Strong Loft=Big Hops?

[naj959]

I'm not sure if this is in the right forum or not but I have a question regarding approach shots and the first hop on the green. Last year I purchased a new set of Bridgestone J15 DPF irons after reading reviews on wrx. I absolutely love the irons; great forged feel, very forgiving yet very workable. Lately, I've noticed that I'm having trouble holding greens, especially with short irons which as you can imagine, is very frustrating. Yesterday , I had 119 to the front of the green and the pin was tucked behind a bunker in the middle. That's an easy pitching wedge for me. I hit my stock shot and the ball lands close to the flag, bounces four or five feet in the air and ends up 10 yards over the back of the green. The greens at my course are not overly firm. I would say they are medium. I used to be able to back up my old set of irons with more traditional lofts (48*PW). The J15s, to my surprise have quite strong lofts (45*PW). I also get the occasional flyer out of nowhere which can make distance control challenging at times. Is a huge first bounce in the scoring irons an indicator of too little spin? I'm contemplating having them bent a little weak.

[jwb10]

Sprinkler head ?

[North Butte]

Would the 44 degree club in your old set typically bounce 4 to 5 feet in the air and end up 10 yards over the back of the green.

 

Loft is loft, the ball doesn't know "strong" or "weak". It can't see whether there is a "P" or a "9" on the bottom of the club.

 

You struck that shot with 45 degrees of loft. That kind of bounce does not sound normal for a 45-degree club no matter what is written on the sole.

[stormbringer]

Does that iron feature a thin springing face? If so that is likely your problem. Take them where you can use a launch monitor and see what the spin numbers are. You may be surprised to find they are not spinning enough.

 

If spin is low just bending the lofts weaker will likely not be the answer.

 

 

[gsrjc]

Greens may be harder since it’s summer time.

[Lefty96]

Are you a low speed/ low spin player to begin with? Was the contact flush on this particular shot? Do you get a high or low trajectory? Could you have landed on a downslope? How does the flight of the new pitching wedge compare to that of the old 9 iron?

 

I only ask this because you shouldn’t really be seeing much of a difference if you compare loft to loft. If you are a real low spin low ball hitter already, then this type of iron might be a little too low spin for you.

[JStang]

Any idea what your descent angle is? The steeper the ball comes into the landing area the less forward bounce it will have. If it's coming into the green flat without enough spin you aren't going to hold the green very well.

[SNIPERBBB]

Didn't catch a downslope did you?

 

I'd get on an outdoor launch monitor. Your only looking a a club worth of spin with the stronger lofts so your new PW is closer to a 9 iron. Either you got the wrong shafts or your swing is off

[ChipNRun]

What kind of ball are you using? A distance ball can go wild off a short-iron face. Urethane covers grab better than Surlyn and variants.

[North Butte]

Our Tif-Eagle greens are at max summer firmness lately (and they are pretty darned firm in the middle of a rainstorm in Feburary for that matter) so if I got a new set of irons right now it might be a while before I knew about their stopping power. Pretty much to the level I've experienced on links courses if we're talking just about our greens and not the approach aprons.

 

A couple weeks ago I hit a 9-iron as good as I could ever hope to hit a 9-iron (40-degree JPX 900 Hot Metal BTW) and it darned near flew in the hole. Unfortunately it bounced about waist high and rolled uphill 20 feet and into the rough over the green. Darned near unfair, that was.

 

Of course the only reason I had a 9-iron instead of a 6-iron into that green was my Word not allowed mediocre tee shot rolled about 50 yards after it landed ;-)

[North Butte]

Our Tif-Eagle greens are at max summer firmness lately (and they are pretty darned firm in the middle of a rainstorm in Feburary for that matter) so if I got a new set of irons right now it might be a while before I knew about their stopping power. Pretty much to the level I've experienced on links courses if we're talking just about our greens and not the approach aprons.

 

A couple weeks ago I hit a 9-iron as good as I could ever hope to hit a 9-iron (40-degree JPX 900 Hot Metal BTW) and it darned near flew in the hole. Unfortunately it bounced about waist high and rolled uphill 20 feet and into the rough over the green. Darned near unfair, that was.

 

Of course the only reason I had a 9-iron instead of a 5-iron into that green was my toe-jam mediocre tee shot rolled about 50 yards after it landed ;-)

[Red4282]

Its purely a hard surface, and nothing more

[bunta]

delete

[jwb10]

> @"North Butte" said:

> Our Tif-Eagle greens are at max summer firmness lately (and they are pretty darned firm in the middle of a rainstorm in Feburary for that matter) so if I got a new set of irons right now it might be a while before I knew about their stopping power. Pretty much to the level I've experienced on links courses if we're talking just about our greens and not the approach aprons.

>

> A couple weeks ago I hit a 9-iron as good as I could ever hope to hit a 9-iron (40-degree JPX 900 Hot Metal BTW) and it darned near flew in the hole. Unfortunately it bounced about waist high and rolled uphill 20 feet and into the rough over the green. Darned near unfair, that was.

>

> Of course the only reason I had a 9-iron instead of a 5-iron into that green was my toe-jam mediocre tee shot rolled about 50 yards after it landed ;-)

 

stutter

[BrianMcG]

Middle of summer and little rain. Greens are firming up.

 

Just pretend you’re at the US Open and the course has been lost.

[naj959]

> @"North Butte" said:

> Would the 44 degree club in your old set typically bounce 4 to 5 feet in the air and end up 10 yards over the back of the green.

>

> Loft is loft, the ball doesn't know "strong" or "weak". It can't see whether there is a "P" or a "9" on the bottom of the club.

>

> You struck that shot with 45 degrees of loft. That kind of bounce does not sound normal for a 45-degree club no matter what is written on the sole.

 

I would imagine the shafts play a role on some level. Went from rifle 5.0's to DG Pro S300. But I get your point. Maybe it's Just the season like others have said. Just cant remember ever having this problem in the past.

[naj959]

> @stormbringer said:

> Does that iron feature a thin springing face? If so that is likely your problem. Take them where you can use a launch monitor and see what the spin numbers are. You may be surprised to find they are not spinning enough.

>

> If spin is low just bending the lofts weaker will likely not be the answer.

>

>

 

Not sure. I guess you could say they are semi-hollow with the pocket cavity. I've been experimenting with balls that are advertised to spin more. Usually play Pro V1s. Trying out different bridgestones. They seem to stop a little quicker.

[naj959]

> @Lefty96 said:

> Are you a low speed/ low spin player to begin with? Was the contact flush on this particular shot? Do you get a high or low trajectory? Could you have landed on a downslope? How does the flight of the new pitching wedge compare to that of the old 9 iron?

>

> I only ask this because you shouldn’t really be seeing much of a difference if you compare loft to loft. If you are a real low spin low ball hitter already, then this type of iron might be a little too low spin for you.

 

Typically a mid to mid high ball flight. The shots are struck well that's what makes it a bit frustrating. I expect to ball to be inside of 20 feet and it's not even on the green. My old irons used to balloon a bit which was the main reason I switched. They were ok on calm days but I couldn't flight them when the wind was up. These I can flight quite nicely. I can hit the New PW as far as my old 8 iron If I really really step on it. !40 yards or so. I'll have to see if the Roger Dunn in my area will rent out the flightscope. Unfortunately there are not a lot of launch monitors available in my area. Driver swing speed was mid 100's last time I was on an outdoor radar. No idea how fast I swing my irons however.

[Red4282]

Look you can spin a driver 2000rpms and if the fairway is soft it will plug. You can spin a wedge 12000 rpm but if its landing on concrete its not going to hold. Have you played your set up at other courses and conditions? If there was no issue then its not the equipment. In your original post you said “lately” which leads me to believe its just a course firming up thing. Pretty common around here, combine that with a 20mph downwind and you often have to land wedges 20 yards short of the green...

[bladehunter]

Sounds like a spin issue to me coupled with firm conditions.

[magnus7319]

Still have your old irons? Hit the shot with both clubs and see. Sounds like a firm green... spin isn't going to help make a ball stop from hopping 5 feet in the air.

[naj959]

I think its a conbinatiin of lower spin and firmer conditions. This has happened at other courses but I don't travel much out of the area. Its not all that big of a deal I think about golf a lot and like talk with others about it so I thought I'd throw my musings out there. If anything I've got an excuse to get a backup set. The old set do hold greens better but I'm passing those on to a relative.