Measuring iron length. Grip on or off?

drvrwdge · January 4, 2014

Getting ready to swap out the X100's in my Razr X Forged for some C Taper x's. Do manufacturers measure iron length with the grip in or off? Say if you order a set based on a 39" 5 iron is that with grip or with out?

Stuart_G · January 4, 2014

There is no real standard way, each company does it differently. I believe most do it with the grips but a few (Titleist and Mizuno?) do it without. The generally accepted away among most club builders and the way specified by the USGA when testing conformance (not really applicable to irons though) is with the grip.

Backspin9 · January 5, 2014

When Ping built my i20's they used the raw length, e.g, without the grip. Vokey build my wedges the same way. I've always used the finished length when building clubs so there is no real standard. In the end, though, you are only talking about the length of the grip cap, or about 1/4" or so. It really only matters that they're all the same. If you measure a club that will tell you how that OEM did it.

FWIW, I was told that if you want a set built by an OEM you should specify that the length you want is either raw or finished.

JCAG · January 5, 2014

Just be sure you measure them the same all the time especially if comparing, matching, etc.

gsrjc · January 5, 2014

During my fitting the company did EOG - end of grip.

jming · January 5, 2014

I like to do it grip off. Different grips have different sized caps. Either way you do it 1/16-1/8" isn't going to make much of a difference.

4Wedges · January 5, 2014

I do it with grips off basically because if it needs trimmed I don't want to have to take the grip off. I build everything based upon the PW length and go up from there as I'm putting the club's together.

gunmetal · January 5, 2014

I've always used finished playing length which would obviously include grip. Pretty sure most companies do this when listing specs.

BigLeftyinAZ · January 5, 2014

Nike uses end of grip. I feel end of shaft is best .jmho

tsecor · August 11, 2018

what about putters? same thing?

Jagpilotohio · August 11, 2018

Professional club makers use the end of shaft. Grip butt caps vary in thickness. The end of the shaft is the end of the shaft. No ambiguity.

Socrates · August 11, 2018

Professional club makers use the end of shaft. Grip butt caps vary in thickness. The end of the shaft is the end of the shaft. No ambiguity.

While I agree with you, virtually every OEM now measures to the end of the grip cap (and uses the 60° USGA method). It's just the way it is.

Jagpilotohio · August 11, 2018

Professional club makers use the end of shaft. Grip butt caps vary in thickness. The end of the shaft is the end of the shaft. No ambiguity.
While I agree with you, virtually every OEM now measures to the end of the grip cap (and uses the 60° USGA method). It's just the way it is.

Oh good grief. Something else to “unlearn” after nearly 30 years of building. Damn OEM’s.

So when I mention how long a “club plays” on a sale listing I’m expected to include the butt cap now? Jeez.

Nessism · August 11, 2018

Ping and Mizuno both measure without a grip, or at least last time I heard.

Golfrnut · August 11, 2018

I’ve always measured 1/8” short when cutting. I don’t worry about measuring gtipped length other than to make sure the grip is seated all the way. A good percentage end up right on the number measured to cap edge, but if the caps are thicker, so be it.

Stuart_G · August 12, 2018

Professional club makers use the end of shaft. Grip butt caps vary in thickness. The end of the shaft is the end of the shaft. No ambiguity.

Sorry, but I've seen just as much inconsistencies among professional builders as I do with the OEM's.

But I'd estimate the majority I've had any experience with takes the same approach as Golfrnut. Not cutting based on the specific grip being installed but allowing for a uniform 1/8" for the grip cap to get to the desired length. Although not trying to imply that that is a large sample size.

And as long as a customer can go to different builders with different methods, there will always be ambiguity between what they thought the specs should be and what they are told the specs are.

Socrates · August 12, 2018

Professional club makers use the end of shaft. Grip butt caps vary in thickness. The end of the shaft is the end of the shaft. No ambiguity.
While I agree with you, virtually every OEM now measures to the end of the grip cap (and uses the 60° USGA method). It's just the way it is.

Oh good grief. Something else to “unlearn” after nearly 30 years of building. Damn OEM’s.

So when I mention how long a “club plays” on a sale listing I’m expected to include the butt cap now? Jeez.

Yup (I'm sure there are people out there that will try and hold that against you as "not as advertised"). And you better be using the 60° method.

Howard_Jones · August 12, 2018

All those club makers i know use the same method as i do, and thats using a Mitchel ruler with a lie angle fixed at 60*, and a mark block that set the cut mark 1/8" short of target. (a grip cap of 1/8" is (or was) a golf standard).

This system was used by Titleist, Callaway and Adams and many others.

Mizuno and PING seems to be 0.25" shorter on the paper vs Titleist, Callaway and Adams, but on a Mitchell ruler with a fixed lie of 60*, its NOT a constant difference and the difference is not the expected 0.25", so ive always been under the impression that Mizuno and a few others is using actual lie angle for their clubs except the driver who shall be measured with a lie of 60*

Rulers where the lie angle is following the clubs actual lie angle, makes the long irons slightly longer and the short slightly shorter vs a ruler with a fixed lie angle of 60*

Putters is NOT measured the same way as the other clubs, and only putters and drivers has a USGA standard for how they shall be measured.

TheWalkingGolfer · December 29, 2018

Ping and Mizuno both measure without a grip, or at least last time I heard.

Ping measures with grip on, Mizuno ungripped. I believe TaylorMade actually states specs without the grip like Mizuno does, or else they have 1/4" short of the other OEMs.

Awainer1 · December 30, 2018

Who cares what they do theyre not professional club fitters they're here to sell you a new set of irons every year not actually build you a properly fit and built set of clubs. The right way to do it is to use a lie angle ruler and measure from the touchpoint of the center of the sole to the tip of the grip. Measure before grip and add 1/8 of an inch for the grip of 3/8's for multicomps.