Can your Irons go "Dead"

Neewollah

I play with a set of Taylormade R7's that I've had now for 10 years or so. I play off 7 but over the last 2 years or so I've noticed I've lost around a clubs distance on all my iron shots maybe even a club and a half. My swing definitely hasn't changed andI said it to someone recently who said my Irons could be gone dead as I've played with them now for so long. Never heard of that before and wonder if anyone could confirm or deny this

RoadRunner

Irons don't go "dead" really. Cold weather conditions (like now) reduce distance a noticeable amount versus summer warmer conditions.

caff

Grooves could be worn, could get them sharpened

mike12

Did u change ball?
The answer is no shafts don't wear out unless they are a bit rusty and pitted they are not the problem.

Can't be comparing this time of the year to the middle of the summer for distance either.

benny79

Could be also lack of wrist hinge or not holding the hinge long enough though impact as something similar happen me. But really it could be a number of different things.

Neewollah

Thanks all. I use Pro v1s during the summer months as the roll and higher ball flight and better short game control on the firmer greens suit best. Been using the Titleist AVX over the winter as they have a better ball flight in winter conditions and short game spin not as important on the softer greens.

It isn't something that has happened over night. Probably started 2 years ago. Wouldn't think its Cold weather as I understand all that. I've tried a few different things in grip and ball position and haven't been able to resolve it. Not a major issue. Comes into play most with long irons shot from 6 back really particularly in club competitions off back tees.

I've never had a lesson in my life so maybe I should go get one as its probably something very small that I started doing without realising.

Golfhead65

It happens us all, it's called getting older

10 yr old irons. Time to dust down the wallet and get some new clubs.

blue note

All your irons went dead? Not just one or two?

Hmmm, reminds me of the time when all my pants shrunk at the same time.

swededmonkey

This happened a mate recently. He brought his irons to one of the main stores. the guy said the inside of his irons started to rust and weakened leading to a loss of distance. Could have been a sales pitch, but makes sense when he's lost over 20 yards, on a steady decline, without changing his swing

GreeBo

How does the inside of your iron rust and how did the guy in the shop determine that it had started? X-Ray machine, coming soon to a McGuirks near you!

prawnsambo

GreeBo wrote: »

How does the inside of your iron rust and how did the guy in the shop determine that it had started? X-Ray machine, coming soon to a McGuirks near you!

Experience, taking the grips off, replacing the shafts. All of which can expose rust on the inside of the shafts. I've snapped two of my shafts and both of them (one was secondhand) had rust on the inside near the hosel. Nothing serious, but surface rust was definitely there. Afaik, no finish is applied to the inside of shafts and no matter how well you keep them, there will always be some moisture in there. Even if its just the normal environmental humidity.

GreeBo

prawnsambo wrote: »

Experience, taking the grips off, replacing the shafts. All of which can expose rust on the inside of the shafts. I've snapped two of my shafts and both of them (one was secondhand) had rust on the inside near the hosel. Nothing serious, but surface rust was definitely there. Afaik, no finish is applied to the inside of shafts and no matter how well you keep them, there will always be some moisture in there. Even if its just the normal environmental humidity.

"experience"?

Sure, once you take the heads off or indeed replace the shafts, but thats not what I got from the post I replied to.
His mate brought clubs to a shop and the staff told him the insides of his shafts were rusty and weakened...nothing there tells me they took the clubs apart.

prawnsambo

GreeBo wrote: »

"experience"?

Sure, once you take the heads off or indeed replace the shafts, but thats not what I got from the post I replied to.
His mate brought clubs to a shop and the staff told him the insides of his shafts were rusty and weakened...nothing there tells me they took the clubs apart.

No. Nor me. But it's quite possible that somebody who works in a golf shop has seen this issue before and confirmed the probable cause. Or has been told by a colleague. Hence why I said 'experience'.

I have no idea if that could be the issue here. But anything that weakens the material, especially at the business end, could have an effect on distance. It's certainly a possibility.

swededmonkey

Moisture can get inside the shafts when exposed to hot and cold temperatures causing condensation. Keeping them in a shed or car for long or frequent periods can cause it to happen

gypsy79

swededmonkey wrote: »

Moisture can get inside the shafts when exposed to hot and cold temperatures causing condensation. Keeping them in a shed or car for long or frequent periods can cause it to happen

My golf clubs never leave my car!!

irish bloke

Some of the posts here are funny - The likelihood of all your irons losing distance together is pretty remote - Lotto odds Ild say - it doesnt make a lot of sense from a pure metallurgical sense either

Why don't you just get a lend of a similar set of irons and compare them?

blue note

I made a joke about it, but I think the most likely thing is you've started don't something with your irons swing as opposed to it being age / flexibility. Have your divots changed or anything? Might you be cutting across them more than before or something?

I know we all want equipment to be the answer to our problems, but a lesson would be the first place I'd look.

prawnsambo

irish bloke wrote: »

Some of the posts here are funny - The likelihood of all your irons losing distance together is pretty remote - Lotto odds Ild say - it doesnt make a lot of sense from a pure metallurgical sense either

Why don't you just get a lend of a similar set of irons and compare them?

From a metallurgical point of view, rust will weaken shafts. That's not even debatable. Everywhere a rust spot forms, there's a corresponding pit in the surface.

RoadRunner

If the inside of the shafts are rusted then you'll have been hearing pieces of rust come loose inside the shafts. This doesn't affect distance but if the shafts are very rusted then the likelihood of a shaft snapping becomes more likely.

How are the grips?

mike12

Modern irons are super,
You will hear about the stronger lofts but they launch higher and go further.
Any set you buy get the matching GW and maybe stop at a 5 iron.
That for me is a modern set.
You will notice the forgiveness and distance overnight.