Cleveland CG16s

Anyone seen the new sets of Cleveland irons and wedges?

It looks like they have expanded their range of wedges to include irons. On the new editions they've also added the lofts to the bottom of the club in a somewhat similar style to Scratch irons. They have kept the traditional numbering too so you can work out what you think you should hit. Their marketing fluff says it has been done so players can build their set ensuring consistent gaps in loft when adding the matching wedges. I think that's a complete load of tosh when you look at the specs.

There's 2 degrees between 3 and 4 irons. Then with the 5 and 6 irons they have 3 degrees before moving to a 4 degree gap for 7-9. Finishing the set they jump to a 5 degree gap with a 44 degree pitching wedge. In reality the wedge is 9 iron and players will be able to boast how far they hit their 6 iron, sorry 7 iron. In order to add the 4 other wedges they're recommending you would have some tough decisions on what clubs to leave out of the bag. I'm thinking you would have to pick three clubs between driver and 6 iron!

We've seen some heated debate, on the old 606, on wedge play recently but is this going a step too far in the search for the next big thing?

I've just looked at the specs for the tour cg16 irons and the specs I get are these.

*2 18°
*3 21°
*4 24°
*5 27°
*7 34°
*8 38°
*9 42°
*PW 46°

That's fairly standard gaps really. Usually the long irons have smaller loft gaps than the short irons. The increasing length of the shaft acts as you would expect any lever to function and increases the head speed and thus the yardage. People do often mess around with the lofts but for an off the rack setup... That's about right really.

I took a look at the tour version and they are much more uniformly spaced compared to the non tour. The lofts also seemed to be more traditional than the stronger lofted non tour editions. 46 for a PW appears to be much closer to a wedge than the 9 iron one that's pretending to be a wedge. The non tour specs are these:

3 - 19
4 - 21
5 - 24
6 - 27
7 - 31
8 - 35
9 - 39
P - 44

Even so, they were advocating adding 48, 52, 56 and 60 as wedges to complement their irons; which clubs would you drop to make up the set? After adding driver and putter you would almost have to start with a 6 iron to keep reasonable sets of loft/yardage gaps.

GG..

There is a need for stronger lofts in the non-tour version. The lower centre of gravity and the longer shafts (that are typically used with these iron type) mean an increased head speed and launc angle. If the higher lofts were used the ball would be more prone to a ballooning flight as well as excessive spinrates for the iron in question. In addition it does give the impression of hitting the ball further on a given iron comparison which is something that happens a lot.

I think that a lot of the loft number on the bottom is a sales-gimmick... but it does work in relation to the way that wedges are loft referenced now rather than given a number. Albeit you need to understand what you have and what you need in order to use the system with any effectiveness.

As for the 2 degree gap between the 3 and 4 iron on those specs.. The 3 looks more like a 2 to me... and most people can't hit those. So a 4 to Wedge set is more likely to be purchased these days. With a hybrid in that sort of loft in it's place. And that's where this system is stronger as I see so many people who have hybrids with the exact specs of a couple of their irons... but they insist on carrying both for some reason.

LJ - Maybe it's Cleveland's way of trying to get the whole bag kitted out with them but are how many players know enough about their game to make an educated decision? With the availability of, and preaching of, custom fitting players should have an idea but we all know people that have and would pick up a set off the rack. I think I know my game reasonably well and have my bag set with with consistent gaps. This season I'm considering swapping a hybrid for a fairway wood, I just have to find one I like the look of.

I agree it is a marketing ploy, I think lofts came onto wedges to give players a way to compare different clubs. Stamping P, S, G, or A on the bottom didn't necessarily mean you would have a reasonable gap between them. We'll have to wait and see how successful they are...

If I'm honest I don't think that a club number on the bottom of a stick means a whole lot anyway.

Everyone hits the ball a different distance with different flight characteristics.

My 7 iron is closer to an 8 iron but goes as far as a 6 in some cases (when compared to other players) and only as far as some peoples 9 iron (or even wedge in one case)

It's all relative.

Besides. The gaps that you want are yardage gaps. Not loft gaps. You could have the same loft and a different length shaft and get a different yardage from it. So there is a lot more to it than just... It's a 24 degree 4 iron or 24 degree 5 iron.

You can see the sort of thing I mean when you look at a weak 3 and a strong 4 wood. The weak 3 might have 16 degrees of loft with a 3 wood shaft. Whereas the strong 5 will have 16 degrees of loft and a 5 wood shaft.

The weak 3 wood will still go further. At least when I've tried them that's been the case.

And that's what makes this game fun. Especially in match play "Oh I thought I could reach with a 5 wood "