Building a new set of irons and looking for some advice

[cmarkmyers]

First question:

I have decided to make myself a new set of irons. Instead of the standard 1/2" difference in lengths between clubs I am thinking about going with 3/8". My hope is that this will give me a bit more consistency between clubs and make my 4 and 5 a bit easier to hit.

Going with Golfsmith's recommended playing lengths for their components this would give me a 37 1/4" 5-iron. 3/4" less than the generally accepted 38" or 1/2" less than Golfsmiths recommendation.

I know there may be some swingweight and lie angle issues to deal with and I realize I may lose a bit of distance. But has anyone had any experience trying this?

Second question:

I feel that I am between flexes on Dynamic Golds, even though True Temper recommends S300 for a 7-iron distance of 155 - 160. My tempo is not all that aggressive. So I was thinking of either hard stepping R300's or soft stepping S300's and am not sure what to go with.

Also, does anyone know how much hard or soft stepping would be required to move up or down a whole shaft flex? In other words, would using a 5-iron trimmed shaft in a 3-iron make a R300 like an S300? I Google'd hard and soft stepping and couldn't find any good information; if anyone has any good links please share.

[gas_can]

First question:

Cmarkmeyers,

These are excellent questions. Shorter than "stock" irons are a great benefit to many golfers. With a shorter club, you're much more likely to hit the center of the face and be able to make solid contact. Usually with most of my customers whose irons I shorten, they increase distance because they are able to make more consistent and solid contact. I would strongly recommend you stick with making your irons a half inch shorter gripped, so you the final length of your five iron would be 37.5". However, do not forget that the cap of the grip adds a quarter inch to the overall length, so the finished length of the iron should be 37.25" before gripping. You will also need to use a six gram tip weight in each club to get the swingweight back to standard, otherwise the swing weight will be extremely light, and could wreak havoc on your swing, especially if you are a tempo and timing player.

Second question: I feel that I am between flexes on Dynamic Golds, even though True Temper recommends S300 for a 7-iron distance of 155 - 160. My tempo is not all that aggressive. So I was thinking of either hard stepping R300's or soft stepping S300's and am not sure what to go with. Also, does anyone know how much hard or soft stepping would be required to move up or down a whole shaft flex? In other words, would using a 5-iron trimmed shaft in a 3-iron make a R300 like an S300? I Google'd hard and soft stepping and couldn't find any good information; if anyone has any good links please share.

Ideally, each "step" is roughly 1/3 of a flex for Dynamic Gold. So, three "steps" should equal a flex. However, I would not suggest ever hard or softstepping more than twice.

For a smooth swinger, I would suggest taking the R300 and hardstepping it, that way you will not feel like you are struggling to load the shaft. Remember you are not changing the dynamic flex of the shaft, you are only changing its feel. Are you sure Dynamic Gold is the best fit for you? Typically Dynamic Gold fits best with an fast swinger who has a smooth transition, and a late release of their wrist cock. That's a difficult bend profile to fit into (especially in the long irons), even for the best players in the world (part of the reason why Project X is gaining such a foothold among the world's best). Let me know if you have any more questions at all, I'll do my best to try and give you the best answer.

[cmarkmyers]

When I was first typing this up it was as a PM to you, but then I felt like I was imposing :)

First off - on the length changes - are you recommending just making all irons just 1/2" off the standard lengths? Or are you suggesting making the 5I 1/2" shorter and then going with my 3/8" increments? I know 1/2" off the shorter irons will not work for me, as I am currently playing 1/4" under but switched to 1/8" under on one of them and I feel like I am hitting the 1/8" under 6I much better.

Also, I ordered tungsten powder and corks, not hosel weights. Is adding 6 grams of powder going to be too much? Tungsten powder was just so much cheaper to start with rather than ordering a variety of hosel weights.

And oh, I am not a tempo and timing player really. I am not sure how to describe my swing but I would say my tempo will always be a bit quicker than average as if I slow it down too much I seem to lose the clubhead. So when I said I was not all that aggressive that was misleading.

Next, I was thinking that Dynamic Gold would work as that is what I have in the 6I demo club I built. It is currenty a soft stepped S300 and it is much more accurate than when I had a TT Lite XL (Firm) shaft in there. I prefer a lower trajectory shaft as I tend to hit my irons a bit high (early release of wrist cock, I guess).

I am more than willing to try out other shafts, and considered Rifle 5.5's (soft stepped, as I would prefer to get the 3-PW set to save a few bucks), so feel free to recommend. My 6I swingspeed is around 75.

[gas_can]

When I was first typing this up it was as a PM to you, but then I felt like I was imposing :)

No imposition at all. Whichever length you feel most comfortable with, I would suggest you stick with that throughout your set. It sounds like 1/8" under is your preferred length, so I would stick with that. So your 5 iron would be 37.75" and the six iron would be 37.25". That will also make things easier when it comes to weighting. Variable length sets make consistent setup more difficult, and will also lead to variability in shaft flex throughout the set. Also, even though loft is the number one factor in distance you will hit a club, shaft length also plays a role.

Also, I ordered tungsten powder and corks, not hosel weights. Is adding 6 grams of powder going to be too much? Tungsten powder was just so much cheaper to start with rather than ordering a variety of hosel weights. And oh, I am not a tempo and timing player really. I am not sure how to describe my swing but I would say my tempo will always be a bit quicker than average as if I slow it down too much I seem to lose the clubhead. So when I said I was not all that aggressive that was misleading.

I would not suggest using Tungsten powder, I'm a much bigger fan of hosel weights. They're much cleaner and easier to work with, especially if you decide to reshaft later. Also, with playing your clubs 1/8" under, you may not need to tip weight at all since you're only losing 3/4 of a swingweight point.

Next, I was thinking that Dynamic Gold would work as that is what I have in the 6I demo club I built. It is currenty a soft stepped S300 and it is much more accurate than when I had a TT Lite XL (Firm) shaft in there. I prefer a lower trajectory shaft as I tend to hit my irons a bit high (early release of wrist cock, I guess). I am more than willing to try out other shafts, and considered Rifle 5.5's (soft stepped, as I would prefer to get the 3-PW set to save a few bucks), so feel free to recommend. My 6I swingspeed is around 75.

Definitely play what you feel comfortable with, and it sounds like dynamic gold is a good fit with you. I've never seen you swing, so giving shaft advice was overstepping my bounds a bit.

A softstepped S300 will be more accurate than the R300 hardstepped, but you will need to be able to load it consistently. Rifles might be a good idea to try as well, they're consistently easier to load, lighter so you will be able to swing them a bit faster, and their softer tips help increase launch angle and carry distances, especially with the long irons. Keep experimenting and find what fits your game best. Good luck, let me know if you have any more questions at all.