One Length Irons

I skipped one of your questions. Are my lofts stock? 4i is 1 degree strong. I did need to make that change to get my gapping correct. On my wedges, I adjusted my SW to 54 (from 56) and my LW was adjusted to 58 (from 60). With those changes I I have a consistent gapping throughout the set and you will notice that a half swing with say my 9i is the same as a full swing with a PW. It’s like that throughout the bag. So, for any shot, I can hit a full shot with any club, or a half shot with 1 club more. Same distance. However, the flight is different. The half shots come off lower with less spin. Shots into green will hit and bounce forward a few feet. The full swings come in higher and spin back. If a pin is in back, I will almost always play to center with a half swing so the ball releases. If a pin is in front, I will play to middle with a full swing and get the zip to bring it back.

If I were helping someone else get their clubs setup, their swing speeds would dictate the set. With slower swing speed, I would start with irons from 5i-LW. Then add a one length 4 hybrid and a 3hybrid. OR jump from 5i to one length 3-4 utility iron and adjust the loft to make the gap correct. If the player has faster swing speeds I would do exactly what I did, or substitute the One length 3 and 4 utility irons like Bryson.

Last point, I spoke with Mike Schy, Bryson’s coach. I asked him about moving kids to single length. He said they did tests with kids and saw that kids regularly had more accuracy with one length wedges. I was hesitant to switch my kids. So, I bought a one length wedge and did my own test with my daughter. Over a two month period we would go out and she would hit shots to a target with her short wedge. Then we would do the same with the one length wedge. After 2 weeks, she was consistently more accurate with the longer wedge. I switched both of my kids to 1 length after we did that test. :)

@Tom Saguto I did that already. I saw a few threads where people asked and discussions were cut short because of a lack of experience. I was hoping to create some discussion because the videos on YouTube by pro‘s who haven’t actually played one length clubs completely miss the real benefit.

For those that are interested:

1. if you have a minimal amount of time to practice every week. One length clubs are a massive advantage. 100 swings with any club is 100 swings with every club. Versus a standard set of clubs where you have different setup, ball position, posture on every swing and need to practice 100 swings with every club.

2. nearly everyone immediately sees the benefit of being able to hit a 3, 4, 5, 6 iron easier Than swinging a longer club. No doubt.

3. long irons are an advantage, however, I would suggest that the short irons are an even bigger advantage. why? Versatility. a. I can choke up on a longer sand wedge to make it the same length as standard. b. I have the option to let out the grip and generate more speed easier. The advantage of the longer lever…that means if i want to hit higher or put more spin on the ball…I don’t have to swing harder. c. I saw a study with hundreds of junior golfers. They consistently hit the longer sw closer in proximity to their target than the standard wedge. why? The assumption is that the more upright posture is more comfortable and more consistent.
   

4. Combine one length irons with the grid. How much simpler is it? make posture, distance from ball, setup exactly the same. Now, one ball back for baby draw, one ball forward for baby fade.

@Russell Hogue, PhD Great points there to begin a discussion. I would still suggest tagging some members who were active in the other single-length iron threads to engage them in this new thread.