Do wide soles hold you back?

[ZenGolfer]

I feel like they do.  Ive never really got along with irons with really wide soles because I always felt like it was difficult for me to make good contact on a tight lie and that there was more turf interaction.

Ive always really wanted to love irons with wide soles because they are supposedly so forgiving but Ive never found a set that I really loved.  My TA Atomics are probably the closest thing to it and even then, it took me a while to adjust to them and they are really more what I would call mid-width soles.

[RickyBobby_PR]

40 minutes ago, ZenGolfer said:

I feel like they do.  Ive never really got along with irons with really wide soles because I always felt like it was difficult for me to make good contact on a tight lie and that there was more turf interaction.

Ive always really wanted to love irons with wide soles because they are supposedly so forgiving but Ive never found a set that I really loved.  My TA Atomics are probably the closest thing to it and even then, it took me a while to adjust to them and they are really more what I would call mid-width soles.

Like wedges certain soles don’t work well on certain lies and then diggers vs pickers. Have to find a head that works with both swing and course conditions.

[Sluggo42]

On 2/11/2020 at 12:51 PM, bonvivantva said:

This was a painful thread to read......

I used to play Mizuno MX-17s that had a pretty wide sole. I broke my 9i after about a decade, and started playing my dad's old JPX900s for the time being.  For the past three years, I've been working on an OTT swing path issue.  With the MX-17s, when I was really struggling with path, a 7i might go about 140 yards (10 yards short for me).  I'd be hitting the ball chunky, and leaving it a little short.  The obvious solution is to improve my swing, but I found that quite difficult.  The easier solution was to swing harder and aim a little right.  I'd still chunk, and swinging harder usually mean a loss of control and consistency, but I could gain those 10 yards back. (So the fat shot fix is to swing harder...)

With the JPX900s, that didn't work.  They have a visibly narrower sole.  I think that when I swing harder with an OTT chunky swing, the club digs harder and the ball definitely doesn't go farther.  This forced me to fix my path.  There was no other option available.  Either come from the inside or lose 10-20 yards.  So for a week or so I tried restricting my hip turn, slowing my hips, etc., and finally I was able to sway less and rotate my hips differently (less counterclockwise and more along the path line), and something clicked and I started hitting the ball great.  Honestly only two things changed.  I was able to hit the ball more frequently, which I think possibly had the greatest influence on my improvement, but also, those skinnier clubs wouldn't let me cheat so I had no choice but to really fix my path. (I’m curious how you finally came to this conclusion. Like at what point did it occur to you that

What do y'all think?  I think wide soles help you play OK golf, but I also think they allow you to avoid really fixing your swing.  Thoughts?

Well, basically more bounce keeps the club from “digging”. So you get away with less damage from a chunk. But is that really “OK golf”?

No, I don’t think they allow you to avoid fixing your swing. And don’t take this as a “stinky” answer as it’s not meant to be, but I think that thinking that shooting a 105 is OK, vs shooting a 125, is what allows you to avoid really fixing your swing.

im guessing your scoring has improved dramatically with the “new swing” right?

 

[bonvivantva]

On 2/15/2020 at 7:41 PM, Sluggo42 said:

Well, basically more bounce keeps the club from “digging”. So you get away with less damage from a chunk. But is that really “OK golf”?

No, I don’t think they allow you to avoid fixing your swing. And don’t take this as a “stinky” answer as it’s not meant to be, but I think that thinking that shooting a 105 is OK, vs shooting a 125, is what allows you to avoid really fixing your swing.

im guessing your scoring has improved dramatically with the “new swing” right?

 

I haven't been able to play much this season yet.  Just got back from a vacation and I played 9 on a full length course.  I had a lot of really nice shots, but I'd say more or less I feel into old habits.  My sequence was off and I was chunky, probably because I was rushing some, so I scored about my usual on 9.  I was also helping a first timer, so that probably affected my game some as well.

I did stick an island green on 18 into the wind which was fun, and I hit a shot out of an ice cream consistency bunker about 85 yards and put it about 5 feet from the hole.  I know this is going to sound crazy, but I didn't really look at how wide the soles were of the clubs I was playing.  I think they were M4s.  I do remember the grips feeling very narrow and the clubs feeling very light overall.

 

I agree with 105 vs 125.  One is bad, one is so bad you'd get laughed off the course.  I'm not saying anyone should be happy with 105, but you can get paired with someone that plays at a reasonable speed, shoots a 105, and not be bothered.  It's OK golf.  Not something to aspire to, but something it's a little too easy to get comfortable with.

[PuffyC]

This seems to go against the grain but IMO the super wide soled SGI clubs can prevent you from getting better only because it allows you to get away with being a sweeper. I think this is really just another way of saying that practicing with blades makes you better. I’m not convinced that’s necessarily true either although it will make you hit down in the ball and take a proper divot so there’s something to be said for that. Again, this is just my know-nothing amateur opinion but a wide soled non-wedge makes hitting an iron “properly” significantly more difficult and at some point in your golf career not being able to do that will probably hold you back. As a side note, that’s what I like most about playing blades. With that leading edge I can take a 1 inch deep beaver pelt divot and not even feel the club going thru the turf.

[mysterygolfguy]

On ‎2‎/‎11‎/‎2020 at 2:51 PM, bonvivantva said:

  I was able to hit the ball more frequently, which I think possibly had the greatest influence on my improvement, but also, those skinnier clubs wouldn't let me cheat so I had no choice but to really fix my path.

What do y'all think?  I think wide soles help you play OK golf, but I also think they allow you to avoid really fixing your swing.  Thoughts?

I had a wicked banana slice on every golf club I touched when I first started. It was like a curse.

Swing path issues must be fixed first and no golf club will help those. I used a friends draw biased driver and seemed to curve that even more to the right.

To me clubs aren't the answer, practice and good swing path is.