SL irons - not so great ???

[veryold]

Oh my, just when i thought that SL irons are here to stay, and was even thinking of getting a set next Spring, a quite negative review by Rick Shiels :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYefTpscTjI

SUMMARY:

1) 6,7,8 irons "spot on". (my comment: well they should be as they are so close to any conventional set).

2) Long irons: too short in distance and gaping too small.

3) Short irons: gaping too large.

Am i missing something here ?
What do you think guys/gals: are SL irons dead before even hitting the stores ?

ATB and cheers

[Ignatius Reilly]

Re: SL irons - not so great ???

Oh my, just when i thought that SL irons are here to stay, and was even thinking of getting a set next Spring, a quite negative review by Rick Shiels :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYefTpscTjI

SUMMARY:

1) 6,7,8 irons "spot on". (my comment: well they should be as they are so close to any conventional set).

2) Long irons: too short in distance and gaping too small.

3) Short irons: gaping too large.

Am i missing something here ?
What do you think guys/gals: are SL irons dead before even hitting the stores ?

ATB and cheers

You sure you want to hear my reply???

I'll reiterate what I've said before:
Long iron gaps should be addressable through a combination of math, lofts, hot (variable) faces and other technologies.
Short irons and wedges will lose accuracy, and that's a killer. Gapping is fixable just like long irons.
You're right about the 6,7,8 - they're almost no difference from normal.

Bryson Deschambeau is the poster boy for these things. He's made some terrific achievements with them. At the same time, he also may have peaked with 1 Web.com win, a nice 21st place at The Masters and 15th(?) at the USO and then there's those big amateur wins.

It's VERY telling to me that nobody else who's livelihood depends on scoring in golf at the highest levels is using them.

Maybe it's just not all that hard to play different lengths after all - or the tradeoff isn't worth it?

After more consideration I could see a set with SL sets for 789, 456, wedges, driver. FW woods would probably have to have their own length as well. Could I play the same length 3w as 3h? I don't know. But with all that you need 5 or 6 different stances, so not sure it's that big a help.

[4underthru9]

Re: SL irons - not so great ???

Will be interesting to hear what Dan has to say about these results.
It does seem to make some sense splitting into those three lengths, or even four, as oppose to going the full blown SLC.

[rgk5]

Re: SL irons - not so great ???

Oh my, just when i thought that SL irons are here to stay, and was even thinking of getting a set next Spring, a quite negative review by Rick Shiels :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYefTpscTjI

SUMMARY:

1) 6,7,8 irons "spot on". (my comment: well they should be as they are so close to any conventional set).

2) Long irons: too short in distance and gaping too small.

3) Short irons: gaping too large.

Am i missing something here ?
What do you think guys/gals: are SL irons dead before even hitting the stores ?

ATB and cheers

Why trust the opinion of some internet jockey who swings nothing like you?

Try them yourself and then decide

[jburns]

Re: SL irons - not so great ???

Why trust the opinion of some internet jockey who swings nothing like you?

Try them yourself and then decide

Winner winner chicken dinner

[nearace]

Re: SL irons - not so great ???

I tried single length irons for one reason, long iron contact ,they did solve that problem.I thought the numbers where great if the average golfers achieved them.

[4underthru9]

Re: SL irons - not so great ???

Oh my, just when i thought that SL irons are here to stay, and was even thinking of getting a set next Spring, a quite negative review by Rick Shiels :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYefTpscTjI
SUMMARY:
1) 6,7,8 irons "spot on". (my comment: well they should be as they are so close to any conventional set).
2) Long irons: too short in distance and gaping too small.
3) Short irons: gaping too large.
Am i missing something here ?
What do you think guys/gals: are SL irons dead before even hitting the stores ?
ATB and cheers

You asked a question about this in the other thread on the subject a TGNER gave you this link did you read it?
I just changed the title to reflect the full name of the author Barney Adams who might know a little bit about this subject.

Barney Adams knows best:
http://www.golfwrx.com/369650/barney...ns-experiment/

[Jasonp]

Re: SL irons - not so great ???

SL seems to work if you got a swing like Bryson. Most don't.

I'd advocate TLT veryold. You seem to be looking for some help in a fitting Ive seen many of your posts and you are well educated in what u want but seem unsure and don't wanna make the wrong choice.

Become a believer and go try TLT. If you're happy with your current irons but want more consistency TLT is the way to go

[ARL67]

Re: SL irons - not so great ???

veryold I've enjoyed your posts in your quest, but at some point you are going to have to jump in.

SL is a complete change from what you game now.
TLT is a moderate change, on the path to SL, with most of the benefits but not the penalties. You don't have to buy any new gear ( except for probably new grips ) and are paying for Dan's time to do a fit and then the retrofit to your set.

[veryold]

Re: SL irons - not so great ???

I apologize if i irritated some people with my thread. I was a bit shocked when i saw Shiels' negative review, and was curious to hear your comments on that review - that's all.

After more consideration I could see a set with SL sets for 789, 456, wedges, driver. FW woods would probably have to have their own length as well. Could I play the same length 3w as 3h? I don't know. But with all that you need 5 or 6 different stances, so not sure it's that big a help.

Excellent summary - thanks !
And, IMHO, 5-6 different stances are definitely not worth it.

Try them yourself and then decide

i'd love to, but where, and i'd only try clubs on the actual course.

Barney Adams knows best:
http://www.golfwrx.com/369650/barney...ns-experiment/

Thanks for this. And this is his conclusion: "Do I think there is a place in the industry for single length sets? I’d say in the general market, no. "

[Jasonp]

Re: SL irons - not so great ???

Veryold your posts are not annoying at all. You're looking for what all golfers want. Consistency and ease of use to lower scores. If we were pros we wouldn't have to worry about SL TLT etc.

Do I think SL has a place...yes. Moreso as a beginner set. I can guarantee if you gave someone the option prior to ever learning to golf SL would be easier to learn. Is it better who knows. For many of us who've been golfing for a few years or many many years SL is a drastic change. One that goes against conventional wisdom.

TLT and SL strive to achieve the same things I believe. A way to replicate a good swing that much easier. The big difference other then the obvious.
A conventional set and even a TLT set your ball position changes slightly to adjust for different AOAs to create optimal launch and spin conditions.

SL requires one set position with one set ball position and the actual "Tech" in the gear is to change to adjust for proper gapping spin launch etc. This is why some people don't like it such as shiels cross field etc. As your swing speed increases you're relying more and more on the tech to accomplish this.

TLT requires one athletic setup however my ball position/stance width varies (ever so slightly that it's negligible) to accolades and create varying AOAs. My posture is the same for every iron and wedge. My swing feels the same yet my ball position is the only variable.

I feel personally TLT is far superior to SL.

SL should be marketed for beginners and or people with a sub 80mph swing speed. As anything I've seen gapping spin Launch can become issues for higher SS players.

[TLT Dan]

Re: SL irons - not so great ???

OK here's my take. Remember - this test was with the OEM set of Cobra's single length forged.

First thing I would do is
1 check the loft of the 5 iron as this club had the yardage discrepancy.
2 check the lie of the 7 iron as he did not hit this club straight (he said that)
3 confirm that this test set was built to specification - not the tolerances that the majority of most OEM sets are. When sets leave my shop they have been measured, corrected and documented.

Now to the specs.
Specified / designed loft changes between the
4, 5, & 6 is 3*
7,8,9,P,G is 5*
SW 6*
LW 4*
so you would expect tighter distances in the 'long' irons - 3*
good consistent yardages in the middle clubs - 5*
bigger gap to the SW - 6*
reduced gap in the LW - 4*

By knowing the facts everything he stated makes sense and tells me that there is flaws in this design - proven by the test (to a degree), but it does not speak for all SL designs. Some of these concerns have been addressed by the likes of Tom Wishon.

As every player that comes to me hears - You need to play at least 5 rounds of golf, striking hundreds of balls - the whole time learning to remain in your strongest athletic address for every club.

Any time an address position is altered (in my case to a proper TLT athletic address position), it takes time to get to the point where you are no longer changing anything in your address (muscle memory and years of adjusting your address position). This is when the consistency come into effect and better ball striking will happen.

For this reason alone I do not have confidence in launch monitors as a fitting tool - as only a few swings in a short time frame - with a whole bunch of different lengths, lies, club weights, swing weights .... and determine the fit in an hour. I need 5 rounds from you just to get you into form.

TLT fits you with a 4, 7 and PW - so you can feel what a long, mid and short iron feel like - in your strongest athletic address position - for every club - just like SL.

[Big Shooter]

Re: SL irons - not so great ???

Well, we'll see next season.....if these Cobras are POPULAR, you know the other OEM's will jump on the bandwagon....hey, they have to keep inventing something "new" that they can hype

[Tintin]

Re: SL irons - not so great ???

Thanks for this. And this is his conclusion: "Do I think there is a place in the industry for single length sets? I’d say in the general market, no. "

You are only quoting what you want to hear He also wrote the following.

Where was it written that a set of irons had to be based on a 37.5-inch 5 iron? Why couldn’t the 5 iron be 40 inches or 34 inches? Why did the increments have to be 0.5 inches?” I figured it all started with a Scotsman, who was probably 5-foot 9-inches or so, shaping a set of clubs that fit him. As decades passed, it became “standard

And in the same article under comments:

Ryan morris Oct 24, 2016 at 5:19 am
I purchased a set of slc last week. Had the best round of my life and i play about 2 to 3 rds per week. I felt the real magic came in hitting the 3-5 iron (its was almost boringly easy). On the range and course, im showing zero distance loss. Its amazing the misconceptions out there, even the pro at the course said, im sure you wont…..well i bet if…..etc etc
Regardless, they work. Getting people to try them will be the challenge. I did notice a little control issue with my pw, at first, but i think the range has sorted this out the last few days.

Did you ever try them? Have you contacted either Jim Klassen or TLT Dan so you could give them a try? I remember you writing something about back issues. They would probably be a big help for your back problems. Seems to me that every other week you keep posting the same rant but you never do anything about it. Here is another review by someone who has a golden swing:

[Tintin]

Re: SL irons - not so great ???

It's VERY telling to me that nobody else who's livelihood depends on scoring in golf at the highest levels is using them.

.

There are also gazillion golfers who either gave it up or still play like crap using standard clubs. The elite could probably play with a shovel and still score well. If anything these clubs are designed for mid to high cappers. Does everybody wear size 10 shoes? Could the 5'2 guy benefit from a shorter single length set? Or the 6'5 guy from a longer set?
Anyway Cobra will offer demo days with the new F7 in both the SL and standard length( again standard for who?) Forged and muscle back. Best of both worlds for us hackers.