What is it about the 4i

[tony@CIC]

I just don't hit my 4i very well. I hit the rest of my irons and wedges well just not the 4i. I also noticed that a lot of guys don't carry a 4i in their bag.  Reason? 

I am more consistent with my long irons that my 19* hybrid. My 4i is 22* so if I was more consistent with the 4i over the 19* hybrid I'd swap them out. 

[fixyurdivot]

Has this always been the case?  Sometimes I think we let certain clubs get into our heads.  Currently my PW for instance.  Hit is great.  Nice and high.  Can produce back spin when desired (well most of the time).  But just cannot dial in distance short of a full swing.  As for your 4i woes, if you play and hit your 5i well, practice hitting your 4i with a shortened grip to see if that helps with making more solid contact, and then keep lengthening the swing. 

I had a similar challenge with my 3i.  Use to hit it and my 2i just fine, but then started having problems.  A guy I was playing with, who was a stellar player, offered the try choking up on the grip thing and that resulted in nice flush contact - in trade for distance.  Following that round, I spent some time on the range hitting with the shortened grip and slowly lengthened to the point of problems.  I now hit my 3i with a slightly shortened grip and trade confidence in hitting flush with loss in distance.  Of course some of my issues with the 2i and 3i is that my PE2's are +1/2 inch length shafts; proper fit when I bought them in 1988, but now too long based on my recent iron fitting. I use to be 6'2" and now gravity has reduced me to 6'1".  Combine that with less flexibility and I just cannot get that longer arc back to square in a consistent manner.

[silver & black]

Related to this topic:

 

Why are long irons hard to hit? There must be a reason, but I don't know it...lol.

[tony@CIC]

49 minutes ago, fixyurdivot said:

Has this always been the case?  Sometimes I think we let certain clubs get into our heads.  Currently my PW for instance.  Hit is great.  Nice and high.  Can produce back spin when desired (well most of the time).  But just cannot dial in distance short of a full swing.  As for your 4i woes, if you play and hit your 5i well, practice hitting your 4i with a shortened grip to see if that helps with making more solid contact, and then keep lengthening the swing. 

I had a similar challenge with my 3i.  Use to hit it and my 2i just fine, but then started having problems.  A guy I was playing with, who was a stellar player, offered the try choking up on the grip thing and that resulted in nice flush contact - in trade for distance.  Following that round, I spent some time on the range hitting with the shortened grip and slowly lengthened to the point of problems.  I now hit my 3i with a slightly shortened grip and trade confidence in hitting flush with loss in distance.  Of course some of my issues with the 2i and 3i is that my PE2's are +1/2 inch length shafts; proper fit when I bought them in 1988, but now too long based on my recent iron fitting. I use to be 6'2" and now gravity has reduced me to 6'1".  Combine that with less flexibility and I just cannot get that longer arc back to square in a consistent manner.

Thanks for the tip. FYI This is the first season for me with both the 4i & 5i. Before the longest iron I had was a 6i. When I was selected to be a tester for the Wilson C300's this year, I chose to have the 4i & 5i included. It was an easy transition from the 6i to the 5i. But for some reason I've struggled with the 4i. I'm sure it's all mental.

I'll try the choke down technique on the range and see if that helps. 

[PING Apologist #9]

Had a 3i once, but discovered I hit a 3h better. Now I can't hit that well at all for some reason... so out it went too (for now). That leaves me with a dodgy 4i to fill the gap up to my 5w. I have a love/hate relationship with the 4i, but the new shaft seems to have helped me hit it better of late.

[alfriday101]

"In the world of Clubfitting there is something called the “24/38 Rule.” Basically, it says that the majority of golfers cannot consistently hit an iron that has less than 24-degrees of loft or is more than 38 inches in its length. The reason is that a club like that requires swing skills that most average golfers do not have the ability to acquire.

Thirty years ago the 24/38 line fell on the other side of the 3-iron. So, when you bought a typical 3-iron through pitching wedge iron set, you could reasonably expect to hit each of those clubs. Because of the “vanishing loft disease,” the 24/38 line has now moved to the shy side of the 5-iron—making the 3-, 4- and even the 5-iron un-hittable for most golfers."

 

From Tom Wishon:

 

http://wishongolf.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/New-12Myths-PDF-2014.pdf

 

 

[fixyurdivot]

5 minutes ago, alfriday101 said:

"In the world of Clubfitting there is something called the “24/38 Rule.” Basically, it says that the majority of golfers cannot consistently hit an iron that has less than 24-degrees of loft or is more than 38 inches in its length. The reason is that a club like that requires swing skills that most average golfers do not have the ability to acquire.

Thirty years ago the 24/38 line fell on the other side of the 3-iron. So, when you bought a typical 3-iron through pitching wedge iron set, you could reasonably expect to hit each of those clubs. Because of the “vanishing loft disease,” the 24/38 line has now moved to the shy side of the 5-iron—making the 3-, 4- and even the 5-iron un-hittable for most golfers."

 

From Tom Wishon:

 

http://wishongolf.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/New-12Myths-PDF-2014.pdf

 

 

Interesting theory and sure makes sense.  Is there another one that can explain my tenuous relationship with my PW? 

[tony@CIC]

1 hour ago, alfriday101 said:

"In the world of Clubfitting there is something called the “24/38 Rule.” Basically, it says that the majority of golfers cannot consistently hit an iron that has less than 24-degrees of loft or is more than 38 inches in its length. The reason is that a club like that requires swing skills that most average golfers do not have the ability to acquire.

Thirty years ago the 24/38 line fell on the other side of the 3-iron. So, when you bought a typical 3-iron through pitching wedge iron set, you could reasonably expect to hit each of those clubs. Because of the “vanishing loft disease,” the 24/38 line has now moved to the shy side of the 5-iron—making the 3-, 4- and even the 5-iron un-hittable for most golfers."

 

From Tom Wishon:

 

http://wishongolf.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/New-12Myths-PDF-2014.pdf

 

 

Interesting article - thanks for passing it along. 

[PlaidJacket]

This past week I thought I'd put my Wishon 771 4i back in my bag. About two years ago I replaced it with and older steel shafted TM Burner 2.0 I had laying around as I had been struggling with the Wishon at the time. Granted I don't play a 4i all that much but hybrids haven't proven to be my thing. So..  the other day as I was swapping them I noticed the TM 4i is about 1" longer than my Wishon. (I was custom fit for my Wishon irons with Aerotech i80-R shafts) I actually play the TM 4i pretty well most times as it's a little easier playing design. More forgiving. 

Yesterday I never pulled the Wishon 4i so I can't say yet if I'll keep it in the bag. Overall, my Wishons have a been excellent irons by all measures.

[GB13]

I think my best club is my 4 iron. I have always enjoyed hitting long irons and I hit them well. I think my swing is suited to shots that I have to stand farther away from the ball so I hit my long irons best. 

I think I need a PW hybrid as opposed to a 4 hybrid. 

[tony@CIC]

18 hours ago, GB13 said:

I think my best club is my 4 iron. I have always enjoyed hitting long irons and I hit them well. I think my swing is suited to shots that I have to stand farther away from the ball so I hit my long irons best. 

I think I need a PW hybrid as opposed to a 4 hybrid. 

Hmm i'm going to have to try standing further away from the ball. Wish I could hit all of my  long irons like my short irons. 

[fixyurdivot]

18 hours ago, GB13 said:

I think I need a PW hybrid as opposed to a 4 hybrid. 

If you find one, let me know. I took a Vogley SM7 out for a spin during my round in McCall, ID a few weeks ago and it too is of poor design.  

[NM01]

Longer club, less loft and more room for error. Even the best players I the world with get rid of the longer iron (usually 3i for them) and use more forgiving iron or hybrid in the 2,3,4i spot.

hybrud inconsistency imo comes from incorrect ball placement and or how one tries to hit it. Some have it to far forward or to far back...trying to hit like a fw or iron.