A couple of questions before i get TLT'd

[kelvinsense]

hey everybody!

First off, I'm new to the forum and have built my first bag from reccomendations on the forum. I've also had 2 lessons with a local pro, getting another lesson every week / playing a ton.

As is the status quo of the forum, I'm already thinking about my next set of clubs rop: and upon reading dave's thread and other threads, I'm pretty sure I want to get the next set TLT'd and found a fitter about 45 mins away.

SO onto a couple of questions that I had...

1. Say the "standard" style of getting fitted for Ping G10's would be to go to the store, get your color code, order and enjoy. Is TLT basically taking the black dot irons and changing all the lenghts / lie angles to Dan's specs? So if I get my sticks TLT'd, I wouldn't need to get fitted per Ping's specs correct?

2. I've noticed that dave and others have used older sets of irons. (mizuno mx-11's, the ben hogan grinds, etc.) I currently have TM Rac OS's. I also saw some joke that the Ping's can't be bent well (lol?). If so, what kind of set should I be getting to TLT. My original plan was getting some G5's or G10's but I'd love some better reccomendations.

3. How much if the process can be done myself? Do I need entirely new shafts? From what I've gathered I could do the shaft changes / gripping myself but would need a clubfitter to change the lie angles.

Thanks alot for any help you can give!.

 

[MIKE1218]

I was under the impression that you CAN'T bend ping irons well. . Forged irons work best for TLT as they sometimes need to be bent to extremes that cast clubs like Pings can't handle. Apparently I'm way off base

 

[King Par]

Why don't you get components?

Snake Eyes, Alpha or Nakashima have had good reviews.

 

[SiberianDVM]

One of the reasons I used an older set is because they were cheap, and for an experiment of this nature I didn't want to f up something expensive.

And, even though the series sheet "said" I would need to have some of the sticks bent for lie angle, I have not done that yet, and they hit fine. Before bending anything, I plan on doing some dynamic lie checks.

 

[RickinMA]

I think the lie adjustments depend a lot on the clubs -I only needed to have 2-3 of my wishons bent (I ordered the 5 iron at TLT spec and many of the shorter clubs were already there) - I think the more extreme bending is for the 3-4 irons, but most of us shouldn't be fooling around with those things anyway

Pings can be bent 2*, but they're usually made of 17-4 stainless which is difficult to bend - many people send them back to Ping to be bent - if you really wanted G10's you could probably order the heads to your custom lie angles (the color dots wouldn't match, but who cares)

the choice to use a professional fitter/clubbuilder or do the work yourself comes down to a few choices you'll have to make
1) what is your desired precision and what's your time worth? guys who do it all the time can build an iron to a spec pretty quickly with pretty tight tolerances - you may sacrifice a shaft or two while building your own, but you may really enjoy it
2) cost - it may seem expensive to have a pro build them, but by the time you buy/build spine tools and TLT charts and butane microtorches and hydraulic shaft pullers and a bunch of ferrules and weights, etc - it might make more economic sense to have a pro build them (of course you don't "need" this stuff, but you don't "need" a new set of clubs anyway right?)

to answer your first question - getting Ping fit probably isn't that different than a TLT fit for most people - say they have you hitting 6 irons until you find the one that works best for you (length, swingweight, lie angle) - this 6 iron that you hit best should be closest to fitting your "Natural athletic position" - if this 6 iron fits you perfectly, and you find the TLT series that would have the 6 iron specs match up with the Ping fitting, you could then build/order the rest of the set built to TLT spec - the TLT clubs will put you in this natural athletic position on every club - the typical Ping 1/2" length increments won't. you should be able to be more consistent and make better contact if you're in your natural athletic position on every swing

 

[dave.]

I used older irons (16 years old) because it was just a fun experiment over winter but they stayed in the bag! Things then happened, I started to hit the ball higher so needed lower flying shafts, hence the X100s. They also proofed useful because they were soft enough to bend upto 3.5 degrees

 

[warbirdlover]

If you're going with Pings I'd get the loft specs and try to order just the heads only from Pingwrx. Pings can be bent but better to get them from the factory that way. Otherwise a set of forged irons are the way to go. Then let the fitter do the shaft part.

 

[kelvinsense]

thanks for all the info!!

I wasn't necessarily stuck on the G10's, I just want a good quality set of irons that will last me and are properly fit. I'll look into some of the forged iron sets (I didn't know the diff before ahha). titleist AP2's can be bent pretty well according to their website, and I'll look into some mizuno , tour edge, components, (any good 2007 titleist sets?) etc.. I WOULD NOT mind a good used set. I'm 5'5" with a 32" WTF so it might be easier to get them new so they can be ordered in closest to the right specs and then need little bending.

I guess I'll start by getting a TLT fitting locally and then going from there!! If anyone would pm or drop in wtih some iron sets to try out it'd be great. I'm already looking at the forged Srixon 504 wedges aswell.


this game is such an addiction...

 

[Eracer]

I'll be the first to say.

Welcome, fellow ho!