Cut down irons half an inch

[PINGfanGuy]

Hi all,

 

I bought my ping Gmax irons a few years back used, and they’ve always felt long. I’m average height, 6 feet tall, 33 inch wrist to floor measurement. As far as I know I should be rocking a standard length shaft. My mis-hit is always fat. I try to remember to choke down on my irons whenever possible. 
 

I much prefer the feeling when I choke down. I finally measured my 7 iron today and it came out as 37.5 inches. From what I can tell that means my irons are +.5 inches. The shafts are CFS distance. 
 

is there any problem cutting down my 7-SW by 1/2 inch and my 4-6 irons by 3/4 inch? I feel like they’d fit me much better. 
 

additionally, since they are actually longer than normal, will cutting down the shafts mess with the swing weight?

 

and finally, does a clubs swingweight get lowered when you choke down on the club? 
 

thanks for the help,
 

 

 

[FirePro]

I can't see any issue with cutting them down if you prefer the standard length.

Yes shortening the shaft will lower the swing weight.  Think holding a brick with your arms fully extended then pull that mass closer to you, the same weight now feels lighter.

Yes the club will feel lighter as you choke down.

 

are you going to cut them down yourself and regrip?  its a slippery slop when you start doing your own club work.  Next thing you know you will be purchasing two sets because you like this head and that shaft, and your going to end up with a spot in the house full of shaft pulls and old golf clubs your wife doesn't know about 

[stevechooster]

Sounds like your clubs are indeed a little long. Just looked at the G425 irons as a comparison and a 7i is 37". 

 

In the end, if you feel comfortable/confident when choking down and you see your mishits are tighter, then why not? No one person is the same. 

 

With that said, cutting down does affect SW. I could be wrong but I recall every 0.5" cut or added is 3 SW points. You can do some basic math there on what you like now and depending on how much you cut, how much tip weight and/or lead tape you want to add. 

 

I could be wrong but choking down doesn't change the static SW since your club hasn't changed, but since you now have weight on the other side of the hand by choking down, you somewhat created a counter balance feel in your hands where the SW in feel may be lighter. One random note that if you decide to also change lie angle, will can affect SW and club length. 

Edited May 20, 2022 by stevechooster

[tatertot]

4 hours ago, PINGfanGuy said:

Hi all,

 

I bought my ping Gmax irons a few years back used, and they’ve always felt long. I’m average height, 6 feet tall, 33 inch wrist to floor measurement. As far as I know I should be rocking a standard length shaft. My mis-hit is always fat. I try to remember to choke down on my irons whenever possible. 
 

I much prefer the feeling when I choke down. I finally measured my 7 iron today and it came out as 37.5 inches. From what I can tell that means my irons are +.5 inches. The shafts are CFS distance. 
 

is there any problem cutting down my 7-SW by 1/2 inch and my 4-6 irons by 3/4 inch? I feel like they’d fit me much better. 
 

additionally, since they are actually longer than normal, will cutting down the shafts mess with the swing weight?

 

and finally, does a clubs swingweight get lowered when you choke down on the club? 
 

thanks for the help,
 

 

 

Why would you cut your 4-6 by 3/4? That's only going to leave 1/4 inch between your 6 and 7 iron. Might lead to some gapping issues.

 

Also, different companies measure their lengths differently, so there really is no "standard" length, although your GMAX 7 iron is supposed to be 37" in steel shaft. Did you measure from heel to grip tip?

[CUBuffaloes]

2 hours ago, FirePro said:

are you going to cut them down yourself and regrip?  its a slippery slop when you start doing your own club work.  Next thing you know you will be purchasing two sets because you like this head and that shaft, and your going to end up with a spot in the house full of shaft pulls and old golf clubs your wife doesn't know about 

[Stuart_G]

12 hours ago, PINGfanGuy said:

33 inch wrist to floor measurement. As far as I know I should be rocking a standard length shaft.

 

By my chart, 33 WTF should be start at -1/2"   (37.5" 5i).

 

 

12 hours ago, PINGfanGuy said:

 

I much prefer the feeling when I choke down. I finally measured my 7 iron today and it came out as 37.5 inches. From what I can tell that means my irons are +.5 inches.

 

There are more than one different standards but in general yes.  One of the more common standards is based around a 38" 5i (or 37" 7i).

 

 

12 hours ago, PINGfanGuy said:

is there any problem cutting down my 7-SW by 1/2 inch and my 4-6 irons by 3/4 inch? I feel like they’d fit me much better. 
 

 

Why stop at the 7i?  Is that really your longest iron?

 

And you may want to be careful when going below the 9i.   Some sets use 1/4" or less increments below that point.  The main concern is that you don't want to push the wedges past the point of being too short.

 

Test the SW choking up to find the best length for that club, and use that as a starting point to transition that length to the shortened 9i length.

 

 

12 hours ago, PINGfanGuy said:

additionally, since they are actually longer than normal, will cutting down the shafts mess with the swing weight?

 

That depends on how much the longer playing length messed with the swing weight in the first place. 

 

But it's always a good idea to play around with head weight using lead tape after changing length.   Especially since you were likely not fit for swing weight (or really head weight) in the first place.   So don't put too much value on any stock or original swing weight values.

 

 

12 hours ago, PINGfanGuy said:

and finally, does a clubs swingweight get lowered when you choke down on the club? 
 

 

The effective swing weight, yes.   The head weight feel will be the same regardless of whether you choke up or cut down the playing length.    So you can use the feel and performance of the club when choking up to help you figure out what you might need when cutting down.

 

 

 

Edited May 20, 2022 by Stuart_G

[drr324]

Stuart,

 

Looking at online charts, I'm 6' 2, wrist measurement is 34.75", the charts show STND (I checked 3 different ones).   I know my clubs are +1/2" over STND, 2 degree upright.  My one struggle miss is toe impact first creating a fat contact.  I'm wondering your thoughts on cutting them 1/2" to get to that STND and does your chart confirm this?

 

I ordered them last fall based off my previous set (AP2s) that I had gamed for 9 years.  Thinking I've aged a bit a my body has changed a bit in 10 years.

[tocino]

If you're not planning on doing the club work yourself or can't find a decent builder in your area, you can always send them back to ping to get the shafts shortened, they'll also adjust the swing weight, lie, loft, etc... for you along with a few other things if you want. I sent back a set of i20's years ago because i bought them used and the lie was maroon and 1" longer than standard (i needed it to be blue and .5"). I think i remember the price for the service being not so bad

[Stuart_G]

8 minutes ago, drr324 said:

Looking at online charts, I'm 6' 2, wrist measurement is 34.75", the charts show STND (I checked 3 different ones). 

 

 

Yes so does mine, but that's different than the 33" WTF you posted earlier.

 

8 minutes ago, drr324 said:

I'm wondering your thoughts on cutting them 1/2" to get to that STND and does your chart confirm this?

 

If you play better choking up that 1/2" then cutting down is a good idea - at least for most of the set.   As I mentioned before, just be careful about the wedges potentially getting too short.

 

 

8 minutes ago, drr324 said:

 I know my clubs are +1/2" over STND, 2 degree upright. 

 

Was a lie board used to get the 2* upright setting?

 

8 minutes ago, drr324 said:

My one struggle miss is toe impact first creating a fat contact. 

 

I assume you mean toe impacting the ground first (not the ball first). 

If so, a couple of degrees off with the lie angle is not going to cause fat contact.  Nor is a club that's 1/2" too long.   Sorry but you need to look for another root cause.  Poor fit for shaft weight or head weight can cause potential problems with plane and  delivery - but it's likely more of a swing issue then an equipment issue.

 

 

8 minutes ago, drr324 said:

Thinking I've aged a bit a my body has changed a bit in 10 years.

 

Join the club 🙂

 

[drr324]

I've tried choking up a bit, don't like the feeling of where the grip sits in my hand.  Yes, fitted years ago off a lie board and launch monitor.  I certainly know when I hit the toe fat shot that I "raised my hands" at impact (moved them away from my waist- stood up).   I have a home sim in my basement, will work on choking down and see if I can get that feeling better in my hands.  Thanks

[PINGfanGuy]

3 hours ago, Stuart_G said:

 

By my chart, 33 WTF should be start at -1/2"   (37.5" 5i).

 

 

 

There are more than one different standards but in general yes.  One of the more common standards is based around a 38" 5i (or 37" 7i).

 

 

 

Why stop at the 7i?  Is that really your longest iron?

 

And you may want to be careful when going below the 9i.   Some sets use 1/4" or less increments below that point.  The main concern is that you don't want to push the wedges past the point of being too short.

 

Test the SW choking up to find the best length for that club, and use that as a starting point to transition that length to the shortened 9i length.

 

 

 

That depends on how much the longer playing length messed with the swing weight in the first place. 

 

But it's always a good idea to play around with head weight using lead tape after changing length.   Especially since you were likely not fit for swing weight (or really head weight) in the first place.   So don't put too much value on any stock or original swing weight values.

 

 

 

The effective swing weight, yes.   The head weight feel will be the same regardless of whether you choke up or cut down the playing length.    So you can use the feel and performance of the club when choking up to help you figure out what you might need when cutting down.

 

 

 

 

Thank you for your detailed reply. See below:

 

1. Sorry, I was way off on my measurement. My WtF is actually 37 inches while in shoes. 

2. I thought I'd cut down my 4,5,6 iron 3/4 of an inch instead of 1/2 inch because I find them a bit more challenging to hit. 

3. To be honest I just hit the clubs so much better while choking down I don't really notice a huge difference in the swing weight. But I get what you mean. I shouldn't take too much off. 

 

I think I am going to go forward with it. To answer those that asked, I wont be doing it myself - not that handy. I need to get new grips anyway, and the shop says they can cut the irons down for free during the process. I'll probably just do 1/2 inch for all irons, 4-SW. 

 

And then I'll probably take a full inch off my driver shaft. I already choke down so much on it because it feels like a pool noodle its so long. No idea why they sell off the rack this long.

 

Thanks for all the thoughts. Great forum with knowledgeable folks.

 

 

 

 

[Stuart_G]

55 minutes ago, drr324 said:

Yes, fitted years ago off a lie board and launch monitor. 

 

Lie boards are not reliable.    This is a much better way to test for lie angle:

 

 

 

55 minutes ago, drr324 said:

I certainly know when I hit the toe fat shot that I "raised my hands" at impact (moved them away from my waist- stood up).  

 

That's a compensation for something that's happening a lot earlier in the swing.   You have to figure out what the original root cause is if you want to have the best chance of figuring out the best solution.

 

[Stuart_G]

26 minutes ago, PINGfanGuy said:

 

Thank you for your detailed reply. See below:

 

1. Sorry, I was way off on my measurement. My WtF is actually 37 inches while in shoes. 

 

Big difference.  That is in the +1/4" to +1/2" range.   And if that's the case, going shorter with most of the irons shouldn't be a problem but I wouldn't recommend going shorter than 35.75" in the wedges.

 

26 minutes ago, PINGfanGuy said:

3. To be honest I just hit the clubs so much better while choking down I don't really notice a huge difference in the swing weight.

 

Not everyone does notice - but that doesn't really mean it couldn't still be a contributing factor.   Doesn't always take much.

 

 

 

 

[Klubster]

Yes, it will decrease your swing weight by 2-3 points.  It probably will feel no different than choking down.  You can offset some of the change by using a light weight grip.  

[Stuart_G]

17 hours ago, Clubster said:

Yes, it will decrease your swing weight by 2-3 points.  It probably will feel no different than choking down. 

 

Yes

 

17 hours ago, Clubster said:

You can offset some of the change by using a light weight grip.  

 

No.   Changing grip weight is not a useful compensation for a poor fit for head weight.

Edited May 22, 2022 by Stuart_G