1 Iron Golf Clubs

Re: 1 Iron Golf Clubs

The concept of single-length golf clubs comes up every now and then. It is rare for the companies offering these to stick around, and you'd think with all the obsessive tinkering professionals do with their clubs that, if the idea was good, someone would stick with it.

Re: 1 Iron Golf Clubs

It seems to me that the "long irons" would be easier to hit and the "short irons" would be more difficult.

I'd rather have the precision with the short sticks than the long ones.

Re: 1 Iron Golf Clubs

i saw a guy with these clubs just yesterday. they were ugly, oversized and he did not seem like a good player at all haha. the whole concept is pretty good, but again if it worked, someone would stick with it.

Re: 1 Iron Golf Clubs

I would wear a dress to golf in before playing those...

BINGO!

Re: 1 Iron Golf Clubs

It looks like an interesting and simple idea but the custom fitting is called (no joke) the WTF measurement. I laughed.

Re: 1 Iron Golf Clubs

I'd probably make myself a set first. Then try them for awhile at the range to see if I could play w/them. Just think about how odd it would be to hit a PW that's as long as a 3 iron? I think it would make short irons much more difficult to hit.

Re: 1 Iron Golf Clubs

The problem with single length shafts is getting the distances right. If you keep club weight constant the only variable left is loft. You need bigger changes in loft, and in the longer clubs without the extra shaft length how do you get the power to get shots up. It might make sense for a women or someone playing fewer clubs, a set make up would need to be different. Driver +3-4 woods same length and then 4-5 irons same length to make it work. You would have 8-10 clubs plus a putter.

Re: 1 Iron Golf Clubs

You nailed the problem exactly, but I think it is even worse than you indicate. To get a 3 or 4 iron to hit the right distance means the loft is far less, probably almost like a 1 iron. Now you've got a club without sufficient loft to get the right spin, making it very susceptible to any swing imperfections. The end result is a long iron that is actually harder to hit well than a normal long iron despite the shorter shaft length. On the short irons, one has to add too much loft and you now have a very poor geometry of longer shaft than optimum for such a loft, creating again to a club that's far harder to hit well. The golf club has evolved pretty well over the years to create a good compromise between length and loft - "solutions" such as this company's set are just misguided marketing attempts.

As I recall the last mass manufacturer to try this was Tommy Armour with their set in the late 80's that were all the length of a six iron; the product was poorly thought of and died a very quick death.

Re: 1 Iron Golf Clubs

I bought the 1 iron golf irons last summer and dropped my handicap by 4 strokes. There is a large mental hurdle that you have to get over in order to play these clubs. It is next to impossible for the single-digit handicap types to overcome the paradigm shift, because they are usually better than most of the people they play with so why should they change. I don't blame them for being "non-believers".
I also don't play very often, 3 times a month is great and I am lucky to hit a driving range once per week. I don't play enough to get really good, especially my horrid putting.
Here is what I find in a round of golf...by the time I make the turn, I am hitting the sweetspot on my irons consistently and that includes the high-lofted clubs. Why? Because even if I havent swung the 8i all day, when I get to the #10 tee box and pull the 8i, I am confident because I have been swinging virtually the same club all day leading up to that shot.
I like them and play better with them. I have been know on several occasions to tee off with the 3i on 350yd holes rather than put my drive in the trees. Then I can hit a 6i or 7 into the green. Many naysayers talk about the distances being compressed. I don't know for sure, like I said, I don't play very often. I am buying a GPS this Spring and will record my yardage per club throughout the Summer.

Re: 1 Iron Golf Clubs

One length for the whole set sounds awful

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The response from Jpalermo is exactly the response that always happens (and I don't blame him or criticize him he has the golf game he likes). Take a look at in the Golf magazines when they show what's in the pro's bag. You see all kinds of stuff, hardly ever see anything configured directly off the shelf. Often you will see the Driver and 3W at the same length, sometimes the long irons are almost identical, and most of the time, the wedges are all the same length. The clubs come from the big club makers, but even a casual observer can tell that they have been modified to suit the pro.

There are other products that explore the same lenght theory.
Tommy Armour EQL (don't make them any more)
Pure Fit iMatch Component heads (sold out right now, but the website says the will be in stock this Spring.)
Simpletons Irons (two lengths instead of one)

Re: 1 Iron Golf Clubs

They're usually at least an inch apart. It is common to see a 44" driver shaft and a 42" 3-Wood shaft.

They're typically within half an inch and 3° in a standard set, too.


Yes, but this is available for us too. My irons were constructed and shipped, with my specifications, from Mizuno in GA to the golf shop where I ordered them.

Re: 1 Iron Golf Clubs

I think you would sacrifice some control as well. I couldn't imagine hitting a 38" or 39" pitching wedge. The set I just ordered I had the AP1's 4 & 5 iron bent 1* weak and the 6 iron bent 2* weak. They are 1/4" short and .75* upright 4-PW. The wedges on the same order were all bent 1* weak and left at standard length and .75* upright. The pw and the "51" are the same length, I guess I will see how it is to have 2 clubs the same length and different lofts. As shindig said, the same modifications are available to us, you just have to order them that way.

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Good points everyone. I think we can boil down the discussion and agree that off the shelf clubs do not fit everyone (some might say don't fit anyone). Shindig and jPalermo both altered thier club lies and lengths fom the factory specs. So for the original poster, I say give it a try, what do you have to lose? Build your own, experiment, or try the 1 Iron Golf system and take advantage of their 30-day money back guarantee.

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Take a look at www.swingman.com
Jaacob came into my shop when I was in Pacific Grove (Pebble Beach area) and taught me the "Mike Austin" swing. He now uses the 1 iron set.
Along these lines has anyone tried the "True Length" system? It makes a helluva lot more sense than the "standard" method most companies use.

Re: 1 Iron Golf Clubs

This equipment forum seems to be developing a "ringer" syndrome. Tweak, I watched your 12 myths power point and it was insulting, every slide started out, "do you know that you are so stupid that you believe this lie". Entrepreneurship is great but it can blur the differences between the real deal and snake oil; me thinks there are several bottles of snake oil for sale on this thread. Niche marketing can work and earn someone a living, like Louisville Golf, but dumb stuff is just dumb stuff.

Re: 1 Iron Golf Clubs

Is that a quote from the slides or a paraphrase? I just checked and those words don't come up anywhere. The twelve myths come from Tom Wishon, arguably one of the foremost clubmakers in the world with over 35 years of experience. If you read about him you'll find that even Titleist wanted him on their R&D team before he started his own line of clubs. The twelve myths are not meant to insult anyone, just to educates us about the realities of our equipment.