Irons, how hard do you swing?

[BenR]

I almost always get in trouble when I try to muscle up and let 'er rip. The last thing I think before I start my swing is to swing normal and make good contact. I hit a 6 iron 200-205, which I think is pretty long compared to other people of my handicap, but I never feel like I'm swinging too fast.

[Scottydoint]

I almost always get in trouble when I try to muscle up and let 'er rip. The last thing I think before I start my swing is to swing normal and make good contact. I hit a 6 iron 200-205, which I think is pretty long compared to other people of my handicap, but I never feel like I'm swinging too fast.

That is a long 6 iron. How much further does it carry in colorado? if you know that is. I hit mine about 195 which is pretty long.

[jaragon126]

I'm having issues with this as well.

Most of the time I find that if I try to rip the ball as hard as I can I mis-hit the ball often.

So I try to dial down my speed into something nice & smooth, but in my last lesson at GolfTec I asked the instructor if we could somehow get yardages for my clubs since I have been hitting them very inconsistently & my yardages are way off.

We hit through all the irons, and he noticed some pretty big gaps (20 yards or so) between a few clubs. I guess normally the gaps between clubs should be 10-15 yards. I did notice that my swing speed was pretty consistent around 80mph.

So he told me that I should try to swing harder so that I could get more distance out of my clubs. I told him that getting more distance wasn't what I was interested in, getting an actual average yardage for each of my clubs was what I wanted. I explained that maybe because I don't know how hard to swing my clubs, that was causing me to sometimes hit my 9 iron 120 yards one time and 140 yards another time (all things being equal).

I think that the pro's swing speed is well over 100mph, so maybe I do need to start practicing swinging harder if I want to get to scratch golf ... but whenever I speed up I don't hit the ball well (I even get the shanks at times).

My instructor checked the loft & lie of one of my irons (Callaway X-18), and it was close to the "standard" for other brands of irons ... so he said the clubs looked ok. He did ask if I had gotten fitted for them, and I explained that I went into Golfsmith to buy my irons & made a big deal about getting fitted for them ... only to have the Golfsmith guy let me hit a few irons with impact tape on the bottom and hand me a standard lie-standard length set from the rack.

Now I don't know if I truly AM standard ... or if the Golfsmith guy was wrong. The instructor seemed to roll his eyes when I told him I got fitted at Golfsmith

Isn't it better to swing slow & smooth and in control, rather than to try to hit your 9iron as far as you can?

[unoiron]

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.

I've been working on this very same thing. For me, it's a bit counter-intuitive but is becoming more natural as I work on and develop faith in it. When I slow things down and make a smoother swing (75%), I impart less spin on the ball and have a much lower trajectory. I think part of this is because I get less "flippy" through impact and I have a shallower angle of attack - yet still hit down and through the ball.

It's a great feeling; keep it up!

[Leftygolfer]

I have noticed when I try to keep it short like I am hitting my 64 I hit my irons so much better. I know from video tape that my "short swing" isn't very short at all. My right arm gets to around 10 oclock with a full wrist cock and turn.

I feel like you have to make a natural swing and feel like you are being agressive and athletic through the ball, but up at the transition you can't be too smooth.

[DavidFehertysBike]

Not very hard. Probably around 60% of what im capable of. Admittadly, i dont hit my irons very far for someone at my handicap (160 for 7i) but i feel i can control the ball better and generally land the ball where i want to with my current tempo. If i ramped it up to around 80% i could probably hit a 7i 175, but i might not have the same control over the ball. I feel at a slower swing tempo i can hold the lag longer and make crisper contact. If i swing too hard i might cast the club.

[bunkerputt]

I almost always get in trouble when I try to muscle up and let 'er rip. The last thing I think before I start my swing is to swing normal and make good contact. I hit a 6 iron 200-205, which I think is pretty long compared to other people of my handicap, but I never feel like I'm swinging too fast.

Regarding what I quoted a few months ago....(having a few months to research and think about it):

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." It's interesting to note how incredibly different these two swings were. I doubt anyone with credibility would argue that the quality of Floyd's swing was on par with Hogan's. Given the swing that Ray Floyd had, I think it's a great testimony to his ability as a scorer that he did so well. Having said that, one thing I've noticed in my experience and research is that the higher the quality of swing, the more on plane, the more square the clubface is, the more in sync the body is, the more resistant a swing is to breakdown when it is attempted with some effort. I think that's why Hogan could swing as hard as he wanted while Floyd had to dial it back quite a bit. To be perfectly frank, the worse your swing is, i.e. the more it is dependent on athleticism and timing rather than good mechanics, the more you can benefit from giving yourself time you wouldn't have to make compensations if you had swung fast. If you have a swing less dependent on timing, on the other hand, the more you can letter rip the better, all things being equal. This is also, incidentally, why a lot of pros, influenced by the instruction of Tommy Armour, recommend that amateurs pause for just a very slight, almost imperceptible beat at the top of the swing. It gives you some much needed time to make compensations for a poor backswing position. So a lot of the instruction you will read will sound contradictory at first. That's because the audiences are different: if you have tour player swing mechanics, swing with a lot of effort (85+%); if you are an amateur, swing easy (<70%). The most important thing isn't exactly how much effort you put into your irons, it's that you've swung as hard as you can without sacrificing contact and without creating a swing you can't repeat. The repeatability and contact are by far the most important things in the irons.

[Joeyvee]

Trying to delete an old post.. grrr.

Anyway. I was just explaining that to a friend of mine whos short game is INSANELY good. He swings his sw-7 iron so smooth and easy beacuse hes not trying to get distance out of them. But then he swings 6i-driver like a lunatic because hes trying to max out his distance. But that is kind of backwards. you need not swing a driver hard and itll go 200. but to get a PW to 200 is impossible. Anyway. Yeah. Im working on easing up on my swing some too. That and my grip adjustments are whats been frustrating me lately.

[kennay92]

Not very hard. Probably around 60% of what im capable of. Admittadly, i dont hit my irons very far for someone at my handicap (160 for 7i) but i feel i can control the ball better and generally land the ball where i want to with my current tempo. If i ramped it up to around 80% i could probably hit a 7i 175, but i might not have the same control over the ball. I feel at a slower swing tempo i can hold the lag longer and make crisper contact. If i swing too hard i might cast the club.

in my eyes, id rather have a nice smooth swing rather than trying to rip the ball. so what if you have to move a club up or 2 to match others distances. id take accuracy over distance anyday. my swing speed is kinda spread out through the 90's but thats just what is smooth and comfortable for me.

[kevin.chan]

I focus on the tempo and swing my club at most 75% of my strength , for better control and accuracy .

[bunkerputt]

Trying to delete an old post.. grrr.

That's a great point to remember. I know I struggle more with 6-iron through driver because my swing tempo changes quite a bit. Combine that with the other changes in the swing through the clubs (hands farther away from the body at address, swing plane more upright, spine angle slightly less, ball position different) and I bet a lot of people have a favorite range of clubs they like to hit.

[Dub]

215 yards of carry with a 4-iron hit at 65%. You are my new hero. That is one jacked 4 iron.

[jfrain2004]

How far does this dude hit his driver? OP seems to know his distances well so I take it there was no "added" yardage. A real long hitter I guess

[Leftygolfer]

I have a hard time believing anyone can swing easy and hit a 4 iron 220. With a 3 iron and go after it does it fly 300?

I believe that with a good synched swing the ball will go farther than the 100% trying to kill it swing. Well, unless you are on tour.

You should be on the remax tour not posting with a bunch of golf junkies who have to work.

[HotSauce]

When my tempo gets off, I either hum or sing "row row row your boat"

I find that this gets me a good 80% but more importantly, it self corrects the transition from backswing to my swing path and normalizes my swing speed.

OP, you got a hold of one - I wouldn't base my game around a single freak shot.

[PEZGolf]

With my irons, I feel as if I swing at 80% of my maximum speed, and try to swing very smoothly and in good balance. In my judgement, the purpose of an iron shot from 190 yards to 150 is not only to be on the green, but be within 15' of the hole. From 149 in, the goal is 12' or closer. I do not always achieve those goals, but I am able to do so a high percentage of the time, and that sets up nice birdie opportunities.

[O.B. Right]

I feel like I'm swinging just a bit more than 3/4 strength. I hit my irons short but pretty straight. An average 7 iron for me is 125-135. My normal backswing stops with the shaft at about 12-1 o'clock.

At the range I practice taking a full backswing but not swinging any harder. When I hit those right my 7i will go more like 150 but I might only connect on 3-4 out of 10 like that. So, to me, it's the size of my swing that generates clubhead speed and distance more than the muscle I can put into it.

Anytime I try to "swing hard" it ends up with me starting my downswing with my arms, coming over the top, and slicing off the planet.

[cody west]

I have a hard time believing anyone can swing easy and hit a 4 iron 220. With a 3 iron and go after it does it fly 300?

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.

i swing at about 50%. i swing until my arm is paralell with the ground. i used to hit my 4 iron about 240. if you swing on plane you will hit the ball much farther. and no its not like that at all with a 3 iron. your distances just start higher like you hit your shortest club 100 yards and your distances just increase more rapidly. like for me i hit my clubs about 15 yards apart with my driver going 40 yards farther than my 3 wood.