Can't hit long irons at all... any tips?

[No1CeltsFan]

I am very comfortable with 6-PW, especially the 7/8 irons, but the 2-4 are just flat out brutal for me. I hit like 3-4 good shots out of every 10 at the most.

It's extremely frustrating as you can imagine.

First off, why are long irons so hard to hit compared to shorter irons. Secondly, are there any tips or sites you can recommend on reading up how to hit them better?

Thanks alot

[Scott_K]

They longer shafts make them harder to hit. You're further away from the ball and it's possible that the overall time to swing the club is longer, so a bigger window to have things go wrong. Also, there's a mental factor where people are psyched out by the loft of the club and try to help the ball into the air. That's generally what I see when people stuggle with long irons.

Try using the same tempo that you use with your 7 and 8 irons without any concern with the distance. Focus on just making a good swing, shoulder turn and solid contact. I hit my 3i further when I'm not to hit it my 3i distance.

[No1CeltsFan]

yea the longer shaft definitly plays a factor.

Where should the ball placement be? middle of my foot, towards the front foot or back foot?

Thanks

[BallStriker]

Grip down on the club and don't overswing...swing with the same tempo as you 7 iron.....tension free shoulders and spaghetti arms...if you have tension, you have no chance of a good shot.

[Kieran123]

Closer to your front foot, I go with 5 Hyrbid/iron middle of the stance, then either way for other clubs.

[James_Black]

  BallStriker said:

Grip down on the club and don't overswing...swing with the same tempo as you 7 iron.....tension free shoulders and spaghetti arms...if you have tension, you have no chance of a good shot.

Grip down on the club.

I have really long, heavy 3,4 irons and woods, I grip down on them, swing easy and let the club do all the work

[double_j]

Get hybrids!

Just kidding - what works for me is to think of them just like any other club. No need to modify your swing or anything - what works for the 5 iron will work for the 3 and the 4. The 2 iron might be a different story...

[No1CeltsFan]

when you guys say "grip down" what do you mean by that?

[James_Black]

  No1CeltsFan said:

when you guys say "grip down" what do you mean by that?

grip down closer to the shaft.

[No1CeltsFan]

  James_Black said:

grip down closer to the shaft.

thought so. I actually have tried that and it was OK. Maybe I should of given it more of a look. Ill try it tonite at the range or in the morning, whenever I go next.

[Scott_K]

I keep the ball by my left heel with the longer irons. I move it back as I get closer to wedges. Wedges are usually a little forward of center. All depends on how I'm hitting it that day and what I'm trying to do with the shot.

[KEEPITSIMPLE]

I hate to say it but usually guys who have trouble with long irons are too steep and don't get enough extension on the backswing and come over it on the downswing. Well, I am sorry to imform you but it usually reguires a whole retooling of swing and swing plane IMO. I am not sure if there is a easy way out. Hitting long irons can be hard even for the best of players.

[jl923]

I'm a newb, but i just had a great range session where i hit pw-3. what worked for me and what i realized was that on the longer irons, i get phased out by how far I am from the ball and i dont shift my hips forward enough. see if thats the problem. when you dont shift the hips forward enough, the swing gets too steep and it becomes very hard to hit longer irons, which are meant to barely make a divot.

[jl923]

same for me. My keeping the ball at my left heel, i remember to shift my hips forward. if i didnt, i would skull the ball. this move fosters lag and the ability to hit longer irons.

[tterrag]

Whatever you do, don't try to lift it into the air. Hit down on it as if it was a wedge, and you will hit it as good as a 8 iron. I hope this helps!

[bruce]

Try a 3 quarter swing with your 3 and 4 iron and you should be good.Most people i see hitting long irons seem to overswing on the backswing and try to kill it.Three quarter feeling on the backswing and your timing back to the ball should be a lot better.

[JetFan1983]

When I had this problem, I moved the ball more towards my left heel at address. I can't say exactly where I put it, but it's definitely left of center somewhere. Take some swings at the range experimenting with ball position and see if that helps. Use the same swing obviously. If you start hitting it fat, then you need to get your weight forward more likely. Unfortunately, this post is just guesswork.

[CalBoomer]

  KEEPITSIMPLE said:

I hate to say it but usually guys who have trouble with long irons are too steep and don't get enough extension on the backswing and come over it on the downswing. Well, I am sorry to imform you but it usually reguires a whole retooling of swing and swing plane IMO. I am not sure if there is a easy way out. Hitting long irons can be hard even for the best of players.

I absolutely agree with this and think it is a key point. The longer irons require a flatter swing plane than the shorter irons. Many inexperienced players try to use the same relatively vertical plane from their wedges and short irons to hit the long irons. It just doesn't work. I'm not sure you have to retool your whole swing, but getting the plane flatter is definitely key.