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Long Iron Gapping/Difficulties


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I am a high handicap player who pre-Covid was able to finally take a few lessons for the first time (really helped with my old problem of lots of fat iron shots).   I generally hit the ball pretty high and my general miss is to the right when I get tired (leaving the club face open and my arms take over).

 

A recent 3 wood shaft break at the range (SLIGHTLY out of warranty with Callaway, and the head flew into the woods) has given me a chance to really think about the top end of my bag and decide what I want to do there.  I started using ShotScope V3 this year and can finally see where the real distance gaps are with my performance.

ShotScope p-Avgs

Driver - 266

3W (dead) - 243

5W - 224

4H - 200

5I - 170

6I - 165

 

I do not really care to replace the 3W as I only hit it maybe twice a round (usually off the tee).  The struggle I have is with long irons.  I got rid of the 4I in favor of a Hybrid 4 years ago and love that club.  My problem with trying to figure out the next spot is what brings me to the forum.  

My miss is right (high, weak slice/fade) with longer irons.  All the hybrids I have hit in the last couple of years with the loft to bring the distance down to the gap I need to fill, seem to balloon pretty high and make me worried about trying to rely on them.  

Does anyone have any insights/experiences/thoughts on taking the longest iron and putting a graphite shaft in that to see how that helps?  What is the best mechanism to figure out which type of shaft to put in that club to see how impacts my ability to hit it consistently and fill that gap in my bag?

 

Thanks in advance for any response I might get!

I might not be very good, but I walk and play fast!

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I am a high handicap player who pre-Covid was able to finally take a few lessons for the first time (really helped with my old problem of lots of fat iron shots).   I generally hit the ball pretty high and my general miss is to the right when I get tired (leaving the club face open and my arms take over).

 

A recent 3 wood shaft break at the range (SLIGHTLY out of warranty with Callaway, and the head flew into the woods) has given me a chance to really think about the top end of my bag and decide what I want to do there.  I started using ShotScope V3 this year and can finally see where the real distance gaps are with my performance.

ShotScope p-Avgs

Driver - 266

3W (dead) - 243

5W - 224

4H - 200

5I - 170

6I - 165

 

I do not really care to replace the 3W as I only hit it maybe twice a round (usually off the tee).  The struggle I have is with long irons.  I got rid of the 4I in favor of a Hybrid 4 years ago and love that club.  My problem with trying to figure out the next spot is what brings me to the forum.  

My miss is right (high, weak slice/fade) with longer irons.  All the hybrids I have hit in the last couple of years with the loft to bring the distance down to the gap I need to fill, seem to balloon pretty high and make me worried about trying to rely on them.  

Does anyone have any insights/experiences/thoughts on taking the longest iron and putting a graphite shaft in that to see how that helps?  What is the best mechanism to figure out which type of shaft to put in that club to see how impacts my ability to hit it consistently and fill that gap in my bag?

 

Thanks in advance for any response I might get!

Sorry, but I am confused on what you are trying to accomplish. You don’t want to replace your 3 which leaves a gap between driver and 5W. If you want to live with the 40 yard gap that’s fine.

 

Then you start on long irons and we see 20-30 yard gaps between 5W and 5i and then a 5 yard gap to 6i. Are you trying to get another 10 yards out of the 5? Lighter shafts may increase swing speed to get more distance. that shaft could be graphite or steel. They only way to see what would work would be to try the shafts. To narrow the distance gaps you could also bend your irons to fix the gapping.

Driver:  :ping-small: G400 Max 9* w/ KBS Tour Driven
Fairway: :titelist-small: TS3 15*  w/Project X Hzardous Smoke
Hybrids:  :titelist-small: 915H 21* w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype
                :titelist-small: 915H  24*  w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype        
Irons:      :honma:TR20V 6-11 w/Vizard TR20-85 Graphite
Wedge:  :titleist-small: 54/12D, 60/8M w/:Accra iWedge 90 Graphite
Putter:   :taylormade-small:TM-180

Testing:   SPGC_logo.jpg

Backups:  :odyssey-small: Milled Collection RSX 2, :seemore-small: mFGP2, :cameron-small: Futura 5W

Member:  MGS Hitsquad since 2017697979773_DSCN2368(Custom).JPG.a1a25f5e430d9eebae93c5d652cbd4b9.JPG

 

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3 minutes ago, cnosil said:

Sorry, but I am confused on what you are trying to accomplish. You don’t want to replace your 3 which leaves a gap between driver and 5W. If you want to live with the 40 yard gap that’s fine.

 

Then you start on long irons and we see 20-30 yard gaps between 5W and 5i and then a 5 yard gap to 6i. Are you trying to get another 10 yards out of the 5? Lighter shafts may increase swing speed to get more distance. that shaft could be graphite or steel. They only way to see what would work would be to try the shafts. To narrow the distance gaps you could also bend your irons to fix the gapping.

Sorry for the confusion.  I don't think the 3W provided me much, so I am okay with that gap.  My issue is the distance and consistency gap between the 4H and 6I.  I am looking for something to either replace the 5I (as it stands now) or adjust it to help me gain consistency in distance/ball flight.

I might not be very good, but I walk and play fast!

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Sorry for the confusion.  I don't think the 3W provided me much, so I am okay with that gap.  My issue is the distance and consistency gap between the 4H and 6I.  I am looking for something to either replace the 5I (as it stands now) or adjust it to help me gain consistency in distance/ball flight.

Ok, as I mentioned in my previous post, you best options are probably to adjust the loft or drop it and replace with a 4 iron/fairway/hybrid. Lighter shaft might get you more speed, but probably would be the last option I would try.

Driver:  :ping-small: G400 Max 9* w/ KBS Tour Driven
Fairway: :titelist-small: TS3 15*  w/Project X Hzardous Smoke
Hybrids:  :titelist-small: 915H 21* w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype
                :titelist-small: 915H  24*  w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype        
Irons:      :honma:TR20V 6-11 w/Vizard TR20-85 Graphite
Wedge:  :titleist-small: 54/12D, 60/8M w/:Accra iWedge 90 Graphite
Putter:   :taylormade-small:TM-180

Testing:   SPGC_logo.jpg

Backups:  :odyssey-small: Milled Collection RSX 2, :seemore-small: mFGP2, :cameron-small: Futura 5W

Member:  MGS Hitsquad since 2017697979773_DSCN2368(Custom).JPG.a1a25f5e430d9eebae93c5d652cbd4b9.JPG

 

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3 hours ago, nynoles said:

Sorry for the confusion.  I don't think the 3W provided me much, so I am okay with that gap.  My issue is the distance and consistency gap between the 4H and 6I.  I am looking for something to either replace the 5I (as it stands now) or adjust it to help me gain consistency in distance/ball flight.

It seems that you have plenty of speed and you say that you hit the ball high.  Makes no sense why the 5i only goes 5 yards more than your 6i; something's not right.  I'd check that before I would go experimenting on shafts, which can be costly to find the right one.  A fitter could help.

I'm also concerned why you can't find a 5H that doesn't balloon, especially since you love your 4H.  Generally, there is not that much difference in ball flight between a 4H and a 5H in the same club given the same swing speed.  However, if the ball flight for a 5H in the same club is too high for you, you could try a stiffer flex rather than the same flex as your 4H.  Seems like it would be cheaper to demo hybrids to find your optimal distance rather than to keep swapping out shafts until you happen to find the right one.

We don’t stop playing the game because we get old; we get old because we stop playing the game.”

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