Club Fitting/lie angle Question

[juanrjackson]

I bought some Adams A30S clubs about a month ago off the internet. I was at my local range today & I asked the club fitting expert there about getting the clubs fit.

He said because the Adams clubs are cast you can only adjust the lie about an inch & that over time (about a year) they will adjust back.

He said changing out the shaft cost anywhere from $200-300....which is kind of cost prohibitive since I only payed about $400 for the irons.

I'm an avg size guy...about 5'10" 190 pounds....so maybe off the rack irons for work me just as well

Any advice/comments?

[Caddyshack]

My advice would be to not buy irons online, drivers & putters fine but not irons, properly fitted irons make a HUGE difference, even if you are standard height you can still need longer/shorter upright/flat. i have dropped 5 strokes since i have started using fitted irons.

[jonanthans]

Getting yourself fitted is one of the most important things you can do. I too noticed a huge improvement once I got fitted clubs. Accuracy is the single most important aspect of your game.

[rangerat]

Maybe he meant one degree not one inch? Also, I have never heard of a club going back after one year (I don't believe that). At 5'10" standard lie clubs should be about right for you but you need to get on a lie board to be sure. Cast clubs can be more difficult to bend but if you stick to one or two degrees it is usually ok.

[juanrjackson]

rangerat & all,

You are right...he did say 1 degree (not inch). I also went to Dick's Sporting Goods & they told me the same thing about bending cast irons. One guy that worked there said he got measured & the regular clubs fit him....which is some consolation.

[grantc79]

Lie angle has nothing to do with your height and everything to do with your swing.

Cast clubs will not "re-adjust" themselves. The only issue with cast clubs is they are less pliable and resist being bent so you can crack them if they are made out of a very hard batch of steel.

Forged clubs are far more adjustable but wear out faster. However, these can eventually "adjust themselves" if you have a really powerful swing and are a large divot taker.

[juanrjackson]

Thanks for that info!

Wondering though...I took lessons over the summer & my swing changed totally......I plan on taking more lessons this winter....& my swing will probably tweak some more....

In this situation....do you keep changing your lie angle on your clubs?

[golf_junkie27]

The Adams Irons you are looking at can be bent anywhere from 3* flat to 3* upright. The info you were given is wrong.

You should, however, get your lie angles checked, yearly, especially if you hit off mats.

[Stacey_E]

One other thing no one has mentioned, but it is the truth. Most retailers and club repairmen/pros aren't that interested in bending a set of irons that you didn't buy from THEM. This may have contributed to the eroneous information you were given. You should be able to bend any cast clubs at least 2* if it is done slowly and properly. No, they will not bend back on their own. Although if you hit down hard, they may deloft themselves over time.

I think that if you made it known to a pro that you would be willing to pay him for a fitting...I'm just guessing $50 or more....then pay for the lie adustments (about $5 per club) they would be more apt to work with you. Also a lot of guys that aren't confident in their bending abilities are scared to bend cast clubs. Plus, if they break one by rare chance, they don't want to have to pay to replace a club that they didn't sell to you in the first place.

Anyway, JMHO, and good luck getting fitted!

[juanrjackson]

Stacey_E,

You are probably right. Although Dick's Sporting Goods has a sign about how much they charge...something like $5 a club. Since the 3AOS set only really has 5 irons.....maybe $25 is not worth their time. The first place I asked was at Top Golf in Virginia.

I know a lot of people buy clubs online or buy used clubs....so people must be getting their lies adjusted somewhere :}

[DaveLeeNC]

The range guy was wrong - cast clubs can be bent although it must be done with more care than forged clubs and the maximum bend may be less. Most any iron can be bent 2 degrees. I've never heard of clubs "creeping back" over time.

It isn't really hard to find out if the lie on your clubs is a problem without spending much money. Simply put a piece of masking tape or electrical tape on the sole of each of your irons (particularly 7i and shorter). Then hit balls off of a piece of plywood being careful to be sure that you are on a flat surface. It is best to use something like a 3'x3' piece of plywood that you can also stand on.

When you hit a ball (assuming any kind of a divot) you will leave a mark on the tape on the sole. If that mark is more than 1/4" (certainly if it is 1/2" or more) off-center, then your irons should be adjusted.

dave

[juanrjackson]

If you are making changes to your swing after lessons.......do you keep checking the lie on your clubs to see if they need changes?

[DaveLeeNC]

If you are making changes to your swing after lessons.......do you keep checking the lie on your clubs to see if they need changes?

It is probably worth checking on occasion if you are working on stuff related to lie angle - holding your spine angle would be a likely suspect. But I wouldn't get paranoid about it.

dave