IRONS
Wishon’s single length iron design concept EQ1-NX offers same length and high COR low loft iron characteristics while adding many new performance enhancing features to mark a definite step forward in game improvement iron design.
Features:
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- Enabled by the new 2-piece hollow body design, the Center of Gravity moves progressively through the set from lowest and most rear located on the #5 iron to highest and most forward located on the GW and SW to achieve more consistent shot shape and shot height for each iron in the set
- The hollow body design throughout the set increases the MOI of each head by removing all mass from the inside of the head to be distributed all around the CG. The hollow body construction also enables the CG progression and uniform impact sound between the high COR and conventional COR heads in the set
- Low number irons are better matched with their loft to CG position to achieve preferred shot shape/height and allow a wider range of players to be able to effectively hit the #5 and 6 irons to fly and carry with proper distance gaps
- Traditional GW and SW profile shapes are combined with milled faces and a custom sole grind make the wedges a great choice even if they were standalone wedges and not part of the single length design
- 275g head weight with hosel weight bore allows assembly to any single length between 35.5” and 37.5” while still being able to achieve a reasonable range of swingweight/MOI (depending on shaft weight and grip weight)
- Available in RH in #5-9, PW, GW, SW, LW. Available in LH in #5-9, PW, GW, SW.
- Enabled by the new 2-piece hollow body design, the Center of Gravity moves progressively through the set from lowest and most rear located on the #5 iron to highest and most forward located on the GW and SW to achieve more consistent shot shape and shot height for each iron in the set
© COPYRIGHT 2024 WISHON GOLF
Hi Tom, thanks for your continued dedication to the single length cause.
I’ve stupidly used a flighted set of x100s in your EQ1 heads, rather than going identical shafts. Really should have read some of your answers first and not bought into the OEM flighted theory without some lateral thinking and proper research.
I’ve no idea whether I have a late release pattern or not but given I’ve a fast swing speed, what kind of miss should I expect from the flighted set, compared to matched?
Best and thanks
Andy
ANDY If one is new to the concept of single length, certin aspects can be a little confusing. It is best to think about single length as the irons all being the same club with one exception – the loft changes. Everything else, and I mean EVERYTHING ELSE, is duplicated on each iron in the single length set. If you have a set of shafts in the single length set installed all at an 8 iron length that vary in stiffness from iron to iron just like a normal incremental length set, it means that the shafts in the lower… Read more »
Tom , when bending an iron to change loft is it better to bend up or bend down, for those in between lofts? For a 58D EQ1, jump up the 55D or go down from a 60D?
Gary Very good question for sure and happy to help. The decision is based on how the change in the sole angle (bounce) would affect your play from sand, tall grass, thin lies, etc and so forth. Every time you bend loft higher in a wedge, you increase the bounce 1* for each 1* you increase the loft. And vice versa, every time you lower the loft in a wedge, you reduce the bounce by 1* for each 1* of loft reduction. So if you bend a 55 to 58, you increase bounce by 3*. In truth that is not… Read more »
What a great set of clubs! Bought these to experiment and they did not disappoint. The ability to comfortably cover all irons the same is a game changer. Having the same attack angle throughout the scoring irons is great. Same motion through the set. Got to figure out what I’m going to do for SW and LW. Single length is legit! Great product!
Dear Tom, I have had my EQ1-NX irons 5-SW for 3 weeks now. They were built to fit my needs by Geoff Waldon, as previously corresponded. The build quality is impeccable and to top it off I just hit 9 holes with a score of 39. For me that was a miracle. I would like to thank you Tom for being the total professional that you are and for designing and building the finest set of single length iron heads I know of. I really mean that from the bottom of my heart. Thank you sir. And thank you and… Read more »
KENT
I am so pleased to hear that your work with Geoff has resulted in such success for you!! That’s really tremendous to hear that. Keepo it up!! And if you see Geoff, please give him my best regards!
TOM
Is it possible to order just the heads for 5i and 6i? I’d like to build these 2 clubs the same length as my 7i. I am using srixon forged at the moment with steel fiber. Your thoughts would be much appreciated.
Victor We only sell our heads, shafts and grip and technology designs to clubmakers that we have screened and know to be knowledgeable and experienced in clubmaking and clubfitting. We do this so people who do not have the skills and knowledge would not build clubs from our designs that are not well made for each end user golfer. If you are a clubmaker with experience, we are glad to have the chance to work with you. If you are not a clubmaker we urge you to go to the FIND A CLUBMAKER link at the top of our home… Read more »
Is there a plan to retire the EQ1-NX and refresh it or replace it in the near future?
TRAE No. People who have followed my work since we founded Wishon Golf in 2002 know that my models stick around longer, far longer, than any other company’s models. It is very common for a model in the Wishon brand line to be around for ten years or more. It’s very rare when one is around for only 2-3 yrs. The EQ was intro’d in 2020 and was a re design of my first single length iron so that it incorporated pretty much everything that I learned from my first single length model that I hadn’t incorporated in that model.… Read more »
I appreciate the quick response. I knew that was typically the case but doing my due diligence because I am looking at replacing my beloved 560mcs that I built nearly 18 years ago. I tested out another brand of single length and was VERY impressed with the concept and how well it worked for my swing so naturally the plan is to build a single length set to last as long as my 560ms have.
Trae
Then you should find the specs of that other single length set (length, lie, shaft, grip, swingweight) and build the new set to match that, since you have such positive feedback from that set.
TOM
What’s the bounce on the wedges?
ROY
Bounce sole angle on the EQ PW is 6*, 10* on the GW, 12* on the SW and 10* on the LW. The GW, SW and LW are all milled face as well. And the GW, SW and LW all have the zero bounce heel which I created about ten years ago to enable players to roll the face wide open and not have the leading edge rise up off the ground to make it more difficult to hit shots off closely mown lies.
TOM
I am currently playing single length irons. The biggest problem I have found is in the wedges. Not for the sake of set up, with them being too long. The biggest problem I have is not being able to get traditional blade style wedges. There are a few grinds from various companies that I really like, but I cannot place them at the length of my irons or even wedges that are a part of the iron set. The swing weight is just too much. I would love to have a real sand wedge that I can use for full… Read more »
William There are quite a few things I need to bring you up to speed on with respect to offering the best help for your questions about a partial single length set and the set makeup you are anticipating. First of all let’s talk about that 5,7,9,G and maybe S or L set makeup. If the EQ irons are being made to your 8 iron length, be aware that you will have to have an 8 iron clubhead speed of no less than 85mph with a not too steep angle of attack into the ball to be able to hit… Read more »
I am currently playing single length irons and I am looking to improve my wedge game. I am currently looking to build a half set of EQ1-NX irons. I have always wanted my wedges to be the same length and nearly same swing weight. In videos the wedges are mentioned that they could even be a stand alone set of wedges. Do these wedges work well for around the greens and being able to do multiple different types of shots? In other hollow body sets, I seem to like when the wedges are not matching the irons and are more… Read more »
Greetings Tom. I was wondering if it would be possible to make irons that have the loft stamped on them instead of the number – EG 24 (degrees) vs 5 (iron)? Given that the industry is constantly changing what the loft of any given club is, it makes more sense to me to use the loft. What a 3 iron was 10 years ago is now a 5 iron in terms of loft. So, for someone to say “I’ll hit the 5 iron,” is totally contingent upon the manufacturer and the year in which the clubs were made. But a… Read more »
MARKUS I have been one of the most outspoken people against this steady decrease in loft of 8* or more for the majority of the irons in a set over the past many years. But I have also seen a company or two that tried to do exactly what you suggest to put the loft number on each head instead of a number and in each case the practice failed miserably and caused the immediate demise of the sales of the set. Last one to do it was the company that had bought the Ben Hogan brand a few years… Read more »
Thanks for the reply, Tom.
It’s unfortunate that people are so lazy as to not know the loft of their clubs. Moreover, that the manufacturers rely and prey upon that ignorance to create the “best new thing”. Hit your 5 iron further than ever. It’s a 1* club…but, shhhhh, who’s telling?
Bummer about the 4 iron, as I can hit one just fine and would prefer that over a hybrid.
On a different note, what’s the bounce on your sand wedge?
Thanks,
Markus
Markus That would be a perfect world, if far more golfers cared enough about their equipment to learn more about their clubs, it would be much better for everyone. . . . except the big golf companies. And they are the ones that control the equipment world so they have the most power to dictate what golfers know and especially, what they don’t know about their clubs. I’ve thought for years that if even 10% of all golfers had the attention span to read any of my books and articles the average handicap of golfers would be markedly better due… Read more »
Hi Tom, I’d like to build a 4-club “wedge set” using EQ1-NX wedge club heads (PW to LW) but at a standard overall length of 35.5”. Obviously, they need to be a playable SW/MOI using existing 9g weight port. Using an additional 4g tip weight would be the maximum 13g hosel weight, as I recall from one of your previous fitting articles. What’s the downside if I exceed 13g weight port and tip weight total? I’m not shooting for a MOI-matched “wedge set” but I’d rather like having different MOIs with SW club being slightly heaviest. Kinda like what’s in… Read more »
BILL GREAT to hear from you again!!! Going with a tip weight on top of using a 9g weight in the hosel weight bore is completely ok. The effect of having a total of 13g in the heel side of the heads will SLIGHTLY move the center of gravity toward the heel side of the face, but not more than about 1/8″ to 3/16″. That’s not enough of a shift of the CG to cause any performance problems because you are doing this on wedges that have a lot of loft. In fact, there are tip weights up to as… Read more »
Hi Tom,
I’m in Australia and suffering from a supply issue from Project X iron shafts. I can only get the taper tip 0.355 shafts. Could I fit a shim to the shafts or would you recommend something else? These are the shafts that perform best for me and I can’t get the 0.370 parallel tip version here in AUS.
Tom, the bottom of bore to ground is 3/8” more than other weight port iron heads of yours that I’ve built. That must mean that the hosels are quite long. Why?
Thanks.
DON I am not sure where you get the point you said about the BBTG of the EQ irons being 3/8″ more than the other iron models. I just dbl checked and all my iron models range from 1.25″ to 1.5″ where the EQ are 1 5/8″. The hosel lengths are all 60mm except the 989 whicn are 65mm, but with a 35mm bore depth, so that makes the 989 come out the same as all the others that are 60mm hosel length with 30mm bore depth. And from my measurement of other companies iron models a 60mm hosel length… Read more »
Tom,
The ones I am used to were 1.25”. Setting aside the length of the hosel, my question really is, why does this one have such a long BBGM? It seems it would make hosel sit quite high and the head have a high COG. Thanks.
DON the vast majority of iron models I have designed have been 1.5″, not 1.25″. 1.25″ is a rarity in my design world. And hosel length is hosel length and has nothing to do with BBTG, BBTG comes in when you factor in the bore depth with the hosel length and the toe to heel sole radius. But I have kept with a 250mm radius from toe to heel on the sole in my design work so the only way one iron model’s hosel can stick up longer than another would be from the hosel length. And with all of… Read more »
I have been down a rabbit trail on SL irons for a few months now and am still a bit unclear on how the shafting works. It seems like other manufacturers have made their clubs with different shafts (among other differences) to aid in achieving the desired ball flight particularly in the lower lofted end of the bag. Is that typical of all SL designs, or are the EQ1-NX irons designed to have an identical shaft throughout the set? I was able to get a pair of EQ1-NX demos rented and found the everything about them to be generally positive,… Read more »
Bryan Happy to help you get out of the rabbit hole. It’s no fun being where you don’t know what’s up or down! First of all, the concept of single length is to make each iron ABSOLUTELY IDENTICAL to every other iron in every spec, except for loft. Incremental length irons change in total weight, balance point, assembled club MOI, and of course, length. With everything identical in every way except for loft, the logic says the golfer could find it easier to become more consistent since every club really will swing the same. Second, iron shafts don’t even come… Read more »
This is helpful Tom. Thanks. There is so much going on with the technology out there that it is difficult to piece together what is real engineering and what is marketing, and what of the real engineering I need to even worry about. Nice of you to provide the level of engagement and clarity you do here. The SL concept is extremely interesting to me because any reduction in variables can’t help but improve consistency which is something my golf game really needs.
I have a similar question to Garry, I’m a left hander so am used to limited availability of demo clubs. I’m demoing the 771s this week but would also like to try the EQs which unfortunately are not available to try with my fitter. My short and mid irons are good but I suffer with unpredictability once I go to the 6 iron, 5 iron and hybrids. I’m currently playin Callaway Big Bertha and I have now gotten into the mid to low 90s every round after 12 months playing. I’m a late starter at 45 yrs old now and… Read more »
TOBY Many thanks for your interest in our designs! I am sorry about the lack of availability of left hand models but with 8% of the golfers worldwide playing left handed, it’s tough to tool up every model both ways. Regarding your question, I am going to bet that the main reason you find anything longer and lower lofted than your 7 iron to be subject to consistency issues is because of the lower loft of the 6 iron and the other lower loft clubs. All lofts below 31-32*, which is about the average loft for a 7 iron these… Read more »
Adding to what Tom posted, two thoughts from a long-time (8 years) single-length player: The first time I hit the previous version (Sterling) was when I owned the set. And I’m glad I did it that way. Single-length clubs are easy to quit on at first because of two strange things. First, the low-lofted irons feel absurdly short. Second, the wedges seem incredibly long. But after a very brief period of time, you get used to the real issue: that all of your irons are the same length. It no longer feels at all odd to have a really long… Read more »
Thanks Rich, really helpful and appreciated. I’ve gone with the 771s after a great fitting session, they felt great and can’t wait to get them!
Would anyone help with a comparison between the 771 head and this EQ one please.
I’ve tried the 771 & 565 at a demo fitting session and was pleasantly surprised how good and powerful both appeared.
The guy however, didn’t have the EQ head to try out.
Certainly the 771 launched higher than I’m used to even tho my own clubs have the same loft.
Would the COR etc be similar?
Kind regards GG
Garry By intent in the design, only the #5, 6, 7 irons of the EQ1 irons are high strength steel face/higher COR face designs. The 8 to wedges are conventional COR design. Reason for this is that in a single length set in which all irons are 8 iron length, the low loft irons need a little help to get the ball to fly and carry farther so there can be a full club difference in carry distance between each of the low loft irons. Using a higher COR face helps offset this tendency of single length low loft irons,… Read more »
Hello Tom, I am a huge fan & glad to learn about your work. Questions for you. (1) Are you planning a eq2-nx set of single length? (2) If you are, are you looking at a way to have a sand wedge and/or lob wedge that is closer to a blade type? (3) I am reworking my swing to be more one plane / more bent over, should I grove this before buying eq2 or eq1 (very interested either way)? I figure the lie angle would and/or length to be different. (4) Does a Wishon approved club fitter encourage adjustments… Read more »
David Thanks VERY MUCH for your kind words and for having followed what I do and have done in my work over the years. I truly appreciate that! I have no plans for a second generation EQ single length iron design yet. I’ve been really happy with the EQ1 because it really is the second generation single length design that followed the original Sterling Irons I did in 2015. The EQ1s incorporate everything that I learned from the Sterlings that I could do better in the next version of a single length iron design. So really, there is no reason… Read more »
Long-time user here, first with the Sterlings and later the EQ1-NX. Three quick thoughts: First, no manufacturer should announce a new model too soon. It can shut down sales of current inventory while users hold off buying decisions, choking revenues and even cash flow. See Osbourne Computing for a famous example. Second, I cannot imagine what performance improvements would be available. The EQ1-NX was an improvement over the Sterlings, but not a radical one. (Reduced offset and greater forgiveness were the two I noticed most.) But Tom’s the genius here, not me. Finally, the idea that single-length irons being associated… Read more »
Hello Rich, Great to hear your insight on this. I believe Tom when he says he is not releasing a new set any time soon, although your point is definitely taken. I hate offset, so the fact that it is an upgrade vs the Sterlings is very important. Also, the sound is superbly improved from what I gather. I agree that there is probably nothing to improve the EQ1-NX irons, and it’s great to hear your experience as this helps me greatly. I don’t know if you’re a BDC fan, I’ll say I’m a huge Bryson fan (even when he… Read more »
I was a BDC fan until he retired from competitive golf by joining the LIV exhibition tour. There’s no reason for your irons not to hold up for a decade. Three things can bring about an end to their utility: Wear and tear Changes in your game Overcome by technology advancement Wear and tear: Not normally a problem. Keep your grips fresh and consider having the irons re-grooved after several years of use. But this last one comes with two caveats. First, the grooves are primarily there to wick away water from the club face, not to put spin on… Read more »
Hey Tom,
Why did you go with 5-degree gaps in the wedges and higher lofted irons then 4-degree gaps in the lower lofted irons?
Intuitively I would think I would want the wedges to be closer in gaping and the lower lofted irons to be further in gapping… especially since it’s not uncommon for people to have insignificant gaps between lower lofted clubs when using one length
Trent In an absolute perfect world where EVERY golfer has a completely open mind, the best situation for loft gaps would be to use 5* increments between the low loft irons and then reduce that slightly as loft increases down to the wedges. The lower the loft, the harder it is to elevate the shot high enough to achieve full complete carry distance. The only golfers who get the same distance gap between their low loft irons vs high loft irons when the loft gap is the same throughout the set are players with very high clubhead speeds. For average… Read more »
Tom,
I apologize if already addressed elsewhere and have missed – and putting this question here with the single length irons because one somewhat famous guy using single length…
But question is about grips:
What are your thoughts on large/heavy/counterweighted grips that this same guy is using with his single length irons? Would also be interested if have thoughts on large/superlight grips.
Thanks as always,
Jon
JON I play a very large oversize grip on all my clubs including all of the EQ1 single length irons. The grip weighs 76g so of course it drops the swingweight substantially. TO counteract that to prevent the clubs from feeling way too head heavy I play the swingweight of my clubs at C5. Relatively speaking, a C5 swingweight with a 76g grip ends up with about the same head weight feel as would a D1-D2 swingweight on clubs that had a normal 50-52g grip. It’s a simple math exercise to figure out a suitable swingweight when using a very… Read more »
Thanks for a great detailed answer. I have 919THI, 919FD, 950HC, 929HS, 560MC, 309HCG all amazing but also have old aching hands/wrists/elbows and going to larger grips (shafts not a problem). If I understand correctly you have answered THE question which is if a club felt good as fitted with “normal grip” then really no need to freak out about the swing weight changing if go to a heavier grip. Do you feel the same about the larger but lighter grips like the Jumobax Ultralight with swing weight then going up? Just trying to decipher a lot of disagreement I… Read more »
JON
NO!! It is the WEIGHT of the grip not the SIZE that dictates what you should do with the final swingweight of the clubs. If the large grip is lighter in weight, you treat it like any other size grip that has the same weight.
TOM
Tom, are there any plans to design hollow head variable lengh irons simiar to the EQ1-NX?
Thanks.
Ray
RAY
Yes I think you could say that there might be a hollow construction iron coming along sometime in the future that would be an iron design for conventional incremental length assembly. No definite date yet though but working on it for sure.
TOM
Tom, thanks this is great news- will (in my mind) complete the latest phase of your lineup revision. Congratulations on all your newest additions!!
Ray
Hi Tom,
What would the approximate swing weight be for a set of EQ1-NX irons at 37.5″ and a 65.5g grip at these different shaft weights:
105g
110g
120g
125g
130g
WES Shaft weight is not the only factor controlling swingweight in a set. The shaft’s weight distribution, whether it is a tip heavy or butt heavy design, is another weight factor in shafts that can have a definite effect on the swingweight. In general though, the swingweight changes by 1 point per each change in shaft weight of 6 to 7 grams. So if you have a club at D2 with a 130g shaft, when you drop the shaft weight by 6-7 grams, you drop the swingweight by 1. Hence if you reshaft the 130g club that is D2 with… Read more »
Does anyone have in-person picture(s) of what these clubs look like at address? specifically the toplines of the wedges vs the topline of the 5 iron sitting behind a ball? From what I hear, they look different than the photos online, in a good way. I would love to see this if possible
Wes The EQ1 irons are all non offset from 5 iron to wedges so that part of the look from above the head is a consistent non offset look of the leading edge to the hosel. Next, I hate thicker toplines in iron design so each of the EQ1 irons are designed with a 5mm top line width. 5mm is the minimum top line width when the iron is a hollow body construction. I’ll drop Diamond a note to tell them to add on a shot of the EQ1 from top down in future changes to the website and the… Read more »
Hi Tom,
I am a 14hcp, and I would appreciate if you could tell me if EQ1-NX would help to go under 10, my next goal?
Are they design for such player, or are they more to the game improvement side?
Thank you very much for your comments!
Best regards,
Nicolas
Nicolas I am sorry but I cannot tell you if a change to the EQ1 single length irons would lower your score. That would require an analysis of how you lose shots when you play, and what are your strengths and weaknesses when you play. People who improve with a change to single length irons typically are golfers who are inconsistent with their iron play – they miss a lot of greens in regulation and they miss hit the irons off center a lot, or chunk and thin the irons as well. Since I see your email address is .fr,… Read more »
G’day Tom. I have long legs for my height of 6’2″ and am 39.5″ from my wrist crease to the floor. So I need longer than average clubs. I do not have any problem with speed or distance. I consistently send balls 230m/250 yrds with my 1995 Taylormade 3 wood which I find satisfactory but old and ratty. I am having a set of EQ1-NX irons built for me at 38″. My current 8i is 38.8″ but my fitter says he will up the lie to match the shorter 38″ length and I’m OK with that. He’s concerned about swing… Read more »
KENT I checked all of my work that I have done on height plus wrist to floor measurements and from what I see, I don’t think your length should be any more than 1″ over standard, but with a much more upright lie, at least 4* upright. That would make your EQ single length irons to be 37.5″. That way your clubmaker won’t run into as much difficulty in trying to keep the swingweight from being so high that the clubs feel much too head heavy. Also, if your clubmaker can find a suitable graphite iron shaft to fit you… Read more »
Tom, I just want to thank you for your advice. It’s humbling to me that I can get advice directly from such a dedicated craftsman in the sport. Thank you.
Kent Brown
Hi Tom
Are updating your single length irons soon?
Ian
Nope. I updated the first single length iron design I ever did (Sterling) when I designed the EQ1-NX and did everything that I learned from the Sterlings that I needed/wanted to do. So there is nothing I can do better on the EQ1 clubs so it will remain as it is for a long time, I suspect. Thanks very much for your interest,
TOM