Using Trackman as "tie-breaker" in iron clubfitting?

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puttmaster

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I have an "iron-fitting" appointment Saturday with a master club-fitter who utilizes Trackman. This follows a similar woods/hybrids fitting several weeks ago and my 100% satisfaction with my new driver, FW and hybrids that I purchased as a result of that fitting. (All are Titleist 910 models, fwiw.)

So, now to the irons. My question for the academy and clubfitters in the forum is: If, based on feel and what the human eyes see, the testing results in a deadlocked tie and my being undecided between two iron heads (say Mizuno MP59 and Titleist CBs), is there a certain Trackman number (or two) that might help tip the scale one way or the other? If so, which number(s) should I give the most weight?

TIA for any tie-breaking advice...

P.S. My home course has relatively small and elevated greens, so accuracy is at a premium.
 
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Jim Kobylinski

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Honestly, if it's a dead "tie" i wouldn't go with that trackman says i'd go with what your head says. Make sure it looks and feels good to you! If you can't stand to look at it or how it feels i think that is the deciding factor when you have nearly identical results with trackman.
 
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puttmaster

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Jim Kobylinski said:
Honestly, if it's a dead "tie" i wouldn't go with that trackman says i'd go with what your head says. Make sure it looks and feels good to you! If you can't stand to look at it or how it feels i think that is the deciding factor when you have nearly identical results with trackman.
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Thanks for the reply, Jim. I think that's why I always have Mizuno irons in the bag. :)
 
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GaryC_47

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puttmaster said:
TIA for any tie-breaking advice...
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A tie breaker I use is to alternate shots with each club and assign a score from 1 to 10 to each shot. Hit about 10 shots with each club. Not necessary to alternate every shot but make sure to change clubs after a bad shot. Score the shot on the overall feeling, 10 being a golfgasm. At the end add up the scores for each club, high score wins.
 
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puttmaster

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GaryC_47 said:
A tie breaker I use is to alternate shots with each club and assign a score from 1 to 10 to each shot. Hit about 10 shots with each club. Not necessary to alternate every shot but make sure to change clubs after a bad shot. Score the shot on the overall feeling, 10 being a golfgasm. At the end add up the scores for each club, high score wins.
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Good idea ... thanks, Gary
 
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SteveT

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An emotional decision is important because your "feeelings" are not far removed from your "feeel".... :eek:
 
mgranato

mgranato

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Given your course description there are two things I would pay attention to that aren't easily detected by eye - spin rate and angle of decent. All else being equal, I would go with the set that you can bring down (the scoring irons) at a 50 degree angle. 40 is great for a driver, but you wanna make it rain with your irons. Especially with elevated small targets.

This is one where the tie should NOT go to the runner.
 
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puttmaster

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mgranato said:
Given your course description there are two things I would pay attention to that aren't easily detected by eye - spin rate and angle of decent. All else being equal, I would go with the set that you can bring down (the scoring irons) at a 50 degree angle. 40 is great for a driver, but you wanna make it rain with your irons. Especially with elevated small targets.

This is one where the tie should NOT go to the runner.
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Thanks, Mike. Starting with which iron should I want to see the 50+ degree angle? 7 iron? And, just for a starting point, any thoughts on which type head is most likely to help with that -- CB or MB? Thanks for your help.
 
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SteveT

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mgranato said:
Given your course description there are two things I would pay attention to that aren't easily detected by eye - spin rate and angle of decent. All else being equal, I would go with the set that you can bring down (the scoring irons) at a 50 degree angle. 40 is great for a driver, but you wanna make it rain with your irons. Especially with elevated small targets.

This is one where the tie should NOT go to the runner.
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Now that's an interesting observation between spin rate and angle of descent.

My approach shots are extremely steep, because of my steep club lies and contact at a near zero AofA.. I only "nip" the ball off the turf and seldom take a divot with a de-lofted clubface. I also have a lower clubhead speed so I just "caress" the ball and thus have a reduced spin rate. As I have mentioned, all my shots are "straight". 100 yards is a GW. I suspect I am a "near" flipper too except that the club soles do brush the grass/ground ahead of the ball.

The ball lands on the green, bounces forward a couple of times and stops dead. I have never spun a ball back, because of my impact style. I go straight for the target on the green and don't depend on spin or roll.

I developed this short game strategy because the ratshit lil' course I practiced on did not have watered fairways and when the drought hit and the grass went dormant, all that was left was carpets of green weed. The greens were watered but they were domed too so backspin was fatal. I honed my short game on a golf pasture from hell playing solo golf in the evenings so I could play decent golf with people...!!!!

So the question I have is how can you combine a high spin rate and steep angle of descent? High clubhead speed? Ball design? Club design? And what happens when you work the ball into the green? How do these factors vary and affect the outcome?
 
mjstrong

mjstrong

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That's one hell of an answer from mgranato. I'll agree; choose the one that offers the best combination of high spin and high angle of descent, especially if the carry distance is the same.
 
mgranato

mgranato

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puttmaster said:
Thanks, Mike. Starting with which iron should I want to see the 50+ degree angle? 7 iron? And, just for a starting point, any thoughts on which type head is most likely to help with that -- CB or MB? Thanks for your help.
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The 7i is a good one. Very swing dependent, but typically your MBs will help to lower overall launch but that doesn't always mean it will be lower on the other end.
 
mgranato

mgranato

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SteveT said:
So the question I have is how can you combine a high spin rate and steep angle of descent? High clubhead speed? Ball design? Club design? And what happens when you work the ball into the green? How do these factors vary and affect the outcome?
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Club head speed is definitely a factor, so is the ball, where you make contact on the face, and your spin loft. Working the ball is just controlling the axis tilt so the same governing factors still apply and determine the outcome.
 
mgranato

mgranato

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I think PM is "tied" between to commonly considered good looking irons, but looks can be important. They can almost single handedly bring down a company...

Cleveland+VAS+Irons+792+-+Worst+Golf+Club+Ever+-+CaddyDigest.jpg
 
PWebUSMC

PWebUSMC

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One note on descent angle to keep in mind is that there are many ways to achieve the same number. For a 6 iron, around 45-48 is close to ideal. You can get there by launching it low with higher spin, or launching it high with lower spin. If you want to work the ball more, going with the lower launch and higher spin would be better in my opinion. If you want a little more 'point and shoot' you could go with higher launch and lower spin. The ball won't move as much with that option. Not saying all work-ability would be taken away, but less spin means less movement both vertically and horizontally.
 
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Jim Kobylinski

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PWebUSMC said:
One note on descent angle to keep in mind is that there are many ways to achieve the same number. For a 6 iron, around 45-48 is close to ideal. You can get there by launching it low with higher spin, or launching it high with lower spin. If you want to work the ball more, going with the lower launch and higher spin would be better in my opinion. If you want a little more 'point and shoot' you could go with higher launch and lower spin. The ball won't move as much with that option. Not saying all work-ability would be taken away, but less spin means less movement both vertically and horizontally.
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excellent post.
 
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