What is it About Top Line?

Don’t forget KJ Choi playing a whole bag of Headcovers when he had hybrids up to the 7 I believe.

Was that Choi? Or the giant killer YE Yang? Maybe it was both..
 
Don’t forget KJ Choi playing a whole bag of Headcovers when he had hybrids up to the 7 I believe.

And he played a set of like g15 irons at Augusta and was in contention to win. That would have been awesome
 
Thick looks chunky/big, makes me think big and chunky, and I shallow out as a result. Like I'm hitting a utility. It screams I will not glide through the turf. I don't mind thin at all, in any iron, as long as it doesn't make the blade look long, because I like compact clubs. It just needs to fit with the rest of the look of the club and it's probably fine for me. For the irons I play, I don't really mind a top line more towards medium. Doesn't look bad to me, and it tends to help up on the face, so why not. I don't think I'm a top line loony, but I do dislike the boxy ones. Even if they're not bigger, it makes them look bigger (is it that hard to bevel?) and I react to what I see again. As I get towards shorter irons I want a look that more and more let's me think it'll cut through anything well if I want it to. Ultimately it's the sole that counts, but past associations, actual trends, whatever, it has an effect on what I see from above and I think it'll be like below.

I think this nails it, something I’ve thought about and wondered why. For some reason a thick top line makes me worry about turf interaction/contact with the ball and just seems like it would be harder to hit well accurately.
 
Offset doesn't bother me.
The art of beveling top edge has been supremely welcomed.

I think the only thing that has been a visual deal breaker for me is a high boxy toe. I need soft lines to be visually satisfied.
 
The one I find vexing is someone seeking a game improvement iron and then dismiss a suggestion because the top line is too thick...
 
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I think it has something to do with ego , JB, more than anything else, we know historically that blades were considered de riguer by pros and those with minimal handicap, the flock follows , it’s says something without saying or doing anything ,,, slimline top , ,,, like slim fast cars … the sleekness of look….
That’s before anyone hit any , I imagine that some one hit thin top line clubs , but if the thicker version was more effective they would still aesthetically choose the thinner

For me I have some preferences, not many but top line has never worried me or felt the need to have club that Integrally had that in design.

Have greater focus on ball and alignment rather than shape and how sexy it looks

More interested in performance and number on card :)
 
I can say, looking at the carbon fiber top line on my Rad irons gives me the confidence to hit better than I usually would, lol
 
I think the big thing is turf interaction right? Big giant irons don't look like they will cut through rough. Pointedly they are tougher to hit than a smaller profile when the ball is down in some thick rough so the eye test is right, but they are much easier to hit out of the fairway so that can make up for it.
 
It’s a interesting debate , but additionally consider , some pga players are employing club models that have thicker top line than blades , and considering additionally they also are presented fundamentally with rough and long grass that’s on steroids …. Yet it matters nought at the elite level to employ those styles as they are .. more effective …….
 
I have no problem looking at a thicker topline if it helps me. I think I would have a hard time looking at something if the balance felt weird or off. If it's going to be a thicker iron that's fine, if it's going to be offset that's fine but what I don't want is something that doesn't look like it belongs - I think that would confuse my eyes. I have no idea if that makes sense but it's one of those I'll know if I don't like it but I've never come across anything yet that bothers me.
 
I have no problem looking at a thicker topline if it helps me. I think I would have a hard time looking at something if the balance felt weird or off. If it's going to be a thicker iron that's fine, if it's going to be offset that's fine but what I don't want is something that doesn't look like it belongs - I think that would confuse my eyes. I have no idea if that makes sense but it's one of those I'll know if I don't like it but I've never come across anything yet that bothers me.
o_O I am so confused , over that l am laughing , and unsure if it made sense 😃
 
I think the big thing is turf interaction right? Big giant irons don't look like they will cut through rough. Pointedly they are tougher to hit than a smaller profile when the ball is down in some thick rough so the eye test is right, but they are much easier to hit out of the fairway so that can make up for it.
How does top line have any impact on turf interaction. Though?
 
I'm confused by you being confused now we're both just confused. :golf:
:ROFLMAO: I think we are confused from the bottom line to the top line wahahahahahah
 
How does top line have any impact on turf interaction. Though?
It's not the top line per se' but generally a thick top line is part of a broader package. Bigger top lines are on bigger irons. That bigger profile (longer, taller, thicker) has to push more junk out of it's way to get to a ball in thick grass. It also requires more power to keep accelerating through the ball.

I have found the biggest impact for me out of longer rough playing big irons this year is I tend to pull the ball much more than I did with smaller profiles. Of course I am getting a lot of pickup on yards and forgiveness on all the other shots though.
 
To me it is aesthetics either look down at a clean thin line or...

Yep like this ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ It's all what you're used to looking at.

Having grown up hitting blades with the thinner top line, it just makes sense
 
It's not the top line per se' but generally a thick top line is part of a broader package. Bigger top lines are on bigger irons. That bigger profile (longer, taller, thicker) has to push more junk out of it's way to get to a ball in thick grass. It also requires more power to keep accelerating through the ball.
per the first post I was strictly speaking about top line. And while I don’t necessarily agree smaller means easier on troubled lies, even on small irons, top lines vary. It is why I am so curious about that part of the club exclusively here.
 
per the first post I was strictly speaking about top line. And while I don’t necessarily agree smaller means easier on troubled lies, even on small irons, top lines vary. It is why I am so curious about that part of the club exclusively here.
Ahh, I see. Top line doesn't really bother me so I'm probably not the best to critique it LOL
 
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It’s just a preference, with little legitimate reasoning behind the preference for most. Some want to feel like better players than they are, some don’t want to admit they need bigger irons and use that “uncomfortable” visual as an out.

Me? I just think a thick topline is ugly. That’s it.
 
I certainly like the looks of a thinner top line but I can honestly get used to the looks of most clubs, if they work for me. Success is a great cure for a club that is a little less appealing. I've played all sizes, offsets and proportions so only real extremes would be objectionable. I just bought a set of Callaway Apex DCB irons. Yeah they're chunky, have offset and thick...After about four shots, they were beautiful.
 
Thinner toplines are just more visually appealing to me. I jokingly say its to the detriment of my game, because I don't like hitting more forgiving irons, but I'm just not comfortable looking down at a thick chunky club. If I don't like the look of it, I'm already thinking about how poorly I'm going to hit it, and there's your predisposed outcome.
 
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