1 Iron Golf Clubs

[vangator]

There are no needles with both pointed ends. While one length clubs are easier to hit from 3-7, but the shorter irons will not be good unless you choke down accordingly.Try hitting 38" pitching wedge from 100 yards. Half swing? Choke down? Full swing and the ball will go 100 feet in the air. On a windy day? Good Luck.

Single Length irons are easier to hit because each club feels and swings the same.  I absolutely have no problems hitting my PW.  I don't have to adjust my stance or setup between clubs.  I can also choke up if I want to.  It's actually easier to hit a PW because it feels like any other iron.

I don't like playing in the wind, but a PW in the wind is not a problem.  I forward press my irons more than most, so my shots are lower than most and less affected by the wind.

[Johnny1790]

...another weekend game over...GIR on 9 holes...4 pars...but can I putt?....apparently not....at least the non-green related work was pretty to watch...damn you short stick!! 

[vangator]

I didn't keep any stats this weekend, but the putting was tough.  The course was setup for a tournament with double cut greens, tough pin placements and rolled greens.  I had a few 3 putts from being too aggressive.  Never got used to the speed.

[Johnny1790]

A good round spoiled by two of us hitting each other's ball out of the rough on the 16th hole...ruined that hole, but solid for the rest and had four par putts shave the hole.

GIR'd 6 holes and had 6 pars...have finally been cut to 15.9, which was my main goal for the year...so will see where I can end up and go from there.

I did change my putter grip from a Super Stroke 5.0 to a 3.0 and I have much better feel with it now.

Confidence in ball striking is higher than ever before...finished last weekend's round and wanted to go straight back out again...roll on this weekend :-)

 

[vangator]

I played today.  Only had 9 FIR, but only one miss was bad.  My irons were solid.  I had 14 GIR and 3 sand saves.  I've been trying to change my putting stroke.  I suck.  Had four 3 putts today.  Still shot 73 because I made a few putts too.

[Johnny1790]

The thinner grip feels a lot better to me this week, but after one game is hard to judge whether I will improve any. I have been trying to adopt the Dave Stockton "no practice swing" and it is certainly no worse than I was before. Just for info....how long is the course that you normally play on? cheers

 

[vangator]

Depending on how big your hands are, a thinner grip may be right.  I don't have big hands (glove size is ML), but I really think getting your full hands on the grip promotes a lighter grip.

I've been playing the whites lately because I'm always paired with others that want to play there.  I played with a guy yesterday that's pretty good.  I asked him if he wanted to play from the back tees.  He wanted to play the whites.  I don't like to play different tees than the group.  I play enough rounds that I can play the tips when others do or when I play alone.  The whites are 6200 and the slope is 127 I think.  Not a hard driving course generally, but there are enough par fours I don't want to hit driver.  The greens are very tough to putt because ethey get a lot of play and are bumpy.  I generally putt better on other courses.  I can just read them better. 

Two par 3's in the 130 range.  Two in the 180 range.  Most par 4's are 360-380 with a couple of drivable low 300's with lots of trouble.  Most people take irons or fairway woods.  The par 5's are in the 485 - 530 range.  Pretty typical.  The tips are around 6600.  It changes the course quite a bit since doglegs can't now be cut and the trouble is now more in the landing zone.  Funny how that works.

Adding 50 yards to a hole doesn't make much difference in my scores because I still hit a lot of greens but I'm further away.  Plus, I'm a very good chipper if I do miss a green.  I can chip closer to the hole from 40 feet than I can putt from 40 feet.  That's frustrating.  I practice putting all the time, too.  I two putt from 30 feet just as much as from 10 feet.  My 3 putting yesterday was atypical.

BTW, I'm on vacation today.  My wife just asked me what I was doing.  I told her I'm "talking" with Johnny in Perth Australia.  Half way around the world.  I told her it was pretty cool.  She then told me to ask you if you'd help me fix my garage door that's waiting for me.  I told her I'd ask.   I think I'd better go.

[Johnny1790]

Sure..I'll help..just tell her to send the bits around and I'll fix them and send them back.

That's what are mates are for....

Chipping is definitely the part of my game needing the most work...but I need to devote some time to it. Will try in the next few weeks...having a weekend away with a few of the guys and will play 3 courses over Friday, Saturday and Sunday next week...a once a year thing...now the weather is warming up a bit should be lovely....will send you a report afterwards.

 

 

 

[Johnny1790]

Knocking on the door or a really good round...putting is much better since I changed grip from an Super-Stroke 5.0 to a 3.0. Much better feel. Am consistently 90 or 91 for my last 5-6 cards, and just not quite had the luck...did win an Ambrose event 3 weeks back which was a great day. Won a glove, shirt and a free round of golf which was nice.

 Lately had a couple of birdies as well as the normal few pars, so still very happy with my game. 15.6hcp, so one good round and I'll drop to playing 15.

 

[vangator]

I took last week and travelled to see my family in upstate NY.  Winter is starting to set in and they had snow the previous week with more anticipated, so I decided to not bring my clubs.  Well, the snow melted and the temps got into the high 50's to 60's F.  I played 2 rounds with some borrowed clubs.  They were horrible clubs for me.  Obviously conventional length, but also the shafts were x100 and stiff as a board in that cooler weather.  The driver shafts on the other hand were regular flex.  Had a couple of tough rounds.  Don't know the scores, but they were in the 80's.  Greens were tough to putt especially with this borrowed putter.

Wish I had brought my clubs, but it was still fun.  Playing this weekend back in sunny Florida with my clubs just to see if I still have it.

BTW, I'm going to order another set of Pinhawks and set them up with different shafts.  Also going to get the 4 iron and the SW, AW, LW

[Johnny1790]

Broke 90 for the first time this year (an 89), but really threw the anchor out with 4 holes to go...was playing really well...went out in 46 and was solid until the 15th hole...just too nervous once I checked the scorecard (note to self, don't check until the round is over!). Bogey golf would have got me in at 85 on the last four holes...we live and learn I guess.

Parred the last to come back from the dead, so not all complaining...

Had a good score fall off the list so hcp stays 15.6...lots of practice over xmas to be had...so looking forward to that....have a good one Vangator and the other posters

[vangator]

Merry Christmas to you.  Congrats on your low round of the year!  You guys are in the middle of summer down there, so there should be many more!

Just got my new Pinhawk club heads and shafts in the mail yesterday!  4-LW.  I'll be building them this weekend and getting out over the Christmas break.  Can't wait to try out these clubs with a little more flexible shafts!  Tomorrow is my last day of work until Jan 4th.  Wohoooo!

Edited December 15, 2015 by vangator

[Johnny1790]

So...finally broke 90 the other day....would have been better but for cored and sanded greens. Never struck the ball so well.

Have been trialing the "Bobby Clampett" Impact Zone training, and focusing on a point forward of the ball...working a treat so far and my irons are way more solid. Time will tell whether it is a flash in the pan or a good move, but the range session are very encouraging.

Played since xmas at all?

[Howling Coyote]

On October 23, 2015 at 9:43 AM, vangator said:

Single Length irons are easier to hit because each club feels and swings the same.  I absolutely have no problems hitting my PW.  I don't have to adjust my stance or setup between clubs.  I can also choke up if I want to.  It's actually easier to hit a PW because it feels like any other iron.

I don't like playing in the wind, but a PW in the wind is not a problem.  I forward press my irons more than most, so my shots are lower than most and less affected by the wind.

Vangator

What do you do if you have to hit from a slope.  Say the ball is on higher ground than your feet.  You either have to stand farther away or choke up to avoid hitting the ground?

[vangator]

9 hours ago, Johnny1790 said:

So...finally broke 90 the other day....would have been better but for cored and sanded greens. Never struck the ball so well.

Have been trialing the "Bobby Clampett" Impact Zone training, and focusing on a point forward of the ball...working a treat so far and my irons are way more solid. Time will tell whether it is a flash in the pan or a good move, but the range session are very encouraging.

Played since xmas at all?

I look at a spot just in front of the ball as well.  Kind of like putting.  I think it helps with the extension through the ball.  Tens to reduce pulls.  Great to hear your scores are going down!

I live in Florida, so I can play everyday if I want to.  I play once per week, but got out a few extra times over the Christmas break.  Got a new set of Pinhawks that I'm breaking in.  They go from 4 iron thru LW.  I tried a different shaft.  I went from TT DG S300's to FST 115's.  Both in stiff, but the FST's are not quite as stiff.  I'm having more issues with hooks with them, so I'm thinking of hard stepping them to between stiff and X stiff. 

I'm going to play Friday afternoon at my local course.  The weather should be perfect.  70* and sunny with no wind.  Since it's a weekday, it shouldn't be as crowded.  I'll be trying a new heavier shaft in my driver.  It's a Titleist 910 D2, so it's easy to swap them out.

8 hours ago, Howling Coyote said:

Vangator

What do you do if you have to hit from a slope.  Say the ball is on higher ground than your feet.  You either have to stand farther away or choke up to avoid hitting the ground?

I play in Florida.  Everything is flat.  What is higher ground?  Just kidding.

Remember you are playing with a club that is a 7 iron length.  Ask yourself what would you do if you were playing a 7 iron.  We do have some terrain here and there, so if I were playing a high lofted club, I would play it pretty much like any conventional club.  If I were using a 4 iron, I would adjust the ball position a little forward if needed for uphill lies.  But these clubs are easier to hit, so there shouldn't be as much of a problem as it would with conventional clubs.

Remember the 4 iron is only 1 1/2 inch shorter than a conventional 4 iron, so it's not much to worry about.  If you're playing a wedge, you could play it as normal, or you can always choke down a little if needed.  If your wedges are all PW length, the SL irons would be only 1 1/2 inches longer.  Not much to worry about adjusting to.  The benefit of SL irons is that your swing plane doesn't need to be adjusted for each iron.  People get the idea that these irons are some monstrocities.  They're not.  The biggest adjustment I had to make was to not play the "long" irons like conventional irons.  I play them slightly forward in my stance versus the "short" irons, but that's all.  They just go straighter.

[9wood]

35 minutes ago, vangator said:

  The benefit of SL irons is that your swing plane doesn't need to be adjusted for each iron.  People get the idea that these irons are some monstrocities.  They're not.  The biggest adjustment I had to make was to not play the "long" irons like conventional irons.  I play them slightly forward in my stance versus the "short" irons, but that's all.  They just go straighter.

I was thinking about that. I use traditional multi-length irons and I personally don't really notice any difference in my swing plane between irons. What I do notice however is that for a 4 iron I'm standing up straighter when using it. Using my 7 iron has me bent over a bit more and my PW even more with a slight bend at the knees yet swing plane seems about the same no matter which of these traditional multi-length clubs I use. 

[vangator]

2 hours ago, 9wood said:

I was thinking about that. I use traditional multi-length irons and I personally don't really notice any difference in my swing plane between irons. What I do notice however is that for a 4 iron I'm standing up straighter when using it. Using my 7 iron has me bent over a bit more and my PW even more with a slight bend at the knees yet swing plane seems about the same no matter which of these traditional multi-length clubs I use. 

Since the clubs all have a different length, there has to be some adjustment, but most golfers don't have a huge problem with this.  As I noted above, the big advantage to SL irons (beside same swing plane) is that the "long" irons are easier to hit because your setup is the perfect setup for the WTF measurement (typically a 7 iron).  Most golfers have chucked their long irons in favor of hybrids.  Although easier to hit, hybrids are inherently less accurate than an iron.  I really prefer hitting a long iron over a hybrid.  I feel I can shape the ball better and actually aim for particular parts of a green better.  Not so with a hybrid (or wood) for me.

[9wood]

20 hours ago, vangator said:

Since the clubs all have a different length, there has to be some adjustment, 

I agree. It's just that the only adjustment I go through with the various irons is in how straight up or bent down I stand, depending on which iron I use. Yet there is no difference for me in my swing plane between irons.