- BRAND: TAYLORMADE
- MODEL: R9 (LEFT HAND)
- YEAR OF RELEASE: 2009
- SET MAKE UP:5-PW
- CLUBS ARE AIMED AT: MID TO HIGH HANDICAPPERS
- IRON TYPE: CAVITY BACK
- FORGED OR CAST: CAST
- SHAFTS: KBS TOUR 90
- SHAFT WEIGHT: 95 GRAMS (LIGHT WEIGHT)
- SHAFT FLEX: REGULAR
- MATERIAL: STEEL
- LENGTH: 1/4 INCH LONGER THAN STANDARD (very close to- see photo of table)
- LIE: 1 DEGREE UPRIGHT (close to- see photo of table)
- GRIP SIZE: STANDARD
- GRIPS: GOLF PRIDE TOUR VELVET (with Taylormade logos)
- I THINK THE CLUBS WOULD BE SUITED TO: 9 or so handicap golfers and higher who measure between 5 foot 8 and 6 foot or so in height and prefer the feel of light weight shafts in their irons and have a slow swing speed and tempo.
TRIAL OFFER INCLUDED.(Please scroll down the listing for details)
5 YEAR WARRANTY INCLUDED
Extra notes:
Please see the photo of the worn patch on the 6 iron grip. I couldn't even feel it though when I gripped the club. Other than that, the grips are all in good condition. They still feel grippy.
Loft and lie angles on irons often shift a bit just from use. I have measured the loft and lie angles of every iron in this set (see photo of table) but my measurements are not exact but they should be accurate to within plus or minus one degree for loft angle and accurate to within plus or minus half a degree for lie angle. Please see the ‘more detail on measurements' part of the listing if you would like more information on this.
The ferrules all twisted around when I tried to twist and move them but they did not come back from the clubheads. (Loose ferrules are purely a cosmetic problem but I check them anyway).
I have left small dots/ lines from a permanent marker pen on the underside of the shafts from marking balance points as shown in the photos. (Light scrubbing with a sponge scourer and some water will quickly take them off if desired.)
Please note that I only accept returns from buyers who live in the UK and Ireland.
Please message me first before buying these clubs if you live in the European Union.
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CONDITION
Heads and faces: 8/10
Shafts: 7.5/10
Grips: 6/10
Please scroll down for rating guide.
None of the clubs have been used since any of the photos were taken.
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TRIAL OFFER
I am happy for any buyer who lives in the UK or Ireland to try the clubs out at the driving range and/or golf course (after buying the clubs on eBay first at the full price) and if you decide that the clubs are not for you then you can return them back to me for a full refund. The trial lasts fourteen days after the delivery date and returns postage will cost no more than £10 at the post office for anyone who lives in the UK. Please note that buyers who do not live in the UK or Ireland will not be able to take advantage of this trial offer.
5 YEAR WARRANTY
By warranty I mean that I'm offering to give you a full refund for any clubs that you don't get at least five years out of. Irons are made to last many years or even decades of use so it's unlikely that anything bad will happen but ifanything goes wrong with these clubs within five years of purchase that affects the performance of them and is not your fault,I will give you a refund on the affected clubs. If anything were to happen within the first month of purchase you will also have the option to return all of the clubs back to me for a full refund and I will pay for your returns postage costs as well.
I understand that the possible things that could go wrong with an iron or wedge from normal use are that the clubhead could separate from the shaft or thatthe shaft could snap.
Just to be clear on what I am agreeing to give refunds for, here are some examples.
1. If you swing a club into a tree root or tree trunk and the clubhead either separates from the shaft or the shaft snaps, I would deem that your fault for taking on a risky shot. You would need to pay someone to get another shaft put in that club.
2. If either of those scenarios happen after hitting a shot off grass, sand or dirt, that would not be your fault and I will give you a refund on what you originally paid for the damaged club(s). So if a shaft snaps on your 7 iron and you originally paid £350 for 4-PW, I will give you a refund of £50 (350/7). You can then decide if you want to pay for a club pro or clubmaker to have the club re-shafted with another shaft, or it may actually be cheaper or less hassle to buy another second hand 7 iron on eBay instead, although the lofts of different 7 iron models vary and also often shift with use so the loft of your replacement club may be significantly different to your broken club).
3. If any of the ferrules shift or become loose, that won't affect the performance of the clubs but if desired you can pay a club pro around £3 per club to glue them back into position again or you can do it yourself. If you do a youTube search for ‘golf loose ferrule fix' the first video on the results page shows you how.Ferrules are only put on irons and wedges for cosmetic reasons and some irons don't even have ferrules.Ifa ferrule shifts it can look like the clubhead is separating from the shaft but it's just the ferrule that has moved up the shaft. I have read online that washing clubheads with hot water can cause ferrules to loosen, either by water getting onto or under the ferrules which then softens the glue which holds them in place or heat could maybe conduct through the clubheads and be transferred to the glue under the ferrules that way instead.
Extra info:
The five year warranty only applies to the person that I sold the clubs to or who the clubs were originally for (if they were a gift) so if you sell the clubs to someone else they can't take advantage of it.
Just to let you know of the information that I will need before sending a refund,I will need to see a photo clearly showing both the separated clubhead(s) and/or broken shaft(s) including shaft decal/ markings so that I can check my records to see if they match up. I will also need to be told the name on the eBay account that the clubs were bought from and the postcode of the address that the clubs were posted to. As long as you can provide that information I will refund you.
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RATING GUIDE:
Head and Face conditions:
10: BRAND NEW- Never been used- cellophane still on all of the clubheads.
9: EXCELLENT- Showing extremely light usage marks. The clubs look like they have been used for a round and/or practice session at most.
8: VERY GOOD- Showing light usage marks. The clubs look like they have been used for 5 rounds and practice sessions at most.
7: GOOD- The clubs could have been used for a number of seasons but will have been well looked after.
6: FAIR- Showing increased wear marks. Irons will show increased wear makes to the faces and the grooves will certainly not be as sharp as grooves on new irons. (Grooves on clubfaces gradually get less sharp over time with increased use.)
5 AND BELOW: POOR- The clubs will still be playable but will be showing significant wear marks and the grooves will likely be very worn.
Shaft conditions:
10: BRAND NEW- Never been used. Unmarked.
9: EXCELLENT- May show signs of very minor marks. Shop display condition.
8: VERY GOOD- Showing slight marks and steel shafts will have no visible specs of rust on any of the shafts.
7: GOOD- Steel shafts may have some marking and wear to shaft labels (decals) and may have a few very small specs of rust but there will be no pitting. Graphite shafts could have some light scratches.
6: FAIR- Steel shafts will likely show a large number of marks and small specs of rust and/or light pitting but there will be no big rust spots or heavy pitting on any of the shafts. Graphite shafts will likely show some bag wear.
5 AND BELOW: POOR- Shafts will still be playable in the short term but steel shafts could have heavy pitting and big rust spots. At some point in the future shafts in this condition will need to be replaced but I am unsure as to when that would be. Graphite shafts will likely show lots of marking and heavy bag wear.
Grip conditions:
10: BRAND NEW- Never been used. Cellophane will still be on all of the grips.
9: EXCELLENT- Almost feels like the grips have never been held.
8: VERY GOOD- Lightly used. Still in very good condition and retaining most of the original tackiness.
7: GOOD- Grips won't be quite as tacky or grippy but will still be in good condition and good enough to use for many golfers.
6: FAIR- The grips will have lost tackiness and could show light depression marks. Replacement would be beneficial but the grips would be usable in the short term.
5 AND BELOW: POOR- The grips will likely show heavy depression marks and the grips will likely be very worn. There may also be some splits or tears. Replacement definitely advised.
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MORE DETAIL ON MEASUREMENTS:
Club lengths:
My measurements for club lengths are accurate to within plus or minus 1/8th of an inch.
- I have measured the lengths of three of the clubs using a metal ruler, using the method shown in a youTube video by Hireko Golf. (Please do a youTube search for ‘measuring golf club lengths part 1' to watch the video).
- When measuring golf club lengths it's easy to make a mistake if you don't do it carefully, which I do but I measure club lengths twice just to double check I have not made an error.
- Brands vary from one another on whether they include the grip cap or part of the grip cap as part of the club length but there will be at most 1/4 inch of a difference between the longest and shortest brand. For example, if Mizuno says a club measures 37 inches, TaylorMade will say it measures 37.25 inches.
- I copy Mizuno who do not include the grip cap as part of the club length.I measure to the very edge of the grip cap to the nearest 1/8th of an inch and then I deduct 1/8th of an inch from that measurement.
Loft and lie angles:
My measurements of loft angles should be accurate to within plus or minus one degree and my measurements of lie angles should be accurate to within plus or minus half a degree.
- I do not currently have a loft/lie machine but I found out that it's possible to measure the loft and lie angles of irons and wedges without one, using a method I found in a youTube video. To watch this video please do a youTube search for ‘can my iPhone measure golf clubs' and its the first YouTube result.
- This method gives more accurate results for measuring the lie angle of an iron than it does for measuring the loft angle and by using this method the clubmaker measured the lie angle of his seven iron accurate to within half a degree of the actual lie angle of the club, but for loft angle his measurement was two degrees out.
- I have tweaked this method a bit to give more accurate results for loft angles, using a digital inclinometer which I bought on eBay for £12. A digital inclinometer measures the angles of inclines and some loft/lie machines actually use a digital inclinometer to measure the loft and lie angles but a loft/lie machine allows you to make sure that you have the club in the correct position each time before taking readings, whereas by using my method you are using your eye to judge that.
- You can use this tweaked DIY loft and lie angle measuring when you don't have access to a loft/lie machine that a club pro would use and you want to check how much loft and lie angles have shifted on your irons and wedges over time, or if you have paid someone to alter the loft or lie angles of your clubs and you want to double check that they have done it right.
- (When I have used this tweaked DIY method to measure the loft and lie angles of irons in new iron sets that I bought from big name businesses that were advertised as having standard specs and I compared my measurements to the ‘standard specs' shown online for those irons I got within plus or minus half a degree for lie angle and within plus or minus one degree for loft angle around 90% of the time. Occasionally I had readings that were very slightly outside of those ranges either because I hadn't the club in the correct positon before taking readings because I did it too quickly or because brands have tolerances and the loft and lie angles of their clubs will not be exactly what they say they are but I am unsure as to how big those tolerances could be.)
Method: (please see the second last photo as well)
*Before doing these steps it's worth checking first that your windowsill is flat (or very close to flat) because if it isn't you will get inaccurate results. To do this, place your digital inclinometer on different points along the windowsill and it will give you a reading which should be 0 if it's flat. If your windowsill is on a slight incline there may be an option on your digital inclinometer to reset the angle back to 0, in which case the digital inclinometer will treat the incline as level and you will still get fairly accurate results using this method.
1. Set an iron or wedge on the windowsill in the address position with the clubface facing you and the end of the grip against the wall.
2. Look to see that the shaft is on a vertical plane, ie. that there's no forward or backward shaft lean.
3. Look down on top of the clubhead to check that the clubface is pointing straight ahead (away from the windowsill and towards you).
4. Hold the clubhead in that position and get down eye level with the bottom groove of the clubface and check that it's parallel with the windowsill and if it isn't then move the clubhead to the left or right until it is.
5. Carefully place the magnetic digital inclinometer against the clubface which will then stick to the face. After doing this repeat steps 3 and 4 again just to double check that the clubhead is in as close as possible to the correct position.
6. Subtract the number on the digital inclinometer from 90 which will give the loft angle of the club.
7. Hold the clubface with your hand and carefully remove the digital inclinometer and then place it against the bottom part of the shaft, making sure that you're not putting it over the stepped part of the shaft if the shaft has a step pattern.
8. Take the reading from the digital inclinometer which will give the lie angle of the club.
As an alternative to using a windowsill, you could also use a table that's beside a wall instead. You could also use a stack of hardback books under the clubhead so you don't have to squat down to check if the bottom groove is parallel with the windowsill or table.
Swing weight:
My swing weight calculations should be accurate to within plus or minus one swing weight point.
‘Swing weight' is supposed to be a measure of how ‘head heavy' a club feels when you swing it, relative to the weight of the whole club.
A higher swing weight should mean that the weight of the club feels more towards the clubhead and a lighter swing weight should mean that the weight of the club feels less towards the clubhead and more in the shaft and grip.
The Swing weight scale varies between A0 and F9 but most new iron sets being sold (with the stock shafts) will have very similar swing weights (D0 to D4) with the clubs targeted at low handicap golfers having slightly higher swing weights (D2-D4).
I previously didn't really understand swing weight because based on what I read online I thought that swing weight was supposed to be a measure of how heavy a club feels when you swing it but that's incorrect. The total weight of the club will be what dictates how heavy or light the club feels to swing.(*Please read on down if you would like an example of when I tested this out).
However,if you have two clubs that weigh the exact same then it might be that the club with the higher swing weight will be the one that feels the heaviest to swing but at the time of writing this I have not tested that out so I don't know.
I found out from a youTube video by a clubmaker that you can accurately calculate the swing weight of any golf club (towithin plus or minus one swing weight point)byusing kitchen scales, a tape measure, marker pen and an online swing weight calculator. I considered buying a swing weight scale but someone in the reviews said it was giving false readings if the surface it was sitting on was not completely flat so I thought this other method might be more accurate (and also cheaper but it takes more time).
If you would like to watch the video, please do a youTube search for ‘golf swing weight calculators' and watch the first youTube result.
If I have measured and calculated the swing weights of these irons one of my photos will show my swing weight calculations.The swing weights shown in the photo of the table along with the other club specs are the standard spec swing weights for each club for this iron model (with the stock shafts and grips) which I found online. If the clubs are longer than the standard spec lengths then the swing weights of the clubs will likely be higher and if they are shorter than standard then they will likely be lower.
Just to add to the information in that video if you want to do it as accurately as possible:
When I first used this method, I tried setting the shaft directly on kitchen scales but I was getting inconsistent readings depending on what parts of the shafts was sitting on the scales. I did not have a rubber shaft clamp like the guy in the video used so I used my digital inclinometer instead (which I use for measuring loft and lie angles). I zeroed the scale after setting the digital inclinometer on the scale and rested the shaft across it. That mostly fixed the problem. However, I think to get the most accurate reading possible you should try and set the digital inclinometer or rubber shaft clamp in the middle of the scale and then you want to rest the club with the balance point of the shaft in the middle of your rubber clamp or digital inclinometer, so it helps tomark all of the balance points first so that when you go to weigh the clubs you will already know where the balance points are.
To find where the balance point of the club is, I think it is easier to rest the shaft over the side of a pen instead of what the clubmaker used. I am using a black permanent marker and marking a small dot on the shaft directly above where the shaft is resting on the pen. (I did not bother with using any masking tape). It can be hard to mark the shaft properly without the shaft falling off the pen so once I have a small dot on the shaft I rest the shaft over the pen again and check to see that I have marked the correct spot and then I set the pen down and make a correction if necessary by marking a bigger dot or small line.
I then rest the club over the edge of a table and I set my metal ruler parallel to the shaft and measure the distance from the dot or line on the shaft to the edge of the grip capbut using a tape measure as shown in the video may be easier.
I am using the okrasa website's swing weight calculator to calculate the swing weight as shown in the video.The website says to measure from the edge of the grip cap (not the very end of the grip) so if you are copying the method used by the guy in the video you should deduct 2mm from whatever your measurement is. (If your distance measurement is out by 3mm, the calculated swing weight will be out by around 1 swing weight point).
If you want your clubs to feel either lighter or heavier to swing then you need to change the overall weight of the clubs.Lighter clubs most often mean that you can swing the club faster and hit the ball further but that can come with decreased accuracy ie your bad shots become bigger misses and the opposite should be true for heavier clubs. Altering the shaft weightwill make the most difference as to how heavy the clubs will feel to swing but you can also change the weight of the grips or use lead tape.Using lead tape on golf clubs isn'tdone that much anymore but some golfers still use it, mostly to alter the swing weight. Adding lead tape to theback of clubheads increases swing weight and adding lead tape to the shafts (just under the grips) decreases swing weight. You can also change the weight of the gripsto change swing weightbut heavier grips usually mean thicker grips as well.
*Since I started using the online swing weight calculator to find out the swing weights of my iron sets I found that one of my iron sets had significantly different swing weights among the different irons in the set. This was a set of Nike Vapor Pro irons with extra stiff KBS Tour C Taper shafts.
The swing weight of the 5 iron was D4.3 and the total club weight was 462 grams.
The swing weight of the 4 iron was E0.2 and the total club weight was 431 grams.
The 4 iron grip had a standard lamkin crossline grip and the 5 iron had an oversize lamkin crossline grip, which is around 25 grams heavier than the standard sized grip so that must have been the main reason for the differences between the two clubs.
I took both of the clubs outside to swing and I did not test this out with a launch monitor but the 4 iron felt significantly lighter than the 5 iron to swing, even though the swing weight of the 4 iron was 6 points higher than the 5 iron. I could definitely swing the 4 iron faster than the 5 iron, which I put down to the club being 31 grams lighter in weight. The 4 iron was 3/8ths of an inch longer in length than the 5 iron and that could have also been a reason as to why I was able to swing the club faster but 3/8ths of an inch isn't much so I think the 4 iron being lighter in weight was the main reason.Both clubs felt very different to me to swing. It was like the two clubs had two completely different shafts in them.
The swing weight of a golf club can change by changing the weight of the shaft but I understand that golf shaft manufacturers can shift the balance points on shafts to keep the swing weights of clubs the same regardless of the shaft weight so if you change the weight of the shaft the swing weight may or may not change depending on the make up of the shaft but I have read that a lighter shaft usually means a lower swing weight as well. If the swing weight of any club is not what you want it to be you can tinker with lead tape and/or grip weight until it is.That's the easiest, quickest and cheapest way to alter the swing weight of golf clubs when the clubs have already been built.
I'm not certain about this but changing the swing weight is not one of the custom fit options when buying a new set of irons (online anyway). After paying for the clubs there may be an option to request that they be built to a certain swing weight but from memory I have never seen that to be an option when I have looked at what all of the different custom fit options are when buying new irons on different websites.
I had a look on Titleist forums and someone wrote that Titleist will have clubheads of different weights. Depending on what the requested swing weight of the irons is by the customer Titleist will choose from the different weighted clubheads in order to get the swing weight of the clubs as close as possible to the requested specification.The club-builder can then add weight to either end of the shaft using weights in order to get the swing weight of the club to exactly what they want it to be.
For example, for irons that are 3/4 inch longer than standard length and a requested D2 swingweight Titleist will use the lighter weighted heads in order to keep both the overall weight of the clubs and the swing weight of the clubs the same as if the clubs were standard length. The opposite would be the case for clubs that are shorter than standard length ie Titleist would use the heavier weighted heads but if the custom fit order has no swing weight specified then clubs that are built to be longer than standard length will be both heavier and have higher swing weights compared to standard length clubs and the opposite is true for clubs that are built to shorter than standard length.
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HELPFUL GUIDES:
I have written some guides/advice for any golfer who is unsure as to what new or second hand iron set they should buy. You can read any of these if you scroll down this listing and they include:
1.DIY lie angle custom fitting and why lie angles are very important in irons and wedges.
2. Custom fitting advice and the pros and cons of it when you are wanting to buy second hand golf clubs afterwards.
3. Value for money in a new or second hand iron set.
4.Different ‘types' of golf irons available and the difference between them.
5.EBay moneyback guarantee- what this includes and why buyers on eBay need to know about it.
6.The best way to know if you have bought counterfeit irons online.
7. Cleaning irons and wedges.
8. Cleaning golf grips.
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1. DIY LENGTH AND LIE ANGLE CUSTOM FITTING FOR IRONS AND WEDGES AND WHY THEY ARE VERY IMPORTANT.
- The lie angle of a golf club is the angle created between the shaft and the sole of the clubhead when the club is in the address position.
Getting the correct lie angles in your irons and wedges for your own individual stance and swing is very important because the soles of the clubheads need to be square to the ground at impact to allow you hit the ball out of the middle of the clubface and at the target.
- If you buy a set of irons (or wedges) and the lie angles are either too upright or too flat for you, then in many cases you will be able to adjust your stance to suit the lie angles of your clubs in order to get the soles of the clubheads square to the ground at impact. You can do this by either standing taller, or more bent over with more knee bend because doing either of those will either raise or lower your hands at impact, but changing your stance is not ideal if you like to stand a particular way. The third last photo on this listing shows two extreme examples of a very tall and very bent over stance.
- Lie angles can be adjusted on any iron or wedge by using a loft/lie machine which most club pros have, for around £3-5 per club. However, many club pros are super cautious and will not make loft or lie angle adjustments on cast irons out of fear of breaking your clubs and being held responsible. (A clubmaker on YouTube adjusted the lie angle of a cast iron by 7 degrees before the club broke). Forged irons are easier to bend but many club pros will only bend by a maximum of two degrees in either direction.
Step 1:
- Use Ping's colour code chart to give you a good estimate of what lie angle spec you need in your irons and wedges, even if you are buying from another brand. To watch a good youTube video on this, please do a youTube search for ‘2017 Ping chart' and watch the first youTube result.
- This estimate will give you a good estimate if you buy a set of irons which are standard length. According to Ping this estimate will get you within plus or minus 1 degree of your required lie angle spec 75% of the time and within plus or minus 2 degrees 95% of the time.
- Ping also give club length recommendations based on your height, but club lengths are just a recommendation and are not super important, but lie angles are.
Method:
- Wear normal shoes (without big heels) and have a friend measure the straight up and down distance between your wristand the floor in inches when you are standing upright with your hands hanging down naturally by your sides.(Just to be clear, you want to measure from where you hand meets your wrist, ie the wrist crease).
- Do a google image search for ‘Ping colour code chart' and look at the first image result.
- Match up your ‘wrist to floor' measurement with a lie angle specification. This is the recommended lie angle spec required for you if you buy a set of irons which are standard length, regardless of what height you are.
Step 2:
- Whenever you have bought a set of irons you can do an easy DIY test to check whether any further lie angle adjustments need to be made for you. This test can also be done for wedges as well. Doing this test will give you instant feedback as to what position your clubhead is in at impact.
Method:
- Do a youTube search for ‘DIY lie angle check' and watch the first youTube result by ‘50 yards longer' which is a short, helpful video that shows you how to do the test.
- You need to use either a good whiteboard marker or a good permanent marker pen, but using a permanent marker pen will require more effort to clean the lines off your clubfaces.
- Do this test off either a range mat or use a tee when on grass. You can do it with either all of your irons and wedges, or to save time you could do it with perhaps three or four clubs instead such as a long iron, mid iron, short iron and shortest wedge. If the lines are not going straight up and down the clubfaces then leave the lines on the clubfaces and hand all of your clubs to your club pro to make lie the required angle adjustments which should cost £3-5 per club.
- Clean the lines off the clubfaces afterwards using water and a sponge scourer or cloth and then dry the clubheads using a towel.
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2. CUSTOM FITTING ADVICE WHEN YOUR AIM IS TO BUY SECOND HAND IRONS AFTERWARDS
- I would advise anyone who is unsure of what new or second hand iron set they should buy to get custom fit for irons. This is more important to do if you are planning to spend significant money on your clubs and your scoring is important to you. In most cases, every time you buy and sell an iron set it will cost you significant money just to change clubs so it's good if you can buy a suitable iron set on your first purchase.
- There are different types of custom fitting available but before paying to get custom fit I advise first checking that you will be able to try out a significant number of different shaft and clubhead options. The biggest problem with custom fitting is that it's mainly only geared towards trying and buying the latest brand new irons but you can still use it to your benefit if you would like to buy a second hand set afterwards on eBay for considerably less money than what a new set would cost.
- In my opinion the most important thing to learn from a custom fitting session for irons is what sort of weight of shaft you most prefer in your irons, followed by shaft flex.This is because getting a suitableshaft in your irons for your own individualswing and weight preferences is more important than getting suitable clubheads becauseshaft weight can significantly affect your ability to consistently hit the ball out of the middle of the clubface.The shaft weight is the biggest factor that affects how heavy or light the club feels to you when you swing it and in general, if the shaft weight is too light for you then your consistency of ball striking will be bad (particularly when you are nervous) and your bad shots will be bigger misses compared to heavier weight shafts. If the shafts are too heavy for you then you will likely not hit the ball as far but you may well be more accurate than lighter weight shafts. All iron clubheads will perform almost equally well when you hit the ball out of the middle of the clubface but the most forgiving clubheads will outperform the less forgiving ones, for both carry distance and accuracy. (I am not sure how much of a difference this actually is because without robot testing it's very hard to know because very few golfers are consistent enough to test that properly, but I think that it's made out to be bigger difference than it actually is).
- I believe that all of the well known brands of clubheads make almost equally good clubs and they all will sell very similar clubhead options from one brand to the next (from a set of non forgiving musclebacks at one end to a set of very forgiving cavity backs at the other end and there will be 2-3 sets in between those two extremes with variable levels of forgiveness, clubface size and offset. You will be able to find an almost identical set of older, second hand irons on eBay to your most preferred clubheads at your custom fitting session because the top brands of clubheads release a new range of iron sets every two years or so with very minor tweaks made. The ‘type' of clubheads you choose in your irons should be mainly decided by how much forgiveness you want on off-centre hits, followed by the clubs that you like the look of when the clubs are in the address position.Please read my guide on ‘different types of golf irons available and the differences between them' if you would like more information on this.
- Please note that the lofts of irons between different iron models can vary considerably. For example, the loft of a 7 iron could be anywhere between 26 and 35 degrees, so whenever you are trying to compare distances between different iron clubheads you can't properly compare them for carry distances unless you know what the loft is. With irons and wedges the most important thing is to be able to consistently hit the ball online and a specific distance, not how far you can hit it.
- In nearly all cases, the brands that make iron shafts are completely separate to the brands that make the clubheads, so it's possible to get almost any shaft that you would be trying at your custom fitting session in any second hand set of older clubheads that you would find on eBay afterwards from any of the main brands of clubheads such as Titleist or Taylormade etc.
- Make a note or take a photo of shaft labels of the specific shafts (and the flex) that you like during your fitting and then I would advise to save yourself hundreds of pounds and buy a second hand iron set on eBay afterwards that have one of your preferred iron shafts by doing an eBay search for ‘golf irons' plus that specific shaft. For example, ‘golf irons Dynamic gold 120 S300 stiff'. This would be the safest option, to choose an iron set that have shafts that you already know you like or as an alternative you could choose irons that have shafts which are of very similar weight and the same flex, but this will be a higher risk option because you may not like how that shaft feels or performs for you even though it's the same weight.(You may need to use google to look up the weight of any iron shafts that you see in second hand irons advertised on eBay.)
- You could also take a photo of your most preferred clubheads at your custom fitting session to help you later when you are looking at second hand irons on eBay. I advise taking a photo of the back of one of the clubheads just to make a note of the clubhead model but also a photo of the 7 iron clubhead behind the ball (like in my photos) because this will help you when you are trying to find a set of similar second hand irons on eBay later. Most sellers on eBay do not take photos of the clubheads behind the ball so you may need to do a google search for a specific iron model that you find on eBay to see what the clubs look like behind the ball. Pay attention to how big the clubheads are (relative to the size of the ball) and also how much off-set there is and compare this to the photo you took at your custom fitting.
Iron shaft weights can be broken up into different weight brackets which I would describe as:
Heavy/ tour weight: 120+ grams
Mid weight: 100-120 grams
Light weight: 80-100 grams
Super light weight: Under 80 grams
The most popular iron shaft on the PGA tour is True Temper Dynamic Gold which is at the heavier end of iron shaft weight and the Dynamic Gold shafts weigh between 127-132 grams depending on the flex. This is a heavier iron shaft than most amateur golfers like but it's worth trying when to use as a bench mark. At your fitting I would advise asking to try this shaft first in all three flexes to find your preferred flex and then ask to try a shaft which is ten grams lighter in weight in the same flex and keep going down by ten or so grams at a time until you think the shaft weight feels right for you. Go with your first instincts on this when you first try a shaft. You will swing a club and think that it feels too heavy or too stiff etc and you won't like it. Some golfers will be much more sensitive than others in how much of a difference they actually notice between different iron shafts and how much of a difference a ‘right' or ‘wrong' shaft actually makes to their shots.Whenever you do find a shaft you like and are performing well with you could then ask to try different shafts in that same weightcategory in order to try and find other shafts that you like, which will give you more options to choose from on eBay afterwards. Finally, it may be worth asking to try your most preferred shaft in the different flexes available to just double check that you know what the best flex option is for you.
Key points to remember before and during your fitting:
- It's always safest to buy a second hand iron set from a seller on eBay that accepts returns, rather than buy a new iron set because worst case scenario is you will have to pay to post the clubs back to the seller for a full refund if you don't like the clubs. If you buy a new iron set and you decide after a week or two that you don't like them then you won't be able to return them for a refund and you will likely have to sell them to someone else for significantly less than what you paid for them.
- Beware that your fitter may be on commission and may think that you are going to buy a new iron set from them or the business that they work for, in which case they may be trying to point you towards getting the most expensive shafts and grips available.
- Get a fitting at a time that you have recently been playing regular golf so you can learn the most from it.
- Hit at least 20 balls first before you start comparing any clubheads or shafts to make sure you are warmed up.
- Line up every shot at a consistent target and use your normal, full swing with every clubhead or shaft option that you try so that whenever you are comparing accuracy with different heads and shafts you have something to go on. It may be easier to put a club or alignment stick down on the ground to allow you to consistently aim to the same target.
- Take short breaks between shots when you need to so that your swing speed isn't slowing down too much during the fitting.
- When comparing different iron shafts mainly use ‘feel' to decide which shaft you like the most but certainly look at where your all your shots end up via the launch monitor as well.
- Don't be afraid to keep asking to try a different shaft. This is partly what you are paying for. Your fitter may say that it's best not to try too many different options at your fitting but I think that's likely because they couldn't be bothered letting you try out many different shafts (which requires more effort for them).
- Shaft weight is more important than flex. I believe too heavy is better than too light (for scoring) because accuracy and consistency of ball striking is more important than distance so if in doubt, err on the side of too heavy. (Although, lighter weight shafts are easier on your body so golfers with a bad back etc may need to reach a compromise between pain and scoring. If the shaft is too light and/or not stiff enough for you then you may have to slow down your swing speed and/or tempo to suit the shaft. When you are nervous, it is easier to strike the ball well and be accurate when you hit the ball hard (but in control) so you need a shaft that works for your 80-90% swing.
- Some shafts are supposed to be ‘low launch, low spin and others high launch, high spin etc but the loft of the club has by far the biggest influence on launch angle and spin rate etc, not the shaft.
- If you find out how long your fitting lasts beforehand and what time it started you will know how much time you have left at any point and you can also make sure your fitter does not rush you through it or end it early.
- It's worth trying all of the different range of clubhead options available for irons at your custom fitting, just to see how much difference you actually notice between a muscleback iron and a ‘game improvement' cavity back iron.
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3. VALUE FOR MONEY IN AN IRON SET AND WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR
- With all second hand golf clubs (but for second hand irons and wedges in particular), the most important part of a golf club condition wise is the clubface because the clubface is what is making contact with the ball. For irons and wedges, the less the clubs have been used the sharper the grooves will be. Sharp grooves give you the highest and most consistent backspin levels possible which is important when you want to stop the ball quickly, which most often is when you are using your wedges and short irons. Grooves on wedges and irons gradually get less sharp over time after hitting many golf balls- it is a gradual process. Sellers' photos on eBay can be deceptive so it's often hard to see what state the grooves are in unless you have close up photos of clubfaces in the right lighting to properly show up clubface wear and stone chips. More clubface wear means more worn grooves. A photo which shows all of the clubfaces together in the one photo won't allow you to properly see clubface wear because the camera is not close enough to the clubfaces.
- The top brands of clubheads release a new range of irons every two years or so with minor tweaks made. Brands will give a lot of marketing BS to try and tell you about all the improvements they have made to try and get you to buy the latest clubs but these changes I believe will be very minor and are mostly cosmetic changes, rather than actual changes in performance (which is very hard to prove without robot testing which I suspect they are either not doing or are doing but not making the results public knowledge because the new clubs are not any better than the older ones, other than the worn groove issue for wedges and irons).
- For Drivers, woods and hybrids or putters I don't believe you are at any advantage performance wise by using the latest equipment so my advice would be to go for older models to get value for money. However, clubs with adjustable hosels (drivers, woods and hybrids) first came out in circa 2010 so if you buy a driver, wood or hybrid before that time then those clubs will not have an adjustable hosel so you won't be able to quickly adjust the loft or lie angle of the club in order to help you change your ball flight ie changing the launch angle up or down and hitting draws and fades.
- The market value of second hand golf clubs is decided by a combination of the age and condition of the clubs (relative to the price they were when they were new) and it's the older but good condition iron sets that I believe are the best value for money because many people won't want them just because they are ‘old' which lowers the price of them but they will have sharp grooves so they will actually out perform newer iron sets that have been used more. However, the older the irons and wedges are the more likely it is that the clubs will be well used and in bad condition but this isn't always the case.
- If you are someone who wants a brand new iron set, you can get a much better deal if you buy a new iron set that isn't one of the latest ones.If shops have not sold all of the previous models the price will come down to shift them before the new range comes out. These older iron sets will cost you significantly less money than any of the latest irons would cost, often by hundreds of pounds but you may only be able to get the clubs with the ‘stock' shafts which may not be what you want but the clubs will certainly be better value for money than the latest new irons from any of the main brands of clubheads.
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4. DIFFERENT IRONS AVAILABLE AND THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THEM
There are three different ‘types' of golf irons available:
- Cavity back irons
- Bladed irons (or ‘blades')
- Muscle back irons
Cavity back irons:
A cavity back iron is one that has a hollow section in the back of the club. This removes mass from the centre of the clubface and distributes it to the outside edges of the clubhead, which provides lots of forgiveness. ‘True' cavity back irons look quite chunky behind the ball i.e they have big clubfaces, thick toplines and will also likely have a lot of offset (offset is how far the leading edge of the clubface is to the right hand side of the hosel for a right handed golfer looking at the club in the address position). Cavity back irons will have a significant amount of offset because it makes it easier to square the clubface at impact and most amateur golfers either fade or slice the golf ball, particularly higher handicappers.
Since cavity back irons are so forgiving, you can hit the ball out of the toe or the heel of the clubface and you should find it difficult to tell where on the clubface you made contact just based on the feel or sound of the ball off the face, apart from if the ball didn't go quite as far as expected. However, if you thin the ball or hit it heavy, you should be able to tell as soon as you hit it.
All irons that are regarded as ‘game improvement irons' (which are aimed at mid to high handicappers) are cavity back irons.
Bladed irons:
Bladed irons (or ‘blades') are traditional, ‘old school' looking irons with a very thin top-down look and small sweet spot. The clubfaces of bladed irons will also be smaller than cavity back irons. A blade sounds great when you strike the ball out of the centre of the clubface but it will be very obvious when the centre of the clubface is missed because it won't feel or sound the same. Off-centre shots also result in a larger loss of distance and loss of accuracy compared to cavity back irons.
Hardly anyone actually uses true blade irons anymore because they are so unforgiving.
FERS boutiques GAUCHES TAYLORMADE R9 (2009)/ 5-PW/REGULAR KBS TOUR 90 ARBRES
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