Iron Gaps

[lastings]

So..  I got my new irons and spent quite a while hitting them with the launch monitor.  

I came across an issue.  

There seems to be a huge gap between my 7-iron and 8-iron.   These numbers come from 10 swings from each club, after outliers are removed. There is certainly enough data here to draw a conclusion.   furthermore, the distances I was hitting with the irons were really consistent.  i.e.  I was repeatedly hitting the 7 between 171 and 176.   So, it's not like there were just a couple 185 yd. bombs that are throwing the averages off.   

We're talking about 16 yards of carry/18 yds total between the two clubs.   

What do I do about this? I mean..   I can't have an 18 gap between these clubs.   It's like I would need a 7.5 iron.  

 

 

 

 

 

[dennyjones]

I'm betting the place you bought them should be able to adjust the loft of your 8 iron.   Did you get fitted for the clubs?

[lastings]

Yep, I got fit for them.   Generally I'm a pretty long hitter with my irons, so I got the entire set with 1 degree of extra loft.   

Since the gaps between my 8, 9, and PW are pretty good, would I want to bring all 3 of those down to standard loft?  

 

[Golfingdad]

Just tweak the 8 iron loft a hair stronger.

Edited April 6, 2017 by Golfingdad

[saevel25]

I agree with @Golfingdad, get the 8 iron bent to a stronger loft. It might be good to get the entire set measured for loft and lie to make sure they match what you were fit for. 

[1badbadger]

3 hours ago, lastings said:

Yep, I got fit for them.   Generally I'm a pretty long hitter with my irons, so I got the entire set with 1 degree of extra loft.   

Since the gaps between my 8, 9, and PW are pretty good, would I want to bring all 3 of those down to standard loft?  

 

Yeah, the issue is with the 8 iron...it appears it may be a little weak.  No need to do anything with the 7 iron, 9 iron and PW.  I would suggest strengthening the 8 iron about 1*.  This should give it 3-4 more yards which will put it around 150-151.

Like @saevel25 mentioned, it's a good idea to have your loft/lies measured and recorded so you know what they are supposed to be.  You have a beautiful set of irons that feel like butter, but they should be checked about every 6 months (or more, depending on how much you play) because they could move from use in certain conditions.  Keep it in your golf bag or wallet, and this will give you a reference point so next time you have them checked, you'll know what they should be.

BTW, don't worry if the lofts are not gapped perfectly.  The yardages are what's important, so don't sweat it if there is 3* between the 7 and 8 iron and 5* between the 8 and 9 for example if the yardage gaps are correct. 

[MarvChamp]

Met with some club makers today. They said my MX-200 gap wedge, that is supposed to be 50*, is actually 53*. But It is my favorite wedge and I hit it the distances I want. And the distances are right, I believe, for the PW at 45* and the SW at 55* I seldom use the SW from grass. So I agree that somtimes its the desired distances, not necessarily loft. -Marv

[WUTiger]

14 hours ago, 1badbadger said:

Like @saevel25 mentioned, it's a good idea to have your loft/lies measured and recorded so you know what they are supposed to be.

I talked to a local pro who fits a lot of clubs for his customers. He always does a loft-and-lie check when custom-fit iron sets arrive from the factory. He usually finds one or two irons enough out of spec that they need to be tweaked.

[1badbadger]

10 minutes ago, WUTiger said:

I talked to a local pro who fits a lot of clubs for his customers. He always does a loft-and-lie check when custom-fit iron sets arrive from the factory. He usually finds one or two irons enough out of spec that they need to be tweaked.

That's a good man right there.  It's always a good idea to check any new set (custom or off the rack) because the loft/lies may be off.  Some companies are better than others, but it's still worthwhile.

[Denny Bang Bang]

@lastings I have the same irons, and had a similar issue with the 8i.  I had the shop tweak the 8i, as others above also suggested.

[lastings]

Ok, guys..  I think I really need some advice here.   

I have spent some extensive time with the launch monitor over the last week, and really fleshed out what I believe to be consistent number from each club in my set.   
With that, I also have a comparison to professional averages.   

I definitely have issues with my iron gaps.  some of that is in their lofts, but some is certainly in my swing as well.    What I need your help with is, when I go in to get my lofts adjusted, what should I adjust and what should I not.  

my gaps in carry yards from 54 deg wedge going up to 4 iron is 16,11,10,19,8,15,13,10.   
Obviously, I am hitting my long irons too long.  while club speed, ball speed, and launch angle are nearly identical to pro numbers, back spin is significantly less.  because of that, there is a much different ball flight, which doesn't balloon at the end and creates a much more shallow decent angle.  It's gonna take some swing adjustments to correct this stuff.  club adjustments wont do it alone..  

looking at this added info, do we still think that I should only adjust my eight iron?   or make adjustments across the board? 

 

 

 

 

[1badbadger]

2 hours ago, lastings said:

Ok, guys..  I think I really need some advice here.   

I have spent some extensive time with the launch monitor over the last week, and really fleshed out what I believe to be consistent number from each club in my set.   
With that, I also have a comparison to professional averages.   

I definitely have issues with my iron gaps.  some of that is in their lofts, but some is certainly in my swing as well.    What I need your help with is, when I go in to get my lofts adjusted, what should I adjust and what should I not.  

my gaps in carry yards from 54 deg wedge going up to 4 iron is 16,11,10,19,8,15,13,10.   
Obviously, I am hitting my long irons too long.  while club speed, ball speed, and launch angle are nearly identical to pro numbers, back spin is significantly less.  because of that, there is a much different ball flight, which doesn't balloon at the end and creates a much more shallow decent angle.  It's gonna take some swing adjustments to correct this stuff.  club adjustments wont do it alone..  

looking at this added info, do we still think that I should only adjust my eight iron?   or make adjustments across the board? 

 

 

 

 

I'm running into an issue with the numbers that is confusing me, so we need to figure this out.  

My earlier suggestion was to strengthen the 8 iron about 1* because there was too much gap between the 7 & 8 iron and not enough between the 8 & 9 iron.  The new set of numbers is the opposite...not enough between the 7 & 8 and too much between 8 & 9.  This would mean the 8 iron should be weakened about 1-1.5*. 

So the 8 iron is still an issue, but now I'm not sure if it needs to be stronger or weaker.  I think your 5 iron should be bumped about 1* stronger too.

[lastings]

2 hours ago, 1badbadger said:

I'm running into an issue with the numbers that is confusing me, so we need to figure this out.  

My earlier suggestion was to strengthen the 8 iron about 1* because there was too much gap between the 7 & 8 iron and not enough between the 8 & 9 iron.  The new set of numbers is the opposite...not enough between the 7 & 8 and too much between 8 & 9.  This would mean the 8 iron should be weakened about 1-1.5*. 

So the 8 iron is still an issue, but now I'm not sure if it needs to be stronger or weaker.  I think your 5 iron should be bumped about 1* stronger too.

At this point, I would discard the original data completely.   There are way, way more swings put into the second set of data. The first set was also the first time I had hit these clubs.  The second time I was more used to them..Additionally, the first set of data was gathered using range balls.  The second set was derived using Pro V1s I brought with me (notice the increased spin numbers..). 

[Lihu]

23 hours ago, lastings said:

Ok, guys..  I think I really need some advice here.   

I have spent some extensive time with the launch monitor over the last week, and really fleshed out what I believe to be consistent number from each club in my set.   
With that, I also have a comparison to professional averages.   

I definitely have issues with my iron gaps.  some of that is in their lofts, but some is certainly in my swing as well.    What I need your help with is, when I go in to get my lofts adjusted, what should I adjust and what should I not.  

my gaps in carry yards from 54 deg wedge going up to 4 iron is 16,11,10,19,8,15,13,10.   
Obviously, I am hitting my long irons too long.  while club speed, ball speed, and launch angle are nearly identical to pro numbers, back spin is significantly less.  because of that, there is a much different ball flight, which doesn't balloon at the end and creates a much more shallow decent angle.  It's gonna take some swing adjustments to correct this stuff.  club adjustments wont do it alone..  

looking at this added info, do we still think that I should only adjust my eight iron?   or make adjustments across the board?

I don't really see an issue with your gaps? Yeah, 50 to 54 and 9 to 8 are kind of wide, but reasonable. If you were a + handicap having these issues then the clubs are likely the culprit. I only know a couple people who have "perfect gaps" and they're + handicaps. When they play on the course so many other conditions alter their distances just like the rest of us "common folk" golfers.

BTW, where did you get those "pro" numbers? That might be for LPGA or Champions?

[lastings]

Just now, Lihu said:

BTW, where did you get those "pro" numbers? That might be for LPGA or Champions?

just googled it.   Think I ended up finding it on the Trackman website.   I would guess it is referring to The average professional level golfer, not PGA tour pro.  

Just now, Lihu said:

If you were a + handicap having these issues then the clubs are likely the culprit.

 

I'm not really suggesting that these gaps would be a culprit of poor golf..    But, you know, new irons..   I just want them to be perfect.   

[Lihu]

9 minutes ago, lastings said:

just googled it.   Think I ended up finding it on the Trackman website.   I would guess it is referring to The average professional level golfer, not PGA tour pro.  

I'm not really suggesting that these gaps would be a culprit of poor golf..    But, you know, new irons..   I just want them to be perfect.   

Sure, I can't blame you for that and I'd (and am) be doing exactly the same thing!

I'm currently "fitting" my new driver as we speak (post).

[lastings]

Just now, Lihu said: