Most Common Cause of Too-Low Iron Shots?

[boogielicious]

1 hour ago, DaveP043 said:

A club that doesn't get a lot of attention these days is the 5-wood (or even higher lofted woods).  Honestly, I wouldn't have thought of it, but I heard Rory mention it in a post-round interview.  If you want to hit a higher shot in that general distance range (not Rory's, but near the top end of your bag), a lofted wood might be a good solution.

I played a 5 wood all last year and hit it well so moved to a 4 wood this year and hit it about the same. It is my 200 yard club.

[ZenShot]

19 hours ago, billchao said:

This isn't exactly true. A negative AoA generally decreases dynamic loft. A significantly delofted face with a negative AoA is how you hit low bullets.

Is negative AoA meaning the clubhead is moving downward or upward?  

Hitting “down” on the back of the ball causing high backspin was what I was thinking. 

[saevel25]

1 minute ago, ZenShot said:

Is negative AoA meaning the clubhead is moving downward or upward?  

Hitting “down” on the back of the ball causing high backspin was what I was thinking. 

Not necessarily...

If you have the same spin loft, you can produce the same spin rate, but hitting down will just launch the ball lower. 

[WUTiger]

Some summary comments...

• Low clubhead speed will keep a golfer from getting a good launch with a long iron.
• Consider getting a gap analysis for your irons. You and your fitter would be looking for the point at which your iron distance bunches up. If you 4i goes as far - or even not as far - as your 5i, a change is due. Some would swap the 4i for hybrid, others might go for a lighter shaft. Fitting helps you decide.

On hybrids, golfdom has thrown you a curve ball. In fact, there are two types of hybrids:

• Traditional. These have shaft lengths and often lofts that fall between fairway woods and numbered irons. You probably have one of these if your 4H flies 20 yards past your 4i.
• Iron-Replacement. These hybrids are paired with a given model (or models) of irons. So, the 3H would have the same loft and shaft length as the 3i, 4H matches 4i, etc. 

[DrMJG]

While my hybrids are numbered, I have come to think more of the corresponding loft.  Every club in my bag, I think of in both usual distance and loft.  I have them determined by gap they fill more than anything else.  

As a result my irons are 6i, 7i, 9i and use my hybrids for any lower than 6i.  I will fill in with an 8i some time soon. Do I miss my lower than 6i? Not really.  

I suggest not trying compare clubs; treat them as a unique type.

[Shindig]

12 hours ago, DrMJG said:

While my hybrids are numbered, I have come to think more of the corresponding loft.  Every club in my bag, I think of in both usual distance and loft.  I have them determined by gap they fill more than anything else.  

As a result my irons are 6i, 7i, 9i and use my hybrids for any lower than 6i.  I will fill in with an 8i some time soon. Do I miss my lower than 6i? Not really.  

I suggest not trying compare clubs; treat them as a unique type.

It isn't just our friend @DrMJG here:  I believe there are tour pros whose irons start at 6.  

[WUTiger]

3 hours ago, Shindig said:

It isn't just our friend @DrMJG here:  I believe there are tour pros whose irons start at 6.  

During the 2011 season,KJ Choi sometimes carried four and YE Yang carried three or four.

https://www.golf.com/equipment/2011/04/masters-augusta-kj-choi-ye-yang-hybrid.html

Choi said the hybrids were quite useful in holding the greens on longer par 3 holes at Augusta National. More recently, Choi carries a 4H and a 4i.

In 2017, I volunteered as a caddie at a Symetra Tour event (LPGA developmental). About half the women carried a single fairway wood and two hybrids (usually 3H and 4H).

Many Champions Tour players carry multiple hybrids.

Edited June 11, 2019 by WUTiger
Spelling correction

[ncates00]

On 6/8/2019 at 8:42 AM, MallardDrake said:

As it pertains to equipment, what is typically the most common cause of someone struggling to get height on long irons?

 

What I'm looking for is (for example): shaft weight, swingweight, total weight, shaft flex, kick-point, etc.

 

Due to swingweight and other design realities (I have a mizuno iron that has exactly one stock offering), is getting a set of irons re-shafted a losing battle for the average consumer going to a big-box store?

It usually doesn’t pertain to equipment, but the golfer. Lack of clubhead speed, lack of ball speed, too downward of angle of attack, poor strik/low strike, etc  

 

Equipment-wise, get hybrids or fairway woods and be done with it. My longest iron is 6i. (Blade). If you really can’t get a log iron up in the air, due to physical deficiencies, equipment will only have a nominal effect if you try to stay with irons instead of hybrids. Graphite shafts, bigger heads, etc will only go so far. Those things won’t take someone with a descent angle of 40* or so (driver hotness) and make them hit towering irons that land softly (around 50* descent angle). You need hybrids or fairway woods for that.

michelle Wie uses 3,5,7,9,11 woods and she gets near 150 mph ball speed with driver so don’t be afraid to go for those. 

Get on a good launch monitor and fill in the gaps of carry where you need them. 

 

 

Edited June 11, 2019 by ncates00

[Shindig]

37 minutes ago, ncates00 said:

michelle Wie uses 3,5,7,9,11 woods and she gets near 150 mph ball speed with driver so don’t be afraid to go for those. 

In case anyone doubts it, here's a story confirming it: 

The clubs Michelle Wie used to win the HSBC Women's World Championship - Golf Digest

---

 

Technically, it says she isn't using a 9-wood, but has 3-, 5-, 7-, and 11-, and irons start at 6.   But looking at the loft gaps, it makes sense, and I'm sure she knows what she's doing.  And @ncates00's point stands correctly just the same.

 

[ncates00]

1 minute ago, Shindig said:

In case anyone doubts it, here's a story confirming it: 

The clubs Michelle Wie used to win the HSBC Women's World Championship - Golf Digest

---

 

Technically, it says she isn't using a 9-wood, but has 3-, 5-, 7-, and 11-, and irons start at 6.   But looking at the loft gaps, it makes sense, and I'm sure she knows what she's doing.  And @ncates00's point stands correctly just the same.

 

thank you for the clarification!

[Buckeyebowman]

On 6/8/2019 at 8:54 AM, David in FL said:

Welcome to the site!   

More often than not, the problem lies more with the “Indian” than with the “arrow”.  

Long irons are difficult for many amateurs to hit well.  They require higher swing speeds and better contact to generate the spin necessary to get, and keep the ball in the air.

An easier solution might be to consider replacing your longest irons with hybrids.  Even many very good players do so and find that they improve their play significantly.  

That's what I did as I got older. Don't know how old you are, but I'm now 66 and started the change about 20 years ago when I couldn't get my 2 iron off the ground anymore! I bought a Cleveland 2 hybrid, when hybrids were new. I loved it instantly! I got the ball up in the air, and I got my distance back! 

On 6/10/2019 at 8:45 AM, MallardDrake said:

Here's something I've always wondered:  is a hybrid corresponding to a number (2, 3, 4, etc) supposed to REPLACE that number iron.

I only ask because my current 4 hybrid I hit about 20 yards further than my current 4 iron.  If I removed the 4 iron, I'd have a jumbo gap between clubs.

Ideally, is it best to forget about the "number" on the hybrid and just fill distance gaps?

That's the ideal. A 4 hybrid should replace a 4 iron, but it doesn't always work out that way. You might hit the hybrid a bit further than the old iron. It can take some experimentation, but if you work it out it can do wonders for your game.