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Single length clubs

SuperStroke
OGputtnfool

OGputtnfool

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Has anyone here used them and successfully gone from standard variable length clubs to single length clubs? Either irons or woods testimony would be fine, but if you've swapped both, then I'm all ears.

By successfully, I guess I'm wanting to hear that you switched and either shoot about the same scores as you did before or you are shooting lower scores.

I'm contemplating the Pinhawk SL irons in 4-LW (maybe a 4H) and probably a 3w and 5w. Don't think I'm going for the 7w, but I could always add it later if I wanted.

... and go!
 
I've used Wishon Sterling irons for the past year, I initially had some difficulty getting used to the 9-LW in SL and even when I got comfortable I felt the flight was too high (maybe partially shaft related also). So what I did end up doing is going for a dual length approach, I play the 5-8 at 36.75 and then 9-LW at 36.25. This has worked out really well and also changing to mid-sized grips really now has the set dialled in for me. I had to do some led taping to get swing weight for the shorter irons back to D2 (will install real shaft weights soon) and it works out fine.

Scoring wise difficult to say as I've only played a few years so last season going from 13 to 10 is probably natural progression but one thing I have noticed is that the misses with the lower lofted irons still go straighter than with conventional length. The other take away I have is that I really like anything up from 9i being at 36.25 (I'm 6'1) so even in my conventional set I have this set-up as it feels a lot more comfortable.
 
I used a set of Sterling irons for half a season last year. I had zero difficulty switching from standard length. I'm about a 16 handicap anyways so it's not like i'm grooving a repeatable swing like a low handicapper but i felt very comfortable switching. Key is to just imagine you are hitting a 7 iron with every shot and not try to swing to hard with the 5 iron nor too soft with the wedges. Let the club do the work and trust the technology. I added oversize JumboMax grips (medium) towards the end of last season and saw even improved results in regards to accuracy with 9-SW. These are back in the to start the season and will be looking at adding the Cobra One Length hybrid to the mix.
 
I shot -2 at Brambleton GC and -1 Westfields GC in VA back to back using single length irons. Placed top 3 in multiple tournaments as well. I've switch between single and variable length over and over and it's no different for me round to round.

Think about it this way, each of your 14 clubs do something specific. If you know the character of each club, and it's personality, you'll know what to do with it to make it work. I also have no issues with bouncing between 48" and 44" drivers, I just let them do what they want to do and the clubs are happy.
 
I have used single length Cobra F7 irons for a season. My scores changed because I played through an injury, not because of the clubs. A more expensive and by classical definition, better looking irons, sit in the garage and don't get played because the F7 one lengths are entrenched in the bag.
 
I played the F7 Single Length for 2 years and love them. I love them so much and they helped my handicap go down to a 9, I just preordered the F8 Single Length irons. I play the F7 Baffler Hybrids which I hit well and do not want to chenge to Single Length Hybrids. However, again I LOVE the irons. Give the F8 a try or you can save money if you can find the F7's as they are at a big discount.
 
seastrunk said:
I played the F7 Single Length for 2 years and love them. I love them so much and they helped my handicap go down to a 9, I just preordered the F8 Single Length irons. I play the F7 Baffler Hybrids which I hit well and do not want to chenge to Single Length Hybrids. However, again I LOVE the irons. Give the F8 a try or you can save money if you can find the F7's as they are at a big discount.
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FWIW, if Cobra normalized trajectories at each end of the set, as advertised, I'd spend the extra money and get the F8s over the F7 set.
 
A while back I stopped playing golf, and stuck to the driving range, as a golf out invariable resulted in me working on my swing technique rather than playing the game. I might as well just spend the $8 for a bucket of balls! Add to that; I really enjoy practicing the short wedge game, and tend to spend ½ my golf time on the local pitching green. Thus I wanted to simplify what I needed to work on with the rest of the bag, to the point that I could get through a full bag in one practice session. One Length Irons were just the start of this effort, I needed to reduce the time I spent on the longer end of the bag too.

This is my set up:

Driver
Adams Red Hybrids (16*,20*,23*) all cut to the same length of 40” and the head weight adjusted to a D2 swing weight. These hybrids are super easy to adjust the weight, you can use washers! The Adams brand is not defunct so they are super cheap to pick up.
Edel single length irons, 37.5” (an ebay steal-of-a-deal) 5-pw
Two wedges at 36.6”

That last club slot is still an open competition between a 50* wedge, a 4 iron, or a 26* hybrid.

I lose a bit of distance by dropping the 3 wood, but I would only use that club a few time a round. I play Bogey golf, the hybrids distance is good enough.


I now only have four lengths to condition into my muscle memory. My club face contact, and my belief that I’ll get good contact, is rapidly improving. Reduced practice time and the greater improvements in the limited practice is the major benefit of the limited length concept.
 
I demo'd a Wishon set a year ago and liked them. If I could afford them, I'd go this route with Cobra irons. Gave me a little more control and not a lot of distance loss.
 
greg19 said:
I used a set of Sterling irons for half a season last year. I had zero difficulty switching from standard length. I'm about a 16 handicap anyways so it's not like i'm grooving a repeatable swing like a low handicapper but i felt very comfortable switching. Key is to just imagine you are hitting a 7 iron with every shot and not try to swing to hard with the 5 iron nor too soft with the wedges. Let the club do the work and trust the technology. I added oversize JumboMax grips (medium) towards the end of last season and saw even improved results in regards to accuracy with 9-SW. These are back in the to start the season and will be looking at adding the Cobra One Length hybrid to the mix.
Click to expand...

Why not add a Sterling OL hybrid (assuming Wishon makes one) or a Pinhawk OL hybrid, if Wishon does not?
 
All great input, everyone. I especially like this one, but I think the handicap is a bit lower than mine so I'll take that for what it's worth.

ChristopherKee said:
I've switch between single and variable length over and over and it's no different for me round to round.
Click to expand...
 
OKputtnfool said:
Why not add a Sterling OL hybrid (assuming Wishon makes one) or a Pinhawk OL hybrid, if Wishon does not?
Click to expand...

Wishon only makes a 5h and for the price difference I’d rather go with the Cobra and all the newer tech they have in their club including the rails on the bottom. I just feel it’s a superior product to the Pinhawk.
 
OKputtnfool said:
All great input, everyone. I especially like this one, but I think the handicap is a bit lower than mine so I'll take that for what it's worth.
Click to expand...

Hmm. Maybe it’s lower because single length clubs :). I did go from 9 to 2 handicap during the single length run. I feel chipping and putting were a great factor, but manageable misses from a repeatable swing were a big factor as well.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
ChristopherKee said:
I shot -2 at Brambleton GC and -1 Westfields GC in VA back to back using single length irons. Placed top 3 in multiple tournaments as well. I've switch between single and variable length over and over and it's no different for me round to round.

Think about it this way, each of your 14 clubs do something specific. If you know the character of each club, and it's personality, you'll know what to do with it to make it work. I also have no issues with bouncing between 48" and 44" drivers, I just let them do what they want to do and the clubs are happy.
Click to expand...


Impressive that you can switch irons and have little effect on your scores. I have 2 sets of clubs that are both standard shaft lengths and when I switch back and forth it always takes me a few holes to adjust. even though the shafts, lie and loft angles are virtually identical.
 
TYork said:
Impressive that you can switch irons and have little effect on your scores. I have 2 sets of clubs that are both standard shaft lengths and when I switch back and forth it always takes me a few holes to adjust. even though the shafts, lie and loft angles are virtually identical.
Click to expand...

I think grip size messes with me more than going from club to club. I have a pretty shallow delivery so I'm usually not asking much from the club for forgiveness. 50% of my practice is just hitting the center of the club and I use a TourStriker most the time to practice.

But between single length and my variable set the MOI of my 7 variable and full SL set are the same so it's not much of a difference in feel going back and forth. If anything, I tend to hit the ball "thin" with wedges when going back to variable.
 
I was intrigued by the single length iron idea about 6 or 7 years ago before Bryson showed up on tour. I bought the Pinhawk version from ValueGolf and messed around a bit. I ended up giving those away to a friend. At that time my swing was atrocious so it didn't matter what I had in my hand. Fast forward to a year ago that bug bit me again, I bought the in1zone version from diamondtour golf. With my slower flatter swing I got an extremely high 8i-PW flight and extremely low 5 and 6 iron flight. Ball striking may have been more consistent but the flights never suited me and I quickly gave up on them. I got tired of seeing my longer irons bounce off the green into no mans land. I'm sure I could have made the adjustment for them distance wise or changed my stance, but the whole point to me was "one club, one setup". Perhaps a higher quality and better designed set like the Cobra offering could quell some of these ailments but I'm not willing to drop the coin to find out. IMO you can't swing a 5i that is the same length as a 7i the exact same way and expect it to perform. It almost naturally has to be a lower flight to get the proper distance. Maybe technology can change this, but not in the cheapo one lengths I tried. YMMV.
 
drinkinbeery said:
Perhaps a higher quality and better designed set like the Cobra offering could quell some of these ailments but I'm not willing to drop the coin to find out. IMO you can't swing a 5i that is the same length as a 7i the exact same way and expect it to perform. It almost naturally has to be a lower flight to get the proper distance. Maybe technology can change this, but not in the cheapo one lengths I tried. YMMV.
Click to expand...

The sterlings and the cobra are a step above. They've both got decent flight all the way to the 5 iron but not further. Wedges are still higher than conventional by about 3 yards, it can be offset a bit my adding a touch more mass to the wedges and playing 3/4 shots. Comes out same distance but lower. It does, however, change the overall feel of the wedges.

With the sterling wedges I built them at 37.25, same as rest of set, but I used much stiffer tipped shafts to keep the flight down and more weight towards the top of the club to keep flight down. Combined with the 3/4 swing distance gapping was good and so was flight. Not something the average golfer would tinker with though.

OEM's are getting closer, but not 100% there yet "off the rack". I think Edels SL's are making some good strides with the kick point changes in the shafts to address some issues with consistent ball height.
 
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