Rethinking a “Standard” Iron Fitting

[DB Golf]

I’ll begin by recognizing what I’ve learned from this forum—that an ideal iron fitting would involve being fit separately to the longest iron and the shortest iron, and then building a progressive set in between the two. Unfortunately, as I’ve read and recently experienced, most iron fittings these days involve only one iron.

 

I’m 6’2” and was recently fitted to a Maltby KE4 Max 7i at 36 ½” total length (½” below standard), 63.5° lie angle (1° upright), 266g head wt. (standard). Those specs gave me consistent center-face contact. GolfWorks' standard lengths are shown here. The KE4 Max includes an 8g screw and alternative screws are available in 2g increments from 2g to 14g. KE4 Max standard specs are shown in the chart below.

 

In relative terms, I was fitted to a club with the head wt. of a 7i, the length of an 8i, and the lie of a 9i. If I had asked GolfWorks to build me set of irons at -½” and 1° upright, I would have had a PW and GW that would have been uncomfortably short.

As I considered my options, it occurred to me that perhaps GolfWorks could build me a set at standard length and 0.5° upright which would still meet my specs if I adjusted the head weights with screws and lead tape. A comparison build sheet is below.

 

Am I thinking of this correctly? Many thanks for your time.

 

[Nessism]

It's quite unusual for a guy your height to use underlength irons.  What is your wrist to ground height, when wearing your golf shoes.

[Mikey_HACKilroy]

In addition to what Nessim has said, your alternative build is quite light. A 259g 7-Iron head at 36½" is going to ring in at around C6 with 130g shafts. Go lighter in the sticks, and you're going down further. Would you be prepared to play irons that light? 

Edited November 3, 2024 by Mikey_HACKilroy

[WristySwing]

 

2 hours ago, DB Golf said:

I’ll begin by recognizing what I’ve learned from this forum—that an ideal iron fitting would involve being fit separately to the longest iron and the shortest iron, and then building a progressive set in between the two. Unfortunately, as I’ve read and recently experienced, most iron fittings these days involve only one iron.

 

It's not because of bad fits, it's because its nearly impossible to do this. A standard OEM has 4 heads, so 8 total for RH and LH. Let's pretend each company also only offers 5 shafts free (we know this is not the case, as some, like Srixon, Mizuno, or Callaway have nearly 2 dozen free shafts, if not more). There are 10 major OEMs currently. Each shaft usually has at least 3 sub-flexes (R, S, X). Each OEM alone is going to require 30 spots on the wall for just a 5i, so a total of 60 spots if you did a 5i and a 9i. That's before you even introduce varying lengths of shaft. The other issue is that fitting for a 9i is largely useless as 99% of people walking in the door could hit any 9i you hand them, whether it was a Miura baby blade or a Cleveland XL Halo Full Face because the shaft is so short and the loft so friendly. That's not even accounting for places like Club Champion or TrueSpec that offer the fitting studio style fits where you may have a company like True Sports, who alone have 69 different SKUs between Accra, Aerotech, Grafalloy, Project X, and the actual TT product, let alone different sub-flexes and lengths. It just doesn't make any sense from a logistical or cost perspective. 

 

The other reasons studios don't do it is because: 1) its infeasible to have that many demo shafts and heads to store while still charging a reasonable, market rate for a fitting. 2) It's just really not that necessary for the vast majority of players who are never going to buy custom fit clubs anyways (they will get fit and buy them used next season or on sale anyways, which will not match their specs), and, they aren't really good enough to benefit from such exacting measurements anyways as their swing delta round to round or even intra-round is going to vary much more than the problems a 1* off lie angle or 1/4" off length is going to introduce.

 

Personally, if I were you, I would go back for a second opinion on your fit. Your specs don't really make much sense. Or, if you can afford it, purchase a 5i + 9i built to the specs you were fit to and give them a trial by fire. Maltby stuff is not that expensive, and yes, it is wasted money if they don't work. But it is a lot less wasted money than going head first into something that on paper makes nearly no sense.

[Maine Golfer]

I'm 6'4 and not following why you would even consider being under standard length. Just get the swing weight to what you want, thats a fair question to deal with. 

[DB Golf]

Grateful for all the feedback. I think you helped me avoid going down a path I would have regretted. Static fitting charts and previous fittings have put me at +1/2” to +1”. Shaft weights and flexes have been variable too. Perhaps the problem isn’t the fittings but my swing. 

[Nessism]

At 6'2", I suspect +1/2 is about right.  

 

Before you go all in on Maltby, you might want to check eBay.  Search Ping +1/2", then toggle "iron set".  There are lots to pick from.  Look for a nice clean set of Ping G's.  They are in the same family of irons as those KE4's, only better.  Don't worry about getting an exact lie color match, Pings are bendable.  And if you get some G's, you can join the G-men club here!  That's where all the cool kids hang out!  

[HGLucky13]

I am 6'2" and play a +1/2" shaft and have them bent 1* upright. Unless you have really long arms -1/2" seems too short to me, but it depends on your body type/swing

[ChaosTheory]

11 hours ago, DB Golf said:

As I considered my options, it occurred to me that perhaps GolfWorks could build me a set at standard length and 0.5° upright which would still meet my specs if I adjusted the head weights with screws and lead tape

That’s what I’d try.  It appears you do best with light swing weights.  If you ask GW for a set at regular length with C7 swing weight, they will (should?) pick the heads and weight screws to make it happen.

 

As mentioned, maybe buy the 7i first and try it out.

[jarediogolf]

IDK, if 1/2 short is giving you the best contact no reason not to try it. Don’t assume that just because your tall it’s not the right spec for you. 
I’m 6 foot but like everything shorter as contact improves.  
A 3/8 progression off a 1/2 inch short 7 iron seems reasonable. 
 

I was out of state visiting fam and played some golf with a borrowed set and they were at least 1/2 inch short compared to a standard set of Mizuno  MP-5s. I was making great contact with those little R7 irons. 
 

Maltby irons are cheap enough. Build a 7 iron at 1/2 under or order a custom spec single iron from Carl’s Golf Land. 
 

I personally have been itching to order some 1/2 short irons, unfortunately I’m getting along with my current standard length irons at the moment. 

[ChaosTheory]

8 hours ago, jarediogolf said:

I personally have been itching to order some 1/2 short irons, unfortunately I’m getting along with my current standard length irons at the moment.

It would be hard to come up with a more WRX sentiment.

😀