Irons, how hard do you swing?

[R7Player]

On the irons I swing with rhythm. My feet tell me if I'm
overswinging or trying too hard. If you come out of your
feet you may be overswinging. Think Hands ahead or Hands
forward on impact, so the 4 can be played mid to just behind
middle (ball position) to give more of a downward strike. I strike the ball on
the bottom of my swing arc , ball first then grass , take a divot
and face the target on follow through. To improve your ball striking,
hit a lot of balls with your wedge, more than the driver.

[Bart]

actually its not uncommon at all. i carry my 4 iron 225 with about 5-10 feet or roll when i dont try to spin it. then it gets 2-3 feet of roll.

Just out of curiosity, if you hit the ball that far why don't you use x-stiff irons? I only ask because I'm about to get fitted for a set of irons, and the guy I'm taking lessons from says I need x-stiff, and I don't hit it much further than you.

[bunkerputt]

Just out of curiosity, if you hit the ball that far why don't you use x-stiff irons? I only ask because I'm about to get fitted for a set of irons, and the guy I'm taking lessons from says I need x-stiff, and I don't hit it much further than you.

Hitting it that far is rare, but definitely not unheard of. I'm a longer hitter for amateurs and I try to keep my stock 4-iron yardage around 205. I can hit it 220+ if I swing harder. I think when most people try to swing harder, it causes them to rush the downswing and they end up coming from the top too quickly. This causes a loss of lag and a big cast leading to no power and poor contact, not to mention added loft which turns your 4-iron into a 7-iron or higher. If your sequencing is good, swinging harder sends the ball out further. If not, slow down for power.

I was at the range yesterday playing into a tremendous headwind...the kind where you can't wear a hat and you get blown backwards as soon as you are upright. I was carrying the 4-iron 150. I was by far the longest hitter at the range. Most people were struggling to get past 100 yards. I hit a lob wedge and I swear it came backwards. Playing into the wind is a good way to find out what kind of shots hold up. If you hit it hard, it goes pretty much straight up in the air, hit it easier and it stays relatively flat with a manageable amount of balooning. Wind is also a great way to learn to control your swing because you tend to want to rush everything for some reason. If you can overcome in the wind, normal conditions are green lights. When you get fitted for iron shafts, don't give all the credit to swing speed. Coming from the inside with a late hit puts a lot of torque on the shaft, and you will need something stiffer. You can have a really high club head speed and still cast it a bit losing the loading early, in which case the super-stiff flex isn't as important. So either work on your swing, or use something more flexible. As an example, compare the swings of Jamie Sadlowski and Jason Zuback. They both have impressive swing speeds, but Zuback loses the load much earlier in an effort to gain some control. I don't know for sure, but I'd bet Sadlowski needs a bit different shaft for that reason. If you go to one of the golf superstore monkeys, make sure they understand this before you take their word at it. I like to err on the side of being too stiff for beginners trying to get better, more flexible for beginners who just want to play. If you are trying to get better and keep up with it, you will likely need a stiffer shaft in the future anyway. Better to learn with what you will be using, IMO.

[wedstuntpuller]

90% of the time on the course i club up and swing easy... because you need to hit your irons pure, and if i try and go after a club that i *think* i can get there, the result is usually disastrous.