tweaky

if it feels too long then cut the butt. if it feels too whippy cut the tip. how much to cut? sorry but i can't tell without seeing your swing, and neither can anyone else. the easiest is butt cutting and you can just choke down on the grip an inch or so and take a few swings to get an idea of what it will feel like. if it's too whippy then cutting it an inch is more likely to make enough of a difference. any yardage difference will only be less than 5 yards. a stiffer shaft helps keep dispersion down.

Alpha also makes some very fine shafts. Their Platinum series has been a well engineered model for many years. their Luxe iron shafts are also topnotch.

Tom Wishon 770CFE and 870Tis are the MOST FORGIVING AND WORKABLE clubs on the market BAR NONE.

need more info on the shaft you are using. all the verbiage that's printed on it. besides that the new head will react differently than the one you're currently using, even if you were to put that same shaft on it. those three new shafts each have different flex properties about them (from the butt, mid section, and tip frequencies). regardless of the fact that they are "stiff". why are you switching? is the old driver so beat up that it's losing distance or are you just wanting to try something different?

any time someone looks at you funny when you ask a question or make a comment when it comes to cluubfitting- you need to RUN AWAY from them and DO NOT go back to that person! they are NOT there to FIT you, they are there to MAKE A SALE. they are on commission. last year was the first time i started using a glove, just as an experiment because it's so humid here in nashville. i didn't know what size to buy either so i just picked out a medium. i've been a clubmaker for ten years which is why i say RUN from anyone who treats you the way you were. you cannot get "fitted" for a set of clubs at a store. you will be sold some clubs that "should work well" for you (or some such comment). only a clubfitter will take the time to work with you, patiently, to help you set up the clubs that will work for you. and it doesn't matter that you're just beginning. this is the best time to get started in the correct fitting process. you are developing a "feel" for the clubs that work for you. the way clubs are made today is based purely on ease of mass production and have nothing to do with a good fit for most golfers. most golfers just care that they got a "good deal" on a set of (insert name brand here). it "fits" their ego. becuase their favorite player uses them, or the pros use them. what they don't realize (or are in denial about) is that their favorite player, and the pros, have their clubs fitted to THEIR liking. each and every club. should YOU be any different? good luck and i hope you keep searching for more info on clubfitting. i recommend Tom Wishon for starters.

according to the fitting charts i'm a regular size but i've played my best with midsize.. what i tell all my clients is to try various grip sizes and textures to find what works regardless of some chart. only YOU know what feels right to YOU.

aaahhh...a pissing contest... let's do this! Crazy- Limoric knows nothing about what it takes to adjust a club properly, cheaply, and correctly to get any kind of an idea as to what you really need to achieve your best results. maybe he works for Golf Galaxy, Dick's, or Golfsmith, or has a relative who works for one of them. I'm sure if I met him on the course we'd have a really good round and enjoy each other's company but as far as advising you to have the lengths changed in order to change the lie angle, that's unmitigated BS. Pure and simple.

i've used three different launch monitors in my shop and i can tell you from experience that it is easy to set them up to give better numbers than what is reality. i always set mine up properly because i was staking MY reputation on them. two of them wouldn't work and i ended up with the Golf Achiever II. the Zelocity PureLaunch would have been nice but it needed more room indoors than i had. the Vector Pro was way too touchy and unreliable.

it's preferential for many good players who consistently putt a certain way. they've honed their skills to the point of wanting that lie angle. we all need to have our putters fitted for our swing just as every other club in the bag.

my three piece, milled titanium faced Wishon 770CFEs are the cat's pajamas! love the *click* off the face; forgiveness on off-centered hits; and shot shaping playability that so many have said can't be done with clubs that are cavity backed like these. the only reason i don't switch to the 870Ti is that these are working so why switch? oh, and i couldn't build them for less than $85 each and still pay the bills. does that put them on par with OEMs? I think it puts them ABOVE the rest in cavity backs. just my worthless .02

You guys ever heard of Tom Wishon? His credentials are so good even Titleist wanted him for their R&D; team. look into his books for good, factual, info on fitting. i have a copy of his Common Sense Clubfitting that is a great read for anyone. need a copy?

driver lie angle isn't important. bulge and roll take care of any influences caused by lie angle differences. drivers that have long hosels can be bent but the main reason is for face angle and loft. get your driver fitted for loft first then find the right shaft.

as far as drivers go loft is #1 since it has the most influence on launch angle and spin rate. the shaft is for fine tuning. of all the shafts available there are a few hundred to a a few thousand that will provide good results, in the hands of an experienced clubfitter. I've owned and used three different launch monitors in my shop and now that i've moved i no longer own one. they're nice but i'd rather get the direct results from observation on the range and course. no launch monitor, not even Trackman, can accurately measure spin rate. they all use an algorithm, even Trackman, to measure spin based on the ball flight given.

i'm using a pw, 51( bounce ground to 4*), 56 (bounce ground to 8*), 60, and a 73. it's a matter of distance desired, ability to shape the shot, and your own confidence. do your own experimenting to find what works for you. go to the Goodwill or whatever thrift store is local and buy a couple old wedges, and while you're there look for a grinder or grinding wheel. look up "wedge grinding" on the 'net and try it out for yourself.

from what you posted you already have the driver that works for you. if you're consistent in driving then why change? you'll go farther by swinging faster. put your money in lessons that get you a consistent swing rather than trying to buy it with a club.

no, there's no consensus. there are too many combinations of clubhead/shaft/grip for there to be a "consensus". but you'll find what works for you if you keep looking.

There's also a BIG difference between regular flex shafts from the same company. one product line can be quite a bit different from another product line. not to mention the fact that there's a BIG difference between various different companies' regular (or any other flex) shats. being that there are no "standards" in golf.

I hit my longest and straightest drives ever last summer. The longest being 305 yards overall. The technology in the head design combined with the shaft flex profile were major for me. When I look at the head at address it aligns with my "minds eye" of how it is going to fly to the ball. It aligns itself visually with my intended swing path. Originally it was 45" long but I cut it to 44" to match my feel for the MOI and regripped it to my liking. It's a 10* laminated maple Solitaire by Orlimar with their stock stiff shaft. Go figure. Technology...it's a wonderful thing!

Wow! Lotta BAD advice being given here based on very little info! Crazy- NOBODY can advise you on what is best for you based on the info we have so far. Your best bet is to keep trying different club designs/types until you find something that "feels" good to YOU. Don't let someone else TELL you what "will work" for you. I've been fitting/building clubs for only ten years but even I know that we can't fit someone over the internet for a set of clubs. TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. No matter what you buy they will need some sort of adjusting and making them longer or shorter is NOT the answer to adjusting the lie angle. (where the tape is scuffed). Until you can find a clubfitter don't spend your bux on a full set of clubs. Brad

make a spine finder and work on FLOing them, works for irons too! youtube- "spine shaft FLO"

compare the swing arc to the arc of two circles. a circle whose center is 5 feet from the outer edge has a flatter arc than a circle whose center is 4 feet from the outer edge (steeper angle). which rule of physics are you going to break to cause a steeper angle with a taller circle? a "proper" swing from a tall person will create a lower attack angle. taller people MAY have higher trajectories due to their swing arc creating more speed. i've fitted numerous "tall" (6'+) players who hit low ball flights. i would NEVER build a full set of clubs with ANY shafts without getting an idea of what works with ONE club first. just my $.02

i'd also like to share something with all of you that i read about- back in the '70s ("old skool" dayz for many of you/us!) a study was done on the affect that the length of clubs has on distance. long story short is that length was NOT as much a determining factor as swingspeed and loft are. having the proper loft of an iron for a given swingspeed achieved the desired distance. that is to say that when a club is built to suit the correct "feel"/balance/MOI (and NOT "swingweight") for a golfer then an iron "set" that are all the same length and 4* difference between each will achieve the desired distances and distance differences between clubs. look up "1 iron" and you'll see what i mean. they're the only company doing it. why? because you can't MASS produce clubs this way and sell them retail economically. it's far easier to mass produce a "standard" (and what IS the "standard", who sets the "standard", and where can i find where the "standard" is written?) set of clubs for the mass consumer. so here is your experiment- before you go out and buy anything more ddecide which club in your bag of irons is the club you are most comfortable swinging and have the most confidence with (80% of the time it's your "go to" club). for most of us it's around the 6,7,8 iron. now take the head off your 3 or 4 iron that you struggle with and cut 1" off the tip then reglue it into the head. i realize the lie angle change and all that but for now try it out on the range. take some lead tape or lead fishing weights and tape with yopu so you can adjust the balance. note the ball flight and distance. the trajectory should be noticeably lower. if not then cut another 1/2" off the tip and try again. do this as long as the length of the club is the same or longer than your "goto club". you could also take the shaft out of your 5 iron and put it in the 3 iron. the fact that the 3 iron is lighter will cause the shaft to flex lex in the tip and therefor keep the ball flight lower. now breath...

any of my Wishon 770CFE irons. yeah, they're offset, but if the 870Ti had come out first they'd be numero uno!

as a clubfitter i can tell you that there are a LOT more component club heads on the market than the major name-brand stuff. Tom Wishon (my favorite, i use the 770CFE irons), SMT, Alpha, KZG, the list goes on... If you believe that "a name can buy a game" then Honma has irons for $2,000+, drivers for $3,500+, and putters for $5,000. for those prices they've gotta be the best and surely will lower your scores to sub par overnight! seriously tho', i'm glad to see you're getting fitted!

correct, stiffness is only changed at the tip.