Sergio - irons off the tee

[Chris Cupit]

Chris Cupit -

I am well aware that your knowledge and appreciation of the game and its history is far greater than mine. However, I must take issue with your notion of the "standard bat & ball" relative to the history of golf.

Golf clubs & equipment have changed regularly and relentlessly throughout its history. Change IS the tradition of the game. Specialty clubs have existed from the rut-iron to the lob wedge. Before the 14-club limit was introduced Lawson Little and other golfers regularly played with 20-25 clubs in their bags.

From what I have read, Ben Hogan certainly did not play with the "standard bat & ball." From putting an extra spike on his golf shoes, to rotating his grips to prevent a hook, to looking thru dozens of golf balls to find the ones that had the correct amount of paint in their dimples, Hogan was obsessive about finding the best equipment he could and customizing it to suit his game. My guess is Hogan would have LOVED to play golf with equipment knowledge (frequency matching shafts, launch angle monitors, etc.) that is available today.

I agree with much of what you are saying, but I do think it is important to be fully aware of how golf equipment has evolved over the years.

DT  
 

Excellent points and you are absolutely correct about the constant fight about the evolution of clubs and balls throughout the game's history.

I would be one of those that support a point at which golf says, "ENOUGH". Think Alan Robertson vs. Old Tom--I might have been on Alan's side

BUT, one thing I would point out is that as golf evolved from say the 1800's to today most of the evolution resulted in the game becoming more accessible and more affordable--feathery versus gutta percha, hickory shafts that were hand made to steel shafts that could be mass produced, solid permsimon to laminated woods, leather grips to rubber....

A shameful fact of todays' game is that it is more expensive and less accessible to people than I think it has been in decades.  And, there is no need for it--the game should be for the players not the equipment manufactureres!

I understand the nature of the game is for players to seek constant improvement in their swings and equipment.  At some point though should technology be the focus?  Have we reached the point that technology available to the elite creates an almost unimagineable chasm between their games and the rest of us.  This technology is only affordable to the very, very wealthy with the free time to go to the fittings and a willingness to spend more $$$ every 6-8 months on the latest stuff.

I would say things may be similar in degree but not in kind to what Hogan was doing with his extra spike and grips.  

[Chris Cupit]

Let's narrow the modern equipment generality to two items:  the bigger faced, longer shafted and more forgiving driver and the golf ball.

Irons of today, for the most part, are the same as 20 and 40 years ago.  Perhaps the lofts are stronger but if you were to take a 40 year old Wilson DynaPower 5 iron, cut the shaft length to a 6 iron length it would go about the same distance as a modern 6 iron.

The square groove controversy is only an issue because of the ball ...

Mike, I have all my old irons and even some of my dads and today's irons are way more forgiving.  If you can, take and old set and try them out.  A few weeks ago I took out my old Apex II irons and a very old set of Ben Hogan, MacGregor irons and hit them along side my Mizuno MP-67s.  No comparison even though my MPs are somewhat blade like.  I also hit my old Callaway x-14s and the perimeter weighting and cavity backed features of todays irons are miles ahead of even my Apex IIs from the early 1980's.

But I agree tha ball is a whole other issue.  

[Mike Benham]

Chris -

But in the context of the professional golfer, whether it is the MP-32's (which I play) and the older clubs, the sweet spot is the sweet spot and they can hit it more consistently, hence my reasoning.  I too have a set of Haig Ultras that look like a small butter knife when I try and play with them but when hit on that little dime of a sweet spot, the feel like, well, butter ....

[David_Tepper]

Chris -

Sorry to be contrary, but I think that, with the aid of the internet, golf equipment has never been more affordable than it is today.

I will grant you that buying the current state-of-the-art, top-of -the-line stuff is indeed pricey. But anyone looking at "last year's models,"  either on e-bay or various websites devoted to liquidating golf equipment, can find remarkable values, even in new equipment.

I can giive you examples if you wish, but I can assure you there are many remarkable values (drivers under $150, a set of irons under $250, golf balls under $10 a dozen, etc.) out there.  
   
DT

[Brent Hutto]

I have bought a few almost-full-price clubs over the years but I think David's point is well taken. I like to try different clubs now and then (although I always end up going back to my old favorites) and if you basically never buy any product within 18 months of its introduction and you stay away from "prestige" products like Scotty Cameron putters it's just not that expensive compared to club dues or golf travel. And if I didn't play lefty I'd probably buy most of my stuff used, which tends to get dirt cheap once the particular item is no longer considered "current technology".

Now if I could find a good deal on Ecco golf shoes in my size and last I'd have it made...

[Doug Siebert]

Let's narrow the modern equipment generality to two items:  the bigger faced, longer shafted and more forgiving driver and the golf ball.

Irons of today, for the most part, are the same as 20 and 40 years ago.  Perhaps the lofts are stronger but if you were to take a 40 year old Wilson DynaPower 5 iron, cut the shaft length to a 6 iron length it would go about the same distance as a modern 6 iron.

The square groove controversy is only an issue because of the ball ...

The long irons go further for those with high swing speeds for the same reason that drivers carry further.  The ball spins less and has a flatter trajectory at the top instead of steadily rising to an apex and then falling.  The new balls have different layers that act differently based on swing speeds, if you have enough swing speed with a 5 iron to make use of that lower spinning inner layer it'll reduce the spin rate just like it was hit with a driver.

You do need a nice descending blow to produce enough backspin, otherwise you don't get enough lift to really take advantage of this.  You can notice the difference in what iron a tour guy will hit from 225 versus whether he sweeps it or takes a nice divot, even for two guys who have the same swingspeed and hit their drives the same distance.

If you bring back the balls of 10 years ago where the pros have to choose between high spin or low spin, a guy like Sergio choosing a high spin ball would probably lose 15 yards on his 3 iron.