When does my distance start to improve?

I just stumbled on this thread on how far you hit a 6 iron

http://thesandtrap.com/forum/thread/30024/how-far-do-you-fly-a-six-iron-shaft#post_378185

Some long hitters there no doubt.  My 6I is about 140.

When I started golfing 4 yrs ago I was told to get a stable smooth, repeatable swing going and concentrate on ball striking and accuracy.

Well,  I've done that and now expect to and usually do break 80 any time I play.  Problem is I feel I have hit a glass ceiling and I'm hitting 6 irons where higher handicappers than me are taking out 9 Irons.  In a large percentage of the times I'm closer the pin than my higher handicap golfing buddies even though I'm hitting a longer iron but I can't help but feel I'm 3 or 4 shots higher than what I could be playing if I could just get some more distance.

The old saying "accuracy and ball striking first and distance will follow" is wearing a bit thin when I see these other guys hitting the ball so should I go back to the drawing board and see where I'm losing distance or just see if I can a few more yards order some off eBay?

First off, if you are regularly breaking 80, you are doing something right, so stick with it.  It is not that important how far you hit each club, but that you have clubs that you hit accurately from varying distances and that you know how far you hit each club. Generally, you want about 10-15 yds between each club for a smooth full swing, and it is good if they overlap slightly. If you are getting consistent distance, the ball is in the air, and you are hitting generally straight and in the direction you aim, then you are swinging ok.

That said, 140 yards is a little short for a 6 iron, at least nominally speaking, for a late teen or older average size male with modern clubs and balls.  I feel I am a little short with my irons, and a good smooth summertime 7 iron is about 150. I am an average height and build, slightly overweight, average strength middle aged male.  At 140 level on a summer day, I might hit an 8, uphill or into the wind, maybe a 7, cool and windy, I might hit a low 6 as well.

There are several factors affecting distance including the loft of the club, the angle of impact, the solidity of impact, the speed of the clubhead at impact, the type of ball used, and several others.

You did not describe yourself, so I don't know about your age, gender, strength, conditioning etc, so can't really say if 140 yd 6 iron is that good or bad. I am certainly no expert, but if you would care to share a little more information, I might at least point you in the right direction.

How old are you, are you male or female, what is your general build, what kind of clubs are you using, etc.

Dude, you are doing something right! I would love to be able to shoot in the 70's and I can hit the golf ball pretty far myself.  My girlfriend's dad is a shorter hitter (drives about 220) but can knock a damn flagstick down.  He plays a handicap really similar to yours.  I wouldn't change anything.  I mean being a long hitter gives you some advantages on Par 4's and Par 5's.  But honestly I think depending on the tee's you play it won't have THAT much of an effect because I doubt you'll ever be able to drive it 315yards anyways.  So any improvements on your distance probably won't have that much of an effect on your golf game, although it could start to hurt you if you begin to attempt to over swing..

I'll take a 220 drive in the fairway anytime more than one of my 275+ drives that can't be found... lol

Oh yeah, and are you getting a full shoulder turn?  I added some yards when I really started getting a good turn

Hey, I'm what I'd consider a long hitter (140 would be my 9, yes) but I'll trade my scores for yours anyday.

If it works, don't worry about it. Possibly get in a little better shape with a little more muscle and swing a bit faster. Other than that, enjoy your great scores.

I'm 5'7...almost every adult male I have played golf with can hit their irons at least a club less than me for the same yardage, if not 2.  But my scores are lower than most of them.  Straight and accurate is so much more valuable and dependable than long and uncontrollable.

But your question was actually "when does the increased yardage come?"  I asked a local teaching pro the same question.  He told me it would come as I gained confidence in my swing and gradually started adding power through the ball .  NOT changing my swing at all, definitely not taking a bigger back swing.... just coming through the ball with more authority.  Some call this "more snap at the bottom".

So far I'm seeing results and hoping for more as time goes on.

Could be a any number of things.  Do your iron shafts match your swing speed (in other words, are you playing too stiff a shaft?) Are you playing older clubs with weaker loft angles?  Do you utilize the power in your big muscles rather than just arm swing? Have you ever gone on a launch monitor to see what your swing speeds are?

Whatever you do, DO NOT go by the claimed distances that others have posted here.  I got down to a + hdcp  this summer, but I am two clubs shorter than the average 15 handicapper claims here.  However, 140 for a six iron is a little low.  Like Erik said, posting a video could help out, but also check the other things I mentioned.

I know what you mean about being short with the irons.  I'm a tall guy at 6-3 and my irons are 142 for an 8 iron.  Not huge by any means, but accurate.  I don't swing very hard at the ball, I always think 80% when I'm hitting irons, and that leads to better accuracy.  I play with a guy who shoots in the upper 80's and , believe it or not, hits his friggin' 8 iron 180.  Its ungodly.  I pull out a 5 iron and he pulls out an 8 iron that appears to go UP for ever.  He's about 40 years old and way overwieght and hits the hell out of the ball.  I cuss him out every time he hits the ball that far, its disgustingly long!

I've kind of given up on the distance thing.  I score in the 70's most of the time and enjoy my accuracy as much as the distance I have, as a case for being tall : )  My swing arc is BIG!  Seems as though I could probably gain some distance IF I learned to hit the ball a tad lower.  My irons are pretty darn high.  But I like it that way, they are accurate and stay were I hit 'em.  I've learned to hit higher and lower shots that will affect the distance of each iron by about 5 - 10 yards.  I also find it easier to "work" the ball when I swing at 80%.  No reason at all for me to hit a 9 iron from 150.

If I were you....shooting in the 70's......with a 6 iron that goes 140.......I'd take it and not change a whole lot in the journey to add distance. If the change is minor and can be accomplished without hurting the score, then I'd consider the small change.  Have FUN hitting the ball where you want it to go and scoring in the 70's!!

DBuck ..... I'm 5' 11"  Avg build,  Avg weight. I've been accused of having an ungodly slow back swing with a slight pause at the transition but in my mind it's the down swing that I usually hit the ball with so it's not the slow backswing that's the problem. My irons are the Wilson Fat Shaft,  Don't know if they're regular or stiff or anything. I just picked them off the shelf 2 yrs ago.  They're the only clubs I have ever bought, everything else are hand me downs.  My controlled driver swing speed was measured at just over 100 and the sim was telling me I'm getting 260yrd ( Big lie there to get me to buy the club no doubt as I'm rarely past the 230 mark on the course! ). Anything faster feels out of control.

Well,  I'll see if I can get the camera out and take a clip.  Can you post videos on this site or is it through a youtube link?

Thanks for replies ...

I believe those clubs are 10 years old if not more hence probably have lesser loft than today's irons with the same denominations.  That means your 6i most likely has similar loft with others' 7i.  That plus a modern shaft and I imagine you can be hitting 150 with a 7i on average.

In your case, you might have outgrown your equipments.

(I searched for Wilson Fat Shaft and found a bunch of reviews dating back to 2001. Maybe they do have newer versions)

No,  my clubs were the latest flavour of the Wilsons when I got them.  Bought them new in AmericanGolf at the start of 2009

Not that its going to help you but I found this thread quite inspiring!

I hit my irons a similar distance to you (5i=165, 6i=152 7i=140) and have wondered how low I can go until distance becomes a limiting factor... Looks like I have some ways to go!

Cheers,
Dek

I hit my 6 iron around 190 yards, and I hit around the mid 80's.

I started hitting like this after having a few lessons off a Club pro who was recommended to me, and I upgraded my clubs. With all this I would love to hit in the 70's like yourself and I am hoping to work on it this year. I am 5'11 and I would say a little over weight. i had 2 things changed during my lesson's, My shoulder turn as I was very armsie as it was put to me turning more with my arms than with my shoulders and not "coiling" and also my weight distribution as I swung from right leg through to left.

But again if you are scoring like you are and as said above how far you hit it isnt everything, you are doing great in my eyes :)

I sometimes play with a lad who cracks a 6 iron around 200 yards, but when you watch him it is like he is playing baseball the way he trys to hit it and then it shoots along the floor for half of the distance. He thinks this is great and he doesnt realise his handcap will never fall below 18 as he thinks its all about how far you hit it.

Good luck with whatever you try and I hope that score gets even better!

:)

I hit a 6 iron (the longest iron I carry) about 170-175 yards.  I'm 6' ,200 Lbs. but old.  I'd trade a few yards to be more consistent and have your handicap.  But for some reason I have alway been longer than a lot of my peers.  Somewhere above someone said some folks just roll off the couch and can hit the ball longer, I guess I'm one because until recently I didn't play much golf. I have some golfing buddies that are significantly shorter than me but regularly get into my wallet.  Since you're an 8 handicap I wouldn't worry about length because you must be doing something right.  The game is about how many not how far.

BTW, i watched Davis Love III and Stewart Cink hit 6 irons 230 yards yesterday...

Some people hit the ball farther than other people. It's not necessarily as much about strength and new equipment as it is about technique and physiology. Some people are put together in such a way that they can do certain physical tasks better than others. And conversely some tasks not as well. Take the OP for example, who seems to have accuracy and distance "control" down to an artform. There are plenty of guys with a stock 185 yard 6-iron who would love to be able to hit more greens with their 8-iron, let alone their 6. There's a guy reading this who can do both, yet can't keep a driver between the ditches or has a balky putter. That's why we're all here. We talk a good game, but in the end all have our nemesis.

I am not one to give swing advice; hopefully Erik or some of other more knowledgeable swing doctors will chime in if I say something totally wrong.

As I and others have said, if you are scoring like you do and you are hitting the ball in the air, you are doing something right.  You might want to consider the overall tempo of your swing.  It is true that you don't hit the ball with your backswing and their is nothing wrong with a slow backswing as long as it is smooth. However, I think that unless you are an outstanding athlete, it is difficult to transition from a really slow backswing to a really fast downswing.  You might try to GRADUALLY increase the overall tempo of your swing, including your backswing.  Don't do anything different or out of sequence, just slightly faster, but maintain smoothness. Think of music dragging and then being played at the correct tempo. The notes, the sequence the relative rhythm all stays the same, but just slightly faster pace. Increase gradually; if the quality of direction or strike deteriorates, slow down slightly and stay at that pace until you are comfortable, then perhaps try to increase slightly.  I am not talking about going from a walk to a flat out run but more like 1--2--3--4--5--6   to 1-2-3-4-5-6  a 2 second swing to a 1.7 second swing but maintain smoothness.

Well said