Single Length Irons

[optionyout]

On 3/20/2017 at 2:29 PM, Vinsk said:

Well, essentially SL irons are in fact, a gimmick. Why? Let's face it. Had  Bryson Dechambeau not played them (who by the way has been a flop on the tour) this discussion would not even exist. This idea was tried years ago and never came to any fruition. Now years a later a quirky young guy with a physics major who won the NCAA and US Amateur wearing a Ben Hogan hat sparks a little interest and all of a sudden....maybe, just maybe he's on to something....nope.  Gimmick. No data shows anything to prove they have any advantage at all. It's all anecdotal evidence such as what you provided. Gimmick.

Still a gimmick?

[dennyjones]

23 minutes ago, optionyout said:

Still a gimmick?

Welcome to TST.   We're glad you've decided to join and post.   

I'm not knowledgeable enough to say gimmick or not.   Based upon what my instructor and the fitter at Club Champion recently told me, they believed that Bryson Dechambeau is a heck of a player and that he has adapted to play SLI.   They aren't for everyone but then again, Titleist or Callaway aren't for everyone either.     If they work for a player; great. 

[Vinsk]

30 minutes ago, optionyout said:

Still a gimmick?

Overall yes. Bryson still remains the only player of any caliber using them. They’re not ‘flying off the shelves.’ 

BTW....had compass’ been declared legal, they wouldn’t be all over the tour either. Nor in your bag.😀

Edited January 25, 2019 by Vinsk

[Lihu]

2 hours ago, optionyout said:

Still a gimmick?

Even if they were even a tiny bit non-gimmicky, I’m pretty sure @Vinsk would have them in one of his hundreds of golf bags. 😂

 

1 hour ago, Vinsk said:

Overall yes. Bryson still remains the only player of any caliber using them. They’re not ‘flying off the shelves.’ 

BTW....had compass’ been declared legal, they wouldn’t be all over the tour either. Nor in your bag.😀

Says the gear head golfer, sooo, I certainly wouldn’t get them... 😁

[golfjedi777]

Legit.

I really think i works. has a learning curve but it will really improve your game. simplifies things and take guess work out. been rocking single lengths for more then 6 years now.

[optionyout]

I'm about 15 years in on a set of 1irongolf. For the first time is almost as many years I rented clubs while away on vacation. So many more variables besides just gripping and ripping. Single length for me just flat out makes my experience so much more enjoyable. 

On another note, I'm a former fgi guy and just found this forum. Happy to see people still like to talk about golf and equipment.

[ChetlovesMer]

Cobra recently announced that 1 out of every 4 iron sets they sell are single length sets. Not sure what that means, but it is interesting. 

[optionyout]

I'm ready to buy another set but the problem is demoing. If they aren't your length there isn't much of a point. I'll probably just get one of the new 1irongolf sets. So expensive but the last one lasted so long I probably spent more in putters in that time.

[tinker]

I think the only way to maintain distance gaps is with a high swing speed. Moderate to slower swing speeds or senior golfers will hit all the irons a similar distance. The super low loft longer irons won’t have enough carry distance. Roll doesn’t matter in iron play. 

[Swooshgolf]

I voted legit although I wouldn't be surprised if it was more of a placebo.

[David in FL]

21 hours ago, optionyout said:

Still a gimmick?

Yep

[golfjedi777]

It's very simple . The lofts take care of the distance gaps. Make sure you are fitted. Also have a consistent swing speed. Shaft should match swing speed. If you really want to get your distances track man it. But it works. Been using it for 5 years + 

[optionyout]

9 hours ago, tinker said:

I think the only way to maintain distance gaps is with a high swing speed. Moderate to slower swing speeds or senior golfers will hit all the irons a similar distance. The super low loft longer irons won’t have enough carry distance. Roll doesn’t matter in iron play. 

I'm almost an exact 10 yards between my irons and I consider myself a moderate hitter. I hit my 7 iron 150ish and my PW 115ish.

[FLOG4]

I had a set of Sounders SLI back in 1980. They were both swing weighted the same and statically weighted the same. I have no idea what the lofts were. I played quite well with them. I believe Seve was playing them and was promoting them back then. I had them stolen out of my car in NJ and made out on the claim and went with Pings. I hadn't thought much of those clubs till Bryson...Iron play has never been my strength so simplicity of swing was beneficial. I believe Sounder also had same length woods too....But back then the drivers were not nearly as long as today.

[Osnola]

Maybe not for everyone, but have been playing them for about a year.  I will say that it does take some getting used to.  Not just the single length, but the single plane swing.  I am 70, and was struggling.  Got fit for a set of Cobra SL clubs.  Spent 2 weeks at the range before I attempted to play a round.  I generally shoot around 90, and just recently shot 85, lowest score yet.

Here is what I would say....my set is a 5i thru SW.  I use a 3H and 4H instead of the irons.  My distance before changing was:        5i I would not even hit it... 6i is 160 yds,   7i 150  8i 140  9i  130-135  PW 120  GW  110  SW 90

My distances with the SL irons are almost identical, but the biggest difference is that my shots tend to be straighter.  I am getting better and have to say that I would not go back and will stay with the SL clubs.  I wish I would have discovered them a few years ago.  They are not a gimmick, but they are not for everyone.  I will honestly answer any questions anyone might have.

[Lil Greener]

Well, doesn't it all come down to skill and confidence in the clubs we play?  And how to acquire the ability to control shots.   I bought 1 Iron Golf irons 3 seasons ago, just to see as I love experimenting with clubs.  I love these irons from 3 to 8.  I haven't been able to quite get over the different feel and look at setup of the 9, PW and SW, which still look odd, compared to most of the standard irons I've played over the years.  Of course, I played 1963 Haig Ultra blades for 20 years, and in more recent years Ping Eye 2, Titleist 704s, some Callaways, and now have several sets of game improvement Maltby irons to fiddle with. They've all been good clubs in their own way.   I prefer the shortest irons in a blade and have difficulty adapting to this "long" stick in my hand on a flip shot from 30 yards away.  

That said, I do believe that the 1 Iron Golf irons, which need a takeaway  and follow through in the same plane for every club makes the most sense in theory.  After all, it's all based upon the quality concept of "controlling variation" or "reducing variation" so quality of the finished product can be controlled easier, with fewer skills to learn.  Having all one length irons, same setup, same back swing and follow through make perfect theoretical sense to improve predictability in result.   The only thing different then, than hitting irons of different lengths, is that funny look at the bottom where a SW looks long, weird with a huge head, compared to standard iron design where you can cozy down into the shot with those short irons.  I think once we get over the emotion of the high loft irons looking so drastically different from normal irons, if we'd just use them, we'd be much better golfers.  The key is in the ability to control variability.  Once you learn, you've got it.  Naysayers aside, is not DeChambeau proving that in many ways?   I think he's probably right.   

[dennyjones]

What I find interesting, there are 12 pages of this topic but only 20 people have voted and all of them have voted GIMMICK.  

[Vinsk]

1 hour ago, Lil Greener said:

  I think once we get over the emotion of the high loft irons looking so drastically different from normal irons, if we'd just use them, we'd be much better golfers. 

That’s the Holy Grail that imo fails with SLI. A billion dollar industry of ‘the secret.’ It expands over moves, training aids and equipment. While some have been tested and proven to offer some improvement, the vast majority fall into or at least tease the edge of ‘gimmick.’ If there was any substantial proof that SLI have uncovered a path to better golf because (XYZ) they’d be flying off the shelves and new tour players would be coming in droves using them. That’s not the case. One guy on tour who loves to tinker has done well with them. Some guys come out and say ‘I really like them.’ Great. Had anything about them been ‘astonishing’ It wouldn’t have required a young, quirky tour pro to breathe life back into them.