IRON LENGTH NOTIFICATION - Progressive Length & Traditional Length - Ground Plane Measurement Update

Oct 12, 2026

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TaylorMade golf provides an iron length notification explaining Progressive Length versus Traditional Length iron options, including a specification table of overall lengths by iron number (4 through 9, PW/AW/SW/LW) and guidance on model/shaft combinations available for each length type. The notice also introduces an updated club measurement approach effective 11/1/18, moving from the “pin length” method to the USGA-preferred “ground plane” method, detailing expected length changes, conversion reference tables, and ordering guidance for custom builds and accurate matching.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time1 min

AccessFree to download

Progressive vs Traditional Iron Lengths

Differences and available configurations

Ground Plane Measurement Method Change

Effective date and purpose

What you need to know

Ordering new irons and conversion table

IRON LENGTH NOTIFICATION Starting in 2009, TaylorMade has offered 2 different lengths of irons referred to as Progressive Length & Traditional Length. Each length is designed to offer the best performance for a given iron design. The Progressive length is most commonly offered with our performance orientated iron designs. Traditional lengths are used in all player iron offerings, such as our P-700 Series irons. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE LENGTHS OF IRONS? See below the actual lengths of an iron built at Progressive and Traditional specifications. | | 4 IRON | 5 IRON | 6 IRON | 7 IRON | 8 IRON | 9 IRON | PW | AW | SW | LW | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Progressive | 39.25” | 38.62” | 38.00” | 37.50” | 37.00” | 36.50” | 36.00” | 36.00” | 35.75” | 35.50” | | Traditional | 38.50” | 38.00” | 37.50” | 37.00” | 36.50” | 36.00” | 35.75” | 35.50” | 35.25” | 35.00” | WHAT IS THE BENEFIT OF PROGRESSIVE LENGTHS? Progressive lengths offer golfers improved distance and gapping WHAT IS AVAILABLE IN PROGRESSIVE LENGTHS? Progressive length irons are used only in M5 / M6 / MCGB for both the stock steel and graphite shaft options. Progressive lengths are also used in any of the head and shaft combinations listed below. Irons: M5 / M6 / MCGB Shafts: True Temper XP100 / Mitsubishi Tensei Orange / KBS Max 85 Fujikura Atmos Orange / Nippon NS Pro 840 / UST Recoil 460 Tuned Performance 45 (Ladies, 1” shorter than men’s length) WHAT IS AVAILABLE IN TRADITIONAL LENGTHS? All custom shaft offerings in M5 / M6 / MCGB and all P Series irons are built at Traditional regardless of the shaft. CAN I SELECT ANY HEAD & SHAFT TO BE BUILT AT PROGRESSIVE OR TRADITIONAL LENGTHS? No unfortunately you cannot. We purposely selected the head and shaft combinations to be built at Progressive or Traditional length to maximize performance. OUR CLUB MEASURMENT METHOD HAS CHANGED. TAYLORMADE GOLF COMPANY CUSTOM DEPARTMENT NOTICE REGARDING LENGTH MEASUREMENT ATTENTION CUSTOM FITTERSAND ACCOUNTS! As of 11/1/18, TaylorMade has improved the way we measure and list the overall club length for our iron products. In the past, we measured overall club length using a method referred to as the “pin length.” Moving forward, we will be using the measurement method known as “ground plane.” The ground plane method is the closest method to an industry standard and is the preferred measurement method of the USGA. Our goal is to simplify the club-length measurement process and improve build accuracy by switching to the preferred USGA ruler. Now matching a customer’s existing club length will be easier than ever! NEW GROUND PLANE MEASUREMENT METHOD GROUND PLANE OLD ~~ ~~NEW~~ ~~ OLD PIN METHOD ~~ ~~NEW~~ ~~GROUND~~ ~~PLANE~~ ~~METHOD~~ ~~ WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW • Our standard lengths are changing slightly! • When measuring an individual club with each measurement method, the ground plane measurements are longer on paper only (see image above). • For your reference a table has been provided listing previous TaylorMade irons as measured by the new ground plane method (see table below). • In order to keep the physical overall club lengths as close as possible to previous irons of similar designs we rounded to the nearest 1/4”. This required some iron models to get slightly longer and other models to get slightly shorter. All iron lengths are within 1/8” of previous designs. • If a length change of up to 1/8” is important to you, when ordering new product please reference the table below and adjust your custom build as needed. HOW DO I ORDER NEW IRONS? • If you were fit for a new iron, perfect! You don’t need to do anything except order what you were fit for. • If you are trying to match the exact length of previous TaylorMade irons, unfortunately the smallest iteration we can offer on custom build lengths is 1/4”. To get as close as possible to an old length we recommen

FAQs

What is the difference between Progressive and Traditional iron lengths?

Progressive lengths are offered for selected performance-oriented iron designs and provide improved distance and gapping, while Traditional lengths are used across player iron offerings such as the P-700 Series.

Which models and shafts can be built with Progressive lengths?

Progressive length irons are used only in M5/M6/MCGB for both stock steel and graphite options, and also in specific listed head and shaft combinations for those models.

What changed in the club measurement method and how does it affect length?

Starting 11/1/18, TaylorMade switched from measuring “pin length” to the USGA-preferred “ground plane” method. Ground plane measurements appear longer on paper, and lengths were rounded to the nearest 1/4" so all iron lengths remain within 1/8" of previous designs; custom ordering should reference the conversion table.

Oct 12, 2026

Upload by Aditya