Traditional lofted irons - how many Wrx gearheads still playing ?

[cardoustie]

Playing with some i3 + blades down here in FL that I grabbed on a "can't leave them alone in the store" deal. 4-U.  Extended them and tossed on iomics

 

Shafts were CS lite stiff with the cushin insert .. so 107g + 9g.  I forgot how much I enjoyed the lighter PING steel shaft offerings with the insert (JZ and ZZ65 are other shafts I have loved in older Ping sets in the past.  (I know, wrx man card to be turned in.)

 

I have to say, I am not hating playing off a 47* PW vs the 44 or 45 I am used to .... just accept the irons will go a little shorter.  It's just a number on the bottom after all

 

Will simply run the wedges 47/51/55/59

 

I did speak to my PING rep and he says they can easily be bumped down 1 or 2 degrees stronger but having an internal debate on that (and yes I know the bounce and offset change)

 

Does it matter at the end of the day if your 35* seven iron flies 165 vs hitting a modern 8 that far?  I think many new 7 irons are under 30*

 

Anyone else in the same boat? 

 

I believe these irons go back 19 years.   Ironically, I played the i3 blades way back when ... many MANY iron sets ago.  Maybe I need to toss my old Tisi tec fairways back in the mix with some BeCu wedges and a Darby putter with pixels !

[QuigleyDU]

All my irons are traditional lofts.. They my just have the wrong numbers on the bottom..

[brew4eagle]

My set has a 47* P and a 35* 7iron.  The gaps work well for me and I have played these lofts so long now that I don't want the mental exercise of 'ok, this used to be a 7 iron, now is it the 8 iron or a throttled down 7 iron?'

[rkillian]

28 minutes ago, QuigleyDU said:

All my irons are traditional lofts.. They my just have the wrong numbers on the bottom..

What I came here to say!

[MtlJeff]

16 minutes ago, rkillian said:

What I came here to say!

 

+1!

 

21 degrees to 50 degrees i believe. Same lofts as my Eye2

[ChipNRun]

my CB Pro Tungstens have semi-T (?) lofts:

4i = 22* / PW = 46*

 

=================

From 1974-1994, I played these: MacGregor MT (1971) blades flatsole. The ~ specs...

2i = 22* / 5i = 32* / PW = 52*

[Gsea]

48* pw Mizuno trues 1999 or if I feel nostalgic lol I play my Eye 2s 50* pw. They still work for me. Oh always no matter what set I play I have my Eye2+ SW and LW in the bag

[Bad9]

I generally don't care what the iron lofts are as long as they are set up for consistent distances between clubs. The caveat to that(and which I have just run into with a set I got for a steal from a guy) is when you have to add two gap wedges. That just seems wrong to me. The set in question are a set of Maltby KE4S that will be going to my son's place but I have noticed a couple of Titleist models have two gap wedges and some sets from other companies. Once the gap wedge loft gets below 50° I think its a little ridiculous but that seems to be the trend.

[Golfingfanatic]

Currently on a 48* wedge with my 680s. 

[b.mattay]

I play Ping S56's, so 47 degree PW and keep it traditional through to the 6 iron. I bent my 5 iron a bit strong (26.5 degrees) and then go into a i200 4 iron at 22.5 degrees. I like having 15 yard gaps throughout the wedges and irons.  

Edited January 21, 2021 by b.mattay

[cgasucks]

All my gamer irons and the ones in my basement are all old and with "traditional" lofts (if you can say a 21 deg. 3 iron to a 48d PW traditional).  My FG-17s and 1971 Wilson Button Backs are really old school lofts (which are 1 club weaker than traditional lofts).

[Chadwickog]

1 hour ago, QuigleyDU said:

All my irons are traditional lofts.. They my just have the wrong numbers on the bottom..

 

Must have the wrong shaft lengths too.

 

47* PW here.. I can hit my clubs far enough thanks

[BallerNate]

Yeah, I play TM Tour Preferred (MC/MB combo set) with traditional lofts. 3i is 20, 4i is 23, PW is 47. Going to bend the 8, 9, and PW 1* strong because right now there’s a 5 degree gap between the MC 7i (34) and the MB 8 (39), so might as well get a little more distance out of the 8, 9, and PW.

[chippa13]

Define "traditional". Lofts from 20 years ago, 40 years ago, 80 years ago..............??????

[Exactice808]

Modern Traditional?  I think what mine is called?  Traditional is depending what generation LOL.

TW Tradition Lofts?  49* - PW,  25.5* - 4iron

https://www.taylormadegolf.com/P7TW-Irons/DW-AL447.html?lang=en_US

 

Mine are

46* PW

42* 9

38* 8

34* 7

30* 6

 

etc.   Im just used to the gapping.  My AP2s where these gaps, My Cobra Ampcell pros where these gaps so I ordered my Sub70's the same.

 

Meh keep it simple for now?

 

 

 

 

[uglande]

I'm in Mizuno blades. One advantage is that I'm able to play with the stock PW (which I bend from 46 to 47) and then just a gap wedge (51-52) and a lob wedge (58-60). Saves a spot for the top of the bag.

[shot-savior]

53 minutes ago, Golfingfanatic said:

Currently on a 48* wedge with my 680s. 

Same here.  But then we'd be considered strong coming out of the 1970's 50*/51* wedge.

[Pepperturbo]

I play Titleist 620 MB/CB irons, lofts and specs are more traditional, but moderately contemporary - PW - 47*, 6i - 31*, 3i - 21*, when equated to my 25yr old MacGregor butter-knife blades where PW were 48/49*. 

 

Since recent installation of composite shafts, yardages are suggesting loft adjustments are not yet needed.  A well struck 5i is 170+ and spin on the green is still getting the job done.  However, they do require attention to details for a nicely struck ball.  I hit 4i the other day a sweet 190yds.   

[GLF4EVR]

Iron set that I use the most is currently set right about where they were from where they were in 2004 (Titleist 735cm, not the stainless set).  Neighbor has a Mitchell loft/lie machine so all the irons (2-PW), are set with 10 yard gaps.  Now I am even more spoiled because said neighbor moved last year & practically gave me the machine.

 

Last year went from steel to graphite & had very little tuning to do for the gaps.  I am currently redoing the irons using Tuttleman's MOI equation, so changing the increments on the shaft lengths from 1/2" to 3/8".  So may be tuning the lofts to get my desired gaps back.

[DD4442]

Playing Titleist AP2 712s since the day.  I've hit so many range balls on rock hard mats, rock hard dirt ranges, etc., who knows what those lofts are now.  I know I'll probably concede to age and modern tech with my next set of irons and go lower lofted through the bag.  Times change.  

[lefthack]

This is inline with the "death of the 3 iron" article. It sounds like the issue isn't lofts, it's the numbering.

 

I had gotten a gap wedge thinking I was missing something, but I wasn't. I make up the difference with a lighter PW.

[Dan Drake]

I actually think that there is something to be gained by going this way.  While I am 100% an advocate of hitting your driver as far as possible within whatever your "playing" speed is, hitting your irons as far as possible just isn't a recipe for success.  Yes, we want to hit them higher and farther and with more spin to make approach shots easier, but not by swinging out of our shoes/out of balance.  I can honestly say that the chase for distance with irons has led me down this path, so I know that it has done the same to others as well.  

 

Intentionally playing irons with "traditional" lofts, after a small period of adjustment I'm sure, is a great way to overcome this mindset.  So what if your buddies are now hitting the same club into greens as you?  Big deal, you are going to hit it closer and last time I checked, lowest score still wins.  

 

Oh, and added bounce and less offset never hurt (for me anyways) either!

[LukeDonaldsTiger]

47* PW seems to be the magic frontier here. Lots of players irons with a 46* PW out now, but 45* is becoming more common. 
I have a set with a 48* bent to 47*, and two others with 46* PW. Gaps are more important to me than the actual lofts. A 50* would be pretty noticeable, but as many have said: club up and shut up. I’m comfortable in the 46-48 range. 

[Shupe]

I just switched to a vokey 47 and my 7 is 35.  Love the control, but I’m a high speed player so I can see how the distances might put some people off.

[starsail85]

18,22,26,30,34,38,42,46,50,54.5&59

 

2-LW

[collenb22]

P 7mb

 

22 25 28 32 36 40 44 48. Have always played weaker lofts 

[boggyman]

3-PW playing 23* to 50*PW works for me with my FG 17s from the 80s. Add a SW and I’m set with 12 clubs. Sometimes add a LW. Nothing at all wrong with your lofts as long as you like them! Who cares the number on the sole as long as you know the club you need to hit. The loft and distance craze is out of control these days.

Edited January 21, 2021 by boggyman

[Aviador Naval]

After 10 yrs or so of starter set muscle backs by Ram and MacGregor, my first ‘real’ set of clubs was Hogan Apex 1988 with a 22 deg 3i and 48 deg E (PW).  The 3i was temperamental but I could hit the 38.25” 25.5 deg 4i well.  This reality has remained relatively consistent over the years.

 

Inbound set has a 37.5” 27 deg 6i through a 46 deg PW.  The club designations change but the lofts remain more or less the same.

[cardoustie]

For me 47 is traditional, I’m 53 and go back to “semi-modern traditional” as 30 years back when I played university golf

 

[Titleist_PT23]

3 hours ago, Chadwickog said:

 

Must have the wrong shaft lengths too.

 

47* PW here.. I can hit my clubs far enough thanks

You are really playing with a "jacked" PW too (at least a real PW).  But keep telling yourself that you are a TRADITIONALIST.  Some people are smart enough to know it only matters that all of your irons fly the right distance and match with your fairways/hybrids and wedges.  Could be a 680 PW bent weak or a T400 W2.