How to hit 2-iron?

[zenbudda]

The only way I ever consistently hit my 2 iron (which was back in the early 90's btw), was to use regular shafts and swing easy on it (like I was hitting a punch shot, but with a full swing).  I would imagine I'm hitting a 5 wood (which I could hit very consistently and also had a regular shaft).

[HighlandLaird]

You hit it the same way you hit your 3-iron.

FWIW, I play with predominantly good golfers, down to scratch. I don't know a single person who still carries a 2 iron. Most have traded it for a 4th wedge.....

Tom Wishon calls this the "vanishing loft disease".  Club manufacturers have for some time been reducing the loft of their irons so punters can hit them further, thus making the 1,2, and 3 irons redundant and necessitating the use of gap wedges. AS he sagely points out, this does nobody any good, but all manufacturers have fallen into line, because a it is not a very good sales pitch to say "buy our irons, they go less far than our competitors' clubs"!!!!

I use an old seat of forged blade irons, with lofts standard in the 70s and have no difficulty in hitting the 1 and 2 irons.

Wishon has written a superb book, which should be standard reading for all golfers "The New Search For The Perfect Golf Club", and in which he quotes iron lofts thus:-

Club                    1960s-70s             2010+

1                              17degrees           N/A

2                               20  "                    N/A

3                               24  "                    19-21 degrees

4                               28  "                     22-24   "

5                               32  "                     24-27   "

6                               36  "                     27-31   "

7                               40   "                    31-35   "

8                               44   "                    35-40   "

9                                48  "                    40-44   "

PW                             52  "                    44-48  "

GapW                       N/A                       48-52  "

SW                             56  "                    54-56  "

So, when you hear that some pro hit his 7 iron 200 yards, he actually hit his 31 degree iron 200 yards, in old money a 5 iron!!!

No wonder folk imagine the current pros are longer than their predecessors !   I bet none of them could hit the ball as far as Leopoldo Ruiz or George Bayer or Sam Snead hit it in the past.

[inthehole]

my RBZ 3 iron is 18°, which is actually a 2 iron by traditional standards.       THe only advice I can give the OP, is to swing it easy .     Let the club do the work - nothing good comes of it when I try to swing it hard.     When I catch it right with a smooth swing, it always amazes me how much distance I get ...

[JerryD1965]

Balance................ on an anvil, use a big hammer, then hit it!

Hybrid sir hybrid ......................

My buddy who is 55 and grew up with 2,3 and 4 irons, now has a hybrid,scratch golfer.

[longbow]

Here is the secret to hitting a 2 iron.  Buy a rescue wood, hybrid, 4 wood or whatever you want to call it!  OR, reshaft the 2 with a softer shaft with a lower kick point, maybe a graphite shaft. Nicklaus used to do that.  He would have his scoring clubs with as stiff  of a shaft as he could manage for accuracy, his mid irons with a shaft he normally used and his long irons with a softer shaft to get height and distance but he didn't expect pin point accuracy like on his scoring irons or even his mid irons.  I've done that and it works.  thanks

[joekelly]

I''m gonna put my old 'super senior' flex shaft on a three wood and give it a twirl.  Might be fun.

[vangator]

Hit it with a hammer and toss it in the trash. :) I haven't hit one in years. It's great for punching from underneath trees.

[inthecup]

It seems that a lot of advise says swing easy, I said the early in the thread meaning keep good tempo and don't try and kill it and I was told I was wrong.  That thought seems to work for a lot of people.

I just pulled my 2 iron and replaced it with an 18 degree Adams DHy Hybrid.  I liked it so much I picked up the 3 and 4, 21 and 24 degree.

I am the guy that has problems with modern hybrids, I don't like the look and I tend to hook them at inopportune times.  The DHy is more of a super game improvement club.

[saevel25]

I know that 2-iron is quickly become extinct. For mid-high handicappers, hybrid is a much better alternative indeed. However, I particularly interested in learning and mastering 2-iron. I believe that I can hit them purely, then hitting any other club shouldn't be a problem.

So, what are the fundamentals of hitting 2-iron? Grips, setup, stance, posture? Does it have to be very quick on the downswing? Comments and suggestions are appreciated.

Hit the the ball with a slightly descending blow. As the club gets longer the more shallow the angle of attack gets. Have your weight forward at impact, maintain a steady head, have the hands inline with the shoulder and ball at impact, and hit the ball in the center of the clubface.

Basically hit the ball like any other good golf shot.

[inthehole]

I've bought no less than 4 hybrids in the 18-20 degree range in an attempt to unseat my 18 degree TM RBDZ 3 long iron (actually a 2 iron by traditional standards), which I hit great off the tee, but struggle with off the fairway.     I love my 4 hybrid, but there's just something about lower lofted hybrids that don't agree with me ... I just can't hit them reliably.    Off the tee - maybe 1 out of 3 gives me the result I'm looking for.    Off the deck its a crap shoot - get brutal snap hooks and slices - doesn't happen to me with any other club.    I hit my 3 wood so much better than the longer hybrids off the deck (and tee).     So, today, I am returning the 18° long iron to the bag, and committing to it.     Can't say I haven't tried to hit low lofted hybrids like most everyone else does ... they just aren't for me.

My biggest takeaway from this exercise ... of whatever variety, the lower lofted irons/hybrids are simply not easy to hit clubs.      Don't believe what everyone tells you in that hybrids are inherently easier to hit than long irons in every situation....

PS - I am dying to try a Cobra adjustible Amp Cell fairway ... set to 20 degrees (nooooooooo - must commit to the long iron - LOL)

[graham57]

I agree with all those who say "hit it like any other iron". Hitting it smoothly and without extra effort is the secret. I am not a low handicapper, but play Titleist 690 mb irons and they are the most stable part of my game. I recently bought a 690 cb 2-iron on ebay and hit it around 220 yards, usually dead straight. Even when I don't hit it well (about 20% of the time), it still goes straight and travels 130-150 yards, leaving me a slightly longer iron in to par 5's (as opposed to a wedge shot to the green). It is now one of my favourite clubs!

[WUTiger]

I used MacGregor MT irons from 1974-1994, and the set contained a 2 iron. I used it primarily as a driving iron. It had a loft of 21ª / 3i had 24ª / 4i had 28ª.

From 1994-2008, I used Pro Tour Black irons (a Ping Eye2 clone). Longest iron was a 3i, which was 21ª in loft.

For the next few years, I carried Callaway X20 or X20 Tour irons.  Both models had 21ª 3i, and 24ª 4i.

I later acquired a set of SLDR irons. The set has a 21ª 4i / and a 24ª 5i.

So, if you want to hit a 2i, take out your 4i and go for it.!

[The Recreational Golfer]

About a dozen years ago, before hybrids really came into their own, I had a 2-iron in my bag like almost everyone else. It hit it off the tee only, and could count on getting 200 yards in the center with it -- great on days when your driver is being a bad boy. The longest club I could hit off the fairway with any confidence was a 4-iron, and I still can. The 4-hybrid is so much easier, though.

I take my 2-iron to the range every so often just for fun, but if I'm solid with my 5-iron but not so good with the 2, I don't spend any time figuring out why.

[Guest smd]

I use mine when it’s quite windy off of the tee would need a great lie to hit it off the fairway