Iron play confusion...

[Norm66]

Since I finally developed something resembling a golf swing a few months ago, my irons have been remarkably consistent so far as distance goes. My 9 iron would land balls at 102-105 yards and each iron longer added about 10-12 yards pretty consistently as long as I hit it well. I know those distances were quite short, but I've only been playing for 3 months so I was pleased.

While playing a round at the local par-3 course 3 weeks ago with my wife I grabbed my trusty 9-iron for the 102 yard opening hole and promptly zinged it straight and high 15 yards over the green. At the next hole, a 112-yarder I grabbed my 8-iron which I had always been pin high with only to whack it high and straight across the railroad tracks beyond the green. It took me most of that trip to re-calibrate myself to the new distances.

since then my irons have settled to about 15 yards longer than what I was hitting before (I hit a 5-iron 176 yards on a par-5 last week), but I still have shots where they'll go as far as 20-25 yards farther and get me in trouble long. I can feel when I'm hitting the irons well, my hips seem to lead the parade and it just feels right, but I'm still not able to be very consistent. Now, my 9-iron hits anywhere from 110 to 130 yards depending on how much I put into it.

I guess my question is how much effort should I be putting into a 'normal' iron swing? Maybe on a scale of 1 to 10, my long balls are pretty much a 10. I remember in Ben Hogan's book he said to go all-out every swing, but others seem to have other ideas. Any advice to increase consistency of distance?

[c51888]

Well I somewhat had the same problems once in a while and experienced that I can handle and estimate distances much better now that I began busying myself with the effects of lofts and ball flight curve patterns.
Another big step to improving MY problems was that I much more consider the characterstics and qualities of the ball I am playing.

[LarryK]

Now, my 9-iron hits anywhere from 110 to 130 yards

Let's start with the obvious. The variability of "how much you put into it" is the ENEMY of "consistency." Plain and simple. You don't get consistency by experimenting with umpteen different techniques or swing speeds.

As to how much "effort" you should be expending towards a normal iron swing? If, by that, you mean how much practice you should be engaged in, I would say quite a lot. If you are wondering how fast you should be swinging the club, I would say no faster than that speed with which you make consistent (that's your goal, right?) solid, squishy, sweet-spot-center-of-the-clubface contact. Whatever distance occurs as a result, accept that and move on to the next club and make exactly the same swing with that club and accept whatever distance you get. The point of all this is not to hit the ball a certain distance. And it is certainly not to hit the ball various distances with the same club. The point is to make quality contact. You do that by keeping your swing the same and restricting the "variables" to the different lofts of your irons. Having said that, believe me, I know how hard it is to do. I tend to put a lot more "oomph" into my four and five iron shots than I do with eight and nine irons. And every time I do that, I am sabotaging myself. It's stupid. I hate it when I do that. Repeat after me: SAME SWING (different club) ..... SAME SWING (different club) .

[c51888]

Repeat after me:

I'd also add: SAME BALL

[BritBoy]

Keep it simple, don’t analyze too much. You list yourself as a "high" handicap so at this point I wouldn’t worry about crushing every shot. For the scale of 1-10 I try to hit my irons around 8-9. With my 8 iron I like to hit it around the 155 mark. I can hit it 160-165 but for the sake of a few extra yards I loose way too much accuracy. With my SW I can hit 125 but and can expect to be on the green, but from 100 I can expect to be with 12ft. of the pin.

My advice to you would be to work on a nice easy swing that feels that you can comfortable repeat. But make it an easy swing so that you have a little extra in reserve if you ever need it.

[Norm66]

Thanks for the help fellas. I went to the par-3 course last night, it's in better shape mud-wise than the local driving range. Plus the yardages are more accurate. It looks like I'm settling about two to two and a half clubs farther than previously. In other words, my 9-iron is going between 120 and 125 (up from 100). I'm still trying to figure out what changed to cause this and whether it's hurt my accuracy (which has also failed a little bit).

My new problem is that I apparently need another wedge or possibly two to cover the new distances. My PW is going about 110 on a good shot now while my 60* wedge (the only other one I have) flies only about 60 for some reason. That's a lot of distance to cover by just making a lighter swing. Should I be considering a 52* or 54* wedge perhaps?

Thanks again for the help.

[seppo]

I dont know your set of irons, but PWs have usually a loft of 47 to 48 degrees. The Gap between your PW and your LW is therefore 12-13 degrees. This is huge! you could fill it now with a 52° and a 56° or just a 54° it is up to you.

I am playin a 47° PW a 56° SW and a 60° LW. This is no real problem for me, because my homecourse has huge and slow greens and when the approach shot comes a little bit to long or to short it doesnt matter to me because i am still on the green, therefore i am not going to buy a 52° Wedge in the next season.

I just make a 3/4 shot with the PW and the distance gap is no problem anymore.

[LarryK]

It looks like I'm settling about two to two and a half clubs farther than previously. In other words, my 9-iron is going between 120 and 125 (up from 100). I'm still trying to figure out what changed to cause this and whether it's hurt my accuracy (which has also failed a little bit).

You have been playing for awhile now, and you probably are making better contact with the ball more often. That would be my guess to explain your increased distances. It's a natural progression. Congratulations!

For most of us, 60-yards with a 60-degree lob wedge sounds about right to me. You might get a little more out of your PW later on, but, again, the key is to make a good, smooth swing and not get hung up too much on specific distances. Take what a good swing gives you, and don't get greedy! I do agree that a 52 or 54 degree wedge might be a good addition to your bag. Good luck!

[wachesawgolfer]

The key to the irons is precision in distance, not length. The only clubs you want distance are the driver and 3 wood. All the rest need to go certain distance. This why you need to make the same exact swing so the irons space about 10 to 15 yards apart. It makes no difference whether you hit a 5 iron 150, 160 or 175 as long as it is accurate and repetitive.

[Norm66]

"You have been playing for awhile now, and you probably are making better contact with the ball more often. That would be my guess to explain your increased distances. It's a natural progression. Congratulations!"

Thanks. This is the first "improvement" that I've experienced that wasn't on purpose. I hope someday my 3-wood flies more consistently out of the blue. ;^)

I stopped on the way home from work yesterday and lucked into a really nice 52* wedge. There's a guy who runs a driving range & small pro shop behind a gas station/convenience store/general store/grocery store (hey this is West Virginia here) and he had his stock inside the main building on Clearance waiting for the new year's stuff to come out. Part of what he had was Vulcan forged wedges for $25. They look a lot like Vokey or Cleveland wedges. The only thing I didn't like about it is it's highly polished and entirely too shiny. I kind of had my heart set on one of the darker finishes, but for $25 I'm not complaining.

I went immediately to the Par-3 course to try out my new wedge and sure enough, it flies just over 100 yards. Since there are about 4 holes between 96 and 104 yards it's my new favorite club on that course. It was also great for chipping when I missed greens. With a little more loft than my PW I was able to run less chips too far past the hole. I'm seriously considering going back today to see if he has a 56* left. I think that would fill the gap between 100 and 60 yards quite nicely. I've got plenty of room in the bag (below 14 clubs) so why not?

Thanks again for the help.

[Naruto]

I BELIEVE IN THE OLD ADAGE OF HOGANS...swing as hard as you can without coming out of a good swing plane and posture....for me i feel like i swing 90% everytime...wedges i may go after at 95%....the only time i do something different is if i am trying to get the ball to do something different...i.e. not spin to much from 110 yards...well then its the 50* and 75% vs. the 54* at 95%.....but the driver...i don't leave anything in the bag....

[golfchief]

You have two good swings with every Iron, normal grip and choking down 1inch. should be about 12yds difference. Use the same swing, if you swing harder your defeating the reason for choking down.