what's the real scoop on extended clubs?

[x129]

You distance gaps would remain about the same as every club would be shorter.  Your upper range on the irons would just be 5 yards lower.

To some extend you can trade off club length and lie angle to get a club to  fit your swing. I might have this backwards but it is something like being .5" shorter makes the club 1 degree flatter. So the tall guy has the choice of either extending the club and keeping the lie angle the same or adjusting the lie angle.

Originally Posted by 3putt53

Another reason for the length changes is to keep your distance gaps consistent. If you hit your 7 Iron 160 yards, the 6 should go 172-175, the 5 184-190. If you kept the 5 iron shorter your distance gap would drop to only 5-7 yards. No real point in having that club in the bag then. The longer club also have little more swing speed. Try hitting a wedge with a swing speed of a 5 iron. You'll end up with a lot of chunked and bladed shots.

[onthehunt526]

think of it this way... We are the same height I play the same length clubs as you... The reason that when you extend your clubs +1" that you feel more comfortable that you have slumping to do... When I get to my shorter clubs... I just flex my knees a little more to compensate for the shorter club.... Probably not the best advice but what the hell... It's just a matter of getting a 1.68" ball into a 4.25" hole in as few strokes as you can... Us tall guys need longer clubs to create that proper swing arc.... Basically you shouldn't worry to much about it and it will all work it self out

[Bradbar]

Originally Posted by tuffluck

i am 6'5" tall and have 1" extensions on my clubs.  i was fitted for these clubs.  if i put my 7i up to my buddy's standard length 5i, they are exactly the same length.  pretty much every club of mine is 2 up on him.  also we all know shafts get longer as the irons decrease in numerical value.  so a 4i is going to be longer in shaft size than a 9i, etc.  essentially this means that regardless of your height, on some clubs you will be standing up straighter (4i/5i) than with other clubs (PW, SW), where you will be "slumping" over some.

so taking all of this into consideration, why exactly do tall people like myself get fitted with longer shafts?  maybe i look like i'm slumping with an 8i, but it's the same look i'll have with a PW that has an extra 1" extension right?  i ask because i have a really hard time hitting my 4i and 5i, and i'm thinking if they were the same length as my 6i and 7i respectively, i would hit them a lot better.  right now they are playing like my buddy's 2i/3i as far as shaft length goes, and almost no one plays 2i/3i anymore because they are so tough to hit.

If you look like your slumping with an 8i and it is the same as a PW with 1" extension then you are slumping even more on a standard lenth PW if your theory is correct, which would explain the reason for getting the extension? (to correct the slumping)  Also, correct me if I am wrong, properly fitted clubs  would account for length, lie and loft, which should in theory should have you hitting a +1" 8i the same distance as a standard 8i. Only difference being that with the +1" clubs you are in a better/more comfortable posture?

On a side note a why dont you just choke up ony our long irons slightly and see if it helps? It would give you a decent answer as to if the extension/length is the reason you struggle with long irons?

[tuffluck]

Originally Posted by Bradbar

If you look like your slumping with an 8i and it is the same as a PW with 1" extension then you are slumping even more on a standard lenth PW if your theory is correct, which would explain the reason for getting the extension? (to correct the slumping)  Also, correct me if I am wrong, properly fitted clubs  would account for length, lie and loft, which should in theory should have you hitting a +1" 8i the same distance as a standard 8i. Only difference being that with the +1" clubs you are in a better/more comfortable posture?

On a side note a why dont you just choke up ony our long irons slightly and see if it helps? It would give you a decent answer as to if the extension/length is the reason you struggle with long irons?

Originally Posted by onthehunt526

think of it this way... We are the same height I play the same length clubs as you... The reason that when you extend your clubs +1" that you feel more comfortable that you have slumping to do... When I get to my shorter clubs... I just flex my knees a little more to compensate for the shorter club.... Probably not the best advice but what the hell... It's just a matter of getting a 1.68" ball into a 4.25" hole in as few strokes as you can... Us tall guys need longer clubs to create that proper swing arc.... Basically you shouldn't worry to much about it and it will all work it self out

the point is though that the shaft of an 8i on a standard club is the same length as a shaft on a PW with a +1 extension.  your slumping on a 8i standard club and PW +1 club would be exactly the same.  i think the point of this thread is that we're trying to figure out why any (tall) person needs to be hitting a PW with an 8i shaft.

[hero12]

Why does a person with a bigger foot need a bigger shoe?  If you want to play a standard set and hit an 8 iron when you should be hitting a pw because thats the correct length (I think thats what you're trying to get at) then go ahead.  I have a half inch added to mine because when I play standard clubs I hit it thin.  You will tell me I should just club down two clubs because it would be the same length as an extended club?  Guess what, I would still top it because the lie changed too, plus why would I need the extra 25 yds?  Why is standard length the standard length, answer that and you'll answer your own question.

[onthehunt526]

Personally I'm getting my clubs adjusted the same length 1 inch longer than "standard"... but basically in English as we have discovered there is no such thing as "standard" length... lie or loft... everyone who gets custom fit properly... I'm talking starting with your swing and going from there... anyone could play off the rack length lie and loft if they wanted to spend 10 years making their swings adapt to the clubs... the point is longer clubs are still going to be harder to control... even if you are 6'5" like I am... The long and short of it is: we all have different swings swing speeds arcs etc... you have to go with what is comfortable and fits your swing