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Why are irons getting stronger lofts?

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Renren89

Renren89

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So I was looking at the specs for the wilson di11's as I'm really thinking about them and I looked at the specs and everything is basically a full club stronger loft than my current rac os clubs which means that I'd probably be looking at getting another wedge if I do go for the clubs.

Anyone able to explain to me why manufacturers do this? Is it simply a case of trying to trick consumers into thinking they're hitting clubs longer when really they hit them the same distance but they're just labelled different?
 
I am not an expert by any means, but with higher launch shafts, the lofts can be lower to get the same effect.
 
Smallville said:
I am not an expert by any means, but with higher launch shafts, the lofts can be lower to get the same effect.
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That would be true if all shafts were high launching, but, when half or maybe less than half aren't HL, I can't see that being the reason why.

I don’t actually know why myself though. I know some people prefer the confidence of looking down at the ball knowing they have a 6i in hand where it would normally be a 5i. Or, it could be that one company started jacking up lofts and using that to say they have a longer iron than everyone else and then everyone else done the same. As Smalls said, I’m no expert either. LOL.
 
It's most definitely a marketing ploy on Wilson Staff's part to sell them as "seriously" long clubs. Taylormade does it too on a couple of their distance sets. Google "loft creep". I think there are some articles out there on it, as well as some (conspiracy) theories on why they do it. I think it's just plain and simple trying to appeal to joe six-pack who needs the ego-boost of hitting a 9 iron when his buddies are hitting 8's. He doesn't know or care that it's really an 8 iron with the number changed.

Having said that, I own a set of Di11's and they are an awesome set of clubs. Essentially you just have to club down in your mind. For me and my swing, the label on the club hits basically a full club stronger than what is typical. The "GW" in the Di11 set hits like a Pitching Wedge. And the "PW" hits like a 9 iron. And so on. So basically dont think of it as a GW-4i set. It's really a PW-3i Set in terms of loft. I play a 52 degree and a 56 degree on top of that and I have no distance gaps.

Im a complete newb, but FWIW, here are my full-swing yardages with the Di11's, and the wedges I play (I have a 60 but almost never use it)

56* 85-95 (Wilson FG Tour)
52* 105-115 (Wilson FG Tour)
GW: 120-125
PW: 130
9i: 140
8i: 150
7: 160
6i: 170
5i: 180
4i: 190 (or thin the crap out of it)

I believe there is a lot of info on the loft and yardages in the Di11 testing thread. Just make sure you've got a full day or two to spare and a cooler full of beer. It's a long read, but VERY informative! ;)

By the way, Smallville is correct in that the Di11's have a MID-HIGH launch angle, whereas a club like the FG Tour (which is traditional loft) has a LOW launch angle. I guess it comes down to whether you feel that the number on the club should be dictated by static loft, effective loft, or "hits like a...". Still, the Di11's are delofted like 5 degrees, and the ball flight is easily a full club strong, so I cant help but think that Wilson's intent was to gain yardage through loft manipulation.
 
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It basically started out as a gimick to claim a certain brand of irons were longer than others and then then others followed suit and did the same thing,
 
Got to go along with most of what's been said here. Its a marketing ploy to tap into the ego which all golfers have (how many times have you asked someone what they're playing on a par 3 only to learn that they're playing two or 3 clubs less/more than you are-makes you/him feel, like you aren't getting enought distance and/or makes the other guy feel like he's absolutely creaming the ball). I play a set of ci9's (4-PW) and have the same issue...with the lofts....with the PW in the set coming with a 44 degree loft (which is more like a traditional 9 iron loft). I also treat my ci9 set as a 3-9 set (the 4 being treated like a 3 and the PW being treated like a 9). The problem with this set up of course is that it leaves you with a massive gap to fill in terms of wedges. I currently have a 48 (which I treat like my PW), a 52 (GW) and 56 (SW) and I had to buy all of these separetly because wilson doesn't sell them as a set (plus I prefer the Mizuno wedges).
 
Having all the new technology behind these "longer" irons (SGI stuff such as RBZ and A12os) probably has something to do with it.
 
I do think that it is part marketing to draw people in but I also think it has to t do with technology. The companies design and test the clubs and have limitless access to tools and technology to analyze the clubs that they know putting a stronger loft on the club may help the club perform better. Maybe if it had standard lofts the ball would balloon to much.
 
I'm sure there is a valid, good reason somewhere, but I'll always be convinced that at some level it was to be able to tell people that their irons were longer than the others. I'm sure at some point in their golfing career, everyone has stood on a par-3 and wanted to be able to say they hit the longer of two clubs, or since Carl is hitting a 7, they want to be able to say that they hit the same club and not look like a wienie (even though they barely have a chance to get there with a 6). Ego is a big part of golf and everyone wants to be known as a 'big hitter'.

If people were smart they would compare lofts and they wouldn't have to get as many clubs. Most will buy a 4I - PW in a new set without ever thinking about it, but with the stronger lofts they really only need up to the 5-iron since they probably have a hybrid or wood that is within a degree or two of the 4-iron. I haven't looked at many new sets recently but I would bet most are offering a AW or GW after the PW to close the gap so you end up buying the same clubs, they just have a different number on the bottom.

The best thing to do is to learn the distance that you hit each club and not be concerned what the number says. A friend of mine can barely hit an iron out of his shadow, but he knows how far he hits each one and doesn't give a rat's behind what the number says.
 
I agree with the previous posts, nothing but ego and marketing.
 
I kind of agree with Stl here. How many times have you played golf with someone and on a par 3 tee box that person hits the green, turns and looks at you and says something like, "ha, that was just a 9iron". Man loves hitting ball far. I don't care about lofts all that much to be honest. I like being able to hit a PW 140 yards but then again, I just need to know what my 140 yard club is out of my current bag of sticks. I waver so much on this subject though. One year, I want distance irons, the next I want irons that offer more precision and control.
 
StLCardsFan said:
If people were smart they would compare lofts and they wouldn't have to get as many clubs. Most will buy a 4I - PW in a new set without ever thinking about it, but with the stronger lofts they really only need up to the 5-iron since they probably have a hybrid or wood that is within a degree or two of the 4-iron. I haven't looked at many new sets recently but I would bet most are offering a AW or GW after the PW to close the gap so you end up buying the same clubs, they just have a different number on the bottom.

The best thing to do is to learn the distance that you hit each club and not be concerned what the number says. A friend of mine can barely hit an iron out of his shadow, but he knows how far he hits each one and doesn't give a rat's behind what the number says.
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+1 to this!!

I bought my set as 4-AW without even thinking about it. I actually didnt even know the lofts were stronger than other clubs until I started recording my club distance. Now that I know my distances very well, with my game, I barely pull out my 4 or 5 irons. Heck, I barely use my 6 or 7 either. I am able to hit my 9 iron about 140-150 depending on the lie and my 8 iron is right at 155-160. If I have a shot longer than 170, i typically hit my hybrid as I am very accurate with that club. If I would have investigated this prior to purchasing my clubs, I would have probably only purchased 7 - AW and some hybrids/fairway woods.
 
There's some technology issues behind it like maintaining a good launch from a head will a really deep CG, but it's very much a marketing thing as well. Distance seems to be the most popular feature in clubs, so companies need to keep figuring out how to squeeze some more yards out of a 6 iron.

Ironically, one of the longest iron players I personally have played with uses traditional lofts and was still a good 20-30 yards past the strong lofted set I played last year.

Like TC said, as long as I have a club that goes the yardage I need and I can hit it well, I'm happy. Last year I had a strong lofted set and only carried 6-PW, which left a gap between the GW I had at the time. Now I have weaker lofts and have a 5 iron in the bag to give myself a club for that old 6 iron yardage.

All of that said, I like yardage too. I'm bending my next set of irons 2° strong in the hopes that I can grab five more yards or so out of each iron.

Basically, to each his own. I think having a good fitting club that you swing with confidence is the most important thing.
 
I think it is an ego thing and companies capitalizing off of it. I think most golfers just see a number and have no clue what the loft is. This is also the reason why you wee guys playing GI irons with 52º 56º and 60º wedges. They just think that is what you are supposed to have. They don't have a clue that their PW is 44º.
 
Its part marketing and part technology. Part of it is that they can market the new irons as being longer than the old ones in an attempt to get people to upgrade their irons frequently.
Part of it too though is that with higher launching shafts and clubheads that they can get away with less loft which getting the same trajectory with more distance. If you can get the same trajectory but more distance than your old irons, whats so wrong with that?
 
When does this end? Lofts cannot keep getting stronger and stronger. Will they stop marketing distance and start marketing accuracy?
 
It's marketing. It's 100% marketing. There is no technological reason for it at all. Not only are lofts getting lower, but the standard shaft lengths are getting longer. If you have two similar clubs with the same loft and shaft length, you will hit the ball similar distances with each even if one has a "4" on the sole and the other has a "6".

At the Georgia Golf outing this weekend, I was 1 or 2 clubs shorter than the guys playing Taylormade clubs, but I just kept reminding myself their lofts were a bit different. I actually laughed on one short par 3.....I hit my 8 iron pretty pure, which is just a 145 yard shot for me (unfortunately, the pin was only about 135 away). Anyway, Ole Gray asked me what club I used.....he is testing out the RBZ irons, so I really wasn't sure how knowing my club number was going to help him out at all.

I actually think PING started this trend back in the early 80s, when club specs such as loft were not so readily available to the casual golfer. (might have been a different manufacturer, but I am aware of PING doing it). PING has since fallen behind in the loft race. We have almost always used 8 irons to cover the lofts from about 23* to 50*. We used to use 3-PW, and now it is 4 (or 5) through approach/gap/attack wedge. Funny thing is, I still hit my 7 iron 155 yards. I am losing distance as I get older, but loft changes have allowed me to stay comfortable with my yardages.

I will give Cleveland a little credit: at least in some of their clubs they are stamping the loft right there on the sole. It s a little weird seeing a 6 iron with a 27* stamp, but at least they are up front about it.
 
Pretty much this. Distance in the irons is really overrated in my book. I have played with traditionally lofted clubs and strong lofted clubs, and I honestly don't hit the stronger clubs a whole lot farther, because I use the extra distance to allow me to slow down my speed and improve my tempo. But your mileage may vary.
TC said:
I kind of agree with Stl here. How many times have you played golf with someone and on a par 3 tee box that person hits the green, turns and looks at you and says something like, "ha, that was just a 9iron". Man loves hitting ball far. I don't care about lofts all that much to be honest. I like being able to hit a PW 140 yards but then again, I just need to know what my 140 yard club is out of my current bag of sticks. I waver so much on this subject though. One year, I want distance irons, the next I want irons that offer more precision and control.
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As long as I am putting for birdie, I don't care what the number is on the club. I have never been able to hit my irons long distances. My ball flight is too high. My 5 iron flys like an 8 or 9.
 
I don't think anything is wrong with it at all and more distance can really help some people.There are some potential downsides as well- some people can see inconsistency in accuracy and distance, but that has to do more with weighting and face build than loft. It can also present some gapping issues if people aren't aware of lofts.

SethO said:
When does this end? Lofts cannot keep getting stronger and stronger. Will they stop marketing distance and start marketing accuracy?
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Callaway is trying that, but I don't think it's nearly as effective as marketing distance.
 
I hear ya buddy but accuracy isn't as sexy as distance is. Now accurate distance? oh yeah! A club can definitely make someone instantly longer but I don't know of a club that can make someone instantly accurate

SethO said:
When does this end? Lofts cannot keep getting stronger and stronger. Will they stop marketing distance and start marketing accuracy?
Click to expand...
 
I thought the stronger lofts also helped with the higher launching shafts. Yes there are a lot of lower/mid launching shafts but have you looked at the shafts most of these more forgiving (imo the distance irons) are paired with stock?

Lofts have nothing to do with marketing. Distance is marketing. Lofts are never part of the marketing agenda.
 
Hanks said:
I hear ya buddy but accuracy isn't as sexy as distance is. Now accurate distance? oh yeah! A club can definitely make someone instantly longer but I don't know of a club that can make someone instantly accurate
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I don't think they can come in a package. It is impossible to get further from the hole and get more accurate. I think it does not matter what club or loft you have in your had, but if you know what distance it is going to go. I have always seemed to be a club shorter than most with my irons. I think you just need to assess your set and make sure you don't have any really wide gaps in your set from top to bottom.
 
for the most part, I agree with the above: Marketing Gimmick...
 
Yoccos said:
I thought the stronger lofts also helped with the higher launching shafts. Yes there are a lot of lower/mid launching shafts but have you looked at the shafts most of these more forgiving (imo the distance irons) are paired with stock?

Lofts have nothing to do with marketing. Distance is marketing. Lofts are never part of the marketing agenda.
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Mind blown. That's a good point.
 
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