Ping Iron Lie/Loft Question

[Thug23 3]

Question for those who have Ping irons please. I have the G400 and when I got fitted a couple of years ago I ended up at maroon color 5° upright. Over the last few years I’ve made adjustments to my stance and swing so it was suggested to me that because I don’t stand up so straight anymore I should change my loft and lie. According to the Ping color code chart for my height and wrist length I should fall one level down from maroon color into the silver color which also means I’ll be dropping from a 5° to a 4°.... My question is I don’t know if I should have my irons adjusted as upright or flat...? When I spoke to the rep who was going to adjust my irons he asked me do you want them upright or flat and I really didn’t know what to say...thanks for any help or suggestions you can give me.

 

[CHoyle14 32]

My experience is the Ping Color Code chart is a great place to start, but not the end all.  You should hit off a lie board and see where you are stinking the sole.  I am 6'1 and the Ping Chart says I should be 2° upright, but my hands are low at impact which make me need 2° flat.  Go to your fitter and hit real balls off the lie board, you will be very pleased afterwards.

Edited August 11, 2020 by CHoyle14
Corrected Spelling

[Thug23 3]

Thanks brother 

[ChitownM2 714]

https://thesandtrap.com/blogs/entry/18-sharpie-test-easy-way-to-check-your-lie-angles/

Even better than a lie board, go to the range and bring a sharpie with you.

[Thin2win 3,607]

I don't want to thread jack, but I've got a lie question that seems to run parallel to this discussion. I've done the sharpie method, and I've done lie boards. But really shouldn't ball flight indicate if your lie angle is correct? 

Need the ball to stop leaking, make the club more upright. Ball turning over too much, make the club flatter. 

Why wouldn't ball flight be the best indicator? 

[GolfSpy_APH 7,162]

13 hours ago, Thug23 said:

Question for those who have Ping irons please. I have the G400 and when I got fitted a couple of years ago I ended up at maroon color 5° upright. Over the last few years I’ve made adjustments to my stance and swing so it was suggested to me that because I don’t stand up so straight anymore I should change my loft and lie. According to the Ping color code chart for my height and wrist length I should fall one level down from maroon color into the silver color which also means I’ll be dropping from a 5° to a 4°.... My question is I don’t know if I should have my irons adjusted as upright or flat...? When I spoke to the rep who was going to adjust my irons he asked me do you want them upright or flat and I really didn’t know what to say...thanks for any help or suggestions you can give me.

 

The ping chart is a great starting point. I think the question you should be asking is what is your ball flight looking like? 

I am guessing you are RH so having a large upright club will help fight a a slice or ball flight to the right and promote a more left ball flight. 

When talking lie angle think ball flight and what you are wanting rather then straight lie angle. 5 degree upright is pretty extreme so it is likely that going a bit flatter may suite you more with your swing changes, but that's not to say your current setup isn't still good for you.

For example, I am 6 foot and use to always fight a bit of a fade or (I am a lefty) flight to the left so I had mine as 2 degrees up, over time with work on my swing that all changed and I now have a tendency to over draw the ball so my new irons are 2 flat and with a bigger grip.

Hope that helps and again think of where your misses are and that will lead you further down to what lie angle you should be looking for.

[cnosil 24,387]

I don't want to thread jack, but I've got a lie question that seems to run parallel to this discussion. I've done the sharpie method, and I've done lie boards. But really shouldn't ball flight indicate if your lie angle is correct? 

Need the ball to stop leaking, make the club more upright. Ball turning over too much, make the club flatter. 

Why wouldn't ball flight be the best indicator? 

 

Ball flight is the best indicator. If the ball isnt doing what you think it should be then you can start checking.

If you you clubs are setup correctly and you are delivering the clubs flat at impact then you can start to look at swing; basically the ball flight laws. If the ball is leaking right your club is open to the path.

[Golfspy_CG2 31,689]

7 hours ago, Thin2win said:

I don't want to thread jack, but I've got a lie question that seems to run parallel to this discussion. I've done the sharpie method, and I've done lie boards. But really shouldn't ball flight indicate if your lie angle is correct? 

Need the ball to stop leaking, make the club more upright. Ball turning over too much, make the club flatter. 

Why wouldn't ball flight be the best indicator? 

Yes, this.  The best fitters will use ball flight first, along with LM data, and yes even the sharpie method at times.  A lie board as one very reputable and highly regraded fitter told me, is called a LIE board for a reason

 

1 hour ago, cnosil said:

 

Ball flight is the best indicator. If the ball isnt doing what you think it should be then you can start checking.

If you you clubs are setup correctly and you are delivering the clubs flat at impact then you can start to look at swing; basically the ball flight laws. If the ball is leaking right your club is open to the path.

This also. 

[aerospace_ray 789]

7 hours ago, Thin2win said:

I don't want to thread jack, but I've got a lie question that seems to run parallel to this discussion. I've done the sharpie method, and I've done lie boards. But really shouldn't ball flight indicate if your lie angle is correct? 

Need the ball to stop leaking, make the club more upright. Ball turning over too much, make the club flatter. 

Why wouldn't ball flight be the best indicator? 

What you state "Need the ball to stop leaking, make the club more upright. Ball turning over too much, make the club flatter. " has been my rule of thumb to begin checking my lie angles combined with sharpie test.

IF my ball flight is a little off one way or the other on what I perceive as good swing, near center strikes then I bump the lie angles up or down 1 deg to test.

Anything more than 2 deg bend for me tells me to get my swing checked and particularly check how the face is coming through impact ( severely open/closed). Most of the time its a setup / ball position tweak I need to make first before bending my irons.  

[Thug23 3]

Guys I truly appreciate all your input I’m certainly learning quite a bit from you all.

my clubs are set at 5° which I’m going to reduce down to 4° like I mentioned but coming from an upright angle to flat does that also work in degrees ...??? 
I don’t want to adjust my clubs to such an extreme that I’ll be all over the place...I’m just trying to make little changes at a time

 Thanks again 

[cnosil 24,387]

Guys I truly appreciate all your input I’m certainly learning quite a bit from you all.
my clubs are set at 5° which I’m going to reduce down to 4° like I mentioned but coming from an upright angle to flat does that also work in degrees ...??? 
I don’t want to adjust my clubs to such an extreme that I’ll be all over the place...I’m just trying to make little changes at a time
 Thanks again 

Not sure I understand you question or what you mean when people ask about upright or flat.

Your current set is a 5* upright. You want to flatten them 1* to be 4* upright. In ping color code you want to go from maroon to silver. If you talk to ping CS and get them to do the job they just need to know silver. If you are getting a local club guy to do the work then saying make them 4* upright from the ping standard is what you need to say.

By saying the later you will ensure that he uses ping measurements as your stock baseline measure. There isn’t an industry standard so everyone may have a different baseline. Just saying 4* upright doesn’t provide enough info. You also want to make sure that they don’t bend them 4* from the current lie angle. This may be the confusion; are you telling them to bend them 4* or bend them to 4*?

Most clubs will bend a couple of degrees with no issue; if you start bending them 4* or more then you risk breaking them.

[GolfSpy_APH 7,162]

36 minutes ago, Thug23 said:

Guys I truly appreciate all your input I’m certainly learning quite a bit from you all.

my clubs are set at 5° which I’m going to reduce down to 4° like I mentioned but coming from an upright angle to flat does that also work in degrees ...??? 
I don’t want to adjust my clubs to such an extreme that I’ll be all over the place...I’m just trying to make little changes at a time

 Thanks again 

If you are having them bent 1* degree flatter from 5* upright to 4* upright you will see a slightly more fade bias ball flight. 

Hopefully this is what you are aiming for. Again as stated above no fitter or club builder would recommend bending more then 2 degrees from your standard which is 5* upright. This gives you a range of 3-7 degrees upright to play with. 

Ping customer service is top notch and they recommend sending them in to be adjusted, once that is done then will change the color dot for you and mark it in the system for your clubs serial number so they know what has been done with them.

[Thug23 3]

OK guys I appreciate the quick response thank you very much I knew I could count on you !!

[Buffly 563]

On 8/10/2020 at 1:52 PM, Thug23 said:

Question for those who have Ping irons please. I have the G400 and when I got fitted a couple of years ago I ended up at maroon color 5° upright. Over the last few years I’ve made adjustments to my stance and swing so it was suggested to me that because I don’t stand up so straight anymore I should change my loft and lie. According to the Ping color code chart for my height and wrist length I should fall one level down from maroon color into the silver color which also means I’ll be dropping from a 5° to a 4°.... My question is I don’t know if I should have my irons adjusted as upright or flat...? When I spoke to the rep who was going to adjust my irons he asked me do you want them upright or flat and I really didn’t know what to say...thanks for any help or suggestions you can give me.

 

It is possible that the lie has changed as you have played with them. 

A dynamic test like the sharpie line on a range ball or lie board will tell you if your irons are set right. 

Reading your divots and ball flight help to get you close as well. 

Based on what you said, standing less erect, the upright club would not be too upright = toe up in the air at impact. A divot with the toe up would have the heel digging into the ground first. The ball flight might also have a draw curve with too much upright. 

If your divot shows the club entering the turf squarely and you have a straight ball flight then not to worry. 

I have seen many golfers setup with the toe up and just the heel resting on the ground at address. The result is usually poor contact and no control over distance or direction.

The solution would be to flatten the lie if the club is too much upright.