Offset in comparison: What influence does offset have?

In this test, we will answer the exciting question of what influence offset actually has. Offset was invented to make it easier for certain types of players. First and foremost these were players who had to fight against a slice. If you place the face further back in relation to the shaft, it affects the face position at impact. The result is less drastic fades. The unwanted slice should not be a thing of the past but should be reduced.

The trend with the offset goes so far that even club heads that are intended for very good players are equipped with it. Very good players usually don't have to fight a slice. On the contrary. For them, too strong a draw is often the bad shot. Most good players approach the ball from the inside and have to make sure that the draw remains controllable. This is exactly what our test player does. For him, the club head should have as little offset as possible.

Our test selection

The player had to hit a target in 165m distance with an iron 6 in the Shimada Pro Stiff shaft. The used club head with little offset was the Miura CB-1008. The Miura MC-501 was used as the club head with more offset. It is important to use very similar club heads where only the offset is different. A comparison of a Blade (minimum offset) and a two-piece iron (maximum offset) would make little sense.

Our player hit with a constant 87.4 and 87.6mph respectively and a smash factor of 1.33. All balls that were hit unclean were deleted from the statistics so that at the end this input is evaluated as a test:

The result

With 116.1 and 116.3 there is practically no difference with ball speeds. This wouldn't be expected either. The first difference can be seen in the Launch Angle which is 18° for the CB-1008 and 18.5° for the MC-501. In terms of spin the values are 6053 and 5992 which is basically negligible. The same goes for the carry and total length of 154 and 155 and 166m respectively for both club heads.

Our interpretation

Purely from these values one only sees a small difference at the launch. This is also not surprising. The offset basically favors the launch minimally - another reason why "Players Irons" use a lot of offset. The difference is very small with one half degree.

In our opinion, the directional deviation is more important. Our player shows in the test a slight tendency to the right or on average a slight push. This is due to the approx. 2.5° Club Path from the inside and a club face that is a bit too open for a draw. The ball starts slightly to the right of the target and develops too little draw to land at the target.

To cut a long story short: The deviation to the right is greater with the CB-1008 than with the MC-501. This is also what was to be expected. The draw tendency is more pronounced with the MC-501 without the player having to change anything with the shot.

The player minimizes the push with the offset in the MC-501, which can also be seen in the following overview:

Conclusion

The test result is not surprising: A club head with more offset tends to a stronger draw or a weaker fade. A player who draws too much should prefer a clubhead with little offset and vice versa. The difference in offset between these two heads is relatively small. The result would be more dramatic if you would compare a blade with an iron with a lot of offset. This comparison doesn't make much sense because these two heads are completely different.

Recently more and more good players come up with the idea to use such a "Players Iron", after all it makes the game easier. And that's true, the sweetspot is bigger, the dispersion is smaller and bad hits are punished less hard. However, there are also very good players who usually play a draw. Then it is dangerous to bet on such a club head with maximum offset. The draw could then become uncontrollable and reinforced.