Why the Common Perception about Difficulty Hitting Long Irons for Mere Mortals?

[inthehole]

sorry, resurrecting an old thread only because this is bugging the crap out of me.    I think the responses to this thread were unanimous that the 3 hybrids are longer than comparable modern 3 irons.     I haven't found this to be the case at all ... and over the course of the past 3 months, I have tried two different 3 hybrids (2013 Adams Super S 19° & 2009 Nickent 4DX 18.5°) with a direct comparison to a 2013 Taylormade Rocketbladez 3 iron (18°).     Note that the hybrids and 3i all measure exactly the same length  - the 3 iron has a steel shaft, hybrids graphite - all regular flex.    I've put probably 25 rounds on these clubs over that period & have deduced the following through many comparable shots (I use a laser to measure distances, so they're pretty good).

The 3 hybrids average somewhere around 195-205 off the tee with a well struck shot.   The 3i average somewhere between 205-225 off the tee with a comparably struck shot.     Off the deck, the hybrids are more consistent - without question, my misses are far worse with the 3 iron off the deck - I occasionally see banana slices which I never see in anything but fairway woods - never slice hybrids or any other irons for that matter like that.       Seems mistakes are exhaggerated off the deck with the 3 iron ... but HOLY COW, when I flush one - nothing like it ... last week I had 205 in & pured that 3 iron - nice high ball flight, bounced once on the back of the green and over - I bet it would have rolled out to 235 on the fairway.     Never ever get that kind of distance out of hybrids of comparable loft (not saying this was anything but an anomaly - the stars must have aligned on that shot).     Out of the rough, thats a non-issue - I reach for my 5 iron every time - swinging longer clubs extra hard out of the rough beats up my back, so I don't do it.

So I'm just curious what you more experienced guys make of this .... is there some magic pixie dust mixed in to the Taylormade casting that makes that 3i apparently break the rules & eat hybrids for breakfast or could there be something about my swing that just doesn't work for hybrids (I really don't think I'm doing anything consciously different in swinging any of these clubs) ??

[GangGreen]

So I'm just curious what you more experienced guys make of this .... is there some magic pixie dust mixed in to the Taylormade casting that makes that 3i apparently break the rules & eat hybrids for breakfast or could there be something about my swing that just doesn't work for hybrids (I really don't think I'm doing anything consciously different in swinging any of these clubs) ??

Not sure if I'm answering your question correctly, but I have a TM Rocketballz 3H and I find, distance wise, its much closer to my 4i (also a TM Rocketballz) with a comparably well struck shot. The difference, for me at least, as you mentioned in your post is that I am much more likely to get good contact with the 3H vs. the 4i (particularly off the deck and out of the rough) so whenever I'm in that range my default club has been the 3H. Got to the point that I rarely touched the 4i and recently replaced it with a 4H. I've only taken out the 4H on the course once so far and it seems to give me 5i type length, but its SOOOOOO much more controllable for me that I can live without the yardage...now if they could just make a hybrid to replace my putter...HA!

[GaijinGolfer]

It has to do with the weighting of the clubhead.  The fairway wood has the weight moved farther back from the clubface than the iron does, so its design wants to hit the ball up and into the air.  Thats the same reason why hybrids are easier to hit than long irons as well.

For most new players and high handicappers, they would be wise to forget about any iron longer than a 6-irons and go with FWs and hybrids instead.

[mvmac]

The 3 hybrids average somewhere around 195-205 off the tee with a well struck shot.   The 3i average somewhere between 205-225 off the tee with a comparably struck shot.     Off the deck, the hybrids are more consistent - without question, my misses are far worse with the 3 iron off the deck - I occasionally see banana slices which I never see in anything but fairway woods - never slice hybrids or any other irons for that matter like that.       Seems mistakes are exhaggerated off the deck with the 3 iron ... but HOLY COW, when I flush one - nothing like it ... last week I had 205 in & pured that 3 iron - nice high ball flight, bounced once on the back of the green and over - I bet it would have rolled out to 235 on the fairway.     Never ever get that kind of distance out of hybrids of comparable loft (not saying this was anything but an anomaly - the stars must have aligned on that shot).     Out of the rough, thats a non-issue - I reach for my 5 iron every time - swinging longer clubs extra hard out of the rough beats up my back, so I don't do it.

I think for most shots you would tend to carry the hybrids farther than the 3 iron.  The 3 iron probably just rolls farther.  The RBZ 3 iron is almost in "driving iron" territory.

[RickK]

I think hybrids are more fogiving on mishit shots than are long irons. In my 30s, 40s, and even into my 50s, I carried 1iron thru the SW and hit every one of those clubs. Now, the longest iron in my bag is a 6 iron.  I switched to hybrids because they really are easier to hit, more forgiving, and I can hit them much higher.  In the past, if I ended up say 190 yards out and 125 yards in front of me was a tree, I had to figure out whether I needed to hit a draw or fade around the tree.  Now, I just aim towards the tree and hit it over it.

Long irons were not all that difficult for me out of the fairway.  But, when you get into some serious rough, those 1,2,3irons were sometimes useless.

[Mr. Desmond]

As a relatively new player - this confuses me.     I leaned my 3 iron up against my 3 wood & it's about 2 inches shorter.      To me, what makes a club "tough to hit" is the length of it.      I hit my 3 iron far better off the deck than my 3 wood because its shorter - and it's almost as long on an equivilent perfect shot.

Granted, my 3 iron is a modern cavity backed, ultra forgiving hot faced version - not a muscle back or blade 3 iron that were standard issue years ago.

Just for my piece of mind, I would love to hear the basis of why long irons are considered tougher to hit than much longer shafted fairway woods ?   Thanks

I know ... old thread someone conjured up.

I'd say a 3i is still a long club ... but it is also one that people think they must hit it hard to get more spin and the ball in the air, it is a long club, low lofted, not a lot of mass = lack of consistency.

One can make a hybrid with a larger mass pulled back and low for more forgiveness at about the same shaft length or slightly longer, and get more consistency. If you have enough loft with a fitted shaft, you can also swing easy for greater consistency.

I prefer a 41-41.5 inch 7 wood because I really feel that I can swing easy and get the ball high in the air - it's like a trouble wood for me. I just don't have one at the moment. Adams 2013 Tight Lies ... here I come!

[inthehole]

I know ... old thread someone conjured up.

I'd say a 3i is still a long club ... but it is also one that people think they must hit it hard to get more spin and the ball in the air, it is a long club, low lofted, not a lot of mass = lack of consistency.

One can make a hybrid with a larger mass pulled back and low for more forgiveness at about the same shaft length or slightly longer, and get more consistency. If you have enough loft with a fitted shaft, you can also swing easy for greater consistency.

I prefer a 41-41.5 inch 7 wood because I really feel that I can swing easy and get the ball high in the air - it's like a trouble wood for me. I just don't have one at the moment. Adams 2013 Tight Lies ... here I come!

I hit a 7 wood most of last year - really liked it, great off the fairway, but it just wasn't very long for me & didn't fit the gap I was looking for.     Honestly, I use the 3 iron much more off the tee - for tight fairway shots where I don't want to take a chance with the driver - I just get alot more length out of it than the 3h or 7w.

[Mr. Desmond]

I hit a 7 wood most of last year - really liked it, great off the fairway, but it just wasn't very long for me & didn't fit the gap I was looking for.     Honestly, I use the 3 iron much more off the tee - for tight fairway shots where I don't want to take a chance with the driver - I just get alot more length out of it than the 3h or 7w.

Yes, my Tity 910 was fun, but went a little too high with the Bassara R flex shaft. I'm thinking Adams Tight Lies 2013 7 wood with a 41 inch Red Tie (a stock shaft in the Adams Driver). The Red Tie will make up a little for that 22 of loft - high but not ballooning, and the slightly shorter shaft length helps contact (in theory).

Unless my swing is really "on," I have issues with a 21 or less hybrid and getting it high, high, high

[phan52]

I haven't had a 2-iron since I had a set of these...

...and it never made it into my bag even then. In fact, I haven't even got a 3-iron in my last three sets of irons. I probably haven't hit a 3-iron in over ten years and my last set doesn't have a 4-iron.

[Mr. Desmond]

We also must remember that today's ball is high launch, low spin ... and modern irons are set up to launch high with less spin ... a lot of us need spin, and that means more speed.

So I think we've got to compensate for modern balls and equipment with a setup that fits ... if you don't have speed, then you've got to have a lighter graphite shaft with an active tip and more torque (feel) to give you more speed and spin.

[inthehole]

I haven't had a 2-iron since I had a set of these...

...and it never made it into my bag even then. In fact, I haven't even got a 3-iron in my last three sets of irons. I probably haven't hit a 3-iron in over ten years and my last set doesn't have a 4-iron.

... but comparing your old style long irons to modern cavity backed irons like the RBDZ above is akin to apples to oranges.     Just seems to me the hot face & cavity backed technology of the new long irons makes them so much more forgiving and ultimately usable/viable.    Reminds me of that old car commercial ... the new long irons aren't your Dads long irons...