Any tips for hitting 3 & 4 irons?

[Bails]

I know people say the long irons are the hardest to hit but I wonder if that comment alone is my biggest problem. At the range I'm hitting my irons pretty well but it seems as soon as I have an iron with the #3 or even 4 on it, I start making poor (thin) contact. The only time I'm able to get the desired flight and distance is if I really exaggerate my distance from the ball (really stretch) and/or raise the toe of the club by dropping my hands. It almost feels like my driver stance I guess. I just don't think I should have to make such a major setup change from low/mid to long irons. Or maybe this is normal? Does anyone have any tips, drills or guidelines that could help??

thanks,
Keith

[el tigre]

Keith:

If you ever figure it out, let us know. I haven't hit a 3-iron on a golf course in years.

I DO know that your stance should be the same for all clubs. A little more spine tilt for the driver perhaps, but only because you hit the ball with the driver on a slight upswing off of a tee. For all other clubs, only the ball position changes - not the setup of your body.

My advice is if you can't hit a 3-iron, then don't. Replace it with a 7-wood or a 21*-23* utility club, and leave the 3-iron in the garage.

[Andru]

I know people say the long irons are the hardest to hit but I wonder if that comment alone is my biggest problem. At the range I'm hitting my irons pretty well but it seems as soon as I have an iron with the #3 or even 4 on it, I start making poor (thin) contact. The only time I'm able to get the desired flight and distance is if I really exaggerate my distance from the ball (really stretch) and/or raise the toe of the club by dropping my hands. It almost feels like my driver stance I guess. I just don't think I should have to make such a major setup change from low/mid to long irons. Or maybe this is normal? Does anyone have any tips, drills or guidelines that could help??

thanks,
Keith

It think your 3 iron should feel like your 7 iron. You should first make sure your clubs are fitted correctly.

If your 3 and 4 irons are set up correctly. then it could be you just don't have enough club head speed to get the most out of them.\ go to a 7 and 9 wood. You'll be really happy with the results.

Ther's no secret. Just make good contact. If you're changing your setup something is wrong. Your setup should be the same for all of your clubs. It's hard enough to mold one, why would you want several?

Cheers

[Bails]

So I was back at the range today and I decided to go back to my interlock grip (got new clubs and these grips seem more spongey and consequently a bit fatter) I may ask to get one or two clubs regripped with a smaller grip (to try out) but in the meantime the interlock grip just felt WAY better today. Warmed up on the higher irons then grabbed the 3iron. The shots were very nice, pretty cold and windy out there this afternoon but I was getting some nice trajectory and decent distance (~200yrds). The great thing was I kept the same stance as my other irons. I think another thing that helped was doing that woosh drill (club upside down) because part of the mental thing with the high irons is that I feel like I need to hit it harder. So the whoosh drill helped me understand where the power needs to kick in.

Anyway one bucket doesn't mean I'm cured but I think I may stick with the interlock and see where that gets me. I have pretty short fingers so the interlock is probably better anyhow.

In terms of swing speed, when I got fitted for these
clubs last week, my avg swing speed was ~83mph so I think that's about average!?

thanks,
Keith
"not giving up on the 3iron _just_ yet"

It think your 3 iron should feel like your 7 iron. You should first make sure your clubs are fitted correctly.

If your 3 and 4 irons are set up correctly. then it could be you just don't have enough club head speed to get the most out of them.\ go to a 7 and 9 wood. You'll be really happy with the results.

Ther's no secret. Just make good contact. If you're changing your setup something is wrong. Your setup should be the same for all of your clubs. It's hard enough to mold one, why would you want several?

Cheers

[Andru]

So I was back at the range today and I decided to go back to my interlock grip (got new clubs and these grips seem more spongey and consequently a bit fatter) I may ask to get one or two clubs regripped with a smaller grip (to try out) but in the meantime the interlock grip just felt WAY better today. Warmed up on the higher irons then grabbed the 3iron. The shots were very nice, pretty cold and windy out there this afternoon but I was getting some nice trajectory and decent distance (~200yrds). The great thing was I kept the same stance as my other irons. I think another thing that helped was doing that woosh drill (club upside down) because part of the mental thing with the high irons is that I feel like I need to hit it harder. So the whoosh drill helped me understand where the power needs to kick in.

Anyway one bucket doesn't mean I'm cured but I think I may stick with the interlock and see where that gets me. I have pretty short fingers so the interlock is probably better anyhow.

In terms of swing speed, when I got fitted for these
clubs last week, my avg swing speed was ~83mph so I think that's about average!?

thanks,
Keith
"not giving up on the 3iron _just_ yet"

I agree. I love my 3 iron now. I did go to a 7 wood last year. I still use the 7 wood on really hard fast conditions. The ball flies higher.

Cheers

[Vulcan]

http://www.vulcangolf.com/irons/z3/z3.asp

It is very important that when replacing clubs, you are finding something easier to hit, which will give you the correct distance for that club.

A lot of the new "rescue" clubs have much longer shafts than irons therefor providing more clubhead speed and greater distance.

The Vulcan Hybrid 3 is the same length and loft as a 3 iron, but has a head that is MUCH easier to hit.

That's all.

[w00dy]

my stance to the ball w/ a 3 iron is the same with a wood and the way i swing is very similar to the way i swing my driver. Always works for me.. you should give it a shot.

[broken27]

Best way to hit long irons is really hard against something really hard (tree trunk perhaps). They tend to break, and you can get on with enjoying your round.

Actually I was a little strange in that my long irons gave me a lot less trouble at the start of my golfing "career". I had trouble more with short irons because I had a pre-conceived idea of how the shot is supposed to look.

The only adjustment I make now in my shot sequence when using the long irons is that the ball tends to be a little farther from my feet when I line up over the ball.

Dan

[Marmotte]

Does anyone have any tips, drills or guidelines that could help??

I discovered that the weaker part of my swing with the 3i is the movement between the ears. Somebody suggested that I spend a couple of baskets at the range with a driving iron or a 2i... which I did. The 3i became shorter and contact more consistant. But early in the season, I prefer a 7wood... If you have no fun with your long irons, at least enjoy the game.

[BC MIST]

Does anyone have any tips, drills or guidelines that could help??

Reality: The long irons are much difficult to hit because of the length of the club, lower loft angle, no roll and bulge on the face and that you only have 2 degrees of club face error. Your target, the green, is farther away, and yet has the same margin of error as a 9 iron. As others have mentioned, the 7 wood reduces the margin for error so the probability of a good shot with the wood goes up.

However, there are occasions where playing a long iron is advantageous, a low shot into the wind, or under overhanging branches.

IMO, one key to hitting long irons is to maintain a smooth tempo. Pretend your 3 iron just like your 9 iron. Try to hit it 150 yards and you will end up hitting it 200.

As an experiment a few years ago I cut a 1 iron down to 6 iron length. While the ball flew a little lower at this length, it travelled almost as far as a good shot at normal length, but the accuracy improved. So, consider cutting a inch or so off the length of the 3. Your distance loss will be minimal, but your accuarcy will go up.

[Tiger Junior]

I know people say the long irons are the hardest to hit but I wonder if that comment alone is my biggest problem. At the range I'm hitting my irons pretty well but it seems as soon as I have an iron with the #3 or even 4 on it, I start making poor (thin) contact. The only time I'm able to get the desired flight and distance is if I really exaggerate my distance from the ball (really stretch) and/or raise the toe of the club by dropping my hands. It almost feels like my driver stance I guess. I just don't think I should have to make such a major setup change from low/mid to long irons. Or maybe this is normal? Does anyone have any tips, drills or guidelines that could help??

thanks,
Keith

Try out the new Ben Hogan hybrid clubs.They are amazing and cheap.

[Thom Panikorn]

Most golfers would agree that Ben Hogan was/is the best long iron player in the game. And in his book he explained why the setups for longer clubs(4,3,2 irons and woods) are different from the shorter clubs. As most of us would agree from own experience that we tend to "fade" or "slice" the longer clubs. That is why Hogan recommends that we setup with a "closed stance" for all those clubs to compensate for the fade or slice tendency. By "closing" your stance, it slows down your left hip turn a little so that the longer/wider arc of the long clubs can catch up with the hip turn. And he recommends just the opposite for the shorter clubs.
So next time on the range, try hitting the longer clubs with a closed stance meaning your back foot is about 1" or 2" behind your straight feet line. This should help you square the club face and hit them straight.
As for getting good distance from your long irons, that depends on your club head speed. Most of us don't have the club head speed to realize the benefit of the good trajectory and distance from the long irons. That's why our 3,4,5 irons sometimes give the same distance. I don't use my 3 iron early in the season because of my mechanic is not sound enough but I will use it after i get my strenght back.
This year I bought myself a Hogan Hybrid(2H) to replace my 3 iron in early season. It works great. It gives me high trajectory and good distance(200 yrds) and it's more consistent for me. I had a few eagle putts(though didn't make them!) this year because of that. Some golfers may suggest the 7 wood for the Hybrid. I find the 7w is too high while the Hybrid seems to be closer, both distance and trajectory, to the 3 iron for me. You can try both out and choose whatever suits your swing and your need.

Hope that help.

TP