HighlandLaird

Utter tripe. In your conceit, you obviously think you know more about clubs than Tom Wishon, but the informed amongst us know that you do not.. Here are the FACTS:- My irons are Wilson Staff Dynapower 1973 and the PW has a loft of 51 degrees, with the 7 iron at 39 degrees. Current Adams New Idea 7 iron = 32 degrees. Cobra Baffler XL 7 iron = 30.5 degrees. Cleveland 588 Altitude 7 iron = 31 degrees. Progen Haema 7 iron = 31 degrees. TaylorMade RocketBladez Max 7 iron = 30 degrees. Wilson D-100 7 iron = 31 degrees Yonex VXF 7 iron = 31 degrees. Nike VRS Covert 2.0 7 iron = 31 degrees. ALL these are around 7.5 to 8.5 degrees "stronger" than 1970s irons. I quote the manufacturers' own figures. It is not surprising then that "distance" with a numbered iron depends entirely upon the loft, not the particular number ascribed to it. Your own 7 iron will have a loft of 36 degrees, and you would certainly hit the above quoted clubs further. In short, sir, your rude dismissal of what I wrote is arrogant and misinformed. You should be a little less sneering and a little more informed. But then, you claim to know more about clubs than THE American and indeed world expert, Tom Wishon, don't you?

Hear, hear, sir.

And how much better would you play with a 12 gauge shotgun cartridge behind the face of your driver like that guy in "Caddyshack"? This stuff about making golf easier is ridiculous-----if there is no challenge, the game becomes nonsense. Clubs have been allowed to stray too far from the original rules definitions, what with "belly putters", "chin putters" and so on. I'm not suggesting a return to hickory shafts, but I do feel recent equipment changes have made the game easier for hackers------persimmon woods had to be hit properly, so talented players had an advantage, but today even a beginner can hit some of the 460 cc titanium drivers well.

This is a nonsense question. It depends entirely on the loft your clubs have. See Tom Wishon's excellent book "The Search For The Perfect Golf Club", in which he points out the "vanishing loft disease" of recent years. Irons have typically lost eight degrees each over the last thirty years, so today's pitching wedge is yesterday's 8 iron and so on. It is the reason gap wedges and hybrids are necessary, (as current one or two irons would have insufficient loft to get the ball airborne), thus increasing the manufacturers' sales. It is all a matter of manufacturers' salesmanship-------they claim their clubs go further than their rivals' products, so each manufacturer goes along with this cynical exercise in selling to the greatest mugs on earth-----golfers!

I see you play at Wollaton Park GC----it is really superb, but I haven't played there in years (early 1960s!)----do you still have the deer herd?

Yes, and a one iron as well. As Tom Wishon has pointed out in his superb book "The New Search For The Perfect Golf Club", iron lofts have been reduced over the years, so that a three iron today has almost the same loft as a one iron of the 1960s to 70s, in an effort to sell more clubs to the gullible on the supposition that the particular manufacturer's irons are longer than those of others !! There are none as gullible as golfers!!!!

Tom Wishon calls this the "vanishing loft disease". Club manufacturers have for some time been reducing the loft of their irons so punters can hit them further, thus making the 1,2, and 3 irons redundant and necessitating the use of gap wedges. AS he sagely points out, this does nobody any good, but all manufacturers have fallen into line, because a it is not a very good sales pitch to say "buy our irons, they go less far than our competitors' clubs"!!!! I use an old seat of forged blade irons, with lofts standard in the 70s and have no difficulty in hitting the 1 and 2 irons. Wishon has written a superb book, which should be standard reading for all golfers "The New Search For The Perfect Golf Club", and in which he quotes iron lofts thus:- Club 1960s-70s 2010+ 1 17degrees N/A 2 20 " N/A 3 24 " 19-21 degrees 4 28 " 22-24 " 5 32 " 24-27 " 6 36 " 27-31 " 7 40 " 31-35 " 8 44 " 35-40 " 9 48 " 40-44 " PW 52 " 44-48 " GapW N/A 48-52 " SW 56 " 54-56 " So, when you hear that some pro hit his 7 iron 200 yards, he actually hit his 31 degree iron 200 yards, in old money a 5 iron!!! No wonder folk imagine the current pros are longer than their predecessors ! I bet none of them could hit the ball as far as Leopoldo Ruiz or George Bayer or Sam Snead hit it in the past.

Hi----this is a problem I also have suffered from. I found that for me it was caused by one of two things, or sometimes both!! Standing too near the ball causes me to hit "fat" shots, especially with the longer irons, but the other cause is "collapsing" at impact, by which I mean not hitting against a firm left side----I cure this by raising my left shoulder at address, so there is more of a shoulder tilt, and then straightening my left knee forcibly on the downswing., so hitting against a straight left leg. As for standing too near the ball at address, if you drop the club butt onto your left leg, it should touch just above your knee----another test is to release your right hand after taking up your address position, and allowing your arm to move backwards, away from the ball. If you are the correct distance from the ball, your hand should go straight back from the grip----if it deviates away from you, you are too near the ball and vice versa. Try one, or preferably both, and I think you will find your problem disappears magically! I hope so. Good luck...!

Thank you! I think I need to use the ladies' tees----I'm going to see if they drum me out of the club for using them!

I am 72 and have played golf since I was 13. My lowest handicap was plus one, in the days the lowest handicap one could hold was scratch, with current internationalists on plus one and the National (British) Amateur Champion on plus two. My driving and particularly iron distances are rapidly diminishing, with my drives averaging around 220 yards and 5 iron about 150 yards. What distances should be expected at my age do you think, and what steps can I take to counteract my loss of distance? My home course has 11 par 4 holes, and 7 are out of reach in 2 shots nowadays, so I struggle to play to my handicap -----would you join another, shorter course??!!! I've tried whippier shafts, longer clubs, softer balls and nothing seems to help. What would you do, other than stop playing???!!

Nobody needs a professional caddy, and for that matter no-one needs a swing "guru". Lee Trevino, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson never had a swing coach and they weren't bad. Indedd Trevino said he'd listen to a swing guru if he could find one who could beat him-----there were no takers!

Just a small addition------we need to ask not what number is on the club , but what the LOFT is.

Because it is a 5 iron!!! See Tom Wishon's book "The New Search For The Perfect Golf Club" and you'll see that the loft of irons has been steadily reduced by the manufacturers over the last few years, to persuade us all that their clubs are best!!! As a result, we need hybrids at one end of the set, and gap wedges at the other!! It's crazy.....

I bought a Piel tan leather pro bag a couple of years ago. It's heavy, but magificent, and you'll see very few. They are made in Colombia of cow hide and are of superb quality, and sold by a US company. You'll find them via "Google", and although they are expensive,you'll really stand out from the crowd, and they will last forever if looked after.. Tan is the best colour, although they also have them in black.

Thank you very much, mvmac----I watched the video and will try this on the practice ground today.