lie angle question

[garyinderry]

If someone sneaked into your house overnight and changed your lie angle by 3 degrees, would you ...

A) notice straight away
B) notice at all
C) what would you expect to see in shot shape
D) how do you think it would affect your game
E) would you be able to combat the effects on the course

Thoughts?

 

[ger147]

Not sure about 3 degrees of change and also if the direction of the change would make any difference.

What I can say is that my current set of irons were an end of line off the shelf set, and the shop where I bought them let me check using a lie board and it confirmed that were I to be fitted I should be 1 degree upright of standard, but it hasn't made any difference to me so far. My ratio of good to bad iron shots is the same as before, the bad ones go in the same direction and the good ones are still arrow straight, but that's only 1 degree out.

I have a feeling I would struggle if my irons were 3 degrees too flat or too upright.

 

[Capella]

Rick Shiels did a video on that at some point ... wait ... *searching*

https://youtu.be/6pK-e43fXZs

I think they changed the angles quite a bit in the video, though. Not sure I would notice 3 °, at least not consciously. Probably would feel akward, but I guess I would just automatically stand a bit more upright/hunched over or grip a bit shorter so that the swing plane changes accordingly. I would probably hit terrible shots, but that would not register as being so unusual ... so, I guess I would not really notice what had changed.

 

[delc]

I need my clubs set a bit flat. With standard lie clubs it it difficult for me to hit the ball cleanly without either catching the heel on the ground and turning the club head over, or shanking the ball. I struggled with these faults and generally hitting the ball left for years until I had my first custom fitting. I am fairly averagely tall, so it was always assumed that standard clubs would fit me just fine. The good folk at American Golf still tell me that! As the Rick Shiels video shows, correct lie angle is probably the most important part of custom fitting. It also needs to be done dynamically on a lie board, as static fitting does not take into account how you actually swing the club.

 

[Imurg]

I had a fitting at a local range a couple of years back and we were trying to get the lie angle right.
I began on standard, went 2°flat - no change, went 2° up - no change, went 4° up - no change...
Figure that out....

 

[patricks148]

3 deg isn't much unless, you are Prince Charles of course

might notice, when ever i have tried different irons ive never hit them as well as Mizuno's due to the lie angle.

 

[ManinBlack]

Rick Shiels did a video on that at some point ... wait ... *searching*

https://youtu.be/6pK-e43fXZs

I think they changed the angles quite a bit in the video, though. Not sure I would notice 3 °, at least not consciously. Probably would feel akward, but I guess I would just automatically stand a bit more upright/hunched over or grip a bit shorter so that the swing plane changes accordingly. I would probably hit terrible shots, but that would not register as being so unusual ... so, I guess I would not really notice what had changed.

Very interesting experiment. I played for over 40 years with standard clubs, reaching 5 handicap, when I needed them 3° flat. My bad shot was always straight left or sliced. Easy to understand now. Had the current clubs fitted at Silvermere with the dynamic loft measured by the GC2. I hit them pretty straight. I would agree that lie angle is one of the most important considerations.

 

[delc]

3 deg isn't much unless, you are Prince Charles of course

might notice, when ever i have tried different irons ive never hit them as well as Mizuno's due to the lie angle.

I get the impression that Mizuno irons are a bit flatter than most. Perhaps this is because Japanese people are generally a bit shorter than Europeans or Americans? I understand that Luke Donald, who is fairly short, uses standard loft Mizuno irons.

 

[delc]

I had a fitting at a local range a couple of years back and we were trying to get the lie angle right.
I began on standard, went 2°flat - no change, went 2° up - no change, went 4° up - no change...
Figure that out....

Are you sure that they actually bent them?

 

[Junior]

I had two fittings recently at the AG show, one by Titleist and one by Ping. I originally thought the AP2's I was fitted for were standard but i checked last night and they were 1 degree flat and half an inch longer, the pings i irons were 1 inch longer and 3 degree's upright. The marks from the board on the impact tape on the sole of both the clubs were perfectly central.....as was the strike.

So to answer the OP question, I honestly doubt that I would notice , or whether it would effect my game. I think I'd subconsciously adapt after a few shots.

 

[delc]

I had two fittings recently at the AG show, one by Titleist and one by Ping. I originally thought the AP2's I was fitted for were standard but i checked last night and they were 1 degree flat and half an inch longer, the pings i irons were 1 inch longer and 3 degree's upright. The marks from the board on the impact tape on the sole of both the clubs were perfectly central.....as was the strike.

So to answer the OP question, I honestly doubt that I would notice , or whether it would effect my game. I think I'd subconsciously adapt after a few shots.

Standard shaft lengths and lie angles vary a bit from manufacturer to manufacturer. They are another thing that are not standardised! If the impact mark is in the centre of the impact tape, then you are correctly fitted for lie. N.B. Shaft flexibility also come into this, as most club heads bend slightly toe down due to centrifugal force during an actual swing.

 

[Three]

If someone sneaked into your house overnight and changed your lie angle by 3 degrees, would you ...

A) notice straight away
B) notice at all
C) what would you expect to see in shot shape
D) how do you think it would affect your game
E) would you be able to combat the effects on the course

Thoughts?

Yeah definitely notice, it wouldn't have any effect as I'd bend them back before playing...

 

[ManinBlack]

3 deg isn't much unless, you are Prince Charles of course

might notice, when ever i have tried different irons ive never hit them as well as Mizuno's due to the lie angle.

3° is a lot! And it could be 6° if you happen to buy a set 3° upright when you need 3° flat.

 

[Foxholer]

Yes, I'd probably notice. But after few swings I'd (unconsciously) adjust my stance to compensate - at least if they were all consistent!

I had a set of Mizuno MP30s some years ago that were rather good, except for the 6-iron. When the loft & Lies were checked/adjusted that club was found to be 5* out from most of the rest, while others were 1* out from 'my' setting. The difference when all set correctly was immense - and the 6 became my favourite club! Btw. That 1 (or maybe 2) rogue club(s) is pretty typical of most off-the-shelf sets, so I recommend that any new purchase also actually includes a dynamic loft&lie check/adjust! Oh and I would not be surprised if the 8-iron of my 'backup' set is 2 or 3 degrees out (too upright) from the rest as I seem to dig the heel far too often for a relatively simple club to hit!

 

[Imurg]

Are you sure that they actually bent them?

They were Ping clubheads, each marked up with the spec, so unless they were marked incorrectly then the likes were different.

 

[nickjdavis]

If the impact mark is in the centre of the impact tape, then you are correctly fitted for lie. N.B. Shaft flexibility also come into this, as most club heads bend slightly toe down due to centrifugal force during an actual swing.

Ideally when using a lie board the impact mark should be slightly closer to the heel than the centre, because the lie board is hard and unforgiving and prevents the club bending toe down as much as it would when hitting from a surface with a bit of give, like grass.

A really good way of checking your lie angle during play is to look at the distribution of earth across the face after playing a shot.... if the line of earth is parallel to the grooves then your lie is perfect.... if the line of earth runs from low on the heel to high on the toe then the club is toe down at impact and needs bending upright.

 

[delc]

Ideally when using a lie board the impact mark should be slightly closer to the heel than the centre, because the lie board is hard and unforgiving and prevents the club bending toe down as much as it would when hitting from a surface with a bit of give, like grass.

A really good way of checking your lie angle during play is to look at the distribution of earth across the face after playing a shot.... if the line of earth is parallel to the grooves then your lie is perfect.... if the line of earth runs from low on the heel to high on the toe then the club is toe down at impact and needs bending upright.

I've never heard of that idea, or seen a line of earth on my club face. You might be able to see if your divot holes are more or less symmetrical across, if you take divots that is.

 

[Qwerty]

I honestly think most regular Golfers would notice as soon as they addressed the ball, more so upright than flat.
If I pick up a second hand set with an upright lie It usually catches the eye straight away.

 

[garyinderry]

the reason I posed this question was that I had a clip of my mates 6 iron last week and it just felt great in set up and strike. he said they were at least 2 upright.


about a year and a half ago I got it into my head I needed flat irons and got a set adjusted super flat. I used them for about 2 months before really hating how I was holding them at address. I put them away and used something else.


My divots are rarely that clean symmetrical shape. Kicking myself for not sorting this before now.

 

[Liverbirdie]

the reason I posed this question was that I had a clip of my mates 6 iron last week and it just felt great in set up and strike. he said they were at least 2 upright.


about a year and a half ago I got it into my head I needed flat irons and got a set adjusted super flat. I used them for about 2 months before really hating how I was holding them at address. I put them away and used something else.


My divots are rarely that clean symmetrical shape. Kicking myself for not sorting this before now.

Sure it wasn't your overly strong grip?:whoo: