Long iron help Rant (kinda)

[trackster]

I play 3-pw in my bag, I hit long irons the same as I do my short irons.  And i get a very respectable amount of distance with my irons.

Anyways i really like watching videos on youtube on swing tips and what not.  I'm self taught and I just kinda like to see what tips there are out their.

My rant is that every time I watch a video on how to hit long irons.  95 percent of the time there is no tips at all and 100 percent of the time there is mention of "You should switch to hybrids they are much easier to play with."

I think that if you can hit a short iron you can hit a long iron.  People just get shell shocked at seeing the lower loft at address.

I've tried to hit hybrids, IDK maybe they just aren't for me.  But a club isn't going to fix a persons game.

[TheCaliGorilla]

I'm right there with you.  I play Driver, 3 Wood, 3-PW, etc. because I've never found hybrids to be to my liking.  Now granted, my hybrids were the basic ones that come with a Maxfli Black set...but, there was way too much offset and I always seemed to hook, and hook badly.  I switched up my entire bag and sure enough, found two clubs (3i and 4i) that can get me out of rough, flight the ball, and land on greens.  I just make sure to keep a proper impact position even more so than with short irons.  I wish I knew of any youtube clips for long irons that were helpful, but I don't.  Have fun and I wish you low scores!

[tomvk77]

alot of people are finding it difficult to get long irons up in the air.

specialy the ones who are not that long of the tee and use alot of woods.

if i read your post you are more an iron player.

So basicly your doing ok, to hit them the same as your short irons,

only your ball position should be little further to your left foot.

I only have 1 hybrid in my bag and that is a 2 iron to close a gap

between my 3wood and 3 iron. if you should try hybrid clubs make sure

you have a pro version or as taylormade calls them Tour preferred.

on these clubs is minimal offset.

If you have an iphone you can download myswing. in there you can see tiger hit

all the irons, you can even put your own swing next to his. In there you can see

how tiger hits the long irons and there is hardly any change in his swing.

to give you an idea on my avg distances:

DR.       290 yrd

3wd.      255

2 hybr.  235

3 iron    215

4 iron    200

5 iron    190

6 iron    180

7 iron    165

8 iron    150

9 iron    140

P wedge 130

54 wedge 110

58 wedge 95

take care

[jamesonbourne]

I'm with OP and Tom on this one.  I've hit hybrids before and I always hit them well.  Call it what you will, but at 22 years old I just think it's ridiculous for me to be hitting a hybrid.  The idea behind hybrid clubs is for them to be more forgiving of poor ball contact.  Personally, at this point in my golf career, I'd rather struggle a bit and master the long irons, possibly sacrificing some scoring in the process.  But for the right type of player, I think they are a great resource.

A couple tips that I've always found to help (Disclaimer:  This is coming from my dad, who taught me everything I know, but is in no way a professional) :

1.  Watch your grip strength.  Most people tend to grip the club harder the further they intend to hit it (driver- 4 iron or so)

2.  Definitely make sure your ball position is favoring the front of your stance.  Most people have their left foot flared out slightly to the left, so the ball should be directly parallel to your left heel.

My rough estimate of distance...

Driver:   280-300 yd

3WD:    255

5WD:    235

3 iron:   215

4 iron:   210

5 iron:   200

6 iron:   185

7 iron:   175

8 iron:   165

9 iron:   155

P wedge: 130

52 wedge: 115

Sand wedge: 100-110

60 Lob wedge: 80-100

I know, I'm all over the place.  But these are the distances I actually hit my clubs.  Once I gave up the idea that you hit your pitching wedge a certain distance and go up ten yards per club after that, I started hitting a lot more greens.

Okay, I'm off my soap box.  haha

[SamW]

I also play a 3-PW iron set. What I see all the time with long irons is people don't use the same swing that they would with a 7-8-9 iron, they try to hit the ball harder and more often hit it fat or hit a big slice. Providing people swing easy and trust the club then it's fine.

Personally I never change the ball position relative to my left foot with any club, I just change the width of my stance slightly by moving my right foot, which in turn changes my COG slightly back from the ball.

I carry a 2hy in my bag, its really a 5w replacement to fill the gap between my 3w and 3i, and to be honest I find it a useful club, mostly because I can get a good contact from rough with it and I'd really struggle from the same place with an iron just due to the depth of the sole. Same way its a pretty reliable club if I want to hit 150yards from under a tree with a right to left flight that's extremely low with plenty of run.

I have no issue if people are more comfortable with using a 3hy and 4hy instead of irons, personally I like hitting the long irons I prefer the shape of the flight and the feel. Hybrids for me don't give out a lot of feel and feedback compared with an iron, they seem to have a higher and more boring flight and seem to put almost no spin on the ball which can lead to quite frightening bounces in firm/hard conditions.

[wmiller]

It's the 'instant gratification generation', to a degree. But not all of it.

We get more people playing (and more equipment sales) if the clubs are easier to hit. Growing up, everyone learned with blades, if you couldn't hit 'em, you didn't play. Now pretty much anyone with a drop of hand-eye coordination can play, which is cool. More interest, more sales, more money, etc., etc..

I asked an equipment rep why some pros are playing hybrids, and he told me that the ones he talked to who are using them want/need a higher trajectory on long approaches to better hold these firm/fast PGA greens. NOT because they can't hit a long iron. They're trying to make a living, and want every advantage they can get. I still see a lot of pros playing long irons though. Mostly the good ones.

I'm not a pro, don't care why a pro does something, because I can't swing like them anyway. Don't want his equipment either, for the same reason. I like using long irons, and appreciate the skill it takes to hit one properly.

I play them a little more forward in my stance, but that's about it.

[shades9323]

I certainly didn't grow up learning on blades! I think that is just something that old people say. If pros are using hybrids to get height on their long shots, it stands to reason that an recreational golfer would be better off doing the same.

Originally Posted by wmiller

It's the 'instant gratification generation', to a degree. But not all of it.

We get more people playing (and more equipment sales) if the clubs are easier to hit. Growing up, everyone learned with blades, if you couldn't hit 'em, you didn't play. Now pretty much anyone with a drop of hand-eye coordination can play, which is cool. More interest, more sales, more money, etc., etc..

I asked an equipment rep why some pros are playing hybrids, and he told me that the ones he talked to who are using them want/need a higher trajectory on long approaches to better hold these firm/fast PGA greens. NOT because they can't hit a long iron. They're trying to make a living, and want every advantage they can get. I still see a lot of pros playing long irons though. Mostly the good ones.

I'm not a pro, don't care why a pro does something, because I can't swing like them anyway. Don't want his equipment either, for the same reason. I like using long irons, and appreciate the skill it takes to hit one properly.

I play them a little more forward in my stance, but that's about it.

[SamW]

Originally Posted by shades9323

I certainly didn't grow up learning on blades! I think that is just something that old people say. If pros are using hybrids to get height on their long shots, it stands to reason that an recreational golfer would be better off doing the same.

I must be old because I truly did only have blades until I was about 16 years old.

IMO all this is just a taste thing, if you like to control the club through the hitting area then a hybrid is definately easier to launch and hit straight. If you want more height then the low COG of a hybrid will definitely provide it. But that's on the assumption that its what you want. I actually don't want more height a lot of the time, in fact I spend 1/2 my time trying to stay under the tree line !

[wmiller]

I don't remember ever seeing a cavity back in the 60s. Nor a metal driver.

You assume with your 'stands to reason' remark that score is the only motivation a recreational golfer has, and therefor needs to hit SGI irons and hybrids?

I take exception to that, but am not offended. Others here probably even agree with you. That's cool. Not everyone plays this game with the same goals. Heck, I'm about 50/50 on keeping score on any given Sunday.

Not why I play.

[JCoop]

I was having a hard time hitting a long iron until I had a lesson where the pro pointed out my posture deficiency. Once I adjusted to his correction, all of a sudden long irons hit themselves. I'm still dealing with a bit of an adjustment with distance to the ball, but as I work that out things look pretty good. Now I'd rather hit my 4 iron than my fairway driver.

[tx_basser]

Long irons used to be a good part of my game, but like many as I got older I did not have the consistency I wanted in that part of my game.  Now I have gone to hybrid and don't have any irons longer than a 5 in the bag, and hybrids are a 4,5,& 6.

[B of H]

hybrids are for wimps who can't get it up in the air.  just sayin'  ;)

[shades9323]

I'd like to see you tell this guy he is a wimp for having a bag full of hybrids!

He will crush you on and off the course!

Originally Posted by B of H

hybrids are for wimps who can't get it up in the air.  just sayin'  ;)

[carpediem4300]

ive got a 3i hybrid, and its my favourite club

i can hit long irons, and my swing is exactly the same through all my clubs, i jsut for whatever reason dont like the feeling of long irons,..

i mean my short irons and wedges feel nice and compact, and easy to swing

my driver feels nice and light as do my woods, making it easy to swing

my long irons just feel hefty and clumbersome

will eventually switch my 5i,6i 7i for hybrids to

[bkoguy07]

Originally Posted by carpediem4300

ive got a 3i hybrid, and its my favourite club

i can hit long irons, and my swing is exactly the same through all my clubs, i jsut for whatever reason dont like the feeling of long irons,..

i mean my short irons and wedges feel nice and compact, and easy to swing

my driver feels nice and light as do my woods, making it easy to swing

my long irons just feel hefty and clumbersome

will eventually switch my 5i,6i 7i for hybrids to

Why would you switch your 6i and 7i too?  I can maybe understand 5i but its important to hit your midirons well.

[bogeys18]

I've played for 30 years. Probably hit 3,000 buckets. Self taught other than Hogan's 5 fundamentals and Knudson's the natural swing. Couldn't really hit driver til the invention of the Big Bertha. Have since graduated through most Titleist offerings - 10.5 loft since '97. Switched to an I20 this spring and added 3 and 5 woods. Long irons never an issue, but cannot hit a hybrid to save my life. Would love to but will perpetually be a 3-PW guy. Tried Ping, Adams, TM, Titleist, Cobra, Callaway. All high and short. I'll go 5 wood or 7 iron depending on rough conditions and take my medicine for a poor drive. Kudos to all who hit them well. I'm happy with what's in my bag (irons are Titleist ZB cavity/muscleback combo). Step up and hit it with whatever works. Maintain a positive approach and swing with authority. Trust it and bust it!

[Strandly]

I avoided buying hybrids when I got my clubs this spring, they had kind of a scrub club vibe.  haha  I do wish I could get my irons up in the air more, especially the long irons.  My most dreaded holes are 170+ yard par 3s because I need to use a 4 iron or longer to get there and there's no way I can get the height on it to drop it on the green, it usually rolls over.

[MS256]

I have both 3 and 4 hybrids but I rarely carry them in the bag. There is no doubt that I am better with hybrids when I am not playing well...But I'm better with the 3 and 4 irons when I am playing well.

That creates a guessing game before I go to the course.

I've been in a slump with mid to long irons for about a month and I told my son last night I was going to put the hybrids in the bag. I forgot to put them in this morning but fortunately I seem to have broken out of my slump today and hit the long irons (and everything else) very well.

(Where was that yesterday in the money game?)

So next time I have no clue what to do.