Weird gapping issue in new sticks

[3on3putt]

I picked up a used set of Taylormade M3 irons that were delivered yesterday. I hit them on my sim last night and really loved them. They look brand new, I like the way they set up at address, I like the ball flight and are quite forgiving. Very nice feel on flushed strikes. I'm very happy with the purchase.

However..........

There is a 25 YARD gap between the 8 and 9 irons. I went through the set last night hitting a handful of shots with each club (same ball for every swing) and here's the average carry distances I got on my Skytrak:

4 - 191
5 - 182
6 - 171
7 - 162
8 - 150
9 - 125
PW - 118

As you can see, 4 through 8 iron have nice gaps. But then things get weird. There's a 25 yard gap between 8 and 9 and then only a 7 yard gap between 9 and PW.

Any idea as to what could be going on?

It's possible something screwy is going on with the 9 iron loft. I can take them somewhere to have the lofts checked.

I'm a 6 handicap, so I'm not ruling out the possibility of some sort of swing flaw where I'm maybe flipping it or something. However, if I'm flippy with the 9 wouldn't I be flippy with the 8 as well? Weird that a swing flaw could cause such an issue with only 1 club but not the others.

Also, I tested my other 9 iron last night as well (Titleist AP2 710) and averaged 133 yards of carry. And, the loft of the 9 iron in the AP2 is 43 degrees and the 9 iron loft in the M3 is 40 degrees. So a club that is 3 degrees weaker in loft is flying 8 yards further. Seems quite odd.

I hit ball after ball last night with the 8 and 9 and it was very consistent. I was alternating swings between the 8 and 9 and it was consistent. 150, 125, 151, 124, 149, 126. On and on and on.

I love these sticks, but golf is going to be hard with such a huge gap right in that part of the bag. A 25 yard gap wouldn't bother me much if it were 200 and 225. But from the more scoring part of the bag, that presents an issue.

Now all this being said ..... I turn 40 at the end of this year and have decided I'm going all out with a Club Champion fitting for a brand new set. So this set is really just to tide me over until then. However, I'd still like to make the most of 2021 with these.

Any ideas what the problem or solution could be? Thanks in advance.

[Scottygolf]

3on3 - I own a Mitchell loft lie machine just for this reason. I can't tell you how many times when I received new or checked my friends lofts how off they typically are. I highly suggest to take the whole set in and have the loft and lies measured. Manufactures way loft lie within 1 degree of actual is acceptable.

The other thing to have checked is the swing weight. If for any reason a shaft was replaced not all shops will dry fit to make sure the swing weight is matched. I keep a spreadsheet of my iron sets of factory specs and what I like to play them at. This way all irons are the same exact specs thru all sets. Good Luck

[3on3putt]

Thanks for the reply. I think checking the lofts is the place to start because who knows what the previous owner did. I didn't consider the swing weight though. The shaft and grip are the same as the other irons in the set, but it's worth checking if I'm having the lofts checked anyway.

[GullLakeMi]

I have the same irons, but my gap is between 7 & 8. Didn't really recognize it until I got a LM two months ago and have been better able to track carry distance. I recalled something about the 3-7 irons being designed a little different than 8-PW. I found this online...

• Tungsten Weighting: a 15-gram tungsten toe weight in the 3-7 irons shifts the center of gravity (CG) lower, improving launch and increasing MOI.

TaylorMade M3 Irons Review - Long, High & Straight | Golfstead

This doesn't help explain your gap between 8-9.

[3on3putt]

Yeah in reading about the irons I was wondering if there might be a big gap between 7 and 8. Weird how that gap is perfect but the huge one is 8 to 9. The set came with the 50 degree gap wedge and I was curious whether it would fly any further than my 50 degree Vokey. Same lofts, but the M3 is a hotter face packed with all of Taylomade's distance technology while the Vokey is built more for precision and consistency so I thought the M3 might fly a little further despite having the same lofts. But nope, both wedges fly exactly the same distance.

(So if you're wanting the gap wedge from this set let me know because I don't need it).

[jasonreg]

Scottygolf is on the right track here IMO. Not only can you see errors in loft/lie from the manufacturers (some are better then others) but you can bend the clubs through regular play (hard terrain, leaning on a club, travel (airlines can be brutal), frustrated shwack on the ground - whatever) and depending on your hitting mat in your sim, this can add to it.

Part of my spring cleaning routine is getting the irons and wedges lofts and lies measured and corrected - wedges get this done mid season as well (they are a bit softer I find).