5 iron (mid-long) woes.....

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Bill Miracle

Bill Miracle

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I think I have a mental block regarding longer irons. I am hitting wedges through 6i very, very well. Once I put a 5iron (or longer) in my hands, hitting without a tee, there is absolutely no consistency. 40% are beautiful, 30% are pulls or hooks, 30% are slices. Of these shots, distance is good 40% of the time and 60% not.

Some distances of other clubs:

SW (55*) 105
Gap (50*) 115
PW (45*) 125
9i 135
8ir 145
7ir 155
6ir 165
etc.....

I can hit these clubs longer but lose accuracy if I try to do so. These are comfortable swing distances.

If I could get the longer irons working, I could drop a good 10 strokes easy (probably more) by cutting out the errant lake balls, woods balls and the penalties that go with them.

I've been working hard on mashing with my pivot. This is working good on the driver and other irons. I feel like I am casting but....I can't seem to hold the lag on these clubs.

I'd appreciate some help here! Thanks!
 
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Bill Miracle

Bill Miracle

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Bang down...hmmmmm....

Brian Manzella said:
...are trying to REALLY BANG DOWN with these longer irons?
Click to expand...

You mean hit down on the ball (vs. sweep)? Yes, I always do that and always take divots (sometimes craters).

If you mean do I get more aggressive with longer irons and swing harder. Yes and no! Sometimes, I try and swing them like a 7 or 8 iron and when that isn't giving results, I end up getting much more aggressive. Both with a fair amount of successes and failures.

There's only a freakin' 1/2" to 2" difference in shaft length on these clubs. Why is it more difficult for most beginners?
 
J

Jim Kobylinski

Super Moderator
Bill Miracle said:
There's only a freakin' 1/2" to 2" difference in shaft length on these clubs. Why is it more difficult for most beginners?
Click to expand...

Loft, axis tilt, and being off plane.

That's why it's easier to hit the shorter clubs because you have more loft (more forgiveness) and you don't need as much tilt to hit the ball right.

You probably are coming in too steep because your right shoulder and forearm are too high and makes it hard to hit longer clubs. I know because i used to do it :)
 
Bill Miracle

Bill Miracle

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Jim Kobylinski said:
Loft, axis tilt, and being off plane.

That's why it's easier to hit the shorter clubs because you have more loft (more forgiveness) and you don't need as much tilt to hit the ball right.

You probably are coming in too steep because your right shoulder and forearm are too high and makes it hard to hit longer clubs. I know because i used to do it :)
Click to expand...


So, can you tell me how to fix it??? As a relative beginner, your answer makes sense but...I really don't know what to think about or do to fix it.

From what I gather from your answer, the ol' saying that you swing the same for all your clubs is BS???
 
B

Brian Manzella

Administrator
Tommy Armour—who wasn't a nucklehead—wouldn't TEACH students the Driver and the Irons on the same day.

These days, the longer irons are the hardest clubs to hit.

That's why HYBRIDS are so popular.

But....to hit you long clubs better, do the following:

1. Ball more forward, upperbody more back, still 50-50 weight at address.

2. Flatter plane coming into the ball, like a plane landing-not crashing

3. Keep your right arm under your left until the follow-through.

4. Get your left shoulder FURTHER from the ball at impact.

5. SWING DEM ORMS!
 
Bill Miracle

Bill Miracle

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Thanks...just what the Dr. ordered!!!

Brian Manzella said:
Tommy Armour—who wasn't a nucklehead—wouldn't TEACH students the Driver and the Irons on the same day.

These days, the longer irons are the hardest clubs to hit.

That's why HYBRIDS are so popular.

But....to hit you long clubs better, do the following:

1. Ball more forward, upperbody more back, still 50-50 weight at address.

2. Flatter plane coming into the ball, like a plane landing-not crashing

3. Keep your right arm under your left until the follow-through.

4. Get your left shoulder FURTHER from the ball at impact.

5. SWING DEM ORMS!
Click to expand...

Is the longer irons harder to hit today because our 5 irons are really like 3 irons of 20 years ago (loft/length)???

Also, upperbody back.....Is that more back away from the ball (arms stretched a liitle more) or more tilt to the right (or back of the ball) in the stance??? Thanks again Brian!:) :) :)
 
Bill Miracle

Bill Miracle

New
Just a thought....

I would love to see a down line comparision of a 9iron swing plane compared to a 5iron swing plane compared to a Driver. That might be great in a video answer.

Thanks again for the help!
 
Bill Miracle

Bill Miracle

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I'm a visual learner.....

Jim Kobylinski said:
What would you hope to see?
Click to expand...

I would hope to see the flatter plane these clubs travel on. I'd like to see if I see the flatter plane of a longer iron or driver vs. a short iron.

If not that, maybe I would see the address changes that might turn on a light bulb.

Actually, one of those pics Brian does with all the lines drawn might be better than a video.
 
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self-mastery

self-mastery

New
Longer clubs travel on a flatter plane because they are longer??? Right???

It's also harder to hit down with a longer club because of the flatter plane.
 
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