how do these pros hit their irons so long with such little effort

[James_Black]

YouTube is better. You can embed it and download the original video.

you can slow it down and draw lines on the video with swing academy though.

[The Recreational Golfer]

The comments so far are right on the money, but there is one other thing to be aware of. On TV it looks like they're swinging easy. Watch them live, up close, and you'll see they're hitting the ball hard. I mean HARD. You don't get a 100+ MPh swing for the asking. These guys are tremendous athletes who can put serious speed on the clubhead and make it look effortless, just like athletes in other sports do.

I remember watching baseball pitchers like Rollie Fingers and Dave Stieb look like they were soft-tossing the ball and it came to the plate like it was shot from a gun. Amazing.

[RCF]

Just want to thank Chilli Dipper for those 2 videos. Very helpful.

[tm22721]

The pros know that the key is smooth acceleration to produce a gradual building of speed through impact. Even the pros can't do this perfectly THEY ALL DECELERATE TO SOME EXTENT but they do better than the rest of us. There are only two pros I have seen that can accelerate all the way through and beyond impact and one is John Erickson an ex-Canadian tour player from the late 80s. And that's because he knows how Hogan did it. The other pro is Peter Senior from Australia.

[Joe Griggs Jr]

It is quite difficult to say without seeing your swing. Leverage has a lot to do with it. It's all technique. Sounds like you don't take many lessons? If I am correct, head to your nearest golf pro and ask. It's pretty simple. Lot's of variables one needs to take into account. Yet if you don't "need" the distance then don't "toy" with is, just enjoy the game you have.

[Blatter]

I think probably over everything else, they hit the ball before the turf (forward shaft lean). Anyone without changing swing speed would notice an enormous difference if they practiced only that (forget about "creating lag"). Progress after that can be incremental with gradual increase in swing speed.

[Righty to Lefty]

Like others have already said.

1. Ball first contact

2. Strike in the middle of the face

3. Just the right amount of forward shaft lean for the club

4. Achieving the max acceleration at impact.

Like others have also said....these are athletes and they are swinging forcefully regardless of how it looks.  No one is swinging a club at 115 plus miles per hour without effort.  Their bodies just happen to be well conditions and flexible and they can maintain their posture and support the amount of force they are generating.  Looks can be very deceiving....Fred Couples rhythm is often drooled over but he's had his fair share of back problems so obviously the force he was generating was taking a toll on his body.

[dave s]

As others have mentioned, ball-first contact and hitting the golf ball on the sweet spot of the iron 99% of the time are big keys.  Also, if you watch golf on TV, look for the super slow motion swings they show of players hitting irons to par-3 greens.  What you notice is that the club (the swing) bottoms out 3-4 inches in FRONT of the ball.  It's really tough to do.  I keep trying, but it's difficult.

dave

[arturo28mx]

For me, making sure my whole body is in synch has been key.

Every time I tell myself to swing at 50% speed, my tempo and synch improve so much the ball goes farther than ever.

[Lastpick]

THIS makes a huge difference!

I'm learning how to do this from a pro and I've gained 10-15 yards already.

Only another 50 yards to go until I can hit my seven iron as far as the pro's.....

LOL.  Yesterday I hit the perfect seven iron.  Flew about 165 yards.  As I don't hit very many perfect shots, I was about 15 yards long of the pin.  To be honest, many rounds that I play, I don't think that I hit any shot perfect.

One other thing about pros that I find amazing is their ability to read greens.  When I play on a new course with different type of greens, I struggle with the putter.

[12 handicap]

Hopefully a helpful response: I'm 6'4" 215, so that's clearly a factor, but I tend to hit my driver and irons further than the average pro (not the best). I've played my whole life, but usually only average about 10 rounds a year, sometimes more, sometimes less (recent years). My dad thinks I swing too hard, but I hit them straight and don't know any other way. I've never had a lesson, but people are always wowed by my swing and distance when we play together....I don't worry about keeping my arm entirely straight, so I guess you could say I just grip it and rip it. The pro's aren't afraid to swing hard because they're confident in their ability to hit it straight. But they're pro's for a reason. The biggest hitters are tall (Bubba/DJ etc), but like in baseball, whip, flexibility, club/bat speed are all factors. 

advice for hitting it further? DON'T be afraid to swing as hard as you can. Just practice as much as possible and get to a point where that hard swing is something you're comfortable with. However, at the end of the day, there is only so much you can do to improve distance. A person's height and body is a serious factor. If distance is a goal though, don't use a driver over 9.5 degrees and don't use graphite shafts (although this can be a risky move). Distance isn't everything....Look at the women. Consistent tee shots and irons, with a good short game is how you go low. I'm a 12 handicap, and occasionally hit upper 70;s, but if my short game (putting especially) was better, I could be a scratch golfer. 

Edited December 17, 2017 by 12 handicap
grammar

[Vinsk]

2 hours ago, 12 handicap said:

but if my short game (putting especially) was better, I could be a scratch golfer. 

Yeah, no.

2 hours ago, 12 handicap said:

Look at the women

What, play shorter courses with lighter rough, slower greens and easier pin placements? One of the major reasons the women can't compete with the men is because they lack distance.

2 hours ago, 12 handicap said:

The biggest hitters are tall (Bubba/DJ etc),

Justin Thomas, JB Holmes, not tall.

[iacas]

11 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

Justin Thomas, JB Holmes, not tall.

Rory. Tiger is 5’10”.

[onthehunt526]

36 minutes ago, iacas said:

Rory. Tiger is 5’10”.

Tiger is 6'1" Rory is like 5'9" Jack in his prime was about 5'11"...

How do these pros hit their irons so far? They compress the ball better than most of us. Great iron players also have so much forward shaft lean at impact, they turn their 8-irons into 6-irons, but they make great contact so the ball still has the spin and descent angle of an 8-iron... So pros hit 8-irons 185 yards, and 5-irons 230 yards (not on average just in a Joe Blow day). So if DJ carries his driver 300 yards, he can expect a 195 yard carry with a 7-iron. Damn I only hit my 7-iron 160ish... Guess I ain't long enough for the Tour.

[2turnswish]

Lag released at the right time via a smooth accelerating downswing thru the ball. 66 and what finally helped me was Tommy Armour's description of "swishing" thru the ball with the right hand and right knee. That brought every other teachers similar advice into prospective. You can't swish if you already straightened your wrist or casted.

Edited December 17, 2017 by 2turnswish
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[Lihu]

3 hours ago, 2turnswish said:

Lag released at the right time via a smooth accelerating downswing thru the ball. 66 and what finally helped me was Tommy Armour's description of "swishing" thru the ball with the right hand and right knee. That brought every other teachers similar advice into prospective. You can't swish if you already straightened your wrist or casted.

Yes, I noticed that as well. It's amazing how well the best swing with what appears to be very little effort.

[Piz]

The secret to hitting farther, with less effort, is to use less effort.  The toughest thing in golf, for me, is getting my head around that concept.  

[2turnswish]

It was a "hard headed" 3 years, following retirement, before I embraced smooth power. I swung hard and harder to try for distance and played the next shots from humiliating locations. Very interesting to see all the golf course and write down crooked numbers.