771CSI IRONS
Thin Face, High COR, Variable Thickness Face in a Carbon Steel Body to Offer a Wide Range in Lie and Loft Bending for Custom Fitting
Features:
- High 0.830 COR face design offers the most distance for all golfers
- CNC Machined Variable Thickness Face delivers superb off-center hit forgiveness
- Head body material is 1020C carbon steel to allow clubmakers to perform a wide range in loft and lie bending – previously all high COR thin face designs had to be mounted in a 17-4 stainless body, which limited loft and lie fitting options
- Conventional Head Size and Shape means a wider range of golfers will like the 771CSI design
- Fully Radiused Sole Design with Rounded Leading Edge offers golfers the best playability from all types of grass as well as from the rough
- Available in RH & LH in #4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, PW, (AW RH only) in bright satin NiCr electroplated finish
© COPYRIGHT 2019 WISHON GOLF
Tom – a few holidays back I was visiting a daughter in Fuqua-Varina and there was a break in the weather, so I decided to hit balls at 401 Range…. had to borrow clubs at the range, so owner let me hit a set of used Titleists that were for sale…. i struggled mightily to hit clean shots…. the Tom Miller walked up and changed my life … “I like your swing… but I think you should try these.” Hello 771 CSIs….. It was love at at first swing….. sorry Tom didn’t have a set ready to sell, but I… Read more »
PETE Well wasn’t that a nice happenstance to run into Tom Miller! For a long time I have known Tom to be one of the very best clubmaker/clubfitters in the country so how fortunate is it that he was there at the range you chose to stop by to hit some balls! I love stories like this!! BTW, since you live in Annapolis, if you ever need any fitting help there, one of the best clubmakers is there by the name of Moe Hickey at his business, Clubs by Moe. He’s at 953 St Johns Drive and is a heckuva… Read more »
Hi Tom,
I’m not a very good golfer, but I like playing. I would like a new set of irons to “start over” which set should I look at?
Joseph Most certainly the 771CSI irons would be a very good choice for you as you get back into the game with a new set. It’s off center hit performance capability from the variable thickness face is really good for greatly reducing distance loss when shots are hit off center. The high strength steel alloy in the faces also increases the smash factor (ball speed divided by clubhead speed) for decent distance and the fact the body of the irons is cast from carbon steel means they can easily be bent for any lie or loft fitting needs you may… Read more »
Hi Tom – I did a full bag fitting with Tim Mosel about 2 years ago, he was fantastic. At the time I purchased D, 5W, Hybrid, 52, 56, and 60 wedges. After some evaluation of my irons (Titleist 716 ap1) Tim determined they were very close to where my specs measured out and I decided to hold off on irons. Now I am considering following through on the iron purchase (he recommended the 771CSI w/ graphite shaft). I have several friends who play this iron and absolutely love it. My only concern would be the lofts compared to my… Read more »
TONY I am very glad to hear that you worked with Tim for your fitting needs. He truly is one of the very best in the entire country, heck the entire world. Anytime I hear that a golfer has found Tim and decides to work with him, I breathe very easy because I know the player is going to walk away with the very best fitting he could possibly have. The loft differences between your stronger loft set and the 771’s is very minor so the lofts of the 771 could easily be bent to match to what you are… Read more »
Tom, thank you so much for answering my questions…and in these kind words, it is an honour for me. Please don’t get angry about me, but I’m having a few additional questions: I will get fitted for the 771 irons from Daoud Al-Zubeidi here in Vienna. As you recommended I will make a set from 6 to pw and instead the 5iron I will take a 5 hybrid. Unfortunately, as a left handed guy, I have to find a hybrid from one of the OEMs. At present, my favourite ist the ping g425 with 26*, shortened to a regular 5iron… Read more »
Hi Tom, I‘m lefthanded and searching for a new set of irons. I play a six handicap but am not the longest hitter (Driver SS in the low 90ies, 5i about 78mph). So a few more yards with my irons would be really fine. Especially when it comes to the longer irons, my gapping is nowhere near the 10 yard range. Carry Distance of 5i is about 160, 6i flies 155 and 7iron about 148. I am willing to give the 771s a chance…i have a 919thi driver and am really satisfied. What are your thoughts? Should i go with… Read more »
Heimo Thank you very much for your interest and for taking the time to come to our website with your questions. We’re always happy to help with the best information because there is so much BAD and misleading information out there about golf clubs. Don’t feel bad about not getting very much distance gap between your lower loft irons. The vast majority of golfers have that problem and it is because of two reasons – First, over the past 30-40 years, the loft of irons has steadily decreased, primarily because companies do that in order to enable golfers to hit… Read more »
Hi Tom. I just tried your 771 irons & like others have said, very forgiving, & look amazing for a G.I. iron. I just wanted to know a couple of things, firstly do you plan on bringing out a successor to the 771 ? I know I know if it ain’t broke don’t fix it LOL , & you don’t change for change sake like some of the OEM companies who seem to be bringing out a new iron every 5 minutes , no names mentioned. With that said are you planning on designing a successor with less offset &… Read more »
LES Many thanks for the kind comments about the 771CSI irons!! We appreciate that and are pleased to know you have definitely experienced the performance of the variable thickness HS300 face. I’m prejudiced I know but I have always thought this face design is about as forgiving as anything, anywhere in the golf business. The 771 has been in the product line for a long time which is quite rare compared to what all the other companies do. You’re right, it isn’t “broke” so there is no real compulsion to “fix it” but I am thinking of the successor because… Read more »
Hi Tom , Thanks for the reply , that’s music to my ears , can’t wait to see them & of course try them . Do you think you’ll be releasing this year ?
One last thing , did you design the legendary Golfsmith Tour Cavity Forged irons back in the late 90’s when you head of R&D for Golfsmith ? What a classic iron that was.
All the best Les.
LES No new clubhead model can go from concept to inventory in less than 2 yrs now. Used to be 7-9 months on average until this latest golf boom hit in 2020 and created demand that the clubhead production factories in total cannot possibly keep up with. And there is likely no relief to this in sight. The clubhead factory owners are very hesitant to even think about expanding their capacity because they are unsure if the big increase in the number of rounds and golfers is going to stick around or not once more and more people are vaccinated… Read more »
Les,
I can’t say enough about how pleased I am using the 771 csi irons. The feel, sound, distance and forgiveness is all there. It is a design that definitely should live on and would be tough to improve upon. I recently added the 4 iron and had a Steelfiber i95 shaft put in it. It is by far the easiest 4 iron I have ever hit.
Enjoy them.
Mike
MIKE
Wow, how nice is that to be able to hear your experience with the 771’s!! That’s golf music to my ears!! But yeah, if and when down the road there is a successor to the 771’s I will assure you that the same variable thickness face design will be a part of it so the off center hit forgiveness is unchanged. Thanks again and the very best to you in this great game!! May there be tons more good shots coming your way from the irons!
TOM
Thanks for that Mike.
Hi Tom, I tinker with building my own irons. All of the different design factors make my head spin and I’m trying to figure out whether I really need a super game improvement or a little more on the side of a player’s iron. Will probably try to get fit soon if I can find someone close, but was wondering if you had some thoughts based on my swing characteristics: Was a 5 handicap when younger, probably more like 12 now (less consistent) I hit the ball super high – always have since a teen – I think I hit… Read more »
BRIAN When you say you have no divot and hit the ball at the low point of your swing arc, this for sure is why you hit the ball high. Not having any forward shaft lean at the moment of impact is adding a lot of loft to the head at the moment of impact. As such it would not matter if somehow the COG was on the top of the ironhead, you’d still hit the ball high. And you will hit the ball high with any iron design until you decide whether you want to try to change the… Read more »
Hi Tom
Is acct #14884 still active? I do mostly repairs now for all of the private clubs (7) from San Francisco to San Mateo, Ca. The 989CLA heads have caught my eye as a great component option. Can you send me some detailed photo’s? I am looking for some heads with a narrow heel and a high square toe. You and I go back to the 90’s (Golfsmith) I appreciate your genius! Robin Arthur says hi, BTW.
Cheers
TIM I work out of my R&D workshop in Durango, CO in my semi-retirement consulting position for Diamond Golf and the Wishon brand so I do not have access to the account records of Diamond Golf. I sent them your post and asked them to follow up with the information you seek. They should be on top of that in a day or so. I don’t have photos of any of the models because all of that work is done over at Diamond’s HQ in the UK but I did ask them to send photos if they have shots other… Read more »
Hi, Tom—Thanks to your input, I now have started my journey to be “full Tom Wishon”. I just got my 771s with Wishon graphite shafts (custom determined by my club fitter and your shaft recommendation chart), your 775 HS 3-hybrid with a Wishon shaft (again, as recommended by your charts based on my swing tendencies), and a re-shafted 919 THI 12*, 44.5” Wishon shaft, tipped at the bottom (based on a Wishon Golf staff member recommendation for my swing tendencies). When I save up a bit more, I’m going with three Micro Groove HM wedges. Eventually, I hope to finalize… Read more »
ART
GREAT to hear that the first impressions are solid and positive!! That brings a big smile to my face, though it is probably not quite as big as the one on your face after hitting shots with the new sticks!! Thanks for the input and the very best to you for many, many more great shots with the new clubs!
TOM
Hi Tom,
I opened my account on Diamond Golf and almost ready to start my shop. I will start by myself and build a new set. I am a left handed, low handicaper and always played forged irons. Had injuries to a knee and ankle and my swing changed. Do you recommend the 771? I want more forgivness and i still have good clubhead speed. I would put KBS C taper on. Thanks!
Sylvain Thank you very much for your interest and for choosing to open an account with Diamond Golf. We appreciate that very much! I first would like to say that I am sorry that we have not been able to offer any of our forged carbon steel iron models in left hand. Unfortunately we are a small specialty design company and with the typical left hand demand in the golf industry worldwide we simply would not be able to sell enough left hand forgings to offset the high cost of tooling dies and production. The die costs for a forging… Read more »
Thank you very much Tom!
As soon as the COVID is behind us, i will be able to attend clubmaking classes. By this time, i will read your books for sure!
Sylvain
Very good !! If I may make a suggestion, I would recommend that you read these books and in this order – 1) The New Search for the Perfect Golf Club; 2) Common Sense Clubfitting; 3) Part 2 of Cap’n Clubmaker:Experiences and Insights from a Life Spent in Search of the Perfect Golf Club. (OK< you can read part 1 of that book but for your actual needs of learning what you need to know to get good in this field, part 2 is for that!!) Thanks again ! TOM
I received my books. Started my reading as recommended and i learn so much! Really love your writing style and i laugh 🙂
I also ordered a 6 iron 979ss. It look amazing! Offset is not an issue. I will use the shaftlock system to try a few shafts.
Tom, recently started looking for new irons. Handicap dropped from 18+ to low teens. Heck, broke 80 for 1st it,e in life… anyway, my swin coach was a Wilson sponsored player for years and he turned me into the new D7,s… found a 5 iron to try… had a project x roofless steel 6.5 shaft… I play to s300s currently (at 52). Working with jerry kibler in GA on shafts and he let me hit a 771 for the shaft…l now I am confused on heads…. dr for ged or 771… trying to understand the difference… help!,,,,,
Patrick There is a big difference between any of the forged carbon steel iron models in our line and the 771CSI irons. The 771s are a full blown super game improvement iron design while the forged irons are definitely far more in the traditional “lower on the game improvement scale.” The 771s are investment cast from carbon steel to enable bending the heads for lie and loft purposes to be super easy and wide ranging. A thin high strength steel face plate is welded into the 771 body and that is the real key to the game improvement performance of… Read more »
Thanks Tom. I am currently playing Hireko’s warp speed. Probably play 8 iron 150 to 155,
I hope that I don’t cause you to take down the “Make a comment” section! What is your thoughts on my using my old 550C irons, at least in the higher lofts—say PW thru 7-iron? Or, would I just be better off going with all 771s?
I’m sure this will be one of my last questions!
Thanks.
Art
ART
That would not be my recommendation because, 1) the lofts of the old 550C are even higher per number than those of the 771’s; 2) the face of the 771 is high COR while the face of the 550s is not. You’d see distance gapping issues between where the 771 ends and the 550 begins in the set makeup. And impact feel differences too because impact feel is different between a thin, high strength steel high COR face and a thick forged carbon steel face. Best to stay with the 771 throughout the set.
TOM
Thanks—I was actually hoping that was going to be your answer. Thanks. Art
Hi Tom, I’m in the process of being fitted with Alex Robertson in Scotland. Already had 1st session and schedule for the 2nd one. Im 18 hdcp currently playing Mizuno MX 26 thus wonder whether at glance I will benefit more from 771 or the 565 irons which whatever shaft combination (weight , flex & lenght) will provide better smash factor. I was able to hit some shots with a spare sterling 7i and felt very soft even by being cast, so u8nderstand that this 771 will be similar feel? On the other hand would be greta to learn more… Read more »
Alvaro Thank you for taking your time to stop in and join us to ask your question! Lots of great golf in your area so I for one am very jealous that you have such an array of good golf to play up there!! There is no question that the 771CSI irons will achieve a higher smash factor because their faces are a thin, high strength steel for a higher COR. The 565’s are forged carbon steel with a conventional thicker face by far than the 771s. The Sterling 7 iron is the same exact high COR face as is… Read more »
Hi Tom,
Many thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.
As said, I found High COR face very soft feeling so Im sure 771 is the way to go.
With regards to the 10 clubs configuration my bad, I missunderstood. For better or worse I dont fall into those slow swing speeds cstegory thus Im afraid I will still have to carry 13 or 14 clubs ;-p
Hope you can have the time and chance to come and try finnest golf courses up here. Cheers!
Hi Tom, Thanks for taking the tim to answer. According to your comments the 771 are then the way to go, as said I found them surprisingly smooth compared to another cast from major OEM. regarding the 10 clubs configuration, my bad, I missunderstood for the better or worse I dont fall on those slow swing categories thus will have to carry a proper set up in my bag.
Hope you may be alow to travel shortly and enjoy the fine courses we have up here
Cheers!
Hi, Tom—Art Smith here again. I promise not to become your worst nightmare, but just a couple of more questions before I have Dick Leach (Aiken, SC) build my set of 771s. I would like your opinion on my idea. I was thinking the following: Three of you specialty wedges—60*, 56*, and 52*. Then, weak PW (48*), 9-iron (42*), weak 7-iron (36*), 6-iron (30*), weak 4-iron (maybe a degree—24*?), then your 3-hybrid (normal loft). Add my two fairway woods, the Wishon 919 THI driver, my putter, and my set is complete with 13 clubs. I have no qualms about a… Read more »
ART That set makeup is workable based on you knowing the distance gap change that will happen. As to which iron to bend, stronger or weaker, it is always better when you want to do that to bend the lower number higher in loft because that increases bounce whereas bending the higher number for less loft decreases bounce. There is more forgiveness factor in having a couple degs more bounce than there is in having a couple degs less bounce on any numbered iron. Distance difference between steel and graphite depends totally on how much weight difference there is between… Read more »
Thank you for all of your help. I’m ready to go. I think I will test the 90 gram light steel first. The difference between the shaft I have now to test the six iron is 120 grams; the graphite is about what–70 to 80 thereabouts? It’s worth trying just to see if I might like the light steel better. I’ll have that set in a month or less, and then the wedges are next, since I have had pretty good luck with the fairway woods I have now. Your help has been much appreciated. And, by the way, the… Read more »
Hi, Tom–I hope that you don’t get this as a duplicate, as I posted much the same in your “Contact Us” section. I had the pleasure of meeting you at the PGA Merchandise Show a couple of years ago. I have been a big fan for a number of years. Interestingly enough, a friend of mine from college–and now on the Tom Fazio architect staff for the last 50 years or thereabouts–Andy Banfield recommended a club fitting place over 15 years ago. I got fitted with Wishon 550C irons, and I loved them (I still have them, although I can’t… Read more »
ART My sincere thanks for taking your time to stop by and share your experiences with us. I really do appreciate your interest and your support. I can tell that we’d have a good time chewing the fat about the game and its equipment and I guarantee you that since I just turned 70 last month I certainly can commiserate with your comments about your clubhead speed and distance and assure you that if we ever did have a chance to tee it up we would not mess with the tips and would have much more fun from one of… Read more »
Hi, Tom–Thanks for your swift, thoughtful and helpful reply. May I ask how long it might be before your new iron design with the (I guess slightly) stronger lofts comes out? In truth, I am not especially hung up with distance per se. The number on the bottom of the club is just that–a number. I’m pretty good with “partial shots” (thank you Dave Pelz and the guys I taught with), so what do you think of starting with a PW and going through the 771s through the 4-iron? (Could I hit the 4-iron of the 771s if I have… Read more »
ART We’re just concepting a new game improvement iron at present, with an eye toward spring 2022 more than likely. New model development is very different these days what with the boom in golf that hit this year when golf became one of the few activities that was reasonably compatible with the changes in life brought about by the pandemic. All of the factories that manufacture the clubheads for all the different companies are slammed with orders so their lead times are far greater than ever seen in the history of the business. Time from placing an order for head… Read more »
Hi Tom–Thanks again for your informative and very helpful reply. I don’t want to wait that long to get the new irons, so I am going to go with the 771s. My club maker friend made me a 6-iron with a 771 head for me to try. I practiced with it yesterday and was really impressed. I got great trajectory, pretty good distance, and good control, and it’s a good looking club–no clunky look like my current irons have. I had him put in a 120 gm steel shaft, as I told him my current set didn’t allow me to… Read more »
ART Someone with your playing experience and the fact that you can still play well with decent shot consistency will almost always find that you need to go out and play a few times with the new irons before you make any final decisions on where the lofts need to be to get what you want in the distance gaps between each iron. It’s just not possible for a better player to go right out and have the distance gaps you want from day one. One reason is because every quality iron model ever made, no matter what company, comes… Read more »
Hi, Tom. Sorry, one more question. If you were in my shoes (74 in a month; OK player, but not great–I’m happy to hit ten to twelve greens nowadays, driver speed of 90 mph) would you go with the 771s or the 979 SS irons. I just looked at those, and they have a slightly more forgiving sole (at least it looks like it does). I noticed that those are cast and the 771s are forged, but (after reading your books) I am under the impression that from a performance standpoint, that shouldn’t be a drawback. Sorry to draw you… Read more »
Art No problem, not necessary to say sorry to ask for more information! It’s why I am here! FYI the 771’s are not forged – they are made from carbon steel just like a forging but they are investment cast carbon steel so I can get the consistent precision needed head after head to weld the high strength steel thin face into the body of the head. Not sure where you got the impression the 771s were forged as we have never had a miss print to that effect in any of the catalogs over the life of this model.… Read more »
Thanks. My bad. I don’t know where I got the idea that they were forged. Maybe I was thinking of my old set made 15+ years ago. It’s not an important feature for me. Maybe the clubmaker can take an extra satisfaction of crafting a beautiful head from a block of material, but I have never been able to notice a difference.
Thanks again.
ART It’s 2020 – no one crafts a clubhead from a block of material other than the few who do fully CNC machined putters like Bettinardi or some from Cameron. Sadly the old tooling masters that had to be made for each clubhead from which the dies were made are a thing of the past – the dinosaurs of the golf industry. Those guys who actually made the tooling master for each clubhead model from a block of brass or copper or aluminum with a lathe, milling machine, belt sanders and hand files were the true craftsmen of this industry… Read more »
Tom, I am 63 year old, 10 handicap, 98 mph driver SS, who due to hand and finger arthritis wanted or needed to try graphite shafts. So I picked up a set of 755pc with Wishon speed rated regular flex shafts. Easy to hit but the shafts and helpful combating the arthritis but to light for my tempo. I have since then acquired 771 cs. 5-PW that I had Steelfiber i95 regular flex installed by Mike Brown of Hamden , CT. The compression, feel, distance and forgiveness is all there for me. He did have place to some lead tape… Read more »
Tom,
771’s with Steelfiber fiber shafts have been wonderful.Can’t say enough about them. I did ask about your thoughts about the 755 pc in direct comparison with them in an earlier post. I keep the 754 pc 4 iron with the wishon speed rated 85 gram shaft in my bag. Would it be even better to find and replace it with a 771 csi 4 iron? Thanks in advance.
Mike
MIKE
No doubt if you had a 771-4 iron vs a 755 4-iron, as long as they were the same loft/same everything else, the 771 would generate a higher ball speed for the same clubhead speed because its COR is higher than that of the 755.
TOM
Tom, thanks for your helpful reply. Based on that my club builder Mike Brown in CT, just ordered from Diamond Golf (you) a 4 iron head to assemble with a Steelfiber I95 shaft. My set is now complete. Thanks again.
Mike
Tom I have your 771CSI irons, which were custom fitted for me by Rene Cleaver, Cheltenham, UK, some five years ago. Subsequently she has retired. So miss her guidance. Im 54 years old and have a club speed range which goes from 88 to 60 mph, driver to wedges, and understand that as I get older my club speed will slow down. At what club head speeds, will I need to think about swapping my current clubs, a mixture of your designs and Maltby, all fitted by Rene, for the Wishon 730CL set or will the 771CS irons and other… Read more »
GAVIN You did work with one of the best in Rene. I was very sad to hear that she retired from clubmaking, but she wanted to spend some time hiking around the Alps before she couldn’t so who can argue with that! You never HAVE TO switch from your 771 irons to a 730 set just because you may begin to drop some clubhead speed. The 771’s would still be functional at slower speeds – your distances would certainly drop with a drop in speed and your distance gaps between irons would compress smaller but you could still play them… Read more »
Tom
Thanks as always for your prompt and full answering of my question.
I look forward to many years to come of playing your designed clubs, irrespective of my swing speed.
Instead of spending my golfing money on equipment, I now can channel it into tuition and where I play, to enhance my golfing experience.
Thanks
Gavin
Hi Tom After being dragged back on the golf course the last couple of years, I decided it was time to get properly fitted set of clubs that I could enjoy now and in 3 years for my retirement, I had been out of the game for 20 years and still using persimmon Citation woods and what was left of my Powerbilt scotch blades. So rather than drive out of town to a box golf store I went To Golf Club Technology here in Woodstock,ON. I met Rick and told him of my plan of return to golf. This was… Read more »
Ralph Many thanks for taking the time to stop by and let us know about your enthusiastic return to the game! Good for you and even better that you chose to stop in to meet and work with Rick. We’ve known Rick for many years in the craft of custom clubfitting and his sincere passion for learning everything about proper fitting and club performance most certainly has built him a long line of very happy golfing customers. From my standpoint as the designer, when I know that someone is working with Rick, I have zero concern that the player won’t… Read more »
Tom,
I’ve been playing the discontinued 870ti irons with Xcaliber regular iron shafts for a few years. I’m considering upgrading to the replacement 771csi irons. I’ve had one clubfitter tell me that I would notice a big difference if I make the switch. In your opinion, would it make sense, and should I notice the difference? Thanks.
Doug White
DOUG I cannot say what the “big difference” would be that you would find if you changed from the 870s to the 771s, as the clubfitter said. For sure, the fact that I did the body of the 771’s from 8620 carbon steel will make any lie or loft fitting changes far, far, far more easy to do than is ever possible with the 17-4 stainless steel body of the 870s. Back when I did the 870s, the production factory insisted on using 17-4 for the body. They had never made a thin face, press fit installed face piece into… Read more »
Tom
Thanks for the very helpful and detailed reply. I love your last comment, “Now see, how many club designers will tell you that you do not have to go buy a new version model and that what you have is pretty darn good still!! HA!”
Hi Tom
Looking at getting fit with the 771’s. Being a lefty, I know I am limited to options. Was a 6.3 two seasons ago but have slipped back to a 10 having not played much since. Are there other lefty options with your models or is that pretty much it ? Also want a new driver. Suggestions ? By the way im 55 and swing speed prob not in equation as far as 100+ mph.
Thnx so much in advance
Ritchie I start by saying thanks very much for your interest and offering an apology for not having more of our models in left hand. This is one of the challenges in being a small engineering oriented design company without a big consumer marketing campaign. Never in my 35 yrs of designing clubheads have I ever seen a model that sold more than 8% in the left hand version of what it did in the right hand. That’s logical because 6% of American golfers play LH while 15% play LH in Canada, 12% in Sweden. So the net avg is… Read more »
Thnx so much Tom for taking the time. Oct 3 fitting with Jacques Lavack in Winnipeg very much looking forward to the consultation !
Ritchie
Great to hear that as Jacques is one of the best and most experienced clubmaker clubfitters anywhere. Please do me a favor and say hi to him for me if you would when you work with him! And do have fun at the fitting. In being able to work with a very experienced and knowledgeable fitter you will have a good time and learn a whole lot.
TOM
Tom
I have a full set of Wishon custom fitted golf clubs, putter to driver. However, what advice would you give me to match my clubs to the correct ball? What characterics should I be interested in? For example what number of pieces should I go for, the material of the outer layer and what compression rating?
GAVIN You’ll find me from all of my R&D work in club testing to be very critical of ball design and performance based on my findings. I have found that a ball can only affect actual shot performance when the golfer has a driver clubhead speed higher than 90mph, and typically though more like over 100mph from a totally practical standpoint. A golf ball requires a launch speed of over 125mph before any design elements of the ball can begin to influence aerodynamic flight. With a driver it takes a minimum clubhead speed of 85mph to achieve a ball speed… Read more »
Hi Tom
I have a set of your 771s and really enjoy playing them. I’m wondering if you have any thoughts on club grip selection? I have oversized grips on them now because I liked the “feel” when I first was fitted with the clubs. However, I’m considering going to “medium-sized” grips because frankly I have a better understanding of what I am doing with clubs in my hands now. Is it truly a matter of personal preference or is there something more to understand about how grips translate to performance? Thanks in advance.
GREG Grip size shall always be a personal preference of the individual golfer based strictly on what size feels the most comfortable to the player. While clubmakers can certainly do hand and finger measurements to offer a recommendation for a grip size, in no way is any measurement able to factor in what a grip FEELS like to the user. There are people who measure for a larger size grip who prefer one that is smaller just as there are people who measure for a smaller size grip and love the feel of one that is larger. The only best… Read more »
Tom, My questions are more specific to clubfitting as opposed to product or clubmaking. In researching custom fitting and clubmaking, it appears that there are two predominant groups, and a much more select third group. The first group performs detailed comprehensive fittings that utilize technology, actual hitting balls with various combinations of heads & shafts, as well as body measurements, but then builds or orders clubs principally from brand-name OEM components. The second group builds high quality custom clubs to exact specifications (true artisans), but their fitting process is limited to body measurements, questions about how the player perceives his… Read more »
Phil I complement you on your astute observations of the clubfitting industry these days. That’s pretty well thought out and on target. You only need a handful of insights that only someone who has lived through the growth of the custom fitting side of the golf equipment industry to offer to put it all together to be more clear. And since I started in this side of the industry in the late 70s and am still kicking I can pretty well provide that insight. A big reason for what let’s call the inconsistency in clubfitting is because no one person… Read more »
Tom,
Thank you so much for you in-depth and insightful reply. I sincerely appreciate you sharing your expertise and perspectives. Would you be willing to contact me via the email address that I provided in order to post? I wanted to ask a couple of specific questions about your recommendations for next steps.
Thanks,
Phil
Sure thing, happy to do so. Email from me coming to your Toro address soon.
TOM
Tom I have had some extra time to read some of your replies and this particular subject caught my eye since you and I are of the same age and I was one of the quote “guys” who went through the old Golfsmith schools and many of the Golfworks offerings. My early golf club building skills have greatly been enhanced by you, Lindsey, Maltby and two of my cousins one a teaching professional and the other a playing professional. When I started I was in search of a set of irons that didn’t cost a fortune and would fit my… Read more »
ROG Thanks so much, really, for your interest and for your support over the years. I really have enjoyed being able to make a lot of good friends in clubmaking over the many years I have been at it in this side of the business and though there are many in this group I have never had the chance to meet face to face, it has and continues to be really enjoyable to be able to correspond about golf clubs and everything related to them with everyone. It’s hard for me to believe sometimes that way, way back when I… Read more »
i have a set of 771csi irons 5i thru aw, reg. steel fiber shafts. i have had these for six years and plan to update shafts, grips and would like a measurement chart. Also is there any advantage increasing the lofts 2 degrees? Thankyou
RON If you just go to this link – https://wishongolf.com/designs/iron-sets/new-771csi/ – you will be able to scroll down a small distance to see the specs chart that has all the specs for loft, lie and everything. If you increase the loft, you obviously would hit each iron higher and a little shorter so the only advantage to doing that would be, 1) if you have a very high clubhead speed to begin with but you have a very downward angle of attack that causes too low of a flight you would hit the ball a more normal height and not… Read more »
How to I order shafts and heads
Keith
If you are a custom clubmaker you are welcome to order through Diamond Golf International who are the owners now of my brand and the sole distributors of all of my product and technical designs. You can contact them through sales@wishongolf.com to set up an account. Thanks very much for your interest,
TOM