Long Iron Advice

[The Wrong Fairway]

Hi. I'll try not to ramble on too much. I have a pretty consistent and good swing. I hit my long irons well. I don't have the usual problem of hitting long irons too low I can launch my 3 and 4 irons just as easy as the rest of my irons ( my long irons are mizuno mp Fli hi's). My problem is that my 4 iron just doesn't go much further than my 5 iron and my 3 iron will only go further than my 4 iron maybe 1 shot in 10. I've tried replacing my 4 iron with a hybrid ( I built myself an old Adams idea pro 23* with a steel 3 iron shaft fitted) and I'll be honest I hit this hybrid really well so you would think job done but the pull of that satisfaction of nailing a long Iron keeps pulling me back to them. My question is if I can hit them fine why am I not getting the distance I would like. I'm tempted to cut them down and add weight so they play the same length as my 5 iron and have an experiment at Brysoning my long irons. Sorry that was a ramble in the end. Any help much appreciated. Cheers

[Lagavulin62]

That was a lot of information but I think the answer is simple. You are not hitting your long irons to the most of your potential. I say potential because if you hit a 3 iron well 1 of 10 times you have the potential to up that frequency. It wasn't a freak accident. But it's going to take work to improve. If you want to hit a 3 iron as well as your 8 iron, hit the 3 iron at the range more than you do the 8 iron, a LOT more. 

If you are getting plenty of height on your long irons, just no distance, I would question the size of the swing plane. Is the arc as full as it could be? You really have to extend through the shot to get the most out of long irons. Thing is once you get a nice arc developed on your long irons obviously the distance increase will show up with evdry club. So you could work on drills that address that. 

Another thing to think about is grip pressure and paying attention to how far you are taking the club back. Long irons in particular you do not want to grip too tightly. Watching the backswing is important because unless you are very flexible, you are going to have breakdows if extend back too far. 

I would leave the club length alone for now and just choke up. And I'm sure you know this but choking up even a little on long irons makes a huge difference for most of us. As you get more consistent you can start working back to normal length. 

If you are flying your 4 iron the same distance as your 5 iron it's going further due to the roll. Unless you are playing mud ball. So I wouldn't consider my 4 iron wasted space in that situation.  

On the hybrids, thats a personal thing. Just depends on how you want to approach the game and what your goals are. But based on your post I don't see any reason you can't improve the long irons, unless you are not willing to increase practice time.  

 

 

 

Edited November 10, 2016 by Lagavulin62

[Rainmaker]

Coincidentally - my golf teacher told me at my last lesson:  For most guys, the 3, 4 and 5 iron might as well be one club.  They hit the 4 worse than the 5 and the 3 worse than the 4 and they all end up going the same distance.  

It's not uncommon, lol.  

[The Wrong Fairway]

Thanks for the replies. I think something got lost in my original post. I don't hit my 3 iron well 1 in 10 shots I tend to hit it as well as my 4 and 5 iron.  Don't get me wrong I still duff shots with them like all of my clubs but I just don't get the distance I would expect from a good strike. I've been searching around for some ideas and stumbled across a thread about Anthony Kim and the way he chokes down on all his clubs. Thought I would try it whilst walking the dog. Took a couple of practice balls and absolutely pured both hits, got so much height with them. Unfortunately the field is all long grass so have no way of measuring how far I hit them but they felt fantastic and I was so much more confident stood over the ball. I might also look into having the lofts strengthened as they only have 3* between them. Do you think that could also help the distance gaps. Thanks.

Edited November 11, 2016 by The Wrong Fairway

[Lagavulin62]

I am not a fan of altering loft. Why do this when there are clubs with what you need? Find a 2 iron and a 1, depending on the age of your clubs, if you want to go all out. That will cover it. Try not to get into this mindset that everything needs to be changed a degree or two. Work on improving your swing and you won't have to bend metal. Besides, who are you going to trust to do that even if you determine it's absolutely necessary? Some geek no it all at Golf Planet? The club is fine. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[WUTiger]

On 11/10/2016 at 3:47 PM, Rainmaker said:

Coincidentally - my golf teacher told me at my last lesson:  For most guys, the 3, 4 and 5 iron might as well be one club.  They hit the 4 worse than the 5 and the 3 worse than the 4 and they all end up going the same distance.  

It's not uncommon, lol.  

For diagnosing 3 through 5 iron, clubfitters do a "gap analysis." They find out the point in your set where clubs go the same distance, and bridge in the hybrids. If you 4i goes the same distance as your 5i, a 4H might work as a replacement.

[Lagavulin62]

6 hours ago, WUTiger said:

For diagnosing 3 through 5 iron, clubfitters do a "gap analysis." They find out the point in your set where clubs go the same distance, and bridge in the hybrids. If you 4i goes the same distance as your 5i, a 4H might work as a replacement.

And if a teaching pro told me to give up on my long irons, I'd go find another teacher. 

[14ledo81]

22 minutes ago, Lagavulin62 said:

And if a teaching pro told me to give up on my long irons, I'd go find another teacher. 

And that teacher would be happy that you did...

[Lagavulin62]

2 hours ago, 14ledo81 said:

And that teacher would be happy that you did...

Not real sure of your meaning. Are you saying you believe teaching pros of today are not that concerned with teaching fundamentals or more concerned with selling clubs? Maybe something else? I realize this sub forum is devoted to eqipment however the question did arise of wanting to improve the long irons, which of course is all about improving fundamentals. My point, whether relevent or not, was that I make a huge distinction between club fitters and teaching professionals. 

[14ledo81]

I was just making a point about not following what your teaching pro said.  I don't believe any (well maybe some wouldn't care) teaching pro would want a student that didn't follow his advice.

[mcanadiens]

On 11/10/2016 at 4:47 PM, Rainmaker said:

Coincidentally - my golf teacher told me at my last lesson:  For most guys, the 3, 4 and 5 iron might as well be one club.  They hit the 4 worse than the 5 and the 3 worse than the 4 and they all end up going the same distance.  

It's not uncommon, lol.  

That's totally my case. The only times I use the 3 or the 4 is when I'm punching out.

[Vinny Cap]

I would look at your swing with those 3 clubs and see what is different/same.  I would also suggest practicing more with those clubs.  I like my long irons and do not play hybrids.  I practice my long irons as much as my other clubs and have a good 10 - 12 yard gaps from 5i to 4i to 3i.

You don't mention how good/bad you hit longer clubs like 5w, 3w or driver.  Might the longer shaft be giving you issues?  It sounds like the hint you got from AK might be helping so keep at it and I hope you get the gaps you are looking for without changing lofts or clubs.

[DaveP043]

On 11/10/2016 at 5:08 AM, The Wrong Fairway said:

 I've tried replacing my 4 iron with a hybrid ( I built myself an old Adams idea pro 23* with a steel 3 iron shaft fitted) and I'll be honest I hit this hybrid really well so you would think job done but the pull of that satisfaction of nailing a long Iron keeps pulling me back to them. 

This is the part of the original post that interested me the most.  @The Wrong Fairway, it sounds as if you'd rather hit an occasional "ego-fulfilling" shot with a long iron than hit consistently solid shots with a hybrid.  Totally aside from the swing mechanics that could improve long-iron consistency, don't you think it makes more sense to use the equipment that you can use most effectively?  That once-per-round great 3-iron strike could never outweigh  shooting better scores using a hybrid, at least for me.

[Kalnoky]

On 11/10/2016 at 1:47 PM, Rainmaker said:

Coincidentally - my golf teacher told me at my last lesson:  For most guys, the 3, 4 and 5 iron might as well be one club.  They hit the 4 worse than the 5 and the 3 worse than the 4 and they all end up going the same distance.  

It's not uncommon, lol.  

Absolutely true for me. 4-iron is maybe 5-7 yards longer than 5-iron, and pretty much unreliable, so it stays home. I still love to hit it at the range though. Nothing feels better than a well struck long iron.

[Lagavulin62]

In all my years playing golf I have found there are two types of golfers:

1) Those that are in it for the scoring. 

And

2) Those that are in it for the shotmaking(tee to green game)

There is nothing wrong with either but it helps to know what motivates a person when one gives advice.  

 

[70sSanO]

Back to the OP... it may be a swing speed issue.  My advice is to test your long irons on a trackman and compare swing and ball speed.  You may find you are not generating any more SS than your 5 iron.

In my limited experience with hybrids, I find I get more distance than the same loft iron.  The construction of some modern hybrids seem to be moving in a direction of almost mini-fairways... larger heads and overall lighter clubs.

John

[Jmdmbike]

On November 10, 2016 at 4:47 PM, Rainmaker said:

Coincidentally - my golf teacher told me at my last lesson:  For most guys, the 3, 4 and 5 iron might as well be one club.  They hit the 4 worse than the 5 and the 3 worse than the 4 and they all end up going the same distance.  

It's not uncommon, lol.  

Sounds right. I hit my 4 iron ok, but not any further than my 5 iron most of the time. I don't think I generate enough club head speed to get the most our of long irons, which is why I think hybrids work better for me. I'm sure it's that way for a lot of golfers.  

[WUTiger]

There's one course I play where I would put the 3i in the bag. The 3i gives me a low hot draw, and would be a driving iron on three holes: two tight, windswept par 4s with hazards along the right side ... and a 190-yd. par 3 with deep bunkers left and right (roll up in front and chip on).

For the other dozen area courses I play, the 3i stays home in the closet.