Upright or no?

[Hacker James]

23 minutes ago, chilepepper said:

You may want to get some lie tape and hit it on a piece of 1/4" Lexan to see if you have the correct lie before you order a complete set. Or go to a shop and hit on their lie board

good suggestion. Another would be to simply draw a vertical line on a ball, line it up with target line, and take your normal swing. The line should transfer to the face of the club and if it is still vertical and not leaning towards the toe or heel, you can be fairly confident you are coming into impact with a squared face. 

[1badbadger]

On 8/31/2017 at 8:55 PM, Hacker James said:

Recently I decided to take up Tour Edge offer on no risk trial through their official web page. It was for the EXi 6 iron. I ordered it with custom specs they allow for and requested: 1/2 inch longer, 1 deg upright, Regular Flex UST Recoil Shaft, and mid size grip.  Bearing in mind, that I have not yet been professionally fit, I did some static fit measurements which confirmed that 1/2 inch longer would be best for me (35 inches wrist to floor).  The static fit chart recommends standard lie angle, but I wanted to order the 1 deg upright figuring that I could always have it bent back to standard.

Anyway, while waiting, I took my current 6 iron which has a standard lie and held it at address with a slight toe up, and gripped it at the very end of the grip. I did this as to give me some idea of what to expect. What I noticed immediately, was very solid contact, time after time.  I even put a stripe with marker on a ball to try and determine what was actually happening at impact, Straight line.   Of course, I also know from experience, this is not all that conclusive as what happens one day, might not be the same the next. (aha moments are very fleeting).

At best, I will be paying about half price for the iron should I decide to keep it. (pretty sure, I will), then later on go to PGA Super Store to order a partial iron set 7 through AW, as they do not charge for a fitting and according to my daughter who recently got a new driver, they are fairly thorough  and do the dynamic fitting. Thanks to @onthehunt526 for the suggestion.

James, the one thing I would just keep in mind is I don't think the std lie angles on your Hogan irons are the same as your new Tour Edge sticks.  So if you ordered them "1* upright", they will be 1* up from the EXi specs.  

The additional shaft length will also affect your lie angle.  An extra 1/2" will make the irons play about another 1/2* more upright.  They will not measure the additional 1/2*, but they will play like it.

Depending on which version of the Edge irons you have, it looks like the EXi irons are between 1/2-1* more upright to start with, so with the additional 1.5* your new clubs will be around 2-2.5* more upright.  This isn't cause for concern or anything, just something you should be aware of in the event additional adjustments need to be made, so you know the 2 sets of irons have different std specs.  

As someone else suggested, hitting them off of a lie board is a great way to check them.  The Recoil shaft probably flexes differently than the shafts you've been using, so what's happening at impact will be a little different too.  Getting a new set dialed in is half the fun though...!

[Hacker James]

@1badbadger Tks, I did not know that about the Hogan Edges. Mine are probably from around 2001 or a little older. They have the red line. The High Performance Legend Shafts have the gold lettering. I am not sure if that is Senior or Regular, but I am betting they are Standard. I might even take PGA Superstore up on their offer for a fitting even if I do not buy, I would just take the trial six iron and see what the numbers on the monitor show. It is a little less expensive to buy from an online retail outlet than in the store though. I will only be buying four, so I will have a few options. My blue sharpie on ball method seems pretty consistent with mid face, vertical imprints. I did notice that to get the same results with the shorter hogan, I had to address with a conscious toe up position and lower hands. The new club makes it a little easier to do it naturally.  The new head is also noticeably heavier (of course, different shaft contributes to that as well). I think the Recoil shaft weighs 65g if I am not mistaken.

[onthehunt526]

2 minutes ago, Hacker James said:

@1badbadger Tks, I did not know that about the Hogan Edges. Mine are probably from around 2001 or a little older. They have the red line. The High Performance Legend Shafts have the gold lettering. I am not sure if that is Senior or Regular, but I am betting they are Standard. I might even take PGA Superstore up on their offer for a fitting even if I do not buy, I would just take the trial six iron and see what the numbers on the monitor show. It is a little less expensive to buy from an online retail outlet than in the store though. I will only be buying four, so I will have a few options. My blue sharpie on ball method seems pretty consistent with mid face, vertical imprints. I did notice that to get the same results with the shorter hogan, I had to address with a conscious toe up position and lower hands. The new club makes it a little easier to do it naturally.  The new head is also noticeably heavier (of course, different shaft contributes to that as well). I think the Recoil shaft weighs 65g if I am not mistaken.

Mine are 77g (stiff flex). Just so you know if you need the e-mail of a good retailer that won't screw you over, PM me.

[Hacker James]

@1badbadger FYI...although I could not find the exact specs for Hogan Edge, I did find Apex Edge  6 iron listed at 62 Deg lie (same as the Tour Edge EXi), some of the other Hogans listed it as 61 deg which is more than likely what I have. I also measured it with a home made loft/lie protractor and it said 61, but could just as easily be 62 given I do not have a proper jig or way to hold the club and sole perfectly flat. ( I need the Green Machine).

Edited September 9, 2017 by Hacker James

[onthehunt526]

I think this might be what you are looking for:

[Hacker James]

@onthehunt526,  Agreed, that looks about right. I believe they went with the 62 deg in 2001 with an anomaly of the Apex Plus which had 61 deg.  In any event, close enough, I think the main thing for me was the 1/2 inch longer makes it easier to sole the club properly (actually, I do not want to sole it perfectly flat, as it changes with swing dynamics) and I also tend to hover slightly.

[Hacker James]

Just a footnote on the EXi irons.  Sweet Spot Detection.  While I can usually tell when I find the sweet spot on irons, especially true of forged ones which give the effortless feel when hit, and at the same time, provide you with instant feedback when not hit on center (definite vibration felt); what surprizes me most is the feel of these cast clubs being every bit as good as the forged, but even on mishits, pretty good results.  I am guessing, that modern technology, COG, MOI, having a lot to do with it.  Of course, I may be comparing apples to oranges, considering my Hogan's were more than likely forged in 1989 and about the only innovation (at the time) would have been perimeter weighting.