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How do you think about lofts when you buy new irons?

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jfox789

jfox789

2022 Budget Golf Champion & 2021 Dream Foursome!
Albatross 2024 Club
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I have started looking around to replace my irons, and I quickly noticed different sets have very different lofts. One six iron could easily equal a seven iron in a different set. It got me thinking, should I find a set that fits around the other clubs in my bag, or should I possibly blow up my configuration for any set of irons that I hit well.

For example, I saw irons with a 46 degree pitching wedge, this wouldn't work well with having a 52 degree as my next club up, and I'd have the same issue with the 4 iron and my hybrid too close.

Then there are, of course, irons that already match my current lofts.

Am I overthinking this? Most likely, yes, but I would like to hear THP's thoughts too.
 
Loft isn't the whole equation. Launch angle, ball speed, perimeter weighting etc all mean that clubs with different lofts can fly the same distance.
 
Without getting into the lofts rabbit hole, I personally think a SET of irons that fits you well outweighs the current lofts of your wedges and your first hybrid. The right, well fitting iron set for your game, can go a long way towards better golf. Some standard or stronger or lesser lofted set with a certain cg and forgiveness and trajectory is going to let you get the most out of your swing and strike, and whatever set that is is the right choice. You can always grab a new wedge or turn down a hybrid or something to sort out the blending on the ends. Or maybe your best fit iron set will be a combo that blends in with them in the end anyway. You find a set that you like, that fits, and you've solved that hard part imo.
 
Absolutely a great question. To me it really depends on how you feel about your other clubs in your bag and if money is an object or not. Personally for me in my next cycle of fittings I am blowing up the whole bag and getting a full fitting to resolve some gapping issues I have in my clubs. My current bag has a fitted set of irons and driver. The issues for me is the gap between my 4 iron and 3 hybrid (to small) and my PW and 50 degree (to big). My goal in my next fitting is to have better gapping.

Now if I wasn't ready to replace all my clubs I am not sure what I would do. It would be hard for me to not buy the best clubs while getting fitted. I would be way overthinking it.
 
i don’t. never have. i just care about launch, spin, carry, and offset visuals.
 
Way overthinking, I my opinion.
I look for clubs that go a number, in my preferred window & spin rates. I’ll work out the top or bottom gaps, as they come up.
 
Yes, you're probably over thinking it. Find the irons -- clubhead, shafts, forgiveness, feel, look -- that best suits your eye, fits your swing and improves your game. Everything else is secondary.
 
As everyone is saying, there is WAYYYYYY more to a club than the numbered loft. I'm using clubs that are about 3* weaker from the 5i to the 8i and still hitting the same distance as my previous set. Also my PW is 45 and my next wedge is a 52 and it's a gap that works for me. Loft isn't everything
 
Hit every type of iron you believe you may want to play. See what fits best. Irons need to travel a distance, not the longest distance. 7 iron distance should be in the middle of the 6 and the 8 iron. I personally could care less if they had a poop emoji stamped on them. Swing your swing and play your game.
 
hedley_lamarr08 said:
Hit every type of iron you believe you may want to play. See what fits best. Irons need to travel a distance, not the longest distance. 7 iron distance should be in the middle of the 6 and the 8 iron. I personally could care less if they had a poop emoji stamped on them. Swing your swing and play your game.
Click to expand...
Hahaha. You better have posted in that stamp thread. I'm going looking right now!
 
No
 
As I close in on 60 and losing distance, I “thought” lofts meant a lot. But after spending thousands of dollars buying the latest and greatest and still no closer to the holy grail, I’ve finally come to the conclusion that most times newer ain’t better. You’ll hit that 24 degree 6-iron no farther than you will that 24 degree 3-iron. Buy what makes YOU happy, don’t worry about what others think.
 
I don’t think about lofts, I think about launch and peak height.
 
Admittedly, I am looking for distance, but lofts are only one part of the equation - I need that ball to launch, get up in the air and settle when it hits the green.
 
Don’t even think about it. Ball flight, feel and metrics (spin) tell me what I need to know but ultimately it has to look good to my eye, in the bag and just feel confident looking down at it .
 
I chose my iron set based off of how I hit them and gapping. Loft does not matter as long as I can stop a shot on the green and each club differs by about 10 yards or so.
 
I did a fitting last year. Didn’t even consider lofts until we discussed gapping wedges.
 
I was a little concerned about stronger lofted clubs when I bought my current set, as I’m generally a low spin player that launches the ball fairly low. However, I was able to go for a decent fitting and any concerns I had about the lofts turned out to be unfounded. At the top of my bag, my gaps are 5 then 6 degrees. I have no issues with the distances though.
 
I'm way more concerned about looks, feel(sound), dispersion, ball flight, and the ability to control it. I also pay close attention to my gaps on the set especially inside of 170 yards since 90% of my approach shots on par 5's and par 4's are with a 7 iron or less.
 
Zero thought into it, I just want to make sure my gap is okay from PW to 50, and 4H to 5i. I can work around the rest.
 
Lofts may be the very last thing I think about when looking at irons, if I even think about them at all. Who cares? The only way it matters to me is I might have to adjust my wedge set up. But that’s gonna happen eventually anyways, so no big deal
 
Its never entered into my thought process. I know what I want to see as far as height, spin and decent, so If the iron visually appeals to me as well, I don't really care about the loft or the number. If gaps arise, I can fill them on either end of the set.
 
I think more about the carry distance and trajectory I get out of the clubs and build the wedges around that. I don't worry too much about the loft that is stamped on the club.
 
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