Learn the differences between Conventional Irons and Single-Length Irons
I am constantly amazed when golfers boast about their conventional sets of irons being “custom fitted” and, therefore, producing enhanced and consistent performance. The concept of being “custom fitted” for a set of conventional golf clubs is ridiculous in that you still end up with 13 clubs (excluding the putter) of different lengths, weights, shaft flexes, lie angles, bounce angles, offsets, etc. when, in fact, your body gravitates to only one efficient movement for any physical endeavor (that is the reason why all golfers have a “favorite” iron). Therefore, after being “custom fitted” for a set of conventional clubs you still end up having only one iron in your bag that even comes close to fitting you correctly and that somewhat allows for the swing posture and swing movement that your body wants to make when hitting a ball with a golf club. As far as consistent performance goes I have to bite my tongue. The following table shows the typical specifications for a conventional set of irons (varies between brands as there are no specification standards in the golf industry).
How this equates to consistency I do not know. I would like to point out something from the above table that most golfers do not realize and that has to do with the varying shaft flexes within a set of conventional irons. Regardless of what the shaft bands state, every one of the irons in a conventional set has a different shaft flex that gets progressively stiffer from the #3 iron to the wedges. To prove this to yourself simply hold the clubhead of a conventional #3 iron in one hand with the grip in the other hand and bend it – then do the same thing with the PW from the same set and you will see what I mean.
Another thing that most golfers do not realize is that in a conventional set of irons the clubhead weight progressively increases from the #3 iron through the wedges. This results in a greater amount of mass impacting the golf ball with the wedges than the low lofted irons. Wouldn’t you want the higher impact mass associated with the iron that is designed to produce the most distance? Enhanced and consistent performance? – Go figure.
The specifications for a set of 1 Iron single length irons are shown below. With the exception of the bounce angle on our SW the only difference between irons is the exact 4º loft angle progression from the #3 iron through the wedges. The reason for the additional 3º of bounce angle on the SW is to enhance play from a soft bunker. You may note that the bounce angle of a typical conventional SW varies from 10º to 14º. Bounce angles this high produce a clunky shot out of the sand and make playing shots from a close cut fairway virtually impossible. What is sad is that most golfers will continually blade shots out of the fairway with a conventional SW without ever even understanding why. Our 1 Iron single length SW was designed for highly effective sand play as well as fairway play, and an interesting point is that part of my design testing for our SW involved hitting balls off of a cement driveway (no skulled shots with our SW).
At the end of the day you just have to leave all of the marketing hype about custom fitting and conventional golf club design behind and simply rely on plain old common sense.
I have cast irons Srixon zx4 and by hitting practice balls I leave marks all over the face of the clubs that doesn’t come out when cleaning do you know the problem .
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1 Iron Golf replied:
I don’t know the grade of steel in your Srixon irons, but honestly, you will get ball marks on the face of any golf club; however, the amount of the ones you are describing seem to be highly excessive. Although my set of irons show face wear after 7 years of play, they are completely free of ball marks.
One Iron Golf <https://1irongolf.com>
Are they recommended for seniors
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1 Iron Golf replied:
Hi Garry, You can’t go wrong with any of our lines of irons since they are extremely forgiving for golfers of all skill levels. Our golf clubs are played by professional golfers and long-drive champions with extremely high swing speeds and played by senior women golfers with very low swing speeds. Let us know if you have any other questions!
One Iron Golf <https://1irongolf.com>
Hi, I am a tall left-handed Golfer. 6’ 4” tall. My wrist to floor measurement comes in at 41” to 41-1/2”. Will the 39” and up be too short for me? I don’t want to have to bend over more than I should. I also have large hands and prefer larger straighter grips. What would you recommend for me? Thanks, Andrew.
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1 Iron Golf replied:
Hi Andrew! The club length per your w-t-f measurement will ensure that the clubs fit you properly. Our grips are jumbo (1/8” oversize) with a reduced taper. Let me know if you have any questions. Check out recent reviews from other customers who are tall. 🙂
One Iron Golf <https://1irongolf.com>
Are the irons forged to where you can change the lie?
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1 Iron Golf replied:
Hi! All of our irons are cast. The forging process is vastly inferior to the casting process in that there is little consistency between irons within a set and between sets as well. Also, the forging process uses much weaker steel in order to facilitate the grinding and material removal involved which leads to the clubs going out of spec through normal play. Our golf clubs are cast from the highest-grade stainless steel in the golf industry. To our knowledge no other golf club manufacturer uses as high a grade of steel due to the increased cost.
The 63.5º lie angle that we use in our irons is based upon the ideal swing posture, swing plane, and impact position. This lie angle is then fitted to you through club length as determined by your wrist-to-floor measurement. This precise relationship of lie angle to club length is crucial to maximum performance. If it is altered in any way the clubs will not allow you to reach your true ball striking potential and game performance.
Since our clubheads are cast from the highest grade 431 stainless steel they should never be bent for loft/lie angle changes as this may result in the hosel breaking. Adjustments for arbitrary loft/lie angle changes are not recommended for any brand of iron since bending the hosel of a golf club creates minute stress fractures within the steel and reduces the performance as well as the lifespan of the clubhead.
Let us know if you have any more questions!
One Iron Golf <https://1irongolf.com>
Can you direct me to a site for more info on fitting for single length clubs ? Do you purchase driver seperatly ??
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1 Iron Golf replied:
Hi! You can find fitting instructions here: https://1irongolf.com/pages/fitting You can add the Dark Horse Driver separately or choose a combo set of irons and woods. Please let us know if you have any questions!
One Iron Golf <https://1irongolf.com>
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