Upright vs. Flat

[kilbyman]

From all the people I see on this forum using upright irons (myself included), are standard clubs just on the flat side these days? Opinions, come on out.

[motteler621]

no its just how you swing the club. I needed 2 degrees flat and Im 5"9

[Gordon McTavish]

0.75* degress flat here, and I'm 5'7". Although I've seen people mention that Ping irons are generally flatter than most, so I have no idea how they compare to other standard offerings.

[goblue107501]

It depends on the manufacturer. My current clubs are standard, my last set was 2º upright. Funny thing is, they are within .5º on each club, some are the same. From my research, the standard has gone upright a bit in the last 10 years or so.

The important thing is to get the actual number. If you get fit for a 62º 6-iron, that might be flat, standard, or upright, depending on who makes it. You might need to go upright in Ping, but flat for Cleveland, or standard for Titleist (I don't really know on each brand, just using an example).

Everyone can be different and every manufacturer can have a different standard to base the results on. Flat, standard, or upright doesn't make a golfer any better or worse, just different maybe than the next person.

[James_Black]

what does a more upright club/flat club do to a shot?

[Jameshooper]

  James_Black said:

what does a more upright club/flat club do to a shot?

I believe it depends on your swing, but with an upright club you might tend to draw it or hook it more that with a flat club. And with a flat club you might tend to fade it more.

[WUTiger]

  goblue107501 said:

It depends on the manufacturer. My current clubs are standard, my last set was 2º upright. Funny thing is, they are within .5º on each club, some are the same. From my research, the standard has gone upright a bit in the last 10 years or so.

This is what I found last year.

[MikeBuch]

  Jameshooper said:

I believe it depends on your swing, but with an upright club you might tend to draw it or hook it more that with a flat club. And with a flat club you might tend to fade it more.

Essentially, and this effect will be more pronounced in clubs with more loft.

[delav]

Club lie angle is altered to ensure as straight a ball as possible. Catching the turf with the toe or heel will cause the club to open or close through impact. Lie isn't adjusted to create a shot profile.

[motteler621]

  Jameshooper said:

I believe it depends on your swing, but with an upright club you might tend to draw it or hook it more that with a flat club. And with a flat club you might tend to fade it more.

Yea if its not fixed for your swing to make the turf enturaction all square, then you might hit this way. But the whole point of making the club flat or upright for you is to make sure when your club hits the ground the entire sole of the club is even against the ground.

[BonoVox]

Interesting thread. My Callaway X22 Tours have a 6I at 61.5%. (standard)

The AP2's that I am interested in have a 6I that is 62.5%. (standard)

I have the Callaway adjusted +2* upright.

Sounds like with the AP2's I would only need +1* upright.

I am going to get professionally fitted before I buy them but either way, but it is pretty interesting when you look at the difference.

[Jameshooper]

  delav said:

Club lie angle is altered to ensure as straight a ball as possible. Catching the turf with the toe or heel will cause the club to open or close through impact. Lie isn't adjusted to create a shot profile.

If you are catching the toe on your swing a lot of the time, isn't your swing more uprite and you would benefit from a more upright club or lie angle? And it would be the other way around for catching the heel.

[ET-Taylor]

Im probably need flat

[tsajjad]

Problem. I think i have an upright swing because the 60 deg and the 56 deg wedges i own, i usuallly hit them to the right, and after nearly every shot, the ball makes contact on the toe side of the clubface and the sole always has some dirt on the toe side after almost every shot. Bear in ind i have never been fitted and i cant be fitted cuz they dont have that system here in Pakistan =S
Having said that i play the ping raptures, red dot 0.75 flat, and ii hit the really well. straight and a slight draw from time to time. im also 6'2" if that helps. =D Help??

[delav]

  Jameshooper said:

If you are catching the toe on your swing a lot of the time, isn't your swing more uprite and you would benefit from a more upright club or lie angle? And it would be the other way around for catching the heel.

That is the idea... although there could be swing related things causing you to feel that. Have an experienced clubfitter check things out on a lie board, while you hit.

If your clubs are indeed too flat, you'll no it the moment you hit a iron with the right lie.

[ndendinger]

  tsajjad said:

Problem. I think i have an upright swing because the 60 deg and the 56 deg wedges i own, i usuallly hit them to the right, and after nearly every shot, the ball makes contact on the toe side of the clubface and the sole always has some dirt on the toe side after almost every shot. Bear in ind i have never been fitted and i cant be fitted cuz they dont have that system here in Pakistan =S

If you don't have the correct equiptment to get your clubs fit a very simple way to check the clubs yourself is to put a piece of eletrical tape on the bottom of your club and hit a few balls off of a plywood board. If you look at the tape after you hit a couple of balls you should see some wear from where your club hit the board. If it is on the toe of the club you need a flatter lie and if it is near the heel you need a more upright club. The farther from the center of the club the more you need bent

[Shanks A Million]

  ndendinger said:

If you don't have the correct equiptment to get your clubs fit a very simple way to check the clubs yourself is to put a piece of eletrical tape on the bottom of your club and hit a few balls off of a plywood board. If you look at the tape after you hit a couple of balls you should see some wear from where your club hit the board. If it is on the toe of the club you need a flatter lie and if it is near the heel you need a more upright club. The farther from the center of the club the more you need bent

Um, no, the opposite. If it's on the toe, you need an upright club, and vice versa.

In general, if your lie angle is wrong, you'll have to make compensations to hit it straight and on center, and contact will never feel pure.

[motteler621]

  Shanks A Million said:

Um, no, the opposite. If it's on the toe, you need an upright club, and vice versa.

The thing is though it can change if you tweak your swing at all. I tweaked mine a little and now I am standard lie, so I dont need any bends. Got fitted twice with same results.