The One Length Challenge : My Journey

Had another range session and a round today. Weather was pretty crappy, as it only got to about 46* for a high at the time I played. I hate playing in layers as I am a shorts and polo guy and I feel like I am in a straight jacket when wearing one....a jacket that is. Got in some decent range work. The course I play at has an all turf range. So while I do not have to worry about mats, I do have to occasionally hit off some soggy grass. Conditions were fair, and had to be careful of the "chunk" shot once in a while.

Started with a few gap wedge shots. I still feel like I am sort of sliding under them just a tad. The distance seems to be getting pretty consistent. Right around 100-105 yards. I could usually count on 105 being my low end of the Apex's and around 110 being the norm. I have no problem getting these shot plenty of air. Moved on to the pitching wedge, again no problem with height on these. Distance was been around 110 to 115. I have pushed 120 or more only a couple of times. Nine iron has been one of the closest to an Apex club as I have found so far. Been using it for shots 125 to 135, and getting the max out of it has been getting easier and easier. The eight was typically my 145-150 club, and with the OL's, I am only a couple yards off. Been seeing myself getting a lot closer to the 140-145 mark. Seven iron, as expected is pretty spot on with the Apex's. When I was swinging my best with them, I could get out to 165 yards with them but typically was very comfortable around 160. With the Cobras, I am seeing a lot of 150-155 and have had a few shots max out at 160 or just a bit more. The 5 and six irons give me a little more difficulty, as I had pretty much removed them from my bag. I love hybrids and will take my Callaway Big Bertha OS 5 hybrid (24*) and will usually play it from distances from 195 to 165 if needed. I have gotten pretty adapt to choking down to get my desired distance. With the 5 OL, I just don't feel comfortable with it, I have tried it and it just peters out at around 170 or so with a pretty flat trajectory for me. The six iron is pretty close to the five iron in distance. I have been seeing right around 165 all the way to almost 175. Again, the ball flight is more boring and not as high, but is serviceable. The one thing I will say is whatever I have given up on distance, I have gained on dispersion. All of my irons shot have been pretty darn straight expect for a couple that I have tugged. As I keep getting used to the distances, I can see myself really getting these dialed in as my GIR's have been phenomenal compared to the Apex. While I have yet to have a shot to say inside three feet with the OL's, I think it's coming as I continue to get used to them.

Went out and played 18 today. Again, it was pretty cold for this California boy, but as long as it's not freezing with a wind, I will make my way out to the course every-time. I took a motorized cart, instead of hoofing it with the push cart. I think it was a mistake. I had a hard time keeping my hands warm today. It effected my driving and to some extent, my hybrids. However, the irons were as straight as they have been all along. I went into this round not worrying about distance and it really helped in the iron play. I played most shots at a difference of ten yards due to the cold and it seemed to really help. So If I wanted to hit a 125 yard shot, instead of trying to muscle up a pitching wedge, I just took a normal nine iron and it worked fine. I did have one nine iron that I got out past 135, as I had 128 to a blue flag and over shot the green by over 10 yards.

Most iron shots today left me in front 1/3 of the green. Got a couple to pin high and only one long. I can deal with that. My putting is such that I am pretty much going to finish in two putts max. So when I can get on in two, it helps a lot. As I have been preaching about the OL's since I started playing with them, the GIR have been a difference maker for me. Yeah the height of my shots aren't as cool looking or quite as far, but they have been highly effective. It kind of reminds me of an old SNL skit(yeah I am dating myself)when Billy Crystal was a cast member. He would play a guy named Fernando, who was a knock of of Richardo Montalban(remember Mr Roarke from Fantasy Island....no...really....I can't be the only old fart around...how about Khan from Star Trek. Yes, the Bill Shatner Star Trek. Whew!)and his favorite thing to say was, "it's better to look good than to feel good". Yeah I can look good playing whatever irons, but to be able to feel good about my game and enjoy the results is what I really want. It's hard to argue with the results right now. Are they spot on, no...and maybe they never will be. However, they are giving me a glimmer of hope which is actually more than what I had coming into this.

For warmth: I'd suggest wearing a base layer top and a hybrid jacket (thin down vest with stretch sleeves). They're warm and stretch and they won't feel bulky. I see Crossfield and crew wearing them on videos in cold weather.

I've played the OL last year. My first year with them. I have the F9s 5 - SW. My distances are similar to yours. I dropped the 5i because I couldn't hit it that well. I went to the F9 5H std and 4H std. I play the set with 6i - SW and added a 58*.

@formula8 Do the standard length hybrids defeat the purpose? No, because most of the time I'm hit a 7 - PW approach unless I really screw up. On short Par 4s I could be hitting a GW and sometimes a SW. Being 5'11" tall I had to have an entirely separate swing for wedges because the clubs were so short I'd come over the top and pull - or simply just play to pull the shot: aim right of target and know the ball will end up about 10 yds left of where I was aiming. Extending the wedges altered the swing weight into the E level. That's why I went OL. I only have to change things with the 58*.
 
I’ve enjoyed following along with this one. I wish it would have gone a little longer with more range sessions in between the rounds. I have been considering OL for my next set and the thought of adapting to a completely different set up is a tough decision. I will be following along closely to @time4tim final write up and what decision he makes and why he makes that decision!
 
I really think it’s getting swings. Was hopeful Tim would be mixing in some range time in between rounds, but he is 4 rounds in now. The good news is that he seems to be finding some good balance. Bad news is it’s really hard to hone a swing during a round.

I enjoyed reading about how @jlew2144 got dialed one.

I plan on some more range time as the weather isn’t going to be great over the next week or so. Figure I can endure an hour or so in rain more than playing a full round in a down pour.
 
I honestly can't tell how I stand on this bet right now. And that concerns me greatly.

I haven’t even come close to making up my mind yet. So you and JB are good with the clubs you have...for now!
 
I've been following this thread and had a question the last few days but didn't post anything until I tried it for myself today. I've seen JB and others comment that it just takes swings and practice time to adjust to OL. This didn't make sense to me since the whole idea is supposed to be one swing. Everyone has swung a 7 iron so you would think adaptation would be immediate. Literally just swing the same regardless of what iron you have.

I hit the new Forged Tec today on GC2 and they also had the OL version. Out of curiosity I hit the OL 7 iron, then 5 iron and then 9 iron. Literally first swing with every club was perfect contact and dead straight. Took a few swings with each switching between them and didn't notice anything that would require an adjustment period. Relative to the 7 iron distance, the 5 iron was about 5 yards shorter than I would expect and the 9 was about 5 longer than I'd expect...which is exactly what I expected with OL. Not meant to be a dig at anyone. Just genuinely curious if this is not what others experience.
 
I've been following this thread and had a question the last few days but didn't post anything until I tried it for myself today. I've seen JB and others comment that it just takes swings and practice time to adjust to OL. This didn't make sense to me since the whole idea is supposed to be one swing. Everyone has swung a 7 iron so you would think adaptation would be immediate. Literally just swing the same regardless of what iron you have.

I hit the new Forged Tec today on GC2 and they also had the OL version. Out of curiosity I hit the OL 7 iron, then 5 iron and then 9 iron. Literally first swing with every club was perfect contact and dead straight. Took a few swings with each switching between them and didn't notice anything that would require an adjustment period. Relative to the 7 iron distance, the 5 iron was about 5 yards shorter than I would expect and the 9 was about 5 longer than I'd expect...which is exactly what I expected with OL. Not meant to be a dig at anyone. Just genuinely curious if this is not what others experience.
That's the idea, but many people have trouble getting to that point. JB has said numerous other times (in response to comments about learning how to swing), "you have a 7i in your bag, right?" The biggest difficulty in adjusting to OL is the mental side. The physical side should be ready. Yes, you need to figure out distances, but that holds true with every new set of irons.
 
That's the idea, but many people have trouble getting to that point. JB has said numerous other times (in response to comments about learning how to swing), "you have a 7i in your bag, right?" The biggest difficulty in adjusting to OL is the mental side. The physical side should be ready. Yes, you need to figure out distances, but that holds true with every new set of irons.
Mentally it can be a challenge on the course to hold what feels like a 7 iron and need it to go 5 iron distance. It feels like you have to kill it. Once you get over that hurdle it works well. In my case at least.
 
I really really want to try the Forged Tec OL. I think I could easily get over caring what the number on the club is as long as I can hit greens.
 
I like the sound of straight and hitting greens.

@time4tim do your apex's have elevate 95's? Shaft weight could be factor in the distance loss right?
 
I've been following this thread and had a question the last few days but didn't post anything until I tried it for myself today. I've seen JB and others comment that it just takes swings and practice time to adjust to OL. This didn't make sense to me since the whole idea is supposed to be one swing. Everyone has swung a 7 iron so you would think adaptation would be immediate. Literally just swing the same regardless of what iron you have.

I hit the new Forged Tec today on GC2 and they also had the OL version. Out of curiosity I hit the OL 7 iron, then 5 iron and then 9 iron. Literally first swing with every club was perfect contact and dead straight. Took a few swings with each switching between them and didn't notice anything that would require an adjustment period. Relative to the 7 iron distance, the 5 iron was about 5 yards shorter than I would expect and the 9 was about 5 longer than I'd expect...which is exactly what I expected with OL. Not meant to be a dig at anyone. Just genuinely curious if this is not what others experience.


Mine is definitely mental. As mentioned when I applied for this challenge, I was struggling with my iron play after having the best 7 months of my life with them. I am slowly coming out of it, but I am not close to where I want or should be with the OL and that's all on me. As Jason Garrett would say...."it's a process".
 
I like the sound of straight and hitting greens.

@time4tim do your apex's have elevate 95's? Shaft weight could be factor in the distance loss right?


As I mentioned in the post above, it's all the "Indian" right now. I am slowly gaining trust in the OL and very slowly trying to get more aggressive with my swing. Due to the difference needed to make up for the length the OL's shafts have different weights. I can really feel the difference in the PW and GW as I can feel my swing not quite as fluid. I am really liking straight also. It takes a pretty bad swing to not get it to go somewhat straight.
 
Had a little range time yesterday as rain was passing through the valley here. Besides the weight difference I have been battling, the other thing that I have had a hard time getting used to are the grips. They are the stock Lamkin Crossline's with Cobra Connect. I just don't care for them, I am extremely picky in life and grips are just another OCD item that can rile me up. While I am very much appreciative of the clubs and the opportunity to take the One Length Challenge, I just don't like the grips. They would be the one thing I would change if/when/if/when I decide to continue using OL's. I prefer a little cord or even tour velvet grips. So simply, me and these grips didn't do well in the rain. I had a really hard time with feel on this day and was pretty lazy with my swing which caused some issues. I became so focused/worried about getting the face closed at impact that I had some nasty pulls, pushes, tops, chunks, sh&*ks most of the session. Never felt like I could put a true, solid strike on the ball. I did have a few 6 irons that were surprisingly well struck towards the end of the session. Like others that have played OL's and mentioned, the height on the 5 and 6 seem to be a little lower than typical variable counterparts and I have noticed the same thing. Nothing discouraging by way, just might have to play the shot a little differently. In my last round, on the 18th hole I hit a really good drive that left me 168 to the flag. I seriously considered choking down on my 5 hybrid for this shot, but decided I needed to hit the 6 iron. When I hit the shot, it was struck pretty well, but again it had a lower than used to height. With that being said, it ended up 2 yards shot of pin high about 25 feet left of the pin. So it's hard to argue with the results. Hoping to get back out this weekend for so more and better used/better results, range time. Might be another challenge as we some major weather coming into the area this week. If it's playable, I'll be out there!
 
I will be watching this thread closely. I was given a set of F9-Speedbacks (5-GW) to try out. My cousin won them in a raffle at his local club meeting. He didn't need them, and offered them me, since he knew my clubs were built a way long time ago.

They are still boxed up, out in the garage. Just hav'nt got around to trying them out as yet.

It will be interesting reading about the op's 5 rounds using these single length irons. That said, I would hope those 5 rounds could be extended to 10 rounds for more accurate information.
 
As Jason Garrett would say...."it's a process".

Hopefully your process is better than his. If not you’ll still be posting in this thread a decade from now about the same struggles.
 
...I did have a few 6 irons that were surprisingly well struck towards the end of the session. Like others that have played OL's and mentioned, the height on the 5 and 6 seem to be a little lower than typical variable counterparts and I have noticed the same thing. Nothing discouraging by way, just might have to play the shot a little differently. In my last round, on the 18th hole I hit a really good drive that left me 168 to the flag....With that being said, it ended up 2 yards shot of pin high about 25 feet left of the pin. So it's hard to argue with the results...

i have found the 6i and 9i are my best friends in the OLs so far...the 6 is good in the 150-165ish range, while the 9 is good in the 110 (maybe a skosh further) range. my experience is probably skewed due to the fact that i'm new and there's no real adjustment from traditional irons for me.
 
I've been following this thread and had a question the last few days but didn't post anything until I tried it for myself today. I've seen JB and others comment that it just takes swings and practice time to adjust to OL. This didn't make sense to me since the whole idea is supposed to be one swing. Everyone has swung a 7 iron so you would think adaptation would be immediate. Literally just swing the same regardless of what iron you have.

I hit the new Forged Tec today on GC2 and they also had the OL version. Out of curiosity I hit the OL 7 iron, then 5 iron and then 9 iron. Literally first swing with every club was perfect contact and dead straight. Took a few swings with each switching between them and didn't notice anything that would require an adjustment period. Relative to the 7 iron distance, the 5 iron was about 5 yards shorter than I would expect and the 9 was about 5 longer than I'd expect...which is exactly what I expected with OL. Not meant to be a dig at anyone. Just genuinely curious if this is not what others experience.

Short answer, Yes and No. Others have mentioned the mental portion of the switch and I'll echo that a bit. I've used primarily the F7 version, I have the F9's but I got them in graphite and have struggled to make that switch. What I have noticed is that on the 5,4 irons I do hit them a good distance for my swing speed when I put a good swing on them without physically trying to make up the distance by swinging harder.

For instance, hole 12 at my home course is about 150 to the front of the green, 170 to the back, water left, OB right (I only mention the hazards because we're talking about the mental aspect and they play in since I've hit into both of them many times depending on the tee box they set us up on, one is closer to OB and the other is behind the water). My 6 is my 150ish club and when I let the club do its job I can reach the front of the green pretty well and sometimes push it up to middle if I get a little rollout. My 5 should be about 160 yards but if I'm relaxed and hitting well I have sent the ball past the back of the green.

If I swing hard thinking I NEED to get this ball out there I do lose distance off of what I expect even when I hit it pretty well. I assume that comes from less than optimal contact because mentally I didn't just swing, i went after it and probably got a little tighter in my hands/arms/shoulders than what I normally would. In that situation I'm coming up short on the example hole I used nearly every time.

So yes, you may see some grouping at the top, though they seem to be getting better than the F7's in that regard and the one length hybrids are just fun to hit. I am a high capper though with all of the swing inconsistencies that go along with it so take all of this with a grain of salt.
 
I've been following this thread and had a question the last few days but didn't post anything until I tried it for myself today. I've seen JB and others comment that it just takes swings and practice time to adjust to OL. This didn't make sense to me since the whole idea is supposed to be one swing. Everyone has swung a 7 iron so you would think adaptation would be immediate. Literally just swing the same regardless of what iron you have.

I hit the new Forged Tec today on GC2 and they also had the OL version. Out of curiosity I hit the OL 7 iron, then 5 iron and then 9 iron. Literally first swing with every club was perfect contact and dead straight. Took a few swings with each switching between them and didn't notice anything that would require an adjustment period. Relative to the 7 iron distance, the 5 iron was about 5 yards shorter than I would expect and the 9 was about 5 longer than I'd expect...which is exactly what I expected with OL. Not meant to be a dig at anyone. Just genuinely curious if this is not what others experience.

Did you listen to the podcast? We address this part back and forth. I tend to agree, but the mind is a powerful thing.
 
I've been following this thread and had a question the last few days but didn't post anything until I tried it for myself today. I've seen JB and others comment that it just takes swings and practice time to adjust to OL. This didn't make sense to me since the whole idea is supposed to be one swing. Everyone has swung a 7 iron so you would think adaptation would be immediate. Literally just swing the same regardless of what iron you have.

I hit the new Forged Tec today on GC2 and they also had the OL version. Out of curiosity I hit the OL 7 iron, then 5 iron and then 9 iron. Literally first swing with every club was perfect contact and dead straight. Took a few swings with each switching between them and didn't notice anything that would require an adjustment period. Relative to the 7 iron distance, the 5 iron was about 5 yards shorter than I would expect and the 9 was about 5 longer than I'd expect...which is exactly what I expected with OL. Not meant to be a dig at anyone. Just genuinely curious if this is not what others experience.
I think what people are referring to is adjusting to the fact the wedges are so much longer than you mentall expect. Same thing for 5i in reverse. At the 5i spot it can also be tempting to swingbharder at first because the club is shorter.
 
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Man I can't imagine the pressure Tim is under with this decision. We all know we, the golfers, are about the biggest creatures of habit out there. We find a niche we like in a product and stick with it. Whether that's a certain look of the equipment, or the grips, or shafts... there's always something we're not happy with unless ordered and built ourselves. Good luck with the rest of the experiment, Tim.

One question though, Tim. Are you finding any issues with gapping. I'd watched a review where they saw huge distance gains in the lower irons, which led to too small of a gap in the longer irons. And if so, would changing the lofts a little fix that?
 
Did you listen to the podcast? We address this part back and forth. I tend to agree, but the mind is a powerful thing.
Yes I did listen. Personally I don't think I would have an issue adjusting to the one length concept. However, I tend to hit my long irons pretty well so making those shorter may negate that benefit. On the other hand I'm curious if the whole one swing concept would make me more consistent throughout the set. I'm really not sure how I feel about it, but the more I think about it the more curious I become.
 
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I think what people are referring to is adjusting to the fact the wedges are so much longer than you mentallmexpect. Same thing for 5i in reverse. At the 5i spot it can also be tempting to swingbharder at first because the club is shorter.
I get that the mental aspect could be tough. I don't think hitting the ball would be the hard part, but more so trusting your yardages. If you got those figured out then you would be more comfortable swinging a long nine iron and just trusting how far it will fly.
 
I get that the mental aspect could be tough. I don't think hitting the ball would be the hard part, but more so trusting your yardages. If you got those figured out then you would be more comfortable swinging a long nine iron and just trusting how far it will fly.

One shot is what caused me to go away from playing my one length F7 clubs. I delofted a PW and hit it about as far as my 7I. After that every swing with the PW/GW it was in the back of my mind and contact went to hell. I started compensating for that shot, even though I had hit hundreds fine and it was over for me. Confidence and trust are easier for some than others and after LOVING my set for months that went out the window quickly.

I would try it again in a heart beat but just sharing my experience.
 
Interesting test...
 
Interesting test...


They did one with Sterling Irons as well where by tweaking the lofts they got to really good gapping, I guess like with all irons key is to get to a good fitter and perhaps even moreso with OL.
 
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