HOT LIST EXTRA
SAME BUT DIFFERENT These two Callaway 7-irons differ
Not all irons are interchangeable BY E MICHAEL JOHNSON Check Your Specs
in loft by 5 degrees.
WE HEAR IT ALL THE TIME. A golfer is looking at some new irons from a different manu-
33° LOFT
28° LOFT
facturer than he or she is currently play- ing and is pondering whether the specs (lengths, lofts, lie angles) are the same or different. It’s highly unlikely they would be the same. As many in the industry like to say, the only thing standard in golf equipment is that there is no standard. Take these 7-irons from the Golf Digest Hot List Players-Distance category: TAYLORMADE P•790: 30.5 degrees loft, 62.5 degrees lie angle, 37 inches in length PING I530: 29 degrees loft, 62 degrees lie angle, 37 inches in length COBRA KING FORGED TEC: 29.5 degrees loft, 62.5 degrees lie angle, 37.25 inches in length Those might not seem like big differenc- es, but they matter. If you’ve ever been fit for clubs, you know that 1.5 degrees of loft is significant, and so is a quarter- inch in length or a half-degree lie angle. Plus, this is just talking about staying with irons in the same category. The differences are more pronounced if you’re changing categories or looking at a blended set of irons with two or more models. Here are three of the more popular Players irons: TAYLORMADE P7•MC: 34 degrees loft, 62.5 degrees lie angle, 37 inches in length CALLAWAY APEX PRO: 33 degrees loft, 62 degrees lie angle, 37 inches in length COBRA KING TOUR: 32 degrees loft, 62 degrees lie angle, 37.25 inches in length
lie angle to help produce a draw bias. Some iron specs to consider:
As you can see, if you’re switching from Players irons to the Players- Distance category, the lie angle and length don’t change all that much, but your loft could be changing by as much as 5 degrees. That’s an important consideration. Although stronger- lofted irons use other means to help get the ball in the air, like a lower centre of gravity, some players still have trouble launching them, particularly in the low irons. The reason might not be your shortcomings as a ball-striker but that your irons have too little loft. We would be remiss if we didn’t look at the Game-Improvement category. The skill level for those who gravitate to these clubs tends to be a tick less, yet the lofts are the strongest, and some compa- nies produce clubs with a more upright
CALLAWAY PARADYM AI SMOKE: 28 degrees loft, 62.25 degrees lie angle, 37.25 inches in length PING G430: 29 degrees loft, 62 degrees lie angle, 37 inches in length COBRA DARKSPEED: 27 degrees loft, 63.5 degrees lie angle, 37.25 inches in length Again, the lofts differ greatly from the other categories, and some of the lie angles vary significantly. The takeaway here is just as we stated in the beginning: The only standard is, there is no stan- dard. Ask questions about the specs, and you’re likely to walk away with a set of clubs better suited for you.
102 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2025
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