Am I sacrificing too much with my high ball flight?

I've been starting to look at a new set of irons. Nothing pressing, but i've been curious since i hit the ball ungodly high, and would like to bring my flight down. I'm currently gaming tour issue s400s in mizuno jpx 900 forged. I've been looking at a combo set of srixon 785/forged. My 7 iron swing speed is currently hovering at 99-104. I was launching at 28-30* and getting around 6400 spin (guy on the trackman said he thinks the spin numbers were wrong). I'm carrying 7 iron about 175. While I enjoy being able to hit the ball over literally everything i might come across, i can't help but think i'm sacrificing accuracy by playing a ball that high. I'd imagine distance would potentially go up a bit as well by bringing the ball down.

I was recommended to try out KBS C tapers - since those bring flight and spin down. If my spin number really is as low as 6400 on a 7 iron, i'm worried i wouldnt be able to stop a ball on the green and that my current stopping power is attributed more to the decent angle and less to the spin put on the ball.

any insight?

If you haven't watched the guys on Tour in person before, you'd be shocked at the trajectory they play. I remember watching Finau hit a Nike VFP 2i off the tee (Can Open a couple years ago), and being gobsmacked by it. Took off like a wedge and ended up like 320ish out... As long as it's not a ton of wind you play in and can control your spin, I can't see it hurting, as the decent angle will help hold greens as well.

Do you have apex numbers from the Trackman?

I'm surprised that's all you are getting for carry with a 7i speed that high.

> @jvincent said:

> Do you have apex numbers from the Trackman?

>

> I'm surprised that's all you are getting for carry with a 7i speed that high.

i don't have the handy - they were going through a software upgrade and couldnt print out specs - i believe apex was like 150ish

High launch with low spin is ok, high launch with high spin is the bad combination that should be avoided. Based upon the data you have provided, the high ball flight you are experiencing is more attributed to swing dynamics and not so much the equipment. Not that a change in head/shaft wouldn't alter the output but it would not be as drastic as one would think. Plus, with the spin you listed for a 7-iron, a shaft like the C-Taper could throw you into a "lower" launch/extremely low spin situation which would not do much good. You might even experiment with increasing spin to get a little more carry....think you are on the lower end of optimal for 7-iron spin. Good luck!

Probbaly more of a swing issue (adding loft, flipping)

High ball flight is the norm on tour though.

Watching them hit driver on the 10th hole at the WMO and they hit it so high but flat, impressive

> @gwelfgulfer said:

> If you haven't watched the guys on Tour in person before, you'd be shocked at the trajectory they play. I remember watching Finau hit a Nike VFP 2i off the tee (Can Open a couple years ago), and being gobsmacked by it. Took off like a wedge and ended up like 320ish out... As long as it's not a ton of wind you play in and can control your spin, I can't see it hurting, as the decent angle will help hold greens as well.

> @Kale_m said:

> Probbaly more of a swing issue (adding loft, flipping)

>

yep - i flip a tiny bit right at impact - combine that with finding middle face and you get huge dynamic loft thats basically launching the ball straight up. I've been working out the kinks of the swing - that's definitely higher on the priority

Your answer is yes if that is your swing speed. I would strengthen the loft and go DG X7. JPX forged are already a bit strong though, so maybe a lower launching iron head would fit you best with X7's if you really need to bring it down. Ctaper 130x also would be okay but it's a different feel that takes time to get used to. PX launch a bit higher but they keep the spin down and I've found they are similar in distance to those two shafts.

> @HappyGilmore22 said:

> Your answer is yes if that is your swing speed. I would strengthen the loft and go DG X7. JPX forged are already a bit strong though, so maybe a lower launching iron head would fit you best with X7's if you really need to bring it down. Ctaper 130x also would be okay but it's a different feel that takes time to get used to. PX launch a bit higher but they keep the spin down and I've found they are similar in distance to those two shafts.

I'll check out the x7 - the biggest issue i've come across is hitting almost a flier out of fairways. I've pulled 9 iron and hit it 20 yards over the green on what feels to be a great strike. I pulled 7 on a 180 hole last week and put it 30 yards over the green onto the next teebox. I was completely baffled.

My driver fitting has really been what's prompted me to get my irons looked at. average 126 clubhead and got fit into ts3 8.5* set at c1 (effectively bringing it down to 7 3/4*. I'm hitting a TON more fairways and sending some absolute bombs down there. still get hooky at times, but you know...it's the Indian, not the arrow

> @gwelfgulfer said:

> If you haven't watched the guys on Tour in person before, you'd be shocked at the trajectory they play. I remember watching Finau hit a Nike VFP 2i off the tee (Can Open a couple years ago), and being gobsmacked by it. Took off like a wedge and ended up like 320ish out... As long as it's not a ton of wind you play in and can control your spin, I can't see it hurting, as the decent angle will help hold greens as well.

I would love to see a 320 yard 2 iron.

So, not being an expert, these are the numbers for PGA tour averages. Your 7 iron looks over 10 mph faster than tour average, but carry is the same.

https://blog.trackmangolf.com/2017-pga-lpga-tour-avg/

Again, not being an expert, it would seem to me that one problem with cutting your carry off due to excessive height would be weird gapping towards the longer clubs. If you start from your driver and work your way back, I would think you have some uneven spacing. The other problem would be what you mentioned--if you put 10 mph of extra ballspeed into the ball, but don't make great contact, you might have lower spin and lower trajectory--sending the ball way past where you thought it would wind up.

Long story short,average launch angle of the 7 iron for the PGA is 16~ish degrees, and 19 degrees on the LPGA. Nobody is launching it at 30 degrees. : )

> @hgtiger24 said:

> > @HappyGilmore22 said:

> > Your answer is yes if that is your swing speed. I would strengthen the loft and go DG X7. JPX forged are already a bit strong though, so maybe a lower launching iron head would fit you best with X7's if you really need to bring it down. Ctaper 130x also would be okay but it's a different feel that takes time to get used to. PX launch a bit higher but they keep the spin down and I've found they are similar in distance to those two shafts.

>

> I'll check out the x7 - the biggest issue i've come across is hitting almost a flier out of fairways. I've pulled 9 iron and hit it 20 yards over the green on what feels to be a great strike. I pulled 7 on a 180 hole last week and put it 30 yards over the green onto the next teebox. I was completely baffled.

> My driver fitting has really been what's prompted me to get my irons looked at. average 126 clubhead and got fit into ts3 8.5* set at c1 (effectively bringing it down to 7 3/4*. I'm hitting a TON more fairways and sending some absolute bombs down there. still get hooky at times, but you know...it's the Indian, not the arrow

Yeah sounds like you would be able to hit the heavier/stiffer shaft with your swing speed no problem. X7, C-taper 130x, or PX 7.0 will all probably fit you based on swing speed and launch/spin. Test them out and see which one works best for you. I dealt with the same problems as you and finally got fitted and started trying different shafts and lofts out. I've been using X7's most of this season and it's helped bring the ball down a lot and dispersion is much tighter. I kind of prefer PX out of those 3 that I've tried but everyone likes them differently.

> @revanant said:

> So, not being an expert, these are the numbers for PGA tour averages. Your 7 iron looks over 10 mph faster than tour average, but carry is the same.

> https://blog.trackmangolf.com/2017-pga-lpga-tour-avg/

>

> Again, not being an expert, it would seem to me that one problem with cutting your carry off due to excessive height would be weird gapping towards the longer clubs. If you start from your driver and work your way back, I would think you have some uneven spacing. The other problem would be what you mentioned--if you put 10 mph of extra ballspeed into the ball, but don't make great contact, you might have lower spin and lower trajectory--sending the ball way past where you thought it would wind up.

>

> Long story short,average launch angle of the 7 iron for the PGA is 16~ish degrees, and 19 degrees on the LPGA. Nobody is launching it at 30 degrees. : )

i get okay gaping, but no roll. i back up my 3 iron (which is a dope feeling) but i cant help but think i could be so much more efficient.

30 degree launch is the problem. i'm basically at the mercy of the wind. gota bring it down

For me, I found I hit it higher with the real stiff shafts like the ctaper 130x. I go into something like an x100 or s300 and I can flight it down and hit a more penetrating shot with a softer shaft. Just a feel thing for me. The heavier and stiffer ones just want to go high

Bringing ball flight down is fine as long you create enough ss/spin at impact to still stop the ball on fast greens. FYI: most people need a high trajectory because they lack SS and spin, also reason hybrids, replacement irons and GI irons exist.

My buddy's trajectory into greens is twice as high as my low-mid trajectory. I still stop the ball quickly and spin the ball back, he doesn't. I hit 3 iron into a green Saturday and stopped it quickly. If my buddy were hitting it much lower, his ball would always run off the green. Be happy.

What about putting the ball back a bit. Maybe like half a ball back so your launch angle is a bit lower and spin goes up a little?

> @gambit said:

> What about putting the ball back a bit. Maybe like half a ball back so your launch angle is a bit lower and spin goes up a little?

i play the ball a bit back of center to begin with.

> @hgtiger24 said:

> > @gambit said:

> > What about putting the ball back a bit. Maybe like half a ball back so your launch angle is a bit lower and spin goes up a little?

>

> i play the ball a bit back of center to begin with.

Yeah that just adds to trapping it and can launch it super high. I'm basically the same as you numbers wise (spin etc) but slightly slower clubhead speed. My 7i carry is just over 170. I too get fliers and I too probably flip a touch at impact. I don't think going super stiff (X7) is the right way to go. It's a technique issue. DG in general will still spin quite a bit, so if you want to flatten flight and bring the height down try a PX in 6.5 that will lower your flight and could give you a different feeling in your swing. Lessons and fitting will sort you. Also, try not going after it so hard. I've started to hit more club softer and it's helping a lot.

> @JStang said:

> > @gwelfgulfer said:

> > If you haven't watched the guys on Tour in person before, you'd be shocked at the trajectory they play. I remember watching Finau hit a Nike VFP 2i off the tee (Can Open a couple years ago), and being gobsmacked by it. Took off like a wedge and ended up like 320ish out... As long as it's not a ton of wind you play in and can control your spin, I can't see it hurting, as the decent angle will help hold greens as well.

>

> I would love to see a 320 yard 2 iron.

Glen Abbey can get pretty baked and have firm fairways because of it on the upper holes (valley are only holes worth anything on that course), hung in the air for ever, had to have carried 270+ easy. My best on course was with a 2 UDI totaled 287 (gamegolf) and I was pretty dam happy with myself given it was a 588 yd par 5 into a breeze.

I would not call 6400rpm low spin from a 31* 7i. But yes, your LA is quite high. A different shaft may help some but you area almost certainly adding loft at impact.