7 iron for 145 yards. Am I too short?

[very handicap]

I'm 6 ft 2, 200 lbs and 44 years old.  I'm not very athletic but I do golf 2 to 3 times a week.

In the last 1 year, I have gradually moved from a hard hitter to a smooth swinger.  Since then, I've realized that my accuracy has improved significantly but distance became a victim.  If i play white tee, i can comfortably play high 70s to low 80s.

My only problem is, my 7iron can only hit 145 yards, and my 5 irons can only hit 165 yards.  Is this way too short?

I do notice that my ball flight is quite high, and this suggest that i may be delofting the club.    Should I continue to play this way?

Thanks.

[inthehole]

I'm about your age & am in exactly your shoes.     My body won't allow me to hit hard anymore - I'm developing a smooth swing & have to relearn the distances of all my clubs.   I hit the 7 iron exactly the same distance as you & find I'm way more accurate.     To me, accuracy is more important than distance, as I know I'll never be a scratch golfer.      Have to play within yourself ...

Originally Posted by very handicap

I'm 6 ft 2, 200 lbs and 44 years old.  I'm not very athletic but I do golf 2 to 3 times a week.

In the last 1 year, I have gradually moved from a hard hitter to a smooth swinger.  Since then, I've realized that my accuracy has improved significantly but distance became a victim.  If i play white tee, i can comfortably play high 70s to low 80s.

My only problem is, my 7iron can only hit 145 yards, and my 5 irons can only hit 165 yards.  Is this way too short?

I do notice that my ball flight is quite high, and this suggest that i may be delofting the club.    Should I continue to play this way?

Thanks.

[shades9323]

If you are significantly more accurate, I wouldn't worry about distance.

Wouldn't delofting create a lower ball flight?

Originally Posted by very handicap

I'm 6 ft 2, 200 lbs and 44 years old.  I'm not very athletic but I do golf 2 to 3 times a week.

In the last 1 year, I have gradually moved from a hard hitter to a smooth swinger.  Since then, I've realized that my accuracy has improved significantly but distance became a victim.  If i play white tee, i can comfortably play high 70s to low 80s.

My only problem is, my 7iron can only hit 145 yards, and my 5 irons can only hit 165 yards.  Is this way too short?

I do notice that my ball flight is quite high, and this suggest that i may be delofting the club.    Should I continue to play this way?

Thanks.

[deasy55]

It's only "way too short" if it's severly affecting your game.

[very handicap]

Originally Posted by shades9323

If you are significantly more accurate, I wouldn't worry about distance.

Wouldn't delofting create a lower ball flight?

Sorry, you are right.  I suspect I have increased the loft of my club hence the ball flight is high.  Thanks for correcting.

[very handicap]

Originally Posted by deasy55

It's only "way too short" if it's severly affecting your game.

It means i have to use my longer club most of the time for my 2nd shot.  If the green is further than 175 yards which is my 4 iron distance, i will lose the chance to GIR as my hybrids and woods are not as accurate.

[Gresh24]

Doesn't sound to me like anything to worry about - with your scores.  Especailly with a nice high ball flight.  The main disadvantage of having to use a longer club is sacrificing control due to a lower ball flight.

I am 38, (and athletic) your same size (physically), and I have found myself "clubbing down" and my distances getting a little shorter per club.

[rdwoody]

I've done the same thing in going from a hard swing to a slower, smoother swing. I've greatly increased accuracy, but lost quite a bit of distance. If you've significantly slowed your swing, have you changed equipment or are you still using the same stuff? I ask because I have stiff shafts in all my clubs, which were all bought when I had a swing speed ~100mph with my driver and had a very aggressive transfer. Once I smoothed my swing out, I lost a bit of speed (not too much) and completely lost that aggressive transfer which was responsible for properly loading those stiff shafts.

I lost a lot of distance, but gained accuracy. Albeit, not as much accuracy as I really wanted. So, I pulled out my old blades from high school, which have regular flex shafts, and took them out to see how I did. I was able to put the ball exactly where I wanted it nearly every time and I gained a full club, distance-wise. Needless to say, I'm about to make the switch to regular shafts. If you're using stiff, you may want to give them a try as well.

[bkoguy07]

I hit bombs and i can't shoot in the 70s.  So no, you doin great.  lol I play a lot with a guy that drives it 220 at most.  I can outdrive him with my 4i or 4H... and I still lose by at least 10 strokes.  Distance is only good if you're accurate.  I would take 230 in the fairway all day.  Or anything in the fairway as long as you can reach GIR then no, you are not too short.

[rustyredcab]

Smooth swing does not need to be shorter than hard hitter. Hinge is where all the speed lies for all of us. Even a pro can only swing his arms about 40 MPH max. Speed comes from proper hinge and release of the club at impact. If your ball is higher than you think it should be, then you may be releasing early which adds loft and decreases speed for most of us.

If your current "high" balls are your correct flight, you may have been getting some extra yards before because you were de-lofting your clubs. Maybe everything is what it should be now.

Is 145 too short for a 7-iron? No. We've all played with the guy who was short and deadly accurate. Best I ever played with shot 72 on a very cold day and never drove the ball 230 all day and maybe hit a 7-iron 135-140 in the cold. He hit his long irons straight as an arrow and lag putted like a pro. Missed a few greens and when he did, he chipped to tap-in range. One birdie and one bogey.

We should all be short hitters like him. But if you are short because you have swing issues -- fix the issues and let your new distance be what every it is.

[Roblar]

6'1", 190, 39, semi-athletic....

I try to swing smooth, and I hit my 7i about 150.  Seems perfectly reasonable to me.

If you're accurate, then stick with it!  If you want another 5-10 yards, I bet you could get it easily. Either cultivate a slight draw or sacrifice a tiny bit of 'smooth' for 5-10yds worth of 'aggro'.

[parbreaker]

There are two real aspects to answer with this question.

First, is hitting a 7 iron 145 yds on average too short to play good golf? No, it's not. As has been mentioned, it is very possible to shoot good scores with that distance.

Second, is hitting a 7 iron 145 yds optimal for YOUR swing? Maybe. No one can answer that without seeing your swing. Keeping that in consideration, you may be able to get some more yardage by working on some swing issues. One key I have always kept in mind regarding distance is this: You know you are doing it right when you can gain distance and swing slower at the same time. Your high ball flight may indicate some casting going on, causing a loss of distance. That is pure speculation though, since I haven't seen your swing.

[Teamanglerx]

I'm 5'9", 255lbs, 41, and semi athletic.  I can hit the ball a mile but the slice or pull would go 150 yards either direction.  Last year I decided to get new clubs and learn to play golf correctly.  I switched to graphite shafts and took a lesson.  In that lesson I learned how bad my grip was and the pro and I fixed it.  I also worked on making my swing slower and decided not to "kill" the ball every shot.  I have a print out of the average distances for clubs and I use that as my guide (my cheat sheet actually says 7i = 145 yards).  Now that I am using a smoother swing my scores have come WAY down and keep getting better.  To me, I would rather have an average drive of 230 yards and be on in two than hitting 270+ but playing my next shot from the adjacent fairway.

[RoyPinhey]

i wouldnt worry at all, my 145yrd club is a solid PW and i can hit a low drawing 3 iron maybe 230 with a semi solid connection but i would sacrafice it all for better dispersion stats.

There is a guy at my club who hits it about 230 max from the tee and his longest iron shots are probably around 180, but every shot he hits is straight and he putts like you wouldnt believe. He knocked me out of the scratch cup this year, his handicap is 2

[newtogolf]

Not sure what size has to do with it, but I'm 6' 2" - 200 lbs and hit my 7i about 150.  Biggest problem I have with distance is on some long Par 4's given my average drive of about 240 I find myself too far out to reach the green in 2 consistently.

[Paradox]

Just like I told my dad..your distance is YOUR distance.  He thinks he should hit clubs as far as I do or anyone else does, for that matter.  From 175 out..I bet a lot of us are not terribly accurate with the ball, anyway so I wouldn't worry about that too much.

[Stretch]

Also remember that there's no such thing as a generic "7 iron". Clubs with a 7 on the sole will vary in loft nowadays from about 36 degrees to as little as 30 degrees (which, incidentally, would have been a 4-1/2 iron in the 1960s!), and examples at the two extremes are obviously going to go rather different distances with the same swing.

That aside, I don't think the yardage you mention is "short" to the point that it's going to hold you back if you play from the right tees. My guess would be that most mid-cappers you run into out on the golf course (rather than on the Internet ) are going to be pulling a seven or eight when they get around 150 out -- and that every one will be happy to be on the green from there!

[longbow]

Just started back in the game in May.  I swing smooth and hit my 7 iron right at about 145 maybe a few yds more if I try a lower ball flight.  My drives are about 230 avg but sometimes I can pop one 250 or so, all carry.  It's wierd too cause it doesn't seem to matter with my drives if I try to hit them low or high they all end up about the same.  Same goes for my irons.  More than once I'll hit what you would call a worm raper, only to find that it isn't that much less in distance than a shot that is flushed.  Maybe 10 yds maybe a bit more for loss of distance but not what you would think of as a major loss of distance.  I like accuracy more than raw distance myself, so I think you are doing something correct.  Smooth swinging is easier on the body too.  Just my thoughts.  thanks