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Fellow spies!

 

My mid and short irons all have around 10-15 yards distance gap between them, but this is not the case with the 4 iron.

 

I use my 7 iron for 165-170 yards, so theoretically a 4 iron should be going 190-200 yards, correct?

 

But it seems like the 4 iron only goes as far as the 5 iron (at least on the driving range I see no difference), so I'm wondering... what am I doing wrong? Do I need more club head speed for longer irons? Are there any other things you do differently when hitting long irons?

 

I guess most people would recommend going to hybrids if you can't hit long irons, but I honestly have better contact with irons than hybrids.

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

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Congratulations.

 

You have taken a giant step forward in the development of your golf game. You've come to the harsh reality that the long irons really are more difficult than the mid and short, not because they are hard to hit with, but are more difficult to swing reliably and efficiently.

 

The old stop gap remedy was to carry more fairway woods and the modern stop gap remedy is to carry more hybrids. Either will work and if you are judicious in your purchases, they will do the things you cannot do with your long irons.

 

The best solution is to fix your swing. The long irons are more difficult because they pretty well require a sweep rather than the slug it out that you can get away with in the mids and shorts. Even the mids are a beginning of the demand for a sweep. The long irons also require a more ideal lie especially if you cannot swing all that well. The greater demands of the long irons simply show the inefficiencies of your swing by the performance you can derive from them. All it takes to fix this is well invested range time.

 

The stop gap of more fairways or more hybrids is very seductive especially as these solutions really are capable of giving you near instant relief. The idea is to get the ball way down there and these do that with far less skill requirement than the long irons. If ever there was a case of buying a game, these come pretty close.

 

Of course, the decision is on your table. I suggest both. Use fairways or hybrids to fix the gap and spend more range time fixing your swing. If you can improve your swing that much, the fairways and hybrids, all your clubs actually, will really become longer, possibly too long unless you get an even better swing, and your long irons will become viable alternatives.

 

 

Shambles

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Thanks for your feedback Shambles!

 

I was hitting down on long irons as well, so that's probably the swing flaw you are pointing out.

 

Unfortunately, FW woods and hybrids are the weakest part of my game (mostly fat and thin shots) so even when I'm willing to buy a quick remedy to my game, they don't fix it.

 

I don't mind practicing to get better, but now that you gave me pointers, I know which part should I be working on at the driving range.

 

Sweetness!

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Thanks for your feedback Shambles!

 

I was hitting down on long irons as well, so that's probably the swing flaw you are pointing out.

 

Unfortunately, FW woods and hybrids are the weakest part of my game (mostly fat and thin shots) so even when I'm willing to buy a quick remedy to my game, they don't fix it.

 

I don't mind practicing to get better, but now that you gave me pointers, I know which part should I be working on at the driving range.

 

Sweetness!

 

Likewise, I'd like to point out that Fairways and Hybrids are more tolerant ( forgiving ) of bad swings including hitting down on a ball. You won't get the distance those clubs can give but, more often than not, you will get some useable distance so that a good short game can still save your game.

 

 

Shambles

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Likewise, I'd like to point out that Fairways and Hybrids are more tolerant ( forgiving ) of bad swings including hitting down on a ball. You won't get the distance those clubs can give but, more often than not, you will get some useable distance so that a good short game can still save your game.

 

 

Shambles

 

Well, those distances are all usable... but then I would have 3 clubs that go the same distance :D

I'll work on the sweeping strike and see how it works out!

 

Thanks!

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One other note: I know that for myself, the reason that longer clubs (be they irons, fairways, or hybrids) are harder to hit is that I want to swing harder. For me, swinging harder can mean over-the-top, steep, etc. The biggest focus for me, with long clubs, is swinging smooth. It's made a big difference in my long game.

 

Best of luck to you.

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Thanks Matt! I'm sure that's also my problem... it's an unconscious reflex to swing harder to go longer... I'll keep that in mind.

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Use some impact tape to check where you are striking the face. It's easy to hit longer irons towards the toe and lose a lot of distance. I've found the fix is sometimes as simple as thinking, "hit closer to the heel." Slow down your swing until you have a consistently sweet strike.

I spy with my little eye something...

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4 iron is 22* +-1 compared to 32* on my 7 iron.

 

This is probably the least used iron in my bag... so it's hard to imagine the loft has changed.

But will ask the shop to check it for me.

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:mizuno-small: JPX919 Forged 4-PW w/ Modus3 105 S
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Do you really need a 4 iron? I know it sounds weird, but I had the same issue with that stupid iron. I realised my 7W (I use a 4W 7W combination) was giving me around 200, so it didn't make much difference with the "ideal 4i". I decided to toss it out and have not needed it since... The 5i goes around 180, so I do have a gap indeed, but I couldnt care less since I very very rarely land on a 185-195y situation

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Xamilo,

 

You are right, those situations where you NEED 190 yards are very rare. As a matter of fact, I probably wouldn't take a 190 yards approach shot.

 

But like I mentioned before, I'm not that good with my hybrid/woods game, so I rely on my long irons for distance.

 

No worries, I have taken all the advice here and I will work on my hybrid/woods game. I'll hit the driving range today with only a hybrid and a 3W. Something good has to come out!

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:mizuno-small: JPX919 Forged 4-PW w/ Modus3 105 S
:titelist-small: Vokey SM7 50/08F, 54/14F & 58/08M w/ Modus3 115 Wedge
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Thanks Matt! I'm sure that's also my problem... it's an unconscious reflex to swing harder to go longer... I'll keep that in mind.

This is what I've been working on with my instructor. After watching me hit a few balls he said "do you want to keep hitting a 7I 200yds or do you want to put it inside 20' from 200yds?". He told me to take my 5I, aim it at the 200yd sign and try to hit it 150yds; when I did this, I was hitting everything within a 20' circle around the 200 sign. Once I got to taking a full swing with that smooth tempo, I started striping everything. Even then, I was only hitting my 4I about 5yds further than my 5I, so I had it bent to about a 3.5I and it created a 15-20yd gap.

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I struggle a bit with the same thing Steve, I think we all do to some degree. When my swing is on I can handle a 4 iron very well, when its off, it might be worse than using my 5 iron. Its a bit of an issue for distance as I really expect the 4 to be a solid 190-195 club and my shortest hybrid is a 210 club. I just have to remember to really swing the 4 smooth, I try to really focus on building the power down through the slot and staying in the swing. Usually its acceptable but I'd guess I come up a bit short of my target 1/2 the time, but sometimes that's because I'm trying to squeeze 200 out of it!

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At times I have too much time on my hands and I get to wondering why long irons can be so much more difficult than short and mids. There is almost a guarded border crossing just after the 5 iron wherein you must present your passport as proof of proficiency to handle a long iron.

 

There was a time wherein players proudly carried long irons as a declaration of competence, but on the fairway desperately tried to make their mids do the work. Carrying a fairway more than a 3 wood was an admission of less competence. The 3 wood served for those moments the Driver wasn't up to the task, but the long irons were in charge for long distance tasks otherwise. If you carried a 4 or 5 wood, that was a public admission that you really could not reliably swing your 3 and 4 iron except in the most ideal positions, if that. There was even the case of a Master's Champion who, being unable to use long irons to pro standards, relied upon the fairways and was thereby less admired for winning, in his own words at the very least. I've forgotten his name but that man never made a fortune out of winning at Golf. Apparently he was not admired because he used woods where other players used irons.

 

 

If you look at the long irons of the 50's and early 60's you might understand how intimidating it was to try to use those teeny tiny heads against that massive ball which looked just a little bit larger than the club, but wasn't. From day 1 I surrendered and carried the 4 and 5 wood while my 3 and 4 irons became useless baggage never to be used except to punch out from imprisoning shrubbery or from under trees. Being unable to get the ball up in the air was not a sin if you were shooting out from a bunch of trees. You could always mumble that you kept the ball low to avoid the branches.

 

I still carry a 4 and 5 wood and I still carry the little used 3 and 4 irons. For my current skill level, my 1 and 2 irons stay home though I might replace my 3 iron for either of them if I want to have it as a conversation starter on unfamiliar fairways.

 

 

Shambles

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Yeah, that is definitely the misconception people have regarding long irons and blades.

But they never stop to think that there are a few of us who bag a 4 iron not by choice, but necessity.

 

Anyways, went to the range last night with a 4 iron only, slowing 10% of the tempo did help actually.

Instead of killing it just turn around the waist and it goes my desired 190ish yards... it's really hard to tell accurately since I'm standing so far away from the 200 yard mark and you just lose the perspective of distance and all.

 

Will do that again today and once I have it fixed, I'll go to the range with a hybrid only see how it goes. But I'm seriously considering getting rid of the hybrid and stay with a 3W for distance.

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Another good point above. People pull out a long iron, look at the target and think, "I've got to hit this iron a loooong ways to reach that far away target." So they rush their tempo trying to build club head speed, but they never end up building a good shoulder turn. The rushed tempo/backswing is a killer for most. Slow down, build up shoulder turn, and hit the sweet spot and the ball will launch like a rocket.

Half the battle to hitting a 3 iron flush is to convince yourself you are hitting a 7 iron to an easy 7 iron distance.

I spy with my little eye something...

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Be sure you make your swing with long arms.

 

It's actually true for all clubs but all the more important where the long irons, woods and Driver are concerned. Look at the people around you and you will probably spot a few swinging with short arms, i.e., bent elbows at point of contact. It's no big deal if you aren't needing to go that far but it counts much where the far places are important.

 

A lot of players are not even aware that they are doing this. Many will not believe and the best is really to simply set a video cam on yourself and swing away for a number of balls. You hit enough balls and you ACTUALLY watch the video swing by swing, you will see your own swing faults and can make the proper corrections by feeling your way. It makes a big big difference when you can see your faults for yourself rather than having them told to you. Most video players have a slo mo and even a frame by frame replay. If you have the patience to actually watch a few of your swings in such detail I'm pretty sure you'll feel bad about yourself. :P

You'll also have a better idea of what you need to fix first. Very few people can fix a bunch of things and have the repairs stick.

 

Good luck. You have a lot of work and some expenses confronting you.

 

 

Shambles

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Thanks for the encouragement!

 

Went back to the range again today and the problem with the 4 iron seems to be solved for now. Still can't 100% accurately read the distance, but the contact is very crisp, if that doesn't do it, then I should probably get rid of the stick.

 

Now it's all about bringing the 18* hybrid to 200-210. From the tee is OK, but off the deck it's just !$#$^%$&^$^@&^

 

But I guess all I have to do is practice just like I did with the 4 iron and should see some improvement.

 

Shambles, I actually tried the camera thing while fighting a slice and yes, I felt like quitting :D

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