Iāve always heard that 24 degrees of loft and 38ā in length on irons is the limit for an average golfer. For the most part, Iāve found that to be true with my game. I struggle with irons beyond that. Unfortunately, with the advent of lighter steel and graphite shafts, lengths had to go longer for swingweight purposes. The loft jacking is apparently caused by movement of the head weight lower and rearwards, or so Iāve heard. That may be the case, but stronger lofts are also more appealing to the average golfer because distance sells. Ask me how I know. My Taylormade M5 irons are just as jacked as those Atomics because I had them bent 2 degrees strong. Did it make a difference? It depends on how you look at it. Sure, my 24 degree 6-iron goes just as far as my 24 degree 5-iron used to. My 48 degree gap goes as far as my 48 degree pitching wedge used to. I had to change my wedges up to get my gaps in line, and found I had different gaps and yardages throughout the set. Are my playing partners in awe of my prodigious distances now? They donāt give a flying f*ck thru a rollin doughnut how far I hit it, and never did. Why did I do it? To massage my own ego and to try to find distance lost with age. Did I succeed? Not really. I know, after spending thousands of dollars on equipment in the last 7 years, that my game hasnāt really improved one iota, that the latest and greatest isnāt really, and that I should focus on what really matters-just going out there and having fun. While I have dramatically cut my hoing budget, Iāll still experiment from time to time. And who knows, perhaps those old Wilsons with the 24 degree 3-iron may find their way back into my bag someday.......