Different Clubs and Different Distances

[ctm]

Hi everyone,

when I swing different  irons my performance can really vary. Like my 8 iron, my coach at school says that I basically hit that tour distance, roughly 175-180. I can on a good strike hit my 7 iron 185, yet my six iron doesn't seem to go any further, the distance doesn't increase. also my 9 iron only goes 145, that leaves a huge gap between the 8 and 9 irons. I can't really figure out what is happening. I don't think it necessarily has to do with the length of my clubs because I have hit a 200 yard five iron shot. that falls in line with 5-10 yard increase per club, yet the 6/9 iron don't seem to fit that pattern.

I also cannot hit my 3 or 4 iron as far as my 6 or seven, yet I can hit my 3 hybrid 215 yards. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[saevel25]

Quality of strike and probably an extreme swing path. 

 

[ctm]

The thing is, I am making good contact, I am playing really thin blades, it hurts on  miss hits, I  also consistently get the same yardages especially with the 7 and 8 iron. 

[Shindig]

58 minutes ago, ctm said:

The thing is, I am making good contact, I am playing really thin blades, it hurts on  miss hits, I  also consistently get the same yardages especially with the 7 and 8 iron. 

What's your budget?  When I was a 25 handicap or so, I deluded myself into thinking I could manage blades, and bought Mizuno MP-57s.  They're nice clubs, I still hit them periodically... but made for a high handicap they are not.  Even with my significantly improved swing since I was using them, I don't think I'd play a round with them any time soon.  Maybe put one in the bag for a shot at a par-3 course or something.

Are you able to get a set of cavity backs?  

[David in FL]

1 hour ago, ctm said:

The thing is, I am making good contact, I am playing really thin blades, it hurts on  miss hits, I  also consistently get the same yardages especially with the 7 and 8 iron. 

Sorry, but you’re a 25 hcp, so no, you’re not making good contact.

Blades exacerbate your imperfect contact.

[ctm]

I have a few sets of cavity backs. However, I really like these clubs, for sentimental and feel reasons, and besides I don’t shank the ball. I make good contact, good enough for a 175 yard 8 iron shot, it’s just not all the clubs for a distance I would expect.

I have a few sets of cavity backs. However, I really like these clubs, for sentimental and feel reasons, and besides I don’t shank the ball. I make good contact, good enough for a 175 yard 8 iron shot, it’s just not all the clubs for a distance I would expect.

I never felt comfortable nor confident with cavity backs. When i step up to hit a 6, 7 or 8 iron shot I know I can hit it far and straight. I just don’t hit all of them different distances.

[ctm]

Here are two pictures of one of my irons.

Anyway, when I first joined my schools golf team, the assistant coach told me I should get some cavity backs. I said I like these clubs and could probably hit these blades (specifically 7 and 8 iron)further than he could his cavity backs. He said if that if he wins I will have to get cavity backs. I said that if I win  he has to use his daughter’s ‘hello kit driver’ on our next trip to the course. I won by a good twenty or so yards. These clubs have been with me ever since, and the memory of him on the first tee with a tiny pink driver.

[David in FL]

Sorry, but hitting the occasional shot a long way, doesn’t define making good contact...

[Double Mocha Man]

Good story.  But you do know it's not about outdriving your assistant coach (sheesh, I didn't even have an assistant coach when I played high school golf) but about how you can finesse those clubs into "scoring clubs".  So your bet with him should have been "I can hit more greens in regulation with these clubs than you can with yours, from the same distance".

[leftybutnotPM]

So.....

You're hitting it inconsistently - but you claim to be making consistent contact.

Your impact position is clearly wrong - you are probably delofting your short irons.

You have an obsession with distance rather than quality of strike.

Your gaps are all over the place. It is possible that the lofts are out. You might actually have two six irons - or your 6 iron might be a seven iron.

You are hitting clubs that no-one should be playing. They hurt your hands and they are not working for you.

You don't want to change clubs.

I am struggling to see the logic. What are you seeking, exactly?

Seems to me that your desire is to play "blades" rather than to improve your game.

The first thing you should try is a modern set of clubs that are designed for players like yourself. There are dozens of PGATour players who are hitting cavity backs.

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by leftybutnotPM

[ctm]

 

31 minutes ago, David in FL said:

Sorry, but hitting the occasional shot a long way, doesn’t define making good contact...

My 8 and 7 iron are not occasionally long, they are consistently my best clubs in both distance and straightness. 170 reliably for the 8 and 180 reliably for the 7. It is the other clubs that can be an issue. I played nine holes the other day and teed off with my seven iron regardless of the hole’s length and scored a respectable 40.

5 minutes ago, leftybutnotPM said:

So.....

You're hitting it inconsistently - but you claim to be making consistent contact

Your impact position is clearly wrong - you are probably delofting your short irons.

You have an obsession with distance rather than quality of strike.

Your gaps are all over the place. 

You are hitting clubs that no-one should be playing.

You don't want to change clubs.

I am struggling to see the logic. What are you seeking, exactly?

 

It’s not that I hit inconsistently, it’s that I can’t figure out why I hit some clubs different distances due to certain strike qualities. For example, on a great six iron strike it doesn’t go as far as my seven. Yet I can hit the five iron further and with a better strike.

[Double Mocha Man]

Your 40 was respectable but you are too young to "give in" to hitting a 7 iron off the tee on longer holes.  You need to learn to hit that driver, son.  Don't you want to be 1st man on your team next season?

[ctm]

Most definitely I want to be the best, but right now I just want to be better. I haven’t been able to hit driver because I was getting it shortened an inch, which I did myself.

[Piz]

I'd guess you hammer everything.  Doing that creates a greater disparity in the distances achieved.  Try determining what the minimum effective distance, for each club, is.  Can you float a 9 iron to a back right pin from 75 out?  If not...why not?

[ctm]

I could, but for that shot I would prefer pitching wedge or my 60

[DrvFrShow]

I think part of the problem is tension. You carry a 25.6 HC. But I'm one to talk with a 19. Here's some food for thought without having seen you. Tension can mess up everything. Can't hit a 6 iron as well as your 7 or as well as your 5? It's in your head, son. There's no logical reason for it. You're trying to kill the ball. Swing the club and stop trying to hit the ball. A large drop off between your 8 iron and your 9 iron? You're not swinging your 9 iron the same as you are your 8 iron. You might be taking a shorter backswing. Why don't you try swinging it the same as your 8 iron? 

[ctm]

I’ve been told it is all in my head. I guess I think too much, it’s just that it is harder to just swing and not think than it sounds.

[jlbos83]

I am not a good player, and not an expert.  But having never seen those clubs, nor having Google find them, I am wondering if there are perhaps differences between clubs, beyond the expected.  I am thinking QC issues, lofts not right, weights not consistent, etc.  For fun, and enlightenment, I would take one of your other sets (hopefully some we've heard of) to the range, and see what happens.

If I have misrepresented the clubs based on my (and Google's) lack of knowledge, I apologize!