

Maltby M Series+ 54 degree

Ping Glide 3.0 Eye2 58 degree

Ping Glide 3.0 60 degree

Evnroll ER2

Ping Sigma 2 Anser

Cheap Top Flite mallet putter from Dick's, currently holding down first place in the bag

TaylorMade Mini Spider

Bridgestone XS

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Buy yourself an old used set of Ping ISI irons. They are SGI clubs with narrow soles. Very easy to hit. You can get a set for under $100 and give them a shot just to see if you like the combo of narrow sole on an SGI club.


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Spalding Tour Edition 3-PW

Spalding Top-Flite E.V.A. Sand Club

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