Are most clubs made for 18+ handicappers?

[ManinBlack]

Apparently the average handicap for male golfers in the UK is around 18.5. It seems to me that the majority of clubs, irons especially, are designed to help players get the ball airborne with a low centre of gravity being advertised as being an advantage. Most decent players don't have this problem, in fact my trouble is keeping the ball low enough. Whilst I need a forgiving club I don't need one that launches the ball into the stratosphere. Does anyone else feel that the higher handicap player is catered for better?

Also, I think the manufacturers kid us with shaft flexes. People like to think they can handle a stiff shaft so the manufacturers make regular shafts, call them stiff & people buy them and are happy. I think the Miyazaki shaft flex system is a great idea and enables you to compare shafts of different makes.

 

[nemicu]

A lot to take in there, but essentially there is more or less something out there for everyone - it's just that people are reluctant to get properly fit. I don't know what it is, but people would rather buy the wrong equipment 4 or 5 times over and settle on something adequate, rather than getting fitted and getting it right first time. Perhaps this applies more to the keen or established golfer rather than the complete novice just starting out, but long term the results are the same.
Where to start with shaft flexes? Basically, they're just labels! A stiff flex of one brand may sometimes be similar to the regular flex of another (and vice versa) but the same fitting process applies to shafts - there is the right one out there for everybody.
Without going into the scientific part of shaft flex and profile analysis, the Miyazaki system is a proprietary system invented by themselves - and consequently it's only their opinion on how a shaft behaves in 4 sections of the shaft. It doesn't take into account anything else such as weight and torque (although torque is pretty insignificant) and it doesn't take into account specific frequency matching to swing speeds and shaft loading and relaxing during the swing. It's also a finite database and not endorsed by all of the shaft manufacturers. A better database of shaft profiling software is produced by Tom Wishon which measures each shaft individually along multiple sections (every inch of up to 46 inches in total) to produce a much more accurate depiction of what a shaft does and how. These reading are usually plotted on graphs showing EI curves (Energy Inertia) depicting each unique shaft profile (a bit like its DNA) so it can be compared directly with any other shaft. There are around 1000 shafts on this database, but new shafts as they become available can easily be measured and stored.
Again, it's still not endorsed by every single manufacturer as they all have their own methodology to make their products look better than the competition, but Tom is internationally recognised as a leading authority in custom fitting and golf club components.
In the fitting business today, many use this database to identify matches for swing analysis of players and some of the OEMs use this info in developing further products.
Trackman, Flightscope and other doppler radar (the most accurate) based ball tracking systems have also been used in advanced shaft fitting together with high speed cameras and last but not least - the good old human eye!
I can assure you it's a very specific and accurate way to get the right clubs - whatever your handicap. But you have to be willing to get fitted! The pro is not going to ask you to strip naked and laugh at your swing, but the lack of average golfers who pass up on this process, you'd think they were.

 

[nemicu]

Edit:
There are now approaching 1700 shafts on the database - I just checked

 

[Hacker Khan]

Apparently the average handicap for male golfers in the UK is around 18.5. It seems to me that the majority of clubs, irons especially, are designed to help players get the ball airborne with a low centre of gravity being advertised as being an advantage. Most decent players don't have this problem, in fact my trouble is keeping the ball low enough. Whilst I need a forgiving club I don't need one that launches the ball into the stratosphere. Does anyone else feel that the higher handicap player is catered for better?

Also, I think the manufacturers kid us with shaft flexes. People like to think they can handle a stiff shaft so the manufacturers make regular shafts, call them stiff & people buy them and are happy. I think the Miyazaki shaft flex system is a great idea and enables you to compare shafts of different makes.

I was under the impression that GI clubs make it easier to get the ball airborne, but do not necessarily send it noticeably higher than bladed clubs.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Plenty of different clubs on the market, certainly not just for 18 handicappers which don't have to be blades. These days, a lot of clubs have a much larger cross over, something like the I25 which I've seen in the bag of pros through to mid 20 handicappers. As for shafts, there has always been discrepancies. I had a set of off the shelf TM Burner woods. All were suppose to be regular. The driver was like wet spaghetti, the 3 was much firmer, definitely a stiff in other ranges, and the five wood was another Mr Whippy. So how can one manufacturer produce three so called R flexed clubs with such a difference? The only real answer if you want absolute peace of mind is to get a fit and check the performances on a launch monitor although that option is open to everyone (cost, time etc) or something that they'd want to bother with

 

[ScienceBoy]

Pretty much anyone can play with any club, but some clubs are suited to certain people. I think its person based rather than handicap.

IMO handicaps are a poor reflection of swing ability, but a combination of mental and physical abilities. I think I have a pretty crappy swing but my short game keeps my scores low.

Also preference comes into it a fair bit too.

One other point (forum faux pas to make multiple points in one post?) are the clubs the pro's play anything close to what we buy in the shops? It may say one thing on the club but its just a bit of metal and could be made vastly different to the consumer model with the same name.

 

[nemicu]

Pretty much anyone can play with any club, but some clubs are suited to certain people. I think its person based rather than handicap.

IMO handicaps are a poor reflection of swing ability, but a combination of mental and physical abilities. I think I have a pretty crappy swing but my short game keeps my scores low.

Also preference comes into it a fair bit too.

One other point (forum faux pas to make multiple points in one post?) are the clubs the pro's play anything close to what we buy in the shops? It may say one thing on the club but its just a bit of metal and could be made vastly different to the consumer model with the same name.

To answer your last part...
Most OEM's make and produce the exact same club for retail as they do for pros. The only difference is that the pros gear is not assembled on a mass produced scale - head weights are carefully selected and measured - shafts are assembled with a higher level of accuracy to precise specs. The components are the same material as you and I buy off the shelf.
The only real difference is that some components are "tour only" such as some prototype equipment and some heads for Vokeys are tour only raw finished (some other wedges also do this). I guess the most famous of all is the putters - they are hand built one off specials in a lot of cases (Cameron to name the most popular) - but certainly a lot of pros are happy with off the shelf designs.
The old myth that pros use gear that nobody else uses because it's made different or forged by Muira is just that - a myth. Adam Scott is currently using the same irons I used 10 years ago (Titleist 680) even though Titleist would probably build him anything to spec he wanted (within reason lol).
So, there are no depleted uranium putter inserts and no clubs forged from meteorites - I my experience anyway.

 

[shewy]

I'm after the holy grail or irons, a gi iron that sends it low . doesn't exist.

 

[nemicu]

I'm after the holy grail or irons, a gi iron that sends it low . doesn't exist.

Thats more a technique issue. Try hitting one more club with a bit less swing speed. If you've ever tried to chip with a 3-iron, you'll know why it doesn't go as high as a full swing.

 

[shewy]

thats like asking Rory to play it low, aint going to happen, not that I'm comparing myself to him, all I'm stating is there is not a gi iron out there at the moment for the player who has no problem launching the ball in the air.