Low spin numbers at iron fitting

[JT13]

I just got fitted for a set of mizuno 223’s. My spin numbers were only around 4,400 on average with the demo 7 iron I was hitting. They hovered around that number with all of the new irons I hit. My gamer 7 iron was reading at about 5,700 and I’m concerned I’m not going to be able to stop the ball when hitting into greens if my spin numbers are that low. What are your all’s thoughts? If it matters they put me in a KBS tour stiff after some deliberation they thought this was best. Any help is much appreciated.

[grochol17]

A few questions come to mind...

 

Were you hitting off of grass or a mat?

 

What kind of balls were you using?

 

What kind of launch monitor was it?

[JT13]

It was off of a mat. Mostly used proV1s and it was a trackman. 

[Jeff58]

Stopping power is a combination of spin and descent angle, so if the new clubs had significantly higher descent angles, they will at least to some extent make up for the lack of spin.

 

However, if the descent angles are the same, generally it takes around 8500 rpms to produce a near zero roll out for a 7 iron. For every 1000 rpms less than that, you will get 4-5 yards of roll. At 4400 rpms, if you have a 30 yard deep green and hit exactly pin high, your ball will roll off every time, given a flat green. When you consider overall landing area, that amount of roll effectively reduces your target area by about 60%.

Edited March 7, 2022 by Jeff58

[JT13]

The fitter told me I have a high ball flight due to me hitting up on the ball with irons.  Which also could account for the lower spin numbers I was seeing.  I just didn't know if you all maybe knew of a possible cause for such a drastic drop off since my gamers were only about 2 or 3 degrees weaker in loft.  Maybe a shaft difference or if the clubs are just maybe that much different.  My gamers are a set of RAC OS's if it matters.

[Stuart_G]

12 hours ago, JT13 said:

It was off of a mat. Mostly used proV1s and it was a trackman. 

 

mat's are not always representative of on course results.  Probably not quite as bad as it looked.

 

https://blog.trackmangolf.com/mats-vs-grass-whats-difference/

 

On top of that, impact with the mat can force some people to hit more shallow than they normally might off of grass.  If you're already pretty shallow, it could lead to poor face impact which will skew the numbers.

 

Sometimes it's actually better to use a low tee than hit directly off the mat.

 

But even then the drop of from the gamers is still a bit more than one would expect of 2-3* difference in loft. 

 

Would need to see a lot more data for the gamers vs the 223's to pin down any reason.  Way too many possibilities to guess at - with respect to both the shaft and the head.  e.g  How did dynamic loft differ?   Club head speed?   Ball speed? Launch angle?  face-to-path? etc... Also comparison of face impact patterns (fitter should have used impact tape or foot powder spray) is needed.  Even though irons don't have gear effect, they are still sensitive to impact location in other ways.

 

 

Edited March 7, 2022 by Stuart_G

[JT13]

Thank you for linking that article.  It makes me a feel a little better about being able to hold a green.  My 7 iron (when struck well) has next to no roll out anyways, especially on the majority of courses I play.  Regarding the extra data unfortunately I don't have access to it anymore.  In hindsight making some notes would've been wise.  I do know club head speed was virtually identical because being new to the fitting process that was one of the few metrics I could wrap my head around.  Thanks for taking the time to reply.  I plan to take them out an only hit irons for a couple of rounds just to see how they react hitting into greens from 150 and out.   

[Stuart_G]

38 minutes ago, JT13 said:

Thank you for linking that article.  It makes me a feel a little better about being able to hold a green.  My 7 iron (when struck well) has next to no roll out anyways, especially on the majority of courses I play.  Regarding the extra data unfortunately I don't have access to it anymore.  In hindsight making some notes would've been wise.  I do know club head speed was virtually identical because being new to the fitting process that was one of the few metrics I could wrap my head around.  Thanks for taking the time to reply.  I plan to take them out an only hit irons for a couple of rounds just to see how they react hitting into greens from 150 and out.   

 

No problem.     If there is a next time, don't hesitate to ask for a printout or e-mailed report from the fitter - or if they can't do that just take some pictures of the screen with your phone.

[JT13]

Good idea.  I went in unprepared and should've done more homework.  Hopefully all is well with the irons.  If not, it will be an expensive learning experience.