Question about offset irons

[Noles]

Last fall my son who was 13 at the time made the switch to standard length clubs. He definitely seemed a little less accurate with them but I felt that it would benefit him come spring. He hits his woods and hybrids really well right now. I think he benefitted by getting used to them in the fall. I am not so certain about his irons. The length is not the issue. He has Callaway XR irons. Not the oversize or pro, just the regular ones. I got them because they have 80 gram regular steel shafts and that light weight seemed like a good choice for his first set of steel shafted irons. When they arrived, they had more of an offset than the irons he was using before. I was surprised at how offset they are. My son is a drawer of the ball. His driver and fairway wood shots have perfect flight with a nice little draw. His misses with driver and woods are ones that are left out to the right where he just didn't get the club face square. He doesn't miss them very often. With the irons, his misses are 15-20 yards left of target. Is it possible that the offset is causing a problem? I've heard it said that players who draw the ball should not play offset clubs. Any insight is appreciated.

[tiger1873]

Irons are tough to choose. Offset irons are good and bad depending on the player. If I was you I would take him to demo day and try different Irons on the range with his clubs. Hopefully you can see if one club hits targets better then the next. The thing I notice about pro or better irons with less offset is the distance seems to be very very consistent and that causes problems. The player or pro irons will tend to punish the miss-hits.

 

It's possible the clubs are okay you just need a lie adjustment. It's also possible he is doing something with his swing. But also keep in mind certain irons also are just not that accurate because they like to help getting the ball in the air.

[maxamillian31]

Offset clubs give the player a fraction of a second longer to square up the club face thus preventing a slice and helping the ball to get in the air. It provides a little bit of help for players that have not learnt to square up the club face. This is the reason you will not see pros or even most single handicap players with offset irons. Similarly, it is recommended for juniors who want to learn to play at a high level not to use clubs with too much of an offset (a little is ok and even clubs like the AP1, which can be a great irons for a 13 year old, have some offset). Transition irons for juniors can be tricky. Take a look at this article for some additional material around this subject and some recommended irons (with all the club head weights) for different skills levels https://thejuniorgolfer.com/junior-transition-irons/. So there is a good chance that if he did not previously hit his irons left, that the offset is contributing to it now. Our older transitioned to the Ping i's when he was 13 and they have been good clubs for him. Just avoid getting blades!

[Nessism]

Does the ball start on a line that's to the right of the target and then curve inside? Or does he hit it on line or even left, and then the ball curves even more left?

 

Generally speaking offset doesn't cause someone to hit the ball 15-20 yards left of target (RH player). By virtue of the fact that he struggles to close the face with longer clubs I doubt it's the offset that's causing the issue.