Why does my buddy's TaylorMade 7 iron outhit my Titleist 755 7 iron by 15-18 yards?

[TJBam]

I hit them each one day on a Tracman.  A quick google search solved my question and verified my suspicions.

Answer: Because his 7 iron is actually my 6 iron.  New technology my ass!! Keep your fancy irons, I'll stick with my old Titleist sticks.

TM Burner 2.0:

Club	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	PW	AW	SW	LW
Loft	19°	21°	24°	27°	31°	35°	40°	45°	50°	55°	60°

Titleist 755:

Club	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	P
Loft	19°	22°	25°	28°	31°	35°	39°	43°	47°

When I told him, he was surprised.  But apparently this is supposedly widely known and accepted.

BAH HUMBUG!

[BostonBrew]

I think the manufacturers are doing it on purpose. The casual golfer more than likely never thinks to look at the lofts of the clubs. He sees a number on the club and compares it to the number on his old set. So when he picks up a 6 iron, lofted like his old 5 iron, and hits it 10-15 yards further than he expects, he's convinced the club hits the ball longer and must have them.

[TJBam]

Originally Posted by BostonBrew

I think the manufacturers are doing it on purpose. The casual golfer more than likely never thinks to look at the lofts of the clubs. He sees a number on the club and compares it to the number on his old set. So when he picks up a 6 iron, lofted like his old 5 iron, and hits it 10-15 yards further than he expects, he's convinced the club hits the ball longer and must have them.

Coupled with the masking tape at the store range.  Meaning reduced friction, which results in less spin of the ball, which makes his or her slice/hook reduce dramatically on the Trackman.  Good thing I've had a hand-me-down set for 5 years that I won't upgrade until they break.

[Jeremie Boop]

Technically, the club is hitting the ball longer that the "same number" club of the old set. Is it a totally fair comparison? Probably not. It takes a better player to use the 755 well though and you'll have more workability also. I just recently picked up burner plus irons, the lofts are a little less than the same club number of my previous set but have just as high of ball flight. End result is more distance with a softer landing for me, which I like.

[Clubchucker]

Originally Posted by TJBam

But apparently this is supposedly widely known and accepted.

Yes it has.  I seem to recall it happening on the original King Cobra Oversized irons....so that would be back in the early '90's at the very least.  And yes, I had those irons.  My first "real" set of irons.  Bought them along with the original Callaway War Bird driver and 3-wood.  I'd love to see how I hit those woods now....LOL

[TourSpoon]

Welcome to my ocd world...

http://thesandtrap.com/t/9728/traditional-lofts-versus-modern-lofts

[WUTiger]

Back in December, I took the Rocketbladz challenge: The RB 7i vs. my X20 Tour 7i. Surprise! My Callaway 7i averaged two yards farther.

RBZ might have done better with a heavier shaft; it felt pretty feathery.

[TJBam]

Originally Posted by TourSpoon

Welcome to my ocd world...

http://thesandtrap.com/t/9728/traditional-lofts-versus-modern-lofts

Tourspoon thanks for the input.  It looks comparing your post from 08 and the TM lofts above that they have increased lofts for each iron by another degree since then.  Meaning they have moved the clubs up an entire "number."

Thanks for the input everyone I felt like scrooge being upset about this.  Glad there are a couple other people with the same sentiment.

[TourSpoon]

Originally Posted by TJBam

Tourspoon thanks for the input.  It looks comparing your post from 08 and the TM lofts above that they have increased lofts for each iron by another degree since then.  Meaning they have moved the clubs up an entire "number."

Thanks for the input everyone I felt like scrooge being upset about this.  Glad there are a couple other people with the same sentiment.

It just means more revenue reinventing marketing strategies. So now you still get the 3 iron you can't hit and you have large gaps. So you buy an 8 iron set, buy the gap wedges, then realize you need a hybrid or 2 because your 3 iron is now a 2 iron, etc. Brilliant!

[RayG]

And the pros clubs are even more ridiculously tweaked. 200 yards with a 7 or 8? Didn't I see someone in the last few weeks pull out a 9 iron for a shot of 183 yards... a NINE IRON?

[Archie Bunker]

Originally Posted by Clubchucker

Quote:

Originally Posted by TJBam

But apparently this is supposedly widely known and accepted.

Yes it has.  I seem to recall it happening on the original King Cobra Oversized irons....so that would be back in the early '90's at the very least.  And yes, I had those irons.  My first "real" set of irons.  Bought them along with the original Callaway War Bird driver and 3-wood.  I'd love to see how I hit those woods now....LOL

Absolutely! When I had those King Cobras, I would be amazed at the distances. Manufacturers began selling plenty of new sets to people who thought they were getting superior equipment. Rather than meaningless iron "numbers" I always liked clubs that were identified with the lofts stamped upon them. The actual "improvements" in iron sets has been minimal over the years, but to sell clubs, you need to pull every marketing trick in the book.

[Jeremie Boop]

If they matched loft in addition to having the lower cg the ball flight would be so ridiculously high on game improvement irons that any wind would push the ball all over the place.

[mvmac]

Guys, there is no industry standard for lofts.  The Titleist 755 irons are a club designed for single digit handicap golfers to tour players.  TaylorMade 2.0 irons are designed for higher handicap golfers, so of course the lofts are going to different.  Golfers using the 755 irons won't need the "help" offered in the 2.0 irons, lower cog, wider sole.  The lofts of the 2.0 irons aren't "jacked up", they just compliment the design/function of the iron.

Originally Posted by RayG

And the pros clubs are even more ridiculously tweaked. 200 yards with a 7 or 8? Didn't I see someone in the last few weeks pull out a 9 iron for a shot of 183 yards... a NINE IRON?

No, if anything they tend to add some loft to their clubs.  I'd say most guys are using pitching wedges at 47/48 degrees, 7 irons at 34/35, 4 irons at 23/24 degrees.  Mickelson is the only guy I've heard of that goes stronger than the stock loft for whatever model of iron he's playing.  Tiger is on the other side of the spectrum.  The guys on tour are just really good, hit it solid, hit it high and have a lot of speed.  There are guys on tour that fly it 300, 320, so does that mean they're using drivers with lofts that are "jacked up"?  Well yes but it's the other way around

[mdl]

Originally Posted by Jeremie Boop

If they matched loft in addition to having the lower cg the ball flight would be so ridiculously high on game improvement irons that any wind would push the ball all over the place.

I was thinking the same thing.  OP said he hit them on trackman.  Did he get launch angle numbers?  Everyone complains about the decreasing lofts, and I've always felt it was mostly a marketing gimmick as well.  And a way to basically just sell you a 3i-9i set and force you to buy more wedges.  But they have changed the tech in the clubs, chasing higher launch in many cases.  So does the old 6i lofted 7i launch it at the angle of the old 7i or old 6i?  If it launches at the old 7i angle, then they really have just given you 15 more yards with the same trajectory!

[Jeremie Boop]

Originally Posted by mdl

I was thinking the same thing.  OP said he hit them on trackman.  Did he get launch angle numbers?  Everyone complains about the decreasing lofts, and I've always felt it was mostly a marketing gimmick as well.  And a way to basically just sell you a 3i-9i set and force you to buy more wedges.  But they have changed the tech in the clubs, chasing higher launch in many cases.  So does the old 6i lofted 7i launch it at the angle of the old 7i or old 6i?  If it launches at the old 7i angle, then they really have just given you 15 more yards with the same trajectory!

I actually gained height on my shots with the newer clubs with less loft due to the cg being so much lower.

[TJBam]

Originally Posted by mvmac

Guys, there is no industry standard for lofts.  The Titleist 755 irons are a club designed for single digit handicap golfers to tour players.  TaylorMade 2.0 irons are designed for higher handicap golfers, so of course the lofts are going to different.  Golfers using the 755 irons won't need the "help" offered in the 2.0 irons, lower cog, wider sole.  The lofts of the 2.0 irons aren't "jacked up", they just compliment the design/function of the iron.

No, if anything they tend to add some loft to their clubs.  I'd say most guys are using pitching wedges at 47/48 degrees, 7 irons at 34/35, 4 irons at 23/24 degrees.  Mickelson is the only guy I've heard of that goes stronger than the stock loft for whatever model of iron he's playing.  Tiger is on the other side of the spectrum.  The guys on tour are just really good, hit it solid, hit it high and have a lot of speed.  There are guys on tour that fly it 300, 320, so does that mean they're using drivers with lofts that are "jacked up"?  Well yes but it's the other way around

(Looks at own handicap)

Shoot.

Mvmac, thanks for the input.  Now I'm looking at tour irons vs beginner vs intermediate and it's beginning to make sense.  I can still be mad though!!

[TJBam]

Originally Posted by mdl

I was thinking the same thing.  OP said he hit them on trackman.  Did he get launch angle numbers?  Everyone complains about the decreasing lofts, and I've always felt it was mostly a marketing gimmick as well.  And a way to basically just sell you a 3i-9i set and force you to buy more wedges.  But they have changed the tech in the clubs, chasing higher launch in many cases.  So does the old 6i lofted 7i launch it at the angle of the old 7i or old 6i?  If it launches at the old 7i angle, then they really have just given you 15 more yards with the same trajectory!

Jeremie and mdl- this makes sense what you're saying about the lower COG.  Unfortunately I do not remember launch angles or anything like that.  They seemed pretty similar.  I think I could certainly benefit from moving down from 755's to something more forgiving like the AP2's.

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by TJBam

I think I could certainly benefit from moving down from 755's to something more forgiving like the AP2's.

You might mean AP1, AP2's and 755's are similar, targeting the same segment of golfers, similar head size/shape.