Distance of my irons

[par5in4]

I've spent some time on an indoor golf simulator getting my average distances of my irons. My question has to do with my 5 and 6 iron and my 3 and 4 iron. They are nearly the same! What could explain that? Any thoughts??

PW: best hit-126, average-121
9-i: best hit-140, average-135
8-i: best hit-152, average-147
7-i: best hit-171, average-162
6-i: best hit-186, average-179
5-i: best hit-190, average-180
4-i: best hit-211, average-197
3-i: best hit-213, average-206

The sims are new and the pro claims they're accurate to within a couple yards. I've been 3 separate times to get an even better average. Please comment!

[ezra76]

Is that measuring carry distance only? If so it makes sense that you are just not hitting the 3 with enough carry to make it look longer than the 4. To tell you the truth I've always been pretty close with a 3 and 4 that are only 3* apart in loft. I delofted my 5 to 25.5 and don't even have a 4, skip right over it. So if that is measuring carry, I'd consider dropping the 3 and looking into a hybrid that will carry further. I've had limited time with my new 3iron but so far it's looking to carry almost dead on 200 with a cut shot, flying high and landing soft enough to hold a green and with a lower draw flight, my "straight swing" it will land around where the cut would but run 15yds.


Sorry, missed the part about the 5iron till I went back to look at your #'s. Have the lofts checked 1st. I had mine bent and prior to doing so a few were off by up to 2* from "factory" specs.

[par5in4]

Yes, these are carry distances only

[ezra76]

If the swing and strikes are consistant... and the lofts come out to correct, I'd still bend them. 7 1* weak, 6 2*weak, 5 the same and the 4 1* weak. That'll make it easier on that 154yd. island green par 3. Now you'd be like "I can hit short in the water with 8 or long in the water with my 7 ".

[warbirdlover]

What Ezra said.

[xmasgolf]

Just a comment here fellows but I remember back in the 1970's when we used to look at a flag and say...um..looks like a good 7 iron and if wrong the next day we would try a 6 iron.By the way,a couple of those fellows were Peter Jacobsen and Fred Couples. I guess now a days guys have to know within a foot of how far their 4 iron goes.Oh well,Just an old pros' 2 cents worth.

[par5in4]

Not to be arguementative, xmasgolf, but I highly doubt that back in the '70's the professionals of the day, the best of the best were simply guessing at their yardages hoping they chose the right club. I'm sure they had a very good idea of how far they hit each club. It was their job to hit greens from the fairway and you can't be all that successful at doing that by just eyeballing the distance and and crossing your fingers.

I'm not looking for the distance to the foot, but to know within a few yards could only help me. I hear it all the time, the most common fault among amatuers is coming up short on approach shots. My guess is if they knew what they ACTUALLY hit each club on average, they would up their GIR's greatly!

I'm getting away from my original point which was why my 5 iron and 6 iron hit to virtually the same carry distance and the same for 4 and 3 irons. I want to know if it's equipment to blame or me.

[Poe4soul]

Check you loft and the shaft frequences of your 3 throgh 5. If they are within speck then I would guess they are you. If it is you look on the bridght side you can dump 2 of your irons and replace them with another wedge, wood, or hybrid.

[xmasgolf]

Originally Posted by par5in4

Not to be arguementative, xmasgolf, but I highly doubt that back in the '70's the professionals of the day, the best of the best were simply guessing at their yardages hoping they chose the right club. I'm sure they had a very good idea of how far they hit each club. It was their job to hit greens from the fairway and you can't be all that successful at doing that by just eyeballing the distance and and crossing your fingers.

I'm not looking for the distance to the foot, but to know within a few yards could only help me. I hear it all the time, the most common fault among amatuers is coming up short on approach shots. My guess is if they knew what they ACTUALLY hit each club on average, they would up their GIR's greatly!

I'm getting away from my original point which was why my 5 iron and 6 iron hit to virtually the same carry distance and the same for 4 and 3 irons. I want to know if it's equipment to blame or me.

I was referring to both players as amateurs.P.J. did not turn pro till 1976,and F.C. in 1980.Yes of course we knew yardages by 100,150,and 200 markers in the fairways.My point in my post was that the technology at that time was not even close to todays.If you hit a poor or offline tee shot you paced to the nearest marker.Not the most exact science.Try it.Pace your steps for 40yds.or so a few times.I'll bet you Xmas dinner your total varies.The golf balls were not all the same.Just trying to say that it was harder to be accurate.Don't know how old you are but did you ever get to hit the old Titleist Balata?? We could spin it from the back of a 30yd. green to the front,and not mean to but they compressed like a tennis ball.Enough said,I'm wearing out my point.Have a good Xmas Day!

[Armygolf]

Like posted above have the loft checked on your irons. I was going to change the loft on my gap wedge and found out it was off by more than 2 degrees in the opposite direction I wanted to go. Needless to say, but I had it set to the correct loft and it played just fine.

[dave.]

Yep, the lofts may be out

[ThatCanadianGuy]

Try some hybrids. You're probably just not getting enough height on the shot to take advantage of the low loft.

Or the lofts are screwey.

but I'd try some 3 & 4 hybrids before I screwed with my lofts.

That's what I'd do.

[MGP]

Originally Posted by par5in4

I've spent some time on an indoor golf simulator getting my average distances of my irons. My question has to do with my 5 and 6 iron and my 3 and 4 iron. They are nearly the same! What could explain that? Any thoughts??

PW: best hit-126, average-121
9-i: best hit-140, average-135
8-i: best hit-152, average-147
7-i: best hit-171, average-162
6-i: best hit-186, average-179
5-i: best hit-190, average-180
4-i: best hit-211, average-197
3-i: best hit-213, average-206

The sims are new and the pro claims they're accurate to within a couple yards. I've been 3 separate times to get an even better average. Please comment!

I suspect by looking at the best hit and average numbers that it's a consistency issue with swing speed and clubhead position at impact. I'd be interested to know what your clubhead speed is with a 3i vs. a 5i and how consistent is it? It should be consistently higher but I'll bet it's not. Your position at impact is also a major factor with the lower lofted long irons, just like it is with a driver. Long irons are just hard to hit really consistently for most people.

This was an issue with me on my long irons. I wasn't generating a consistent enough swing speed and impact position to get a good launch every time and my carry distance varied all over the place.

Originally Posted by ThatCanadianGuy

Try some hybrids. You're probably just not getting enough height on the shot to take advantage of the low loft.

Or the lofts are screwey.

but I'd try some 3 & 4 hybrids before I screwed with my lofts.

That's what I'd do.

And that's what I did to "fix" my problem. I get a more consistent launch angle with the hybrids and mishits are a lot closer to ideal than the long irons were. I still love my 3i and 4 i and would love to get the 4i, at least, back in the bag but I hit the hybrids so much more consistently I just can't do it.

[par5in4]

After considering all the advice and reading up on hybrids, I think I'm gonna go that route. I've hit a couple in the past and when struck cleanly, it flies so much better than any long iron. I guess it's just an ego thing. I'd like to claim I can hit the long irons because the skilled players can.

How's this plan sound.....replace 3 and 4 irons with hybrids and get 5i checked/bent to distance itself from my 6i. This should give me the versatility and playability I need. Thanks for all the responses and advice!

[xmasgolf]

Anyone ever hit a 1 iron?...Thin,and in cold weather? I haven't for a very long time but THAT hurts