I'm trying to reconcile some things in my head regarding how to best hit the long irons and I thought I'd pose some thoughts in this forum. I still carry a 2 and 3, and even a 1-iron on occasions..... mainly due to playing in lots of wind most of the time. I prefer an iron to a hybrid and can hit them great at times, but not as consistently as I "should" as a scratch player.
I had a chance to hit a large bucket today and I hit primarily wedges, 7-irons, and 3-irons, and really tried to comprehend why a 2 or 3-iron is tougher to hit than the 7-iron? The 3 reasons that seem the most obvious being:
1) it's a longer club by a couple of inches
2) it has less loft, so sidespin is a bigger factor
3) it requires more clubhead speed to impart "enough" backspin to keep the ball in the air
But as I thought about these answers it would seem that with a fairly repeatable swing, the club being 2 inches longer shouldn't be a big issue. Even the effect of having 15 degrees less loft doesn't seem like it would make a huge difference to a club travelling on a reasonable path with respect to the target.
Which leads me to #3. Is it the attempt to "artificially" add clubhead speed (by "muscling" the swing, "trying harder", etc) in order to create enough backspin that leads to the inconsistency with the long irons? Does the additional 2 inches of shaft length combined with making a "7-iron swing" create more than enough clubhead speed for the long iron shot?
The more I tried to really feel like my HANDSPEED thru impact was THE SAME with the 3-iron as with the 7, the better the results.
Has anyone calculated what a particular handspeed creates in clubhead speed and the increase in clubhead speed when that same handspeed is applied to a shaft that's 2 inches longer (assuming the same release motion)?
I spent some time by the 17th tee at the 08 Byron Nelson. It was a par-3 set up at 220 and played into a strong wind. These guys were putting the smoothest motions you could imagine with 3 and 4 irons and hitting some wonderful shots.
Is it simply that most amateurs (even the better ones) instinctively try to swing the long irons harder rather than letting the added shaft length create the speed (making consistency harder to come by)?
Sorry about the rambling. Just wondering if this makes sense.
Robbo
I had a chance to hit a large bucket today and I hit primarily wedges, 7-irons, and 3-irons, and really tried to comprehend why a 2 or 3-iron is tougher to hit than the 7-iron? The 3 reasons that seem the most obvious being:
1) it's a longer club by a couple of inches
2) it has less loft, so sidespin is a bigger factor
3) it requires more clubhead speed to impart "enough" backspin to keep the ball in the air
But as I thought about these answers it would seem that with a fairly repeatable swing, the club being 2 inches longer shouldn't be a big issue. Even the effect of having 15 degrees less loft doesn't seem like it would make a huge difference to a club travelling on a reasonable path with respect to the target.
Which leads me to #3. Is it the attempt to "artificially" add clubhead speed (by "muscling" the swing, "trying harder", etc) in order to create enough backspin that leads to the inconsistency with the long irons? Does the additional 2 inches of shaft length combined with making a "7-iron swing" create more than enough clubhead speed for the long iron shot?
The more I tried to really feel like my HANDSPEED thru impact was THE SAME with the 3-iron as with the 7, the better the results.
Has anyone calculated what a particular handspeed creates in clubhead speed and the increase in clubhead speed when that same handspeed is applied to a shaft that's 2 inches longer (assuming the same release motion)?
I spent some time by the 17th tee at the 08 Byron Nelson. It was a par-3 set up at 220 and played into a strong wind. These guys were putting the smoothest motions you could imagine with 3 and 4 irons and hitting some wonderful shots.
Is it simply that most amateurs (even the better ones) instinctively try to swing the long irons harder rather than letting the added shaft length create the speed (making consistency harder to come by)?
Sorry about the rambling. Just wondering if this makes sense.
Robbo