Jacked Lofts vs Traditional Lofts

[bluelinegolfer]

Hello fellow golfers. 

 

Wondering how many have bought the newer "jacked up lofts" and been disappointed and switched back to the older "traditional lofts"?    Have a set of 2020 Callaway Mavriks and wondering if I made a mistake switching from my Taylormade Rbladez that believe had the traditional lofts even though they were considered "game improvement" when they came out too.   The Mavriks were free so think that might answer the question and just go get on a simulator and maybe get fitted for the right shaft...  any suggestions are greatly appreciated. 

[CactusGolf]

Not at all disappointed.

 

IMHO, the lofts on the clubs do not matter.  Proper gapping and consistent front to back dispersion is the most important.  You'll just have to watch the gapping and stay away from clubs that can have "hotter shots" every once in a while.

 

So, instead of buying the 4-PW set, you'll just have to go one down and add an extra wedge (either from the set or as a traditional wedge).

 

For example, I was playing 4-PW then 52/56/60 in my old PSIs, but had to go 5-PW then 48/52/56/60 with the Rogue ST Pros due to the slightly lower lofts (hitting it higher though).  I was missing the 125-130 shot without the 48.

 

Hitting it further, hitting it higher, and holding more greens.

Edited August 14, 2023 by CactusGolf

[nitram]

1 hour ago, CactusGolf said:

So, instead of buying the 4-PW set, you'll just have to go one down and add an extra wedge (either from the set or as a traditional wedge).

. . . or two, or three . . .

 

I'm not really against loft jacking per se, but anytime a manufacturer is calling a 39 degree iron, a "wedge", it's deceiving at best. All they've done is added bounce to an 8-iron (and in some cases a 7) and in most cases shortened the shaft.

 

Again, if this helps people and their game, carry on. I'm all for whatever helps you score better. But eventually, you'll have to fill the gap between your set PW and 48-50 degrees with a couple more "wedges".

[CactusGolf]

6 minutes ago, nitram said:

. . . or two, or three . . .

 

I'm not really against loft jacking per se, but anytime a manufacturer is calling a 39 degree iron, a "wedge", it's deceiving at best. All they've done is added bounce to an 8-iron (and in some cases a 7) and in most cases shortened the shaft.

 

Again, if this helps people and their game, carry on. I'm all for whatever helps you score better. But eventually, you'll have to fill the gap between your set PW and 48-50 degrees with a couple more "wedges".

Absolutely!  And I know for me, I prefer the non-set wedges in most cases.  The Rogue ST Pros were an exception as the bounce seemed fairly low.  I actually chip with that club a lot now.

 

 

[Jeri6gt]

Just gotta work on getting proper gapping and not worry about what # iron they call it.

[Cellis]

I bought a set of T100S and personally could not get over the distances. They were fine clubs, but personally I feel more comfortable with more traditional lofts. A lot of courses even from the tips where I play are not extremely long for me. Definitely understand the reasoning to switch back, especially if you are not looking to reinvent your bag. 

[tatertot]

Hold on ... RocketBladez are now "traditional lofts"?

[bluelinegolfer]

2 hours ago, tatertot said:

Hold on ... RocketBladez are now "traditional lofts"?

Let me clarify by saying rbladez were jacked lofts also but not as jacked as the mavriks but were certainly not "traditional" as my grandfathers irons if that makes sense.  

Edited August 14, 2023 by bluelinegolfer

[Binson]

The only loft number that matters is your Dynamic Loft at impact.  People deliver the club differently with different levels of shaft lean. 

 

Static Loft is simply a fitting tool to help an individual get the ball where they want with ideal trajectory.  What is ideal for one person's swing is different from another's.   

 

What matters even less is what label is stamped at the bottom of the club. 

[makana]

I think its less about loft but the ball speed the comes off the face as well as the spin that is created. I have tested P790 vs Titleist CB 620 irons. Depending on what courses  you are playing. P790s work on soft and slow greens. They cannot be used on fast and firm tournament courses. I have tried it and the land angle is not enough to stop the ball on a firm tournament course. Also some of the P790 balls just come out hot and get a middle of the face jumper that can jump that extra 5-7 yards. with the CB 620 irons you really dont get that jumper and you feel safer with landing on the back edge of the green and staying there. 

in short I will NOT be playing hot jacked loft irons anymore  

[Dabetic]

Just ranting, but I cannot stand the jacked up lofts we keep seeing. Imo it's being done to help w marketing...make you think you hit it further. All ego. At the end of the day, who cares what the bottom of the club says if I hit the intended shot, but I don't like the feeling that I'm being deceived. I will put my 7i closer than your 8i. I do not care

[Pepperturbo]

We're NOT all the same when it comes to swing mechanics or being gullible.  I have been playing 620 Series irons with traditional lofts for quite some time, but lately losing some yardage with each club.  Hoping to recoup a few yards, late last year I bought T100S.  They are fine clubs, except strong lofts are not optimum with my mechanics, club yardages are now more consistent.  But after realizing the mismatch, ordered new T100 3-PW set, which has slightly stronger lofts than my 620 series with a bit more forgiveness.

 

IME, strong lofts may help with gaining some yardage, but won't overcome the brutal effects of aging.  Thankfully, I can still bring the ball in somewhat low using shaft-lean, and spin to stop the ball.  Stopping the ball on fast or slow greens is about ball striking or spin control, NOT loft.   Until my new T100 irons arrive, I've taken loft off T100S and had MMT 95s put in them.  So far, so good.

Edited August 15, 2023 by Pepperturbo
Update

[ballzo]

Not a fan of messing with lofts so much, it screws up your whole bag to bag em so for that reason I try to steer clear. If I were to find a set that I absolutely fell in love with, I'd probably consider rearranging my hybrids and wedges to make it work.

[Mikey_HACKilroy]

I prefer more traditional lofts, but generally because I like the added spin and height.

 

Stronger lofts aren't needed for folks who are good ball strikers. They'll help hit farther, but when you're striking the ball smoothly and well, distance isn't such a problem. Hence the distaste for stronger lofts.

Yet still, some folks like the stronger lofts and just club down to resolve the issue. Either approach works.

But I don't see myself buying stronger lofted clubs, either. To each his or her own...

Edited August 15, 2023 by Mikey_HACKilroy

[PostandGhost]

I have two sets of irons that are similar in construction, one piece forgings, and similar in design, players cavity.  One set is 4-GW ranging from 21º to 48º.  The other set is an older set that is 3-PW ranging from 21º to 48º.  Even though all the lofts are the same, it feels like the 4-GW set is easier to hit. Not sure if it's the half inch shorter or slightly heavier heads or placebo, but whatever it is it works. 

[Dewdman42]

Yes i bought jacked up lofts and selling less than a year later at tremendous loss to get standard lofts.  Scoring much better with the weaker lofts.  I am officially not a fan of strong lofted irons

[Llortamaisey]

I wish one of these YouTubers or Tik Tac golfers would take a set of irons, play with them for a month, then have someone weld in the numbers and replace them with stronger numbers (6 iron becomes the 7 iron), and then play with the same irons with jacked numbers/lofts for a month and see which is better. That would finally put this argument to bed. 

[Mikey_HACKilroy]

When you put it that way, it really is just a matter of what you call a 7 Iron and what you call a 6 iron. 😄

[bluelinegolfer]

4 hours ago, Llortamaisey said:

I wish one of these YouTubers or Tik Tac golfers would take a set of irons, play with them for a month, then have someone weld in the numbers and replace them with stronger numbers (6 iron becomes the 7 iron), and then play with the same irons with jacked numbers/lofts for a month and see which is better. That would finally put this argument to bed. 

Exactly.... my only dilemma with the mavriks is the wedges... the PW is lofted at 41* and the AW is lofted at 46* so that left me with a 10* gap to 56* so i bought a mavrik 51*  but still think my wedge gapping is off.  I still hit the 7 iron 150-155 most of the time even though the loft is jacked and have always hit it that far so i don't necessarily worry about the lofts until 9 iron thru wedges

Edited August 15, 2023 by bluelinegolfer

[Mikey_HACKilroy]

Honestly, I always found it a lot easier to cover the wedge gap with swing moderation. More often than not, the 9I and PW are clubs that I have the largest difference in short and long distances because I'll use them in different scenarios. So having a big gap up there doesn't tick me off so much.

The one thing about the Players Distance irons is their design and overall forgiveness based on the springy faces and larger area for strikes to be considered acceptable. It essentially enabled the player to carry a 3-Iron in their bag whilst adding an extra wedge to the bag. So instead of 3-PW it's 4-GW. That also works toward the idea of game improvement. So really, the lofts are the same, the heads are just hollow and there's an opportunity for another wedge to fit into the set.

So it makes perfect sense from the marketing standpoint. And you know the real difference in hitting the 3 & 4 iron is the feeling you get when you pull the 3-Iron out of the bag. (teeth chattering)

Not everybody out there is a purist like me who wants to grow into his clubs and decides to buy blades when he probably should be buying CBs or even Hollows.... LOL

But I know I'll improve my skills with them.

Edited August 15, 2023 by Mikey_HACKilroy

[North Butte]

If you want "traditional" lofts you're going to be playing some ancient clubs. Lofts have been getting stronger for at least three decades now. But by all means, if you have a set of late-1980's irons that you like, keep playing them.

[Macroach]

Last year I came back after 15 years off and immediately took my trusty X-14s for regrip. Hit them well but eventually the idea of “modern” irons sold me and I began a trek of upgrades. Went with the T300 and loved the distance and the way the ball flew off the face. What I didn’t love was that about 1 in 15 shots would be about 15 yards longer than expected. I also didn’t like the gaps. For my poor swing, I hit the 7 through 9 iron well but the 43 and 48 wedges had gaps that were too large for me. I also had weird gaps in the irons. 7 iron was 165 but then 8 was 145 and 9 was more than 135, closer to 138-140. 
 

I don’t know, could have been something weird with my set or whatever but I went back to callaway, Apex DCB. I hit them well,  not as far as the T300s but so far they seem more consistent without the random flier and I can also feel confident in a number when I grab a club. Oddly enough, I still miss the consistency I had with those old X-14s …

[achappy]

On 8/14/2023 at 8:47 AM, bluelinegolfer said:

Hello fellow golfers. 

 

Wondering how many have bought the newer "jacked up lofts" and been disappointed and switched back to the older "traditional lofts"?    Have a set of 2020 Callaway Mavriks and wondering if I made a mistake switching from my Taylormade Rbladez that believe had the traditional lofts even though they were considered "game improvement" when they came out too.   The Mavriks were free so think that might answer the question and just go get on a simulator and maybe get fitted for the right shaft...  any suggestions are greatly appreciated. 

 

I haven't the rest of the replies (will after this) but it's funny you posted this because I just did this.   I was also playing RBladez irons going on 3 years and absolutely love them.  One of the reasons is they have traditional modern lofts (47* PW) and my gapping is almost perfect (large gap between PW and 52*).  I've hit friends jacked loft irons and the PW was flying as far as the 8I.  I saw no benefit in that.

 

Out of fun I ordered a J33 Combo which are even more traditionally lofted.  They are about a club shorter than the RBladez but my gapping in the short irons are so much better. And these are surprisingly forgiving for a small head.  I've shot 3 of my best rounds of the year the past three rounds once I got over the mental of hurdle of hitting a 5I in spots that I would probably hit a 6 or even 7.  The results have been iron shots that are dead on targete.

[MattM97]

There is more to it than just the loft but I'm not going to get into that, but as mentioned above impact dynamics really play into it. But it also seems like people are not taking the time to learn their distances and bend lofts accordingly to get proper gapping as well. I'm in the middle of that right now and will have my lofts bent to get proper gapping and I'll be good with my "jacked lofts" up top and "modern traditional" in the lower irons. 

[Mikey_HACKilroy]

Honestly, it's a freaking golden age for golf equipment. Regardless of how you like the lofts, you didn't have this kind of customization years ago for regular Joe's and Jane's.

What's not to like? 😄

[Mark_Tha_Tinkerer]

2 hours ago, achappy said:

 

I've shot 3 of my best rounds of the year the past three rounds once I got over the mental of hurdle of hitting a 5I in spots that I would probably hit a 6 or even 7.  The results have been iron shots that are dead on targete.

 

Interesting comment.  I didn't know 2 handicaps had the same "mental hurdles" us mere mortals routinely have.  

 

I recently got a higher lofted set of iron heads (pw at 47 degrees and GW at 51 degrees).  Took a few rounds to mentally disregard the number on the iron and focus on the loft in choosing which club to use.  After a few rounds,  I am dialing the distance in and am hitting more GIR than previously and scoring better as a result.  🙂 Golf being what it is, since I'm hitting more GIR, I now half expect that my putting will soon go to total cr@p and I will be searching for a new putter to fix things.  😞 

[pmang]

On 8/14/2023 at 7:47 AM, bluelinegolfer said:

Hello fellow golfers. 

 

Wondering how many have bought the newer "jacked up lofts" and been disappointed and switched back to the older "traditional lofts"?    Have a set of 2020 Callaway Mavriks and wondering if I made a mistake switching from my Taylormade Rbladez that believe had the traditional lofts even though they were considered "game improvement" when they came out too.   The Mavriks were free so think that might answer the question and just go get on a simulator and maybe get fitted for the right shaft...  any suggestions are greatly appreciated. 

I recently bought some “jacked loft” Mizuno 923 Hot Metal Pro irons. I bent them 2 degrees weak so, sort of traditional? They spin a lot more and always seeing more loft on a club gives me confidence.

[tatertot]

 

When you look at the lofts of Hogans clubs (below), especially the short irons, maybe today's clubs aren't as jacked as we thought.

 

 

 

[golf-RN]

Here are the lofts for my 2023 Cobra King Tours:

The MIM's are even closer to Hogan's loft specs.

 

I wonder though if people are lumping the SGI and GI club lofts into the mix as well?

[wantacigar]

I play TM Sim2 Max.  Considered loft jacked with a 7i loft of 28.5*.  I played a set of irons for 4 rounds that the 7i was 31*.  Distances were actually quite similar.  Shafts were different flex (Sim2 - KBS Max 85-S  Other: TT Lite R).  I'm 56 and can hit either S or R flex shafts.  Likely going to all R flex in next few years as I age.  I think because the MOI and center of gravity are making the ball fly higher they have to jack the lofts to keep up the distances.  IMHO.....

Shafts, I believe, are more important in club performance than the loft of the club.