I am combining Lloyd's and Michael's posts here. I hope it's not too confusing.
Lloyd wrote: [The main reason that people are flat liners is that they take every club back the same distance rather then taking each club back different distances as Hogan suggests in how to play golf ( with stepped clubs). ] That is an interesting thought. I take my clubs back the same distance, but I thought everyone did. I just had a chance to play with a flatline set of graphite irons, made by someone else. I liked them enough that I played 3 rounds with them. I was very smooth and accurate with them. and Michael wrote: [In comparison to a "standard" flex progression: Upsides: Overall, you tend to hit the ball further. Your slight mishits tend to turn out better. The player can try to swing all clubs the same way. I found that I consciously or subconsciously used to swing the long irons slower and the short irons faster/harder with a traditional set. Now, I don't have to do this. Short irons fly higher, with more spin. This is definitely an advantage for the player who has lost the ability to "hold" greens with a traditional set.] [Downside: Because the short irons have so much kick, it is easier to "balloon" them. You have to work a little harder to keep the ball down against the wind.] Most of what you said there was true for me. What I found was that the long irons were stiff enough that I was trying too hard with them. But the short irons, which should have been too soft, were delightful. And the mid-irons were nice too. All in all I was really surprised by how good they felt. [The best way to fit is to make up multiple clubs with the same loft and different flexes. Because different analyzers yield slightly different numbers, I would suggest that your weakest flex be similar to the frequency of a R300 3 or 4 iron. From there, build 4 or 5 more clubs going up in increments of 5 cpm. This should take care of most male golfers. I would suggest building either #9 and/or #7 irons.] I'm going to see if I can get the set I played onto the frequency meter. I think I would have to try something 10 cpms softer if I was going to be able to play the long irons. I do want to build a set to try longer term. Why do you suggest building a 9 as a test? It seems like a 9 would be pretty easy to compensate for no matter what. Am I looking to see if the test 9 is too soft? The 7 should be just about the middle? I mean, the thing I really would like to figure out without building a bunch of sets is: What cpm I need so I can hit the long irons. At least I think that's what I would like to figure out. Really interesting replies, guys. Thanks. If I had not gotten the chance to play with that set, I would not have thought it made any sense. === Doug Clark
