Ready to Give up Long Irons

[dpanco]

When it comes to my irons, if I go any lower than a 5-iron things get pretty messy.

I can hit my woods ok - 5 wood 200yds, 3 wood 220yds and driver 250 yds nice and straight.

However, I don't hit my irons very far and my long irons I can barely hit at all. My longest iron that I'm comfortable hitting is my 5 iron and it gets me about 160yds.

So my main questions are:

A) How do I consistently hit long irons without usually hitting them fat or thin
B) How do I get extra yardage out of my medium/short irons.
In a nutshell, how do I get the same RELATIVE success and power from my irons that I get from my woods?

I swing on a pretty low plane, right handed, with a low and open stance.

Any pointers?

[byerxa]

First off, remember that modern irons are stronger lofted and longer that "standard". In fact, the latest clubs I have seen are exactly a club stronger, e.g., a 5 iron is really what a 4 iron used to be. So take that into consideration when worried about "long" irons.

I have no idea what your issue is, but for me if I get too steep into the ball my long irons suffer. Typical golf (do the opposite) I get too steep when my back swing is too flat. When I swing back too flat I get screwed up and can't drop the club to the inside on the way down. I end up coming over the top some what and come in steep (I have seen it on video and she ain't pretty). I have to slow down, loosen up, and make sure my backswing allows me to drop the club onto plane so I can come in to the ball on a shallow enough angle.

[jvincent]

dpanco, do yourself a favour and get a hybrid 3 and 4.

I am/was pretty good with my long irons and I dropped the 3 and 4 for hybrids. They are much easier to hit in the air from any lie and much, much, much easier to hit out of the rough.

[Shivas Irons]

When it comes to my irons, if I go any lower than a 5-iron things get pretty messy.

Ditch the 3 & 4 irons and go to a hybrid or lofted wood and you'll never look back.
To my knowledge there are no players on either the Champions tour or LPGA that carry a 3-iron, so unless you are better than the players on those tours get rid of the long irons.

[Pinshark]

I have to admit that my favorite club was my 3 iron for the longest time....I broke the shaft had it replaced and ever since I never hit it the same. I changed irons since then and still havn't found the consistency I used to have with my 3 iron. Finally this past weekend hit a hybrid club and WOW. I think I will be adding 2 of these to the bag next year. Do not like the look but hit it so well it just doesn't make sense to hit long irons anymore.

[dpanco]

Actually, I was thinking about changing to hybrids. I swung a couple Ben Hogan Hybrids in a simulator and couldn't believe the feel.

It's just that when I see people smack a nice crisp 2, 3 or 4 iron I'm totally jealous!

[jvincent]

It's just that when I see people smack a nice crisp 2, 3 or 4 iron I'm totally jealous!

It's all about percentages.

I just love the feel of a crisp 3i that launches like a cruise missile and sticks to a green like a dart. I hit that shot with about a 10% success rate.

My hybrid replacement launches like an 8i or 9i, goes 200 yards in the air, and lands softly on the green. I hit that shot with about a 60-70% success rate.

Hybrids are staying put.

[Chieflongtee]

dpanco, do yourself a favour and get a hybrid 3 and 4.

I am/was pretty good with my long irons and I dropped the 3 and 4 for hybrids. They are much easier to hit in the air from any lie and much, much, much easier to hit out of the rough.

Steel or graphite shaft J? Club length also please.

[jvincent]

ProjectX 5.0 steel wood shafts in Wishon 785HFs. I have yet to find somebody else that plays the PX wood shaft. I have one in my 5W as well.

#4 (replaced my 3i) is 38.5" and #5 (replaced my 4i) is 38". I play my irons 0.5" shorter than "standard" so my 5i is 37.5".

This setup for the hybrid continues the 10 yard spacing I have with my irons.

[hoylake]

How do I consistently hit long irons without usually hitting them fat or thin?

The other poster is correct, the drive to strengthen lofts has rendered the modern long iron virtually unhittable and IMO has been a factor in opening the door to hybrids. A whole generation of players did not suddenly lose the ability to hit a long iron. A 3-iron with the correct degree of loft (an older Mizuno, a T-Zoid or an MP-14), while still presenting a challenge, can be used effectively mostly because it is built properly. As far as as a long-iron thought, it helps to soften the arms at address, more bend in the elbows than you might normally use, soft arms all around and throughout the swing. Tension is a killer on all shots, never more so than with a long-iron.

I should add that I play near scratch but my father is 70, still uses his 3-iron and hits it well. I'm old school. Long irons separate the men from the boys. Screw hybrids.

[lmh3]

I vowed never to use a hybrid, but I was out in Carlsbad at the Taylor Made facility getting fitted for my new r7 TP irons and the tech showed me how a hybrid ccan be beneficial. I'm a head pro at a course down here in NJ and can still hit my 2 iron fairly consistently, but the hybrid just gives you more versatility, especially out of the rough and fairway bunkers.

[Wknd_Warrior]

I'm old school. Long irons separate the men from the boys. Screw hybrids.

lol

[Wilster]

Try a few hybrids , we need all the help we can get at this game. I too have " lost " my longer irons , i'll change my set soon but i'm finding hybrids just as effective as 3 or 4 irons.

[dH]

I play with an older guy who almost exclusively uses hybrids! He hits all irons awfuly but hybrids awesome.

Bought a Hybrid for my gf's dad for his bday (4h). He hits it mint.

[hoylake]

I vowed never to use a hybrid, but I was out in Carlsbad at the Taylor Made facility getting fitted for my new r7 TP irons and the tech showed me how a hybrid ccan be beneficial. I'm a head pro at a course down here in NJ and can still hit my 2 iron fairly consistently, but the hybrid just gives you more versatility, especially out of the rough and fairway bunkers.

Well I said I was old school, I didn't say I was right But to me, a pro using a hybrid for versatility over a 2-iron is a bit different than telling a player of reasonable capability to junk the long irons completely. An unmatched thrill of golf is swinging a long iron, striking it true, looking up and watching the ball streak to a distant flag, there's nothing like it, partly, er, mostly because it doesn't happen all that often, not at the flag anyway but I digress...

In rec.sport.golf there was a thread with this old gaffer who swore by his 2-iron. He hit the thing like 137 yards or something, God bless him, but took it to the range, hit months worth of buckets with just his 2-iron, convinced if he could master it, his whole game would improve. The guy took some stick -- other posters, hybrids blah blah, you're too old, wasting your time etc but I think he was on to something. You can hit a 7-iron til the cows come home, it won't tell you much but a 2-iron will put all swing flaws on display under a glaring spotlight. Anyone who can hit a 2-iron with reasonable consistency, whatever the yardage, has a pretty damn solid golf swing IMO.

[jonf]

Anyone who can hit a 2-iron with reasonable consistency, whatever the yardage, has a pretty damn solid golf swing IMO.

As someone who can do this, I have to agree whole-heartedly

[dpanco]

This is all great info. It's given me a lot to think about.

In the meantime, speaking of long irons, I think L. Trevino put it best: "If lightning comes up during play, don't worry. Just hold up a 1 iron. Even God can't hit a 1 iron!"

[byerxa]

Nicklaus was probably the best long iron hitter, and like Tiger he could hit them high. Trevino, who is statistically the best ball striker ever, was always amazed at how Jack could hit what was essentially a butter knife on a stick 250yds with a high trajectory. Player said if he had is 9 wood back in the day he could have won a few more Masters as he could never hit the high long iron like Jack could that would hold on those concrete greens.

Personally I like hitting long irons - probably the stronger part of my game (relative). I have Maltby M-05s (forged semi-cbs) that have only marginally stronger lofts than "traditional" but I shaft them to "traditional" lengths. I can hit my 4 iron better than a hybrid under ideal conditions, and the 3 iron vs. hybrid is a tie. But I carry a 3i (or 2i depending on conditions) hybrid because of its versatility. They are great for those chips where you want to putt but there is too much fringe and/or against the grain, and they are easier to hit out of the rough.

[hoylake]

[quote=dpanco]This is all great info. It's given me a lot to think about. quote]

A bit more on 3-iron lofts: Taylor Made RACs, all the Callaways X-12 X-14 X-18s, have 3-irons at 21 degrees. A Mizuno MP-14 3-iron is 23 degrees. Having gone from a 21 to a 23, I can vouch that the difference in playability is astonishing.

[manitoulin]

1 change flex get a lower flex
2 keep ball up forward a little more
3 speed up swing not turning movment.