STERLING
SINGLE LENGTH IRONS
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 2019 WISHON GOLF
Can you tell me the bounce of the original Sterling lob (60 degree) wedge?
RICK
Sure thing since I just saw we omitted that from the catalog. Oops! The Sterling bladed SW bounce is 12* and the LW is 8*.
TOM
Hi Tom, is there a reason Sterling Irons aren’t offered in an X Flex? Do single length irons not work that well with stiff low launch shafts? I was fit for one length Cobra F9’s and KBS Tour 130 X shafts at 37.5″ I love the GW through 6 iron, but then hit the 5, 4, and even the hybrids on too low of a trajectory and don’t get much farther than my 210 yard 6 iron. In case it helps, I’ve got a 93 mph swing speed with them (115 driver). I have a quick transition and while my… Read more »
MARK Please understand that we do not build or sell any of my designs in a finished form to anyone. We sell my head designs as components to independent custom clubmakers around the world who then fit and custom build them into custom fit finished clubs for their golfing customers. If you worked with a custom clubmaker to have a set fit and built you could get any shaft of any flex installed in the heads for your set. If you are referring to the direct sales website at sterlingirons.com, we do not have any business relationship with that company… Read more »
Hi Tom,
Got a set from a friend and length is 37″.
Will there be a difference if i cut down to 36.5″?
Thanks
ENZO The biggest difference to watch for would be the effect of the half inch of length reduction on the swingweight of the clubs. In other words, the clubs will swing as if there is very slightly less head weight in the irons because of the half inch length reduction. But with only a half inch change, the key word in that is SLIGHT. Many golfers do not notice that the head weight feel feels a little lighter when a club is shortened by only a half inch. At a one inch length reduction, yes, far more golfers sense that… Read more »
Should he not also be concerned about lie angle?
RICH
Yes since he got the set from a friend the lie is always something that should be investigated and I should have mentioned it to him. Thanks for your post on this and hopefully he may see it.
TOM
Hello Tom,
I’m looking to purchase the SL in LH and I can’t find a fitter in the Chicagoland area, so I’m going through the website. I have tried the 1 club fitter suggested here but no responses. Do you have any recommendations? Or should I just go with my previous specs? My current 8-iron is 36.75″. I’m not sure what adjustments can be made through the online purchase?
TERRENCE Very sorry for the delay in responding as I was out of town for some time and did not have the chance to see the comments to respond promptly. The Chicago area has been very strange in that there just have never seemed to be very many independent custom clubmakers to offer full specs custom fitting to golfers in that area. And Chicago has always been a great golf city and area. Did you try to contact Clubs by Kadin (Kadin Mahmet) in the Crown POint, Indiana area? Kadin has been doing a fair amount of work for Chicago… Read more »
Tom
Was wondering how your SL wood/hybrid project is coming together? I play the Sterlings 4-SW including the hybrid. I’m specifically interested in how your thinking about swing speed vs length. My driver speed is 100-105. Based on this what is the shortest feasible length to play driver, fw woods and hybrids ?
Thx
Pat
PAT Yes it is coming along fine with the expectation for very late winter to early spring 2020. The woods will be set up at an initial design head weight that will allow assembly either to normal lengths or with the additional internal weight addition capability they will be able to be made to be a single length of 40-41″. The woods will be available in #3, 4, 5, 7 but there won’t be a driver. You just cannot make a driver to be as short as 40-41″ and have it ever be able to generate a distance that a… Read more »
A friend on mine wants to sell me his used set of Sterling Irons. I might need to customize them to my swing speed and FTW measurement. I have a normal club speed of about 80 and my FTW measurement is 34.5 . His old set is 36 1/2 in club length, and the marking on the shaft has the following — A Flex Iron, SwSpg 55-65, WGT 73 G, TRN 2.225, TEM 2.225, RLS 175.225, STRGTH 175.2. The question I have is wheather I need to send these clubs in for to be customize to my specs, or can… Read more »
Terry: You did not say whether your 80mph swing speed is for the driver or for the irons. If you are 80mph with the driver then the shaft flex is likely OK or pretty close. But if you swing your irons at around 80mph then no, you’d need a stiffer shaft for sure. The 36.5″ length is OK for your 34.5 wrist to floor measurement but you did not state what the lie angle of the irons is so there is no way to know if the lie of these irons would fit you or not. Same with the swingweight.… Read more »
Hi Tom, I’ve had your sterling set for about 3 years now. HAven’t golfed better. A question for you…for those of us that don’t have enough clubhead speed for the 4-iron, what about having the 4-iron at a longer length? I know its not “single length”..but when you go to a hybrid, it is longer also. I have the 4-iron and hit it good on the range when I really go after it, but real on course playing I don’t swing that hard, so I have it out of the bag. I was just thinking that adding a 1/2″ or… Read more »
KEVIN Thanks so much for taking your time to drop in and share your positive experience with the Sterling irons. I’m very pleased to hear that you are playing better than you ever have and enjoying the game more in the process! There are few things better than playing well and knowing you are on a positive direction in the game! Absolutely it is fine to go into longer lengths from wherever the lowest loft single length iron happens to be. Since the whole reason any golfer has a loft that they cannot get adequately airborne to achieve proper distance… Read more »
Hi Tom – I bought a set of these used and am really enjoying them. Question on the lofts of the short irons – especially the 9 iron and PW – are they lower lofted than traditional sets due to the longer shaft length? I seem to still hit them well – just really high and wicked long for those particular club lengths. Perhaps I just need to adapt a little and shape my shots a bit more. The more I use the Sterlings the more comfortable I get and the lower my scores drop! Played 9 yesterday with just… Read more »
MARK Really and truly, a loft of 40* for the #9 iron and 45* for the PW are not really strong lofts anymore when you consider where so many of the companies are taking their lofts on their irons. But if you talk only about irons such as forged traditional blade irons, they are a smidge stronger. Much more traditional irons may still have the 9 iron at 44* and the PW at 48* but even in the world of forged blade irons, lofts are being lowered little by little. Now if you are comparing to game improvement deep cavity… Read more »
Tom – I think the height is due to my ball striking/swing to a certain degree. I’m playing more now than I ever did as a kid/young adult (I’m 51 now) and still learning. I played baseball all through HS and DIII hockey in college – then kids after college. Now playing at least once – sometimes twice a week. Still working on my game…. I need to develop my swing with the One Lengths to get that penetrating type of ball flight from the 4-7 Iron as well. I’m loving how the shots with 8-PW are coming along in… Read more »
I found this very informative. The question of who should use these irons was my question and it’s been answered. These would be my choice. I’m 84 and my consistency has gone away. I may have to give up (finally) my old 770’s and try something new.
Hi Tom,i have SLI 4 to Gap all with std flex 8 iron long. i want to add the SW and LW.
Do you recommend using the same shafts as the other SLI’s or wedge shafts?
thanks Rob
ROB Yes for sure us the same shaft with the same tip trim with the same length cut as you did with the #4 to GW. And I would recommend you do the swingweight of the SW and LW to be the same as the #4 to GW. The whole nature of single length is to have every single element that has anything to do with club feel be identical in each iron and wedge so you can have the best chance to improve swing repeatability and from that to gain shot consistency. Changing anything from the specs of the… Read more »
thanks tom
Tom, Amazing set of clubs you have crafted with the Sterling Single Length Irons. After experimenting with four different sets of one length clubs over the last few years- all with various pros and cons- the Wishon set is truly a step up from all the other options. The consistent gapping has been what puts the set far above the others for me. The gapping coupled with getting good height with the five iron has allowed me to finally dial in some scoring distances even with the “long” irons. I plan on keeping these in the bag for a very… Read more »
Thanks very much J! Thanks for taking the time to stop by to let us know how your Sterlings compare with other models. I will be honest and say that some golfers depending on their clubhead speed and angle of attack may need to tweak the loft of a couple of their irons here and there. But I will also say that in the 3+ yrs that Sterling has been out that I do believe the number of golfers who have not had to tweak a loft to achieve consistent distance gaps is very high. I think a lot of… Read more »
Hi Tom,
What are your views on 1 Iron Golf’s single length sets (more specifically the Proline version)? How do they compare to your Sterling irons?
I find it interesting that 1 Iron Golf has been around for so long (1997 I believe). I only came on to them after all the rage regarding single length clubs in recent years.
Kindest Regards,
Nathan
Nathan: As a member of this community, I encourage you to read through this thread. In it you will find a great deal of information about Sterling Irons. But what you won’t find is a lot of comments from Tom about competitors’ designs–other than specs you can find from their websites. There is a great deal of information on the Web about the clubs you’re talking about, as well as a lot on other designs. When I decided to purchase my set of Sterlings almost 3 years ago, I considered other designs and found them inferior in implementation. I’ve subsequently… Read more »
Nathan Thanks very much for your interest. Single length iron sets have been offered by lesser known companies off and on since 1986. So 1-Iron Golf has been another company in that group with others that came before them. No one paid much attention to these companies or to single length in general of course because there had not been anyone at a high level of play to direct attention on the concept until deChambeau came along. The only “problem” with single length irons, or rather the main thing that a golfer has to keep in mind when considering single… Read more »
I tried 1 Iron Golf clubs in the 1980s. I found they had lest distance than regular clubs and lower trajectory. They were only “custom” to the extent of the 1 club length and had steel shafts. The club head was rather ordinary too – cannot recall the exact specs.
I have not yet invested in Stirling single length but will keep looking into it now they have left handed clubs.
Hey Tom, Back at the game after an injury and once again playing after two years.. Noticed the lob and 5h are available. Where can i find these? can i order the heads?
thanks again
SHELBY My apology for the delay in responding. I was out for a medical procedure for a week and am just getting back into the fold. If you are not a custom clubmaker, you can get the Sterling 5 hybrid and lob wedge fit and built for you and your swing by an independent custom clubmaker. To find a clubmaker near you, on our website look at the very top of the home page for the link for FIND A CLUBMAKER. click on it and input your town/city/zip and the clubmakers closest to you will be displayed. If none are… Read more »
Thanks Tom for the info. I will go have a look at Diamond Golf.
Hey Tom, wanted to add to the conversation. I’ve just started my 5th year of golf, and bought my Sterling set early on, I think during year two, because I wanted to build consistency and was having troubles with ball striking with conventional clubs. As a beginner, I’ve found them unforgiving due to their sharp leading edge and small bounce. For a short while, I switched to a new set of Mizuno Hot Metal irons, but I quickly returned to the Sterlings because of their predictability. Rather than subtly changing my alignment, ball position, etc. with every club, with the… Read more »
TED Wow, sub 80 in the start of your 5th year in the game is phenomenal, it really is. Good for you that you are having the success you are in the game. While I am sure the irons have helped with your swing repeatability and from that your confidence, in truth as the designer with a big amount of experience in swing study I freely admit the lion’s share of the credit is yours for your aptitude you must have and your work ethic to make it happen. Well done and I hope it continues to keep getting a… Read more »
Tom ~~ Any plans to make single-length left-handed iron sets? I’ve been following your company for several years now, and used to play the One Iron single-length clubs, but the gapping was never right. In the last few years (@ 62 yrs. old) I’ve also switched to the single-plane swing (Graves Golf Academy), and have been seriously thinking about purchasing a set of single-length clubs from Cobra. But from what I’ve seen of them, I think I’m convinced that your product is actually better than Cobra. If you have no plans for left-handers, then would you recommend Cobra’s product, or… Read more »
Christopher
The Sterling Irons are available in left hand and have been for at least two years. However because of the lower demand, we are offering the #5 iron to original SW and not the #4 iron, #5 hybrid or the newer SW and LW in left hand. The left hand models are in stock with Diamond Golf. Thanks so much for your interest,
TOM
Tom: Slightly different question, but I don’t know where else to turn. I play the Sterlings (4I – SW currently) at 36.5″, steel stiff shaft, and at a D2 static swing weight. When I first put the Sterlings in play, I found myself holding the club at the very end–to the point where the butt was in my palm. I realized this when I destroyed a couple of high-quality gloves! Anyway, I realized this was due to the short length–it was a subconscious and unnecessary adjustment. Fixing that helped, but I’ve come to realize I get a better strike–and the… Read more »
RICH I can tell you from several to many experiences like this that you are overthinking this to try to break down shortening up on the grip to re building golf clubs to different specs. The real reason you are hitting the ball more consistently solid is because you now have the club under greater hand control via the 1/2″ you are gripping down. The wear on your gloves from the cap of the grip tells you the club is not fully secure during the backswing and start of the downswing. It’s moving around and you are not detecting it… Read more »
A Message To Tom Hello Tom, I’m messaging you because I’ve been on the fence like others on making the jump to Single Length Sterlings, I’ve grown to know your products through a long time client of mine (Mike Baker) who introduced me to your 979ss irons that I’ve played since 2013, irons have been great, I’ve tried others over the years and keep going back to the 979ss, purchased a full set of clubs for my girlfriend a few years back and have been really happy with results, I’ve done a lot of research on single length irons and… Read more »
You should definitely not try single length if you believe that golf is supposed to be as difficult as possible. But seriously, in my experience, people who are new to golf take to single length like fish to water, while experienced golfers with a deep investment in learning a conventional set sometimes give single length a brief try then give up as soon as they have a bad round. In one such case the irons in question were Cobras played by expert golfers, where the “short irons” are a bit too “game improvement” for my taste, but I have seen… Read more »
CHRIS Many thanks for stopping by to ask a few questions about single length irons. Always happy to help with pros and cons so you can make your own decision for what you feel is best for you and your game. First off, any player who has even a shred of hesitation in which he is a little worried or apprehensive about making such a change probably shouldn’t take the leap. Or the player should invest in at least a 6 iron and PW to hit for a while to see how they compare in distance to what he is… Read more »
Tom: I’ve posted quite a few times over the past 2-and-a-half years that I’ve played the Sterlings. Some feedback and a question. I’ll never go back to variable-length irons. I had a very new set of Ping irons when I got the Sterlings and I have never hit them since. (They performed well as trade-ins for my wife’s clubs!) I’m currently playing 4-iron through lob wedge. When I first put them in the bag, I stopped at the GW. I struggled with the GW until I realized it had a lower bounce that my Pings–in fact, all the irons were… Read more »
Why guess? Buy one and see if you like it. With Sterlings, if you like one you will like them all. Get the one that you use the most, i.e the one with the most wear. Then if you don’t like it, you can swap the head onto your old shaft and rejuvenate that club.
RICH Thanks so much for taking the time to stop back in and share your thoughts and experiences with the Sterling Irons. I’ve always read your posts with interest because you have offered some real insights to the experience of changing from incremental to single length which are valuable to us as feedback as well as to other golfers who might be searching for more info about single length irons. There is no question a change to light weight graphite from heavier weight steel in ANY set of irons is going to require a change in head weight to get… Read more »
I’ve been playing the sterlings for 2 years. Ran into some of the same things you mentioned. Still dont love the GW because the sharp leading edge and not much bounce so I use it only on full swings not around the greens which is a bummer. Also the LW i think could use more bounce too but I like the new sw and lw shape alot. I never understood why irons get less bounce as the loft decreases maybe Tom could shed some light on that? But I’m a higher swing speed player (*92 mph 8 iron, 122 driver)… Read more »
Hi Tom, not sure how often you check this, but I was wondering what the BBTG of these clubheads is?
AARON
BBTG is something you only have to check once because it can only vary by +/-1/25 inch (+/-1mm). It is 1.5″ which is what I try to do for BBTG on every iron I ever design. That way if anyone wants to use the same shafts in any of my iron designs, the shafts end up exactly the same in each iron model.
TOM
Thank you for your reply Tom!
Tom
I added a large 100g JumboMax grip to a driver. Spin increase from 2-2.5k to 3-3.5k. Does it make sense that spin would increase from that alone. Would adding weight to head offset heavier weight in grip. Thx
PAT: No, the grip just on its own would not have anything to do with the spin results. Most likely this came from the effect that heavy of a grip has on the balance point and the total weight of the club and then how your swing reacts to that big change. With the most likely thing being that somehow the bal pt movement and or total weight increase are causing you to release the club slightly early which is causing the head to come into impact with a little bit higher dynamic loft than before. Adding weight to the… Read more »
Greetings. I’m very interested in getting fit for your single length irons. Can you please recommend an excellent fitter in the Norwalk, CT area. Thank you.
KEN Thank you very much for your interest. We appreciate that very much. I would recommend that you work with Fred Schaper of Perfect Lies Fitting Center in Peekskill which is not too far form Norwalk. Fred also does mobile fitting as well but he truly is good, experienced and very passionate about what he does in his fitting work. I’ve known Fred for a good while and it has not been uncommon for us to receive more than a few testimonial emails from customers who have worked with him for their fitting needs. You can call at 845-709-3696, email… Read more »
Tom
What impact will adding Jumbo Max grips (roughly 100 grams) have to Sterling (have S2S stiff shaft). What impact does adding these grips to a set with of irons with 125g kbs c tapers. Thnx
PAT: Assuming the previous grips were closer to the weight of a standard 50-52g grip, the new large/heavy grips would, 1) increase the total weight of the irons by around 50 grams, 2) shift the balance point a good bit up away from the head and drop the swingweight by around 12 points so the clubs would swing with less feeling of the head. It won’t change the flex feel of the shaft though. The main things are of course the feeling of that large of a grip in your hands and having more weight in the grip end when… Read more »
I have been using super-jumbo grips since they first became available – and before that I made my own by overwrapping “regular jumbo” grips with two layers of thick tennis overgrip tape. That predates my switch to Sterlings, which I got as soon as they came out. So I probably have as much experience with super-jumbo on Sterling as anybody. Also, I have installed super-jumbo grips for many other people, both on single-length and conventional sets. About half the people who try one of my irons immediately ask for super-jumbo grips on their clubs. Nobody has ever complained about the… Read more »
For Sterling Single Length Iron Fitting, is there someone in NorCal or SoCal doing fittings? I did not see anyone using the search but I thought some time back there was a guy in SoCal area who specialized in the Sterling fittings?
JASON There really is no such thing as being certified just for single length iron fitting. We do not designate specialty in that. So if you were searching specifically for that, you would not find it. If you head back to the FIND A CLUBFITTER search tool, I can tell you that the best fitters in So Cal are The Pasadena Clubfitter in Pasadena of course and ADS Golf in San Marcos. In Nor Cal the best fitters I have personal contact with are Fore Seasons Golf in Berkeley and Marin CLubworx in Marin Country north of the City. Hope… Read more »
Tom, I’m very interested and ready to make the switch to single length
Since ypu taught me clubmaking (1982/83) I understand ypur difference in design and wanted tp ne in the 36.5 lenghth. I wanted tp discuss wedhe lenghth and undersyand you have designed them to be slightly shorter a concept that makes more sense to me. Need shaft advice. Glad to see your continued success.
Wayne Elliott, Cincinnati
WAYNE Thanks very much for the interest and for letting me know you were in one of the GOLF WORKS schools that I taught “a few” years ago !! It just hardly seems that it can be 36 yrs since then. Wow. At any rate, in the Cincy area, I STRONGLY recommend you contact Bill Weitzel at Conquest Custom Golf. Bill really is one of the very best clubfitter clubmakers in the whole country and I am not embellishing that one bit. If you take the leap to meet with him you will understand what I mean. He can help… Read more »