5-Iron Failure

[shoulderlean13]

Hi All,

I just got back from the range.  I'm taking up the game again (well, basically new as last time I played was in high school).  I was actually hitting fine w/ my 9, 8, 7, and even sometimes 6 iron.  However, when I tried to hit with the 5 iron, I kept "topping" the ball, or sometimes hitting the ground well before connecting with the ball.  (Even sometimes hitting the ground WITHOUT connecting with the ball).

I tried my best to remedy this, and I could not find a consistent fix.  Is there a general tip or advice to hitting with the 5?

Any help is appreciated!!  At least this means I can only get better!!

[Shindig]

My immediate thought is ball position. Also, for some reason, even people who are able to resist the urge to "help" the ball up with short irons start to try it (subconsciously; I hope no one consciously has been trying this) with longer irons. I assume they irons are from the same set and are, more or less, configured the same way (other than the usual change in shaft length from iron to iron).

[ks8829]

First of all a 5 iron is not an easy club to hit for everybody,  I just recently put this iron back in my bag and hitting it off the ground is sometimes difficult without the proper backswing.

You can try practicing hitting your wedges off hardpan or dirt, yes hardpan and dirt, one of the most difficult lies in golf.  If  you can master hitting your wedges off this surface you can hit your 5 iron.  The main reason is that you have to hit the ball first off the ground from this difficult lie.

Its a drill that will help improve your overall golf swing focusing on your backswing or take away.

[bobsuruncle]

swap the 5 iron for a 5 hybrid, easier to hit and much more forgiving ... wilson FY-brid aren't especially long and hence won't give you the distance gap problem when replacing an iron with a hybrid.

[rustyredcab]

All good advise.

But there is also a chance that it is the club. Many sets have a club or two that is out of spec. Topping should not happen because of it. But if you find you fade one club and hit everything else pretty straight, get them checked for specs like lie angle.

And if you set is from high school, the 5-iron may very well be the least forgiving club in the bag. Try a hybrid. Try choking up half an inch. Try hitting it the same distance as you 7-iron and see what that swing does for ball flight.

[parbreaker]

The previous advice is good, but I'd like to add my 2 cents.

When someone comes to me and says they hit "X" club poorly, but many others are fine, my first thought is that it is a mental issue.

You may have hit it poorly in the beginning and now there is some anxiety with the club....

You may be subconsciously attempting to hit the ball harder because it is a longer club....

You may be subconsciously trying to help the ball into the air due to the loft....

All of those are mental issues. The five iron is the first club that really steps into the "long iron" category and is going to show any issues very readily. One thing I would ask you is how do you hit your 4 and 3 irons? If those are not used at all or hit just as poorly then here is what I would recommend:

Start with a pitching wedge and hit some half swing shots. Just get loose and focus on making solid contact. Slowly work your way up to full wedge shots. After you feel loose and comfortable, bring out your 5 iron. Start by hitting half swings. Use the same general feel you had with the wedge. Don't focus on distance, just focus on solid contact. As you get more comfortable, lengthen the swing. If you ever revert back to hitting it very poorly, come back to the half swing, or even back to the pitching wedge if necessary. What this will do is build your confidence and get you used to hitting that club the same way as the shorter ones. It is important that you don't even worry about distance when doing this drill. I commonly pick a flag that is very close to me for a target on purpose (i.e. 80 yds away, but hitting 7 irons). I can still evaluate the accuracy without the extra mental issues of distance. Hope that helps.

[montru]

I had a similar issue with my old set of Cobra FP's, I couldn't hit my 5i and my PW. I had a club fitting and found out that those two clubs were put together totally wrong, the spine of the shafts were out by 60 degrees and they were tipped/trimmed incorrectly, the rest of the set was fine.

[blackxpress]

Can you hit your 4i? If so, there might be something wrong with your 5i. More likely though the problem is with your swing. As you say, you only hit the 6i good part of the time. It's probably right on the threshold of your ability. You have a swing flaw that doesn't hurt you that bad with short irons because, well, they're short, which makes them easier to hit than the longer clubs. The chances are that by the time you get to the 5i you're overswinging and/or casting the club from the top. Trying to lift the ball into the air instead of hitting down on it with a forward leaning clubshaft. Can you make good contact with your 5i with a half swing? Have you tried the 9 to 3 drill? If you can hit the 5i well with the 9 to 3 drill then it's a pretty good bet you need to work on your tempo (which will also improve your ball striking with the short irons and wedges, BTW). Personally, I would not give up on the 5i and trade it in on a hybrid. That might help you a little in the short haul but it won't fix your swing flaws. I don't want my clubs to reward me for being a poor ball striker. I want to be a good ball striker regardless of which club I happen to be swinging at the time.

[meenman]

Originally Posted by blackxpress

Can you hit your 4i? If so, there might be something wrong with your 5i. More likely though the problem is with your swing. As you say, you only hit the 6i good part of the time. It's probably right on the threshold of your ability.

I would tend to agree with this. I am basically one club up on you right now. Hit down to the 6i with no problem, but the 5i is a 50/50 prop for me, which is why I still carry a 4 hyrbrid. When I master the 5 iron, the 4i will go back in the bag. The 9-3 drill has helped me. My main problem is that I generally only use the 5 for punch shots and it really doesnt come into play much during my regular course of play.

[DocParty]

Originally Posted by shoulderlean13

Hi All,

I just got back from the range.  I'm taking up the game again (well, basically new as last time I played was in high school).  I was actually hitting fine w/ my 9, 8, 7, and even sometimes 6 iron.  However, when I tried to hit with the 5 iron, I kept "topping" the ball, or sometimes hitting the ground well before connecting with the ball.  (Even sometimes hitting the ground WITHOUT connecting with the ball).

I tried my best to remedy this, and I could not find a consistent fix.  Is there a general tip or advice to hitting with the 5?

Any help is appreciated!!  At least this means I can only get better!!

Great advice I have read and ball position plus not trying to hit the ball so hard even if it's only subconsciously can help. The club head actually does it all.

[SoundandFury]

Originally Posted by bobsuruncle

swap the 5 iron for a 5 hybrid, easier to hit and much more forgiving ... wilson FY-brid aren't especially long and hence won't give you the distance gap problem when replacing an iron with a hybrid.

Eh. Learn to hit your irons.  Especially a 5 iron, not like it's a 4 or even a 3.

Of course, I've hated every hybrid I've tried, so I might just be biased.

[JasonK88S]

Let the club do the work. As stated in previous posts... do not try and "help" the ball up. Hitting off of hardpan is a great way to solve this issue. Ball first, then take a little divot once you start to figure it out. Let the club do the work.