How Do You Hit 170 Yards With 7 Iron?

[bogeyhitter25]

I have a 31* 7 iron

That's ridiculous. An average 7i should be 35* or 36*.

That's a reason why I hate TaylorMade and their bullshit distance.

[Shindig]

That's ridiculous. An average 7i should be 35* or 36*.

It's not just TaylorMade. Mizuno's MX-1000 have a 32° 7-iron. Cobra S-2's 7-iron is at 31°.

[Gioguy21]

That's ridiculous. An average 7i should be 35* or 36*.

why do you hate TaylorMade based on their 'bullshit distance'? if it makes you sleep better at night or think of em differently just change the number on the iron. lol...you're an 8.2. i bet you hit your 6 as far as i hit the TM 5...who gives a shiesse...doesn't make it 'bullshit distance'...just different lofts

[Shanks A Million]

That's ridiculous. An average 7i should be 35* or 36*.

Seriously, but read the TM thread where I talked about it. People defend it, and constantly tell me I'm crazy for caring. But I don't want to have to carry 4-AW, then 5-GW, then 6-FW, etc. It's a viscous circle that never seems to end. We started with D and 2 wood, then 1-9, PW, SW. This made perfect sense, the 1 iron was just shorter than the 2 wood. Then, we removed the 2 wood to carry a 3 wood, and took out the 1 iron, so we had 2-PW, SW, and we now had room for a LW. The 2 was too hard to hit, so the 5 wood and 3-PW set came to be. D-3-5 3-PW, SW, LW became the normal set. Now we had all sorts of options. The 1 iron was the same as the 3 wood, the 2 iron the same as the 5 wood. The 4 wood could split the gap to add an extra wedge.

Then the delofting... Now you have iron numbers shrinking for no reason. Now we have 4-AW, why? Because golfers have fragile egos and need to feel like they hit the ball farther. It's so frustrating for good players to constantly have to redefine their distances every time they buy new clubs. I don't care how far I hit my clubs, as long as I know how far I hit them. I don't need a PW that's 45°, nor do I want one. I like the 48° PW just fine. So, whenever I buy new irons, I choose the weakest lofts. The problem is, I have friends who play these delofed TM clubs, and all I hear is, "you only hit your PW 130 yards?" "I can hit my 5 iron as far as you hit your 4!" This annoys me to no end. They also get a new set, and rave for a week about the new technology "hitting it farther". Fools!

[Fatphil]

read this one someplace...a old guy meets Ben Hogan and asks him Mr. Hogan how do I learn to stop my 7i on the green...Hogan asks him "how far do u hit your 7i" guy answers "about 120 yds"..Hogan replies "why the f... do u want to learn how to stop it?"

[smcneice]

Guy's hopefully you can help me. Last summer I was hitting my 7 iron 150 yards but prefectly straight it was my favourite club in the bag when I got nervous with ppl about I pulled out the 7i but now at the range I can not seem to make good contact at all. My 9i goes further & straighter than my 7i and I have lost all confidence in it. Any idea why the 9i goes further & straighter?

[Shanks A Million]

Guy's hopefully you can help me. Last summer I was hitting my 7 iron 150 yards but prefectly straight it was my favourite club in the bag when I got nervous with ppl about I pulled out the 7i but now at the range I can not seem to make good contact at all. My 9i goes further & straighter than my 7i and I have lost all confidence in it. Any idea why the 9i goes further & straighter?

It's shorter and has more loft. But more than likely, it's mental. The higher handicapper may develop a "favorite" club that just fits him right. Back when I was a 30 something handicapper, it was the 7 iron as well, seemed like I could do no wrong. Then it was the pitching wedge later on. It went away eventually, so take it as being merely a "comfort" mentally.

[James_Black]

just saw Sergio Garcia hit one 204 yards.
Don't know how he did it, I only hit mine 145-150 yards

[Jay-Bird]

Not that it matters, but Taylor Made doesn't produce "BS distances" - they just try to cater to the "how far can you hit your 7 iron"-ego of most golfers. They have made their game improvement irons stronger to try to appease the mid-handicappers ego. Other companies do the same thing.

An R9 7 iron has 32˚ of loft - it's a Game Improvement club
An R9 TP 7 iron has 35˚ of loft - it's a player's club
A burner 7 iron has 31˚ of loft - it's a GI club
A TP MB Smoke 7 iron has 36˚ of loft - it's a player's club



Because shitty players are likely going to be attracted to the Burner and R9 irons. Someone with some skill is likely going to be attracted to the TP versions.

[jamo]

just saw Sergio Garcia hit one 204 yards.

And at the end of the round on thursday, Els and Goosen were hitting either 8 or 9's from 190.

Sergio generates so much distance with his irons because he delofts the club a lot due to all of the lag, which also adds some clubhead speed.

[Randy4h]

The problem is, I have friends who play these delofed TM clubs, and all I hear is, "you only hit your PW 130 yards?" "I can hit my 5 iron as far as you hit your 4!" This annoys me to no end. They also get a new set, and rave for a week about the new technology "hitting it farther". Fools!

Seems to me the best response to them would be to compare the numbers on the scorecard, not the number on the bottom of the club!

[Fastrack]

Seems to me the best response to them would be to compare the numbers on the scorecard, not the number on the bottom of the club!

Yes, rather have accuracy and better control. Distance without control will ruin your score.

[James_Black]

And at the end of the round on thursday, Els and Goosen were hitting either 8 or 9's from 190.

I could understand els hitting the ball that far he's 6'5 but how was goosen hitting it that far?

Is it all down to the altitude?

34° is pretty strong for a 7 iron. 36° is the 48° PW standard.

My cobra's have pretty strong lofts...

26* 5 iron 32.5* 7 iron. 40.5* 9 iron. no wonder they were 2 clubs longer than my old set....

[Zeph]

Don't have to be tall to hit the ball far.

[James_Black]

Don't have to be tall to hit the ball far.

it helps to be tall though

[Zeph]

Not as much as a good swing.

Anthony Kim 299.0 yards average driving distance in 2009
Ernie Els 291.2 yards average driving distance in 2009

To add, Kim grips down on his clubs.

[James_Black]

Not as much as a good swing.

Kim tries to kill the ball.

Els is the big easy. Depends on how hard you try to hit it aswell

[sean_miller]

Kim tries to kill the ball.

Els swings pretty hard though. His tempo is misleading.

Having said that, compare two players with identical swings and proper fitting clubs, and the taller player will likely hit the ball slightly farther. They're average shot is probably more off line as well. It all comes out in the wash.