The best long iron shot you've ever seen on TV

[JWL1957]

a 1iron is obsolete, that is like making the arguement...well if you saw Hagen hit a Gutta Percha ball... In modern course design the 1 iron is obsolete, that is an irrelevent argument.

The 1 iron was

very usefull in its time. But your right...... todays technology renders it pretty useless. I also carried a 2 iron for years, and it has since been replaced with a 20 degree hybrid.

[chriskzoo]

Anyone have a video of the super slow-mo of Tiger's shot out of the rough from last year at Doral? At least I'm pretty sure it was #18 at Doral. Part of it was that it was one of those X-mo replays, but it was just a ridiculous low draw.

[misty_mountainhop]

I'd never even mention a hybrid or fairway wood in this topic. He|| even I can do that.

Sure is some nonsense spouted sometimes....

[sean_miller]

Sure is some nonsense spouted sometimes....

You don't think the typical single digit capper could put a 3-hybrid close out of the short rough? Okay, it's not a safe bet for a 7, but for a PGA professional? Not rocket surgery.

[Gordon McTavish]

2.) None of them were struck with long irons.

Isn't a 6-iron rapidly becoming the second longest iron in most people's bags though with the popularity of hybrids?

Eventually, people will be swooning over shots hit with an 8-iron when it becomes the longest iron available.

[sean_miller]

Isn't a 6-iron rapidly becoming the second longest iron in most people's bags though with the popularity of hybrids?

I can't comment on why some people start their bags at a mid-iron, but 2, 3, 4, and sometimes 5 are long irons.

[kafka01]

I can't comment on why some people start their bags at a mid-iron

Because they dont want to put the time in, to learn how to hit those things? They want to go the easy route? Thereby overlooking that long irons are the best benchmark for your swing there is. I doubt rescues will do the same for you - they dont teach you how to swing, they are just a monoton non-feedback instrument to advance the ball from A to B. And when its gone so far south that i cant hit a 6 or 7 iron anymore - they just replace it with a rescue.....

I guess thats okay if you want to be a mediocre player all your life. Everybody decides for themselves what they want to be in this game.

[kafka01]

You don't think the typical single digit capper could put a 3-hybrid close out of the short rough? Okay, it's not a safe bet for a 7, but for a PGA professional? Not rocket surgery.

You dont even need a PGA professional - even a LPGA professional could do that - just look at how these gals hit their hybrids straight at the pin with every shot (from 160y out that is...)

[misty_mountainhop]

You don't think the typical single digit capper could put a 3-hybrid close out of the short rough? Okay, it's not a safe bet for a 7, but for a PGA professional? Not rocket surgery.

No, I don't think a "typical" single digit handicapper could do what Yang did either regularly or under the pressure of that particular set of circumstances.

You dont even need a PGA professional - even a LPGA professional could do that - just look at how these gals hit their hybrids straight at the pin with every shot (from 160y out that is...)

I think some of the discussion here is going the way of the typical threads about amateurs and their driver distances

i.e. annnnyyyy amateur can do a "Yang hybrid" or a "Mickleson 6-iron"; in fact I do it all day, every day. Phhh. Yes, a well hit long ( i.e. 2-, 3- or 4-) iron is a good barometer of a swing but you can hit great shots with any other club in the bag. Time to stop splitting hairs?

[max power]

No, I don't think a "typical" single digit handicapper could do what Yang did either regularly or under the pressure of that particular set of circumstances.

Agreed. Yang's 3 hybrid shot, in that circumstance, was phenomenal.

[Ben]

There's a few that stand out to me. Corey Pavin knocking a 5wood (not iron) stiff on 18 to win the '95 US Open. YE Yang's 3hybrid at last year's PGA. Craig Parry's 6iron he holed in the first playoff hole at Doral in 2004.

[max power]

There's a few that stand out to me. Corey Pavin knocking a 5wood (not iron) stiff on 18 to win the '95 US Open. YE Yang's 3hybrid at last year's PGA. Craig Parry's 6iron he holed in the first playoff hole at Doral in 2004.

Pavin's shot was remarkable-pretty sure it was a 4 wood though.

[Ben]

Pavin's shot was remarkable-pretty sure it was a 4 wood though.

Yeah, you could be right. Didn't bother checking anywhere. But yeah, I was super pumped when I watched that!

[augafan48]

Without a doubt, and i'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet, the best long iron shot i've ever seen is tiger's 3 iron at the 02 pga. I mean over 200, downhill lie in the bunker, over and around trees, a lip to contend with in front of him, and it lands softly to twelve feet. Even Ernie Els who was in the group with tiger said, "thats the best golf shot i've ever seen".

[sean_miller]

No, I don't think a "typical" single digit handicapper could do what Yang did either regularly or under the pressure of that particular set of circumstances.

I guess when I say a single digit handicapper, I mean one who's lower than me, but not scratch. Hitting that hybrid shot doesn't seem as impressive to me as the same shot would have been with a 3-iron.

Maybe I've just been brainwashed by all the people on this board who go on, and on, and on, and on . . . about how easy hybrids are to hit out of the rough relative to irons. For a dinosaur who still plays more long irons than hybrids, I just have less respect for a hybrid shot - still respect the drama due to the context of the shot, and yes it was on TV, but it wasn't a long iron. The actual title of the thread refers to "long iron" shots.

[Kieran123]

Because they dont want to put the time in, to learn how to hit those things? They want to go the easy route? Thereby overlooking that long irons are the best benchmark for your swing there is. I doubt rescues will do the same for you - they dont teach you how to swing, they are just a monoton non-feedback instrument to advance the ball from A to B. And when its gone so far south that i cant hit a 6 or 7 iron anymore - they just replace it with a rescue.....

I hope you're kidding.

I guess a lot of tour players are mediocre then eh?

[WUTiger]

A Jack Nicklaus shot with a 1-iron, but not at Pebble Beach.

1967 U.S. Open at Baltusrol. N has a 4-stroke lead going into the 18th, a 542-yd. uphill Par 5 that crosses the water twice. After he dumps his drive into the trees, he works his way back to the fairway with an 8I. Then, facing a 220-yd. uphill shot into the wind, he pulls out the 1-iron and sends a rocket onto the green, "and clutch 22-foot putt would not only give him the Championship, but also a new Championship record of 275 strokes."

Went for the record, rather than playing it safe.

Here's Baltusrol website account:
http://www.baltusrol.org/club/script...D=66664&APP;=80

In the post-round interview, Nicklaus said he hit the 1-iron as hard as he could, and things worked out great.

[kafka01]

Without a doubt, and i'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet, the best long iron shot i've ever seen is tiger's 3 iron at the 02 pga. I mean over 200, downhill lie in the bunker, over and around trees, a lip to contend with in front of him, and it lands softly to twelve feet. Even Ernie Els who was in the group with tiger said, "thats the best golf shot i've ever seen".

I agree THAT was a great shot, not some dude who can hit a rescue over a tree........

I hope you're kidding. I guess a lot of tour players are mediocre then eh?

Actually i´m not. And yes you are right, most of the Tour players compared to each other are pretty mediocre..