Z101 Question

[Mike]

Am just wondering if anybody else who has switched to the Z101's found that they are shorter with them . So far I have found myself to be at least 1/2 club shorter than my 690.MB's

Mike

[AKFLY]

Mike,

Compare the lofts and the lies to what you played before.

Check impact with electrical tape.

[Mike]

Already done the loft check . They have the same loft as my 690.MB's so am sort of lost on why they would be shorter .

[AKFLY]

Already done the loft check . They have the same loft as my 690.MB's so am sort of lost on why they would be shorter .

Lies are important also - additionally next time you are on therange just put some electrical tape on the face of the iron and check impact. Make sure you are not hitting near the toe.

[CLMelton]

I'm probably half a club longer after switching from Titleist 680s. But I've made some significant swing changes that has me hitting the ball with a draw as opposed to the cut shot I was playing with the 680s. It could also be due to the swingweight being a little heavier. The interesting thing is when I compared the lofts of the Z101s to the 680s, the Z101s were a degree lower on most of the clubs. The specs I have on the Z101s came from Bridgestone so I think they are on the money.

I'm checking the Titleist site now and this is the specs I get for each club:

Titleist 3 - 22*

Z101 3 - 20*

T4 - 25*

Z4 - 23*

T5 - 28*

Z5 - 27*

T6 - 32*

Z6 - 31*

T7 - 37*

Z7 - 36*

T8 - 40*

Z8 - 39*

T9 - 44*

Z9 - 43*

TP - 48*

ZP - 47*

Could it be the lower loft is landing a little sooner and you aren't getting the distance you used to? Or could it be the shafts? Somebody with a little more clubmaking knowledge will probably have to answer this one.

[Mike]

Already done the loft check . They have the same loft as my 690.MB's so am sort of lost on why they would be shorter .

Lies are important also - additionally next time you are on therange just put some electrical tape on the face of the iron and check impact. Make sure you are not hitting near the toe.

Joe did all the lie's when I was down there . So I am sure that they are exactly as he set them . As to hitting towards the toe I don't have that problem . Mine are more towards the heel :( Hit one there on Thursday and the right side hook took the ball OB . :) Good thing it was the only one I hit that day. Had a almost today but I think that is more of a getting use to the irons more than anything else .

[Mike]

I'm probably half a club longer after switching from Titleist 680s.  But I've made some significant swing changes that has me hitting the ball with a draw as opposed to the cut shot I was playing with the 680s.  It could also be due to the swingweight being a little heavier.  The interesting thing is when I compared the lofts of the Z101s to the 680s, the Z101s were a degree lower on most of the clubs.  The specs I have on the Z101s came from Bridgestone so I think they are on the money.

I'm checking the Titleist site now and this is the specs I get for each club:

Titleist 3 - 22*

Z101 3 - 20*

T4 - 25*

Z4 - 23*

T5 - 28*

Z5 - 27*

T6 - 32*

Z6 - 31*

T7 - 37*

Z7 - 36*

T8 - 40*

Z8 - 39*

T9 - 44*

Z9 - 43*

TP - 48*

ZP - 47*

Could it be the lower loft is landing a little sooner and you aren't getting the distance you used to?  Or could it be the shafts?  Somebody with a little more clubmaking knowledge will probably have to answer this one.

I do hit the ball with a small draw . And the lofts when I had them checked yesterday were basically dead on with what you posted here CL . For a fact some are even stronger than what you have here .

So maybe it is just me . Maybe I am just imagining things . Or the fact that it is still not quite warm enough here to get a proper reading on it .

Will wait and see before I do anything to the clubs though .

[deano5]

Actually, I've also noticed that I am a little shorter with the z101 than I was with my previous clubs. I don't think that it is much as 1 club length but where I used to hit PW right at 128-130, now I am about 120-125. I've gained more control with the irons though and have brought down my ball flight, which is something that I will really trade for the extra 5 yards distance.[/code]

[mwmilk]

i used to play the original 690cb's w/s400 shafts. this was a heavy club at 1/2" over! when i went to the z101's i had rifle 5.5's put in at 1/2" over. this turns out to play like a 5.8 or 5.9. long ago are the days when i cared about stiff or x-stiff, 5.5 or 6.5. now ijust want an easy,playable shaft. any way, my z101's are much lighter, and i beleive i am a 1/2 club longer with them. remember rifle shafts fly higher, hence more carry. put that together with lighter, higher swing speed, and you have more distance. i do know that off the shelf titleist forged are light with low swingweights, which means? any way, i'm babbling, probably not much help.

[andre2you]

I switched from the Ping I3 blades and also found the Z's about a 1/2 club shorter but using impact tape it showed i'm hittting towards the toe about 1/4 inch off the sweetspot. These Z's do go where you want them to go so the lost of distance doesn't bother me that much. I will add that I'm working on a swing change (a minor one, wideing my stance) and that has me getting closer to the sweet spot, for instance my old Ping 7 was 150 yds. and the Z 7 iron was 145. When I hit the Z 7 iron on the sweet spot it flys 160. It seems to me these Z's will be about 10+ yards longer once I get ion the grove with them. So hang in there once you get use to them you won't want to hit anything else. Oh, Have you noticed how the Z PW & SW really spin the ball? They knocked the TM fe203 and Hogan special wedges out of the bag.

[Mike]

Talked to Joe about this and the biggest reason is the fact I have gone from a MB to a CB . Hence a loss of the distance . I do hit them a lot straighter so am not going to worry about it for now .

But when I was hitting my 8 iron at around 155 and now just short of 150 it did bother me yesterday .

So I guess if I do want the extra yards back I could always bump the lofts a bit strong ,but as I said am not going to worry about it for now and will wait for warmer weather to hit the area first .

Thanks to you all for your input .

Mike

[FAQ]

I'm longer with the Z's than with my old irons. About 1/2 a club. I think the Rifle 6.0's had much to do with that as well.

[AKFLY]

:D :D You should have listened to me and Pete and got the TM300's

Long and forgiving :D :D

[joey3108]

Here is what i think and my answer to Mike on the pm:

a few things come in my mind on this:

1. Muscle back vs cavity back. IMO if both hit dead on the sweet spot...muscle back is still longer than cavity back.

2. Center of gravity which translate to more spin rate on the cavity back.

3. Trajectory. Could be from the spin rate or bounce angle or both, or

4. kick point of the shafts.

Combine all the stuffs that i mention : More massive metal behind the sweet spot of the muscle back, Ball flight differences due to different bounce angle, kick point of the shaft...thus translate into ball flight and spin rate of the ball will end up on the distance issue. How ever if the distance control is more consistent, I wouldn't worry too much of 1/2 club shorter. Plus, once you got use to it, result might turn the other way around. :lol:

Speaking from my own experiences, I'm playing a mix set of cavity on the long iron up to 6 iron and blade 7 down, It shows a better distance control hitting into the wind w/ a blade IMO. I played a lot on a links style course, in fact yesterday was a real good example of a typical windy links style course. At least front nine is worst.

Regards,

Joe

[FAQ]

Would somebody please explain to me why and for what reason my original post has been changed ??? This below is not what I posted and I would like to know just WTF happened ??

 

Thanks

Mike

I'm longer with the Z's than with my old irons.  About 1/2 a club. I think the Rifle 6.0's had much to do with that as well.

Mike, somehow my post appeared twice on this page. I'm not sure exactly why.

[Mike]

Would somebody please explain to me why and for what reason my original post has been changed ??? This below is not what I posted and I would like to know just WTF happened ??

 

Thanks

Mike

I'm longer with the Z's than with my old irons.  About 1/2 a club. I think the Rifle 6.0's had much to do with that as well.

Mike, somehow my post appeared twice on this page. I'm not sure exactly why.

Okay fair enough . Just that it was sort of a shock to the system when I noticed it this afternoon . Will go back and fix my edit in the post .

Mike

[chipper]

I also made a switch from Apex blades to z101's.After playing my first round I've noticed a loss of yardage and a much higher ballflight.I did bump up the swingweight from 4 to 5 points and went from px6.5 to 7.0's.I'll know more after more rounds.Mike could you give an update on your findings?

[Mike]

I also made a switch from Apex blades to z101's.After playing my first round I've noticed a loss of yardage and a much higher ballflight.I did bump up the swingweight from 4 to 5 points and went from px6.5 to 7.0's.I'll know more after more rounds.Mike could you give an update on your findings?

Thanks for the reminder chipper . After playing the last few weeks my yardage's have gone back to what I consider normal 155 8 Iron max .

Ball flight has come down a bit with the PX as was expected and am now really happy that I didn't do anything drastic to the lofts .

So am extremely Happy now :D :D

Mike

[chipper]

Thanks for the update Mike.I should note that the z101's are also 1 degree stronger and set exactly to factory specs.The lie is not as upright as my Hogans and I was leaving a few to the right,maybe that might have something to do with it.I'm going to try marking the ball with a sharpie and see(great idea that I had never heard of).I'm sure they will be awesome once I get more time with them,they are great sticks.