Swing hard with the driver... Easy with everything else

[tuffluck]

I drive about 278 on average, according to GPS. Though so does Luke Donald'ish. But when it comes to a 7i, I feel a much easier swing and get about 155-160, which isn't awesome. Is it weird I swing easier with my irons and get less yardage?

[mvmac]

Are you asking if it's weird that a slower swing results in potentially shorter shots?

[onephenom]

It's not weird to swing slower and get distance that is shorter. A swing that drives 278 probably is about a 170-175 average i guess. It may also be that your irons aren't distance irons.

It's not really weird though... just how it is. I think it's easiest to swing the same full swing with all clubs.

[tuffluck]

Originally Posted by onephenom

It's not weird to swing slower and get distance that is shorter. A swing that drives 278 probably is about a 170-175 average i guess. It may also be that your irons aren't distance irons.

It's not really weird though... just how it is. I think it's easiest to swing the same full swing with all clubs.

yeah, i don't know why i do it, i just feel like my consistency is higher with irons at slower swing speeds, but with the driver i can swing faster and get accurate results.

i play i20 irons.

[tuffluck]

Originally Posted by mvmac

Are you asking if it's weird that a slower swing results in potentially shorter shots?

i was asking if it's odd that i do NOT swing the same swing with every club.  i.e. as the other poster pointed out, with a 7i i should be getting 170ish and i get much less distance because i don't swing as hard.  just wondering if that is odd that i practice this technique, and if i should work on firming up my iron shots to accomplish the expected distance with each club for my power.

[saevel25]

A lot of golfers out there swing faster for there driver, even pro's. I try to keep the same tempo, though my tempo is usually fast anyways, so its hard for me to really speed up my swing with out messing it up. Though i always hated the idea of, ok find 100% and back it to 80%. I rather swing everything at 95%, and back it down when i need to take a little distance off. Though i found a good trick, i would just put the ball up in my stance, and hit a high power fade, it goes about 15 yards less on the drive, but its controllable when i need it, and it lands soft. Not a bad shot i created for myself. But of course when i say 100%, i mean still being able to swing with out falling over, or really throwing my swing out of sort.

My uncle is like ernie els, his tempo will put you to sleep. Irons, driver, its just silky smooth, same tempo.

[SloverUT]

Distance is fine and dandy but what really matters is consistency and accuracy.  Hitting a 7i 160 yards is fine.  The reason it is fine is because if you need to hit the ball further you can just switch to a less lofted club.  People seem to put a lot of worry into distances, particularly in regards to their irons, and there is no need for that.

If I drive the ball 150 yards that may be a bit worrisome because I can't use a club that can hit it further than a Driver.

But if I hit my 7iron 160 yards and I have 180 to the hole I can just use my 5 iron.  It is more important to know the distances you hit each of your clubs consistently so that you can accurately judge which club you should use.  After all, the score card doesn't care if you used a 5 iron or a 9 iron to reach the green in two and make birdie/par.

So if swinging slower allows you to be more accurate and consistent, then it is not weird.

[bjwestner]

Originally Posted by SloverUT

Distance is fine and dandy but what really matters is consistency and accuracy.  Hitting a 7i 160 yards is fine.  The reason it is fine is because if you need to hit the ball further you can just switch to a less lofted club.  People seem to put a lot of worry into distances, particularly in regards to their irons, and there is no need for that.

If I drive the ball 150 yards that may be a bit worrisome because I can't use a club that can hit it further than a Driver.

But if I hit my 7iron 160 yards and I have 180 to the hole I can just use my 5 iron.  It is more important to know the distances you hit each of your clubs consistently so that you can accurately judge which club you should use.  After all, the score card doesn't care if you used a 5 iron or a 9 iron to reach the green in two and make birdie/par.

So if swinging slower allows you to be more accurate and consistent, then it is not weird.

I could not agree more.  Distance is an issue that a lot of people including myself get "sucked" into.  Then you start to analyze the distances for your clubs and when things do not match up perfectly (they rarely ever do for amateurs), you lose sight of what actually matters: CONSISTENCY & ACCURACY.

Yes I would like it if I could hit my 7 iron 180 or 190, but that's not the case.  I'd rather have it where I could only hit my 7 iron 135 or 140 but have that be very consistent.  I'd sacrafice yardage all day long if I knew for certain how far each club would go and know that it would be consistent.  Unfortunately this is not the case either as my swing is not consistent enough and other factors (i.e. weather, wind, lack of experience) play into this.  Thus I'm left with a 7 iron that could go 165 if I catch it really good or it could go 130 if I do not hit it good.

[SoundandFury]

I could not agree more.  Distance is an issue that a lot of people including myself get "sucked" into.  Then you start to analyze the distances for your clubs and when things do not match up perfectly (they rarely ever do for amateurs), you lose sight of what actually matters: CONSISTENCY & ACCURACY.  Yes I would like it if I could hit my 7 iron 180 or 190, but that's not the case.  I'd rather have it where I could only hit my 7 iron 135 or 140 but have that be very consistent.  I'd sacrafice yardage all day long if I knew for certain how far each club would go and know that it would be consistent.  Unfortunately this is not the case either as my swing is not consistent enough and other factors (i.e. weather, wind, lack of experience) play into this.  Thus I'm left with a 7 iron that could go 165 if I catch it really good or it could go 130 if I do not hit it good.

I read a lot of posts arguing accuracy over distance, and in a vacuum, I think that idea is objectively correct. However, there's another element to the equation that seems to get ignored: what clubs are you most accurate with? A short iron or long iron? Every golfer, from 20 cappers to tour pros are more accurate with a shorter club in their hand. Thus, wouldn't you rather be hitting a 9i into a green rather than a 5i? One the above posts says that if you can't hit a 7i 170, just hit a 5i. That's great, but are you as accurate with a 5 as you are a 7? I certainly am not. If you are, that's awesome and I'm jealous. A year ago my 7 or 8 iron was my 135-140 club. As I've gotten better, my 135-140 club is now my pw. I did at the range where I hit 10 balls with my 5, 10 with my 7, and 10 with my pw. As expected, the dispersion was significantly tighter with the pw (9 of 10 on the "green", 5 within 10' of the flag). So, is accuracy more important than distance? Of course. But distance lets you hit shorter clubs, which in turn makes you more accurate.

[truthseeker]

Originally Posted by tuffluck

I drive about 278 on average, according to GPS. Though so does Luke Donald'ish. But when it comes to a 7i, I feel a much easier swing and get about 155-160, which isn't awesome. Is it weird I swing easier with my irons and get less yardage?

Considering clubs are different weights, lengths, and are used in different situations with different margin for error it makes sense to swing them with different levels of perceived power.  For example I am not going to feel myself exert nearly as much energy swinging a pitching wedge as I am with a driver.  The swing speed is lower on the pitching wedge due to weight and lever length so the club itself is going to exert less force on the golfer.  In turn the golfer will have to exert less power to control the pitching wedge.  With driver the speed is much higher and corresponding forces higher as well.  Also, when we swing driver the goal is often to hit the ball as far as possible while leaving ourselves an acceptable approach to the green; at least thats how most of the tour guys go about it... BOMB AND GOUGE BABY!  When swinging an iron the goal is usually more target oriented making accuracy a bit more important.  Below is a chart I found on another forum.  It is supposedly from the trackman site back in 2010, however I could not find it on there.  Nevertheless the numbers look fairly accurate.  Your probably only a half club short, so if finding those extra few yards is going to compromise your accuracy I would tell you that your 7 iron goes plenty far.  I am curious, are you carrying 7 iron 155-160 or is that total distance?

The top line is driver swing speed.  I would also mention the way you go about hitting your driver 278 effects what your iron numbers should be.  If you are swinging 110+ mph and have a steep aoa and high spin you should probably be hitting your irons way further.  Conversely if you are swinging more in the realm off 100 mph and hitting 2+* up on driver your irons would be going plenty far.  Driver distance is not always the best benchmark to use in determining how far your irons should go.  Swing speed is far more telling.

Hope this helps

[clutchshot]

I read a lot of posts arguing accuracy over distance, and in a vacuum, I think that idea is objectively correct. However, there's another element to the equation that seems to get ignored: what clubs are you most accurate with? A short iron or long iron? Every golfer, from 20 cappers to tour pros are more accurate with a shorter club in their hand. Thus, wouldn't you rather be hitting a 9i into a green rather than a 5i? One the above posts says that if you can't hit a 7i 170, just hit a 5i. That's great, but are you as accurate with a 5 as you are a 7? I certainly am not. If you are, that's awesome and I'm jealous. A year ago my 7 or 8 iron was my 135-140 club. As I've gotten better, my 135-140 club is now my pw. I did at the range where I hit 10 balls with my 5, 10 with my 7, and 10 with my pw. As expected, the dispersion was significantly tighter with the pw (9 of 10 on the "green", 5 within 10' of the flag). So, is accuracy more important than distance? Of course. But distance lets you hit shorter clubs, which in turn makes you more accurate.

I disagree... Your shorter clubs are more accurate because they are going less distance than your longer ones. If I'm off by an inch at 100 yards, the ball doesn't have as much time to fly off course as if I make the same mistake at 300 yards. So if I swing my 9 iron hard enough to make it go as far as my 7 iron, guess what? Now it is no more accurate than my 7 iron....

[GaijinGolfer]

I wouldnt say that its odd.  Most people swing harder with the driver.  With every other club you have a target distance in mind but with the driver your target distance is as far as possible.  So, people swing away and hope that they hit it.

[truthseeker]

Originally Posted by clutchshot

I disagree... Your shorter clubs are more accurate because they are going less distance than your longer ones. If I'm off by an inch at 100 yards, the ball doesn't have as much time to fly off course as if I make the same mistake at 300 yards.

So if I swing my 9 iron hard enough to make it go as far as my 7 iron, guess what? Now it is no more accurate than my 7 iron....

The more loft a club has the less severe the resulting spin axis tilt is from face to path variations, therefore a 9 iron hit 160 yards (assuming we haven't just de-lofted it) would typically be more accurate than a 7 iron hit the same distance due to less potential for curve.

[clutchshot]

The more loft a club has the less severe the resulting spin axis tilt is from face to path variations, therefore a 9 iron hit 160 yards (assuming we haven't just de-lofted it) would typically be more accurate than a 7 iron hit the same distance due to less potential for curve.

You may have a point here about the spin, but doesn't hitting an iron harder create more spin as well? Does hitting a soft 7 create more spin than a really hard 9? (I don't know the answer to this question, of you do, then perhaps you are right in your argument) Bottom line is I'm an easier swinging guy. I'm young, and my natural swing speed is fast enough where my comfortable swing puts it out there far enough to play effectively. I rarely swing hard at all. I'm usually somewhere in my mid irons and if I need to get further, I just club up and keep my same easy swing. This tempo helps me hit the ball pure on a consistant basis and fly straight. I usually put the same philosophy into my drives, keep them in play rather than grabbing the extra yards, however, sometimes on a wide course, I really rip into them, this can at times be rewarding but often ends with a ball in the woods.

[truthseeker]

Originally Posted by clutchshot

You may have a point here about the spin, but doesn't hitting an iron harder create more spin as well?

Does hitting a soft 7 create more spin than a really hard 9? (I don't know the answer to this question, of you do, then perhaps you are right in your argument)

Bottom line is I'm an easier swinging guy. I'm young, and my natural swing speed is fast enough where my comfortable swing puts it out there far enough to play effectively. I rarely swing hard at all. I'm usually somewhere in my mid irons and if I need to get further, I just club up and keep my same easy swing. This tempo helps me hit the ball pure on a consistant basis and fly straight. I usually put the same philosophy into my drives, keep them in play rather than grabbing the extra yards, however, sometimes on a wide course, I really rip into them, this can at times be rewarding but often ends with a ball in the woods.

All things remaining the same more speed will generate more spin. Yes, a soft seven will typically have less spin then a hard nine.  What I am talking about is the severity of the axis tilt.  James Leitz explains axis tilt and d plane really well so here is his video below:

The more loft a club has the less effect face angle changes have on the d plane (spin axis tilt).

That being said, sounds like your game is pretty sound clutchshot.  If you have consistently good contact and enough power to play the courses you play you don't have to sacrifice accuracy to try and hit it further by swinging harder.

[clutchshot]

Very interesting, always good to learn something new

[truthseeker]

This was taken within the last month and seemed somewhat relevant.

[rehmwa]

The fact that there is something call the "smash factor" makes the entire activity just a bit more fun and offsets the whole silly outfit deal.