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Why do I hit my wedges and irons far but not my woods?


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Why might one hit their irons and wedges far but not their woods. I've lost quite a bit of distance on my woods, ( 260 driver, 230 3 wood) but I seem to be hitting my other clubs much farther, especially when I play my tournament balls. I played in a tournament yesterday where I was consistently 20+ yards behind my playing partners but almost hitting the same clubs in. I also seem to be always gaining distance with my irons. I come on here and always hear about people BSing their distances so I don't trust mine. But yesterday on one par 3 I caught a 7 iron slightly fat with a right to left wind that flew 175-180 while others hit 5 irons. On other par 3s I hit a 140 yard carry gap wedge downwind, a 160 yard fat pw downwind, and a 160 yard choke up fat hook 9 iron into the wind. So why is that.
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Why might one hit their irons and wedges far but not their woods. I've lost quite a bit of distance on my woods, ( 260 driver, 230 3 wood) but I seem to be hitting my other clubs much farther, especially when I play my tournament balls. I played in a tournament yesterday where I was consistently 20+ yards behind my playing partners but almost hitting the same clubs in. I also seem to be always gaining distance with my irons. I come on here and always hear about people BSing their distances so I don't trust mine. But yesterday on one par 3 I caught a 7 iron slightly fat with a right to left wind that flew 175-180 while others hit 5 irons. On other par 3s I hit a 140 yard carry gap wedge downwind, a 160 yard fat pw downwind, and a 160 yard choke up fat hook 9 iron into the wind. So why is that.


I'm pretty similar. With some flaws in my swing the fact is that I can simply swing something short faster (relatively speaking) than something long.

If I made the same swing with a driver as I do with an iron, and used the same hand/arm speed, I would hit it fat pretty often and wouldn't know where it was going when I didn't.

I do not de-loft my club. If anything I have a tendency for the opposite problem (but working on it). I not only hit irons longer but much higher than most people.

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Maybe it's your angle of attack with the woods -- just a guess. But if you're hitting a 7i that far... check on video to see your AOA. If it's a negative angle of attack. you may be placing too much spin on driver and 3 wood, and too little loft. Just a guess. Check the camera.

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Another factor to consider for the differing iron distances.  One 7 iron is not necessarily the same as another 7 iron.  Companies often have different lofts for the same numbered club.  In fact, that is a trick some companies have used to claim their clubs hit farther - they have a lower loft on the club.

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I would agree that you are likely hitting down with the woods.  What is your launch angle and spin with driver?  What is your driver ball flight?

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I definantly do deloft my irons and wedges as I like to hit a lowball 7 iron and down, and the lofts are strong 45 pw. I don't however hot down on it very much, a divot is something I struggle with often and with 3 wood I almost never make a divot. And the kids I was playing with take large divots an hit down on it with driver. Also, with my driver I have been working on delofting it significantly so it is straight, but when I take a normal swing, it is a suuuuper high lauching shot, So I'm pretty sure I don't hit down on it, but I'm still 25-30 yards behind them, then hit my irons 2 clubs longer. Whatever, thanks for your help probably is the loft at impact and a slower clubhead speed.
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Also, with my driver I have been working on delofting it significantly so it is straight, but when I take a normal swing, it is a suuuuper high lauching shot, So I'm pretty sure I don't hit down on it, but I'm still 25-30 yards behind them, then hit my irons 2 clubs longer.

Does the ball launch at a medium height and start rising when hit your driver or does it launch high with a flat trajectory?

Mike McLoughlin

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It launches high with a flat trajectory. It's not spinning up as far as I can tell. I have no idea why either. 8.5 degree titleist 910 driver set to the low hook setting. It has an adila rip alpha shaft stiff, cut down one inch. And I play it middle of my stance teed up so that the topic the ball is in line with the top of the driver. Still launches high
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You play the driver in the middle of your stance? I think it would be impossible to hit up with a driver from there. I think you are hitting down and spin is driving it high. Does the ball roll out or stop.
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You play the driver in the middle of your stance? I think it would be impossible to hit up with a driver from there. I think you are hitting down and spin is driving it high. Does the ball roll out or stop.

I play the ball back to hit it lower, it depends on the wetness of the ground, but if it's dry it runs out.

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I play the ball back to hit it lower, it depends on the wetness of the ground, but if it's dry it runs out.

It's generally beneficial to hit it high, as long as the spin is under control. Is it a D2 or D3? When you miss it, do you hit it high or low on the face?

I would experiment with playing the ball more forward, like off your left shoulder and see how that changes things.

Mike McLoughlin

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It's generally beneficial to hit it high, as long as the spin is under control. Is it a D2 or D3? When you miss it, do you hit it high or low on the face?  [CONTENTEMBED=/t/74429/evolution-of-high-launch-and-low-spin layout=inline]​[/CONTENTEMBED]  I would experiment with playing the ball more forward, like off your left shoulder and see how that changes things.

I think it's the bigger headed one can't remember which, right now if I mishit it it is low and way off the heel. What would be the optimal height to hit the ball, not with numbers but just looking at it, maybe I'm launching it correctly and I just don't know. Ill test what you were saying out today, usually it just makes a high spinning pull slice, but I am also fixing my swing plane today because it is probably as flat as you've ever seen, so maybe that will give me a little better control on trajectory and take some slice off when I move it up.

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I think it's the bigger headed one can't remember which, right now if I mishit it it is low and way off the heel. What would be the optimal height to hit the ball, not with numbers but just looking at it, maybe I'm launching it correctly and I just don't know.

Depends on your speed and impact numbers but 12-15 degrees launch would be great.

I think it's the bigger headed one can't remember which, right now if I mishit it it is low and way off the heel. Ill test what you were saying out today, usually it just makes a high spinning pull slice, but I am also fixing my swing plane today because it is probably as flat as you've ever seen, so maybe that will give me a little better control on trajectory and take some slice off when I move it up.

Yeah hitting it off the heel is going to be a distance killer. If you play the ball forward and still hit high spinning shots, there are a couple reasons.

- The angle of attack is still too far down. Might need to add other pieces in to help.

- You're hitting it low or off the heel or both

- It's not the right club for you. D2 drivers tend to produce medium to higher spin numbers (compared to other drivers on the market), at the least the pre-913 models are known for that.

Mike McLoughlin

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Went to the range and change my swing plane from flat to normal and tried out what you said with the driver, worked better but still need to work on it before my tournament, however I was absolutely pummeling my irons. On the 2 holes I hit an iron approach I had 145 into a gentle breeze and carried the first 150 and the second 155 with a pw. Perfect strikes granted
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Note: This thread is 3534 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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