[JTrout]

lie angle.
(sorry for length.... cliff notes at bottom)

2* off either way will have a dramatic effect on shots.

Several years ago I had a new set of irons that I struggled with.

The short irons I hit lower, with less spin, and they just didn't feel solid.
The long irons I hit horribly- low and to the right, and they didn't carry anywere.
I thought the shafts might be too firm, and said so to a rep of the company.
He told me that they were probably too flat for me, and suggested that I get them bent upright a couple of degrees.

I said that I didn't think he understood just how bad I was hitting these clubs, and that it had to be more than just a lie angle problem.

But I had them bent. 2 degrees upright. And it was like they were COMPLETELY different clubs.
Higher, more solid feeling, just night and day.
All from 2*

Recently I got a new LW. I liked the look. I knew that it probably needed bumped upright a degree or two, but had not made it a priority (have played very little). I also thought that maybe the roundness of the club from heel to toe would negate it being off a degree or two.

But when I hit this club well, it was a little right. Consistently.
So finally I took it to the shop.
Bent it 2* upright, and it made a significant difference.

Now you may say that 2* won't matter to you because you don't swing the same way twice, or something like that.
But people make strange compensations to try to make the club they have work.
Last weekend I played with a 4 handicapper, and he had a pronounced forward press in his Driver, but nothing else.
When I asked him about it, he said his new ($400) Driver looked shut to him, and pushing his hands forward was the only way he'd found to hit the Driver straight!


Cliff notes:
2* difference in the lie of your clubs makes a big difference in the shot pattern.
Find the proper lie for your swing, and make sure all your clubs fit.
Don't make compensations in your setup/swing to counteract a misfit club.