Shortening my irons?

[Pigems]

Awesome. Thank you Howard. I will keep that in mind. I was hoping to keep them a little longer than the -1" I had last year so it sounds like I did that.

 

Actually, I ran the numbers starting with the 9 iron and I think I like that better.

 

 

 

 

Thank you again for all the great information and for your time.

 

Why is there 5/8 between PW and 9i and only 1/8 between 9i and 8i?

 

Should‘t it look like this...

 

PW 35.250 (35 2/8)

9i. 35.625 (35 5/8)

8i. 36.000 (36 0/8)

7i. 36.375 (36 3/8)

6i. 36.750 (36 6/8)

5i. 37.125 (37 1/8)

4i. 37.500 (37 4/8)

3i. 37.875 (37 7/8)

[Howard_Jones]

Awesome. Thank you Howard. I will keep that in mind. I was hoping to keep them a little longer than the -1" I had last year so it sounds like I did that.

 

Actually, I ran the numbers starting with the 9 iron and I think I like that better.

 

 

 

 

Thank you again for all the great information and for your time.

 

Why is there 5/8 between PW and 9i and only 1/8 between 9i and 8i?

 

Should't it look like this...

 

PW 35.250 (35 2/8)

9i. 35.625 (35 5/8)

8i. 36.000 (36 0/8)

7i. 36.375 (36 3/8)

6i. 36.750 (36 6/8)

5i. 37.125 (37 1/8)

4i. 37.500 (37 4/8)

3i. 37.875 (37 7/8)

 

Thanks for being more awake than i was last night, you saw the error, i did not, but that player has reconsidered what club to start from, and those numbers is fine, so no damage done, but thanks again for the correction, we all do mistakes and need a helping hand sometimes.

[Howard_Jones]

A general advice for anyone who wants to go 3/8" to improve their iron game.

 

To make a good set, we must start from a shaft weight thats within reason of what it should be. If shafts is way to heavy or to light, we can make a set that matched good, but it does not mean it will work as we want it, so make sure shaft wgt is OK before you jump into it.

 

When we establish the base line for the set (SW value), we should use the club we normally has a favorite in the set, and tune that club up by using lead tape until it works as we want it. During this tune up, we DONT care about "values or numbers", we navigate by "more or less head weight" until it works as we want it.

 

When the club works as we want it, its time to measure SW, NOT before, that might fool us since way to many players think a certain SW value is right for them, but most of you will be surprised and find that it was not as we thought it would be, so forget SW values during tune up, we measure it when done, not before.

 

When we have the SW value from our "fine tuned favorite iron", we draw the SW slope to see what the other irons should be, to be a duplicate or copy of our favorite club to make them all to be our "favorite club".

[Pigems]

Awesome. Thank you Howard. I will keep that in mind. I was hoping to keep them a little longer than the -1" I had last year so it sounds like I did that.

 

Actually, I ran the numbers starting with the 9 iron and I think I like that better.

 

 

 

 

Thank you again for all the great information and for your time.

 

Why is there 5/8 between PW and 9i and only 1/8 between 9i and 8i?

 

Should't it look like this...

 

PW 35.250 (35 2/8)

9i. 35.625 (35 5/8)

8i. 36.000 (36 0/8)

7i. 36.375 (36 3/8)

6i. 36.750 (36 6/8)

5i. 37.125 (37 1/8)

4i. 37.500 (37 4/8)

3i. 37.875 (37 7/8)

 

Thanks for being more awake than i was last night, you saw the error, i did not, but that player has reconsidered what club to start from, and those numbers is fine, so no damage done, but thanks again for the correction, we all do mistakes and need a helping hand sometimes.

 

No worries Sir, just trying to help out. :)

[CaseyDan]

Well I trimmed my shafts today to the specs starting with the 9 iron. I haven’t had a chance to hit them yet but I can honestly say standing over the 3, 4 and 5 iron is a lot more pleasing at the new length.

 

If anyone is interested the shafts im using are the standard project X 5.5’s.

[Pigems]

Well I trimmed my shafts today to the specs starting with the 9 iron. I haven’t had a chance to hit them yet but I can honestly say standing over the 3, 4 and 5 iron is a lot more pleasing at the new length.

 

If anyone is interested the shafts im using are the standard project X 5.5’s.

 

Nice! Hopefully they work well. You’ve got me wanting to trying this with one of my sets now. :)

[ecfritts]

CaseyDan - I'm going to do mine this week. One more rookie type question for everyone. I have the lengths for each club but those are playing lengths correct? So I would need to cut the shafts 1/4" less to account for the grips or finish / playing lengts, right? Just want to double check I have all my bases covered before I start.

 

Thanks,

 

Eric

[Howard_Jones]

CaseyDan - I'm going to do mine this week. One more rookie type question for everyone. I have the lengths for each club but those are playing lengths correct? So I would need to cut the shafts 1/4" less to account for the grips or finish / playing lengts, right? Just want to double check I have all my bases covered before I start.

 

Thanks,

 

Eric

 

Its play lengths yes, but the grip cap is only 1/8" not 2/8", so we dry fit and cut 1/8" short of target

[ecfritts]

Perfect, thanks once again Howard. Looking forward to this!

[CaseyDan]

Update!

 

I had about a 2 hour range session today will my newly shortened by 3/8” set. For some background I play the 2018 Callaway MB’s 4-PW with PX 5.5’s and my 3 iron is a Callaway CF16 with a PXI 5.5.

 

Overall, Fantastic. I went through my normal routine which is usually PW, Driver, 9 iron, 3 wood, 8, 3 iron and so on. Typically when I get to the long iron it feel more like a chore. That is until today. I will admit, the first couple shots with the long irons had me less than thrilled bc of the swing weight I think. Then I relaxed, didn’t try to pound it and bam. I was just stroking my 3, 4 and 5 iron. Clean, high and longer than normal ball flights. The best part is, the 6-PW performed as normal. I’ve always liked, and been fit, to play my irons less than standard length.

 

The biggest take away from this session was that I realized that you don’t have to over power a long Iron. Once I did that and swung like it was my 7 iron it was a thing of beauty. I can honestly say I look forward to my next round when I am 205 out.

 

Lastly, in my experience, i have realized that when I do go shorter in my irons that it helps the swing weight to go with a lighter grip around 50 grams. This may not actually be fact and even if it is, mentally it puts my mind at ease.

 

Howard thank you again for sharing all this info AND for taking the time to replying to my post about my exact measurements. I will post my finding after my next round as well.

[Howard_Jones]

Update!

 

I had about a 2 hour range session today will my newly shortened by 3/8" set. For some background I play the 2018 Callaway MB's 4-PW with PX 5.5's and my 3 iron is a Callaway CF16 with a PXI 5.5.

 

Overall, Fantastic. I went through my normal routine which is usually PW, Driver, 9 iron, 3 wood, 8, 3 iron and so on. Typically when I get to the long iron it feel more like a chore. That is until today. I will admit, the first couple shots with the long irons had me less than thrilled bc of the swing weight I think. Then I relaxed, didn't try to pound it and bam. I was just stroking my 3, 4 and 5 iron. Clean, high and longer than normal ball flights. The best part is, the 6-PW performed as normal. I've always liked, and been fit, to play my irons less than standard length.

 

The biggest take away from this session was that I realized that you don't have to over power a long Iron. Once I did that and swung like it was my 7 iron it was a thing of beauty. I can honestly say I look forward to my next round when I am 205 out.

 

Lastly, in my experience, i have realized that when I do go shorter in my irons that it helps the swing weight to go with a lighter grip around 50 grams. This may not actually be fact and even if it is, mentally it puts my mind at ease.

 

Howard thank you again for sharing all this info AND for taking the time to replying to my post about my exact measurements. I will post my finding after my next round as well.

 

And that is the idea about it all. A set matched to flat SW goes up in resistance as they go longer, so we have to use more power on them, now you dont, and thats also the reason so many players struggles with their long irons in a classic set. At some point resistance is higher then their power can handle so they will have to "overplay" to have a fair chance with them and then both impact, distance and dispersion suffer.

 

I love to hear that you made it, and was able to notice the improvement instantly.

[ecfritts]

I cut my irons down on Monday evening, re gripped them yesterday, hopefully get to hit them today. Looking forward to trying them. My local golf shop checked the swing weights (just to get an idea of where they are)...

 

5 iron - D0

6 iron- D1.5

7 iron - D1.5

8 iron - D2

9 iron - D2

PW - D3

 

They were actually familiar with the MOI concept. I'm going to hit them and see how they feel and perform before I make any adjustments to the weighting.

[CaseyDan]

I cut my irons down on Monday evening, re gripped them yesterday, hopefully get to hit them today. Looking forward to trying them. My local golf shop checked the swing weights (just to get an idea of where they are)...

 

5 iron - D0

6 iron- D1.5

7 iron - D1.5

8 iron - D2

9 iron - D2

PW - D3

 

They were actually familiar with the MOI concept. I'm going to hit them and see how they feel and perform before I make any adjustments to the weighting.

 

Swingweights turned out great. Look forward to hearing how they play. I played my first round with my shafts since going with the 3/8 concept and shot an 82 which is lower than my average :) The best part about the round is that I had no hesitation when needing to used my 3, 4 and 5 Irons.

 

Really look forward to hearing your results.

[ecfritts]

Took them to the range a few times and they were good, my swing wasn't though. Anyway, actually played today and it was good. Even my not so good shots were pretty good (can't ask for more than that). I'm very pleased with the way they performed. Now, if someone could recommend a putter that makes putts I'd be all set.

[Howard_Jones]

Took them to the range a few times and they were good, my swing wasn't though. Anyway, actually played today and it was good. Even my not so good shots were pretty good (can't ask for more than that). I'm very pleased with the way they performed. Now, if someone could recommend a putter that makes putts I'd be all set.

 

Like with the other clubs in the bag, we can modify and tune up the putter, and this DIY helps out to find whats working the best.

 

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/909991-diy-driver-tune-up-diy-fitting/#entry7871923

[Pigems]

I decided to cut one of my sets of irons down to 3/8” increments today, I used my Pw as the starting club as it’s my favourite club. My set is already -1/2” and 1* flat from stock Titleist specs so I ended up with a 4 Irons that is 1.25” short of stock, I haven’t added any weight back to the heads yet but the initial test at the range today was positive. I finally feel like my irons fit me length wise, even at -1/2” the long irons still always felt long. I feel like I may have to slightly adjust a few of the Lie angles now as well, or maybe I just have to get used to the new lengths a bit more. Time will tell, thanks for all the info guys. :)

[5hort5tuff]

I decided to cut one of my sets of irons down to 3/8” increments today, I used my Pw as the starting club as it’s my favourite club. My set is already -1/2” and 1* flat from stock Titleist specs so I ended up with a 4 Irons that is 1.25” short of stock, I haven’t added any weight back to the heads yet but the initial test at the range today was positive. I finally feel like my irons fit me length wise, even at -1/2” the long irons still always felt long. I feel like I may have to slightly adjust a few of the Lie angles now as well, or maybe I just have to get used to the new lengths a bit more. Time will tell, thanks for all the info guys. :)

 

I'm finding my own personal fitting journey changes over time. I have a club or two under 1" standard aswell. Originally i had every club short nearly 1 inch short...2 flat....Lots of weight. I've recently decided I'll be adding another .25" to each club in the offseason. I'll be bending some irons (5/6 ) *1 upright from where they are now as I've noticed the toe tends to dig in a bit too much.

 

Origionally everything felt great, but this year as my ball striking has improved, I've noticed subtleties with specific clubs. My GW is a little out of spec and seems too upright, it needs to be flattened a bit. I've also noticed that my long irons and woods can play off a d0 or even C9 swingweight instead of D1 or D2.

 

Sorry for rambling, but my point is I now see value in not changing equipment so often. It's important to find what you like and make small adjustments based on your on course play.

 

Drivers...putters...3 woods...tinker away. Irons and wedges, not so much for me.

[Pigems]

I’ve got 2 range sessions in so far and played my first round in today with the shortened irons. I really like them, I have about 3G of lead tape on each one right now and may add more but I ran out so 3g it is for now. I really really like the shorter long irons, I feel so much more comfortable over the ball with them now, I don’t feel like I need to stand so upright, I can just stand normally like I do with a wedge. I can’t wait to get used to this setup, I wish I had done this long ago. Thanks for all the info guys, I really appreciate it!! I believe this is the ticket for me, I hit 12 GIR today even put a ball to 3’ from 185y! :)

[shane2mc]

Since this goes over the head of many readers, ive made this small chart with comments so we get to see what we have to consider when we choose starting point. Depending on what club we start the slope from, we get a different play length to either the short or the long end or both.

 

Some players will benefit from a more upright stance when they play their short irons, but they can still get the longest clubs shorter to improve ball striking on them too. For this players, using the #7 or #6 iron as starting point is the way to go.

 

If we want to keep the short end as close to what it is as possible, but go shorter against the long end, Using the PW or #8 irons makes the same set who fits that need.

 

If we want them all a tad shorter, we start from the #9 iron who gives us the shortest set of them all.

 

Ask yourself how the short end of the set is now, and you have the answer for what club to start from.

 

I never made 3/8" sets with a starting club longer than the #6 iron, but we do have that option when the long end is good, but the short end is too short. This could be a player who fits 0.5" plus from std, but have standard play length now, so he will make good contact with his long clubs, but struggle in the short end since he have to bend to much over the ball.

 

 

 

Thank you for this. I'm giving it a try. My 8 iron is my favorite, best feeling club. I started with that one, which is 36" long. Cut all the others at 3/8" gaps from the 8 iron starting point.

 

It's been raining and flooding here in Texas for almost 2 weeks straight. Tomorrow we're supposed to get some sunshine finally. Can't wait to get out to the club to try the new shaft lengths!

[jrr]

Since this goes over the head of many readers, ive made this small chart with comments so we get to see what we have to consider when we choose starting point. Depending on what club we start the slope from, we get a different play length to either the short or the long end or both.

 

Some players will benefit from a more upright stance when they play their short irons, but they can still get the longest clubs shorter to improve ball striking on them too. For this players, using the #7 or #6 iron as starting point is the way to go.

 

If we want to keep the short end as close to what it is as possible, but go shorter against the long end, Using the PW or #8 irons makes the same set who fits that need.

 

If we want them all a tad shorter, we start from the #9 iron who gives us the shortest set of them all.

 

Ask yourself how the short end of the set is now, and you have the answer for what club to start from.

 

I never made 3/8" sets with a starting club longer than the #6 iron, but we do have that option when the long end is good, but the short end is too short. This could be a player who fits 0.5" plus from std, but have standard play length now, so he will make good contact with his long clubs, but struggle in the short end since he have to bend to much over the ball.

 

 

 

 

I must thank you Howard for your chart. My set of Z545 with Recoil 95's were all over the place as delivered from the fitter 2 years ago. Labored big time. Had another fitter check the set. 1/2" longer than requested and D9+ PW and it got worse from there. My new fitter fought when I sent your chart to him and said "start at 36" for the PW and my wedges [ have a funky back and always started there for comfort]. He was skeptical to say the least.

Picked them up today at the club and he couldn't stop talking about the unbelievable MOI consistency. He loves the chart and the results more. Pouring rain here and no golf until at least Friday, but just swinging in the garage the clubs all feel the same which is a great start. I did get to hit the PW three days ago to give him the go ahead and it is effortless even at D6. Thanks for sharing and he will have your chart forever.

[shane2mc]

I have been on the range and course a few times with my 3/8" gap Ben Hogan Fort Worth Black irons now. I am hitting them as well as I've ever hit any irons. They seem to fit me perfectly now.

 

Howard, what do you recommend for 3 wood and driver shaft lengths, in relation to iron length? I'm now thinking that I would do well to shorten those a bit too.

[Howard_Jones]

I have been on the range and course a few times with my 3/8" gap Ben Hogan Fort Worth Black irons now. I am hitting them as well as I've ever hit any irons. They seem to fit me perfectly now.

 

Howard, what do you recommend for 3 wood and driver shaft lengths, in relation to iron length? I'm now thinking that I would do well to shorten those a bit too.

 

You can use my chart for shaft weight progression who includes play lengths.

Thats my suggestions for play lengths to a player who fits "standard" length irons.

 

http://www.golfwrx.c...-1462518653.png

 

On the chart for shaft weight progression in the bag, the numbers is based on players where ive made more than 2 club for the same player, and when those clubs was plotted in a chart, there was a clear pattern of weight progression who turned out to be 5 grams uncut shaft weight for each inch shorter. (DG AMT is using 6 grams and came later to the marked).

 

Example for conversion

0.5" longer irons = 0.5 longer on all clubs, and when combined with 3/8" thats a 3/8" set who starts from the #5. (and gave a #9 of plus 0.5"). Il post the charts for all possible starting points 3-9 using included SW changes and weight needed to adjust further down here.

 

Back to 3/8" iron sets

Since we now have moved into 3/8" sets, we have to ask, "what is the standard play length" for a set 3/8"'?

That will most likely be a set where the #8 iron is the starting point (standard #8 iron length)

 

In general pay attention to what happen with the #8 and #9 iron, thats the clubs who change the most depending on starting point, so when we compare starting from the #3 iron vs the #8 iron, we get a difference to the #9 iron of 5/8" so the #3 iron as starting point fits the player who normally would use plus 5/8 to 0.75",

A player who fits plus 0.5" could use the #5 iron as starting point who gives a #9 iron of plus 0.5" or the 38 who give plus 3/8" for the #8

 

Here is a small chart with all relevant info for a fast and dirty 3/8" BUILD based on STD.

 

 

 

Spend some time to look on how the different Start club gives different sets with 1/8 steps, but also look on how SW value becomes. Go for the one that seems the best over all, and you can always GO UP and use more head wgt / SW values than suggested.

[Howard_Jones]

Since this goes over the head of many readers, ive made this small chart with comments so we get to see what we have to consider when we choose starting point. Depending on what club we start the slope from, we get a different play length to either the short or the long end or both.

 

Some players will benefit from a more upright stance when they play their short irons, but they can still get the longest clubs shorter to improve ball striking on them too. For this players, using the #7 or #6 iron as starting point is the way to go.

 

If we want to keep the short end as close to what it is as possible, but go shorter against the long end, Using the PW or #8 irons makes the same set who fits that need.

 

If we want them all a tad shorter, we start from the #9 iron who gives us the shortest set of them all.

 

Ask yourself how the short end of the set is now, and you have the answer for what club to start from.

 

I never made 3/8" sets with a starting club longer than the #6 iron, but we do have that option when the long end is good, but the short end is too short. This could be a player who fits 0.5" plus from std, but have standard play length now, so he will make good contact with his long clubs, but struggle in the short end since he have to bend to much over the ball.

 

 

 

 

I must thank you Howard for your chart. My set of Z545 with Recoil 95's were all over the place as delivered from the fitter 2 years ago. Labored big time. Had another fitter check the set. 1/2" longer than requested and D9+ PW and it got worse from there. My new fitter fought when I sent your chart to him and said "start at 36" for the PW and my wedges [ have a funky back and always started there for comfort]. He was skeptical to say the least.

Picked them up today at the club and he couldn't stop talking about the unbelievable MOI consistency. He loves the chart and the results more. Pouring rain here and no golf until at least Friday, but just swinging in the garage the clubs all feel the same which is a great start. I did get to hit the PW three days ago to give him the go ahead and it is effortless even at D6. Thanks for sharing and he will have your chart forever.

 

The first time i heard about a 3/8" set, i thought it was a joke, play lengths for irons should be 4/8" and it was written on stone, so it was not a subject for change....how could anyone be that far out, it was pure blasphemy, where is the stoning squad?

 

LOL...i could not have been more wrong, i had absolutely no idea about what i was rejecting, the old school rule about "loft is 80% and shaft length is 20% of distance" was simply to hard to get out of the head, its WRONG, its dead wrong, but still hard to leave, the head was stuck in that "club speed thinking", but its only on the paper thats valid, since impact quality is what matters for the outcome, not input speed.

 

When we go 3/8" we can both get the resistance matched like it should have been from the start, but we can also get a better fit on play length for both the long and the short end of the set, no matter our needs (shorter, standard or over length), so 3/8" is the way to go for all players, i dont think i will ever make a 4/8" set again, i dont see no reason for doing that, it makes no sense with the knowledge ive got about this now.

 

About "consistency", yes when you look on those 2 small charts ive posted today, you get to see that the weight adjustments needed to get them inline is minimal, so most of us is fine using lead tape since its only a small amount and not a mountain of lead tape needed.

[rrowe]

Following. Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge Howard.

[jrr]

Had me going a bit in the start of your last message. I will tell you that the sw on the PW was interesting. Stock is 35.5" and D3, each 1/2" add appears to add another 3sw's. Actually at 36.5" PW , instead of the original requested 36", by the original builder 2 years ago and he then built the rest of the set plus the .5". I explained the approach to a friend simply find your favorite club, everyone has one, and build the rest backing into the 3/8" approach.

[Howard_Jones]

Had me going a bit in the start of your last message. I will tell you that the sw on the PW was interesting. Stock is 35.5" and D3, each 1/2" add appears to add another 3sw's. Actually at 35.5" [ instead of the original requested 36"] the original person 2 years ago build it to 36.5 PW and then built the rest of the set plus the .5". I explained the approach to a friend simply find your favorite club, everyone has one, and build the rest backing into the 3/8" approach.

 

i agree, using the "favorite club" as stating point is a good idea, but before we jump into it, we should play around with some lead tape added to the head on that favorite club, and very often that turns out to be a improvement possible the player did not see coming, this was the favorite, how could it be improved? its only a few players who has lead tape in their golf bag, but its just as important as anything else you got there, so dont take this opportunity on "walk over", try to add a few grams of lead tape to the head of the favorite club to make sure it plays perfect, and is the club you wants to duplicate in feel and resistance.

 

Ive just updated the post above with all possible clubs as starting points to visualize how we can take advantage of the 3/8" route to get a better fit for both the long and the short end of a set. Normally we talk "standard" and next is plus 0.5", but here we got options down to 1/8" so we can fine tune it all to be like it should have been from the start. Starting from the PW or the #8 gives the same play lengths, thats why #9 as start is the shortest.

[jrr]

Had me going a bit in the start of your last message. I will tell you that the sw on the PW was interesting. Stock is 35.5" and D3, each 1/2" add appears to add another 3sw's. Actually at 35.5" [ instead of the original requested 36"] the original person 2 years ago build it to 36.5 PW and then built the rest of the set plus the .5". I explained the approach to a friend simply find your favorite club, everyone has one, and build the rest backing into the 3/8" approach.

 

i agree, using the "favorite club" as stating point is a good idea, but before we jump into it, we should play around with some lead tape added to the head on that favorite club, and very often that turns out to be a improvement possible the player did not see coming, this was the favorite, how could it be improved? its only a few players who has lead tape in their golf bag, but its just as important as anything else you got there, so dont take this opportunity on "walk over", try to add a few grams of lead tape to the head of the favorite club to make sure it plays perfect, and is the club you wants to duplicate in feel and resistance.

 

Ive just updated the post above with all possible clubs as starting points to visualize how we can take advantage of the 3/8" route to get a better fit for both the long and the short end of a set. Normally we talk "standard" and next is plus 0.5", but here we got options down to 1/8" so we can fine tune it all to be like it should have been from the start. Starting from the PW or the #8 gives the same play lengths, thats why #9 as start is the shortest.

 

Re the tape. My 4 iron came a little light on SW, I want to say C8 as did one of the wedges. My builder adjusted with tape to get them in line and asked me to go out and hit them. Little difficult in the deluge down here in the southeast right now, hopefully Friday or the weekend.

[rrowe]

I have been on the range and course a few times with my 3/8" gap Ben Hogan Fort Worth Black irons now. I am hitting them as well as I've ever hit any irons. They seem to fit me perfectly now.

 

Howard, what do you recommend for 3 wood and driver shaft lengths, in relation to iron length? I'm now thinking that I would do well to shorten those a bit too.

 

You can use my chart for shaft weight progression who includes play lengths.

Thats my suggestions for play lengths to a player who fits "standard" length irons.

 

http://www.golfwrx.c...-1462518653.png

 

 

Howard, Could you briefly describe to me how I should be reading this chart. Thanks!

[Stuart_G]

I have been on the range and course a few times with my 3/8" gap Ben Hogan Fort Worth Black irons now. I am hitting them as well as I've ever hit any irons. They seem to fit me perfectly now.

 

Howard, what do you recommend for 3 wood and driver shaft lengths, in relation to iron length? I'm now thinking that I would do well to shorten those a bit too.

 

You can use my chart for shaft weight progression who includes play lengths.

Thats my suggestions for play lengths to a player who fits "standard" length irons.

 

http://www.golfwrx.c...-1462518653.png

 

 

Howard, Could you briefly describe to me how I should be reading this chart. Thanks!

 

Haven't seen Howard around much lately so I'll give it a shot.

 

Left hand column is club, far right hand column is playing length, everything in the middle is shaft weight in grams (I believe cut shaft weight - but that might not be as important as long as one is consistent in using cut vs uncut). And the comma's are a European decimal point (e.g. 77,5 means 77.5 in the US).

 

Basically to use it, you start with a club you know has a shaft that has a weight that is a good fit, and then you use that to find the right column that gives recommendations to you for the other clubs in the set. Some adjustments might need to be made if your playing lengths are different from those listed in the far right column. In fact, the playing length column is probably the better reference than the actual right hand club column.

 

So let's say I have a 43.75" driver with a 50 gm shaft that I know is a great fit, then that tells me to use the 4th column (or 3rd column of shaft weights), and that 55 gm might be a good weight for my 3wd (@42.75"), 75 gm for my 4H (@39.5") and between 102 and 110 gm for my iron shafts.

 

And most importantly, keep in mind that it's really only a chart to help get started in the fitting process. Actually hitting the shaft and the actual results you get with different weights is the only thing that really matters and it's not all that uncommon to stray a bit from the chart.

 

it also assumes, that the swing weight/MOI has also been fit properly for the given length and shaft weight.

[rrowe]

I have been on the range and course a few times with my 3/8" gap Ben Hogan Fort Worth Black irons now. I am hitting them as well as I've ever hit any irons. They seem to fit me perfectly now.

 

Howard, what do you recommend for 3 wood and driver shaft lengths, in relation to iron length? I'm now thinking that I would do well to shorten those a bit too.

 

You can use my chart for shaft weight progression who includes play lengths.

Thats my suggestions for play lengths to a player who fits "standard" length irons.

 

http://www.golfwrx.c...-1462518653.png

 

 

Howard, Could you briefly describe to me how I should be reading this chart. Thanks!

 

Haven't seen Howard around much lately so I'll give it a shot.

 

Left hand column is club, far right hand column is playing length, everything in the middle is shaft weight in grams (I believe cut shaft weight - but that might not be as important as long as one is consistent in using cut vs uncut). And the comma's are a European decimal point (e.g. 77,5 means 77.5 in the US).

 

Basically to use it, you start with a club you know has a shaft that has a weight that is a good fit, and then you use that to find the right column that gives recommendations to you for the other clubs in the set. Some adjustments might need to be made if your playing lengths are different from those listed in the far right column. In fact, the playing length column is probably the better reference than the actual right hand club column.

 

So let's say I have a 43.75" driver with a 50 gm shaft that I know is a great fit, then that tells me to use the 4th column (or 3rd column of shaft weights), and that 55 gm might be a good weight for my 3wd (@42.75"), 75 gm for my 4H (@39.5") and between 102 and 110 gm for my iron shafts.

 

And most importantly, keep in mind that it's really only a chart to help get started in the fitting process. Actually hitting the shaft and the actual results you get with different weights is the only thing that really matters and it's not all that uncommon to stray a bit from the chart.

 

it also assumes, that the swing weight/MOI has also been fit properly for the given length and shaft weight.

 

Thanks for the explanation Stuart. Appreciate you jumping in.