Is Loft Jacking In Irons Finally Coming To An End?

Kick Point hosts Joe Ferguson and Dan Parker covered a very pertinent topic recently, specifically the fact that lofts on certain types of iron remain strong and that this era of loft jacking might well be coming to an end. Joe, for one, is hoping so.

“I’m getting a bit bored of that whole game improvement, super loft jacking thing,” he sighs. “It just doesn’t work for people. I never see it working.”

If you have strong feelings on this, you might want to watch the latest episode of Kick Point: The Golf Gear Show.

In fact, you should watch it (video below), because they also get stuck into a big discussion on whether the TaylorMade Qi4D is the driver to beat in 2026 - and that’s a big call to start the year with.

WATCH: Joe from Kick Point: The Golf Gear Show discusses loft jacking with co host Dan Parker (from 37:24)

Back to loft jacking. What, you may be wondering, is loft jacking?

In a nutshell, it’s a phenomenon/trend where iron lofts have gotten lower over the years - so the kind of 7-iron we have in our bags today might well have been more like an ‘old’ 6- or even 5-iron.

All the manufacturers have been doing this - it’s not exactly new. If one of your playing partners has been bragging about how far they hit their new irons, you might want to pull them up on this!

This loft jacking has been cranked up a notch with the latest game improvement irons.

Fitters and manufacturers can give their customers a nice ego boost by saying, ‘Wow, you hit that 7-iron 20 yards further than your existing model.’ A nice easy sales pitch.

Take the new TaylorMade Qi Max iron, for example, which come with some pretty aggressive static lofts (the 7-iron measures in at 28°of loft).

Crucially, however, it’s also quite easy to launch providing you have enough speed in the locker. This is modern technology for you. Manufacturers have become very good at being able to move weight around so that game improvers can get the ball airborne easily with lower lofts.

Still, Joe isn’t a fan of the loft system - and here’s why.

A number of manufacturers are also offering a HL (High Launch) model, which is the case with the latest TaylorMade Qi irons (there’s the Qi Max and Qi Max HL).

Joe is keen to stress this “isn’t a dig at TaylorMade”, and most manufacturers have gone down this route. Srixon offers its new ZXiR iron in a High Launch option, while both Callaway and Ping provide the alternative of a HL spec in their latest game improvement iron releases.

However, Joe does question why manufacturers don’t stop offering the super strong option.

“Everyone is reacting. They’ve got their HL options and they’re like two or three degrees weaker throughout. That’s all you need,” says Joe.

Dan believes we could finally see an end to loft jacking in the next “two to four years”.

“I think brands are cottoning on to the fact that consumers are cottoning on,” explains Joe. The argument being that distance shouldn't be the most important factor when choosing irons. Distance consistency and hitting a specific number time after time is the holy grail of iron performance where you are trying to get as close to the flag as possible. Extra distance can also cause gapping issues at either end of the bag, which requires the golfer to spend even more to fix.

“If I was fitting any of my beginner friends or slower swing speed players, I’d be avoiding the standard (Max) version and go straight into HL. ‘Let’s get some launch, let’s get it airborne,’” he says.

Have a watch of the discussion in the Kick Point podcast above and let us know what you think.

How are you getting on with your irons? Do you play with super game improvement irons? Do you struggle for launch, or have you found the right clubhead and right specs that work for you?

Maybe you've gone for those stronger lofts but find yourself struggling to produce a ball flight that works?

Let us know in the comments box below.