Irons
Every iron gets its own bruise. Sets that share a story still lie.
A 9-iron that bottoms on the ball and a 4-iron that bottoms two inches behind it is not “a steep long-iron swing.” It is a length and lie mismatch the set never admitted. We mark them one by one on a firm plate.
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Gamer baseline, mid-iron first
We start at the 7. It is the gossip of the set. If that bruise is early, we do not “fix” the 4-iron with bounce. We find out whether length, lie, or lean is dumping the head into dirt.
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Walk the set
Short irons, then long. Each head gets tape. A set whose low-point walks toward the golfer as lofts weaken is a common 509 pattern — people stand farther from the long irons and never notice the bruise follow them.
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Firm-plate confirmation
The second plate is less forgiving. Marks that looked “playable” on a slightly tired mat show their true depth here. That is the one we print on the sheet.
Thin is information, not shame
A thin 6-iron with a mark ahead of the ball often means shaft lean you were praised for. Handle too far forward on baked turf is a low-point that has already left the party. We will not scold you into more lean because a magazine said so.
Canal Pass with wedges is the usual booking. Orchard Bag if the driver is also lying. Dust Read if you only want the 7 explained.
Hold an iron plate