Help (Please)

[Big-Dog]

Ladies and Gents

I am looking at getting some new irons (most of you will not have heard of the ones I play) but I am at a cross roads with dilemma in all directions.

I play off 14.2 but hit the ball very well and the short game is coming on I have been to a Callaway day at a local course and Mizuno with both reps saying that I hit the ball better than my handicap and should be off single figures (if only the so me from 100 yds in !!). However I have also been told of a local fitter who is moving premises from Warrington to Wigan who has no specific connection with a particular make, but I am just worried that the extra cost of shafts etc could take the cost from a reasonable investment to one which could support the third world debt.

Now the clubs I like are Apex irons by Callaway ( KOD last year and fitting at club) and also Mizuno with a shaft they recommended which would cost more if I wanted that shaft in the Apex.

Therefore in a rather round about sort of way what difference (I felt a rather big one in the Mizuno but do not know what that would do in the Callaway) would a shaft make?

Alternatively I do like the Okra irons but the local rep I do not think has the facilities for a FULL fitting trackman and area to hit full shots.

Any advice other than giving up golf would be most appreciated I live in Burnley so any names or suggestions would be appreciated.

Hit em straight ....ish

 

[Hacker Khan]

Shafts make hardly any difference. Just get the set you are happy and confident with and then play and enjoy golf. Don't spend all the time thinking your game will be any different if you got some different clubs or a slightly different shaft. As it won't. And if you want your scores to improve then have some lessons.

 

[One Planer]

Shafts make hardly any difference. Just get the set you are happy and confident with and then play and enjoy golf. Don't spend all the time thinking your game will be any different if you got some different clubs or a slightly different shaft. As it won't. And if you want your scores to improve then have some lessons.

Really??

 

[virtuocity]

I really don't believe that shafts make a huge difference other than how it feels to you during the swing.

Sometimes you might 'lose' the club head during the swing and this might bother you. It doesn't fuss me as I like to swing the handle end.

Custom fitting WILL show you that fitters can get you a tighter dispersion and more distance. Despite this, and after asking the question a number of times on this site, those who have been fit do not regularly see game-changing (i.e. instantly dropping multiple shots of their score) effects.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Shafts make hardly any difference. Just get the set you are happy and confident with and then play and enjoy golf. Don't spend all the time thinking your game will be any different if you got some different clubs or a slightly different shaft. As it won't. And if you want your scores to improve then have some lessons.

Sorry but that's not correct - different shafts will make a difference to the way the ball flight is - some launch the ball a lot higher and would highly recommend being fitted properly to ensure the right shaft is got in your irons.

For example when I was getting fitted I got very different results in launch angle , height , spin and distance with three different shafts -KBS , Project X and Dynamic Gold. And being fitted made a massive difference to me compared to my previous off the shelf set

Getting fitted for the right shaft is very important

 

[virtuocity]

Really??

I'm interested to hear your side Garf. I would love to be seduced by the concept of custom fitting (especially with the XRs winking at me every time I go into the pro shop) but, at the end of the day, it's just a bit of metal; some heavier than the others.

 

[virtuocity]

Or, to rephrase the question (and I promise I'm not being facetious here!):

Say I have money sat aside, say £2500, affording me the opportunity to be custom fit with any shaft option, for all clubs, using my same swing, how many shots can I expect to drop?

 

[One Planer]

I'm interested to hear your side Garf. I would love to be seduced by the concept of custom fitting (especially with the XRs winking at me every time I go into the pro shop) but, at the end of the day, it's just a bit of metal; some heavier than the others.

Very simple in my view.

I play R300 shafts. I'm borderline between stiff and regular, but a heavy(... er) regular flex gave me better results.

My pro plays Ping S55 irons with X-Flex (CFS I believe) that have been hard-stepped.

The difference is night and day.

His irons feel like I'm swinging a length of heavy scaffold pole when I cannot get the face back to square. I hit everything very low and very right.

Getting the shaft right can help. It's not the be all and end all, but it will help.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Or, to rephrase the question (and I promise I'm not being facetious here!):

Say I have money sat aside, say £2500, affording me the opportunity to be custom fit with any shaft option, for all clubs, using my same swing, how many shots can I expect to drop?

No one will be able to tell - it will also depend on how often you play - your short game and sinking putts. It can't be a definitive answer

When I started out I used a set of Nike Ignotes - got down to 16 from 24 , bought a set of r9 of the shelf with KBS tour shafts - game went to pot - 6 months later in the August I got fitted for me current clubs , my ball striking was instantly improved and by the March I was off 10 with 4 wins under my belt. My HC then came further down by playing more

But there is no doubt my golf improved dramatically when I got fitted

 

[virtuocity]

No one will be able to tell - it will also depend on how often you play - your short game and sinking putts. It can't be a definitive answer

When I started out I used a set of Nike Ignotes - got down to 16 from 24 , bought a set of r9 of the shelf with KBS tour shafts - game went to pot - 6 months later in the August I got fitted for me current clubs , my ball striking was instantly improved and by the March I was off 10 with 4 wins under my belt. My HC then came further down by playing more

But there is no doubt my golf improved dramatically when I got fitted

:thup:

Don't want to hijack this thread so I'll bow out soon, but I understand why my question was difficult. I suppose you've kinda answered this, but to rephrase my question: If I went and spent *whatever* on a full custom fit, would I with the same swing improve my ball striking, find the middle of the driver face and hit straighter shots instantaneously?

 

[Region3]

Regardless of whether the shaft makes much difference or not, if you don't get the ones you want you will always be thinking "what if".

Get what you really want now, it will save money in the long run.

 

[One Planer]

:thup:

Don't want to hijack this thread so I'll bow out soon, but I understand why my question was difficult. I suppose you've kinda answered this, but to rephrase my question: If I went and spent *whatever* on a full custom fit, would I with the same swing improve my ball striking, find the middle of the driver face and hit straighter shots instantaneously?

The be all and end all is this.

With the exclusion of a select few on here (Bob, Coach etc) we are all handicap golfers, not teaching pro's or elite amateur.

Our swing will differ from one swing to the next, let alone round by round.

Custom fitting isn't just about fitting your best swing(s). It's about getting a balance to reward a good swing while offering little help when a swing is less than optimal.

 

[Imurg]

Shafts make hardly any difference. .

Up to a point this is true.
The shaft's purpose is to return the club head to the correct position at impact.
Being slightly out one way or another will produce high, low, left and right ball flights
In a fitting you are presented with the best shaft for your average swing.
Just say you swing 9 times.
If 4 swings get you a good flight, 3 too low a flight and 2 too high a flight, the shaft you get fitted for will be incorrect for more swings than it is correct.....simplistic, I know but you get the picture.
Unless you have a very repeatable swing, the finer points of shaft fitting, beyond basic flex, matter less as the ability to return the club head to the optimal position decreases.
That's not to say people shouldn't get fitted but I'm increasingly of the opinion that the plethora of shaft options confuses more than it helps.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

:thup:

Don't want to hijack this thread so I'll bow out soon, but I understand why my question was difficult. I suppose you've kinda answered this, but to rephrase my question: If I went and spent *whatever* on a full custom fit, would I with the same swing improve my ball striking, find the middle of the driver face and hit straighter shots instantaneously?

As with anything in golf there is no guarentees - no quick fix , very rare for instance results - same with lessons or new putter etc

You could find through a custom fit that you find the face in the middle more , the shaft might encourage a better ball flight to give better distance or dispersion

It's not a would you find instant results

But more a could get better results once used to new fitted irons

 

[virtuocity]

It's not a would you find instant results....

But more a could get better results once used to new fitted irons

Yep, this doesn't sell custom fitting to me.

Instant results is what my kind of golfer is after- that's why we've seen longer shafts and cranked lofts. The new Wilson Staff iron range (D200 I think) comes with a straighter and longer guarantee. The fact that their PW is 43 degrees makes me laugh.

I play with Rocketbladez- they are cranked, but I can play good, bad and indifferent shots with them. I'm quite sure that the amount of good shots I hit would be increased by swapping shafts, unless, as Gareth pointed out, I was trying to swing an X-Stiff 4 iron at 60mph.

 

[MendieGK]

Shafts make hardly any difference. Just get the set you are happy and confident with and then play and enjoy golf. Don't spend all the time thinking your game will be any different if you got some different clubs or a slightly different shaft. As it won't. And if you want your scores to improve then have some lessons.

HAHAHAHAHA! probably the most important part of the club

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Yep, this doesn't sell custom fitting to me.

Instant results is what my kind of golfer is after- that's why we've seen longer shafts and cranked lofts. The new Wilson Staff iron range (D200 I think) comes with a straighter and longer guarantee. The fact that their PW is 43 degrees makes me laugh.

I play with Rocketbladez- they are cranked, but I can play good, bad and indifferent shots with them. I'm quite sure that the amount of good shots I hit would be increased by swapping shafts, unless, as Gareth pointed out, I was trying to swing an X-Stiff 4 iron at 60mph.

That's not really instant results though - that's just changing the number on the bottom of the club to give a feeling you see hitter the ball further.

There are very very very rarely instant results

My results came very quickly after I got custom fit - about 2/3 weeks of playing and it all clicked.

 

[MendieGK]

Yep, this doesn't sell custom fitting to me.

Instant results is what my kind of golfer is after- that's why we've seen longer shafts and cranked lofts. The new Wilson Staff iron range (D200 I think) comes with a straighter and longer guarantee. The fact that their PW is 43 degrees makes me laugh.

I play with Rocketbladez- they are cranked, but I can play good, bad and indifferent shots with them. I'm quite sure that the amount of good shots I hit would be increased by swapping shafts, unless, as Gareth pointed out, I was trying to swing an X-Stiff 4 iron at 60mph.

Thats like saying having lessons with a pro are pointless as you dont get instant results.

If you do a qualification in your career, i doubt very much you will see instant results, but you have given yourself the tools to improve.

 

[virtuocity]

Thats like saying having lessons with a pro are pointless as you dont get instant results.

I'm sorry, but I'd expect instant results after most kinds of lessons.

If you do a qualification in your career, i doubt very much you will see instant results, but you have given yourself the tools to improve.

This is not relevant to how different bits of metal affect ball striking. If you'd have said, "if you put a plaster on a cut finger, it won't heal immediately, but will in the future", then at least this guarantees a more positive future outcome.

But seriously, listen one and all, I'm not "anti-custom-fit"- honest! I couldn't possibly be, as I've never had a comprehensive iron fitting. Actually, I'm trying to be convinced of its merits. I do concede that trackman will show that by changing shafts that "the numbers" will look better and the wallet would be opened. My dubiety comes from the lack of posts on here saying "I was custom fitted for my irons 2 months ago and I've now dropped 3 shots per round, after getting used to my clubs". Even if there was a plethora of tales of this ilk, how much of that was due to changing a tube of metal?

However, I also concede that if you're playing with 30 year old clubs, that moving to Ping G25s are going to help. I also think that, as long as you have consistent delivery numbers, that lie could play a massive factor.

 

[MendieGK]

im suprised you expect instant results from a lesson. It takes time to embed changes that are made by a pro, thats why so many people have one or two lessons, say 'its not working' and then stop going - they then continue to struggle to break 90 etc.

Lessons are 100% one step back, 2 steps forward.