Club fitting/Lie angle importance

[Chas]

Just spoke to a guy at the local PGA Superstore. He states that lie angle isn't that important, only club length and shaft flex. What is your opinion/experience with club fitting?

 

[TEA Time]

Lie angle is important enough that club fitters analyze it and can adjust for it. However, of the 3 things you listed, lie angle is the least important.

 

[PaPaD]

Lie angle is important enough that club fitters analyze it and can adjust for it. However, of the 3 things you listed, lie angle is the least important.

Agree - I seem to be able to hit PING irons that are bent from black (std) all the way to Green (2* up) with little or no difference in ball flight or striking. Once I start hitting irons bent flat (toe down), things change, so I would say that there is a range of lie angles that I am comfortable in. Shaft length and flex seem to have more effect on my ball striking (thin, fat, solid).

 

[MCDavis]

The only thing that really matters is cost: the more you pay, the better you play!!


I think lie angle is important enough that if you're making any changes to your existing set, or buying a set (new or used), you should make it part of your fitting and adjustments. I do not think it's something to be ignored.

 

[limpalong]

Too flat... Toe digs and you leave it out to the right. So, you compensate and try to change your swing to match the lie angle.
Too upright... Heel digs and you hook the snot out of the irons. So, you compensate and try to change your swing to match the lie angle.

SIL was fit for too upright this past Spring. He had hit standard lie for years. Went for a fitting and the pro fit him 4 degrees up. I told him the pro needed lessons in fitting. Didn't believe me. New irons arrived and he hooked them so bad he was ready to give up the game. Finally, I talked him into asking the pro to have them bent back to standard. Wow! He's played some of his best golf since getting them back where they belong.

Mid-90's. A local golf show had a Ping fitter put everyone into green dot irons. I was working part time for a golf shop. Bet we had over 20 folks in over the next six months wanting to trade their green dot Pings because they hooked them. For most, we had them send the irons back to Ping for a free bend and the hooks went away.

Karsten sold huge numbers of irons based on his "dot" lie angles. For most weekend players, their swing isn't within 1 degree of repeatability from weekend to weekend let alone from shot to shot. As you become more consistent, I would believe lie angle becomes more important.

 

[Rockford35]

Lie also comes into play if you're playing a set that is too short or too long for your build. Playing irons that are too upright and too long or too flat and too short are not an ideal setup.

My TLT set has all different lies as the set progresses. Progressive Lie. Makes a HUGE difference.

R35

 

[BigJim13]

I'm 6'3 and have played anywhere from 2* flat to 3* upright with little to no noticeable change in striking. Length played a larger role, I've gone from standard to 1/2" over. Currently I'm at standard length and 1* flat. Feels good.

My point, don't focus solely on lie.

 

[subsonic]

Lie angle is probably the least important of all the factors. I think most folks are fine in a certain range. May become more of an issue if you are at one end of the spectrum or the other. IE You need irons 3 degree flat and you are playing irons that are 3 degrees upright.

 

[Fairwaysplitter3320]

I think flex is the most important factor, then length and lie are equally second but IMO they are all part of the same equation.

 

[limpalong]

I think flex is the most important factor, then length and lie are equally second but IMO they are all part of the same equation.

Respectfully, FWS, I will have to disagree with you on this one. Kasten sold thousands of sets of Eye 2 and Eye 2+ irons with nothing but the ZZ Lite (Eye 2) and KT (+) shafts in them. Men, women, youth... countless played the ZZ Lite shafts with great success. Those shafts were stiff flex. The ZZ Lite had a really low bend point to assist in getting the ball airborne. Karsten felt accuracy trumped distance. If you hit an 8-iron 155 yards... or you hit a 4-iron 155 yards, the key was consistentcy.
There is no way at age 68 I should be playing (S) flex irons. Heck, I'll hit at least one more club into greens than the SIL or other young flat-bellies will. But, I know where it's going. When I've attempted to convert to "R" flex in irons, I'm all over the course.
The shaft technology in graphite for drivers has developed significantly... and is still developing. Fitting the correct shaft to the swing in a driver is extremely important. There, it's more torque and flex dynamics. With steeel iron shafts, there is a marked difference between the feel of a 6.0 Rifle and an S300 DGS. Frequencies on a flex board won't vary all that much.

 

[Fairwaysplitter3320]

Respectfully, FWS, I will have to disagree with you on this one. Kasten sold thousands of sets of Eye 2 and Eye 2+ irons with nothing but the ZZ Lite (Eye 2) and KT (+) shafts in them. Men, women, youth... countless played the ZZ Lite shafts with great success. Those shafts were stiff flex. The ZZ Lite had a really low bend point to assist in getting the ball airborne. Karsten felt accuracy trumped distance. If you hit an 8-iron 155 yards... or you hit a 4-iron 155 yards, the key was consistentcy.
There is no way at age 68 I should be playing (S) flex irons. Heck, I'll hit at least one more club into greens than the SIL or other young flat-bellies will. But, I know where it's going. When I've attempted to convert to "R" flex in irons, I'm all over the course.
The shaft technology in graphite for drivers has developed significantly... and is still developing. Fitting the correct shaft to the swing in a driver is extremely important. There, it's more torque and flex dynamics. With steeel iron shafts, there is a marked difference between the feel of a 6.0 Rifle and an S300 DGS. Frequencies on a flex board won't vary all that much.

They did sell a ton of those irons that can not be disputed. Most popular iron in history.

BUT...somewhere along the way they must have discovered putting everyone in the same flex shaft was not the best way.

 

[danscustomgolfshop]

Flex is certainly important (even more important is the shaft profile). You can have the same butt CPM (or flex) and have 2 completely different shafts for profile. One could be a very soft tip, the other a very stiff tip. his is important.

Length and lie are directly related and both are equally important. Corrections can be made to

1. just the length (may require a head weight change)
2. just the lie
3. a combination of both

For those that state that they can hit both upright and flat lies are making an adjustment in their address as a form of compensation. This, to me, is not desirable, as you want to remain in your strongest athletic address position - for every club. If the length is too long and the lie too upright - you may hit most well through your address adjustment, but the misses will often be left. If the length is too short and the lie too flat - again, an adjustment in your address may allow straight shots, but the misses will be to the right.

I want a strong athletic address position for every club, so I am not forced to make a correction in address. This will result (for the most part) shots that go straight with good backspin.

 

[eclark53520]

I always prefer to swing a stiff tip. Wife enjoys it as well.

 

[azgreg]

I always prefer to swing a stiff tip. Wife enjoys it as well.

Didn't know she played.

 

[ejdahl21]

I always prefer to swing a stiff tip. Wife enjoys it as well.

And does she prefer flat or upright?