losing relative yardage as I go up in clubs

[americanfighter]

Ok guys In a previous post I mentioned how I have lost my power after having a stroke. Now I have a similar yet different problem

I hit my wedge about 100 yards and my 9 iron about 110 so those are in sync to roughly where they should be for me however as I move up in clubs my yards relative to what it should be goes down. for instance I am only hitting my 7 iron about 130 when I should be hitting it 145 and my 5 iron is going 160 when it should be 180 aand so on till i get to my driver which I am hitting no further than my 3 wood off the tee

why am I losing yards as I go up?

[mvmac]

Do you tend to hit the ball low? Might need to hit it higher, keep the ball in the air longer. The shorter clubs give you enough loft to do that.

[americanfighter]

Do you tend to hit the ball low? Might need to hit it higher, keep the ball in the air longer. The shorter clubs give you enough loft to do that.

Thanks I wouldn't say I hit them low but I defiantly could hit them higher

[mvmac]

Thanks I wouldn't say I hit them low but I defiantly could hit them higher

Ok so you can look at improving your swing to do that or maybe look at irons with a wide sole/lower center of gravity.

Without seeing your swing this is generally a good feel to practice, make sure the weight is forward and "thrust".

[joekelly]

My personal experience with this problem is that the longer the shaft the more difficult to control the timing and clubhead delivery. I am humbled but admit that shots of 160 or more need my hydrid, not any iron. I have a 9i with a forged head and graphite shaft that i can often hit and control to 140 yards which is super for me. But no way can i hit my old 8i blade with stiff steel shaft 150 so that's it for me till i can afford a set of forged graphites.

Fortunately, i love to practice and am improving all aspects esp my short game as that is where i can make the most headway towards lower scores, at my age. I know longer and more consistent drives would be best but the effort , time and cost to achieve this end is troublesome to me.

[SavvySwede]

Ok guys In a previous post I mentioned how I have lost my power after having a stroke. Now I have a similar yet different problem

I hit my wedge about 100 yards and my 9 iron about 110 so those are in sync to roughly where they should be for me however as I move up in clubs my yards relative to what it should be goes down. for instance I am only hitting my 7 iron about 130 when I should be hitting it 145 and my 5 iron is going 160 when it should be 180 aand so on till i get to my driver which I am hitting no further than my 3 wood off the tee

why am I losing yards as I go up?

If you hit your pw 100 and 9i 110 why would you expect your 5 iron to go 180? The numbers match up just fine. Ten yard gaps between irons would put your 5 iron at about 150

[americanfighter]

If you hit your pw 100 and 9i 110 why would you expect your 5 iron to go 180? The numbers match up just fine. Ten yard gaps between irons would put your 5 iron at about 150

It's where I was before I had my stroke. Before I had my stroke I could hit my 9 and pw further than what I posted too but 100 and 110 feels like a good starting point for me now. but my main point is the difference between what I can do now vs before my stoke, gets larger as I move up in clubs. In fact honestly I could be overestimating when I say 160 as I haven't taken a range finder to it yet as I have for my pw and 9

[Hammer 4]

I may be wrong, and the experts can chime in re: your question. I'm 65, have a bad back, and am taking lessons from Mike and Dana.

To me, I would be more concerned with having good mechanics at this point, and not be to concerned about distance. I'm sure once you get your swing sorted out, so that your striking the ball solid, your distances will come around. Also remember your still in the building stages of your swing, at least I assume you are. Anyhow, focus on the swing, not how far any given club should go.

All said and done, your very lucky to be able to swing a club, and for that all of us are glad your back at it.

[David in FL]

If you hit your pw 100 and 9i 110 why would you expect your 5 iron to go 180? The numbers match up just fine. Ten yard gaps between irons would put your 5 iron at about 150

I was about to type the same thing....

It's where I was before I had my stroke. Before I had my stroke I could hit my 9 and pw further than what I posted too but 100 and 110 feels like a good starting point for me now. but my main point is the difference between what I can do now vs before my stoke, gets larger as I move up in clubs.

In fact honestly I could be overestimating when I say 160 as I haven't taken a range finder to it yet as I have for my pw and 9

Expect somewhere between 10-15 yards between irons.  If you apply the same 10 yard difference between your PW and your 9-iron through the remainder of your irons, you find that you should be hitting your 7-iron 130ish and your 5-iron 150ish.  Given that, your relative distances are just fine right now.

The issue is that the overall length that you're hitting all your irons is a bit short, though not horrible for a high-handicap player, especially in light of your medical issues.  My first guess would be that you have a tendency to flip through impact, but that's just a guess.  I'd really recommend posting a swing video and letting @mvmac , @iacas , or one of the other qualified instructors take a look at what's actually going on in your swing.

[boogielicious]

@americanfighter ,

Do you feel you are making consistent contact with each iron?  If you are hitting a little heavy, the distance will come down.  You are still recovering physically.  I would just focus on contact for now and let yourself recover.

[americanfighter]

Ok so you can look at improving your swing to do that or maybe look at irons with a wide sole/lower center of gravity. Without seeing your swing this is generally a good feel to practice, make sure the weight is forward and "thrust".

Hey thanks I went to the range today and took my old callaway x14[quote name="mvmac" url="/t/74261/losing-relative-yardage-as-i-go-up-in-clubs#post_984867"] Ok so you can look at improving your swing to do that or maybe look at irons with a wide sole/lower center of gravity. Without seeing your swing this is generally a good feel to practice, make sure the weight is forward and "thrust". [/quote] this helped i went to the range today normally i play with titlest AP1s but i found some llld big bertha irons i played back in 05. the BBs were much easier to get off the ground and i am getting my distance back probably should play with these for a while till i can transition back to my AP1s

[americanfighter]

I may be wrong, and the experts can chime in re: your question. I'm 65, have a bad back, and am taking lessons from Mike and Dana. To me, I would be more concerned with having good mechanics at this point, and not be to concerned about distance. I'm sure once you get your swing sorted out, so that your striking the ball solid, your distances will come around. Also remember your still in the building stages of your swing, at least I assume you are. Anyhow, focus on the swing, not how far any given club should go. All said and done, your very lucky to be able to swing a club, and for that all of us are glad your back at it.:beer:

thanks

[The Recreational Golfer]

Some time ago I read that older golfers start having smaller distance gaps between their longer irons because of decreasing swing speed.  Short irons are still OK, but the differences between the 6, 5, and 4-irons aren't as great as they used to be.

[WUTiger]

Are you still using the same irons as pre-stroke?

My own story, I had open-heart surgery in 2005. I was recommended for surgery after a stress test - I did not have a heart attack. But, I lost an inch of muscle from each calf, and had extra work to get my torso back into good shape.

Anyway, an interaction of the surgery, plus the fact I was 55 at the time, spelled the end of stiff shafts for me. I fought it for a couple of years, and then switched to Regular.

In my pre-surgery irons, I had 125-gram Dynalite Gold stiff shafts (high-launch cousins of Dynamic Gold). I started losing distance.

Initially, I got X20 irons with Uniflex (between R and S) shafts, about 110 grams. Then, I got bold and got some X20 Tour irons with Project X 5.0 Rifle Flighted shafts (115 grams, with stiff tip). On some days when I play, they feel harsh. And, I'm getting a lot of distance variation.

Anyway, after several tests and trials, I am getting my Tours reshafted with NS Pro 8950GH R.flex (about 20 grams lighter and a softer R.flex than the PX.

Sorry to ramble, back to your original question. Shorter irons are easier to hit because they have shorter shafts. I have my distance fall-off starting about the 7 iron. IF you still have your pre-stroke irons, you might need lighter shafts. This would allow a more even power transfer as you go up and down your iron set. Anyway, if you haven't been fitted in awhile, this would be a good time to do it.

Most of all , I'm thankful you survived your stroke. I've had a couple of friends who had strokes, and my heart sank when I watched how much work it took them to recover. Hang in there, and I'm glad you can still play golf! Let us know how things go.