210 yards distance with 7 iron?

[mgranato]

I saw David Simms hit a 7 iron well over 210.

 

[Bigwill]

I saw David Simms hit a 7 iron well over 210.

The ground was a little hard...

 

[Matt 4-L]

Tin Cup 7-Iron Bet - YouTube

 

[duckjr78]

"I should tell you to practice your short game, but I highly recommend that you get wasted." - Romeo

 

[geoplaten]

What the announcers also fail to note is how far short of the pin the ball landed. "Its 200 yds to the pin and "gee whiz" he is hitting a 7 iron. It is slightly down wind and down hill, temps in the 90's, ball lands on the green 20 yds short of the pin and bounces up to 30' (10 yds short of the pin)." "Man, he really mashed that one - can' believe it - back when I was playing that distance was a 3 or 4 iron".

Back in my "younger days" with a balata ball and Hogan Apex Irons (7 iron was probably 38 deg) - I could get maybe 155 in the air. Now days at almost 70 yrs with the new clubs and balls (my 7 iron is 35 deg) - I can get 160 ish in the air - no problem with todays tour pros getting 180 if they push it a little. For most, 165 to 175 is a comfortable - "controllable" 7 iron - flat ground, no helping air.

In golf, just like in life, "sex" sells and in golf "sex" = length (and no, not that kind).

Nice post.

The other things they frequently omit are wind and elevation (both the elevation of the locale and the fact that a shot is actually downhill, which is often lost on TV). Wind alone can produce some crazy numbers. And some of the crazy driver distances reported are due to the way holes are measured (down the middle of the fairway, as opposed to how the crow flies).

 

[magicmarker]

I find this loft configuration to be really strange, given the inconsistency in some of the gapping, and some of the larger gaps coming between the 9 and PW, as opposed to some of the longer irons. Anyone else?

The loft configuration is the reason those carry distance gaps are so dialed in.

 

[finncox]

The loft configuration is the reason those carry distance gaps are so dialed in.

Yeah, I understand that for sure. However, it just struck me as odd, given the larger loft gaps between the shorter clubs. I once had an email exchange with Tom Wishon where he (paraphrasing) basically told me that it should work the other way. He informed me that, ideally, the longer clubs should have slightly larger loft gaps (4-5 degrees) to have consistent yardage gaps, while the shorter clubs (due to less compression from increasing loft) should have smaller, more consistent loft gaps to ensure consistent distance gaps (3-4 degrees).

Obviously, whatever Phil is doing is working for him. It just seemed a little counter-intuitive at first glance.

 

[ej20]

Who cares about hitting a 7i 210.

I prefer to play golf this way.

 

[magicmarker]

Yeah, I understand that for sure. However, it just struck me as odd, given the larger loft gaps between the shorter clubs. I once had an email exchange with Tom Wishon where he (paraphrasing) basically told me that it should work the other way. He informed me that, ideally, the longer clubs should have slightly larger loft gaps (4-5 degrees) to have consistent yardage gaps, while the shorter clubs (due to less compression from increasing loft) should have smaller, more consistent loft gaps to ensure consistent distance gaps (3-4 degrees).

Obviously, whatever Phil is doing is working for him. It just seemed a little counter-intuitive at first glance.

Engage him in another email exchange, I'd love to hear him explain why Phil's lofts run counter to his theory to achieve the same effect.