So I bought a loft/lie machine

[Parshooter36]

I just got home from a 6 hour round trip to pick up a loft/lie machine.  From what I can tell, it's and older brand that isn't around anymore, but it should more than suffice for the tinkering I plan to do with it.  Kind of crazy to spend my whole Saturday on the road, but for $300 I couldn't pass it up.

[cnosil]

2 minutes ago, Parshooter36 said:

I just got home from a 6 hour round trip to pick up a loft/lie machine.  From what I can tell, it's and older brand that isn't around anymore, but it should more than suffice for the tinkering I plan to do with it.  Kind of crazy to spend my whole Saturday on the road, but for $300 I couldn't pass it up.

 

Should be fun to play with.  Do you have a LM that you can measure ball data on so you can make adjustments as you hit the ball?

[Parshooter36]

24 minutes ago, cnosil said:

Should be fun to play with.  Do you have a LM that you can measure ball data on so you can make adjustments as you hit the ball?

Yes sir.  I can't wait to geek out with this thing.

[Fred Mitchell]

1 hour ago, Parshooter36 said:

Yes sir.  I can't wait to geek out with this thing.

No time for chores honey, I have stuff to do.

[GolfSpy_APH]

Should be fun! Looks a lot like the one we had at our pro shop. 

[MuskokaRex]

I used to have a Michell machine that looked the same. Was a big help in getting my wedges where I wanted them to be. Helped fill all my distance gaps. 

[Maverick]

I think the most important use is going to be for the lies...

Getting the sides of the divots perfectly parallel is more important than lofts for me.

Solid strikes come first, then adjusting lofts for perfect gaps.

But most and foremost is the enjoyment of the doing and the satisfaction of the results!!!

ENJOY!!!

[release]

$300 + your time and the cost of fuel.  I would take that fun trip myself.

[Parshooter36]

I measured all of my clubs today. My irons averaged around 1 degree weak on loft and 1.5 degrees up on lie which probably explains why my shot pattern tends to be left of center with my irons.  The biggest shock was both of my wedges came in at 3 degrees weak. I'm pretty comfortable with my wedge distances, so I probably won't change them, but I was not expecting that much difference. 

[chisag]

42 minutes ago, Parshooter36 said:

I measured all of my clubs today. My irons averaged around 1 degree weak on loft and 1.5 degrees up on lie which probably explains why my shot pattern tends to be left of center with my irons.  The biggest shock was both of my wedges came in at 3 degrees weak. I'm pretty comfortable with my wedge distances, so I probably won't change them, but I was not expecting that much difference. 

 

... It is also pretty amazing how off spec brand new irons and wedges can be. Having your own LL machine makes sure the error is the archer and not the arrow. I also check my friends irons/wedges if they want to be sure they are on spec. I have a Mitchel Tour LL so I can do both left and right handed clubs. I'd tell you to have fun but you already have!!! 

[ParFore74x]

52 minutes ago, Parshooter36 said:

I measured all of my clubs today. My irons averaged around 1 degree weak on loft and 1.5 degrees up on lie which probably explains why my shot pattern tends to be left of center with my irons.  The biggest shock was both of my wedges came in at 3 degrees weak. I'm pretty comfortable with my wedge distances, so I probably won't change them, but I was not expecting that much difference. 

This is why I would like to check mine as well. Having one of these at home would be awesome! 

[chisag]

1 minute ago, ParFore74x said:

This is why I would like to check mine as well. Having one of these at home would be awesome! 

 

... Stated this several times but when I was on staff with a big OEM and received my staff bag and new clubs, my 8i and 7i were producing similar distances. Took them to Golfsmith and had them checked and found the 8i was 2* strong and the 7i was 2* weak so they were the exact same loft.  That's when I decided to buy my own LL machine. 

[funkyjudge]

Just don't go by the lofts and lie angles that are shown on the machine for specific clubs. That Scotland L & L Machine is showing lofts and lie angles that were the "standards" about 30-40 years ago, and today's irons, besides being about 1/2" or more longer in playing length than "classic" irons, are several (or even MANY) degrees stronger in loft and one to three degrees more upright than "classic" irons that are the basis for the numbers shown on your machine. 

[Parshooter36]

14 hours ago, funkyjudge said:

Just don't go by the lofts and lie angles that are shown on the machine for specific clubs. That Scotland L & L Machine is showing lofts and lie angles that were the "standards" about 30-40 years ago, and today's irons, besides being about 1/2" or more longer in playing length than "classic" irons, are several (or even MANY) degrees stronger in loft and one to three degrees more upright than "classic" irons that are the basis for the numbers shown on your machine. 

You are correct on that.  I had to set it 2 clubs off from what I was measuring to get in the correct loft range.  They have 7 iron marked as 38 degrees which what my 9 iron is supposed to be according the the specs.

[jbern]

That’s cool! How often do you recommend getting loft/lie checked? I had mine bent to my specs back in April. I haven’t noticed any major issues as the year’s gone on. I’m just curious. 

[funkyjudge]

18 minutes ago, jbern said:

That’s cool! How often do you recommend getting loft/lie checked? I had mine bent to my specs back in April. I haven’t noticed any major issues as the year’s gone on. I’m just curious. 

With cast stainless steel irons, the lofts and lie angles aren’t going to change much (if at all), even if you hit off of mats a lot. However with forged carbon steel or either forged or cast mild steel and/or 304 stainless steel irons (not cast clubs that have a forged face, or so-called “forged” irons that have a forged maraging steel face), you should probably have the lofts and lies checked once or twice a year …. maybe more often, if you play a lot of golf in hard pan conditions or practice a lot off of mats.

[jbern]

12 minutes ago, funkyjudge said:

With cast stainless steel irons, the lofts and lie angles aren’t going to change much (if at all), even if you hit off of mats a lot. However with forged carbon steel or either forged or cast mild steel and/or 304 stainless steel irons (not cast clubs that have a forged face, or so-called “forged” irons that have a forged maraging steel face), you should probably have the lofts and lies checked once or twice a year …. maybe more often, if you play a lot of golf in hard pan conditions or practice a lot off of mats.

I play the Sub70 659CB irons, which I believe are fully forged. Being in southern Michigan, I don’t often play on hard pan conditions or mats, which is probably why I haven’t noticed much drifting. 

[funkyjudge]

2 hours ago, jbern said:

I play the Sub70 659CB irons, which I believe are fully forged. Being in southern Michigan, I don’t often play on hard pan conditions or mats, which is probably why I haven’t noticed much drifting. 

That makes perfect sense. I built a mixed set of Sub 70 639CB/639MB irons for a customer two years ago and I check those irons’ lofts and lie angles for him on an annual basis. So far, I have only found one iron that needed to be adjusted, and it was only by one degree.

[McGolf]

the Scotland unit was the prime competitor to the Mitchell unit. A lot of folks liked Scotland. 

Just keep in mind the 6 iron loft of the time the unit was made is much different than today.

As long a the actual loft is measured you will be fine. 

have fun