STERLING
SINGLE LENGTH IRONS
THIS PRODUCT IS NOW DISCONTINUED
A Unique Set Design to be Built to One Length for all Clubs to Deliver a Perfect Match of all Elements of Swing Feel for shot consistency.
Features:
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- Single length construction ensures all possible elements of swing feel are identical for each club in the set – same MOI, same total weight, same headweight, same balance point – to offer the chance for improved shot consistency
- Identical length and lie allow the golfer to use the same stance, same posture, same swing plane forimproved shot consistency
- Optional high COR #5 hybrid with high COR #4, 5, 6, and 7 irons offer proper distance for the low loft clubs at the shorter single length. Other single length sets may lose distance with the low loft clubs
- Conventional cast carbon steel in the #8 to gap wedge with 5* loft increments blend with the high COR design of the low loft clubheads to offer proper distance gaps and proper
distance with the high loft clubs. Other single length sets may generate too much distance with the high loft clubs - Available in a #5 hybrid or #5 iron to match the player’s desire and ability, with #6 to 9, PW and Gap Wedge and Sand Wedge
- Sterling Irons® Single Length clubs can be built to 36.5”, 36.75 or 37” length for each club as fit by the Clubmaker for the golfer’s comfort and preference. Contrasts with most other single length sets being created for a 37.5” length – which can generate too much distance with the high loft irons
- Intended to be custom fit with any Wishon Golf S2S iron shaft model and flex to meet the swing speed, transition/tempo and release point of the golfer.
- Sterling Irons® hybrid uses standard iron shaft (.370)
- The #4 iron should only be used by golfers with a #5 iron clubhead speed of 85mph or higher to be able to make the club generate the proper trajectory and height to be able to carry the ball further than the #5 iron
- Available in RH (#5 Hybrid, 4-9, PW, GW, SW) & LH (5-SW); New Blade Wedges (LW, SW) available in RH only
For more information on the technical benefits of single length set construction, we offer this complete Q&A about single length iron set technology.
© COPYRIGHT 2022 WISHON GOLF
Hi Tom.
I have a set of Sterlings and the 4 iron is my favourite club in the bag. I almost never use a hybrid or fairway wood now because the iron is far more accurate with plenty of distance. I really wish there was an even lower lofted iron available! Would a 3 iron with say 14-15 degrees loft have been feasible with this design?
Thanks again.
Chris
Chris I am sorry but in all honesty, there will never be a 4 iron, let alone a 3 iron, in any present or future single length iron design I ever do. The reason there is no 4 iron in the EQ1’s is because I learned very clearly from the Sterling irons that the percentage of players who have the clubhead speed and ability to properly/effectively hit a 4 iron at our shorter single length recommendation. Of all the 4 irons we sold in the Sterling design, I bet 90% are not in use, if not more. Plain and simple,… Read more »
Thanks Tom. I’m sure I don’t have a swing speed as high as you mention but have never had any trouble hitting low lofted irons, even venerable bladed 1-irons. Must be my old Ernest Jones style swing. I suppose the upside of what you say is that I shouldn’t have trouble picking up a spare!
I gamed the Sterlings right after they were introduced. I had the 4-iron Sterling and an 88mph swing on it to boot. I still didn’t get good results with it. About the same carry as the 5-iron, but with longer roll-out. Not a good thing with approach shots. I had some fun driving with it, but that was about it, and it came out of the bag in favor of a 4-hybrid. I switched to the EQ1-NX when they were introduced. No 4-iron available, but a 4-hybrid at the same specs as the rest of the set. It performs quite… Read more »
Good Morning Tom, I have Sterling’s (4-SW) being re-shafted with Nippon Pro Zelos 7 Stiff and moving up to oversized grips. This not only feels great, it has increased my swing speed with a 7 iron to 91 mph. I am very keen on buying a Di595 18° (gorgeous looking club) also in the Zelos 7 but was wondering what your thoughts are about using the Sterling 4 iron made up to a DI length instead? Are there pros and cons? I would much prefer the Di595, but I was curious if it could work. I already have a Lynx… Read more »
TOM The Sterling 4 iron cannot be built to a Di595 length because the head weight of ALL the Sterling irons is 274g. The headweight of the two Di595 irons are 233g and 240g, respectively. Headweight is chosen on the basis of what lengths do you intend the club to be made to be. 274g is the normal weight of an 8 iron head in a conventional iron set, so that dictates that the primary length for the Sterlings, and the EQ1s, is between 36 to 37″ or so. If you try to make the Sterling 4 iron to be… Read more »
Hi Tom,
I bought a set of the Sterlings a few years ago and they just never clicked with me. This past winter I Reshafted them and its like they are a completely different iron. They are amazing. Before i did this I picked up an EQ-1 5 iron. I have found that that I get better performance from the old than the new. I feel this shouldnt happen. Has anyone else had this experience?
PAT I am sure that the reason you may not have clicked with the EQ1 irons might be the same reason you didn’t get along well with the Sterlings the first time you played with them – something about the combination of fitting specs in the set as you hit it first was not well matched to your swing. I’d bet if you used the same shaft you now have in the Sterlings in the EQs and duplicated everything else, length/swingweight/grip model/grip size, you’d find you hit the EQs as well as the Sterlings. EQ’s being a hollow iron will… Read more »
I have Sterling irons which I really like. What is the bounce on the irons/wedges?
Peter
The sole angle on the #4, 5, 6, 7 irons is 4* bounce. For the #8, 9 it is 5* bounce. For the PW and GW it is 6*. For the SW it is 11* bounce and for the Lob Wedge the bounce is 8*.
TOM
Hi Tom 🏌️. I play Stirling irons for 4 years now . And my game improved a lot .(hc8) Hitting them with S2S stepless. trimmed to R+ ,S-, ( Wich I really love) . My 8 iron flyes 145 yards with a 3/4 smooth swing always a slight draw. I am not a real hitter ad have a neutral soft grip. The last year gaining swing speed trough better timing and training ( I guess) but the ball is not going further but higher . I want to make a move to classic set with cb heads . I understood… Read more »
Martien
Since you have history with the Royal Precision shaft and you liked its feel and performance, I’d recommend you consider that one. It’s really not all that much different than the Stepless steel iron shaft.
TOM
Hi Tom… I currently have a set of EQ1’s and really love them. However, I have a chance to buy some Sterlings as a backup set and they’re basically brand new. Are they comparable to the EQ1’s? Is there anything you like about one set versus the other?
I was also think about switching shafts to the Red R in the Sterlings from my current shafts in the EQ1’s – which are the White 75g S. My swing speed with an 8 iron is between 75-85 mph.
Thanks, Seth
SETH
I guess I have to be honest and say that I am over the Sterlings and totally into the EQs. The Sterlings were my very first single length iron design and while I know they are a very good design, the EQ’s were created to be a combination of everything I liked about the Sterlings with the things that I learned over time that I could either do better or differently to make the single length offering as good as it can be.
TOM
I bought a used set of Sterling single length (5i – SW) at 37″. I’d like them at 36″ or 36.5″ . Is this a simple as cutting 1″ or .5″ off the butt end ? I know the swing weight will go down but if they were originally built at 36.5″ wouldn’t the swing weight be lower anyway ? thanks
BOBBY It is simple to remove the grips and cut the butt end of the shaft to achieve the shorter length. And yes for sure the swingweight will drop by 3 swt points for each half inch of length that is removed. If a set was made to a shorter length, the swingweight would be made to be whatever is best for the golfer. Just because the length might be shorter does NOT mean the swingweight is automatically lower. Every head I design is made with a special weight port in the bottom of the shafting bore into which the… Read more »
Tom love these clubs – I’m a leftie and wanted to put a four iron in the bag but I believe you only made up to a 5i for the leftie set. If I got my hands on a 5i can I get a club fitter to bend it to the specs you have for a 4i above? Thank you
Marco I intentionally did not make a 4 iron in either the RH or LH versions of the EQ1 because of what I learned from making one as a part of my first single length model, the Sterling irons. At a single length of an 8 iron or even 7 iron length, the 20* loft of the 4 iron requires no less than an 85+mph clubhead speed with that iron. 98% of golfers do not have that high of a swing speed with an iron that is a 7 or 8 iron length. So we had golfers who bought the… Read more »
Tom – I thought I submitted a reply to this but it didn’t go through. I wanted to get your opinion about moving from an 8i shaft length to a 7i length as when I bought these clubs from an authorized club fitter they weren’t fitted to me unfortunately. I suffer from slow swing speeds and thus short carry distances. Looking for anything to get a little more distance out of these irons. Would love to hear your thoughts. Thank you.
MARCO The irons could be re shafted and made to a 7 iron length, or you could use an extender to add a half inch to them now to get to that longer length. Keep in mind that going to a half inch longer length won’t increase clubhead speed and distance by a lot. It will increase distance a little though. But you’ll have to be the judge of whether that increase is enough to meet your wishes. Also, if you change length, you will want to check the swingweight because just adding length will increase swingweight by 3 pts… Read more »
Marco: A player’s perspective here. I owned the original Sterling set and added the 4-iron. My swing speed was about 86 mph with an 8-iron. I found I couldn’t consistently get good carry from it. It rolled out a bit farther than the 5-iron, but the carry was too similar. Eventually, I took it out of the bag in favor of a traditional 4-hybrid. When the EQ1-NX model arrived, I was very interested in switching from steel to graphite shafts for the first time, so I made the move. As Tom mentioned, the set did not offer a 4-iron option,… Read more »
Thanks Rich – appreciate the insight! I will look into a hybrid moving forward. Although I like the shape of a players hybrid (more shaped like an iron) than the bubble back designed I saw on the website.
I’m not sure about the distinction you’re making, but it’s probably right since, in my view, the EQ1-NX hybrid head looks like a traditional hybrid.
That being said, you can set it up to fit the rest of your iron set (length, lie angle, swing weight, etc.), so it really feels like another iron in the set. I’ve found that good results trump looks every time, but not everyone feels that way.
Wishon EQ-1 NX Starter sets 😉 Now that I’ve just about completed all possible experiments on the Wishon Sterling set is it possible to get 1 or 2 EQ-1 NX clubheads? I have a 4 hybrid which I matched to a Sterling set so I’m looking for a 6 & 8 iron. Is it possible to get one or both from Diamond Golf? Unfortunately, since I’m not an approved club maker I can’t order directly? Back in the dark ages I started with a Wishon Sterling 6,8 PW starter set and ended up building two complete 4 – GW sets,… Read more »
Jeffrey Diamond Golf does sell only to certified clubmakers because that way we can ensure the quality of the assembly for the golfers. Also if we sold direct to anyone that also would prompt some to re sell the heads or clubs they build for low prices that could denigrate the brand and quality of the models. If you are a clubmaker, you can of course contact Diamond to apply for an account. If you are not a clubmaker, then we ask that you contact a local clubmaker to get the clubs you are interested in. And yes, clubmakers can… Read more »
Hi Tom, thanks for a quick response as usual. I was able to track down an approved clubmaker I worked with 5 years ago will soon start an EQ-1 NX project. They will be the mid and short irons in a 6 club travel set. I can’t wait to use them the next time I play golf in Scotland. 🙂 In April I played at Aboyne Golf Club using a travel set that had single length Sterling 36.50″ 7,9 & PW irons.
I have barely enough clubhead speed for SL 5I, but to take away my Sterling 4I you would have to pry it from my cold dead fingers. I can’t launch it high and land it soft, but I can drill it on a straight line into a raging headwind, punch it under an overhanging branch through a gap, shape it around a tree, and any number of other recovery scenarios that I can’t pull off with the curved shallow face and extra shaft kick of a hybrid. I tried the EQ hybrids on top of my current 5I-GW EQ1 rollup,… Read more »
Sterling Irons – graphite or steel shafts? I’ve been a happy user of Wishon Sterling, 785HF, 752TC and more irons. It’s been really hard to determine the correct length and flex for Sterlings but after years of experimenting I’ve figured it out! I started with 37″ irons but found I couldn’t get adequate length in the 4, 5, 6 and 7 irons until I switched to graphite shafts and different lengths. Through trial and error I settled on this combination: 38.50″ 65 gram graphite shafts in the 4&5 hybrids, 38.00″ 75 gram graphite shafts in 6&7 irons and 37.50″ steel… Read more »
Jeffrey I’m pleased to hear your experimentation has resulted in finding a combination of shaft weight and length progression such that you are happy with the performance of the irons! That is one of the best parts of becoming a club afficiando. To think of different ways to approach the matter of club performance and then test them out is a very enjoyable part of the game. Understand though that in doing this, you have departed from the actual concept of single length irons and you have evolved more into a modified approach to incremental length irons. But that’s ok… Read more »
Hi Tom, Thanks once again for the kind reply and words of wisdom. I had forgotten to mention what graphite shafts I was using. I found NOS Wishon LV Technology Ultralite Graphite Launch Velocity Plus shafts (6 of them)! Also I’ve reconsidered the length for the 6&7 irons and will make them 38.50″ as well to match the 4&5 hybrids. The distance I’m getting with the graphite shafts is unbelievable. I’ve picked up at least 30-40 yards over steel shafts for the low/mid irons. I needed to shorten the wedges to get the gapping right. I hit 8 – LW… Read more »
Jeffrey
Wow, the LV Tech shafts do go back a long way in the history of the brand and the products! That goes back to 2002, 3, 4 or so. Glad to hear that you are seeing an improvement in performance with these shafts and clubs they are installed in.
TOM
Tom – I recently had a fitting and tested Modus 120 Tour in irons. This seemed to help my left / shut face miss. The fitter thought this shaft vs the KBS Tour 125 had, and I’m paraphrasing, more whip which benefitted my early release. My question is how does Modus compare to Wishon S2S and KBS Tour 125. I have 2 sets of Sterlings, one with S2S and one with KBS. Could it be that S2S and Modus have similar release and kick points and therefore help my early release, left, shut face miss. Thx
Pat I may not be of much help in this discussion or at the least, may end up confusing you more. That’s because from all my years of experience, a more flexible shaft would tend to promote MORE of a draw or hook. Not prevent it. But, since you definitely don’t miss the ball left as much with this Modus 120 shaft, there has to be something else that is allowing you to come into impact with either less of a closed face or less of an over the top outside in path with the face square to that path… Read more »
Probably unlikely with the way things are now but will a lefty set of gen 2 single Lengths come out anytime soon?
Pat
Patrick The good news is that the left hand version of the EQ1 irons, woods and hybrids is all done in terms of the tooling and testing and everything required and has been for several months. The “other news” is that we sit here and wait. . . . wait. . . . wait. . . . for the factory to work their way through the huge backlog of orders from all their company customers to get to the left hand EQ orders. I am sorry I do not have a firm date on this. That’s one of the things… Read more »
I purchased a set of sterling one length irons 4-pw. Is there any way I ca n get the gw and sw to the set?
JOE The Sterling irons were discontinued by us in 2020 after 4 years in the product line to make room for the second generation of single length irons, the EQ1-NX that I designed which came out in late spring 2020. If you bought your set from the direct sales website sterlingirons.com, please understand that was a business not related to us in anyway. They bought the Sterling heads from us that they built and sold directly to golfers. So since we have not had any of the heads for well more than a year, it is doubtful they would have… Read more »
Tom, one last philosophical question. I’m reshafting my Sterlings. There is a little variance of hosel depth on 2 of the heads. I will tip these shafts identically, but my question is, should I compensate on butt length to make the clubs the same length, or is it better for the shafts to match? We’re talking about maybe 1/16 of an inch, if that. Previously I have adjusted butt length, but I wonder if it even matters. Thanks for all you do for us.
Mark: The spec for bore depth on all my iron models is 30mm with a +/-1mm tolerance. In having checked MANY heads over the years, I honestly have never seen any model show any tolerance of that much so the actual variation is more like +/-0.7mm or so. WHich is hardly enough to have to worry about with regard to the effect on flex or tip stiffness. From all my years of work I have found that the variation in tip to first step or variation in shaft stiffness due to tip trim variations has to be in the order… Read more »
Thanks, Tom. It certainly is easier to ignore the variance and match the shafts before installation. I’m not that obsessive. I was just curious about whether I should be.
Just purchased a set of Sterling one length irons and must say how pleased I am with them. The supplier did not have the gap or sand wedge. Is there any way I can get my hands on them?
JOE The Sterling irons were discontinued last year after 4 years in the line to make room for the 2nd generation single length iron (and wood and hybrid) that we call the EQ1-NX. No more inventory of the Sterling irons exists with us, I am sorry to tell you, so we do not have a Gap or Sand anywhere. Best thing I can say is to search Ebay – the Sterlings sold pretty well so there could be a fair number of people with them among which might be someone with an extra wedge or two or willing to sell… Read more »
Hi Joe ! I do have some Sterling heads (former demo) … and ‘as new’ GW and SW …
Hi Tom, I am about to re-shaft my Sterlings, and I can’t find the ferrule size spec anywhere. I have several sizes in my parts box, and I’m not sure that tenths of a mm are significant, but might as well do it right, right? Thanks for the info if you have it handy.
MARK I design all my iron models including the Sterling irons to have a hosel OD of 13.2mm. So any iron ferrule that has an ID to fit a 0.370″ parallel tip iron shaft that also has a bottom OD not any smaller than 13.2mm will be fine. If it is like 13.5, 13.7 for the bottom OD you can always turn that down with a ferrule turning belt or hand tool procedures and re shine them with acetone. But if the ferrule is smaller than 13.2mm for the bottom OD, then you have that situation where the iron can… Read more »
I reshafted my sterlings a couple months ago and used the Maltby Single Chrome Low Ring Ferrules (SKU: MA0307). OD = .520 or 13.2 mm. They worked perfect.
Thanks, Tom and Pat. I’m pretty sure I have a supply of 13.2s. If not, they’re easily acquired. Might as well use the right size, and this is not a rush project.
I had 5-P Legacy set with s2s black shaft over a year. Love them . I am wondering if I should get a 4 iron or a 4 hybrid . I hit my 5 irons about 175-180 and I have a regular titlist 4 hybrid . I hit my hybrid about 200 yards on and off ( my iron shots are better ) and above my hybrid I have a driver( no other woods ). I can hit my driver about 250-270. my average score is 85-88 thank you
Alvin from what you say about your 5 iron and driver distance, you are right on the edge of probably being able to hit a 20* loft #4 iron that is of the same length as your Sterling irons high enough to get it to carry longer than the 5 iron. However, the problem is that the Sterlings have been discontinued for well over a year so there is no inventory left to sell because we dropped that to make room for the 2nd generation single length design, the EQ1-NX. Also there was never a 4 hybrid in the Sterling… Read more »
Which series is this 4 hybrid? Is it an EQ1?
Morgan This is one of our model 775HS hybrids. This model has been a mainstay in the product line for a long time and has been the most popular conventional hybrid model I have ever designed. It is not intended for use with a single length set as are the EQ1-NX hybrids. It is strictly a conventional length hybrid model with plenty of bells and whistles – high COR face, bendable hosel for lie and face angle changes, twin weight bores to allow assembly to a very wide range of lengths with a wide range of shaft weights. The EQ1… Read more »
I can report that my EQ1-NX 4-hybrid was safely and easily bent to 2 degrees up.
My bag goes driver then 5 iron thru SW in sterling one length. Trying to close the gap at top… 1) do the 5 hybrid and 5 iron go same distance since both or 23 degrees? 2) if I bend the the hybrid to 21 degrees do you think I could bag a 4 iron , 5hybrid, and 5 iron or will I probably see to similar of distance between the three… my driver swing is 92 mph and I broke 100 for the first time last time out…( if that helps identify my skill level)
KING Always happy to help and thanks for coming to ask us your questions. 1) That depends on the clubhead speed and the angle of attack of the player. It can be different for different players. Players with a higher clubhead speed and later release would tend to get a little more distance from the hybrid than the iron because the lower CG and more rear CG of the hybrid would tend to react to the higher clubhead speed to fly higher and stay in the air a little longer than the iron. But as clubhead speed drops the hybrid… Read more »
Can i cut the length a little bit more…i am a very shot guy felt still long
WAN You can have any club cut shorter in length by removing the grip and cutting the desired amount from the butt end of the shaft. However, you must keep in mind that when you shorten an existing club, you automatically lower the swingweight of the club(s). A lower swingweight from cutting a club shorter will cause you to not feel the presence of the head weight as much when you swing the club. In most cases if you cut more than 1/2″ from the existing length, you would want to add back a little weight to the head to… Read more »
Hi Tom, for Wan’s case, is that more suitable to consider lower the lie angle, rather than cutting length?
JOE In the proper world of fitting, you fit each spec exactly as the golfer needs it, separately. Wan says even after he cut the length a little the club still felt long, so that is one indication to say that the length could/should be shorter. Once Wan gets the length where it is comfortable THEN you address the lie to make it fit along with the new length. You try to avoid changing specs just so it makes building the club easier and you change specs only when the golfer’s fit dictates it. However, there certainly are times when… Read more »
I did that once. I purchased a set of Pings that were a 1/2″ longer and went with blue dot instead of my usual green dot. You know what I got? Well-fitted and ill-suited irons. The irons were well-fitted because the lie angles were correct for that length. Ill-suited because I had absolutely no reason for going with a longer iron. None. The result: an iron set that was harder to control than was necessary, longer than my previous set, and a swing weight I could not control (due to the longer shaft). You know what they say about the… Read more »
Tom, what’s the face height of the now-discontinued Sterling 5-hybrid? From the photo it looks similar to the 34mm height of my beloved 775HS hybrids (as opposed to the lower profile of the new EQ1-NX hybrids).
Eric
Face height on the Sterling 5 hybrid head was 35mm. Face height on the EQ1 hybrids runs from 30.5mm on the #4 to 31.5mm on the #6. One more reason the EQ1 hybs hit the ball higher for any given clubhead speed and angle of attack because of that effect on CG than did the Sterling 5 hyb.
TOM
Tom, I have never been able to play game improvement type irons due to a very high ball flight. Wind destroys my game. I am tall, with wide shoulders and long arms. I have no problem getting forged single length long irons in the air and landing them softly. I am also not fond of offset in my irons. I would very much like to transition to EQ1 NX irons, but am concerned about shot height. Can the EQ1 NX irons be shafted to control trajectory, or am I better off staying with my blades.
Thanks,
Ron
RON I might ask to begin with, do you really hit your blade irons visibly lower than ANY cavity back iron model? The reason I ask is because it is very rare, and I mean that in all caps, for a game improvement cavity back iron to have a lower vertical center of gravity than a muscleback blade iron. Yes, that is absolutely true. The reason is because the number one thing that controls vertical CG is the height of the head, not how much weight is stacked up low on the back of the head or the sole. Countless… Read more »
Tom read your book Cap’n Clubmaker. It’s very interesting and any golfer interested in clubs and the swing should read same.
Page 283 , face angle.
Why not sole the club and turn the handle 2 deg. Or so Closed rather than bend the hosel?
I am going to purchase the 919 thi driver. using your data I need about 1 deg closed face. Somehow I know you have the answer.
Thanks in advance.
Steve R.
British Columbia.
Steve You can rotate the club and approximate a change in the face angle but it is darn hard to know when you have turned the club in your hands by 2* or by any precise amount of change. Since most golfers sole the driver/woods on the ground in the process of addressing the ball to hit a shot, if you have the driver hosel bent to be a precise change of 2* in the face angle, you know then that when you sole the head, the head is now sitting 2* closed. But you certainly can experiment with turning… Read more »
Good evening Tom,
I was curious if you could point me in the right direction. Currently play the sterlings and I have a connection on 5-GW heads. Looking to make them a backup set. Curious if I could get my hands on a 4 iron head.
JARROD
I’m in Durango and Diamond Golf with the inventory is over in the UK so I ask you to please contact them at sales@diamondgolf.uk.co and ask them if they still have any Sterling 4 irons left from the closing out of this model when the EQ1 model came about.
TOM
Hi Tom you don’t have any club makers in Queensland Australia.
Thanks
David