Have Modern Iron Lofts Put FIVE Wedges In Your Bag?

[jlukes 16,728]

26 minutes ago, BostonSal said:

I do have you on ignore but it isn't working with your posts for some reason.

Nothing personal. mind you. We don't know each other.  I'm just trying to avoid arguments.

It's just that this topic always precipitates a long, drawn out back and forth for no reason.

People who want to discuss jacked lofts can't without starting a big controversy that we're not looking to start.

We already know that we're a cult minority.  We still should be able to discuss it if we like.

It needn't piss people off the way it does.  You disagree. Ignore us.

OK, we can close this thread if the mods like.  

You probably have him on ignore under your NiftyNiblick account and not this account 

[Golfspy_CG2 33,955]

5 minutes ago, jlukes said:

You probably have him on ignore under your NiftyNiblick account and not this account 

You win the internet today!!  

[russtopherb 9,753]

14 minutes ago, jlukes said:

You probably have him on ignore under your NiftyNiblick account and not this account 

MGS Hall of Fame post right here. 

[BostonSal 567]

5 hours ago, jlukes said:

You probably have him on ignore under your NiftyNiblick account and not this account 

Nifty Niblick is or was on WRX, Hacker's Paradise, The Sand Trap, Shot Talk, Golf Monthly, Golf Review, My Golf Spy, The Caddy Shack, and Tour Spec.  I know because I've browsed all of those forums [is it fora?]. 

Everybody knows him, and I don't think that he even plays anymore.

The administrator did find another account on this forum that I had forgotten about, and it wasn't Nifty Niblick.

I asked him to delete it.

I guess we can put each other on ignore as well if you're just looking to stir things up.

I'll see to it on my end right now.

Thanks.

 

[BostonSal 567]

5 hours ago, Golfspy_CG2 said:

The MODs will decide when to close a topic.  If people disagreeing with you bothers you so much, and it apparently does.  Perhaps you should Ignore it.  But it seems from your posts you have trouble ignoring and not commenting on the subject.   So not sure what you’re complaining about. 

OK.  We're not understanding one another. We can just drop it.

[NRJyzr 1,248]

The problem I have with modern loft progressions is the proliferation of 5* gaps at the bottom end of the iron set.  You see a great many sets now with something not unlike 30-35-40-45-50, and then a bunch of tiny gaps above that.  It may produce lovely gaps for some, but it doesn't for all.  IMHO, not for most.

And when so many modern sticks are designed with firmer steels, and more bounce than in the past, bending them to properly align with a different loft approach can be problematic.  
 

[NRJyzr 1,248]

20 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

The traditional loft comments always make me laugh. Most use it in terms of today’s irons compared when they first started playing. A 35* 7 iron is a strong lofted 7i compared to the 80s and even stronger when you compare it to the 60-70s era clubs.

Lofts have gotten stronger as technology and design have improved and keeps the ball in the right launch window. That’s all explained in the video posted earlier from the titleist master fitter.

I don't particularly agree with the launch window approach when it comes to numbering irons.  One reason for that perspective is that we are now told we need to hit the ball higher in order to account for the lower spin of the modern golf balls.  

Another is that once we got to the muscleback era, with steel shafts, there have always been lower trajectory and higher trajectory clubs.  A high trajectory player buying a high trajectory club seems counter productive.  Personally speaking, it's prevented me from playing certain sets in my collection, over the years.  Including just within the blade world.

(I just have to add that aging sucks, I'm no longer that guy, LOL)

Even Jason Day, who delofted his clubs further to hit his launch windows, has had to adjust his thinking about those launch windows in order to better hold greens (his clubs have had that loft added back).

It's just a philosophical difference, when you boil it down...
 

Edited October 4, 2021 by NRJyzr

[NRJyzr 1,248]

16 hours ago, Middler said:

Early on the industry engaged in almost pure loft jacking to increase distances and sell more clubs. That resulted in lower trajectory, lower spin and that’s not ideal for an approach shot. So they lowered CG resulting in higher launch angles, still with stronger lofts.

They say they have lowered the CG, but they really haven't.  

Apologies to all for machine gunning the thread with multiple posts within minutes of each other  
 

[RickyBobby_PR 10,144]

28 minutes ago, NRJyzr said:

I don't particularly agree with the launch window approach when it comes to numbering irons.  One reason for that perspective is that we are now told we need to hit the ball higher in order to account for the lower spin of the modern golf balls.  

Another is that once we got to the muscleback era, with steel shafts, there have always been lower trajectory and higher trajectory clubs.  A high trajectory player buying a high trajectory club seems counter productive.  Personally speaking, it's prevented me from playing certain sets in my collection, over the years.  Including just within the blade world.

(I just have to add that aging sucks, I'm no longer that guy, LOL)

Even Jason Day, who delofted his clubs further to hit his launch windows, has had to adjust his thinking about those launch windows in order to better hold greens (his clubs have had that loft added back).

It's just a philosophical difference, when you boil it down...
 

Yeah someone who has a high launch already doesn’t need the aid of a design that’s there to get the ball in the air.

High launch plus low spin is geared purely for distance. Look at the TM 17/1700 campaign. But in reality the spin and launch go hand in hand and need to balance each other out. Too much launch with too much spin and the ball goes nowhere. Not enough spin and launch and the ball is a line drive that knuckles and drops out of the sky.

Its where fittings come into play. Like you said a high launch golfer who happens to be a high handicap player especially an avg Joe weekend  wr who isn’t on good forums or golf related Facebook groups hears/reads/sees something that X iron model is designed for game improvement and goes to the store and buys it more than likely ends up with a set that doesn’t make them better, may make the game harder to some extent. 

 

[Greg Robertson 6]

Yes, I have a PW, A, 52*, 56*, and a 60*. 

[funkyjudge 244]

On 9/29/2021 at 7:15 PM, BostonSal said:

It seems that if I wanted to use a classic 52-56-60 matched wedge set,

I'd need, with many of the newer iron sets,  both the matching PW and  GW to get to it.

Not a problem for me, but longer players need more longer clubs above the 5-iron than I do.   

Do you go with five wedges,

gap your wedges wider,

or adopt another solution?

What's the current trend?

 

I currently play four wedges [45* to 46* PW from my set + 50*, 54* & 58* wedges from other manufacturer(s)]. However, with the super-strong lofts that I am seeing in today’s game-improvement and “player’s distance” iron sets, I have witnessed many golfers carrying as many as 6 wedges, including the 41* to 43* PW, 45* or 46* AW, AND 50* or 51* GW from their iron sets plus up to three other wedges. I personally think that this is silly, unless the golfer REALLY feels a need to hit full shots with every one of those wedges.  Otherwise, he or she could certainly learn to hit a variety of shots with any of their wedges that has between 45* - 54* and get rid of one or two of those other wedges in favor of a hybrid or two.

[BostonSal 567]

On 10/3/2021 at 1:09 PM, RickyBobby_PR said:

. A 35* 7 iron is a strong lofted 7i compared to the 80s and even stronger when you compare it to the 60-70s era clubs.

That's absolutely true.  The point in my example was the 5º gaps.

35º 7-iron

40º 8-iron

45º 9-iron

Good for slower swing speed juniors, women, and seniors.

It's been done in the past--by Mizuno and Cobra for sure-- but those consumer markets aren't necessarily the ones spending money and understanding tech....so they don't get accommodated. 

 

 

 

[Slypanther 14]

I once posited to a club distributor about using the high toe short iron head shape out to the 7 and 6 iron back in the early 70's. His response was why would you want to do that? I thought it would make the muscle back irons more forgiving. Now manufacturers have made that the norm, but with slightly longer shafts. My next (and last) set of irons will be a blade like multi material head that will need to be reshafted into a more flexible shaft as I get older and die. I get strange looks from people (especially course pros) when I break out my 70s or 80s clubs with wound balata balls for a 9 hole game.

[itsjustagame 5]

Traditionally- since 1938- you have been allowed to carry 14 clubs. Since that time it has been up to the golfer to decide how to organize their bag. Manufacturers offer more choices than ever to reach that 14 number, but that hardly seems like a bad thing.

If 5 wedges suit your game do it.

 

Edited October 5, 2021 by itsjustagame

[NRJyzr 1,248]

Posted a few times in the thread, but I haven't actually addressed the topic question...

...Likely because my clubs are weaker than many.  I'm playing a 49* PW, which I'm currently topping off with a 53* GW and 58* SW.  Earlier this season, I played quite a bit with MP37s, which have a 47* PW.  I added a 52* GW there, and the same 58* SW.

A 45* PW is as modern as I've thought about acquiring, in such a case, I would have four wedges, probably 50/55/60 above that.

[RickyBobby_PR 10,144]

47 minutes ago, NRJyzr said:

Posted a few times in the thread, but I haven't actually addressed the topic question...

...Likely because my clubs are weaker than many.  I'm playing a 49* PW, which I'm currently topping off with a 53* GW and 58* SW.  Earlier this season, I played quite a bit with MP37s, which have a 47* PW.  I added a 52* GW there, and the same 58* SW.

A 45* PW is as modern as I've thought about acquiring, in such a case, I would have four wedges, probably 50/55/60 above that.

I’ve played 47-44* pw for as long a AI can remember and 45/46 have been the most common for me in the last 7+ years with the numerous sets I have gamed…not quite as many @Golfspy_CG2 . My wedge setup has always been gw, sw, lw of varying degrees but for the most part 50,54,60(or 58 to change things up) only twice have I changed lofts and that was to change bounce more than the loft.

I don’t full swing sw or lw and even getting to the point of pw and 9i not being full power swings. The 4 wedge setup allows me to tinker at the top of the bag for some pure distance options and also for gapping purposes before my woods

[ForeRightAgain 39]

I'm rocking with 4 wedges and it definitely has helped my game:

43, 48, 52 and 56 degree

 

[NRJyzr 1,248]

2 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

I don’t full swing sw or lw and even getting to the point of pw and 9i not being full power swings.

It might be obvious with a 52/58 setup listed, but I also don't do full swing wedges.  And I've been doing the same as you with PW and 9 iron.

Doesn't help the "I feel old" aspect of my current game (hitting PW some 20 yards shorter than was the norm only five years ago), but oh well.  Father Time, undisputed and undefeated champion...

I guess playing my set with the 52* PW was helping me adjust to the idea...   LOL
 

Edited October 5, 2021 by NRJyzr

[RickyBobby_PR 10,144]

59 minutes ago, NRJyzr said:

It might be obvious with a 52/58 setup listed, but I also don't do full swing wedges.  And I've been doing the same as you with PW and 9 iron.

Doesn't help the "I feel old" aspect of my current game (hitting PW some 20 yards shorter than was the norm only five years ago), but oh well.  Father Time, undisputed and undefeated champion...

I guess playing my set with the 52* PW was helping me adjust to the idea...   LOL
 

I feel ya. Getting old sux

[alfriday101 1,162]

I approach it this way:  The clubs that came with my set are my irons.  Wedges are separate, specially designed short game clubs.  I don't really care that the two highest lofted clubs that came with my set are labeled PW and GW.  

 

I am currently playing 2 "real wedges."  So I go set GW, specialty SW and LW.  This set up has 5 degree loft gaps.  

 

I am transitioning to 4 "real wedges."  I drop the set GW and add wedges in 4 degree loft gaps.  I prefer to have tighter yardage gaps at the bottom of my bag.  I bought the wedges months ago, but haven't taken the time to get them dialed in.  Now that the main golf season is over (the course plugged greens yesterday and pulled tee markers) I'll quit worrying about shooting my best score and start working on my building my game for winter in Florida.   I'll end up with 5 clubs labeled as wedges, but the PW doesn't occupy space in my brain as a wedge, but as my highest lofted iron.