what's the real scoop on extended clubs?

has nothing to do with height.

A tall person with long arms can very easily require shorter clubs than an average height person with short arms. About 80% of golfers are standard length.

the measurement is from where your wrist bends down to the floor with shoes off.

...then you don't just extend a standard club 1 inch and not worry about the lie.

did you get fitted by the local golf store or a club fitter?
 

Good post. I am 6'2 and currently play a 1/2 inch longer and 2.5 degrees upright. I don't understand why I needed the 1/2 longer clubs and basically don't use my 4 or 5 irons. Can't wait to hear some of the replys from golfers who have a better understanding than me.

A good fitter does more than take measurements. They observe your posture at address, the entire set up, your flexibility, ball flight, launch angle etc. Even though longer clubs can be tougher to hit consistently IMO it's just as difficult to make good contact if you're slumped over a too short club. Actually I know it from experience after learning I needed clubs +.5". Honestly I'm not convinced that is long enough but I am giving myself the winter to iron out some swing flaws before getting fitted again. FWIW I am 6'1", wrists roughly 38.25" from the floor.

 

For me it didn't come up until I started taking lessons. It was actually me that noticed after complaining that I couldn't get into positions the instructor wanted me in as we reviewed videos. It just didn't look right and no matter how I tried I couldn't do what he asked. I was surpised as anyone because I was hitting the shit out of the ball at the time. I was there in an attempt to refine things to lower my scores. Anyway he grabbed a 38.5" 5i from his rack of clubs and viola my swing became smoother throughout. Even more surprising was being fitted for smaller grips, I have sizable mitts. Immediately after the change to smaller grips the ball moving right started to disappear. It's a combo of things and that's why it's important to feel like you were properly fitted. I'm not certain I am where I need to be but I need to get to a point where I'm not evolving before I can make it worth it. At least not  when I am making bi-weekly swing changes as I go through the process.

 

As strange as things felt for me after making changes I was certain my instructor and fitter were nuts. But eventually things smoothed out and when it did my ball striking became more consistent. It was worth the effort. Mostly because I don't look and feel like such a dork with a club in my hands. I've since moved to a better instructor but it was his insistence about hitting positions that made me question my club length.  Now I have to work through things again to see how it affects how I play on the course. Bummer that winter got in the way.

I'm 6'6" and my wrist to floor is 36".... (i have a 6'11 wing span in case you wonder)I'm probably going to go the lie change route... But I may have to add .5" which was the best setup I've ever had.

 

Don't you stand closer to the ball when you hit your 7 iron than you do when you hit your 5 iron?  And closer still when you hit your wedge?  As the clubs get shorter you stand closer to the ball and your posture doesn't change that much.  Or at least it shouldn't, I would think.

This.

 

Iacas started a really good thread on this, don't have time to link it right now.....

I don't think that really answers the question. The question is why is better to have a 38.5" 5 iron instead of a 37.5" 5 iron for this particular player.  He obviously can swing a 37.5" club (when he swings his 7 iron).  Obviously you might have to mess around with lie angles and the like to get everything to right but what would be wrong with swinging a 5 iron with what would normally be a 7 iron swing? Off the top of my head the AOA would be a bit steeper than normal for a 5 iron but I am not sure if that changes much.  The other thing is that his 9/PW/SW will be extra short relative to what the other guy is playing but we are talking like .5" at that point.

 

 

A couple of safety warnings from Golfworks on shaft extensions...

• Don't extend a shaft by more than 1" in length (exception = putter shafts).
• Don't extend a graphite shaft with a steel segment: It creates a shear point.

I'll throw something in.  The general idea is that you stand somewhat closer to the ball when using your 8i than you do when using your 5i so the length and lie of your clubs are designed accordingly, and your not awkwardly upright or hunched over when addressing the ball.

 

There are companies that make single length irons so your idea of having the 4i, 5i, 6i the same length isn't crazy. The lies on the clubs will have to be bent the same to help you make proper contact. You said that you have 1” extensions in the clubs, they probably came from the factory at D0 swing weight according to Ping's website. That means they are now about D6. If you remove the extensions from the 4i and 5i they will be back to D0. That's not a problem if your comfortable with it, lots of people like their clubs to get heavier and or stiffer as they get shorter.

The way club makers compensate for irons getting shorter through the set and keep the weight and feel the same is by manufacturing each head 7 grams heavier than the last, (ie. 6I 261 grams, 5i 254, and so on). So if your not comfortable with the SW jump than the clubs will have to have different amounts of weight added which in turn can affect the shaft flex, (again, not a problem if your comfortable with it). If you need the flex and SW matched to live with the irons than your club maker is going to have spend some time monkeying with the components to get it right. What you'll end up with is a seriously non-typical set of custom irons, and that could be cool, or not.

 

With all that said, if I were you I'd consider just seeing a teacher/coach and try to figure out why I wasn't hitting my 4i/5i right and work on my swing. Maybe consider swapping the i20 4i/5i for G20 irons or hybrids or whatever.

Just some thoughts.

I'm also 6'5" tall. My clubs are 1/2" long and 5 degrees upright. I used clubs off the rack for about 5 years before getting correctly fitted for clubs 10 years ago. I can't explain in technical terms why the clubs need to be longer, but I know they fit me and I hit them much better than the off the rack clubs.

I do understand why you are questioning the lengths. Especially as compared to the other clubs in your bag in comparison to regular length clubs. ie. your long 7i is the same length as you friends 5i. I think it really has to do with the distance you stand away from your ball with each club.

It doesn't matter, that's the short answer.  It's the reason aficionados of the single length iron system are adamant that their idea is superior, or at least as good as.  For the rest of us, the reason the 5i is longer than the 9i is that the added shaft length helps us generate more club head speed and the lower loft helps us take advantage of that speed to hit the ball further.

Dave Tutelman goes into his experiments with a single length iron set at some length on his web site. tutelman.com It's a good read if you're into that kind off technical stuff.

Another reason for the length changes is to keep your distance gaps consistent. If you hit your 7 Iron 160 yards, the 6 should go 172-175, the 5 184-190. If you kept the 5 iron shorter your distance gap would drop to only 5-7 yards. No real point in having that club in the bag then. The longer club also have little more swing speed. Try hitting a wedge with a swing speed of a 5 iron. You'll end up with a lot of chunked and bladed shots.