Golf tip: Don't waste good swings

Editor's note: Steve Charters is in his 14th year as a pro at Twin Pines Golf Course. Born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Charters competed at Central College in Pella and has been a pro for 21 years in Dubuque and Cedar Rapids.

Since it finally looks like spring has sprung, one often neglected tuner before you get into the meat of the golf season is having the lofts and lie angles on your irons and wedges double checked.

Over time, through wear and tear, they can get a little out of whack.

For example, my irons are two degrees upright from standard as far as lie angle goes. It turns out over time, my 4-iron had shifted to one degree flat and two of my other irons were two degrees flatter than they were originally.

What does that mean to their performance?

If an iron is three degrees flatter than it should be for me, then at impact the toe of the club will dig a little deeper than the heel, causing more resistance against the toe than heel and causing the clubface to open more during impact, aka a fade or slice on a swing that might have been good if not for the incorrect lie angle.

Have your lofts checked as well. Depending on the set, each club from 3-iron to pitching wedge will increase in loft three to four degrees to cover the range of distances you'll be facing. If over time the lofts change, then you could have a 7-iron and an 8-iron sharing a similar loft, which means they'll cover a similar distance and defeat the purpose of having different irons to begin with.

With clubs being more custom fit than ever, it's important to have your lofts and lie angles checked every year so you can maximize their performance and not waste good swings.