Bryson made these things uber popular. But I'm just a regular guy. What about the rest of us? Will same length irons actually help my consistency?

Well, I played variable-length irons for 28 years, including my pro playing days. Then I switched to Avoda's Origin same length irons, played them for six months, and filmed the whole thing: the good, the bad and the 4-iron. Here's my honest review.

My six-month review, on course, with nothing cut out. Watch it before you buy.

What same length irons actually are

In a standard set, every club gets longer as the loft drops, so your ball position, posture and distance from the ball change with every club. In a same length set, they don't. Same length, same weight, same feel.

Avoda says every club in their same length set is built to the same length, around a 7-iron, with matched head weights. For me, being a short guy at 5'7", my 7-iron length came back a half inch shorter than standard.

So how do you get different distances? Well, the lofts do the work: 4 and 5 degrees between clubs instead of the usual 3 or 4. I get into the gapping in Set Makeups and the Long-Iron Question.

If you want to see the set for yourself, check out the Origin irons here.

Why I switched after 28 years

I teach impact first, and I kept asking myself one question: how much more consistent could I get if I was practising one swing for 10 different clubs?

So I got fit online and took the clubs straight from the box to the course, no range time. One of the weirdest things is looking down at your bag and all your clubs are at the same height. But by the end of that round, I kind of felt like I hit the same club all day long.

Round one, cold turkey, straight out of the box. A 4-iron from a 7-iron stance feels really weird.

The biggest benefit: one setup, one swing

What's the big deal about one length? Well, it's removing some of the variables from the golf swing. Same spot in my stance. Same setup. Same swing. Different loft, different height, different distance.

In Do Same Length Irons HELP Regular Golfers? I hit 10 clubs in random order with the same ball position and the same swing. Imagine going from 200 yards all the way to the green with the exact same club in your hand.

Ten clubs, 4-iron to lob wedge, same ball position, same swing. This is why golfers are switching.

What changed in my practice

I stopped practising "4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9" and started practising swing lengths: full, full plus a little, 7/8, 3/4 and half. Then I apply each one through the whole set, because every swing I learn transfers.

Now I can stand at 100 yards and hit four different clubs at four different trajectories at four different spin rates. A high sand wedge. A three-quarter gap wedge. A lower pitching wedge with a narrower stance. A little 9-iron played like a 60-yard shot. Instead of asking "what club is this?" I'm asking "how high do I want that ball to go?"

The wedges are a big part of that, and they get their own post: Same Length Wedges. If you're adding wedges, match the sole to how you hit it. Four quick questions (your miss, your conditions, your shots, your highest-lofted wedge) and it tells you W1, W2 or W3. Take the WedgeFit quiz →

The controversial 4-iron (and why it's my favourite training club)

Why is the 4-iron so controversial? Well, you've probably read the comments: "I can't get it up in the air." And yes, it launches low. A low-lofted club shows off all the problems in your swing, in the same way your driver shows off your right and left spin more than your 5-wood.

But here's what I found. With my 90 mph 7-iron swing speed, off grass, I carry the same length 4-iron about 205 to 210 yards on a low, boring flight that keeps rolling. If I'm playing in the wind, or I want it running like links golf over in Scotland, that's exactly the shot I want. Off the tee on a tight, short par 4, it's quite the little fairway finder too.

I also think it's the best training club in the world. It's the same weight and length as every other club, and it shows off your problems. So if you can hit it straight with this one, you can hit it straight with any of them. It's become my warm-up club. Frankly, I don't want my ego massaged.

How the gapping compared to my custom-fit standard set

I hit both sets in the same session: my custom-fit, standard-length PXG Gen 4 irons and the Avoda same length set. Here's what shocked me: the distances weren't that much off. I barely had to adjust my yardages or club selection, which made switching a whole lot easier than I thought.

There's a reason for that. My set was online fitted to my specs, which is why the gapping lined up. Later, I had the same fitter fit me in person at the PGA Show demo day, without telling him he'd already fit me online. Exact same specs. The full story is in Can You Really Get Fit Online?.

The drawbacks, honestly

So what about drawbacks? Of course, there are a few.

• The 4-iron doesn't fly high and it doesn't land soft. If you need that, keep it for training and put a 7-wood, a hybrid or another utility club in its place. You can even order a hybrid built shorter, closer to a 5- or 4-iron length.
• The wedges are the length of a 7-iron. They feel long at first. In my first round, my wedges went about five yards long and I had a few over the green.
• There's a mental hurdle. It looks like a 7-iron, but it's only going 145 or 150.

And here's the honest update. After playing both same length and combo length for a good while, my recommendation for most golfers is combo length unless your 7-iron swing speed is 97 mph or above. If you go same length, go lob wedge to 6-iron. That's where I've landed after playing both. More in Combo Length Irons Explained and Same Length vs Combo Length. Is SAME LENGTH Right For You? shows all three set types side by side.

Who are full same length irons not for? If your speed doesn't launch a low-lofted iron high enough to hold a green, and you're not willing to swap the 4-iron for a wood or a hybrid, a full 4-PW same length set isn't for you. Avoda says much the same: slower, lower-spin or shorter players may find the long irons launch a little low or the wedges a touch long.

Would I buy them again?

Here's my favourite shot with them. An interclub match: 188 yards into about a 15 mph right-to-left wind, water left, tight green. Normally that's a 5-iron for me. I hit 6-iron, closed the face a little, added a few miles an hour, and nutted it. It stayed on a rope and landed one hop, stop, middle of the green. One of the best shots I've hit in years, and it came from practising speed instead of practising club numbers.

That's the bottom line. I've got 10 clubs in my bag that are all the same length, I can swing them all the same way, and they go from 210 yards all the way down to 90. Goodness gracious, that's 120 yards of gapping where I'm making the same swing every time. You multiply everything you learn by 10 clubs.

Would I buy them again? Heck yes.

Still on the fence? Read The Real Benefits of Single Length Irons and the myths in Myths and Your First 30 Days. And if you want to talk it through, my same-length page has my number. Text me.

Don't guess. Get fit. I bought all three of my Avoda sets through their online fitting, and when I got fit in person later, the specs came back exactly the same. It takes a few minutes: a down-the-line 7-iron video, your height, your speed, and a real fitter emails your specs within 48 hours. Start your free online fitting →

Learn to hit it where you want it to go. All of my courses, from ball striking to chipping, putting and bunkers, are in the Big Swing Kings store →