Opinion & Analysis

The Wedge Guy: Do irons really need to go longer?

Published

4 years ago

May 18, 2022

At Edison Golf, we put high emphasis on getting the right lofts in our customers bags to deliver precision distance gapping where distance control matters most – in prime scoring range. Our proprietary WedgeFit® Scoring Range Analysis helps us get there, and one of the key questions we ask is the loft of your current 9-iron and pitching wedge.

Please understand I have been collecting this type of data from wedge-fitting profiles for over 20 years, and now have seen over 60,000 of these. What’s interesting is to watch the evolution of the answers to those two questions. Twenty years ago, for example, the 9-iron and PW lofts would typically be around 42-43 degrees and 46-47 degrees, respectively. By 2010, those lofts had migrated downward to 40-41 degrees for the 9-iron and 44-45 for the “P-club”. (I began to call it that, because it’s just not a true “wedge” at that low of a loft.)

But how far are the irons makers going to take that lunacy? I see WedgeFit profiles now with “P-clubs” as low as 42-43 degrees and 9-irons five degrees less than that – 37-38 degrees. The big companies are getting there by incorporating mid-iron technologies – i.e. fast faces, multi-material, ultra-low CG, etc. – into the clubs where precision distance control is imperative.

Fans, you just cannot get precision distance control with those technologies.

But the real problem is that golfers aren’t being told this is what’s happening, so they are still wanting to buy “gap wedges” of 50-52 degrees, and that is leaving a huge distance gap in prime scoring range for most golfers.

So, to get to the title of this post, “Do Irons Really Need To Go Longer?” let’s explore the truth for most golfers.

Your new set of irons features these technologies and the jacked-up lofts that go with them, so now your “P-club” flies 125-130 instead of the 115-120 it used to go (or whatever your personal numbers are). But your 50- to 52-degree gap wedge still goes 95-100, so you just lost a club in prime scoring range. How is that going to help your scores?

Please understand I’m not trying to talk anyone out of a new set of irons, but I strongly urge you to understand the lofts and lengths of those new irons and make sure the fitter or store lets you hit the 9-iron and “P-club” on the launch monitor, as well as the 7-iron demo. That way you can see what impact those irons are going to have on your prime scoring range gapping.

But here’s something that also needs to get your close attention. In many of the new big-brand line-ups, the companies also offer their “tour” or “pro” model . . . and they are usually at least two degrees weaker and ¼ to 3/8 inch shorter than the “game improvement” models you are considering.

But really, how much sense does that make? The tour player, who’s bigger and stronger than you, plays irons that are shorter and easier to control than the model they are selling you. Hmm.

It’s kind of like drivers actually. On Iron Byron, the 46” driver goes further than the 45, so that’s what the stores are full of. But tour bags are full of drivers shorter than that 46-inch “standard”. So, if the tour player only hits 55-60% of his fairways with a 45” driver, how many are you going to hit with a 46?

I’m just sayin…

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Terry Koehler

Terry Koehler is a fourth generation Texan and a graduate of Texas A&M University. Over his 40-year career in the golf industry, he has created over 100 putter designs and dozens of wedges. In 2014, he put together the team that reintroduced the Ben Hogan brand to the golf equipment industry with his TK 15 wedges and Ft. Worth 15 iron designs. Since receiving a U.S. Patent for his “Koehler Sole” in the early 1990s, he has been challenging “conventional wisdom” in the wedge category. In addition to inspiring multiple companies to emulate this sole technology, the performance of his wedge designs have stimulated all other companies to reposition some mass toward the top of the blade in their wedges. Terry is retired from his role as Chairman and Director of Innovation for Edison Golf, and remains active in the industry as an independent designer and consultant. But his most compelling work is in the wedge category. Since he first patented his “Koehler Sole” in the early 1990s, he has been challenging “conventional wisdom” reflected in ‘tour design’ wedges. The performance of his wedge designs have stimulated other companies to move slightly more mass toward the top of the blade in their wedges, but none approach the dramatic design of his Edison Forged wedges, which have been robotically proven to significantly raise the bar for wedge performance. Terry serves as Chairman and Director of Innovation for Edison Golf – check it out at www.EdisonWedges.com.

13 Comments

Pingback: The Wedge Guy: Hard 8-iron or easy 7? (The SCor Method) – GolfWRX
JR

May 20, 2022 at 5:33 pm

The set gap wedge is the new P wedge.

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ChipNRun

May 20, 2022 at 1:29 pm

As Terry noted:

“I see WedgeFit profiles now with “P-clubs” as low as 42-43 degrees and 9-irons five degrees less than that – 37-38 degrees. The big companies are getting there by incorporating mid-iron technologies – i.e. fast faces, multi-material, ultra-low CG, etc. – into the clubs where precision distance control is imperative.”
—————–

Circa 2014, TM and other iron manufacturers designed Game Improvement and some PD models with a splitout in head design. The 3i-7i heads had launch-boosting inserts and slots, while the 8i on up had more traditional single-piece cavity back head. Case in point is SLDR, Rocketbladz and RSi models by TM.

This draws on findings on loft effectiveness by various wedge specialists:clubs with lofts above 38-40* do NOT benefit from the “mid-iron technologies.” Due to higher loft, the technologies are not needed, and if anything can destabilize ball flight.

As for irons in general, many golfers bump into Tom Wishon’s 24/38 RULE: the average golfer can’t consistently hit a numbered iron with loft less than 24* or length greater than 38″.

(Does anyone know if 24/38 has been tweaked due to tech “wonderments” of the last decade?)

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Rich

May 20, 2022 at 1:18 pm

Irons: Predictability, precision, and repetition.

The number on the bottom is just a name, like Richard.

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Gerry Sampson

May 20, 2022 at 7:54 am

The writer made his point very well. I would love to hear club fitters give opinions on the longer irons, and more useful yet breaking down that info based on broad categories of swing speed/driver distance off the tee. After all the entire range of clubs in the bag need to live together harmoniously…I find that navigating through the range of hybrid offerings is particularly difficult.

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Matts

May 20, 2022 at 3:27 am

Yes, and hybrids are recommended over the longer irons for the average golfer. So one lands up with 5 irons (6 iron through PW) and four specialist wedges in the bag.

Reply Report comment
- ChipNRun
  
  May 20, 2022 at 1:38 pm
  
  Given the push to ever “hotter faces” in the Players Distance category, does this mean the Game Improvement irons tend to be shorter in distance, but MORE ACCURATE? (deliver tighter yardsticks)
  
  Reply Report comment
James

May 19, 2022 at 8:44 am

This is a conspiracy of “Big Wedge” to sell you more $200 wedges that wear out every season.

Seriously, the irony of this article is that the exact opposite of what you describe is what’s happening. If you just rename the strong-lofted sets’ gap wedge to PW and carry that shift through the set, these game improvement clubs are actually 1/2″ short. Manufacturers have massaged golfers’ egos by rebranding a 1/2″ short, 28-30 degree 6-iron as a 7-iron.

Reply Report comment
Club champ

May 18, 2022 at 9:46 pm

But if my p club is 42 degrees I can get 4 really cool specialty wedges that really make my bag pop. I’m all about aesthetics and have recently just put 3 drivers of various lengths from 3 different companies none the less. I have 6wedges now and filled the rest with hybrids. I don’t even need a putter bc I can just use a hybrid.

Reply Report comment
Steve

May 18, 2022 at 5:00 pm

It would be nice if Golf WRX can help share length/lie specs of some players to shed more insight into this topic. I think it would better illustrate that a fitting is not just about clubhead and shaft.

Reply Report comment
Bob

May 18, 2022 at 3:59 pm

If one is an ego monkey lacking in the manhood and incapable of critical thinking, yes.

Reply Report comment
Bruce Helbig

May 18, 2022 at 1:25 pm

All that matters is that one knows how far each club flies in the air and does it stop within 2 bounces. Longer has always been the selling point to consumers but better players have always known repeatable distances are the key to good scoring. Now, if I could only hit the driver 30 more yards! Or be 30 year’s younger! Cheers, Bruce

Reply Report comment
- pi
  
  May 18, 2022 at 3:37 pm
  
  Yep, and buy a 48o wedge to bridge the gap you may have to the next wedge in your bag
  
  Reply Report comment

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