Club length

[CharlieB]

A couple of years ago I went in for a fitting to end my iron shanking. I was told my clubs were too long for me, so they shortened all of them 1”. It did not fix my irons, so I avoid hitting them as much as possible.

I have a Titleist 7 wood that is 1” short. I recently bought a Titleist 3 wood in standard length. Should I lengthen the 7 wood, or shorten 3 wood?

[JGus]

I wouldn't necessarily say you should shorten the 3-wood, if you're having trouble hitting it you could always choke down on it.  But it sounds like it's more of a swing issue than it is a shaft length issue.

[NHpro]

Hi Charlie,

With your hands loosely by your sides and in your stocking feet, what is the measurement from your longest finger, usually the middle one, and the floor?

Left hand=

Right hand=

[ChetlovesMer]

22 hours ago, CharlieB said:

A couple of years ago I went in for a fitting to end my iron shanking.

Not to be a jerk, but a lesson may have been more beneficial than a fitting.

22 hours ago, CharlieB said:

It did not fix my irons, so I avoid hitting them as much as possible.

How do you "avoid hitting" your irons? 

Seriously, stop tweaking your clubs. Get with a good swing coach, one who can learn your swing, your ins and outs, one you trust. 

In lieu of that. Start a my swing thread and you'll get lots of good information here. 

[CharlieB]

3 hours ago, NHpro said:

Hi Charlie,

With your hands loosely by your sides and in your stocking feet, what is the measurement from your longest finger, usually the middle one, and the floor?

Left hand=26”

Right hand=26”

 

[CharlieB]

3 hours ago, ChetlovesMer said:

Not to be a jerk, but a lesson may have been more beneficial than a fitting.

How do you "avoid hitting" your irons? 

Seriously, stop tweaking your clubs. Get with a good swing coach, one who can learn your swing, your ins and outs, one you trust. 

In lieu of that. Start a my swing thread and you'll get lots of good information here. 

I avoid them by hitting my hybrids. I never hit GIR,s, so I’m usually hitting my PW on my 3rd or 4th shot into a par 4. I try to plan my approach shot to be at 100 yards for a 5HB. From 90 to 60 yards I don’t have a club to hit without a shank. 60 yards is my PW.

I’m not computer savvy enough to post pictures of my swing.

your not being a jerk at all. I think I was fitted by a “Pro” that didn’t have a clue. I went in to have my lie angles checked on my Ping G15’ irons. He taped the grips 1” short and told me to hit the ball with my hands just below the tape. I struck every ball dead center. He then told me my clubs were too long, so he cut all my clubs down by 1”. I have a Titleist 915D2 driver, 3W, 7W, Callaway Diablo 3,4,5 HB, Ping G15 irons 6-SW and Vokey SM6 54 & 58* wedges. I’m too old to go out and buy new clubs.

So where should I go from here? Seriously!

[NHpro]

Hi Charlie,

You are a standard club length.

The 5 iron should be 38" steel shaft or 38.5 for graphite.

The 6 iron is 37.5 steel and 38" for graphite.

The clubs are 1/2" different up and down.

 

The only other issue would be if you are a standard lie or not.

The only way to tell is to have a club fitter tape the bottom of the club and watch you hit some balls to determine where you consistently strike the sole on your swing.

[ChetlovesMer]

1 hour ago, CharlieB said:

I avoid them by hitting my hybrids. I never hit GIR,s, so I’m usually hitting my PW on my 3rd or 4th shot into a par 4. I try to plan my approach shot to be at 100 yards for a 5HB. From 90 to 60 yards I don’t have a club to hit without a shank. 60 yards is my PW.

I’m not computer savvy enough to post pictures of my swing.

your not being a jerk at all. I think I was fitted by a “Pro” that didn’t have a clue. I went in to have my lie angles checked on my Ping G15’ irons. He taped the grips 1” short and told me to hit the ball with my hands just below the tape. I struck every ball dead center. He then told me my clubs were too long, so he cut all my clubs down by 1”. I have a Titleist 915D2 driver, 3W, 7W, Callaway Diablo 3,4,5 HB, Ping G15 irons 6-SW and Vokey SM6 54 & 58* wedges. I’m too old to go out and buy new clubs.

So where should I go from here? Seriously!

Hi Charlie,

I can't pretend to have all the answers. But I hate to see you carrying clubs you avoid using. I have only three possible suggestions.

•  Option 1 - get an even higher lofted hybrid (6 Hybrid or 7 hybrid) or two which can make up the gap between your PW and your 5HB that you do feel comfortable hitting. 
•  Option 2 - Learn to love the clubs you have. Work through that 6 through 9 irons until you either feel confident with them or at least don't fear hitting them. 
•  Option 3 - Learn to hit a "Bunt 5 HB". Then if you are between your 5 HB and your PW, just "bunt" your 5HB. 

That's my initial thoughts. I'd still think you'd get a lot out of posting your swing, perhaps you know somebody who could help you post a short video of it? 

[Darkfrog]

3 hours ago, CharlieB said:

I avoid them by hitting my hybrids

I used to occasionally get paired up with an older Korean gentleman, who if I recall didn’t have a single regular iron in his bag - it was a full set of hybrids maybe all the way down to PW. Never seen anything like it before, although I know some manufacturers are making more hybrid-like iron sets now. Maybe this type of setup would work for you.

[CharlieB]

It sounds like this PRO ruined my entire set of clubs. I have taped the bottom of the club and hit off a lie angle board. Before the cutting I was very close to the hosel. After the cutting I moved to the center of the clubs bottom. The whole reason for the cutting was supposed to change my lie angle. My Ping G15 were a Yellow dot (1 3/4 upright) and standard length in Soft R flex graphite.

It seems I have moved back closer to the hosel now. I think I have lost all confidence in hitting irons. It sure does ruin a persons fun in golf.

I have gone to Golf Galaxy to hit different irons. I hit them just as bad as I do my own.

Will it be possible to learn to hit these shorter clubs?

[klineka]

22 minutes ago, CharlieB said:

I have gone to Golf Galaxy to hit different irons. I hit them just as bad as I do my own.

Then its not the clubs. Spend the money, take like 2 or 3 lessons (should be roughly $50-75 per lesson) and I can almost guarantee you that if you do 3 lessons with a competent instructor then will be able to minimize or eliminate the shanks and have you hitting your irons more out of the center of the clubface. 

Or learn how to record a video on your phone, publish it to YouTube and start a member swing thread on here for free if cost is an issue.

If you don't know how to record a video on your phone or upload it to YouTube, you can google your specific phone model, there is probably a guide out there that walks you through how to do it. 

[Vinsk]

12 minutes ago, CharlieB said:

It seems I have moved back closer to the hosel now. I think I have lost all confidence in hitting irons. It sure does ruin a persons fun in golf.

Well, well, well....hello there Charlie. You probably don’t know this but I’m the poster child around here for shanks. Yeah. I caught the virus about 30 years ago. They’ve plagued me like no other illness ever has. The force is strong with this one.

Needless to say I 100% empathize with your fear of irons. Trust me. I’ve hit irons from 2* flat to 2* upright, standard length to +2”. Std grips to Jumbo. Graphite shafts to steel, regular flex to x-stiff. It’s very unlikely an equipment issue. However if you feel uncomfortable with your irons that will only augment the viral symptoms. 
 

I highly encourage you to post a video here or get some lessons. This is not something to tackle on your own. Especially by tweaking your clubs incessantly. At least when I have a flare up of the shanks I don’t have that nagging suspicion that my clubs aren’t fit right for me. I know it’s me. My shanks have drastically decreased since getting help from TST. You don’t have to battle this illness alone. Cheers.
 

 

[klineka]

1 minute ago, Vinsk said:

Well, well, well....hello there Charlie. You probably don’t know this but I’m the poster child around here for shanks. Yeah. I caught the virus about 30 years ago. They’ve plagued me like no other illness ever has. The force is strong with this one.

 Is it contagious? This is how I feel I should dress when responding to @Vinsk 

 

[NHpro]

I think you should hit whatever clubs give you the confidence.

There is a tour player that has every iron in his bag at the same length of the 5 iron.

Interesting concept don't you think?

[ChetlovesMer]

1 hour ago, klineka said:

Then its not the clubs. Spend the money, take like 2 or 3 lessons (should be roughly $50-75 per lesson) and I can almost guarantee you that if you do 3 lessons with a competent instructor then will be able to minimize or eliminate the shanks and have you hitting your irons more out of the center of the clubface. 

Or learn how to record a video on your phone, publish it to YouTube and start a member swing thread on here for free if cost is an issue.

If you don't know how to record a video on your phone or upload it to YouTube, you can google your specific phone model, there is probably a guide out there that walks you through how to do it. 

Charlie, This is really good advice. 

1 hour ago, CharlieB said:

Will it be possible to learn to hit these shorter clubs?

Yes. But it will not happen by magic. You will probably need to see a pro, or have somebody look at your swing. 

[Vinsk]

1 hour ago, klineka said:

 Is it contagious? This is how I feel I should dress when responding to @Vinsk 

 

Lol! Well...it’s like yawning. In fact..it’s exactly the same effect.

[arturo28mx]

Lie angle is totally dependent on POSTURE. If you stand very upright, you need a certain lie angle in your club, but if you have a very open stance or if you bend your knees a lot, then you need a different lie angle. I suggest you first fix your posture before you modify your clubs. My experience.

[Grizvok]

6 hours ago, CharlieB said:

It sounds like this PRO ruined my entire set of clubs. I have taped the bottom of the club and hit off a lie angle board. Before the cutting I was very close to the hosel. After the cutting I moved to the center of the clubs bottom. The whole reason for the cutting was supposed to change my lie angle. My Ping G15 were a Yellow dot (1 3/4 upright) and standard length in Soft R flex graphite.

It seems I have moved back closer to the hosel now. I think I have lost all confidence in hitting irons. It sure does ruin a persons fun in golf.

I have gone to Golf Galaxy to hit different irons. I hit them just as bad as I do my own.

Will it be possible to learn to hit these shorter clubs?

You are placing entirely too much importance on your clubs.