Long Irons...short driver...

[fourlights]

I was playing with a scratch player today and we were pretty even in terms of driving distance (between 245-260 lasered). I found it amazing that I was a good four clubs longer with my irons. For example on a par 3 of 173 yds, I hit 7 iron to pin high and he hit a 3 hybrid stiff. This happened all day long for approach shots and par 3 tee shots. (I do not have super strong lofts, and I do not hit low line drives with my irons). I used to be much longer with my driver, but my best drive of the day only went 273 yards. I find it strange that other guys who hit the same iron distances as me, blow it by me with driver by a good 25-30 yards. Does anybody else experience this?

[Ruskie]

Maybe he was swinging 80% for more control with his irons? I hit 240-250 driver, yet 173 would be a good full 5 iron. And no, I'm veeery far away from scratch

[Steel]

Doesn't matter what you hit, it matters how many strokes it takes you. I have played a lot of golf with guys that are pro length, ex-NCAA players. Other rounds I have played with low handicap players who don't hit it more than 240 with the dirver, but hit their 3 woods, hybrids and everything straight up the middle, and pitch and putt you to death, I don't even concern myself with what they are hitting, because the game is so unique to each player. I play very conservative, rarely go for par 5's in 2 even though I can bust it 280 off the tee, I prefer to lay up and wedge it in from 100-130, lots of other guys would go for it every time with that length, it's just personal preference and what you are comfortable with

[adam]

I've been curious about this as well sometimes. I hit a 7 iron about 170ish but a good drive for me is only 275 tops.
Obviously its all about playing your own game and not concerning yourself with other people's distances, if you shoot scratch golf you shoot scratch golf, but I am definitely curious about it as I'm sure with some lessons (and possibly changes) I could get more out of the driver.

[goochy]

what's the old sports cliche: "it's not how...it's how many"

I read Nick Price as saying the other day he hits his 7 iron 155yds...he's done OK for himself

[fourlights]

what's the old sports cliche: "it's not how...it's how many"

I read Nick Price as saying the other day he hits his 7 iron 155yds...he's done OK for himself

I am not talking about scores here. I only mentioned playing ability to show that a good drive was not just a lucky one. I totally understand that it's not "how" it's "how many", but I feel that something is wrong with my driver swing or my equipment if my drives are only going about 260ish. I made this thread to see if others had the same experience. Surely Adam781 (who apparently is a bloody birdie machine!!!) and I can't be the only two on here.

[fourlights]

I've been curious about this as well sometimes. I hit a 7 iron about 170ish but a good drive for me is only 275 tops.
Obviously its all about playing your own game and not concerning yourself with other people's distances, if you shoot scratch golf you shoot scratch golf, but I am definitely curious about it as I'm sure with some lessons (and possibly changes) I could get more out of the driver.

So you're in the same boat as me. Maybe a proper driver fitting is in order?

[Fallys0820]

I'm the opposite. I'm longer in my driver and shorter in my irons. Early this season with virtually no roll on my drives, I would average about 256-260 yards on the driver. I'm probably averaged longer on Sunday in the drier conditions. However, with my current irons (Mizuno MP33), I can't hit my 3 iron more than 200yrds, 4 iron 190 and each club is about 10 yards down from there.

My swingspeed is a lot faster with a driver than it is with my irons, I know that much (probably about 12-15 mph faster). I also believe that my swing arc is much flatter with a 3-5 iron than it is with the others.

I'm not a scratch golfer either, but I really work on my pitching, chipping and putting a lot to make up for my lack of distance with my irons.

Scott
aka Fally

[bNeill]

Yeah you should be hitting your driver further. I hit a 7 iron about 172 and I caught a few drives today over 320.

[goochy]

I recently went to see Don at Artisan Golf for a Driver fitting. I have a Mizuno MP600 head but he recommended the shaft i had was all wrong for my specs. He put in a new shaft (Accra XT60) and cut it to 44". I'm not a great golfer but it has completely changed my driving. I now can swing my driver with a nice smooth balanced tempo and I am hitting it further and straighter than ever...it genuinely has made a big difference.

Also, the other day I was at the range at Anderson Links and Bridgestone had a free ball fiting there. I normally play a Srixon ball..the rep had be hit a few drives with the Srixon and showed me the numbers. I was hitting at 101mph but generating a ton of back spin..close to 3700rpm and 17* launch both of which he said were killing my distance. He recommended the Bridgestone e7..I hit 10 or so drives with that ball..same club head speed but my ball was travelling 15yds further on average with 2700rpm back spin and 14* launch which was fantastic.

However, I hated the feel of that ball on the putter and shorter shots when I played a round with it. I guess its just a trade off on what one needs. BTW I did not notice an increase in the distance I got with the e7 off my irons..just with my driver (pronounced) and 4W (less so)

Maybe these are a couple of avenues to explore if you are looking for more driver distance...the fitting I really think helps.

[Steel]

The shaft of any club is definitely the engine, it effects club head speed, launch angle and directional flight of the ball. I personally prefer overly stiff shafts for my swing speed, because I prefer directional stability over length, especially in the irons. I use 6.5 FM shafts, which are between a 6.0 mens stiff and 7.0 tour stiff, I probably loose at least half a club in distance but the shot spread pattern is much better, for me that is more important. driver speeds vary between 104-110, mens stiff fits me near perfect

[gregnol]

i agree with Bneill, if your hitting your 7-iron in the 170's you should be getting the driver out over 280 at least. id experiment with different lofts, shafts and flexes. i have an old r510tp that i hit long and straight, but i cracked the face so its just a backup now, switched to a 909d2 and actually lost yardage because of the voodoo shaft just didnt work for me. switched to a speeder 757 in a different driver head and can finally keep up with old number.

then again 240-260 down the middle will never hurt you.

[Shreen]

Some swings are just better suited for either driver or irons. Steep delofting iron swings are often great for solid iron contact, spin and length, whereas those are not the best ingredients for long drives. Subtle setup changes (shoulder tilt etc) can help and driver fitting can also help you get the most out of the swing you have.

[jvincent]

fourlights, you haven't mentioned anywhere what your trajectory is like.

Does your driver climb and land softly with no roll or are you getting a flatter trajectory with some rollout?

Do you know what the REAL loft of your driver is? I don't mean what is marked on it, but what it is measured to be.

If you can get the above information you'll be on the right path. Changing the loft of the driver and/or the shaft can help with launch angle problems as well as too much or too little spin issues.

[dbleber]

You could be delofting your irons so your 7 iron goes far but if you played it at its normal loft may be a lot shorter. Who knows.

[downhillslider]

Shreen;406152]Some swings are just better suited for either driver or irons. Steep delofting iron swings are often great for solid iron contact, spin and length, whereas those are not the best ingredients for long drives. Subtle setup changes (shoulder tilt etc) can help and driver fitting can also help you get the most out of the swing you have.

[/B]

Beautifully expressed !!

Absolute poetry !!!

[fourlights]

You could be delofting your irons so your 7 iron goes far but if you played it at its normal loft may be a lot shorter. Who knows.

Wouldn't all good iron shots be slightly delofted by virtue of hands being forward at impact?

[fourlights]

Some swings are just better suited for either driver or irons. Steep delofting iron swings are often great for solid iron contact, spin and length, whereas those are not the best ingredients for long drives. Subtle setup changes (shoulder tilt etc) can help and driver fitting can also help you get the most out of the swing you have.

Apparently you have hit the nail on the head. I was talking to our pro today and he pretty much echoed what you said. I may even have a negative angle of attack with the driver, which is adding backspin. I'll experiment with setup position, but not at the expense of solid iron play. The funny thing is the best driver-shaft combination I ever had was the Titleist 975 D with a 43 inch Rifle shaft.

[downhillslider]

what's the old sports cliche: "it's not how...it's how many"

I read Nick Price as saying the other day he hits his 7 iron 155yds...he's done OK for himself

I had the the ultimate experience years ago. The year that Nick Price won the British Open, he played in the EXPORT "A" Skins game at the Richelieu G & C.C with Fred Couples, Tom Watson and Lee Traveno. The day of the Pro AM, it was 35*c at 10:00 a.m. Henry Wazchuck, the former CFL linesman for Hamilton and fishing show host was in Nick`s foresome for the pro am. The other 2 players in the 4some had use of a power cart for their clubs, Nick had Skeeky and Henry was using a pull cart. After 2 holes following Nick, Henry was hardly able to keep up with the group. I yelled over to Henry if he needed a caddie. He toweled off and said meet me on the next tee.

I was inside the ropes, caddying for Henry, chatting it up with Nick and Skeeky for 15 holes !!

Nick was very intense even though it was a pro am. He wanted his 4some to win. Skeeky would check certain positions in his takeaway and transition quite frequently.

Now to the point. Nick was not a long iron hitter with his irons, but he was extremly accurate with his yardages and his trajectory.

Man, could he smash it off the tee !!

Wathing and listening to him and Skeeky discuss what shot to hit was facinating. This guy shot laser beams with his irons ! It was amazing to be part of it.

I beleive there is no coralation between how far you hit your woods compared to your irons.

[fourlights]

I beleive there is no coralation between how far you hit your woods compared to your irons.

I believe you are correct. When I think about it, watching a tour event on a par three there is usually no more than two club difference between the longest player and the short guys.

[fourlights]

I moved my ball position towards the front with my driver, and what a remarkable difference. I'm hitting the ball a good 25 yards longer on average drives and hitting it even straighter! I'm even hitting a few over 300 yards, and my scores have dropped by almost 4 shots per round. Not all the shots would be attributable to better driving, but the majority are.

[Brent4Hire]

I agree with Shreen and Downhill. I have the exact same problem - I look at my irons swing and think I should kill the driver. I have a pretty heavy impact with irons - I push and pull down simultaneously with my hands and arms, and I have a strong wrist snap. I've carried 7 irons out to 190 before. My typical 7i carry is in the mid 170 range, but that's my controlled swing. The driver, however, typically only gives me a max 270 carry. I've poked some long ones out there, but usually 260 - 270 carry is the result of a well-struck ball. I've come to accept that they are two different swings, and that my irons swing is more efficient than my driver swing.

[jeffc]

you guys are doing all right. I can get a 7i out 165 max but I can't get a driver out much farther than 250, and that's a good poke. Most of the time its in the 230-240 range. So I think you are bang on if you can hit a 7i 175 and a driver 275.

[Sunny D]

I understand the basic philosophy behind the thread but I tend not to be too concerned about it any more. It really used to bug me that I could hit my 3 iron 230 yards and could only hit my driver 250. Spent a lot of time on the range trying to "fix" something. It ended up that for a long time I just did not even carry a driver. Time and years of playing have seen me put the driver back in the bag which I now hit somewhere between 270 and 300 yards (go figure) and take the 3 iron out. It is what it is. But I will say this - I love playing with the long retired guys in Florida. They have fun playing this darn game even if they can't crush it anymore -- they don't even talk distance. They get to within 125 yards or so and then just take us long hitters to school.... I have to laugh and I think I'm finally learning just how much fun it is to chip or pitch in from 100 yards out to within a few feet of the cup.