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Is there a club fitter in the house?

Nippon Shafts
Iceman!

Iceman!

THPer formerly known as "markm778"
Albatross 2024 Club
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Arlington Heights, IL
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I need a little advise please. First - I'm a 20+ handicapper so I know that my swing needs work, so I'm just getting that out there to begin with.
I purchased a set of Gmax irons in July thinking that these were the perfect club to help me lower scores.

I have been hitting them for a couple of month and I have notice the following pattern on the club faces:

When I went to the shop that I bought them from. He suggested that there was nothing wrong with the clubs, It's winter range work and I should take a golf lesson. I hit these yesterday.

Well the lesson thing didn't set well with me. So I got out my Wilson D-100's, taped them up and hit at least 5 balls with them:

Except for a couple of close to heel shots, this is a pattern I would expect to see.


First thing I notice is the weight of the Gmax "D4" vs. I believe the D-100 are D2's

Any ideas on what is wrong with the Gmax's?
 

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What are the lie angles on the Gmax and Wilson D-100's?


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HandyManny said:
What are the lie angles on the Gmax and Wilson D-100's?

The Gmax are Green up 2.25 so it should be 64.13 on the 7 iron and the Wilson 7 iron it's 64.00.
I posted better photos of the builds and irons.
Click to expand...
 
Are the Gmax longer than your Wilson irons? I know it says the Wilson are 1/2" longer and the Pings are 1" longer but that could be the same length because of differences in manufacturer's specs.

If they are longer and slightly more upright then I would expect your contact to be closer to the heel.
 
For conversation sake, they are the same length.


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If they're the same length but the Pings are slightly more upright then I would still think there would be a slight difference in impact positions but not enough to turn center strikes into heel strikes. I don't think the swing weight has that much effect either. My guess is the shafts are the culprit as a graphite will come into impact differently than a steel shaft.

Again this is all guess work but you may just need more time with the Pings as you become more comfortable going from a lighter weight graphite shaft to a steel shaft. Since you mentioned that your swing needs more work I'd give it more time as you progress. But I'd keep the Wilsons in the closet just in case.
 
Looks like the d100 are +1"? Usually 38" 5 iron is mostly standard... if you are seeing more heel strikes on the gmax then I might suggest if choking down a bit helps. Perhaps they are longer, perhaps not... could be that perhaps gmax is longer heel to toe?
 
markm778 said:
I need a little advise please. First - I'm a 20+ handicapper so I know that my swing needs work, so I'm just getting that out there to begin with.
I purchased a set of Gmax irons in July thinking that these were the perfect club to help me lower scores.

I have been hitting them for a couple of month and I have notice the following pattern on the club faces:

When I went to the shop that I bought them from. He suggested that there was nothing wrong with the clubs, It's winter range work and I should take a golf lesson. I hit these yesterday.

Well the lesson thing didn't set well with me. So I got out my Wilson D-100's, taped them up and hit at least 5 balls with them:

Except for a couple of close to heel shots, this is a pattern I would expect to see.


First thing I notice is the weight of the Gmax "D4" vs. I believe the D-100 are D2's

Any ideas on what is wrong with the Gmax's?
Click to expand...


Not sure why you think it's the clubs.
 
mixalot said:
Not sure why you think it's the clubs.
Click to expand...
His impact spots with the two clubs are reasonably consistent and pretty different from each other. It smells like a potential fitting issue.
 
Last edited:
markm778 said:
I need a little advise please. First - I'm a 20+ handicapper so I know that my swing needs work,

Well the lesson thing didn't set well with me.
Click to expand...

:banghead:
 
Is there a club fitter in the house?

mixalot said:
:banghead:
Click to expand...

It didn't set well because I'm already taking them from a PGA Professional. It's a cop out answer. I'm a good a customer of the shop and spend thousands of dollars there.


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kc720 said:
Looks like the d100 are +1"? Usually 38" 5 iron is mostly standard... if you are seeing more heel strikes on the gmax then I might suggest if choking down a bit helps. Perhaps they are longer, perhaps not... could be that perhaps gmax is longer heel to toe?
Click to expand...

On the 7 iron, the Gmax is 3/8" longer
0f286e7e1aecc8939b46b533472197a5.jpg



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Choke down or step away a wee bit?
 
mixalot said:
:banghead:
Click to expand...
i know youre a relatively new member. But your two posts in this thread are bordering on insulting to the OP. And that's not what we do on THP
 
CAA_Beat said:
i know youre a relatively new member. But your two posts in this thread are bordering on insulting to the OP. And that's not what we do on THP
Click to expand...

Sorry, I don't mean to be insulting at all. I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings, just trying to offer a different perspective. Just because he spends thousands of dollars at the shop doesn't mean the pro is wrong. I'll step away now and watch my tone next time. Thanks for offering ME a different perspective, I'm not insulted at all that you pointed that out. Thanks for reminding me what THP is all about.
 
mixalot said:
Sorry, I don't mean to be insulting at all. I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings, just trying to offer a different perspective. Just because he spends thousands of dollars at the shop doesn't mean the pro is wrong. I'll step away now and watch my tone next time. Thanks for offering ME a different perspective, I'm not insulted at all that you pointed that out. Thanks for reminding me what THP is all about.
Click to expand...
No worries.

Your points are valid. Just the delivery that's all.

Glad to have you on board and jumping in.
 
markm778 said:
On the 7 iron, the Gmax is 3/8" longer
0f286e7e1aecc8939b46b533472197a5.jpg



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Click to expand...
Almost half inch longer could be the reason of being more consistently toward the heel. Everyone reacts differently to different aspects of the equipment though. Could be weighting, could be shaft. Lots of issues that a pro fitter should be able to sort out better than most here
 
kc720 said:
Almost half inch longer could be the reason of being more consistently toward the heel. Everyone reacts differently to different aspects of the equipment though. Could be weighting, could be shaft. Lots of issues that a pro fitter should be able to sort out better than most here
Click to expand...

It's a great point. I'm no different than anyone else, I want it right. Here is what I got from fitter "While lessons would definitely be of help, the difference between the 2 is the PINGs are longer and/or heavier" just wish they would have said " come in and let's make it right".


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mixalot said:
Sorry, I don't mean to be insulting at all. I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings, just trying to offer a different perspective. Just because he spends thousands of dollars at the shop doesn't mean the pro is wrong. I'll step away now and watch my tone next time. Thanks for offering ME a different perspective, I'm not insulted at all that you pointed that out. Thanks for reminding me what THP is all about.
Click to expand...

FWIW, other than the banging head thingy, I didnt think you said anything out of whack.
Glad to have you on board and the conversation was a fine one.
 
I've never had an iron set that was exactly right on all clubs on both loft and lie. Did the seller check the new clubs to see if they were actually to spec? If so, it's probably just the difference in the clubs (shaft, length, weight, etc.), and you may or may not adjust to it.

If they didn't check them, you should try to hit them with some lie angle tape on the bottom. It's possible that the Pings are too upright for you, especially with the added length. But that's something that you'd have to test for.

Also, lie angles that are in anything other than .25 degree increments are really hard to get right without a digital lie angle machine. Just about every other company (besides Ping and Wilson) use .25 degree increments in their iron lie angles.
 
JB said:
FWIW, other than the banging head thingy, I didnt think you said anything out of whack.
Glad to have you on board and the conversation was a fine one.
Click to expand...

FWIW I was OK with it as well, TX to CAA_Beat to coming to my defense. I should have put in my opening comments that I was already taken lessons. It might have avoided the "banging head thingy" We're Good.


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FWIW. I was reading the thread with interest as I always want to learn more about club fitting and specs from those that might be more knowledgable than me and I didn't want the thread to be get hostile or mark to feel unwelcome in starting threads.

If I overreacted with my comment JB I apologize. As I said mixalot had valid points. :drinks: For all.
 
The part from the club fitter that would have bothered me is this - if I need lessons to fully benefit from clubs then don't fit me to those clubs/sell them to me.
 
tequila4kapp said:
The part from the club fitter that would have bothered me is this - if I need lessons to fully benefit from clubs then don't fit me to those clubs/sell them to me.
Click to expand...

Amen my Brother! Golf is hard enough as it is with straight arrows, imagine how aggravating it is trying to shoot with crooked ones. And let's not even talk about trying to get better. What also gets me is that when I'm at TopGolf and hit balls, when the balls land, they go left. There is an obvious draw spin on them. I'm not just getting the full benefit of the iron. I can't even imagine what my distances would be if I was fit for them correctly.


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markm778 said:
Amen my Brother! Golf is hard enough as it is with straight arrows, imagine how aggravating it is trying to shoot with crooked ones. And let's not even talk about trying to get better. What also gets me is that when I'm at TopGolf and hit balls, when the balls land, they go left. There is an obvious draw spin on them. I'm not just getting the full benefit of the iron. I can't even imagine what my distances would be if I was fit for them correctly.


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Click to expand...

Excessive draw/left spin could be a swing issue, but it could also be a sign that the clubs are too upright for you.
 
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