How Far Do You Hit Your Irons? - Loft of Iron to Carry Distance?

[bjwestner]

I know there is already a thread of how far you hit your irons, but the problem is that each iron is not the same loft and in some cases there can be more than a one club difference depending on what irons you a using.  Distance sells and each year the manufacturers come out with new lines bragging how they are x yards longer, yet the "loft creep" seems to be continuously decreasing.

I just made the switch from TM Speedblades, which were very good irons to more of a players irons, Bridgestone J40 Combo's (3-6 are dual pocket and 7-PW are cavity backs).  Interestingly what I've found is that when comparing the irons loft for loft, the Bridgestone's go at least as far as the Speedblades, even though there is at least a one club difference between the sets.

At first it was discouraging because I felt as though I had lost distance, but the reality is that the distance was never lost at all.  Because of the weaker lofts on the Bridgestones, I wanted to see how they compared loft versus distance, ignoring the number on the bottom of the club which was making me think I lost distance when in reality, it was meaningless.

The Speedblades were also longer, although not by much.  Thus the distance gains came from simply stronger lofts and a bit longer club, not necessarily the speed pocket, which my Bridgestones do not have.  I am not not saying that the Speedblades are no good or that the speedpocket is completely bogus, all I'm saying is that when comparing iron sets, make sure that you are making an apples versus apples comparison instead of one based solely on the number of the bottom of the club.

Here are the stats for each set and my distances:

TM Speedblades

4 iron               20 degrees loft         38.875"           185+ yards

5 iron               23 degrees loft         38.25"        175+ yards

6 iron               26.5                        37.625"       165+

7 iron               30.5                        37.0            155-160+

8 iron               34.5                        36.5            145+

9 iron               39.5                        36.0            135+

PW                 45                           35.5             120+

Bridgestone J40 Combo

3 iron               20.0                       38.75           185+

4 iron               23.0                       38.25           175+

5 iron               26.0                       37.75           165+

6 iron               30.0                       37.25           high 150's to 160 or more

7 iron               35.0                       36.75           145+

8 iron               39.0                       36.25           135+

9 iron               43.0                       35.75           125+

PW                 47.0                        35.5             115+

[saevel25]

I know there is already a thread of how far you hit your irons, but the problem is that each iron is not the same loft and in some cases there can be more than a one club difference depending on what irons you a using.  Distance sells and each year the manufacturers come out with new lines bragging how they are x yards longer, yet the "loft creep" seems to be continuously decreasing.

Loft on the irons don't matter much because you are never returning that loft at impact. Your swing + Loft + Golf Shaft will produce a dynamic loft at impact.

Then you have to consider the CG location of the club. A lower CG will increase launch angle as well. Then you add in how much you hit down on the ball, which lowers the launch angle.

So there are multitude of components to launch angle, which matters more than loft for impact conditions. Basically you have Launch Angle, Spin Rate, Spin Axis, Ball Velocity. These will drive the balls trajectory.

The new so called stronger lofted irons all have their CG much lower. Most of them come with mid to higher launching iron shafts. So you take those two components, and you get a higher launching club than what you think for the loft. This is why Game Improvement irons are primarily higher launching clubs, but also are the ones with stronger lofts.

My Mizuno's have more of a traditional loft set up, but their CG is much higher so they launch lower. This means in actuality my Mizuno's are stronger clubs at impact, but have higher lofts.

[bjwestner]

Loft on the irons don't matter much because you are never returning that loft at impact. Your swing + Loft + Golf Shaft will produce a dynamic loft at impact.

Then you have to consider the CG location of the club. A lower CG will increase launch angle as well. Then you add in how much you hit down on the ball, which lowers the launch angle.

So there are multitude of components to launch angle, which matters more than loft for impact conditions. Basically you have Launch Angle, Spin Rate, Spin Axis, Ball Velocity. These will drive the balls trajectory.

The new so called stronger lofted irons all have their CG much lower. Most of them come with mid to higher launching iron shafts. So you take those two components, and you get a higher launching club than what you think for the loft. This is why Game Improvement irons are primarily higher launching clubs, but also are the ones with stronger lofts.

My Mizuno's have more of a traditional loft set up, but their CG is much higher so they launch lower. This means in actuality my Mizuno's are stronger clubs at impact, but have higher lofts.

Thank you for the insight.  I guess my point was that while I was initially disappointed that I was not hitting the 7 iron as far as the last 7 iron, that all irons are not created equal, but there is still the psycological impact of knowing that your x iron is not going as far as the x iron in the previous set.  Once I compared loft versus loft I realized that the number on the bottom is not as important.

As you pointed out CG has a huge impact among other things - for me the lack of offset and better shaft also help.  I know a lot of people only compare what iron and the distance, I was that way and many of my playing partners are when it's not an even comparison.  As a new player I can remember looking online and seeing that hitting a 7 iron 150 yards was considered decent and so I strove to achieve that, little did I know how much difference there could be between lofts and other factors between clubs....

[saevel25]

Thank you for the insight.  I guess my point was that while I was initially disappointed that I was not hitting the 7 iron as far as the last 7 iron, that all irons are not created equal, but there is still the psycological impact of knowing that your x iron is not going as far as the x iron in the previous set.  Once I compared loft versus loft I realized that the number on the bottom is not as important.

As you pointed out CG has a huge impact among other things - for me the lack of offset and better shaft also help.  I know a lot of people only compare what iron and the distance, I was that way and many of my playing partners are when it's not an even comparison.  As a new player I can remember looking online and seeing that hitting a 7 iron 150 yards was considered decent and so I strove to achieve that, little did I know how much difference there could be between lofts and other factors between clubs....

Really people should just disregard the number on the bottom of the club. Really the only thing that matters is if the player can get proper gaps in the long irons, and if they have proper gaps in the wedges. In between, the clubs are designed to have proper yardage gaps.

So if a player ends up having a slower swing speed and hits their 4 iron as long as their 5 iron or even 6 iron. The new Game Improvement irons might help them because they are lower lofted, but they launch higher. This will help those players get more yards on the top end. Or those players might have to go to hybrids. My had has about 2-3 hybrids, a 5 wood, a 3 wood, and a driver. Lets him get every bit of yardage he can out of his swing in the longer clubs.

[MS256]

Really people should just disregard the number on the bottom of the club. Really the only thing that matters is if the player can get proper gaps in the long irons, and if they have proper gaps in the wedges. In between, the clubs are designed to have proper yardage gaps.

So if a player ends up having a slower swing speed and hits their 4 iron as long as their 5 iron or even 6 iron. The new Game Improvement irons might help them because they are lower lofted, but they launch higher. This will help those players get more yards on the top end. Or those players might have to go to hybrids. My had has about 2-3 hybrids, a 5 wood, a 3 wood, and a driver. Lets him get every bit of yardage he can out of his swing in the longer clubs.

I agree with that for sure.

I know several young players that are waaaaaaay to wrapped up into how far their irons go (and they are pretty good players). Not a doubt in my mind that they would be even better players if they would get that crap out of their minds, stay under control, and use the right club for the right distance.

I saw one hit 3 balls in a row into a lake on a par 3 just trying to prove that he could hit the same club I hit on that hole. SMH!!!

I really couldn't care less how far any club in my bag goes until I get to the driver (where I would take as much distance as I could get).

[saevel25]

I agree with that for sure.

I know several young players that are waaaaaaay to wrapped up into how far their irons go (and they are pretty good players). Not a doubt in my mind that they would be even better players if they would get that crap out of their minds, stay under control, and use the right club for the right distance.

I saw one hit 3 balls in a row into a lake on a par 3 just trying to prove that he could hit the same club I hit on that hole. SMH!!!

I really couldn't care less how far any club in my bag goes until I get to the driver (where I would take as much distance as I could get).

If I had to give a tip to anyone. Play a round were you club up 2 clubs on every approach shot and then hit the shot with 70% effort. I bet a lot of golfers would hit more greens, and keep extreme misses to a minimum.

[Lihu]

I know there is already a thread of how far you hit your irons, but the problem is that each iron is not the same loft and in some cases there can be more than a one club difference depending on what irons you a using.  Distance sells and each year the manufacturers come out with new lines bragging how they are x yards longer, yet the "loft creep" seems to be continuously decreasing.

I just made the switch from TM Speedblades, which were very good irons to more of a players irons, Bridgestone J40 Combo's (3-6 are dual pocket and 7-PW are cavity backs).  Interestingly what I've found is that when comparing the irons loft for loft, the Bridgestone's go at least as far as the Speedblades, even though there is at least a one club difference between the sets.

At first it was discouraging because I felt as though I had lost distance, but the reality is that the distance was never lost at all.  Because of the weaker lofts on the Bridgestones, I wanted to see how they compared loft versus distance, ignoring the number on the bottom of the club which was making me think I lost distance when in reality, it was meaningless.

The Speedblades were also longer, although not by much.  Thus the distance gains came from simply stronger lofts and a bit longer club, not necessarily the speed pocket, which my Bridgestones do not have.  I am not not saying that the Speedblades are no good or that the speedpocket is completely bogus, all I'm saying is that when comparing iron sets, make sure that you are making an apples versus apples comparison instead of one based solely on the number of the bottom of the club.

Here are the stats for each set and my distances:

TM Speedblades

4 iron               20 degrees loft         38.875"           185+ yards

5 iron               23 degrees loft         38.25"        175+ yards

6 iron               26.5                        37.625"       165+

7 iron               30.5                        37.0            155-160+

8 iron               34.5                        36.5            145+

9 iron               39.5                        36.0            135+

PW                 45                           35.5             120+

Bridgestone J40 Combo

3 iron               20.0                       38.75           185+

4 iron               23.0                       38.25           175+

5 iron               26.0                       37.75           165+

6 iron               30.0                       37.25           high 150's to 160 or more

7 iron               35.0                       36.75           145+

8 iron               39.0                       36.25           135+

9 iron               43.0                       35.75           125+

PW                 47.0                        35.5             115+

Agree with what @saevel25 and @MS256 stated.

In any case, in looking at the lofts, it looks like with the same loft you generate the same distances.

[MS256]

If I had to give a tip to anyone. Play a round were you club up 2 clubs on every approach shot and then hit the shot with 70% effort. I bet a lot of golfers would hit more greens, and keep extreme misses to a minimum.

There was a guy riding in the cart with me Saturday that kept coming up short on almost every hole. When we got to the island green 9th hole he realized he had lost his 7W (long OT story there).

I told him to just go up a club and then he could go back and look for it while I went up and hit my shot. Then he hits a 5W to about 5 feet short of the pin. Lots of coincidence that he hit that good of a shot but still there is no way he was even going to have that chance with less club.

He even mentioned later that he was glad he lost his 7W on that hole.

[Lihu]

There was a guy riding in the cart with me Saturday that kept coming up short on almost every hole. When we got to the island green 9th hole he realized he had lost his 7W (long OT story there).

I told him to just go up a club and then he could go back and look for it while I went up and hit my shot. Then he hits a 5W to about 5 feet short of the pin. Lots of coincidence that he hit that good of a shot but still there is no way he was even going to have that chance with less club.

He even mentioned later that he was glad he lost his 7W on that hole.

Now that I am injured, I need to swing less "hard". One day I finally decided to pull out a club longer and swung as if I meant to over hit the green with only a slightly less effort than I would normally swing club (probably the same effort just without the tensing of the forehead). Amazingly, I started hitting greens and landing pin high. I discovered this little secret in the last 3 weeks because I hurt my hand. Wished I had come to this realization earlier without the injury.

I even watched a video a year ago with Ernie Els mentioning that the one big problem he sees with amateurs is that they never use enough club.

If I had to give a tip to anyone. Play a round were you club up 2 clubs on every approach shot and then hit the shot with 70% effort. I bet a lot of golfers would hit more greens, and keep extreme misses to a minimum.

Didn't see this earlier, but that's pretty much what I am doing now. Well, one club up more relaxed (guessing my swing speed is higher because I am more relaxed). The difference is that I seem to be pin high now.

They should have two modes of operation: one for beginners and one for single digit. Add 10 yards for beginners.

I think rangefinders should add 10 yards to all their readings.