Tired of People Hating on the 3-iron

[jamesbei]

I like my 3 iron, and hopefully are going to hit my new 2 iron as good.

I love it for the "tiger-esc" stinger of the tee. i also don't like people saying
"yeah but i get more distance with my 3 hybrid"
WHO CARES, you dont use irons for distance, accuracy and distance CONTROL, is why i carry irons.

otherwise we would all be using Cleveland HIbore hybrid irons, MEGA LONG!! lol

[The Gill]

I hit my 3 iron well off the tee, but lately I've been hitting my 5w as accurately as the 3i. On non-league nights I've been playing with 15 clubs (added a gap wedge) and I've also been keeping track of how many times I hit each club for the past 4 rounds. I hit the gap a lot more than the 3. So now the 3 is out. (I did the same process with the 2i and 5w.)

[Beach Golfer]

I too am tired of people saying that there is no point in carrying a 3-iron just because they can't hit one. I carry a 3-iron and a 2-hybrid and I can hit the 3-iron almost as high and just as straight as my hybrid. The advantage of the 3-iron is that I can keep it under the wind a little easier and I can use it for punch shots out of trees. People should stop saying that the 3-iron is a thing of the past because it will still be around for many more years to come.

[JKilgore44]

Let's not forget about the 2-iron too. When I pull it out on the tee-box after someone just hit their nifty little hybrid, they just glare at me. Then I lace one about 240yds and smile.

It's not that I'm anti-hybrid. I really would like to have one when the conditions are right. But for now, I like being able to rip a 2/3 iron and be able to control the trajectory and have the same amount of distance.

[johnnyb588]

I definitely carry a 3 and intend to always carry a 3i. Honestly, I don't think it's all that hard to hit. I think most of it is a mental thing. I mishit my 3i less often than my PW because I don't have a mental block about that club, and it always just flies nicely for me.

I don't use the 3 very often, because I'm better with my hybrid, but I like to use the 3 out of some of the rougher stuff and off the tee.

[Long_Ball_Bogey]

I'm all about the 3I & could really give a rat's azz what anyone has to say about it being in my bag--even when I was a 36-capper, I didn't hit it any worse than the rest of my bag. When in the market for a new set, if the salesperson even hints at steering me away from it, I'm walking. -LBB

[bIGwIRE]

No, I don't carry the 3. I would rather carry a 5w and an extra wedge. My 4 iron goes 190 and I do switch out the 5w for a 1 iron if the course has a few tight fairways.

I don't carry hybrids for the same reason I hunt whitetails with a traditional longbow.

[eberryhill7]

I don't carry a 3 iron because my irons are super lofted to the point where the 3 iron is 19* and the PW is 44*, creating a huge distance gap between my PW and my 52* gap wedge, and I had to buy an extra (48*) wedge to fill that gap. My 4 iron has the same loft as most of your 3 irons and I use it about the same way that you all use you 3 irons. I like it off of the tee, and use it to control trajectory. When I improve and buy a set of players irons with normal lofts I will defenently get a 3 iron.

[RPMPIRE]

I'll always keep the 3 iron in my bag no matter how bad I hit it. Though I hit it poorly on some shots, I think perfecting the abilities with the long irons helps your abilities with your clubs throughout the bag.

[chingali]

I've had my old Cobra TRD V-Groove 1 iron back in my bag for about a month now and I'm having lots of fun playing shots from the middle of the fairway again!

I pulled it out and replaced it with a hybrid a few years ago and have tried 4 or 5 hybrids since then and not really liked any of them all that much. I went the hybrid route in the first place to replace my 1 and 2 irons with something easier to hit which they did achieve when it came to being easier to use off the fairway or out of the rough, but I struggle for consistency with them off the tee. A while ago I started making notes as to how many times I used a hybrid off the fairway or out of the rough and compared it to how often I used it off the tee over a total of 11 rounds. I used the hybrid off the tee 24 times and I used it off the fairway/rough 6 times, so the decision to put the 1 iron back in the bag was pretty easy.

[Zeph]

My lowest club is a 6 iron. I'm not good though, but can replace 5 and lower with hybrids. The main reason is my swing isn't good enough to be able to hit anything below 5 with reasonable length. I don't see why I should annoy myself with clubs I can't use. When I become single handicap maybe (if I'll ever be) and my swing is good and reliable enough to play with the long irons, but at this point, it's doing way more damage than good.

The long irons are with no doubt the hardest clubs to hit, the hybrids are far more forgiving for me.

I don't see why you should bother about people hating long irons. It's their game, there is no secret that every golf swing is different. That is why everyone must compose their bag with different preferences.

[CG031]

I don't carry one simply because my set didn't come with one. I may get on in the future.

[eberryhill7]

Today I was at the driving range and I decided to get my 3 iron (lofted like a two iron) out of my car and see how well I could hit it since I was hitting all of my other irons well, and I bombed it straight and high. I then pulled out my two hybrid and I didn't hit it nearly as well as the 3 iron. I was slicing it, losing distance, and it didn't even go as high. I am now going to try the 3 iron (which is lofted like a 2 iron) instead of my 2 iron hybrid for a while and see what happens.

[TheGolfingDetective]

Interesting discussion. I am currently carrying only 13 clubs, listed in my signature. I have been toying with either getting a 3 iron (mostly for low punch outs from the woods, which I seem to play quite often) or another wedge. My gap wedge is 49.5* and my lowest wedge is a 56* sand. What would be a better way to waste some money: a 52 or 54* wedge or a 20* 3 iron, when I'm already carrying a 19* hybrid?

Advice.

[eberryhill7]

Interesting discussion. I am currently carrying only 13 clubs, listed in my signature. I have been toying with either getting a 3 iron (mostly for low punch outs from the woods, which I seem to play quite often) or another wedge. My gap wedge is 49.5* and my lowest wedge is a 56* sand. What would be a better way to waste some money: a 52 or 54* wedge or a 20* 3 iron, when I'm already carrying a 19* hybrid?

I would get a 52* wedge. That would have a greater effect on your score more by fixing your gap between the 49.5* wedge and he 56* wedge, the distance I'm sure that you hit more often. You could probably hit the low punch shot with a 4 iron as well as a 3 iron, and the 19* would work for the distance for you.

[Golf is to hard]

The 3 iron is the most useful club in my bag

[cdoug55]

I carry a 3-iron and have no issues with breaking it out whether in the fairway or in the rough. THen again I also carry a 2-iron and have no issues with that either.

[extremeld]

although my current set is rather limited driver, 7 iron, pw lw and putter, i really do like long irons instead of hybrids

the reason is, i know how to swing a driver and i know how to swing and iron, i dont know how to swing something that is half and half, aint consistant with hybrid