Can you explain this mentality?

[max power]

That's really the only way to do it.  There's gonna be disparities between the lofts of different players in any given grouping-there are disparities between my own iron sets.  Right now I carry two "pitching wedges," the 45* from my Titleist irons and a 50* from my set of Wilson Staff blades.

On Saturday I was really nailing my irons (doesn't really help because I overshot two greens by more than a club).  Guy I was with was impressed when I hit a 157 yard 9 iron.  I said "first, it's hot out, so the ball is jumping.  Second, that's a 41* iron, not sure it qualifies as a 9."

  sean_miller said:

Originally Posted by sean_miller

When asked what I'm hitting I just state the yardage and say "I'm hitting my  X  yard club".

[glock35ipsc]

I wish that my clubs were marked with the degrees of loft instead of a number.  That would sure make some of the guys I play with scratch their heads.  That, and I just like to be different that way!

[Shindig]

  glock35ipsc said:

Originally Posted by glock35ipsc

I wish that my clubs were marked with the degrees of loft instead of a number.  That would sure make some of the guys I play with scratch their heads.  That, and I just like to be different that way!

Funny you should phrase it that way:  it seems to me that Scratch golf had a line of irons that are marked that way.   If, in my hunt for my eventual (again, no immediate purchase plans) next set, I see a set that can do that (none on Scratch's website seem labeled that way), it will probably put that set ahead of others.  I'm also odd that way.

[bplewis24]

Yeah, but what happens when you want to change the loft on your clubs?

[Lofty Lefty]

  Gioguy21 said:

Originally Posted by Gioguy21

"i could slap a guarantee on a box of sh*t but then all you got's a guaranteed piece of sh*t...."

go by loft, not the whole 'oh well his 8 is my 7 and my 6 is his 5"...btw, play to YOUR game...if he hits it long, good for him. realize how far you hit your clubs..JUST your clubs...and go from there. find your gapping when you get fit. if you find that you could grab his 8 and hit it as far as you hit your 7...then you'll soon realize it's the LOFT you hit 150, and not the number on the club. that make sense? i know this because of first hand experience. i am a full club and a half longer with my taylormades than i am with my Ping ISI-K blades...why? the lofts are a full club different...which means i'm technicaly only hitting the clubs a half club longer than i hit my Ping's. it's all in relativity.

the worst thing you could be doing is asking someone else is what club they hit on which hole and from how far out. find what you hit and how far, build upon that.

I'm never shy in asking what club someone hit, especially on par 3's. Mostly because I know I'm 1-2 clubs shorter than everyone! The other day we're playing a 155m(ish) par3. Guy hits off, hole high but left. I hit just to the right, of the flag, about 5m past it. We all ask what we hit. He hit 7, I hit 4. I know what club I need to hit a shot (most of the time) but I do find it interesting to see what other people hit.

[glock35ipsc]

  bplewis24 said:

Originally Posted by bplewis24

Yeah, but what happens when you want to change the loft on your clubs?

My 3i-5i has 3° spacing , 6i-GW are spaced 4°, so there would be no reason to ever change those IMO.

[1par2win]

  glock35ipsc said:

Originally Posted by glock35ipsc

I wish that my clubs were marked with the degrees of loft instead of a number.  That would sure make some of the guys I play with scratch their heads.  That, and I just like to be different that way!

Maybe it's just my impression about this but I don't really hear high level players talk much about "I am hitting "X" club. I do hear them talk about hitting "X" yardage with a cut/draw/whatever shot they are trying to hit. Seems like those players only think of their sets as 14 clubs that cover yardage gaps. The number on the club is more and more irrelevant.

[double_j]

I think it's been mentioned already, but don't forget that modern clubs (especially GI) are made to be more forgiving and to give the ball a higher ball flight, all else equal.  Stronger lofts are just an offset to more optimal weighting and overall club & ball technology.  But still, the standard rule hasn't changed - the lower the loft and the longer the club, the more difficult it will be to hit the club.

It's pointless to try and compare your iron legnth to someone else's.  The important thing is that you know what you need to hit to achieve a certain yardage.  I have no use for a mid handicapper who brags about hitting a PW from 150 yards since they're usually about as accurate with that club as I am with an 8 iron from that distance.  When asked on a par 3, I'll just mention the yardage I was trying to hit.

[saevel25]

Then everyone is misleading because no club is the same.

My objection to that is i am giving the club number that would represent if i played closer to the standard number/loft system. Really what i usually do is give yardage, like if its downhill, i would say, i played my 150 club and hit it easy.

In strick competition i would not give advice, but i don't play much of that anymore. Usually its friendly games for money or not.

[glock35ipsc]

  1par2win said:

Originally Posted by 1par2win

Seems like those players only think of their sets as 14 clubs that cover yardage gaps. The number on the club is more and more irrelevant.

My thoughts too on club numbers.  8, 3, PW, etc...... anymore they are merely just a way to keep track of them from longest to shortest (length, yardage, however you want to look at it).  But I do like getting my buddies all tweaked up when they ask what club I just hit..... I'll either answer with "it's my xxx yardage club" or "my 31° iron".   I like giving them the loft the best.  Other than their driver, and maybe fairways, hybrids, and wedges (since they usually have the loft on them) they don't have a clue what the loft their irons are.

[sean_miller]

  double_j said:

Originally Posted by double_j

I think it's been mentioned already, but don't forget that modern clubs (especially GI) are made to be more forgiving and to give the ball a higher ball flight, all else equal.  Stronger lofts are just an offset to more optimal weighting and overall club & ball technology.  But still, the standard rule hasn't changed - the lower the loft and the longer the club, the more difficult it will be to hit the club.

It's pointless to try and compare your iron legnth to someone else's.  The important thing is that you know what you need to hit to achieve a certain yardage.  I have no use for a mid handicapper who brags about hitting a PW from 150 yards since they're usually about as accurate with that club as I am with an 8 iron from that distance.  When asked on a par 3, I'll just mention the yardage I was trying to hit.

The GI versions of my Cleveland TA1s  (TA3s) tend to go 1 - 1.5 clubs longer up to about the 6-iron then they level off to about 1/2 a club long for the 3-iron. I added a GW and I'm considering dropping the 3-iron since it's basically a 2.5-iron now. I don't really like having an 8-iron that's longer than my TA1 7-iron, but when my distances eventually start to drop off (aging process) they are totally going in the bag. The ego is powerful.

[ghalfaire]

  bunkerputt said:

Originally Posted by bunkerputt

The bag of the future is all drivers.  7 degree driver and 8.5 degree pitching wedge.  The shafts are also all 50 inches long.  Odyssey has just released their new 10-ball mallet putter.

I like this and how true!!

I don't know what it is about distance that increases the testosterone flow in we males.  You don't have to be long to be a very good golfer although I agree length is helpful if you can keep it in play.  Lots of great Pros that are not long but had great careers.  The game is about how many, not how far.  But distance sells clubs and the marketing people know that and use it.

[dbuck]

In my walking bag is what I call my "Frankenstein" set.  It includes 2 "9 irons"; one is 34* with a 37 inch shaft and the other is 42* with a 36 in shaft. This was done as an experiment, but the point is to get a set you like and get fit so your gaps are covered. It doesn't matter what it says on the end of the club; just know what you need for what shot.

[newtogolf]

I was at a lesson today, and my instructor was hitting his PW to show me some swing mechanics he wanted me incorporate into my swing.  He swings effortlessly, but gets very good distance on all his clubs.  Another guy was watching and asked the instructor how far he could hit that club.  He said I'll show you, then lined up and hit a little pitch about five yards.  Then hit another one about 10 yards and a 3rd about 15 yards.  He said I can hit it as far as I need to hit that particular club, then explained that the max distance he hits his clubs likely has no relevance to someone elses clubs, but more importantly that each of us should know which of our clubs we should use to hit the shot that we want to hit.  It made me think of this thread when he said it.

[Harmonious]

  newtogolf said:

Originally Posted by newtogolf

I was at a lesson today, and my instructor was hitting his PW to show me some swing mechanics he wanted me incorporate into my swing.  He swings effortlessly, but gets very good distance on all his clubs.  Another guy was watching and asked the instructor how far he could hit that club.  He said I'll show you, then lined up and hit a little pitch about five yards.  Then hit another one about 10 yards and a 3rd about 15 yards.  He said I can hit it as far as I need to hit that particular club, then explained that the max distance he hits his clubs likely has no relevance to someone elses clubs, but more importantly that each of us should know which of our clubs we should use to hit the shot that we want to hit.  It made me think of this thread when he said it.

Sounds like you have a very good instructor.  I am constantly amused by the addiction to length (how far do you hit a ( ) iron?, what is your max driver distance?, etc.).  All of this has absolutely no relevance to how good a golfer you are, or will be.  Sure, extra distance is an advantage as it allows you to hit shorter irons into the greens.  But ask Mark Wilson (#149 in driver distance, #3 in money) and Luke Donald (#157 in driver distance, #1 in money) how things are going this year.

[bplewis24]

  newtogolf said:

Originally Posted by newtogolf

I was at a lesson today, and my instructor was hitting his PW to show me some swing mechanics he wanted me incorporate into my swing.  He swings effortlessly, but gets very good distance on all his clubs.  Another guy was watching and asked the instructor how far he could hit that club.  He said I'll show you, then lined up and hit a little pitch about five yards.  Then hit another one about 10 yards and a 3rd about 15 yards.  He said I can hit it as far as I need to hit that particular club, then explained that the max distance he hits his clubs likely has no relevance to someone elses clubs, but more importantly that each of us should know which of our clubs we should use to hit the shot that we want to hit.  It made me think of this thread when he said it.

That's pretty funny (and good).  How did the guy respond?  I imagine he got the point, but if he was simply asking for the max distance out of curiosity, an "eye-roll" response wouldn't surprise me :)

Brandon

[KaiL]

Assuming that most people find it easier to hit consistently with shorter length clubs, then the same length club with lower loft approach will give the player a longer distance range of consistency or maybe more accurate hits.

[Shindig]

  newtogolf said:

Originally Posted by newtogolf

I was at a lesson today, and my instructor was hitting his PW to show me some swing mechanics he wanted me incorporate into my swing.  He swings effortlessly, but gets very good distance on all his clubs.  Another guy was watching and asked the instructor how far he could hit that club.  He said I'll show you, then lined up and hit a little pitch about five yards.  Then hit another one about 10 yards and a 3rd about 15 yards.  He said I can hit it as far as I need to hit that particular club, then explained that the max distance he hits his clubs likely has no relevance to someone elses clubs, but more importantly that each of us should know which of our clubs we should use to hit the shot that we want to hit.  It made me think of this thread when he said it.

One of my favorite Johnny Miller-isms, and one that everyone, even those who hate Miller, can appreciate is quite similar.

"Johnny, which club do you hit into the green from 100 yards?"

"Any of them" (I forget if he excluded the putter or not)

"You don't understand the question."

"No, you don't understand my answer."

Miller then went out to 100 yards and hit a dozen balls into the green, each with a different club.