I have just spent the day at Carus Green GC & Driving Range working with some of Cumbria’s best junior golfers. I was there to check all of the player’s equipment and to make sure everything was working in harmony with their swing. 

Generally most of the players clubs were working well however many had trouble with the loft and lie angles of their irons, this came as no surprise to me. In the past 10 years or so manufacturers have significantly reduced the lofts of their irons.

The cynics and myself included believe it’s so manufacturers can sell more equipment. When a player compares one 6 iron to another, they will always buy the club which carries the furthest, so if you build a 6 iron that goes forever you will sell more clubs.

However, not all of the clubs have got stronger lofts, can you imagine if the manufactures made a 3 iron 2° stronger no one would be able to hit it, so instead the long irons have remained the same but the mid irons and short irons have got stronger. This means the lofts have become very bunched.

The de-lofting of irons causes two problems;

Firstly we end up with a huge gap between our sand iron generally at 56° and the modern pitching wedge at 46°. This has led to the introduction of a gap wedge, which is essential for all golfers.

The second problem comes when the lofts and lies move through repeated practice. With the already bunched lofts if any move you can end up with several clubs all with the same loft travelling a similar distance through the air.

So what can be done about it?

Ensure that you have a gap wedge to ensure that the maximum gap between lofts is 5°.
If you are having a set of clubs custom fit ensure that you specify the lofts you want, I recommend the good old fashioned 4° between each club.
If you practice regularly, especially off mats then make sure you have your clubs regularly checked for loft and lie.
If you want an MOT on your clubs, which would include your loft and lies checking out then please do get in contact.