Buyers guide to irons

Buying a set of irons?.

If you're thinking of splashing out on a set of irons, take a few minutes to learn about club specifications and unravel some of the terminology and technical jargon. We hope this helps.

Originally they were made of leather, wrapped round hickory shafts. Today far more sophisticated and usually made of a rubber compound or a combination of cord/rubber in a variety of 'feels'.

Apart from putters they must be circular in cross section with no moulding for the fingers. Grips can be made 'thin', standard or 'fat' to fit every hand size and the feel required. Circumference must not exceed 1.75 inches. Jumbo and mid-size grips are now available with some manufacturers.

Make sure when you grip the handle with your left hand (for right-handers) your longest finger just touches the soft, fleshy part of your palm just below the thumb.

Discovering the right shaft to suit you can be a matter of price restraint and trial and error. But scientific analysis has enabled custom-fitters to pin down what shaft will suit most players within 30 minutes.

Graphite shafts can be more expensive than steel and will tend to generate more energy and swing speed for less effort. However, it may be at the expense of less consistency.

Hosel: Where shaft meets clubhead.

Shafts normally fall into a regular, firm or stiff category. Regular will suit the average player, firm, the stronger amateur with a hard, fast swing. Stiff is usually more appropriate for the better players approaching scratch.

Most Tour pros prefer extra stiff. There are also shafts for women and seniors which are more flexible to generate extra clubhead speed at impact.

It's where the tip of the shaft is fixed to the short stem of the clubhead, usually with an epoxy resin. Some manufacturers dispense with the hosel, drilling the shaft directly into heads with reinforced interiors.

Clubheads are either a cast peripheral-weighted head (hollowed at the back) to create a wider sweetspot on the clubface or a blade (solid back) preferred by better players and professionals.

A growing number of heads for better players are forged (hammered into shape) from a piece of metal. More expensive and less forgiving when hit off-centre but good feel for the consistent striker.

Many clubs, offer a lower centre of gravity and a weight bar, which puts more muscle behind the sweet spot and helps create greater power at impact and gets the ball in the air quicker. These clubs are aimed more at the beginner/improver or women golfers, where it's important for confidence, to get the ball airborne.

In technical terms, loft is the angle of degree of the clubface in relation to the centre of the hosel and in relation to the face across the horizontal plane.

You don't really need to know that but simplied, 'long irons (2- to 4-iron) have less loft for a lower, penetrating flight, medium (5-, 6-, 7-) are used to play shots, usually from 170 - 140 yards from the target and short irons (8- to sand wedge) have more degrees of loft to get the ball in the air more quickly, carry over hazards and create more spin on landing.

Parallel grooves, also known as the 'scoreline pattern', on the clubface are created both for alignment and to generate spin and friction as the ball climbs up the clubface at impact.

The heel is the inside bottom edge of the clubhead where it makes contact with the ground directly below the hosel. A ball struck 'off the heel' (on the shaft side of the clubhead), tends to fly low and straight and creates a tingle in your fingertips (not good!).

The toe is the opposite end of the heel, bevelled and rounded for good aerodynamics. A ball struck on the toe of the clubhead will usually fly higher with little penetration and tend to generate draw spin (from right to left).

The bevelled, bottom of the club, where the model name and the iron's number is usually engraved is called the sole. Soles of modern clubs are designed to glide across the turf to allow the face to make a better contact with the ball.

The lie of the club is defined as the angle made between the shaft and the ground when the club is set down in its address position.

Ideally, the sole of the club would sit parallel to the ground. The lie needs to be altered if the toe of the club at address points upward or the heel is off the ground. There are usually upto ten degrees of variation in lie from five degrees upright to five degrees flat.

Lie angle determined by swing and stance.

To properly fit a player with a lie angle to suit the swing, it's necessary to carry out a 'dynamic' test. The mark made at the point of sole contact, when a repetitive swing is made and the sole of the club clips a mat or a board, dictates the direction of the shot.

A sole marking towards the heel (toe up) shows the club is too upright for the player. Shots will tend to fly left of the target. A marking towards the toe, shows the lie angle is too flat, revealing that shots will tend to fly right of target. The club is generally set up correctly if a mark is halfway between heel and toe. If you still experience directional problems it's usually attributed to swing or address deficiency.

Irons are usually sold in sets of nine including 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-, 9-iron, pitching wedge and sand wedge (3-SW) and can cost anything from £100 to £1,000 depending on brand, quality, cast or forged construction.

Our advice is if you are spending at least £300 have them custom-fitted to your height and hand size and golfswing. If simply buying off the shelf make sure they suit your abilities. Over-size or mid-size cast heads are better suited to new and improving golfers, blades and forged clubs for established single-figure handicap golfers.