Getting Fitted for Irons

[l2djae]

I recently hit some irons off the white board (is that what it’s called?) to get fitted for irons. Anyways, the conclusion was that I needed something that’s 1 degree upright. I was surprised because I’m only 5’8” with shoes (please, no short jokes).

Does this mean there’s something inherently wrong with my swing? How is it possible that someone my size need irons that are more upright? I do stand with my hands pretty close to my body though. I wonder if my game would improve with this lie change…

Mods, if this is the wrong place for this question, please move to the appropriate forum. Thanks!

[goblue107501]

First of all, not all clubs have the same lie angle. So the club you were hitting might have been flat and 1º up will get you to standard, or even flatter than standard still, just not as much. The key is to figure out what the actual degree it is you need for a certain club, and then compare that to the original specs of each club you try and see where you fall. You could hit 5 different clubs and get 5 different results on the lie board. They will most likely equal the same thing, just a different way of showing it depending on the starting point.

There is also more to it than height. Arm length comes into it a little, as does your posture, especially your set up to the ball. There are a lot of people that believe (I tend to be one of them) that your lie angle will never change that much over time, no matter how much you change your swing.

10 years ago I got fitted and was 2º upright. I completely changed my swing within those 10 years and ended up getting some new clubs a couple years ago. I was fitted for the same lie angle that I had before. Clubs have changed over time and are now more upright to begin with so I am standard now, but it is the same angle I had before.

[l2djae]

goblue,

Thanks for your insight. This is the first time I'm getting fitted for irons, so the whole thing is a bit of a mystery to me. I just read that if you're shorter than average, you will most likely need to get them flat. But I do understand that there are other variables that come into play.

To your point about every clubs having different lie angles, I'm pretty sure they were standard clubs because they were demo irons that are used to fit people into clubs. But I guess I should double check.

I guess my main worry or concern was that maybe my setup is all jacked up, causing the "false" result. Also, most of my misses are hooks; I play a natural draw with all my clubs. So I'm not sure if this is due to having irons that are too upright (which would totally throw out any results from my lie board fitting) or if it's just a flaw in my swing. I'm hoping the latter.

[kilbyman]

It's okay if you aren't standard. Standard doesn't mean best swing for average male. There's a reason why Tiger was fit for his first set of irons. And like goBlue (go Purdue, by the way) says, every OEM has a different "standard" anyways. Fitting also isn't a crutch. Good luck with your fitting... I was 1.5 flat (in Ping irons) and an inch too short. Now I'm hitting in the sweet spot.

[goblue107501]

To your point about every clubs having different lie angles, I'm pretty sure they were standard clubs because they were demo irons that are used to fit people into clubs. But I guess I should double check.

It really depends on the manufacturer, each 'standard' can be different. From my data 2 years ago, a standard Mizuno 6-iron was 61º, a standard Titleist 6-iron was 62.5º. So lets say you might need a 62º 6-iron. That would be 1º up for Mizuno or .5º down for Titleist. The Nike and Cobra irons I looked into were standard at 62º, so you wouldn't need an adjustment at all. That is what I meant about to be concerned about the final number, not so much about the up or down.

Then again, maybe something wasn't right. When I got my last irons, I did it twice. Once at a demo day, then a month later at a course. If it is a free service somewhere, check again with a different person to see if you get he same results.

[l2djae]

It really depends on the manufacturer, each 'standard' can be different. From my data 2 years ago, a standard Mizuno 6-iron was 61º, a standard Titleist 6-iron was 62.5º. So lets say you might need a 62º 6-iron. That would be 1º up for Mizuno or .5º down for Titleist. The Nike and Cobra irons I looked into were standard at 62º, so you wouldn't need an adjustment at all. That is what I meant about to be concerned about the final number, not so much about the up or down.

Oh, I see what you're saying now. That's good to know. Thanks!

[Ruckus]

I am 5'8 too and my i15s are blue dot (3/4 upright) and 1/4 inch short. I don't argue with the fitting, or the results.

[l2djae]

I am 5'8 too and my i15s are blue dot (3/4 upright) and 1/4 inch short. I don't argue with the fitting, or the results.

Hey Ruckus, did you notice a big difference after you altered the length and lie of your irons from hitting standard ones? I'm just trying to see if I could expect any improvement to my game after the fitting. Thanks!

[Ruckus]

Definitely feel a difference. I like to stand close to the ball, so this setup feels so much better, hitting the ball more flush, etc. It sounds like your swing might be similar, and if it is, you will notice a difference for sure.

[l2djae]

Definitely feel a difference. I like to stand close to the ball, so this setup feels so much better, hitting the ball more flush, etc. It sounds like your swing might be similar, and if it is, you will notice a difference for sure.

Yeah, I've been told that my hands are really close to my body because I do feel more comfortable standing closer to the ball. I'm definitely looking forward to getting a fitted iron set. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[motteler621]

i was 2 degrees flat and Im 5"9

[anotherday]

Totally agree with what was said earlier about having a crappy swing that throws off the fitting (paraphrasing here..).

I just started hitting my 4i and 5i decently enough to consider using them on the course... so how do they get an accurate reading off of us?

Has anyone here been relatively new to golf and gotten fitted with a questionable swing?

[motteler621]

i would get fitted for irons anyway. You swing speed (shaft) wont change probably when you adjust your swing and for the degrees that they bend them they can always readjust later on.

[soloredd]

Totally agree with what was said earlier about having a crappy swing that throws off the fitting (paraphrasing here..).

I just got fitted last week, still waiting for them to come in. I've been playing the same Wilson set for about 3 years now and originally figured I would just get a new set standard. Well, I hit multiple 6 irons off a lie board and pretty much was consistently hitting toward the toe. My Callaways ended up needing a bend of +2 as I hit 10 swings all on the toe of the iron. At this point in my game I know that my mis-hits are hooks so with the upright bend this should help a tiny bit as well as I got a slightly bigger (and definitely better) grip than I had been using. I'm honestly not worried about the changes affecting my swing very much, I think if anything it will improve slightly.

And as was mentioned, if it doesn't work out, the option is there to have them re-adjusted.