What Is Offset In Golf Irons?

Short Answer: Offset is when the clubhead sits behind the shaft/hosel at address. Because it’s behind the shaft, it allows extra time to square the clubface up before impact. Helping with fades/slices.

Offset is one of the oldest golf club design ideas to help golfers with slices in the world of golf. It first appeared in the 1800s but only became popular hundreds of years later.

Now if you’re suffering from a slice or low ball flights, you can get a fix overnight by trying out irons, hybrids, woods, or drivers with various amounts of offset.

Manufacturers release, on average, three different types of irons every year, all aiming to help low, mid, and high handicappers alike.

One of the main differences between them is that the most forgiving irons will have more offset than the least forgiving. Which means the clubhead or leading edge sits further behind the shaft/hosel.

Yes, offset can be a fantastic tool for fixing some of your uglier or more painful misses, but it comes at a cost, which you will read about later. 

It’s important to note that lots of offset won’t suit everyone, and you may be better off without it.

But before we get into all that, what issue can offset help, and how does it do it?

What Swing Issues Does Offset Help?

Open Clubface

The overwhelming majority of golfers will suffer from an open face rather than a closed one at impact. 

Both cause their own problems, but with a closed clubface, I think you’re closer to hitting correctly than if it’s open.

How does offset help with an open clubface?

Well, because the clubhead is designed to be more behind the shaft than normal, there is fractionally more time to square the clubface at impact.

Now, you’re only going to get a fraction of a second more time, but in golf, that’s all you need sometimes, depending on the severity of the issue.

If you’re leaving the clubface too open at impact, then while offset can help, it won’t fix the underlying issue completely.

Why should you be worried about open clubfaces? Keep reading below to find out.

Fades And Slices

An open clubface is the most significant cause of fades and slices in the game of golf.

And while there’s nothing wrong with hitting controlled fades as a shot shape, there is no place on this earth that hitting a slice is acceptable. 

Unless you’re trying to shape it out of the trees like Bubba Watson did to win the masters, that isn’t likely.

A test showed that you will deviate 10 yards from left to right for every degree your clubface is open.

This means that a clubface that is 3 degrees open will produce 30 yards of left-to-right ball flight.

Since offset will give you more time to close the clubface, you can turn that 30-yard fade/slice into a 10-yard fade.

This can be the difference between hitting the fairway from the tee, having a nice chip to the green, or slicing it into the trees, water, and bunkers.

Low Launch

Offset can help if you sometimes struggle to get the ball to launch high enough so it lands softly on the green.

(I never understood that saying. If I’m being honest, it’s a solid golf ball falling from above and if you stood underneath it you’d end up in the hospital… Not exactly a pillow, is it?)

But anyway, without the correct height, your ball will likely skim or roll off the green after it lands. This is not ideal.

However, offset will automatically launch your ball higher because the center of gravity is further behind the shaft. Whenever this happens, the ball launches higher.

Most golfers need help in this department, especially with their longer irons, which many struggle to hit compared to shorter irons.

This is why there are game improvement golf sets with progressive offset. 

Progressive offset means that the offset becomes more severe as the golf clubs get longer. 

So a 4 iron will have more offset than a 9 iron, making it easier than usual to get airborne.

What Swing Issues Can Offset Cause?

Hooks

If you do some quick maths, if it helps close the club face to fix a slice, it can close it too much, which will cause a hook.

I’m aware that had nothing to do with maths, but you get what I mean.

Just like an open clubface, a closed clubface operates the same way. That is, for every degree the clubface is closed, it will result in 10 yards of right-to-left.

Which can be enough for you to hit a powerful draw or cause you to hook the ball.

This is why you must understand what offset does before buying irons.

Offset irons will not benefit golfers who don’t suffer from a fade or slice and hit the ball straightish or with a little draw.

If this is you, then a standard iron setup should be perfect. All you have to worry about is whether you’re buying the right type of iron since there are plenty of options.

All with their own upsides and downsides.

Laziness…

By using offset irons or clubs in general, you’re only really hanging a picture over a hole in the drywall.

The hole will still be there whenever you decide to take the picture down.

So, if you bought these irons to fix your slice or to get a higher launch on the ball, they will help in the short term, but you can’t become complacent.

Especially if you want to continue to improve your golf game, but hey, if you’re happy where you’re at, then offsets can be your lifelong fix.

But most golfers can’t help but want to improve at golf, meaning at some stage, you have to work on the actual problem causing your open clubface.

This may require lessons or independent research, but believe me, it’s worth it.

I still remember graduating from game improvement irons to my first set of forged/muscle back Mizuno irons. 

It’s a similar feeling to when you ride your bike without training wheels for the first time.

So when and who should use offset irons?

Who Would Benefit The Most From Offset Irons?

Anyone who suffers from an unwanted fade or slice can benefit hugely from offset irons. 

However, mid-high handicappers will primarily benefit the most — golfers in this handicap range struggle to square the face up at impact.

And although low handicappers can struggle with this too, it won’t be as often.

Also, if you are somewhere in the low-mid handicap bracket, you should really aim to fix the issue causing an open clubface, not just put a plaster over it.

This may involve lessons or a few range sessions, but you can’t become complacent if you want to lower your handicap and shoot better scores.

Are Irons The Only Clubs With Offset?

No, offset isn’t exclusive to irons and can be seen in many woods or drivers.

Offset in woods or drivers works even better at fixing fades and slices than it does for irons.

This is because the loft of woods or drivers is stronger than that of irons, making the slices bigger than what you would get from an 8 or 9-iron.

The additional loft and increased spin make it easier to control your shots. This is why it’s easy to hit an 80-yard slice with your driver, but you’d never be able to do that with an 8-iron.

Well, hopefully, you can’t do that otherwise, you need a ton of lessons!

Do Any Of The Tour Players Use Offset?

Yes, but not to the extent that most amateur golfers do.

Professionals don’t have any issues with squaring the clubface up at impact and could probably open or close their faces to a specific degree if you asked them.

But they do play with a slight or minimal offset for sure. You’ll be looking hard to find a set of irons that don’t have some offset on the market.

Often, you need to have them made specially. Justin Thomas had a set of Titleist irons with zero offset before.

And although they look terrific at address, unless you’re JT, you’ll have an awful time trying to hit them on the golf course.

Ultimately, offset golf clubs are suitable for high-handicap golfers and tour pros. The only thing that really matters is how much offset you play with.

As you can see above, pros can do without it if they want, but most golfers will need this game-improvement feature to shoot their best scores.