A head scratcher

[skraly]

A little about me.  LH, 71 y.o. and retired.  I’ve been playing golf for a long time.  I play 3-4x/wk.  I have been as low as scratch in the past.  But I haven’t kept a hcp. for a couple of years.  Probably now in the 6-7 range.  Usually shoot in the mid-70’s.  Definitely have lost some swing speed in the last 2-3 years.  Currently playing reg. flex in all of my clubs and that seems about right.  My game strength is that I don’t have any glaring weaknesses.  Fairly solid in all phases.  Best is probably on the greens.

Anyway, to my story.  I was playing last Friday and on the 11th I found a club lying in the middle of the fairway.  I guess the guy took out a couple of clubs and after deciding on which one, forgot and left the other one on the ground.  Now, I’ve found lost clubs before.  So that’s not new.  But this was unusual in that the club was LH.  A Mizuno 921 JPX SEL 8 iron.  The shaft was a KBS $-taper in stiff flex.  So I put it in the cart to turn into the club house after the round.  I was by myself this day, also unusual.  So had time to hit one or two extra balls on each hole without holding anyone up.  Hit a good drive on 18 and had 145 to the pin.  My normal 8 iron distance.  On a lark I decided to try the Mizuno even though I assumed the shaft would be to stiff for me.  I hit two and stiffed both of them about 15 ft. from the pin.  The head and shaft felt very smooth and I didn’t feel like I was over matched by the shaft at all.  I was gob smacked.  A totally unexpected result.  I had never hit this shaft before but from what I’ve read about it, while being a smooth feeling shaft, it’s not particularly soft to flex.  Anyway it’s got me scratching my head trying to understand what was going on with that club.

To end this on another, slightly weird, note.  The owner of the club was in the club house asking if anyone had turned in a lost club when I came in.  Turns out he is the son of a guy I used to work with.

I’ve rambled long enough.  I’m not really asking anyone to explain this to me.  But I thought it was a mildly interesting story to pass along.

Edited September 10, 2023 by skraly

[tatertot]

You used another guy's club you found on the course? 

 

Bet he's glad you didn't give his wife a ride home.

[st1800e]

Theres  thousands of shaft and head combinations out there,   with a fitting you'll find something close, possibly you've had a lucky moment and found something even closer.  Maybe a visit to a fitter and try that shaft with different heads?  

[skraly]

2 hours ago, tatertot said:

You used another guy's club you found on the course? 

 

Bet he's glad you didn't give his wife a ride home.

I did tell him I hit a couple with it.  He said he didn’t mind.  That he was just glad to get it back.  I didn’t think to ask about his wife.

[skraly]

1 hour ago, st1800e said:

Theres  thousands of shaft and head combinations out there,   with a fitting you'll find something close, possibly you've had a lucky moment and found something even closer.  Maybe a visit to a fitter and try that shaft with different heads?  

There are no fitters in my area that utilize an outdoor fitting and for what ever reason, I just don’t hit well off of indoor mats.

[Sean124]

The only logical conclusion is that you need to offer him an absurd amount of money for his irons. 

[st1800e]

46 minutes ago, skraly said:

just don’t hit well off of indoor mats.

Either do I.  And can’t see the ball flight.  

[skraly]

1 hour ago, skraly said:

There are no fitters in my area that utilize an outdoor fitting and for what ever reason, I just don’t hit well off of mats.

Edited September 10, 2023 by skraly

[skraly]

1 hour ago, Sean124 said:

The only logical conclusion is that you need to offer him an absurd amount of money for his irons. 

Well, that is an idea of sorts.

[2Down]

Im right with you in age and game.  Been at it a long time.  And I’ve come to realize I play better with good old dg s300 than any light weight thing I’ve tried.  Yea I can hit the light things farther but not as reliably as I do the heavy weights.  I think I like the stability and smoother swing I feel with a heavier shaft.  

[jomatty]

56 minutes ago, 2Down said:

Im right with you in age and game.  Been at it a long time.  And I’ve come to realize I play better with good old dg s300 than any light weight thing I’ve tried.  Yea I can hit the light things farther but not as reliably as I do the heavy weights.  I think I like the stability and smoother swing I feel with a heavier shaft.  

Weights more important than flex for me.  I could play anywhere from a R to an x flex in my irons as long as the weight is close to what I prefer.