Ecvouraging yet frustrating range time

[jlh1508]

I made it to the dome today and got to swing the clubs.

I took my LW, PW, 7I, 5I, 3hybrid and driver

I have been working on bringing me hands inside on the takeaway and started my backswing with a hip slide.


Started off hitting the LW and working my way down the clubs. Making great contact, consistently hitting the sweet spot, and watching the ball fly in the direction I wanted too. This continued through the pw and the 7i. It was very encouraging

Then i got to the 5i, and I could not make solid contact. I think out of probably 50 balls hit with the 5i maybe 10 of them were decent

Then moved onto the 3 hybrid and Driver and was again smoking the ball. I use to have a horrible slice with my driver but with the swing changes I was crushing the ball dead straight and when I wanted could even put a slight draw on the ball.


So all in all it was very encouraging and I am excited about hitting the course this spring. However I am very frustrated that I could not figure out the issue with the 5i. So any help on how to hit a 5i would be appreciated

[RIduffer]

I have this problem alot (nutting my 6i and then duffing my 4i to the point it goes shorter than the 6i). I think the short answer is that the 5i is harder to hit solid and will expose flaws in your swing. I wouldn't stress over it since you hit alot of clubs well...I can't remember any rounds of golf where I was happy with the way I hit every club in the bag.

Also, I noticed you said "50 balls" with the 5i. Personally, I like switching clubs after 5-10 balls to keep it fresh---and I definitely try to avoid pounding ball after ball when I'm struggling with a club. This just doesn't work. I'd say go back to your LW, regain that feeling of solid contact, then try the 5i later.

[jlh1508]

I have this problem alot (nutting my 6i and then duffing my 4i to the point it goes shorter than the 6i). I think the short answer is that the 5i is harder to hit solid and will expose flaws in your swing. I wouldn't stress over it since you hit alot of clubs well...I can't remember any rounds of golf where I was happy with the way I hit

yeah I was doing 10 balls a club through all the clubs. Then i played through the front 9 of my home course on the range, which inolved 2 more 5 irons. Then I went through the clubs 10 times each again, played the back 9 of my course on the range, and then 10 times through each. Through all that I hit the 5iron like crap so i swung it another 10 - 15 times trying some different things and then left before ruining the whole experience

[Bullitt5339]

I feel your pain with the 5 iron...... I haven't hit mine very well at the range either. To be honest with you, on my home course, I'm seldomly if ever in a 5 iron range for me though, so I don't practice it as much as I should, because it rarely gets any play time. I use my 5 iron most of the time just to hit low punch shots out of the trees, when I want to get a low shot, and a lot of roll.

[canes113]

I choke up about an inch with my 5 iron which gives me less distance, but more control and solid contact.

[Randy4h]

Then i got to the 5i, and I could not make solid contact. I think out of probably 50 balls hit with the 5i maybe 10 of them were decent

Have you always had trouble with the 5 iron? If so, it could be that the specs for the 5 don't match the rest of your set. Maybe the swingweight is way off, feeling too light or too heavy. Maybe the shaft flex is different. Maybe the lie angle is out of whack for your swing.

If you are hitting everything else great, maybe it's the club's fault. I'd get it checked out.

[Travtex]

I've been pretty good friends with my "5" iron for a while. It's actually about 3 or 4 iron (The only thing I hate about my irons is all the disclaimers -- The lofts are ridiculously strong on the things).

Anyway, I think I'm in one of the minorities in that I can't hit my hybrids worth a crap. If I'm 200 out, I'll pull the 5 iron out of the bag and hope for a good bounce before I try to dust off the 3 and 4 hybrids that are at this point just along for the ride in my bag. I keep thinking of ditching the hybrids altogether, but keep hearing about how much easier they are to hit and keep thinking something will magically click one day. *hah*

[jlh1508]

I've been pretty good friends with my "5" iron for a while. It's actually about 3 or 4 iron (The only thing I hate about my irons is all the disclaimers -- The lofts are ridiculously strong on the things).

Yeah I play the same Nickent 3dx, so my 5 iron is actually an old 3 iron based on the loft. I don't use it a whole lot or come to a situation where I need to. Most of the time I can use the 4 hybrid to accomplish the same thing. I will just keep the club and keep practicing with it and see if I can figure it out.

[Randy4h]

I've been pretty good friends with my "5" iron for a while. It's actually about 3 or 4 iron (The only thing I hate about my irons is all the disclaimers -- The lofts are ridiculously strong on the things).

Remeber that hybrids are designed to be hit like irons, not fairway woods. Don't try to "sweep" the ball, hit down on it like you would an iron. The ball flight should be higher than the equivalent iron. Maybe that will help. Good luck.