Bending SGI irons to traditional lofts for offset and gapping - who has experience?

[gentles]

Looking to hear stories from players who have taken SGI / GI irons and bent to traditional lofts to maintain the same gaps vs players irons?

 

I want to try something with a bit more help but really hate the idea of a 43/44* pitch wedge, and dont really want to hit the ball further, just more forgiveness.

 

Also not a big fan of offset, and I know bending weak can help fix that too.

 

Considering a set of ZX5 or T200 irons, but bending weak throughout the set to hit the same lofts as my P760s and to fit with my wedge set

 

Has anyone else done this? Mainly want to hear about the impact of more bounce on the sole, and the weaker lofts with the tech inside these heads impacting ball flight. Worried that bending 2-3 weak throughout the set will result in moon balls with everything? 

 

Thanks in advance!

[Mustard_Tiger]

Stop looking at the number on the sole of the irons and have a set built with the lofts and lengths that work for you to cover the distances you need. You don't have to bend anything.

[Zamu]

3 hours ago, Mustard_Tiger said:

Stop looking at the number on the sole of the irons and have a set built with the lofts and lengths that work for you to cover the distances you need. You don't have to bend anything.

But that would do nothing with the offset

[jomatty]

I bent a 5 and 6 iron epic forged 2 degrees and did not have any issues.  I was worried about adding bounce but didn’t have any issues after bending them 2 degrees weak.  I couldn’t really notice a lot of difference in offset but I really didn’t play them much before bending, and I’m sure it took a little of it out.  These were both clubs that I used for full swings exclusively.  If you use your pitching wedge for pitching and chipping it might make a bigger difference on partial shots.  

personally I would not want to bend it more than 2 degrees weak.  Just a guess, but more than that seems to be adding a bit too much bounce and messing with the sole geometry a little more than I personally would be comfortable with.  I’ve never bent clubs 3 degrees though, so take that with a grain of salt…

[Esox]

Before making any assumptions, I would first hit the GI irons to make sure you do actually hit them further. I went from traditional lofted forgings to T300s and didn't gain any distance. (I actually hit the t300's higher  than the more lofted irons). I did however gain a lot of forgiveness on not so great strikes, particularly in dispersion.

[Nessism]

Bending weak has a negligible affect on offset.  In terms of lofts, a 45 degree PW for SGI clubs is a nice number in my experience because then you can space your wedges 50-55-60

[ChipNRun]

On 11/21/2021 at 12:47 AM, gentles said:

Looking to hear stories from players who have taken SGI / GI irons and bent to traditional lofts to maintain the same gaps vs players irons?

 

Take a good look at the loft specs before doing this. In my case, the Mav MAX irons have higher lofts than the standard Mavs. In comparison, Mav 7i = 27*, MAX 7i = 30*. But, with same shaft, I hit the MAX 10 yards longer and higher than the Mav.

 

In your case, you might look at Ping G425 irons in 4i and 5i in retro-spec lofts.

 

Compare:

.......P760..G425

3i....19.5*..-----

4i...22.5*..22*

5i...25.5*..25*

 

Note: G425 stock length is quarter-inch longer than P760. And, the G425 face might be hotter than P760.

 

Or, you could just switch to G425s with Retro-Spec lofts and end up with a 47* PW.

 

An alternative: Soft-step the 3i-4i or 4i-5i in the P760s to smooth out the launch a bit.

[A.Princey]

Bending them much weaker will also increase the bounce an equal amount. You might find the turf interaction to be poor with so much added bounce. 

Might be blade city!

Edited November 23, 2021 by A.Princey

[ARL67]

In my recent testing ( GC-Quad ) with my 2021 T200, they launch very high and also have steep descent angle.  As such I bent them 1* stronger, I still have good numbers, and I may be able to ditch the 5i from my set.  Though I do like a 5i for low / long punch-outs when tree limbs are ahead, so I may keep it in the bag regardless of overlap with my 23* hybrid.

[WristySwing]

On 11/21/2021 at 1:47 AM, gentles said:

Looking to hear stories from players who have taken SGI / GI irons and bent to traditional lofts to maintain the same gaps vs players irons?

 

I want to try something with a bit more help but really hate the idea of a 43/44* pitch wedge, and dont really want to hit the ball further, just more forgiveness.

 

Also not a big fan of offset, and I know bending weak can help fix that too.

 

Considering a set of ZX5 or T200 irons, but bending weak throughout the set to hit the same lofts as my P760s and to fit with my wedge set

 

Has anyone else done this? Mainly want to hear about the impact of more bounce on the sole, and the weaker lofts with the tech inside these heads impacting ball flight. Worried that bending 2-3 weak throughout the set will result in moon balls with everything? 

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Loft is only used to control flight and spin.  If you are not a low ball hitter or particularly low spin there is no benefit to doing what you want to do, really.  You'd be better off playing something with mild offset, semi traditional lofts, that is still fairly forgiving like MP20 HMB, PXG 0311T, Apex Pro 2019, Ping i210, AP2/T100, etc.

Edited November 24, 2021 by WristySwing

[Nessism]

16 minutes ago, WristySwing said:

 

Loft is only used to control flight and spin.  If you are not a low ball hitter or particularly low spin there is no benefit to doing what you want to do, really.  You'd be better off playing something with mild offset, semi traditional lofts, that is still fairly forgiving like MP20 HMB, PXG 0311T, Apex Pro 2019, Ping i210, AP2/T100, etc.

 

OP was discussing SGI irons, not pro level irons like you mention.  Sadly, some of us need all the help we can get.

[pingfool]

On 11/21/2021 at 1:47 AM, gentles said:

Looking to hear stories from players who have taken SGI / GI irons and bent to traditional lofts to maintain the same gaps vs players irons?

 

I want to try something with a bit more help but really hate the idea of a 43/44* pitch wedge, and dont really want to hit the ball further, just more forgiveness.

 

Also not a big fan of offset, and I know bending weak can help fix that too.

 

Considering a set of ZX5 or T200 irons, but bending weak throughout the set to hit the same lofts as my P760s and to fit with my wedge set

 

Has anyone else done this? Mainly want to hear about the impact of more bounce on the sole, and the weaker lofts with the tech inside these heads impacting ball flight. Worried that bending 2-3 weak throughout the set will result in moon balls with everything? 

 

Thanks in advance!

order the set 5-gap wedge and problem solved

 

G710 U 48* call that your pitching wedge

W 43* is your 9

and so on

5iron 22* is all you need

[gentles]

Thanks for all the replies interesting discussion 

 

I guess I could have been clearer that I was looking for low offset sgi, and one pathway to achieving that is bending weak, which could have the added benefit of fitting my gaps

 

however I think I understand now that bending a g400 iron or something like weak might lead to moon balls given the cog placement in the head etc

[WristySwing]

2 hours ago, Nessism said:

 

OP was discussing SGI irons, not pro level irons like you mention.  Sadly, some of us need all the help we can get.

 

A couple of the ones I mentioned are plenty forgiving.  i210 and 0311T are playable really for anyone under a 15 handicap they are pretty user friendly.  I do feel your pain though, certified slash checking in here as well.

[Mustard_Tiger]

7 hours ago, gentles said:

Thanks for all the replies interesting discussion 

 

I guess I could have been clearer that I was looking for low offset sgi, and one pathway to achieving that is bending weak, which could have the added benefit of fitting my gaps

 

however I think I understand now that bending a g400 iron or something like weak might lead to moon balls given the cog placement in the head etc

 

 

If offset is what you're really concerned with, a good club guy can grind out offset from the leading edge of irons. He will need to add weight back with lead weights or lead tape to keep the swingweight consistent if that's what you desire.

 

That said, it would be costly and not worth it in my opinion. Either live with offset or buy a more "players" type design.

Edited November 25, 2021 by Mustard_Tiger

[Cactus Jack]

My ZX5s were ordered 2* weak. After playing them for a bit I did a formal gapping session and took a bit more loft off them. They bent without issue, the offset was all but gone, and I didn't have any problem with adding bounce to the V sole. 

 

The ZX5s are great sticks but in my hands were very hot and low spin. To get launch, spin, decent angle, yardage dialed in they needed some serious work. Honestly, I don't even know where the static numbers ended up. I'd hit balls, tweak loft/lie accordingly, and repeated the process through the set. 

[Nessism]

2 hours ago, Mustard_Tiger said:

 

 

If offset is what you're really concerned with, a good club guy can grind out offset from the leading edge of irons. He will need to add weight back with lead weights or lead tape to keep the swingweight consistent if that's what you desire.

 

That said, it would be costly and not worth it in my opinion. Either live with offset or buy a more "players" type design.

 

I wonder how this is done?  Grinding the leading edge will typically add offset, not reduce it.

 

 

[Nessism]

As far as low offset GI irons is concerned it would be hard to beat Miura Passing Point PP-9003 - the Straight Neck version (look for the S in the box.)

 

 

 

 

 

[rt_charger]

I had a set with HMB in the long irons bent 2 weak because I really hate offset (and because I had blade short/mid irons). I noticed dodgy strikes off the deck in the long run due to the extra bounce on an already wide sole. 

 

I would only recommend if you de-loft your irons a fair bit through impact.

 

If the offset is throwing you off your game, I would suggest just working on your ball striking and getting a more middle of the road iron like t-200 or HMB which has much less than a SGI.

Edited November 25, 2021 by rt_charger