Lie angles when playing 3/8 increments instead of 1/2 inch.

[Alan Pllu]

Just reshafted my irons and trying them at 3/8 increments instead of half inch and was wondering if I should do anything different with the lie angle of them or just play them at what I was before? 

 

Was thinking I should possibly play them a little flatter? 

[Valtiel]

Depending on where your "center point" is (the club that is basically standard length) then you may have some shorter irons that are somewhat overlength, meaning they may play a bit more upright. Lie angle adjustments should really be done by observing ball flight and your visual preferences at address though. @Howard_Jones has great resources for doing this kind of fitting yourself. 

[P.E.]

I would take them out and play with them. If you notice any difference in flight you could adjust them then.

 

1/8 of an inch difference in length probably won't make a huge noticeable difference in lie angle.

[Alan Pllu]

7 minutes ago, Valtiel said:

Depending on where your "center point" is (the club that is basically standard length) then you may have some shorter irons that are somewhat overlength, meaning they may play a bit more upright. Lie angle adjustments should really be done by observing ball flight and your visual preferences at address though. @Howard_Jones has great resources for doing this kind of fitting yourself. 

Started at standard 6 iron so short irons are longer than standard. 

[ARL67]

Curious why you chose 6i as your start point ?

 

I have 9-Lob SL at 36-1/8".  Then I use 3/8" increments but start at a stock 8i length of 36-1/2".  So my 6i is 37-1/4",  but I only go to 5i at 37-5/8" , then hybrids.  No big deal, just curious of others' thought process on the subject of reduced length sets.

Edited November 30, 2020 by ARL67

[Valtiel]

2 hours ago, P.E. said:

I would take them out and play with them. If you notice any difference in flight you could adjust them then.

 

1/8 of an inch difference in length probably won't make a huge noticeable difference in lie angle.

You're absolutely right in that 1/8" is negligible, but using 3/8" gaps from club to club makes each subsequent club below the "center" club (in this case his 6-iron) an additional 1/8" "overlength", so it looks like this:

6-iron: Std length
7-iron: +1/8"
8-iron: +1/4"
9-iron: +3/8"
PW: +1/2"
Wedges: +5/8" depending

So the lie angles will become progressively more upright as the clubs get shorter, and the shorter the club, the more sensitive they will be to the effects of lie angle errors. 
 

1 hour ago, Alan Pllu said:

Started at standard 6 iron so short irons are longer than standard. 

Gotcha. By the time you get down to your shortest irons, they will play a bit more upright so I would keep an eye on whether or not your start lines gets a little left of what you want/expect. Howard will likely chime in at some point with his excellent guide to self fitting lie angles, but in the meantime I would simply play them and see if anything feels off since you can also come back and adjust lie angle down the road. 

[DYOS4]

Go and try them and do the Howard/Sharpie test on all of the clubs and bend accordingly. 

[P.E.]

Valtiel your calculation of the length changes is absolutely correct as is your observation that the lie angles will become progressively more upright as the clubs get shorter, and the shorter the club, the more sensitive they will be to the effects of lie angle errors.

 

If the OP's clubs were originally built using standard lies the new clubs lies will be pretty close with the 6 at 62*, 7 at 63*, 8 at 63.5*, 9 at 64* and PW at 64* I think.

 

Hitting the clubs are essential to deciding what adjustments are required as you and several other posters have pointed out.

[Alan Pllu]

5 hours ago, ARL67 said:

Curious why you chose 6i as your start point ?

 

I have 9-Lob SL at 36-1/8".  Then I use 3/8" increments but start at a stock 8i length of 36-1/2".  So my 6i is 37-1/4",  but I only go to 5i at 37-5/8" , then hybrids.  No big deal, just curious of others' thought process on the subject of reduced length sets.

DIY MOI matching the set. 6 iron was the club that felt best before doing it so went 3/8 increments from there for the MOI match. 

[Alan Pllu]

4 hours ago, Valtiel said:

You're absolutely right in that 1/8" is negligible, but using 3/8" gaps from club to club makes each subsequent club below the "center" club (in this case his 6-iron) an additional 1/8" "overlength", so it looks like this:

6-iron: Std length
7-iron: +1/8"
8-iron: +1/4"
9-iron: +3/8"
PW: +1/2"
Wedges: +5/8" depending

So the lie angles will become progressively more upright as the clubs get shorter, and the shorter the club, the more sensitive they will be to the effects of lie angle errors. 
 

Gotcha. By the time you get down to your shortest irons, they will play a bit more upright so I would keep an eye on whether or not your start lines gets a little left of what you want/expect. Howard will likely chime in at some point with his excellent guide to self fitting lie angles, but in the meantime I would simply play them and see if anything feels off since you can also come back and adjust lie angle down the road. 

Exactly! Wondering if the pw and gw are going to develop the lefts because they will be more upright due to the longer length. 

[Alan Pllu]

34 minutes ago, P.E. said:

Valtiel your calculation of the length changes is absolutely correct as is your observation that the lie angles will become progressively more upright as the clubs get shorter, and the shorter the club, the more sensitive they will be to the effects of lie angle errors.

 

If the OP's clubs were originally built using standard lies the new clubs lies will be pretty close with the 6 at 62*, 7 at 63*, 8 at 63.5*, 9 at 64* and PW at 64* I think.

 

Hitting the clubs are essential to deciding what adjustments are required as you and several other posters have pointed out.

Yeah I am concerned that pw and gw that I matched in the same way will be a problem starting left being higher loft and longer length. 

[Red4282]

Ive been playing a similar set for 2 years now. My 4 iron is standard, all the way to Pw and wedges being +3/4. I did it because im 6’4” and like the extra length in the short irons but a little more control with the long irons. I have found that lie doesnt change much throughout, maybe a degree from top to bottom. Do the sharpie test and go from there.

[JCAG]

One thing that trying several single length set of irons was I like my higher number irons longer and did not like my lower number irons shorter.

[P.E.]

15 hours ago, Alan Pllu said:

Yeah I am concerned that pw and gw that I matched in the same way will be a problem starting left being higher loft and longer length. 

Keep in mind that 1/2 inch builds normally have the wedges and the 9 iron all at 64*

 

You didn't say what lengths you are going to build the Gap, Sand, and Lob wedges to but you need to consider the normal build length variance for wedges before you start cutting. 

 

Good luck with your project!