Looking for advice on this...Have been hitting my 6 and below irons pretty well lately (aside from a brief case of the shanks the other week), but for the most part, I have struggled with my 3-5. A lot of times on the range, I will start off hitting the big irons well for the first few reps and then something happens thats hard to diagnose. I think subconsciously I am altering my swing (swinging harder), and maybe even my setup to a certain extent because I am thinking about how far I have to hit the ball or something. The result is that I will hit a solid one for every 3 or 4 crap shots.

Long story short, I feel like my mechanics and rhythm are solid for my short irons and everything goes out of wack for the big ones and would appreciate tips on keeping this in check.

[This message has been edited by El Mero Guero (edited 3/5/2014 4:27p).]

I think that is a pretty normal feeling. My expectations are way lower for long irons.

^same here...that's why I hit a hybrid instead of a 3/4 (choke down for a "4-iron" shot)

I grew up on a 7100 yard par 70 with a lot of 3 woods off the tee. Needless to say I had to get pretty good at long irons. In ffact I just recently, and reluctantly, gave up my 2 iron for a hybrid. But I still have tons of confidence in my 3 and 4.

I tend to swing with more of a sweeping motion similar to a three wood rather than a downward motion like a short iron. I dont really do it consciously, just years and years of muscle memory.

Wish I would have learned this game at an earlier age.



Papa tried, but I had zero interest in golf until recent yrs. Now I will make decent strides and then muscle memory just leaves the building and my swing is completely foreign (temporarily). 2 steps fwd, 1 step back. Guess I'm on the right path until that flip flops.

[This message has been edited by El Mero Guero (edited 3/5/2014 5:24p).]

Technically you swing every club differently and especially between your 8 and 4 irons. First you have to realize that as an amateur you're going to hit a green from 200 out about 3 out of 10 times with a 4 iron. When I was at my best I could hit a green 5 out of 10 times with a 4 iron. Like agalaska said you need more of a sweeping motion with the longer irons. Hybrids will help you considerably.

One if the best pieces of advice I've ever received was 8 iron and under is almost never a "full swing." Those are scoring clubs that you are trying to be precise with, so if you need to step on a PW, then hit a controlled 9 iron and 9/10 you'll hit a better shot. Obviously there are situations where an all out LW is the only choice (short sided from the rough, etc), but for most normal shots, this is the rule of thumb for me.

So, no.

You are correct, your swing changes depending on club. Longer shafts on long irons requires

You are correct, your swing changes depending on club. Longer shafts on long irons requires one to stand further from the ball making it hard to be vertical with your swing. More of a sweeping motion should be used where I have a narrower stance and put the ball further back in my swing and really trap the ball with my scoring clubs.

Honestly, only thing you can do is go to the range and practice. Get the feel for what swing plane you should have for what iron. My long irons I aim further left and open my face a bit and have more of a slight fade where as I play more of a draw with my 7i-wedges.

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8 iron and under is almost never a "full swing."

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I'm not familiar with this game. I've been playing it wrong for 20 years and I couldn't possibly change now.

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8 iron and under is almost never a "full swing."

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I'm not familiar with this game. I've been playing it wrong for 20 years and I couldn't possibly change now.

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I'll be the first to admit that I don't always follow this in the heat of the moment, but I should. My swing gets so loose at the top that when I try to hit a 3/4 shot, it ends up being parallel at the top. Hmm, maybe I'm on to something...

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8 iron and under is almost never a "full swing."

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I completely agree with this and it is how golf used to be played, even into the 90's. I can hit a sand wedge 115 yards but never do. I can hit a 9 150 but probably hit a seven more often.

For me I club down and swing easy on short irons but do the opposite on middle and long irons. If I'm between an 8 and a 9 iron I'll hit an easy 8, but if I'm between a 5 and a 6 I usually do better if I hit a full aggressive 6 iron than if I try to hit an easy 5.

Thx for the feedback.

I go to the course to mash. Power full shots from the big driver to the lob wedge.