Tour Players Iron Lie Angles

[kirkj01]

Hi Everyone,

 

I note there is a lot of discussion over lie angles of irons and everyone seems to have their own prefernces. I am interested in tinkering with my lie angles - especially the shorter irons as I feel I hit it left a bit much - I also have a strong grip but am uncomfortable weakening it.

 

I am interested in knowing what the trends are with the tour players. Both out of curiosity and with a possibility of making some changes myself. I have not found much in regards to this.

 

Does anyone know what lie angles Bubba Watson or Angel Cabrera typically go for? I remember reading that VJ favour 2 or 3 degrees flat.

 

Personally I am quite tall but have always favoured hitting the ball away from myself a little. Certainly don't like having the ball too close to me. I would like to be able to play softer fades into a green rather than draws.

 

Any thoughts, advice, comments are most welcome.

 

cheers

[BJG718]

i bet most tour players have a variety of lie angles in their set-up. im sure its not unusual to see slightly upright for longer irons, slightly flat or std. for middle irons, slightly flat for short irons and wedges...

[Husky18]

Angel plays red dot(1* flat)

Bubba plays green dot (2* upright)

[BigMatt]

This is just my own personal opinion. But I find it somewhat hard to believe that Vijay would favor a flat lie when he is 6'5". I am the same height and every iron in my bag is at least two degrees upright. I know it is different for everyone, but i don't think pros would go to that extreme, especially being as tall as he is.

[wu2six]

BJB718 got it right. Many players use different lie angle adjustments with different clubs.

 

A titleist rep once told me that most guys (at least titleist guys) are close to standard, and that you rarely see more than 2-3* of adjustment. According to him, Els is 1* upright, and he's like 6'5".

[Milo]

With stiffer shafts you don't need so much upright bending as you get less droop.

I play normal X100s but I would bet some of the tour boys have theirs tipped a bit to stiffen them up.

 

Plus, lie angles are not the whole picture without shaft length and stiffness as well.

[kiwidave]

I remember an article about Darren Clarke where it said his longer irons were about 1-2' up and lower ones about the same flat. Something about the flatter lies promoted a fade and a softer landing into a green

 

Found it http://golfdigest.com/equipment/mybag/inde...4clarkebag.html

[Milo]

Theoretically, that should work by having the toe catch the turf first but that's not the way to hit reliable fades and I would not trust it.

And even if it was repeatable, which is doubtful, sometimes I like to hit shots other than left to right with my short irons.

[Sean2]

This is just my own personal opinion. But I find it somewhat hard to believe that Vijay would favor a flat lie when he is 6'5". I am the same height and every iron in my bag is at least two degrees upright. I know it is different for everyone, but i don't think pros would go to that extreme, especially being as tall as he is.\

I'm 6'5". My Pings were 3º upright. My Callaways are standard. Different manufacturers, different lie angles. I asked my fitter about this and he said among the different OEMs the lie angle can vary as much as 4º. He said they are like shoes. Your foot size is no different, but you might wear an 11 in one brand and a 12.5 in another. I have a Ping putter, which I was fitted for, and it's 2º flat.

[HarboursideTC]

I find that my swing plane changes with the length of the club. Using 62*/5 iron as standard, I play my long irons standard, my mid irons 1* flat and my 9,PW, GW and SW 2* flat. This change really helped me straighten out my short irons, which I tended to pull left.

 

I have read alot about changing lie angles. For me this works best because I tend to hit my longer irons harder with a more upright and FULL swing. When I back off on the shorter irons, my swing path shortens and my plane gets a little flatter. This isn't unusual. Look at Tiger. He has a more upright two-plane wing with his driver and a flatter one-plane swing with his irons.

[NotEvenJail26]

I played X100s off a 38.5" 5 Iron, all were about 2-3° up and the toes were absolutely disappearing into the dirt. Had know idea about his until I got on a LM that takes photos of impact. Way too much droop in the shaft. I now play satin PX 6.0 at a flatter lie angle with much better results.

 

Tom

[TexasAg]

Theoretically, that should work by having the toe catch the turf first but that's not the way to hit reliable fades and I would not trust it.

And even if it was repeatable, which is doubtful, sometimes I like to hit shots other than left to right with my short irons.

 

If the ball is still anywhere near the impact area when the club is hitting the ground, you have bigger problems in your swing than the lie angle.

 

Lie angles do not affect ball trajectory because either the heel or the toe is catching the ground. They affect ball trajectory because if you take a lofted face and rotated it upright or flat, the face is now pointing left or right. The effect is larger with more loft.

[kirkj01]

thanks guys i find this interesting information.

 

i grew up playing regular shafted irons and used to hit the ball a lot straighter - or rather did not hit the short irons left so much. but my swing was certainly different. very loose and used to hit it way too high.

 

as i have got older and stronger i have changed to stiffer shafts (currently use proj x flighted 7.0's) and certainly strike the ball much better than i used to... trying very much to keep my head a lot stiller and concentrating on solid contact. just get annoyed when i throw away shots by missing greens to the left. i think one of the answers can be in adjusting the lie angle of the shorter irons.

 

cheers

[Barnsygolf]

Remember just because someone is 6'5 doesnt mean they need upright clubs, its the length of a persons arms in comparison to their height which makes most of the difference.

[g8a_golf]

i have heard that adam scott has a really nutty setup as far as lie angles go, but it seems there are a lot of people that are like that. i am going to check my lie angles and whatnot on tuesday and i think my long irons may need some adjusting, but the other irons are in good shape. my wedges DEFINITELY need some adjustments. i hit a draw with almost every club in the bag but my wedges. they look very upright at adress and i tend to pull my wedges BAD... sometime 25 yards offline!!! and that really stinks when you're 100 yards away to not even hit the green. i'm 6'2" and i play 1 flat on my irons and my putter is bent flat as well. i know a ton of golfers and a bunch that are shorter than me need upright lies. i just can't bring myself THAT close to the ball... different strokes...

[kells]

6 foot 3 but half inch over and 4 flat. Oneplane swing for life. I took my time and hit every club on the board after each bend. Some may vary a half a degree but for the most part 4 flat. I used to just stick with two flat due to concerns going so flat. After doing the last adjustments the ball is flying straighter than ever. There is really no cookie cutter formula. Takes some trial and error or a solid fitting sesion.

 

Kels

[kirkj01]

but i am guessing that once you get it right it makes all the difference in the world?? golf must be a very diificult game for many beginners:)

 

kells i am also guessig you chose the hibore xl tour because it sits a little open as well - how do you like it?

[kells]

Love it. LOOOOOOOOOW spin head just like I wanted. I am switching to Adams Staff for All clubs starting in August. I have my tour rep on the hunt for the Tour 4250 DF. The XL Tour is sweet though. I feel it is a very low spin head. I got the head from the tour rep at the FBR this year. Cleveland has been good to me but Adams is the best treatment I have recieved as a professional. Excited about the switch. You can't go wrong with the XL if you have spin issues.

 

Kels

[jones137]

This is just my own personal opinion. But I find it somewhat hard to believe that Vijay would favor a flat lie when he is 6'5". I am the same height and every iron in my bag is at least two degrees upright. I know it is different for everyone, but i don't think pros would go to that extreme, especially being as tall as he is.

 

V Jay is not 6'5". I bet he's closer to 6'1". I am 6'3" and was standing next to him at the US Open and was definitely taller than him. Also, even though I am 6'3", I play my irons 2 degrees flat. It's all a matter of your swing and how far away you stand from the ball. V Jay likes to play fades, so maybe that's why he plays his irons a little flatter.

[Doc420]

This is getting pretty funny talking about how tall all of these tour players are, If I didn't know any better I would think that you are talking about basketball players. Nobody mentioned here is six five, more like six three. I think that you can get stats on players on pgatour.com

[Viking Golfer]

This is just my own personal opinion. But I find it somewhat hard to believe that Vijay would favor a flat lie when he is 6'5". I am the same height and every iron in my bag is at least two degrees upright. I know it is different for everyone, but i don't think pros would go to that extreme, especially being as tall as he is.

 

V Jay is not 6'5". I bet he's closer to 6'1". I am 6'3" and was standing next to him at the US Open and was definitely taller than him. Also, even though I am 6'3", I play my irons 2 degrees flat. It's all a matter of your swing and how far away you stand from the ball. V Jay likes to play fades, so maybe that's why he plays his irons a little flatter.

 

 

Yeahhh - Vijay is 6' 2", and he has long arms. Long arms means the need for flatter lie in your irons, especially if you try to play a fade shot.

[jcosjrgolf]

VJ is 2 deg flat from Standard Cleveland Specs.

[webber]

This is just my own personal opinion. But I find it somewhat hard to believe that Vijay would favor a flat lie when he is 6'5". I am the same height and every iron in my bag is at least two degrees upright. I know it is different for everyone, but i don't think pros would go to that extreme, especially being as tall as he is.

 

VJ puposely plays 2* flat to help him hit a fade much like his open face angles on the driver.

[Truok]

I don't think lie angle is as important as people think. I've played everything from 7 degrees flat to 4 degrees upright with success with all setups. You definitely have to make adjustments for the clubs when they are that extreme but it's do able. With flat clubs I had to bend the knees more and bend over at the waist more. With more upright I had less knee flex and bend. I hit the center with both extremes. I find my most comfortable position is with a club about 2 degrees upright but I wouldn't say my shots were any worse or better than with standard lies. Just made my address position more comfortable. If you think you are hooking badly because your club is 2 degrees too upright id think it's a swing issue not a club issue.

[PCH]

I don't think lie angle is as important as people think. I've played everything from 7 degrees flat to 4 degrees upright with success with all setups. You definitely have to make adjustments for the clubs when they are that extreme but it's do able. With flat clubs I had to bend the knees more and bend over at the waist more. With more upright I had less knee flex and bend. I hit the center with both extremes. I find my most comfortable position is with a club about 2 degrees upright but I wouldn't say my shots were any worse or better than with standard lies. Just made my address position more comfortable. If you think you are hooking badly because your club is 2 degrees too upright id think it's a swing issue not a club issue.

 

10 year old thread lol

[Medic]

I don't think lie angle is as important as people think. I've played everything from 7 degrees flat to 4 degrees upright with success with all setups. You definitely have to make adjustments for the clubs when they are that extreme but it's do able. With flat clubs I had to bend the knees more and bend over at the waist more. With more upright I had less knee flex and bend. I hit the center with both extremes. I find my most comfortable position is with a club about 2 degrees upright but I wouldn't say my shots were any worse or better than with standard lies. Just made my address position more comfortable. If you think you are hooking badly because your club is 2 degrees too upright id think it's a swing issue not a club issue.

 

10 year old thread lol

 

Interesting see all of those low member numbers. Sean2 is the only one I recognize from the thread.

 

Gotta love when someone renews a decade-old thread like this. : )

[nic19]

I was researching this yesterday... how timely. I go blue dot 5 - pw and black dot wedges.

[br61]

I don't think lie angle is as important as people think. I've played everything from 7 degrees flat to 4 degrees upright with success with all setups. You definitely have to make adjustments for the clubs when they are that extreme but it's do able. With flat clubs I had to bend the knees more and bend over at the waist more. With more upright I had less knee flex and bend. I hit the center with both extremes. I find my most comfortable position is with a club about 2 degrees upright but I wouldn't say my shots were any worse or better than with standard lies. Just made my address position more comfortable. If you think you are hooking badly because your club is 2 degrees too upright id think it's a swing issue not a club issue.

 

10 year old thread lol

 

Interesting see all of those low member numbers. Sean2 is the only one I recognize from the thread.

 

Gotta love when someone renews a decade-old thread like this. : )

 

Also Webber and few other low numerical members. It's nice not getting yelled at for bringing back an old thread like on "that" forum.

 

I'll bet there's few more classic old threads that I've forgotten about.

[gvogel]

Many tour players play their wedges flatter than standard. It helps when they hit flop shots, because to play that shot you generally lower your hands at address.

[1puttAU]

Hi Everyone,

 

I note there is a lot of discussion over lie angles of irons and everyone seems to have their own prefernces. I am interested in tinkering with my lie angles - especially the shorter irons as I feel I hit it left a bit much - I also have a strong grip but am uncomfortable weakening it.

 

I am interested in knowing what the trends are with the tour players. Both out of curiosity and with a possibility of making some changes myself. I have not found much in regards to this.

 

Does anyone know what lie angles Bubba Watson or Angel Cabrera typically go for? I remember reading that VJ favour 2 or 3 degrees flat.

 

Personally I am quite tall but have always favoured hitting the ball away from myself a little. Certainly don't like having the ball too close to me. I would like to be able to play softer fades into a green rather than draws.

 

Any thoughts, advice, comments are most welcome.

 

 

cheers

 

Everyone is uncomfortable when changing their grip. Unfortunately, that is just part of golf when you are trying to get better and more consistent. It is going to be harder for you to hid fades if you have a strong grip.

 

EDIT: I did not realize this was a 10 year old thread haha.