Lofts on irons

[Voyager EMH]

Is anyone in favour of abandoning the numbers 3-9 on irons and simply have the lofts on the sole as we do with woods, hybrids and wedges already? I speak as someone who has embraced changes over the years since my first clubs were a spoon, a mashie, a mashie-niblick and a putter. And how could we, the customers, influence the manufacturers?

 

[Slab]

Dunno if its needed. The loft isn't that important, just how far i can hit it and how far it could roll

Maybe if you own/play with multiple sets or regularly hire clubs but even then the other clubhead/shaft specs & characteristics mean it wont necessarily give the same shot from one manufacture to another even if the loft is identical. So seeing 32° stamped on two clubs of diff make with diff shafts (& maybe diff lie angle) doesn't really help me in any way when i'm playing

We cant even get two manufactures to make size 9 shoes that are same fit/size even when the same unit of measure is used

You could always write the loft on with a marker if its a useful number for you

 

[Deleted member 15717]

Ben Hogan irons went through a phase of putting the loft on them.

They no longer do. Should tell you something.

 

[ManinBlack]

The numbers are simply to distinguish one club from another, 26° doesn't tell you any more than #4. As has already been said, what is important is how far you hit each one. No need to change anything.

 

[sweaty sock]

Or we could stamp pretty names on them, like Bryson does / used to?

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

They can put numbers, letters, lofts, hieroglyphics, emojis or anything else on the bottom of the clubs for all I care, it doesn't make any difference.
How about each person gets fitted, clubs ordered and when they arrive the distance you hit each club is stamped on the bottom instead of a number. For example instead of '7' it said '225'?

 

[patricks148]

not a fan of lofts on those clubs, for me its much easier to remember one number as in a 4 iron goes X rather than 20 something does the same

 

[Sats]

They can put numbers, letters, lofts, hieroglyphics, emojis or anything else on the bottom of the clubs for all I care, it doesn't make any difference.
How about each person gets fitted, clubs ordered and when they arrive the distance you hit each club is stamped on the bottom instead of a number. For example instead of '7' it said '225'?

My only concern with that is if you're distances change - you get slower, faster, what about summer/winter carries.

 

[BubbaP]

Excluding my putter, currently 7 of my clubs have lofts on them and 6 don't. On that basis I'd be happy if they all did.
When Ben Hogan did it I thought it might catch on, but apparently they gave out "conversion cards" as some user couldn't cope which should probably surprise me but doesn't.
I'm sure some other irons come with both on (i.e. 7 / 32)

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

My only concern with that is if you're distances change - you get slower, faster, what about summer/winter carries.

I've got that covered! Everyone buys forged irons and every spring and autumn you can have them bent to the required lofts to maintain the required distances ?

 

[Deleted member 1147]

No, it’s a terrible idea!

 

[Sats]

I've got that covered! Everyone buys forged irons and every spring and autumn you can have them bent to the required lofts to maintain the required distances ?

 

[Crow]

Loft creep has been going on since they started putting numbers on the bottom of clubs.

Back in the 1930s a set of irons was generally 1 iron to 8 iron and the 8 iron was around 50 to 54 degrees.
Lofts gradually got stronger over the next 70 years but have changed dramatically over the last 15 or 20 years.

For me the ideal lofts are a 20 degree 2 iron then 4 degree steps between clubs which brings us to a 52 degree PW, before stepping perfectly to a 56 degree SW!
These were the lofts in use around the 1960s, give or take a few years depending on manufacturer.

I think a standard figure is helpful as it gives you an idea of what to expect when someone says I hit an 8 iron for instance.
Hearing a player say "I hit a 7 iron" means nothing to me now as without knowing what loft (and shaft length) it was I can't relate that to the result and tell if it was a good shot or not.

As I play clubs from across the decades I've taken to measuring the lofts on the set (using a cheap digital inclinometer) and writing them down on a piece of card that I take out for the round with those clubs.
I know roughly where my "ideal" lofts go so just work it back to that, for example a 7 iron with 38 degrees of loft will go a bit further than my ideal 40 degree 7 iron.

 

[Imurg]

They can put numbers, letters, lofts, hieroglyphics, emojis or anything else on the bottom of the clubs for all I care, it doesn't make any difference.
How about each person gets fitted, clubs ordered and when they arrive the distance you hit each club is stamped on the bottom instead of a number. For example instead of '7' it said '225'?

Using half swings these days Gordy?

Whatever is put on the bottom of a club, all it does is distinguish between them...
Lofts are only relevant to you and your game.
One person's 32° club will go a different distance to another depending on many variables.
It's yet another solution to a problem that doesn't really exist.

 

[Orikoru]

No, would be utterly pointless. It's only a reference for yourself. I'd rather be thinking "is a 7 or an 8 iron?" than thinking "is a 30 or a 34 iron?" Simpler the better.

 

[USER1999]

You could take all the numbers off, for that stealth look, and just pick one at random, and manufacture something with it that works.

 

[RichA]

The number on the bottom of the club generally equals the percentage probability of me getting a decent strike on the ball. Loft angles might offer me a psychological benefit.

 

[clubchamp98]

They can put numbers, letters, lofts, hieroglyphics, emojis or anything else on the bottom of the clubs for all I care, it doesn't make any difference.
How about each person gets fitted, clubs ordered and when they arrive the distance you hit each club is stamped on the bottom instead of a number. For example instead of '7' it said '225'?

Not bothered but if I had a “7” that went 225 I would be very happy.

 

[USER1999]

I have a 5 that once went 275.

After it bounced 5 times on the road, and ran out to the bottom of the car park.

 

[Jensen]

They could always put both on the sole as they are on my Cleveland CG16 irons. I personally like this touch.