Is There One Golf Swing to Learn?

[ChetlovesMer]

I have been having this discussion with my swing coach. 

Do you use the same golf swing (albeit a different set up) for irons as well as the driver? (Let's just table fairway wood and hybrids for right now.)

The reason I wonder this is my current swing coach as well as my last one has encouraged me to use 1 swing for both. I, however, feel very different when hitting irons than when hitting driver. Some days I hit the irons brilliantly and the driver not so much. Similarly I have had days where the driver is a machine and the irons are a mess. It seems to me that if my swing is off one day, my swing should be off for both. (Which sometimes happens, but not always.) Unless they are 2 different swings???

What do you all think. Are the driver and iron swings the same swing with different set ups? Or are they different? 

[klineka]

12 minutes ago, ChetlovesMer said:

I have been having this discussion with my swing coach. 

Do you use the same golf swing (albeit a different set up) for irons as well as the driver? (Let's just table fairway wood and hybrids for right now.)

The reason I wonder this is my current swing coach as well as my last one has encouraged me to use 1 swing for both. I, however, feel very different when hitting irons than when hitting driver. Some days I hit the irons brilliantly and the driver not so much. Similarly I have had days where the driver is a machine and the irons are a mess. It seems to me that if my swing is off one day, my swing should be off for both. (Which sometimes happens, but not always.) Unless they are 2 different swings???

What do you all think. Are the driver and iron swings the same swing with different set ups? Or are they different? 

There are some delivery differences, such as you should have a more downward AoA with the irons and a positive AoA with the driver, but in general, the same main concepts of a good swing (Think 5 Simple Keys) apply to both iron and driver swings.

Remember, feel isn't real. Most people probably have different swing thoughts for irons compared to driver, but in my opinion, the mechanics and fundamentals of the swings should be pretty similar (Aside from setup differences, shaft length differences, AoA, etc), even if they don't feel similar. 

[iacas]

They have a lot more in common than apart.

Whether you call it one swing with a few changes or a different swing, I don't know.

[Patch]

I never thought about having two swings.

What ever club I am using, that gives me my set up. 

After setting up to the ball,  I just want to get my take away correct to the top of my back swing. That being a one piece take away. Once I start my down swing into the ball, that's pretty much automatic for for what ever club I am using.. 

Perhaps this sounds to simple, but after decades of playing, simple is good enough I think. 

[billchao]

1 hour ago, ChetlovesMer said:

What do you all think. Are the driver and iron swings the same swing with different set ups? Or are they different?

There are differences, but the swing is essentially the same. Some things you would want to do in your swing with a driver you wouldn't want in an iron swing and vice versa.

[3jacker]

Same here.  Feels like same swing, different setup handles the AoA and shaft length for me.  I'll rip at a driver a lot harder than I would any other club more frequently, but even then there's sometimes a reason to stand all over a 9 iron or PW.