Is it possible: An iron set that is "too long"??

[anotherday]

I've been demo'ing some clubs lately and found a set that just felt great. The Cleveland CG16's. They are light and long. But the "problem" is that they are too long..

I didn't believe the simulator saying that I was hitting the 7 iron 190 yards. So I took them to the course and had about 3 instances where I was 185-195 out and pulled out the club, trying to prove the simulator wrong. Nope... 185-190 yards each time. So this would mean that, if I'm usually about 10 yards between clubs, my PW would be my 150-160 club. I'd have to add 2 or 3 wedges to my bag to fill the gap.

So my question is... can a set of irons actually be "too long"?

(And yes, I understand that the clubs are strong lofted.)

[glock35ipsc]

WOW, the lofts are really jacked up on those irons!

*3	19°		39.75"
*4	21°		39.125"
*5	24°		38.50"
*6	27°		37.875"
*7	31°		37.25"
*8	35°		36.75"
*9	39°		36.25"
*PW	44°		35.75"

Considering a typical gap wedge is 50° to 52°, that still leaves a 6° to 8° gap between the GW and PW!  This is where the OEM are getting people jacked up by trying to sell there stuff as "longer than the competition".

Just comparing to my set's loft, which I think is fairly typical for irons lately... my 4 iron is the same as the CG16's 5 iron, and my 8 iron at 39° is the same as the CG16's 9 iron at 39°.

Than again, a driver and a 15° 3W would pretty much cover the long end of your bag!  This set runs 3° between the 3i-6i, then 4° from the 6i-9i, then 5° between the 9i-PW.  On the short end you could keep going 5° (same as the 9-PW) and go PW, add a 49°, 54° (bend your 52°), 59° (bend your 60°).

** Edit - I also just noticed that they go the standard .500" length increment until the 6 iron, then the lengthen them by .625" between clubs.  That should, in theory, make them longer too.

[newtogolf]

Swap out the 3i which is closer to a 2i anyway for a 50*, then go with a 54* and 58* to cover the shorter distances.   The numbers on clubs are pretty much meaningless in iron sets today.  Use loft or your hitting distance and cover the range you want to cover.

[anotherday]

I will say... it felt nice to say I hit a 7 iron that long.. but it didn't mean a thing. I agree.. the numbers on clubs these days mean nothing.

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

The numbers on clubs are pretty much meaningless in iron sets today.

Originally Posted by anotherday

I agree.. the numbers on clubs these days mean nothing.

I agree too.  I wish I could have had my irons made to just have the loft on the sole.  Would make for a good conversation piece too!

[newtogolf]

Your X-18 7i has a 33* loft, so the Cleveland 7i at 31* is equivavlent to a 6.5i on your current set, not sure if your yardages match that or not.

Originally Posted by anotherday

I will say... it felt nice to say I hit a 7 iron that long.. but it didn't mean a thing. I agree.. the numbers on clubs these days mean nothing.

[anotherday]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

Your X-18 7i has a 33* loft, so the Cleveland 7i at 31* is equivavlent to a 6.5i on your current set, not sure if your yardages match that or not.

Also, the Cleveland 7i is 37.25" vs the Callaway 37"... small difference, I know.. I'm not saying thats the smoking gun.

I think there has to be a difference in the technology that went into the clubs. Different tech's were available when both were made.

My 7i goes 165 and my 6i is 175. It is possible that those yardages are off by a bit since I took them late last year. I would say that the Cleveland 7i swings more like a 5.5i to me.

[Shindig]

I agree too.  I wish I could have had my irons made to just have the loft on the sole.  Would make for a good conversation piece too!

I have recently begun referring to my clubs by their loft numbers. It's a little passive aggressive, and maybe I should stop. One of my best friends plays TaylorMade Burners, and his 8 and my 7 are both at 35 degrees. I hit my 7-iron 145, he hits his 8 at 160. He's already a longer hitter than I am, and I get tired of him telling me I need clubs with stronger lofts "to get more distance." So, onto the question: it isn't that the irons are too long. If someone could devise a set of irons and wedges such that I could hit my 7-iron, say, 180 yards without having to make it into a 1-iron, I'd consider it. In my mind, a good set of clubs needs to have about 10 devoted to covering some good range of distances at semi-regular intervals, and some gap(s) at the top or bottom are at the discretion of the player.

[anotherday]

Shindig.. have you given the CG16's a swing yet? They might be just what you're looking for. I really do like them but I couldn't carry enough clubs for the gaps. Plus I don't want to kick out my hybrids for the irons that would fill their spot. I love my hybrids.. haha.

The Tour version of the CG16's are more standard lofted.. so I might give them a bit more attention next time I'm swinging.

We're walking a fine line on this post with regards to the Lofts vs. Club Number debate that was on a different post. Hopefully it doesn't turn into that discussion. It was one of those agree to disagree topics.

Thanks for the replies so far.

[Shindig]

Oh believe me, I [i]want[/i] to like Cleveland irons, especially any labeled "Black Pearl." One of my favorite movies (and probably four of my top twenty-five).

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by anotherday

Shindig.. have you given the CG16's a swing yet? They might be just what you're looking for. I really do like them but I couldn't carry enough clubs for the gaps. Plus I don't want to kick out my hybrids for the irons that would fill their spot. I love my hybrids.. haha.

The Tour version of the CG16's are more standard lofted.. so I might give them a bit more attention next time I'm swinging.

We're walking a fine line on this post with regards to the Lofts vs. Club Number debate that was on a different post.  Hopefully it doesn't turn into that discussion. It was one of those agree to disagree topics.

Thanks for the replies so far.

That's the only issue I have with my Cleveland TA3s - too long. I just replaced the TA3 pitching wedge and go with a 3-wedge set. It's weird though, since practicing with them, I'm hitting my blades a club longer too.

[dbwood]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

Swap out the 3i which is closer to a 2i anyway for a 50*, then go with a 54* and 58* to cover the shorter distances.   The numbers on clubs are pretty much meaningless in iron sets today.  Use loft or your hitting distance and cover the range you want to cover.

+1

If they're going to jack the lofts and and start with a "5i" they should include 3 wedges in the set.  Maybe stamp them "10", "11", and "12".

[cody west]

personally think there is no such thing as "too long" I used to hit my 7iron as my 200 yard club when i was a 10 hcp then i realized its not about distance so i take a 3/4 swing everywhere and hit 66.1% of GIR's.

IMO- tighten up and shorten your swing hit your 7 iron a reasonable distance in exchange for accuracy.  anyone can hit it long but a real golfer realizes that

short shots + more greens > longer shots + less accurate   keep that 190 yards in your back pocket for when you need to hit a trick shot over a tree or something ...thats just my .02

[bcgolf]

Off course they can be too long.  Some people are playing 4 wedges allready.  If they keep on making the irons longer, we need to keep adding more wedges.  Pointless really !

[anotherday]

Originally Posted by dbwood

If they're going to jack the lofts and and start with a "5i" they should include 3 wedges in the set.  Maybe stamp them "10", "11", and "12".

That makes a lot of sense actually. They should accept that their clubs will go longer and leave huge gaps in the short game.

I think their (club makers') reasoning is that the stronger lofts are for players that can't get the distance in the first place.. so they need help. So to someone that struggles with distance, the strong lofted 7i might make them hit it relatively close to the distance a standard 7i should go.