SCORShawn
Lower scores 4 all
Griff - The quick answer is because there are almost an equal amount of golfers playing with 40° 8 irons as there are playing with 40° 9 irons. More of the recent "game improvement" irons designed for forgiveness and distance have 40° 9 irons...we'd recommend to certain skill levels staying with those designs for the 9 iron, especially if they have trouble getting a nice 9 iron trajectory on a consistent basis.
When designing SCOR4161, our goal was to bridge the forgiving characteristics of mid-iron designs with the precision of blade style wedges...much the same way hybrids bridge long irons and fairway woods. The design process considered the types of shots we golfers hit with these clubs, but also the loft gap issues between short irons and wedges and the disconnect between shaft offerings for irons / wedges. We found that shot goals of "forgiveness/higher ball flight" begins to transition to "distance control" between the 8 iron and 9 iron for most golfers.
Over the past 30 years, lofts for brand name iron sets have been as follows:
- 7 iron - 33.95°...with a range of 30° to 37°
- 8 Iron - 37.95°...with a range of 34 to 41°
- 9 Iron - 42.02°...with a range of 39 to 46°
- Pitching Wedge - 46.27°...with a range of 42.5 to 50°
I can tell you that during the development of SCORFit, about 40% of the time our starting point was a 38° 8 iron. At perfect 4° increments, that yielded a set of 42-46-50-54-58. At 5° increments, 43-48-53-58...for the player only carrying two wedges, excluding the PW...most likely due to an additional fairway wood/hybrid/long iron. We also discovered there really wasn't a "one size fits all" solution, so in the spirit of flexibility and power to the golfer, we decided the right way to do it was to offer every single loft...from 41 to 61°.
SCORFit not only focuses on the loft/gap issues, but also shaft fit...the goal being to have a shaft in your wedges that matches the feel of the shafts in your irons. Thus, we offer two different shaft materials in three different weights and four flexes.
The reality is all of this information is interesting...but at the end of the day, the goal is to get the ball in the hole. And it really doesn't make a difference whether it was a 42° club that has an 8 or a 9 or a 42 on the bottom of it.
Why don't you make a full set? We believe golfers want to shoot lower scores...and if you want to shoot lower scores, you need a better short game. Thus, with SCOR Golf, we focus our efforts on equipment designed to do just that, give you more confidence in your short game. And as good as we know SCOR4161 is...and as one of the testers mentioned in an earlier post...it is not a miracle drug, simply an over the counter pain killer. We golfers have to make the effort to practice and improve technique.
Thanks for your kind words and support, Grinder. We'd love to earn a spot in your bag when the EIDOLON's are worn out.
Re: our research - I would never make the claim that blade style irons are more forgiving than perimeter weighted designs...science and MOI disprove that statement. The more weight you have further from the center of the head, the less twisting of the head at impact and higher the MOI...and straighter the shot on an off-center hit. What I said is that perimeter weighting is less effective at controlling direction as loft increases...and the lower the center of mass in the head, the harder it makes it for a player to control trajectory. A Blade style design with higher center of mass and shafts designed to control trajectory are easier to hit the same distance on a consistent basis.
Yes - SCOR4161 has heel / toe weighting in the muscle back cavity that gives it some forgiveness. But is it more forgiving then perimeter-weighted iron design, probably not, but that depends on the skill level of the golfer and your definition of forgiveness. Will SCOR4161 correct direction as well? No. Will SCOR4161 control trajectory/distance better? Yes.
Re: selling out - I assure you that we are razor focused on the short game and will never try to be all things to all golfers. We want to help golfers shoot lower scores and have more fun. Why haven't more golfers heard of EIDOLON, because until recently, we've only sold direct. We think SCOR4161 is such a big idea, we want more golfers to have access to it...thus we're only now branching out and building distribution beyond the internet and phone with local golf professionals.
In defense of the big guys, I think if you look at what got them into "big time"...you'll see that they are still true to their roots as well (by market share). Ping started with putters then revolutionized fitting with the first cast golf clubs heads...they still make great putters and lead iron fitting. TaylorMade brought us Pittsburgh Persimmon...and they still dominate driver category. Titleist still makes the best golf ball. Callaway is still a leader in irons/woods. Cleveland still leads in wedges.
