The technical logic behind single-length irons is that if all clubs have the same length, total weight, head weight, and balance point, the golfer can use the same stance, posture, spine angle, swing plane, and everything else in the swing. Thus, the single-length strategy may improve swing repeatability and shot consistency for each club in the set.
However, many golfers have attained good swing and shot consistency using irons manufactured to conventional incremental lengths that are accurately custom matched to their size, strength, athletic ability, and swing characteristics. However, if a golfer suffers chronic or occasional shot inconsistency, switching to a single length concept may improve shot consistency and on-center impacts, leading to more greens in regulation and better "missed shots."
In a single-length set of irons, each club has the same length, shaft weight, total weight, head weight, swingweight, balance point, MOI, swing feel, and shaft stiffness/bend profile design. Only the loft angles alter amongst single-length clubs to allow them to hit the ball different distances.
Normal incremental length irons cannot reproduce that many fitting specifications. While incremental length irons can be matched to the same MOI, each club will have a distinct overall weight, head weight, swingweight, balance point, and swing feel.
Thus, a single-length set of irons allows the player to increase swing repeatability, swing consistency, and shot consistency because every club is properly suited for every swing feel factor.
A set of irons is designed to hit the ball from varying distances with identical distance gaps between clubs. That lets golfers choose a club for varying distances from the greens.
Early club designers discovered several iron design factors that affected ball distance. The first is a varied loft angle on each iron with the same loft spacing. Second, the golfer's clubhead speed would purposefully alter with the lofts to hit the ball differently with each iron.
Recently, shot performance study has indicated that the distance between irons in a set is 85-90% from loft angle change and 10-15% from length variation. Thus, loft angle differences between a set of irons are more essential than length change for distance difference. This makes a single length set a feasible option to incremental length sets.
Mostly because they didn't think a different set would sell enough to warrant the cost of development and marketing to last two or more years. Tommy Armour Golf's single-length EQL model didn't exhibit long-term success for its development and promotion costs. For a big golf brand to introduce a new set of irons, a multi-million-dollar marketing effort must generate enough demand to sell 25,000 or more sets, or the model development was a waste of time and money. Few major golf brands are taking the chance.
Golf has always had traditions. Overall, golfers tend to stick to such traditions.
This applies to golf club aspects as well. It has been proven that golf club design, shape, and concept changes must stay within a narrow range of change. If you go too far outside the box of tradition, golfers will reject the clubs and refuse to buy them.
Most golf firms believe that a single-length set of clubs would push golfers too far, therefore they would not sell enough to justify the cost of development, inventory, and marketing.
Such players are usually suitable for "overlength" or "underlength" irons in conventional iron sets. What about single length sets?
This is a fascinating Single Length set fitting point. Consider the following example. After fitting two golfers for a typical set of irons, Golfer A needs his lengths +1” over standard, while Golfer B needs a standard length set. That means Golfer A's 5 iron is 39" and Golfer B's is 38".
However, both golfers learn about the Single-Length idea and want to be fitted. Let's also say the Single Length set we see has a 37" "standard" length. Since Golfer A was recommended to use a +1” over standard length in his conventional irons, does he need a 38” Single Length set?
For these reasons, probably not. +1” over length #9 iron in Golfer A's conventional set is 37”. Golfer B's #7 iron is 37" in his normal iron set. Thus, the 37” single length would fit either golfer, even though Golfer A measured to need +1” longer in a typical set.
Interesting, huh?
Finally, a golfer who wants a longer length in a traditional iron set may need a Single-Length set longer than the length range it was built for. However, clubmakers should attempt to maintain all golfers between 36.5 and 37 inches to better fit them to the clubs' total weight + head weight feel. If the golfer prefers a single iron length, comfort wins. When necessary irons can be built to 38” if the clubmaker is experienced in building single-length irons.
Lofts, lies, shaft flex, shaft bend profile, shaft weight, total weight, head weight feel (swingweight or MOI), grip type, and grip size are all important fitting criteria in irons. Additionally, some golfers may prefer a slightly different single length. Thus, while iron lengths will be the same, each golfer should have their own unique fitting requirements and length.
Single length does not mean “one size fits all” like huge golf firms sell their clubs off the rack. For the optimal single length and lie, shaft weight, shaft flex, shaft bend profile, swingweight/MOI, set makeup, and grip size/style, golfers must be custom fit depending on their size, strength, athletic ability, and swing characteristics.
Between the mid-1980s and mid-2010s, when just a few brands offered single-length irons, most people thought they were for mediocre golfers. Bryson deChambeau's 2015 NCAA and US Amateur triumphs, five PGA Tour wins, and $10 million in earnings from 2017 to 2019 and his very recent 58 have disproven that idea.
As with regular irons for ordinary and good players, the key distinctions are standard vs. game enhancement iron head designs, shaft fittings, overall weight, swingweight (headweight sensation), lie, and grip size/style. Most single-length iron companies will not offer multiple clubhead models like they do with conventional length irons unless demand is high enough to justify a better player version to contrast with the game improvement version.
Previous Single Length irons failed to meet golfers' expectations in three main areas.
If the player chooses a single length, the lower loft irons may lose enough clubhead speed to reduce distance compared to a standard-length set.
The golfer may also find that high loft irons and wedges have longer shot distances than in the typical length set, depending on the single length chosen. This could happen if the single length is more than 1” longer than the conventional set's high loft irons/wedges.
Following #1 and #2 above, the distance gaps between each single-length iron could be reduced, making the golfer's conventional irons shorter.
Previous Single Length iron sets had these issues because they used conventional steel clubheads with the same lofts and 4* loft gaps as conventional iron sets and a single length that was >1” shorter than the low loft iron lengths and >1” longer than the high loft iron lengths in the golfer's conventional set. Thus, by modifying length, lofts, loft gaps, and clubhead shape, a modern Single Length set can solve these issues.
Not without a lot of lead tape on the lower loft heads and weight grinding off the higher loft heads in the typical configuration. It may be difficult to bend the lie angle of some heads to the golfer's desired lie for the one length chosen. It is impossible to make a single length set using incremental irons.
All clubheads in a Single Length set must have the same head weight and lie angle. This ensures that Single Length clubs have the same total weight, swing weight, head weight feel, and balance point, which ensures the same swing feel.
To try a Single Length set, golfers must hit clubs properly engineered and produced for assembly. It is impractical to convert an iron set to Single Length.
Can a golfer change their equipment with a single length set of woods and hybrids?
Absolutely. The hybrid and wood heads must have a different head weight than traditional hybrid and fairway wood heads so they can be made to a single length and still attain a normal swingweight or MOI for golfer weight feel. A standard hybrid or fairway wood head cannot be used for a single length.
Hybrids are part of the irons since they were designed to be easier to hit than low loft irons. In single length fitting and performance, hybrids should be the same length as irons, so every club from the lowest loft hybrid to the wedges will have the same length, lie, shaft, shaft flex/bend profile, total weight, headweight/swingweight, MOI, and balance point, so the golfer can use the same stance.
However, fairway woods cannot be manufactured and played at the same length as hybrids and irons. If this were done, the golfer would never be able to hit the same distance with woods the same length as the hybrids/irons because it would be so much shorter than fairway woods and lower clubhead speed and shot distance.
Fairway woods made for a single length must be longer than single-length irons but shorter than typical fairway woods. Wishon Golf suggests a single-length fairway club length of 40-41″ for males and 39-40″ for women, based on a rough industry standard of 43″ for the 3-wood.
Golfers rarely play #3, 4, 5, 7 fairway woods in a single length set. For golfers with a driver clubhead speed of 95mph or greater, we recommend #3 and 5 for single-length woods and #4h, 5h/5i, 6i, 7i, 8i, 9i, P, G, S for hybrid/irons. Clubhead speed determines 5 hybrid vs 5 iron. A player with an 8 iron clubhead speed above 75mph can normally play the 5-iron first in the set. If the 8 iron speed is under 75 but above 70mph, we propose the 4 and 5 hybrids with the 6 iron as the first iron. The player will do better with #5, 6 hybrids, 7 iron to SW, and no 4 hybrid under 70mph.
We recommend the 4w/7w single-length wood set for players with a driver clubhead speed under 95mph, followed by #5h, 6h/6i, 7i, 8i, 9i, P, G, S hybrid/iron sets. 6 hybrid versus 6 iron is also based on clubhead speed. A golfer with an 8 iron clubhead speed exceeding 70mph can normally play the 6-iron first in the set. If the 8 iron speed is under 70mph, use the 5 and 6 hybrids with the 7 iron as the first iron.
If you think typical amateur golfers resist change, wait till you see tour pros and highly serious competing amateurs. There are still many golfers using muscle-back blades in their irons!
One can never say never. Bryson deChambeau is a top player, but other pros may find single-length irons too difficult to adjust to. Years of preparation and swing talent help tour pros maintain stroke consistency. After decades of playing progressive length irons, most pros would find it very difficult to achieve consistency and confidence with a single length set.
After years of monitoring and helping clubmakers in fitting single-length irons, we believe the main benefit is for regular golfers from novice to high single-digit handicap players. Single-length clubs enhance swing repetition and shot consistency, leading to more greens hit and better iron misses. Beginning to high single-digit handicap golfers have more swing repetition and shot consistency issues than low handicap golfers.
After years of single length iron development, the Wishon Golf EQ1-NX Single Length irons have all the requirements to deliver a seamless shot distance transition with each club compared to a conventional set while offering the main benefit of the Single Length concept of identical swing motion and feel for every club.
