Clubhead Offset

[Peleus]

What's the actual purpose of an offset clubhead? I was always under the impression it was to help ensure the clubhead was square at impact.

What I am struggling with is what would happen if someone who has been playing 0 offset clubs (and actually struggling to hit the ball anywhere but left) switched to something with a hefty offset (older Ping irons).

Does anyone have any experience with such a thing?

[delav]

  romphill said:

What's the actual purpose of an offset clubhead? I was always under the impression it was to help ensure the clubhead was square at impact.

Offset theoretically allows a golfer a fraction more time to square the clubface, although I'm of the personal perspective that it's a mixture of fact and fiction. I don't think an offset club will turn a strong iron player into someone who persistently hooks the ball.

If you are fighting the pulls and hooks now, the real issue is likely swing path and impact position. Once sorted, the Ping irons may offer better performance than your current 990/mp67s.

[Peleus]

While I agree there are issues to be sorted, I want to clarify that I am rarely, if ever, hooking the ball with any club other than occasionally with my driver. With my irons I seem to have an atrocious issue with alignment, and everything I hit, despite being straight, is going straight to the left of where I think I am aiming. For some reason if I aim well right, I still compensate and hit it left (but straight).

[adamg]

I personally think it helps a little, but not much. I play R7 irons. They are game improvement so have some offset. As I've improved my swing, I can't seem to shake a draw with them when I'm swinging well. When I demo clubs with less offset (say AP2's), I hit them straight. This was not always the case. A year ago before I took some more lessons, I hit the R7 straight.

So this isn't scientific. But through my observations, it helps a little. As other posters said, if you're really hooking the ball it's likely a swing issue.

[WUTiger]

  delav said:

Offset theoretically allows a golfer a fraction more time to square the clubface, although I'm of the personal perspective that it's a mixture of fact and fiction. ...

I'm going to ask a person with a physics background if the offset would quicken the squaring of the clubface: I want to find out if the offset might increase a gearing effect, as compared to a more square relationship (low offset) to the hosel. Something like this:

No offset: 0---- /// With offset: 0_____ I'll see if this science guy can explain this; or, maybe my idea is "out of bounds."

[Stacey_E]

Just remeber that a shot that is dead left from the jump is a pull. A ball that curves too much left is a hook. I know this seems elemantary, but a lot of golfers confuse the two. And the opposite of course is true...dead right from the jump is a push and curving right is a slice. The two former problems are swing path issues and the two later problems are grip issues.

But from what I have researched, offset gives you a millisecond longer to square the face, with the face trailing the hands (as it should-usually). Also, offset can help you hit a higher shot as well. I am not sure of the scientific explanation of this....but I know that it does, or has with me in the past. For a hooker, tons of offset is salt on a sore wound. My GUESS is that it makes the situation worse for a "puller" too. Usually a pull-fade ends up in the fairway or near the green. But a pull-hook ends up with a dropped ball at BEST.

JMHO. I haven't posted on here in months!!! Good luck!

[Peleus]

  Stacey_E said:

Just remeber that a shot that is dead left from the jump is a pull. A ball that curves too much left is a hook. I know this seems elemantary, but a lot of golfers confuse the two. And the opposite of course is true...dead right from the jump is a push and curving right is a slice. The two former problems are swing path issues and the two later problems are grip issues.

Thank you for clarifying that I am pulling the ball; not hooking it. I think that managed to get lost in translation within a couple of posts.

[B-Con]

It does almost nothing to help square the clubhead up. The amount of rotation you get due to the offset is almost nothing because the clubhead is rotating from open to closed far slower than the clubhead is moving forwards into the ball. I can't find it at the moment, but we had a thread where more than one person did some padded calculations and showed this to be true, even under best case scenario. I think the conclusion from that thread was that it makes it a tad easier to keep the clubhead behind the hands and more importantly it creates a better MOI for forgiveness.