Britt,
I’ve read Ralph’s books and seem to have a good handle on the impact of the MPF and VCOG of an iron. However, based on your recent MPF measurements, it seems to confirm that most manufacturers continue to raise the VCOG of all their irons. I’m just curious if there is any reason for this that you may understand being a designer and in the industry. Why would a high handicapper want to get a new Ping G425 with a COG of 0.890″? The MOI is extremely high but in Ralph’s books he seemed to call high MOI with a high VCOG “bad MOI” if I recall correctly. The increasing VCOGs seems to be consistent with almost every major brand. Is there another philosophy out there that is influencing the other manufacturer’s designs? Are there new techniques or technologies that help compensate for the potential lack of solid feel? Is it because 6-iron lofts are decreasing?
I personally bought an older set of Maltby Glider Ts, MMB 17s, and Mizuno MP68s to compare MPF ratings and I can confirm that the Gliders are maybe the most forgiving club I’ve ever hit even though they aren’t the prettiest to look at. I took the MMB 17 and MP68 7-irons and built them identically with the TT Score shafts and can confirm that the MMB-17 is a much more forgiving head when they are compared side by side as the MPF would lead you to believe. I’m just curious if you have any insight on why manufacturers are going they way they are?
Thanks
Thanks Britt!
I’ve found Ralph to be one of the few club designers to actually publish work regarding club head design and I’ve always wondered if there were other club head design ideas or engineering concepts that simply haven’t been widely published that I would not be aware of. If you do learn of other club head design philosophies that don’t involve the marketing department, it would be neat to read forum or blog post about it.