Why are the OEMs not making sets for everyone?

[Arthur Wedge]

Reduced the skill and the challenge.

I've been over this many times before and I'm sure you don't want to hear just another moan.

The challenge and skill of golf is still as tough as it is before to get to a high level of golf - improvements in equipment have prob helped people take up the game a bit easier which is only good for the future of the sport , it’s the same in other sports where equipment evolves.

Those irons that have been produced to help people aren’t the sort of irons than the top players use to get even better when it comes to shot shaping

There are hundreds of thousands of people out there that will testify that the skill and challenge of the sport is just as tough but it will all be at different levels

Sports in evolve in many ways or they potentially struggle

The choice is vast for people now

 

[Pin-seeker]

The challenge and skill of golf is still as tough as it is before to get to a high level of golf - improvements in equipment have prob helped people take up the game a bit easier which is only good for the future of the sport , it’s the same in other sports where equipment evolves.

Those irons that have been produced to help people aren’t the sort of irons than the top players use to get even better when it comes to shot shaping

There are hundreds of thousands of people out there that will testify that the skill and challenge of the sport is just as tough but it will all be at different levels

Sports in evolve in many ways or they potentially struggle

The choice is vast for people now

I don’t believe the modern top players shape the ball as much as you think.
Heard some of the top pros say they play a fade OR a draw & that’s it.
It’s more about consistency.

 

[Skytot]

OEM ?

 

[Imurg]

OEM ?

Original Equipment Manufacture
Ping Callaway etc etc.

 

[Dunesman]

Original Equipment Manufacture
Ping Callaway etc etc.

Ping, Callaway, etc are brands.
OEMs are the companies in China with names we dont know, that manufacture clubs for the brands we do know.

 

[Voyager EMH]

Anyway, lets get back on track.
There's a big choice of clubs.

So Boomer posed a question that if a good golfer has a set of 9 irons, then perhaps a slower swinger/shorter hitter/higher handicap player needs 7 irons, but with greater loft gaps.
And this is not clearly and specifically catered for by manufacturers, but perhaps should be.

And perhaps if manufacturers did this, many players would be satisfied with fewer than 14 clubs resulting in manufacturers selling fewer clubs and making less money.

 

[VVega]

Anyway, lets get back on track.
There's a big choice of clubs.

So Boomer posed a question that if a good golfer has a set of 9 irons, then perhaps a slower swinger/shorter hitter/higher handicap player needs 7 irons, but with greater loft gaps.
And this is not clearly and specifically catered for by manufacturers, but perhaps should be.

And perhaps if manufacturers did this, many players would be satisfied with fewer than 14 clubs resulting in manufacturers selling fewer clubs and making less money.

Couldn’t such a player just buy a half set or order the number of irons that makes sense to them?

No need to buy a full set that is on the shelf. All manufacturers are happy to ship any number of irons out of the full set.

 

[Voyager EMH]

Couldn’t such a player just buy a half set or order the number of irons that makes sense to them?

No need to buy a full set that is on the shelf. All manufacturers are happy to ship any number of irons out of the full set.

Yes, something along the lines of post #25 maybe?

But Boomer's point is that manufacturers do not specifically cater for this and maybe they should. I agree.

 

[Arthur Wedge]

Yes, something along the lines of post #25 maybe?

But Boomer's point is that manufacturers do not specifically cater for this and maybe they should. I agree.

Not sure a OEM would cater for something that means they sell less

 

[Voyager EMH]

Not sure a OEM would cater for something that means they sell less

I said that at the end of post #46 and it was Boomer's point from the start, I believe.

 

[Slab]

Not sure a OEM would cater for something that means they sell less

I touched on this on another topic

It depends on what you mean by ‘sell less’
The number of golfers wouldn’t fundamentally change, so they’d sell exactly the same number of iron sets as they do now. They might sell less units/components, but they’d need to make less units too

The manufacturing costs would come down proportionally as would packaging, transportation, storage, environmental impact etc etc so the retail price could come down with the same value of profit for the OEM, or the price might even remain frozen at current levels for a couple of years instead of rising each year

 

[sjw]

fewer

 

[Ye Olde Boomer]

Can someone sum the thread please ?

Is it just another moan about modern clubs and strengthening of lofts to help players

The thread acknowledges that OEMs make different models with different lofts,
but don't differentiate in gapping enough from model to model

A fast swing might produce 20 yard distance increments with 4° loft increments
while a slow swing might produce 6 or 7 yard distance increments with 4° loft increments.

Thus, for juniors, ladies, seniors, and beginners,
OEMs should offer models with wider spaced gapping.

That's the exact subject of the thread.
And as usual, most of the responders disagree with my assessment.

 

[Oddsocks]

Not sure a OEM would cater for something that means they sell less

Which is the summary perfectly.

 

[Voyager EMH]

From sets that I own, I've cobbled together a set of 7 irons with 6° gaps and 8° gaps for the more lofted two clubs

1992 Powerbilt Oversize 2-iron 18°
2007 Ping G10 4-iron 24°
2007 Ping i10 6-iron 30°
1984 Ping Eye2 BeCu 7-iron 36°
2007 Ping i10 9-iron 42°
1984 Ping Eye2 BeCu PW 50°
1990s Cleveland Classic 691 W 58°

Together with a driver, fairway basher and putter, that should make a good 10 club set to carry during the winter.
I would like to give @Ye Olde Boomer my thanks for inspiring this idea.

 

[Burnsey]

I've just been fitted for a combo set and the lofts have been adjusted perfectly.

The clubs with strong lofts aren't meant to be combo's with the clubs with weak lofts - each set is aimed at a certain skill range - but there tends to be two sets not too far off. A simple loft/lie adjustment to a combined set can usually get good gapping.

That said, the usual moaners can't hit any iron consistently enough to actually have a valid moan.

 

[Ye Olde Boomer]

From sets that I own, I've cobbled together a set of 7 irons with 6° gaps and 8° gaps for the more lofted two clubs

1992 Powerbilt Oversize 2-iron 18°
2007 Ping G10 4-iron 24°
2007 Ping i10 6-iron 30°
1984 Ping Eye2 BeCu 7-iron 36°
2007 Ping i10 9-iron 42°
1984 Ping Eye2 BeCu PW 50°
1990s Cleveland Classic 691 W 58°

Together with a driver, fairway basher and putter, that should make a good 10 club set to carry during the winter.
I would like to give @Ye Olde Boomer my thanks for inspiring this idea.

I completely learned my short side finesse game with a Cleveland 691 58°
Mated with a Cleveland 53-08 "Diadic" 588 model and my DCI 962 48° PW,
that was as good a wedge combo as I've ever had.

 

[Klimski]

Actually, I agree slightly with the OP. I would like a half set: 5/7/9 or 4/6/8 depending on lofts. But that seems to have gone the way of the Dodo. So not everything is available for everyone. And everything is so expensive. Need to go used...

 

[Burnsey]

Actually, I agree slightly with the OP. I would like a half set: 5/7/9 or 4/6/8 depending on lofts. But that seems to have gone the way of the Dodo. So not everything is available for everyone. And everything is so expensive. Need to go used...

Most manufacturers sell individual clubs and if new, lofts alongside lie angle, shafts and grips can all be specified.

Build whatever set you want and preserve the Dodo.

 

[Ye Olde Boomer]

Most manufacturers sell individual clubs and if new, lofts alongside lie angle, shafts and grips can all be specified.

Build whatever set you want and preserve the Dodo.

Lofts can be bent, altering bounce and turf interaction.
It's not the same as building the club to the desired loft from the beginning.

Hopefully, new 3D digital technology will someday let the OEMs build
modern, high tech, multipiece clubs to customer requested specs
as was possible with the simple, low tech clubs of the past.

Custom iron grinders today are only offering simple, one-piece iron heads without modern tech.