Pure iron shots

**ks8829** · September 3, 2010

I hit 3 pure 6 iron shots a few days ago. This leads me to believe that I have not struck the ball for 24 years correctly.

The last two weeks, I have experiences a few times when the ball was hit pure with my irons and the ball was effortless struck with a beautiful trajectory, the way the ball took off the club was noticeable different for all the irons shots ever before. It felt different and the result says it all with distance and the effortless feeling at impact.

Has anyone experience this in your golf swing?

**saevel25** · September 3, 2010

Yep, it can happen, i hate when it happens on a par three, slightly downhill. lets say 175 yards, i pick my 176 club, i mean just the number. I catch it perfect and the ball flies 10 yards over the green into some nice high thicket. I even chocked down to take into account it being downhill. GRRR, it felt so good but ended up so bad ;p

**Zeph** · September 3, 2010

Yes, but it is very rare. I believe is the result of two things:

a) Hitting the sweet spot
b) Forward leaning shaft

Perhaps possible only with a), but would maybe require better timing. The sweet spot is the ultimate reason. Everything from a little chip to a full swing feels wonderful when hit on the sweetspot. I've planned on using impact stickers more to see where I hit the ball on the clubhead.

Anyone got the picture of Tiger's iron that was put up on eBay? It showed wear marks on a small area. Don't know if it was real, but it showed how you have to hit it in the middle to be consistent.

**kafka01** · September 3, 2010

I hit 3 pure 6 iron shots a few days ago. This leads me to believe that I have not struck the ball for 24 years correctly.

I think there is not much of a point of discussing this, since you cant define what a pure iron shot is - for a 20 hcp he might call a pure iron shot when he hits the sweetspot for you - and for me, there have to come a lot more things into place to call it a pure shot.

And one cant know what a pure shot is, unless you have expierenced it. And even then there might be nuances, to hit even purer once in the future. But what astonishes me is, that somebody who plays for 24years and carries a 4 hcp - admits he never hit it pure before. I admit, i very very rarley hit a pure shot during the round, but when i practice on the range and i´m at my best, i hit my irons pure quite a bit. When this happens, it shows it distance, trajectory, divot and balance - and yes it feels effortless.

a) Hitting the sweet spot b) Forward leaning shaft

I think thats missing a few points - e.g having the correct attack angle, attacking from inside, having the shaft prestressed right before impact

**double_j** · September 3, 2010

It is a bit surprising to carry a 4 index, play for 24 years and to never have experienced a really pure iron shot. I'm the first to admit that my usual hits are 'good enough' instead of 'pure' but any kind of decent swing should produce a pure hit (even if by accident) once in a while.

But yes, I know the shots of which you speak. You feel that perfect snick/slight resistance at contact and the ball takes off like its on a string. I get this amazing boring ball flight (but still with a lot of spin) and usually an extra 10 yards. Everything just feels perfect and effortless, from the way I hinge/unhinge my arms, to the contact, to the follow through.

The other indicator for me (besides feel) is my divot. On really pure hits with my 8-SW my divot will come out super clean in a thick patch and will fly a good 10 yards. It's exactly like the pro's divots. Which leads to the next statement that its unfathomable that those guys can hit it that well every single time.

I wish I could do it on command but alas, I guess good enough will have to do. The only thing that I might prefer more is a perfect greenside bunker shot. The first time I felt that solid "thud", I was amazed.

**JWL1957** · September 3, 2010

I flush it 2-3 times a round, but mostly..... my game is made up of calibrated misses. :)

**Zeph** · September 3, 2010

I think thats missing a few points - e.g having the correct attack angle, attacking from inside, having the shaft prestressed right before impact

I don't think those are requirements to hit the ball in the sweet spot.

Angle of attack is a matter of forward leaning shaft, but I think you can pick the ball off the grass and still hit a great shot. I don't know what you mean by prestressed shaft, but I suppose you are talking about swing speed, which I don't find as necessary either. Inside, outside, doesn't matter really, that is just a swing preference for us humans. I think it is about hitting the sweet spot. Of course more swing speed will give more distance, but you can have a 120 swing speed and feel the club shaking from a mishit. A pure hit without high swing speed will still feel great.

**anthonykim3** · September 3, 2010

i have like at least 5 a round , but it normally only goes and extra 5 yards , but i strike the ball pretty solid , the wear mark on the face of my mizuno 7 iron is not bigger than a nickel , all be it is just starting

**double_j** · September 3, 2010

I don't think those are requirements to hit the ball in the sweet spot.

I agree with Kafka - 'puring' irons means much more than hitting the sweet spot (to me, anyway). It involves everything happening like it says it should in the textbooks, from your angle of attack, to the clubs interaction with the turf, to the perfect amount of delofting at contact to ensure the optimal combination of distance and height, etc.

I've hit great shots off the sweet spot that I wouldn't call 'perfect'.

**anthonykim3** · September 3, 2010

perfect and pure are difrent , the pure shots there talking about are going over the green .. a perfect shots in the hole , my pure shots tend to be very close to perfect (with in 5 feet) and well if it goes over the green is it really pure ? , maybe there was wind ? idk all im saying is pure shots should go tight

**saevel25** · September 3, 2010

oh this thing was crisp man, it felt like the ball was on the clubface for a bit long than normal, it just flew on my target line, about a 1 yard draw, slams into the side face of the hill. With august being the driest in a long time, the course is a rock, it bounced high and about 15 yards further just into some high nasty stuff. Double bogeyville

**saevel25** · September 3, 2010

Well your a +0.4, so you are use to hitting it pure, and your mishits will likely end up close to your intended target.

I am a 12-15 handicap, i don't deloft my clubs at all, so when i hit one pure and its delofted it will go further for me. Usually happens more with the shorter irons, i have a harder time getting a good descending blow with my shorter irons. I am pretty good at hitting my long irons.

**double_j** · September 3, 2010

perfect and pure are difrent , the pure shots there talking about are going over the green .. a perfect shots in the hole , my pure shots tend to be very close to perfect (with in 5 feet) and well if it goes over the green is it really pure ? , maybe there was wind ? idk all im saying is pure shots should go tight

I guess everyone thinks about it differently. My definition of "pure" is only based on contact. My definition of perfect is based on contact and outcome. Most of the time, I fall into the grey area of "acceptable".

**sean_miller** · September 3, 2010

Well it all depends on your own personal experience doesn't it? The OP claims to be a 4.1 index but hadn't pured a ball in 24 years. Based on his other posts though, it sounds like he hits a consistent ball and his short game is excellent. I suspect he's been playing MP-33s for a while now and is through the cautious-with-new-blades phase and is now comfortable enough that he's making a more confident swing. Yes, even low cappers can "improve" and "have epiphanys".

Personally, in 2010 I haven't had the "where the H did that go - did I even hit the ball?" experience with a pured iron nearly as often as last season. Since I took lessons in the spring, I tend to practice with more focus and coincidentally, less often. The difference between my decent iron shots and my pured ones now is a lot less than it used to be.

I agree with the posters who said there's more to hitting a ball pure than shaft lean and contact with the sweet spot, because what you're really "hitting pure" is the ball. It's a lot easier to "pure" a Nike PD Soft than a Nike One Tour because of the ball characteristics. That's one reason I struggled with a Tour ball when I first started playing them. They're longer than "soft" balls which mimic a tour ball for people with slow swing speeds. It's easy to get the most out of an 80 compression ball and anything beyond its maximum just balloons so you tend to swing within tight parameters. Not too hard because there's no advantage. With a Tour ball on the other hand, you can think you've hit it the maximum distance all the way up the point where you finally tap into the ball's innermost layer. If you're already a long hitter with a cheaper ball, and you switch to a multi-layer Tour ball, you'd better do it on a wide open course because it will blow your mind!

Back to the topic - with proper fitting clubs and grips, and a ball that matches your swing speed, anyone can hit a golf ball "pure". But not every golfer can pure every ball - imvho.

**melchior** · September 3, 2010

I guess everyone thinks about it differently. My definition of "pure" is only based on contact. My definition of perfect is based on contact and outcome. Most of the time, I fall into the grey area of "acceptable".

Exactly. A pure shot (especially for a higher handicapper) will almost never go where you expect it to go (too far, typically; as I get more pure shots with my 8-PW). The other day I had a pure drive, but it was still 20 yards off line. That doesn't mean it's not pure; it's just not what you wanted (perfect).

I've had plenty of "oh crap... wait a second.... YES!" shots that ended up being perfect but were far from pure. If I can combine them both a bit more often then I'll be a happy golfer.

**kafka01** · September 3, 2010

perfect and pure are difrent , the pure shots there talking about are going over the green .. a perfect shots in the hole , my pure shots tend to be very close to perfect (with in 5 feet) and well if it goes over the green is it really pure ? , maybe there was wind ? idk all im saying is pure shots should go tight

Well the reason that, if you pure one and and it goes over the green, is that we are not tour players and 95% of our shots are "non-pure", so naturally we hit more club than a guy with the same swing speed but who pures it with a much higher consistency. This might be not that drastic for guys who play clubs that are quite forgiving, but e.g. if you play blades (for whatever reason) - hitting pure and non-pure shots makes a huge difference in distance.

ponk · September 3, 2010

I cant say that i have not hit many pure shots. I have been playing for 7-8 years and until two months ago i probably never hit the sweet spot on an iron. I took a lesson and the pro used impact tape i was only a few dimples away from the hosel consitantly. My handicap has dropped 3 points since. IT feels pretty good to hit the center of the club face, but not pure yet.

**Fat Slice** · September 4, 2010

My definition of pure is hitting the sweet spot with the optimal shaft unloading at the time of impact. That ball will have a beautiful flight, go 10-15 yards more than a 'great shot', and will give very little feedback and almost a 'click' sound. I've probably hit < 5 of them.

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