wackychan

This was asked by a newbie friend of mine and I'll admit I actually didn't have a good answer for this (enough to satisfy him anyway). If, say, I'm shorter or have longer arms, I may be a candidate of shortening my clubs, say, half an inch or an inch. But how does really make a difference if all my clubs are different lengths anyway? I mean, aside from the loft, is there some fundamental difference between a 7 iron and a 5 iron that has been shortened to be 7 iron length (so, same length, different loft)? If I can get used to swinging a (standard length) 5 iron, why couldn't I similarly just get used to swinging a 7 iron that is the same length and build my swing around that (just as much as I would have to build my swing around a 5 iron length, if I needed to)? Granted, I know "building your swing around your clubs" is the total opposite of what you should be doing, but I'm asking this more on a theoretical level. If I could physically learn to hit a 5 iron (with the length being what it is), why would it be inefficient or suboptimal for me to swing a 7 iron that is the same length? Why is it any more ideal to shorten the club (if the fitting or measurements say I should)?

Thanks for the insight and for looking up the numbers. As I said before I haven't been playing too long, relatively-speaking anyway, so all this is new to me. Never really thought all that much about my equipment before so club fitting has been totally off my radar. But I can see this probably where proper club fitting would smooth out the differences.

I'm a 17 handicapper who has never really paid attention all too much to my equipment. My irons are currently Callaway X Hot and my wedges are just some cheap "whatever" clubs I bought used when I first started the game. So recently a golfing buddy of mine gave me his Callaway MD3 GW and SW (both standard length and TrueTemper Dynamic Golf Steel shafts), which would objectively be much better wedges than what I had before. However, having gone to the range with them a number of times and having taken them out for a couple rounds, I cannot get used to the fact that they feel considerably HEAVIER than my old wedges. I can totally understand that it being heavier could lead me to be in much more control for precise shots, but I was wondering... is it NORMAL to have clubs that feel remarkably heavier (or lighter, for that matter) than the rest of your clubs. My Callaway X Hots irons are graphite shafts and I'm used to them having a certain weight (or lightweight, perhaps I should say) to them. I had steel shafts in my previous set of irons and steel shafts in my no-name wedges before so I am not at all unfamiliar with steel shafts and their general weight and feel. However, these MD3s feel considerably heavier to me and I'm having problem adjusting to how they feel and how they swing. On the course, I'll be playing with my regular clubs and then when it's time to hit a pitch shot with my new wedges it feels like I really have to get used to the FEEL of it right on the spot. It just feels so different than what I'm used to and what my other clubs generally feel like. Is this normal? Is this just a function of the fact that I'm still high handicap and just need to practice more, or learn to be have more variety in my clubs? I know that of course not all clubs are going to feel exactly the same weight for many physics-based reasons, but I've always been used to a very general class of weight to my clubs. And these new wedges seem SO much heavier than my old ones that my swing just feels different. I fully admit I am a golf noob when it comes to equipment (I haven't been playing long and the whole time I had played with the same set of clubs) so just wondering if this is normal. Do players generally just have all kinds of clubs with different weights and feels to them? Or is it better to try to get your equipment to have a similar weight and feel to them? I mean, it's one thing to have my driver and irons have different feels and weights to them. But when I go down from PW (X Hot, graphite) to GW (MD3, steel) it feels like I'm just playing with something completely different even though they're "consecutive" clubs, so to speak. Is this considered normal?

I really wish there were more tee options at the courses around my area. I play with a very wide range of golfer skill levels.When I play with some of my friends who are only very casual golfers (like they enjoy the game of golf, but simply don't have the time or desire to hit the driving range regularly or get lessons), they are entirely restricted to playing executive courses because they feel normal 18 hole courses are too hard and too intimidating, particularly because they know they don't want to hold up other players. A system like this would go a long way to inviting them to experience full courses (i.e. not the little pitch-and-putts) and allow all of us to play at an appropriate level of challenge. And I think if they got to enjoy the full 18 hole courses more they'd be more enthusiastic about the game because, frankly, the executive courses simply don't offer the full experience of golf, in my opinion (bigger shots with the woods or long irons, expansive fairways, the scenery, generally better level of grounds maintenance, etc.).