Longer hosel good or bad?

[Arizilla]

Hey everyone,

I’ve always been curious about why older golf clubs have much longer hosels compared to the modern clubs we see today. Was this design choice purely for aesthetics, or did it serve a functional purpose in terms of the club’s performance?

[Brooky03]

My guess is that the longer hosels limited shaft breakage, especially with hickory shafts.  They shortened over time because shafts got stronger, I'd assume the epoxies got better, and - most importantly - that much weight in the hosel is a tremendous waste of mass.

[Arizilla]

So, adding extra mass would move the CG more towards the heel, making toe strikes worse, right?

[Brooky03]

On 6/20/2024 at 1:19 PM, Arizilla said:

So, adding extra mass would move the CG more towards the heel, making toe strikes worse, right?

For long hosel irons, CG is more towards the heel and also much higher than you'd want.  In comparison, shorter hosels move CG down and toward the toe, but also free up mass to put where you want it without increasing the weight of the head.