I hit my irons farther then my friend...but he out-drives me?

[Msokol13]

So, noticed that my friend is usually hitting 1-2 clubs more then me. What has my confused is that while I am hitting 8 irons into greens that he hits 6 irons he usually cranks his drive 15-30 yards further when we both make solid contact off the tee...why is this? The only thing I can think of is that he is 6'1 and I am 5'9. So, maybe he gets a larger arc but that doesnt really explain the irons. He is using the same lofted irons as me, but yet his woods are huge off the tee and in the fairway, its not uncommon for me to witness him land it on the green from 260 out with his 3 wood and hit 300 yard drives.

I hit my clubs the following distances:
LW-80
SW-100
PW-120
9i-135
8i-150
7i-160
6i-175
5i-185
4i-195
3i-205
2 hybrid-215
3-wood 230
driver-250

[senorchipotle]

So, noticed that my friend is usually hitting 1-2 clubs more then me. What has my confused is that while I am hitting 8 irons into greens that he hits 6 irons he usually cranks his drive 15-30 yards further when we both make solid contact off the tee...why is this? The only thing I can think of is that he is 6'1 and I am 5'9. So, maybe he gets a larger arc but that doesnt really explain the irons. He is using the same lofted irons as me, but yet his woods are huge off the tee and in the fairway, its not uncommon for me to witness him land it on the green from 260 out with his 3 wood and hit 300 yard drives.

the most obvious to me would be that you are delofting more than he is. or your clubs could be heavier than his. or he could be simply swinging easy with his irons. any number of things. you should both take a few shots with each others clubs, that will tell you what you need to know.

[Dub]

That is pretty wild.

You irons distances look pretty solid. 250yd ave with a driver is nothing to scoff at......at all....very respectable and highly playable.....but your iron distances would suggest that you can game a little more from your 3 wood and driver. Perhaps you can zero in a great shaft that will yield the desired yardage.

As far as your friend is concerned.....he could be gaming some stiffer shafted irons than normal. He may like them for accuracy. His wood shafts may be a bit whippier and giving him some extra "kick" through the ball.

[Cussin hacker]

Sounds to me that your friend hits his driver much harder than his irons. I do that myself. Also looks like your irons are great but you could get a little more from your driver. You sure don't have to if your hitting it 250 straight though.

[clearwaterms]

Just for comparisons sake. I hit my 7 iron about 150. When I hit the driver straight it usually rolls out into the 260 range. This leads me to believe that you are leaving a little on the table with your driver. Perhaps getting on a launch monitor to confirm your driver is properly fitted to your swing (correct loft and shaft) would help.

HOwever, like others have said, a 250 yard drive if its in the fairway is certaintly good enough, and if you have good accuracy with your irons, I would think, given the distance you have with them, it is a scary combination.

[Saint]

It could be as simple as a ball difference. My cousin and I hit our drives very consistently together, but he's a club under me in the irons. He plays his irons in the front of his stance, I play mine towards the back.

[Gilles]

A golf swing is so personal that I believe it's hard to compare two swings. Differences in size, weight, fysical proportions, grip, dynamics, stance, ... can all be very small individually but are a huge factor on the outcome of your swing when you combine them all. No two swings are identical...

I can only agree with the other posters here. If you know your distances for each club and can hit them consistently, that's all that matters. If you need a wood where he needs a 3i, well then that's just the case.

A guy I play regularly with delofts his clubs a lot. He can hit 10% more distance than me, but my ball flight is controlled ... and sweet ... while his are just rockets that bounce forward on the fairway without to much control.

I'ld say, let him have it.


G.

[uppi]

I think its def something with your driver/woods. I have just about the exact same yardages with my irons as you and I am around 240-250 with the 3 wood and 275 with the driver.

[deronsizemore]

The explanation is that your friends' swing speed with driver is faster than yours and he's likely taking additional club and swinging smooth with his irons going for accuracy over distance.

A guy in my regular group is usually a club or two longer than me with his irons, but unless I mishit the ball, I'm typically farther than him with driver.

I'm just more comfortable playing the percentages and taking a little extra club and swinging smoother with irons. This allows some room for a mishit or less than perfect swing.

I believe Jack Nicklaus said that he would play his normal 7 iron to around 165 yards. He could hit it 180 if needed, but 165 was a comfortable swing for him which allowed him to have a more accurate and repeatable swing.

Too many people get way to obsessed with what club they're using rather than the score that goes down on the card.

[allin]

The explanation is that your friends' swing speed with driver is faster than yours and he's likely taking additional club and swinging smooth with his irons going for accuracy over distance.

Amen, as you get better, trajectory, draw, fade etc become the real issue. Which club can you hit the right distance with the shot shape you need.

[uttexas]

I think your friend just hits his irons shorter than average. Does he hit high fades with his irons? He's probably just swinging really easy with his irons.

[sean_miller]

So, noticed that my friend is usually hitting 1-2 clubs more then me. What has my confused is that while I am hitting 8 irons into greens that he hits 6 irons he usually cranks his drive 15-30 yards further when we both make solid contact off the tee...why is this? The only thing I can think of is that he is 6'1 and I am 5'9. So, maybe he gets a larger arc but that doesnt really explain the irons. He is using the same lofted irons as me, but yet his woods are huge off the tee and in the fairway, its not uncommon for me to witness him land it on the green from 260 out with his 3 wood and hit 300 yard drives.

Based on your lob wedge yardage, I suspect you swing pretty hard. How old are your woods?

The real questions are: 1.) Who hits more fairways and greens? 2.) Who usually has to putt first when you both hit the green?

[diducmyball]

Angle of attack, spin rate, launch angle etc etc etc...or maybe he is just hitting that nitrogen filled powerbilt driver... ...
Instead of worrying about why you get outdriven, you should figure out why in the world your handicap is still a 10 when you are able to hit driver+mid/short iron to pretty much every par 4.