Are my clubs too short?

[bossfrog]

Sorry if this all boils down to a dumb question.  Only been golfing 2 months.  I started off with some Callaway S2H2 irons that I really had to choke up on to hit.  Basically, they were a terrible fit.  Two weeks ago I traded them in on some Callaway X Hot irons after hitting with them in the shop for a good half hour.  I have stopped taking to many fat shots and have been swinging much better with them.

Now, for no other reason than sheer curiosity, I measured my wrist to floor and referenced the numerous charts on the internet and from a purely objective perspective, the clubs are slightly too short for me, at least according to the charts.  It ranges from just under 0.5" too short on my PW to about 0.25" on my 5 iron, and it's a steady progression.

From a subjective perspective, my game has improved a great deal with these clubs.  When I get back from a round of 18, I don't have near the muscle soreness I had with the S2H2s (though I suspect this may be due partly to better conditioning since I started).  They're not uncomfortable for me in any way.  However, my question is this:  Is there any reason to be concerned physically with clubs that are ever so slightly too short or do some people actually carry such a preference anyway?

[RJH999]

I think as long as you feel comfortable, it's a non-issue. And if the scores have improved, stick with them.

[Hammer 4]

Also, regarding the soreness, could be your body is still getting use to the movements in the golf swing.

As for your clubs possibly being to short as per some of the online fitting charts, I wouldn't be to quick to put a ton of stock into those. I've done a couple, and 1 came up where my lie should be 2 degrees flat, the other 1 degree upright. I do hit the toe on some of my short irons occasionally, so maybe 1 of the charts is correct.

Like RJH said, if they feel o.k. to you, and as long as you aren't making any goofy compensations in your swing, they should be fine.

And again, welcome to TST.

[bossfrog]

Thanks... that's what I was kind of thinking.  But I even went so far as to take a vid of me swinging some of them and my swing didn't appear to be any goofier than the next overweight, bow-legged golfer.

[Hammer 4]

Thanks... that's what I was kind of thinking.  But I even went so far as to take a vid of me swinging some of them and my swing didn't appear to be any goofier than the next overweight, bow-legged golfer.

Might not be a bad idea to have a PGA pro look at your swing in the near future, just for ease of mind.

[mvmac]

If you hit them better, stick with them. The clubs being a little shorter won't hurt you.

[trickyputt]

It took me a while with different sets of clubs to find out I like the end of my irons to be 32" to 32-1/2 inches from the ground at address. This allows me the luxury of a very similiar setup each time and reduces a huge variable for me, that being the floating height of the grips on a standard set. I followed my fitting numbers backwards and found that from my 36" wrist height the butt of my club rests on the heel of my palm 1" lower. From that point down on my hand to the place in my fingers that encircle the club is 2.5". Perhaps this is why I was fitted to a 32.5" height at setup. It depends a bit on how much you lean in also, but those numbers are me standing vertically. I found it interesting that I was measured to a natural comfortable finger height. If you know this value, the clubs lie can be used to determine the optimum shaft length as the lie angle and the angle to the ground from the butt are gonna = 90 degrees. A right triangle formed by the shaft, the line down to the ground (32.5 in my case)and the distance from that point on the ground back to the clubhead allow you to use a trig calculator and do it yourself. You can google the calculators, and they have blank fields where you are expected to toss in your numbers and angles.

[vangator]

A little shorter never hurt anybody. The thing I would check is your lie angle. A hitting board is best, but a thin piece of wood (luan or thin plywood) would work to test your lie angle. Put a couple of pieces of masking tape on the bottom of your 7 iron or 5 iron. I put the board down on my driveway. With street shoes on, swing the club normally, hitting the surface of the board with your club. You want the mark that's left in the center of your sole. If it's more toward the heel, your clubs need to be a little flatter, a little more upright if on the toe. With normal body proportions (ie no gorilla arms), if you're anywhere near 5'10", you probably are a standard lie. Short people generally run flatter and tall run more upright. I used to build clubs (occasionally still do) so I have a hitting board and a 5 iron with markings on the sole to indicate degrees.

[bossfrog]

I'm 5'11" and with wrist of 35.5"  By chart my lie is standard and the tape test you outlined gave good results.  I don't think I'm going to worry about them being a shade on the short side.  They work well for me and feel comfortable so I'm just going to leave it at that for now.

[vangator]

On to the next thing to work on... :-)