Set shrinkage.

[Golf is fun]

But I play with chaps I have known for a very long time. We know each others' games inside out.
A chap I have known for 50 years has some Mizuno 221s. He doesn't know the lofts - so I leaned them, just to be helpful in these situations.
His 5-iron is 25° and mine is 27°. Par 3 club choice can be an interesting discussion. We have played in one members only AmAm already this year.

I'm puzzled why the loft matters here? If you know he hits his 5 iron x yards and you hit yours x +/- y yards, and the same for all the other clubs what do the lofts have to do with the price of eggs, apart from being an unnecessary extra middle step in the calculation?

Like many things in life the number on the club is just an easy reference point, same with S,M,L and dress sizes in clothes, or shoe sizes. It's fine for me to know I need to buy a size larger in Nikes than I do in Footjoys, the actual measurement of the shoe isn't that interesting to me.

 

[Arthur Wedge]

But I play with chaps I have known for a very long time. We know each others' games inside out.
A chap I have known for 50 years has some Mizuno 221s. He doesn't know the lofts - so I leaned them, just to be helpful in these situations.
His 5-iron is 25° and mine is 27°. Par 3 club choice can be an interesting discussion. We have played in one members only AmAm already this year.

The loft on the club doesn’t matter - he doesn’t need to know them

All that matters is knowing how far you hit each club

All the discussion needs to be is - what club do you hit xxx yards - use that

 

[jim8flog]

View attachment 57934

A set of 10 irons that includes only one wedge.

I had to smile about this one I currently play Honma and they still use the numbering system. However the 11 is 48 degrees which goes a little bit towards the OP comments. I still fill the next iron with a 52 wedge.

 

[jim8flog]

The loft on the club doesn’t matter - he doesn’t need to know them

All that matters is knowing how far you hit each club

All the discussion needs to be is - what club do you hit xxx yards - use that

When it comes to wedges my view is that it is not about how far you hit them but how high you hit them with approach into and around the greens, what the sole grinds are and bounce and how they are suited to the ground and sand conditions

It is one area I am glad to see that manufacturers do not try to sell us the stock wedges to match the irons and let us buy dedicated wedges to suit the conditions where we play.

I have bought full sets in the past where the PW and SW have just been chucked in to a cupboard to be sold unused when I have changed sets but that was in the day when PWs were around 50degrees.

 

[Voyager EMH]

The loft on the club doesn’t matter - he doesn’t need to know them

All that matters is knowing how far you hit each club

All the discussion needs to be is - what club do you hit xxx yards - use that

We know that, but we don't know the speed of the wind etc.
If your mate hits a shot that is well struck and appears to be the right distance, then you are going to ask which of his clubs he hit.
If he responds, "My 172 yard club" on a 159 yard par 3, then great, but that response is unlikely.
You have to have some idea about his clubs and his game for the discussion to have some fruitfulness when he responds "5-iron", which is far more likely response.

 

[Voyager EMH]

I'm puzzled why the loft matters here? If you know he hits his 5 iron x yards and you hit yours x +/- y yards, and the same for all the other clubs what do the lofts have to do with the price of eggs, apart from being an unnecessary extra middle step in the calculation?

Like many things in life the number on the club is just an easy reference point, same with S,M,L and dress sizes in clothes, or shoe sizes. It's fine for me to know I need to buy a size larger in Nikes than I do in Footjoys, the actual measurement of the shoe isn't that interesting to me.

The lofts matter because it is why we hit 5-irons of different distances. If they were the same lofts, then we would hit them similar distances.
We don't do a calculation, we make an estimate - fairly intuitively most of the time.
If I come up a bit short with my 5-iron he is fairly sure his 5 iron will be the right club, because it is 2° stronger. Not much calculating needed there.

 

[Starter]

The only number I am interested in is the gross score.

Always reply when someone tells me that, for example, they hit a certain club "Where does that go on the scorecard?"

But then I am a traditionalist.

Matchplay is the purest form of golf and strokeplay events should be won by the player taking the fewest strokes gross.

 

[bobmac]

Get yourself a red sharpie and save yourself £1,500

 

[Voyager EMH]

The only number I am interested in is the gross score.

Always reply when someone tells me that, for example, they hit a certain club "Where does that go on the scorecard?"

But then I am a traditionalist.

Matchplay is the purest form of golf and strokeplay events should be won by the player taking the fewest strokes gross.

4 great thread titles to be getting on with.
Who fancies starting one?

 

[jim8flog]

Get yourself a red sharpie and save yourself £1,500

View attachment 57938

I had to smile at you comment but that must be the first time I have seen a 48 degree wedge marked up as SW and a 56 as LW.
Is it the way for the future.
I do have a 51 degree Ram wedge from about the late 80s that was stamped by them as SW

 

[wjemather]

Page from The Golf Handbook 1998 by R. Bradbury and I. Morrison. ISBN 1-86147-006-1

View attachment 57933

An earlier book, The Encyclopaedia Of Golf (1991), ISBN 0-86318-637-8

has the same lofts for 2 to 9 iron, but PW 50° and SW 56°

Standard specs as published in The Golfer's Handbook in 1949 & 1963:

View attachment 52528

As previously posted in another thread.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I know how far (average carry) my clubs go and so I pay not attention to the number on the bottom and simply pull the one I think is right for the shot. I don't care about lofts

 

[Arthur Wedge]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1919739002405421250

Interesting change

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Isn't that what most other manufacturers have put on their clubs for ages

 

[GreiginFife]

Isn't that what most other manufacturers have put on their clubs for ages

Is it? Name one.

Aside from stock set PW and the new addition of A wedges that is. Name most manufacturers that have L on a 58, 60 or 62 degree wedge. Or S on a 54 or 56 degree wedge.

I can’t think of any let alone many.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Is it? Name one.

Aside from stock set PW and the new addition of A wedges that is. Name most manufacturers that have L on a 58, 60 or 62 degree wedge. Or S on a 54 or 56 degree wedge.

I can’t think of any let alone many.

Ping (PW, A, SW)

 

[Arthur Wedge]

Is it? Name one.

Aside from stock set PW and the new addition of A wedges that is. Name most manufacturers that have L on a 58, 60 or 62 degree wedge. Or S on a 54 or 56 degree wedge.

I can’t think of any let alone many.

Think Ping may have had the odd set with it but it has to be part of the set

But most of all the stand alone wedges have all been loft on the sole

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Think Ping may have had the odd set with it but it has to be part of the set

But most of all the stand alone wedges have all been loft on the sole

Pretty sure PXG do it on some of their sets

 

[GreiginFife]

Ping (PW, A, SW)

Which models? Just looked at the S159 and they are all loft/bounce.

Glide 2.0 were the same.

Ok. Any more in this most other bucket?

Just looked at PXG wedges, again all seem to be loft/bounce on the sole.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Which models? Just looked at the S159 and they are all loft/bounce.

Glide 2.0 were the same.

Ok. Any more in this most other bucket?

Latest G irons. THe PW was so strong you were recommended to buy an A, SW and LW to fill the gap at that end. You can get those as standard parts of the set and not specialist wedges like a Glide