charlatan

What's the length?

I sure will, thanks for all the help gocchin!

Thanks guys, Irons ordered along with the NSPRO 1150 GH Tours. Chris, Jacque... I want them yesterday!!!

Okay, thanks. So if I find some pulled shafts, I need to find some in which the 6 iron is 38 inches? Thx Mike

Will do, thanks Brett. Mike

what exactly do I need to know besides the tip size of the irons? What is the size for the Miuras? I guess I need to know if they are tapered or straight? If I need my irons, say 1/2 over standard... what measurement would I be looking at for a 6 iron? Finally, when measuring a club length, does that shaft length include the tip in the hozzle, or just from butt to hozzle? Sorry for the n00b questions. Charlatan

Thanks gocchin, So it sounds like that's what I am going to go with then. For shafts, I typically have a pretty high trajectory that I might like to lower a little, and would be looking for something soft - medium in the tip. What would you recommend? Driver head speed right now is about 95. I also like a somewhat heavy bottom end, what's the swing weight on these out of the box? Thanks Mike

Thanks Chris, That is very interesting about the graphite shafts. The store lists all metal shafts I think... could you fit them with graphite? Also, something I have noticed about irons is there seems to be differences between them in playability based upon the surface you're playing on (leading edge I believe). I live in Colorado, and the ground can be quite hard in the winter, but overwatered like everywhere else in the summer. Would these edges be condusive to playing on harder surfaces than say sea level, wet ground?

Magic number is 37". FYI, I have been practicing for 5 days straight now and things are really coming together. I can confirm that with the clubs I am playing right now (stock length, lie) that I am hitting very thin and way off the toe of the club. At the point of contact in practice swings (new swing :)) I can easily see the heel up, toe down at what looks to be 4* at least.

Searching for some time, I think I've come down to my two options for irons. I know some disagree with the philosophy that using a blade to improve your game is absolutely the wrong way to do things, but that's exactly what I intend to do. I plan to invest a lot of my time to improving my game (thanks TSG users!), and I want an iron that isn't going to lie to me. It looks as though these two contenders are what I am looking for. Is there another I should consider? They will be bent 2* upright, concerns? Thx Charlatan

Brett, Thanks so much for the tips. I have read 5 lessons (what an awesome book) and am working diligently on his tips. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to be a wholly different swing / grip than what I am used to. I have already seen, from practice swings without a ball in front, that the clubs I am using might be a little too short. After much consternation, I have decided (based on input from others and the ping website) that I am most likely going to get clubs measuring 1/2 and 2" longer (equivalent of 4 up). I notice that with stock length / lie, my arms are vertical with the 4 iron. I can also see that my sweep on a swing is not sweeping the ground at the impact moment unless I really drop down... I would be splitting a lot of covers as is. Your site sounds amazing... can't wait to see it.

Brett, I found a site with some illustrations here. I am going to pick up the book tomorrow. I think I understand now what you mean by steeper. Because I am tall, I will tend to lean down more to strike the ball, leading to more of an upright swing. But, I need to keep it shallow, like when hitting from an uphill lie. I will find some place that offers me the kind of setup you describe.

Thanks Blader-X That is very helpful information. It was very interesting to me that I was hitting everything outside, off the toe with my normal swing on a standard length shaft. I am making good contact, but outside of the true strike zone. Toe tape was gone, heel tape was untouched. I haven't gamed with anything yet. The set I just sold was a set of MP-60's with DG S300's, and since I've been working on my mechanics, I've been a little inconsistent to start with. They were standard length and I seemed to pull more than usual. BTW, I have my eye on some of your favorite irons... it's between them and some Miuras :) Thanks Mike

Hi Brett. I didn't know you were that tall. I have seen your posts.. thanks so much for your input. BTW, is the site up yet? Ever travel to Denver? :) That is what I thought. I really am in it for the long haul. I want a good swing, one that feels comfortable and puts the ball where I want it. I am glutton for punishment as I look to purchase some unforgiving irons when I get this bit figured out. By steeper do you mean my swings will be more toward straight up on the start of the backswing?, or does steep mean I will have more of a rotation closer to parallel to the ground? So it's like I wind up over the ball more than usual, while maintaining the weight distribution on the balls of my feet? Thanks for the tips... I have a spare set (standard setup) that I am going to practice with while I shop... Will do, thanks for the tips. Brett, would you recommend a player work out the mechanics of the swing before getting fitted, or should you have the correct irons in your hands before working on mechanics? P.S. I found another place that has a great rep for doing excellent club fittings, so I may go there and get another.

So I went in for a second custom fit today to see how things have changed with my swing. Here are some of the stuff I found out. Turns out my tempo is more smooth than a year ago (yay!) and my swing speed is slightly decreased. Downswing time went from .48 to .55 with my driver speed coming in at an average of 103. Kick velocity on my driver dropped from 2.6 to 1.8, which is quite a bit I guess. I am 6' 2", 200LBS and wear a 42 Long suit, so my arms are longer than normal by a hair. Anyway, during the fitting we tested lie. Taped a 7 iron at standard length and was hitting off the toe and thin. Instructor tells me I need to bend more at the knees.. sure thing. He comments how my swing is too upright, and that I am adjusting to the lie of the club, which I always do. When I line up a shot, I have always start by setting the club bottom LEVEL with the ground, and build my position from there. Anyhow, he points out that I should be setting up with the toe off the ground, heel down and drop my hands further by bending at the knees. Long and short of it is, I did this until I was dead center of the iron and sweep was right through the middle of the bottom of the club. Okay, there's a new swing for me :) My lie becomes, for a 6 iron, 65 degrees! That is almost 4 degrees above standard, and this freaks me out. Next up is my swing weight. We went through quite a few adjustments, and it seems that my clubs should have some kick, which was very noticeable when he was done tweaking. Here are the results; Woods: Standard length, shaft weight of 61-69, mid trajectory, medium tip, 6.9 flex and a swing weight of D4! 6 Iron: 38 Length (standard), shaft weight 121-125, high trajectory, soft tip, 5.8 flex , swing weight of D6!!!! So this leads me to the following questions... 1) Am I being fed numbers that fit a swing that is just messed up? I mean a swing weight of D6... how the heck do you even get an iron head to that weight? 2) Couldn't I make the irons longer and remove some or all of the 4 degrees upright? 3) Will bending a forged iron that much impact performance? 4) Seems to me the swing weight is related to my lack of turning my wrists through at impact... I dunno... Swing analysis was done at d'Lance golf... not sure if anyone here has had experience with them. They seem like a tight outfit, so this might just be what the MD ordered. Thanks Char

Wow, they sure do look nice. Has anyone played the blades? I just sold my Mizuno MP-60's to try and fund my entry into the realm of Japan clubs. How would they compare to the Geo blades?

Tried to find the driver on Kasco's site... but I can't read Japanese . Would you by chance know how forgiving this driver is.. compared maybe to the X-Drive GR? @ icemakr, 425 shipped is in the title.

Now that is something I certainly hadn't thought about. I suppose I need look further into the butt diameters to see if I can find something like yours.

Thanks gocchin. Still debating on what to do about irons, but in the meantime I figured I would get ahead of the curve on grips. I may just try to do these myself if I keep the ones I have. I am going to order the nowon's shortly. Char

Thanks Duffer19. I noticed that Nowon also has a 48 series which I think is thinner still. I will likely go that route. Thanks!

I know I have relatively small hands for a man, but I wasn't aware they were petite The folks that did my swing analysis suggest just that. They have suggested that I switch to a womans grip for my irons (and I would assume everything else too). My pinky finger does not wrap all the way around the butt of the grips I have now, which is what I think they based it on. Not sure how common this is, any of you using smaller grips? What grips would you recommend? Aside from comfort, I am not sure what to look for. I don't wear gloves, but use sports tape if I have a rub somewhere that's troublesome. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Edit: Guess I should note that my current grips are standard Golf Pride.

Thanks for the tips! I have recently seen video of my swing, and the take away I am accustom to is waaaayyy off the mark. Working on changing that first. Keeping the right knee 'in' seems to make a very nice improvement in my consistancy, but my ball striking is now off again :) Charlatan