Lofts

[louise_a]

NOw I know that lofts on mens and womens clubs are not the same, but surely there ought to be some standard for each set.
I have been seeing adverts recently for taylormade lady's woods and they are advertising a 24 degree 9 wood, this would fit right between my Ping 22 degree 5 wood and 26 degree 7.
It all seems stupid to me there is just no sense in it

 

[Fabia999]

If they decrease the loft they can advertise it as the longest hitting set yet!!!

 

[Neilds]

Are you sure it's a 9 wood and not a 6 wood you are looking at upside down?

 

[Orikoru]

Has been going on with irons for donkeys years. Hence my irons start at 6 and I have five wedges if you include the PW from the irons. Logic suggests it can't continue though or in another 10 years time people will just have an 8 and 9 iron and seven wedges?? It doesn't really make sense, but yet the irons keep getting stronger. Random example I've just looked up - Cobra LTDx 7 iron is 26.5°. What in God's name?? What is the end game here??

 

[sjw]

Are you sure it's a 9 wood and not a 6 wood you are looking at upside down?

*slow clap*

Surely there are other factors than loft in terms of distance achieved by a club - head construction, length of shaft etc

The numbers on them, as have been mentioned above, are pointless. My clubs are a beginner set from 10 or 11 years ago. They're crap and I'm sure I'd be better off with a newer set, but I know I'd spend the first few rounds pumping everything long XD

 

[RichA]

But then some clubs are designed to impart more spin and loft than the angle suggests. And some shafts also claim to achieve greater height.
As long as it does what you want it to do, the numbers don't mean a great deal.

 

[Imurg]

Rule #1
There are no standards in golf apart from etiquette.....

 

[Oddsocks]

As newer clubs launch higher, lofts get stronger to bring the flight down meaning distance gets longer. It’s not false advertising.

I hit a cobra forged tech wedge the other week, the shaft was the same length as my current wedge, the flight was the same (ish by eye) but it was 15 yards longer. I checked the spec and the loft was pretty much my 9i, but if it hadn’t had a stronger loft the apex would have been stupid.

 

[carldudley]

The sooner the industry moves away from 5-iron, 7-iron, P wedge, A-wedge the better in my opinion.
I would much rather have a set of irons that say the loft on the bottom rather than a number. I was fitted for a new set and trying the P790 and Stealth irons, one was a 7-iron and the other an 8-ron to get a decent comparison.
I do think sometimes it's for ego that one person is hitting 8-iron vs everyone else with 10yr old clubs hitting 6-iron

 

[jim8flog]

I am of an age where I hve seen what is on the bottom of a club mean less and less compared to another manufacturer on even that manufacturer' previous set.
e.g A PW when I fist started playing was a 52 degree loft there are now several manufacturers where it means 44 degree loft.

There are also several manufacturers where the loft on say a 7 iron is one thing in one of their own sets and another on a different one of their sets
e. MIzuno 7 iron JPX Tour 921 is 34 degrees and JPX 921 Hot metal is 29 degrees

 

[Oddsocks]

The sooner the industry moves away from 5-iron, 7-iron, P wedge, A-wedge the better in my opinion.
I would much rather have a set of irons that say the loft on the bottom rather than a number. I was fitted for a new set and trying the P790 and Stealth irons, one was a 7-iron and the other an 8-ron to get a decent comparison.
I do think sometimes it's for ego that one person is hitting 8-iron vs everyone else with 10yr old clubs hitting 6-iron

Lofts are not comparable unless the ball flights are the same (dictated by launch and moi I guess)

 

[Oddsocks]

I am of an age where I hve seen what is on the bottom of a club mean less and less compared to another manufacturer on even that manufacturer' previous set.
e.g A PW when I fist started playing was a 52 degree loft there are now several manufacturers where it means 44 degree loft.

But if the new higher launching hot face 44* PW had the same flight as the previous 52* then surely it is a Pw.

For me the club is dictated not by loft or length, but the flight I want from that club. Any distance gains are a bonus.

 

[Crow]

My sets vary depending on how old they are but they're all a club or two weaker than a modern set (I prefer a 40 degree 7 iron for instance, which is a typical 1960s loft) so I've got no ego issues as most of the time I'm hitting a higher number iron than my playing partners, although since I've joined the seniors section I'm sometimes hitting a lower number.

 

[Crow]

And to my mind, anybody playing hot faced clubs is effectively playing from the forward tees without having to admit it.

 

[jim8flog]

But if the new higher launching hot face 44* PW had the same flight as the previous 52* then surely it is a Pw.

For me the club is dictated not by loft or length, but the flight I want from that club. Any distance gains are a bonus.

but would you get the greenside spin levels from a 44 wedge? If you have to put extra wedges in the bag for those greenside shots what longer clubs are you going to drop out.

 

[Oddsocks]

It’s all about bag gapping. If my new 4i was as long as my 3h, I would adjust the bag accordingly maybe adding a 48* to bridge the gap between my 52* and the new 44* wedge.

I think it’s fair to say not many people use their stock PW green side to create spin, I definitely don’t with my 46* apex. If I wanted spin I’d use the 52*.

 

[Canary Kid]

I’ve always said that clubs should just carry, and be known by, their loft; e.g. a 17 degree fairway, a 35 degree iron, etc. Make life a lot easier.

 

[Hoganman1]

The sooner the industry moves away from 5-iron, 7-iron, P wedge, A-wedge the better in my opinion.
I would much rather have a set of irons that say the loft on the bottom rather than a number. I was fitted for a new set and trying the P790 and Stealth irons, one was a 7-iron and the other an 8-ron to get a decent comparison.
I do think sometimes it's for ego that one person is hitting 8-iron vs everyone else with 10yr old clubs hitting 6-iron

The now defunct Ben Hogan Company tried this a few years ago. I guess it didn't work because they went back to numbers except for wedges. I think you're correct. Some players are more obsessed with how far they carry their shots than making par or better.

 

[RichA]

But it only matters to the person holding the club, so what difference does it make? It's just an identifying mark.
Identical 34° 7-irons might go 170 yards for one golfer and 140 yards for another.

 

[D-S]

I am of an age where I hve seen what is on the bottom of a club mean less and less compared to another manufacturer on even that manufacturer' previous set.
e.g A PW when I fist started playing was a 52 degree loft there are now several manufacturers where it means 44 degree loft.

Titleist T400 PW has a 38 degree loft so 44 degrees is old hat now.