Irons, how hard do you swing?

[bunkerputt]

I hit my "normal" 4-iron between 205 and 210. Yesterday I played a 269 yard par-4 with a small pond in the front and junk behind a really tiny green. I used to go for it with a 3-wood, roll over the back of the green and chip a really sneaky downhill shot that if you barely hit too hard will roll into the pond. Nowadays, I just hit a smooth 6-iron 185 or so and leave a sensible pitch, try to two-putt and make par. It was playing into a stiff breeze yesterday, so I figured 4-iron would get me to roughly 190. I tried to take some off of it to keep the spin down (65%), but somehow carried 215. The shot had this really weird look in the air where it sort of floated during the last half of the shot, where it would normally have reached the apex of the "balloon" and dropped like a rock out of the sky. Almost all of my irons balloon to some degree or another, just FYI. I also feel like I'm swinging at between 85% and 90%. But I really liked the extra distance I got by going at it a little easier and keeping the spin down. I started thinking this is what people mean by "70%". It almost felt like 50% to me, but maybe it was more like 70%. Does anyone have a good way, not using a percentage, to explain the feeling of the amount of effort you should be exerting on your iron swings? I'm completely addicted to the feeling that shot gave me and want to get it back.

[wedge player]

I hit my "normal" 4-iron between 205 and 210. Yesterday I played a 269 yard par-4 with a small pond in the front and junk behind a really tiny green. I used to go for it with a 3-wood, roll over the back of the green and chip a really sneaky downhill shot that if you barely hit too hard will roll into the pond. Nowadays, I just hit a smooth 6-iron 185 or so and leave a sensible pitch, try to two-putt and make par. It was playing into a stiff breeze yesterday, so I figured 4-iron would get me to roughly 190. I tried to take some off of it to keep the spin down (65%), but somehow carried 215. The shot had this really weird look in the air where it sort of floated during the last half of the shot, where it would normally have reached the apex of the "balloon" and dropped like a rock out of the sky. Almost all of my irons balloon to some degree or another, just FYI. I also feel like I'm swinging at between 85% and 90%. But I really liked the extra distance I got by going at it a little easier and keeping the spin down. I started thinking this is what people mean by "70%". It almost felt like 50% to me, but maybe it was more like 70%. Does anyone have a good way, not using a percentage, to explain the feeling of the amount of effort you should be exerting on your iron swings? I'm completely addicted to the feeling that shot gave me and want to get it back.

tempo for me its like saying,jim 2 jim,is backswing 2 is downswing like wen you start backswing say jim then as you say 2 it starts downswing and my follow through ends a the end of the word 2.thats just my tempo though

[timwalsh300]

My guess is that if you got your 4-iron swing speed checked on radar, your "70%" would probably be just as fast as your "100%" Reason being: what most of us think is "100%" is really just flexing a whole bunch of extra muscles that do nothing to accelerate the golf club.

If you can, get your own radar (I have a SpeedChek that cost only $150) and play with it.

I'd also guess that your ball carried better yesterday because you just hit it really, really pure... or it got caught up in the wind.

Tim

[Jay-Bird]

I hit my "normal" 4-iron between 205 and 210. Yesterday I played a 269 yard par-4 with a small pond in the front and junk behind a really tiny green. I used to go for it with a 3-wood, roll over the back of the green and chip a really sneaky downhill shot that if you barely hit too hard will roll into the pond. Nowadays, I just hit a smooth 6-iron 185 or so and leave a sensible pitch, try to two-putt and make par. It was playing into a stiff breeze yesterday, so I figured 4-iron would get me to roughly 190. I tried to take some off of it to keep the spin down (65%), but somehow carried 215. The shot had this really weird look in the air where it sort of floated during the last half of the shot, where it would normally have reached the apex of the "balloon" and dropped like a rock out of the sky. Almost all of my irons balloon to some degree or another, just FYI. I also feel like I'm swinging at between 85% and 90%. But I really liked the extra distance I got by going at it a little easier and keeping the spin down. I started thinking this is what people mean by "70%". It almost felt like 50% to me, but maybe it was more like 70%. Does anyone have a good way, not using a percentage, to explain the feeling of the amount of effort you should be exerting on your iron swings? I'm completely addicted to the feeling that shot gave me and want to get it back.

You are on the threshold of the double digit/single digit handicap. With this newfound appreciation for a smooth stroke, you can get into single digits to stay. I would wager that you didn't swing the club much slower than normal, rather you relaxed your grip and made a very smooth swing with a smooth transition. Think about making a good

swing instead of making a good hit .

[imtomtomim]

From my observations, generally, a backswing with sharp tempo, accelerating from higher, you will get a higher ball flight, more spin, more ballooning. Smoother tempo will get you a lower ball flight. The feeling you need is the release of momentum at the top of the backswing. That is the club naturally changing directions from gravity pulling it down and working against the momentum of yoru backswing. When your hands start droping, your body moves towards the target at the same time and you just let your body rotate around that club dropping. If you want more power, you gotta rotate faster, but you still need to wait for that release of backwards momentum. If you're having trouble, those 3 or 4 word phrases do help keep some rhythm to it.

[goblue107501]

For about 90% of my shots I will swing the same speed with irons. I just adjust my grip and backswing to hit the ball shorter distances. That way I know I am always accelerating through the ball. The other 10% is me trying to hit a club harder than I normally would for one reason or another.

[Elsfan]

Contact is what creates that beauty, not amount of power.

[GaijinGolfer]

For me, Id describe it as an, "easy" swing. I dont swing as hard as I can, just make a nice, easy, relaxed, smooth swing.

[bunkerputt]

From my observations, generally, a backswing with sharp tempo, accelerating from higher, you will get a higher ball flight, more spin, more ballooning. Smoother tempo will get you a lower ball flight. The feeling you need is the release of momentum at the top of the backswing. That is the club naturally changing directions from gravity pulling it down and working against the momentum of yoru backswing. When your hands start droping, your body moves towards the target at the same time and you just let your body rotate around that club dropping. If you want more power, you gotta rotate faster, but you still need to wait for that release of backwards momentum. If you're having trouble, those 3 or 4 word phrases do help keep some rhythm to it.

I'd definitely prefer a lower trajectory with a lot less spin than I currently have, especially on my short irons. I've been told by some pros that my transition is a little too quick. So much that I occasionally don't complete my backswing. I think I perhaps accelerate too quickly and my clubhead catches up to my hands before striking, creating a lot of loft on the shot. The best I ever struck the ball I was nursing a left shoulder injury that forced me to smooth out my swing to about 60%.

Regarding clubhead speed, I have measured them all and my 85% swing is definitely faster than my 70% swing. But not 21% faster, as one would naively expect. I think trajectory and contact quality more than makes up the distance. I'm definitely at the point in my game where I really need to improve my ball striking if I want to go really low. I can generally hit the ball, and I can generally hit the ball straight, more or less. But I'm not getting myself into ideal positions all the time. I put too much pressure on my putting with my approach shots because of inaccurate iron play. My average miss distance from around 100 yards is around 25 feet. A lot of this is from playing a high, spinny shot in Texas, which just doesn't work. I can hit the ball low, but it feels manufactured. My "normal" shot is a high, soft one. This is great for a 4-iron, but stinks when I need to hit a wedge. I feel like my scores have plateaued and I need to get a little less spin and more control if I want to improve.

[yeis20]

this is interesting, I too recently stumbled onto shortening the distance / length of my swing (on wedge shots specifically) yet gaining distance and accuracy.

I found that lengthening my backswing on wedge and short irons seems to make me finish my swing higher. This casued a much higher ball flight, reduced distance and reduced accuracy off target line.

I have been focusing on a reduced distance backswing, what I would call this "feeling" is 75%, yet I finish my swing lower and with my weight more forward vs what felt to be an upward motion on a full length swing. I feel more "wristy" with this adjustment but the club head feels noticably faster by performing this motion, gain considerable distance without much height loss on the shot. Distance gain on shots is 15-20% on sand and lob wedge with pin seeker accuracy.

this has made a very noticable improvement in my full approach wedge shots... nothing better then GIR and makeable birdie attempts :)

[DavidFehertysBike]

If you are feeling your backswing is 3/4, then youre probably making a full turn. Thats been my expereince.

[lumpuckeroo]

this is interesting, I too recently stumbled onto shortening the distance / length of my swing (on wedge shots specifically) yet gaining distance and accuracy.

I think when I make a more controlled swing, I make better contact with the ball so I get more distance, also more spin and better ball flight, all good things for improving my GIR.

[1par2win]

I drilled out the center of a hockey puck and stuck it onto an old Tommy Armour 2 iron. After hitting 10 or so balls I take my 6 iron or whatever and then I can really feel the effeciency of my swing. The ball just pops off face without seemingly swinging any harder than before. I think a weighted club helps in finding that "perfect" swing speed to maximize power more easily. I got the idea when I watched Ernie Els on the driving range a few years back. His swing between a weighted club and his actual club was very close.

[ham_man]

What course were you playing, bunkerputt?

[Bauer]

The same thing happened to me yesterday bunkerputt. I was parallel with the blue marker, SUPPOSEDLY 200 out, in the rough with a poor lie on a long par 4. I opted to lay up with a 6 iron for an easy pitch. I hit the shot super easy and pure and saw it was going straight and put my club back in my beg. Meanwhile my partners were saying wow because it rolled up the green parallel with the flag. I really doubt it was a legitimate 200 just because I normally hit my 6 around 165-170 with a good lie but who knows.

[SoccerGolfer]

I have noticed this same thing with my irons, especially on the course today. I took what I thought was a medium swing with my 8 iron for a 140 yard shot, but I ended up about 10 yeards past the green. I was also having trouble finding the fairway with my driver and 3-wood because of a huge slice. I slowed down my swing and instantly decreased my slice and started to hit more fairways.

[Scottydoint]

I swing pretty hard. Not as hard as I can, but still hard.

[bunkerputt]

Ben Hogan: "I swing hard on every shot. Sometimes as hard as I can."

Raymond Floyd: "What amateurs don't realize is that pros leave a lot in reserve on their full swings. They almost never swing as hard as they can."


In case you weren't already confused... I remembered a range drill today that I haven't done in a long time. Make a 40% swing. Then swing a little harder, and a little harder until you start mis-hitting shots. Then back it down to the last one. When I do this, It feels like it's around 65% or so. I actually have to start at 50% because I physically can't swing at 40% without making slo-mo sound effects.