Club Fitting Series With Doc Griffin: Club Configuration

DH, I waited for Doc to answer and agree it is tough to answer unless a fitter has al your data and sees you in person. Kind a like calling a doctor over the phone and wanting a quick health solution. Of course you could give a recieve a muvh more detailed evaluation /solution from Doc if you did the long distance fitting he offers.
Any how, There is much in the way of self evaluation you can do in the meanwhile. Are you heavy or deficient in any area/
Have you evaluated your set make up by seeing what you average with each club in distances? Good aproximate gaps between irons is 10 yards and between fairway metals 15 yards. There are charts you can use with fill in the blanks for each club as evaluated but you can make your own and start writing down the results. Then after finding out the gaps of distance between clubs you can decide if you need to add/subtract or replace any club in among the 13 (did not include putter). This is why I hope to get a laser range finder soon. My gps will measure distances of clubs over time if I mark the spot hit from as zero and then simple drive or walk to the balls resting spot after hit and see how far it went. This will suffice but it is less practical. Many of us "just know" how far we hit each club. Others of us have an unrealistic view of how far we hit each club because we base it on our best shots and not on reality. Other factors that will effect your choices are, where do you neede the most help inimprovement? Off the tee,in the fairway, or from 150 in, or maybe from around the green?? Maybe you need a better set of wedges or to add a wedge to fill a gap while iliminating a hard to hit less effecient long club like a 3 wood or 3/4 iron.
Another thing you can do is chart how many times you use each club during several rounds. Maybeyou find that you rarely or never use a particular club. If so maybe switch it out for a club that helps more.
Hope these ideas help DH.
PMG down under my friend.

If I didn't know better, I'd think I had written you a response and used Steve's ID.  Man, his response is right on the money.

Do you know if the swing speeds Doc referred to when discussing irons were still referencing the Driver swing speed rather than the 5 or 6 iron swing speed ? It was not clear to me. For example, a driver swing speed of 90 mph is usually accompanied by a 5/6 iron swing speed of 78-80 mph. It sounded to me like the iron set configuration was probably based on the iron ss rather than the driver.

Oh yeah, it's definitely a shot you prefer to make when hook spin is desired. However, you'll note that I said "intentionally blading" not hooding over a 5 or 6 iron. Blading the ball you admittedly get no controllable spin, but you can get the ball to travel long and low.

27* 28*
I think one fairway club is enough

Thanks Bob but I get to see the count of viewers.

One way to tell and that's to try it.  Give it a try and compare to the hybrid and see what happens.

What you're saying is he's actually carrying a 4 wood and a 7 wood. :)

 Doc, Will endeavour to get swing speed etc tracked in a few weeks time when I go north from here for a few days. Thanks anyway. DH.

 Adel,

I do not curse you for your opinion. I do however, Strongly disagree with you and I am fairly sure that the majority of regular posters will also disagree with you.

It really doesn't mater what either one of us actually thinks though, since the site is privately owned and operated, they can do as they please, but I do believe  they are pleasing the Majority, which leaves you in the minority. Try to accept, what you cannot change. Allow others the privilege to enjoy something you do not. Everything does not have to be to your specifications in life. Tolerance and acceptance of that which does not infringe upon your rights and privileges might be food for thought. 

PMG

Good stuff, Doc. So at what point do you think I should take this 1 iron out of my bag? ;-)

Great job Steve.

He says "driver swing speed" so I'm pretty sure that's what he's talking about. Easy to miss that one word, though.

When it's lightning.

5 hybrid should go further as the shaft is longer and normally equal in loft or close to the same loft as a 5 iron.

Doc:
My driver club head speed is 90 mph. I carry a 3W(15 degrees), a 5W(18 degrees) and a 7 W(21 degrees).After seeing your video I'm taking the 3W out of my bag. My 5 iron club head speed is 80 mph.I hit it 160 yards.
I have 8 irons from a 4 iron to a sand wedge. My pitching wedge is 48 degrees. My gap wedge is 54 degrees. My sand wedge is 58 degrees. Do you think  this configuration is suited to me?
....Fred K.

Hey, you've seen me hit that 1 iron.

Yep!
My lowest loft is a 16* hybrid, so it has become my low punch out club.

Why waste money on making a video when an audio recording would have been enough?

A 3 wood is 15* and a 5 wood is 19* as a rule.  And, the distance that you are hitting the clubs is way short for what you should get from a proper fairway wood.

You don't have to get rid of anything.  It's ok with me.  If you're satisfied, then I'm happy for you.

You've made my point for me.  The shorter higher lofted club goes further than the longer lower lofted club.  This is exactly what I was saying in the video.  If you learn to hit a hybrid properly, it would go even further than the 2 iron. Unless there is head wind, the ball will always fly further when launched properly than it will roll.  As soon as a ball hits ground, it's slowing down due to friction.

Interesting coverage of todays topic and one that most of us are very interested in. Set make up. What sticks to carry when we can only have 14.
Doc covered it well of course in the few minutes given. The over all goal (aside from getting the ball in the hole in the fewest strokes) is to have clubs that fit us and give us the best opportunity to play well and have fun. Having said that, the more we get into it the more we become interested in having a set that enables us to hit the ball the incremental distances needed from driver to wedges with gaps in loft that allow us to cover the distances with a well struck ball.
Therein is a fascinating subject up for both personal preference and research. The research part could certainly involve having a greatly skilled and knowledgable fitter like Lynn "Doc" Griffin. If you haven't bought any clubs or been fit lately (as in the last decade or so) you really need to know what has happened to lofts on golf clubs. As Steve and Robert F. commented earlier they should consider just giving us the lofts on all clubs rather than calling them Driver, three wood, five wood or 3-pw for the irons. When I first started playing golf around 1970 the pitching wedge had 52 degrees of loft. 52????????? What? Yes 52 degrees of loft. No wonder I use to hit it so high and soft. Through the 80's and 90's and it went to 50,48 and then till today when it is as low as 43-47. My current pw is 47*. Heck the 9 iron was 48* 30 years ago.This of course is why they developed the "gap" wedge. There was no gap 30 years ago. A 9, pw and sand wedge was all we needed.The fact is all lofts have decreased as companies made lofts stronger and stronger so they could sale more clubs as new improved and able to fly further than ever before. This is why they don't (normally) make a 1 or 2 iron anymore because todays 3 iron has the loft of a one iron of 30-40 years ago. Most of this many of you already know.
       So we may be getting older but there is a good reason we can't hit a 3 or even a 4 iron the way we did 30 years ago besides old age. the reason is the same for why we couldn't hit a one or two iron (aside from Robert:). Diminishing loft desease.

 That is because most people get a little excited when they're about to finish and their voice can make all kinds of funny sounds.

It would be a kick sometime to see how you hit my irons. I'm guessing pretty well.

You just haven't practiced it. I'm certain that you could learn it if you practiced. Like learning to hit an occasional left-handed shot.

Also, a bladed shot, intentional or not, will never go as far as a cleanly struck shot, but it can often get you clear of the trouble.

Because we think Doc is cute.

Why as why?  It doesn't cost anything to do a video.  Thanks for the question!

I'm a weekend golfer in his 70's. How would club fitting benefit my game? I have no idea what my club speed is or how to find out.
golfbob in Toronto Canada

Nothing is more relaxing than story time with the "Doc". I can hear everything in this video just fine. And....as always, I come away smarter.

Amen to that,

I hear folks calling their 3 Hybrid, what my 5 Hybrid is lofted at. I carry three, my 3 at 16*, 4 at 20* and 5 at 26*  my first iron is at 30* and on down/up to the S/W

Doc, While trying to instruct my wife I find that I hit her clubs better than my own. What should that tell me about my own needs?

Mike M

Doc,
Excellent information and presentation.I learn lots every time I view your videos.A question please. The other day I took out my Driver and 3W and only had 2x 5W's in the bag, one an old PingZing [no idea what loft that has] and the other a Mizuno 5W with a 22* loft. Added to that are the 24*Rescue club, then irons 4HL,5HL through to SW, and putter. Both 5W's perform quite differently. The wooden one fairly flies a long way.The 22* gives me accuracy and height. Do I need anything else, or am I too heavy in any area club wise, or deficient in any area?

Where on utube are your videos of you showing the fade and pull ....they really help me.....but forgot where they are.    Thank you!

Just leave it in there for looks Robert! I have a 10 iron that is some 50+ years old. It looks like a putter. Maybe hang the #1 on the wall. Only J.N. and God could hit a one iron:)

Actually I said that 80mph is iffy for a 5 iron and I'm talking about iron speed.  If someone doesn't swing a 5 iron at least 80mph, I don't recommend playing a 5 iron.

Hi Bob
 As we get older our swing slows down & we need to find the clubs to suit our swing. You may need to get more flexible graphite shafts & change your club selection , as Doc has explained in this video, to get the best out of your time on the golf course. Its all about playing smarter , not harder. If you follow the Surge swing I'd recomend finding a certified fitter or a long range fit through Doc Griffin.

 Adel,  your fourth sentence is confusing