When will it end? - 38 degree PW.....

[Jacko_G]

Incidentally I know my 7iron flies 155, I couldn't care less if is said 8 or even 4 on the sole of the club. I get my yardage and think 185, that is a good hit with my 185 club. I don't stand and think I want to hit X club because it looks right. Stop worrying about what it says on the bottom of the club if you know your distances you have absolutely zero to worry about.

 

[bobmac]

Incidentally I know my 7iron flies 155, I couldn't care less if is said 8 or even 4 on the sole of the club. I get my yardage and think 185, that is a good hit with my 185 club. I don't stand and think I want to hit X club because it looks right. Stop worrying about what it says on the bottom of the club if you know your distances you have absolutely zero to worry about.

Unfortunately in golf, not everyone knows as much as you do.
Joe Bloggs tries a new 7 iron and it goes as far as his current 5 iron
SOLD
£1200 in AGs pocket
He doesn't know or care it's the same loft and length as his 5 iron.
That's why your average blade hasn't changed much in the last 20-30 years.

 

[Crow]

I go by the numbers on the bottom, I know that if I'm playing an iron set from around the early 1960s then I'll need one more club than a set from the late 1970s.

 

[Jacko_G]

Unfortunately in golf, not everyone knows as much as you do.
Joe Bloggs tries a new 7 iron and it goes as far as his current 5 iron
SOLD
£1200 in AGs pocket
He doesn't know or care it's the same loft and length as his 5 iron.
That's why your average blade hasn't changed much in the last 20-30 years.

Well Joe Blogs will be really silly if (s)he keeps hitting their new 5 iron 30 yards big. I'm quite sure he/she will figure it out. I'm also confident that AG (to quote you) would explain why he is getting more distance. Also average Joe golfer also (usually) does a wee bit or research before buying new clubs.

Also to use your example I have had FAR better service and knowledge from AG staff than I have from a few local professional shops which is really sad. Pro Shops are a dying breed now IMO.

 

[Dibby]

Agreed but why try and kid Joe Public by putting the wrong number on the bottom?
(Don't answer that, we all know why )

Can you not consider that this would be a bit of both science and marketing?

The R&D guys find a way to make clubs launch higher and spin more. The marketing guys have the option of keeping the traditional numbers to match lofts and selling them as clubs that go the same distance, but higher than traditional versions, or they can renumber and have clubs that go the same height but further. Of course, the second option is chosen appeals to more people when they read the ads and reviews or try demo clubs.

If these clubs help beginners or older golfers, I would say they are a good thing.
Most serious golfers wouldn't be caring about the number of the club or would be getting the lofts bent to their liking anyway, so it's not really a problem.

 

[patricks148]

i always find strange when you see 4 irons that are the same loft as a 2 iron in a set of GI clubs but the person using these type clubs would not be buying or using a 2 iron

 

[User 99]

. Also average Joe golfer also (usually) does a wee bit or research before buying new clubs.

.

I think you'd be surprised. I play with guys who despite having played the game for 30-40 years have no idea of lie angles or loft angles. One of our guys bought a set of Clevelands off the net cause they were cheap new, every club is about an inch toed in the air when grounded, I just shake my head.

 

[patricks148]

I think you'd be surprised. I play with guys who despite having played the game for 30-40 years have no idea of lie angles or loft angles. One of our guys bought a set of Clevelands off the net cause they were cheap new, every club is about an inch toed in the air when grounded, I just shake my head.

a guy on here was looking for a 3 iron to match his Callaways i think they were, just bought of the net, should have checked what his 4 iron loft was first... turned out the one he got was the same loft as his 4 iron

 

[PJ87]

What surprised me when I returned back to the game(only from early 2000s to now), was how set of irons used to be almost be complete set gapping wise. Well tbh you needed to buy just one wedge an AW or GW to make gapping good for my irons. I just do not need more distance from a 7 iron on 6-6.500 yard courses, I only hit it 150 yards, what I need is good gapping from the bottom to top with ideally one set of irons for a decent price.

Now you have to buy a set of irons and then 3 wedges separately, as the gapping of new irons are so poor at the bottom end, which in my opinion is the more important end.

One guy I play with he use to take one club more than me, then bought a modern set and now takes the same or one less than me iirc. Cant argue about the height they went, they still flew similar height to my iron number(it was a shame he is a lefty, as fancied a hit of them to see the distance change).

I think manufacturers have seen a trend of people not using set wedges as much anymore. Like you can order them I find but most people seem to get their 4-pw then go to a wedge specialist like Cleveland, vokey etc

The bonus with that is people can change their wedges as often as they want but keep their irons longer

Next thing I’ll upgrade is my wedges.. prob drop a wedge aswell. I play 50,54 58 atm with a stock pitch

Might move to 52 and 60

 

[Robster59]

It is a mix of improved technology AND marketing. Yes, the clubs are more forgiving and fly higher now but there's nothing to stop the manufacturers from putting "traditional" number against the lofts. Instead, they've basically moved the numbers one club down.
When I changed my Mizuno MX-900 for Callaway XR, each club was effectively one club stronger so my Mizuno 6 iron was the same loft as a Callaway 7 iron. So why not call it a 6 iron? Because by calling it a 7 iron it allows Callaway to say their clubs are X yards longer but it's all smoke and mirrors. I wasn't fooled by it as I did my research beforehand but the loft on my PW is 44° (the SW is 54° but I didn't get that) but it's still something you have to get your head around on the course as historically my 7 iron went 140 yards, now it's 150.
In reality I finished up with just 5-PW set as the 5 iron is 23°. Now my 5 wood is 20° so there was no point in getting the 4 iron which was 20.5°.
We may be better if the manufacturers just printed the loft on each iron as they do with the wedges and woods.

 

[User 99]

Looking back at the handicap challenge topic I'm amazed by how so many seem to think they are that accurate in distance with their irons, either they are telling lies about their distance control or their handicaps

 

[jim8flog]

I think the change in the numbers on the of the bottom of the clubs is a good thing it one way for us oldies - we can carry on thinking we still hit our 7 iron as far as we did 30 years ago

 

[Jamesbrown]

Breaks me when somebody says “what did you hit”?
Can’t help but reply with the loft.

 

[OnTour]

7 wedges later