Lofts

[onthehunt526]

Two big factors would be clubhead speed and shaft flex. You already have the very low VCOG in the XR clubhead, and cup-face technology borrowed from the fairway woods. According to the XR promo, this increases both MOI and ball speed. You're getting help from the clubhead, so the next thing would be do you have the right shaft, and sufficient clubhead speed. All things equal, the more clubhead speed you generate, the higher you'll launch the ball. And, for mid- to hi-HDCP players, the higher launch leads to more carry and more distance. On the other hand, players with 100 MPH driver swingspeed would likely balloon their iron shots with a low VCOG clubhead. What you probably need to do is a gap analysis for your irons, to find out where hybrids or high-loft FWs might best join your set. Let's say  you get these results (as many do): [LIST] [*] 6i = 155 yds. [*] 5i = 165 yds. [*] [COLOR=800000] 4i = 158 yds. !!! [/COLOR] You would need to drop the 4i and go with a hybrid, which would give you better hits than a 4i. [/LIST] [SPOILER=My SLDR 4i quandary (Warning: Spoiler!)]With my SLDR irons, I am undecided on how "low to go" in my iron mix. Recent TaylorMade irons, including the SLDR, have the Thru-Slot technology in 3i-7i. This polymer insert travels from the sole up through the back of the clubhead. It really helps on the launch of the longer clubs.   Here's my "happy" problem: The set goes 4-AW, and from off the tee I can hit laser-straight shots with the 4i. Off a tee they actually go a bit longer than my 4H. The 4i is superb as a driving iron, BUT the 4H is more reliable off the fairway or out of light rough. So, what should I do?   My pro suggested I carry the 4i for our home course, which has three devilish short par 4s that can wreck your round. A ball in the fairway on these is a lifesaver. For more open courses, he suggested I swap to the 4H, to get more versatility.   I guess it depends how much value I get on a given day from a dedicated "driving iron."  [/SPOILER]

I have a higher clubhead speed with my Driver ~108 mph... I hit the ball really high with PLAYERS irons... not necessarily because of the weaker lofts... just because of how high I hit the ball in general... I recently picked up a set of TEE CU irons 4-PW... I only demoed a 6-iron (29°) loft and with the KBS Tour shafts I have now my launch was around 17° which is lower than the 20 or so with the V-blades (CNC was worse at 21.5°)... my carry was 173 total around 180... so WUTiger's point about higher swing speeds ballooning Very Low CG irons is spot on, if I took an SGI or UGI 6-iron my launch would probably be around 25 which is close to the loft of the club.

[trickyputt]

WUTiger is right... the SGI irons CG is very low compared to the other two... The loft creep has effected all categories of irons, but I used to think it was that simple... but it's not... Players irons for the most part have been effected by the "decreasing loft disease" the least, but then again the center of gravity in players irons hasn't gotten much lower... GI and SGI have been effected so much because of the lower CG... I honestly don't see iron lofts getting much stronger though... Just my $1.98

I agree with you. The high bend shaft with higher loft is a really good design In irons. These newer ones are iron hybrids with natural resulting loss of control.