how much distance can the wrong shaft on your irons lose you?

[slugger]

I was up at the range the other night and was hitting the ball very sweet. I was hitting my 7 iron into the wind and up hill about 140 yds.

Then i turned round and noticed the guy next to me was hitting his 7 iron about 15yds further. He looked to be about the same standard as me, maybe a wee bit better (more consistent). Hard to tell from a few shots at the range. His ball flight was also different from mine. Mine would rise up on a nice trajectory, then come down in a steeper one. His seemed to go up and come back down on a similar trajectory. (hope that makes sense). My ball basically matched his pretty well until it came down steeper and that's where the distance was lost.

I've been wondering if it's the shafts i use on my irons. They're Mizuno MX900s with the dynamic gold light shafts. Is it possible that a heavier shaft or a different flex will give me that much extra difference on my irons?

 

[Twire]

How long's a piece of string?

To be honest, if your hitting your 7 iron 140 uphill and into a wind, you've got nothing to worry about. Some manufacturers the lofts are stronger than others...there's a 101 reasons why he's getting a few extra yards, as I said don't worry about what he's doing, your hitting your 7 iron ok.

 

[DCB]

Don't see a problem, 140 into the wind is not too bad. MX900 are the forged hollow beasies from couple of years ago if I'm right. They should have a reasonable mid-high ball flight I would have thought.

Again, it's down to the way an individual strikes the ball as to how far it goes. Mizuno lofts aren't tweeked to make them 'strong' so it's flying about normal fior an into the breeze shot I would say.

At Goswick I played a soft 4 iron into a wind on the second hole on the saturday, 163yds par 3 !

 

[USER1999]

Why would you want a rainbow flight with an iron? They are supposed to spin, and come down and stop where they land. If you get that rainbow flight, they will run on, and on firm greens you will be forever through the back.

The question should really be, why did he want the flight he had? Yours sounds right to me.

 

[ricardodaintino]

I agree with the above. Your ball flight is better because as the ball drops it'll sit on the green nicely (in theory!) his will always run on and that makes it even harder to plan the shot or judge distance.

 

[madandra]

When I got my Cobra forged CB's they had R300's in them and when playing against J_F at Craigielaw I hit, no, I nailed a 7 iron 119 yards and a week later they were gone and in their place are Cleveland CG4 Tour with S300 which allow me to hit about 50 yards more so I get about 165-175 out of my 7 iron.

 

[slugger]

Ah... never thought of that. my mind is at ease now. I suppose it comes down to where control is better than distance. Sometimes it's so easy to get clouded with getting extra distance in this game.

 

[andiritchie]

Maybe just maybe you have a more downward strike on the ball than the other guys creating a bit more spin,prob not though as 140 into the wind is decent.

I hit all my irons well everything with quite a flat flight,they still stop quickly if i hit it right

 

[RGDave]

I was up at the range the other night and was hitting the ball very sweet. I was hitting my 7 iron into the wind and up hill about 140 yds.

That's OK. I hit hundreds of irons and ave out at 147 with a 7.

I've been wondering if it's the shafts i use on my irons. They're Mizuno MX900s with the dynamic gold light shafts. Is it possible that a heavier shaft or a different flex will give me that much extra difference on my irons?

Some folk DO get quite astonishing results with C/F shafts.

I've played reg steel, reg graphite, stiff graphite and even accidentally with a set of ladies flex...

Makes very little difference for me.

I don't care about outright distance with irons, just consistency.....a certainly avoid comparing myself to anyone else. The less able guys at mine sometimes take 1 more club than me, and the better hitters up to 2 less.

My old playing partner would take a 9 from 140 into the wind. I've seen him run out of fairway at 200 with a 6 iron. He's a beast....but he's also wayward and plays off many more than me.

Forget it, or go for C/F, anything else is spending a penny into a stiff breeze.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Why do people get so hung up about how far they hit each club. Go out and measure reliably (using SC or similar) and find out how far you hit each club on average. Try doing it into and down wind to get some indication when playing on the course and use those numbers to base your selection on.

I'm a short hitter and my 7 iron average is 137. I can flush it 148 tops and know that I can probably get away with using it up to around 140 yards. If I have 141 dependant on wind and conditions I'll probably choke down the grip and make a smooth swing with a 6. A lot of guys on here would be hitting 7 or 8 without worrying. Big deal. If 6 is what I need I'm not going to give into my ego and try and cream a career shot.

Different shafts will give you different results but it sounds like the ones youhave do the job well enough. Put the ego to one side and focus on what club is the right one, not what is written on the bottom

 

[bobmac]

Put the ego to one side and focus on what club is the right one, not what is written on the bottom

Here here

 

[madandra]

Thats why I asked a few months ago if club manufacturers should stamp LOFTS on the sole instead of a number?

Someone using a Titleist 7 iron isnt gonna hit it as far as someone using Wilson Di7's because some manufaturers have 'strong lofts'...

 

[bobmac]

Sky sports make it worse by telling us what the tour pros are hitting on TV.
150 yds...wedge, 205....5 iron, 3... wood 275
Why dont they just tell us his club selection or distance, not both.
Kids grow up thinking they have to hit the ball that far at 15 /16

 

[TonyN]

Thats why I asked a few months ago if club manufacturers should stamp LOFTS on the sole instead of a number?

Someone using a Titleist 7 iron isnt gonna hit it as far as someone using Wilson Di7's because some manufaturers have 'strong lofts'...

Yes they bloody well should, They do it with wedges, so why not the rest of em. I remember that discusion, it was when I was playing Callys and got suckered into carrying 4 wedges. Grrrr

And when I was playing callys with 'uniflex' shaft, I had the same ball flight as the 'other guy' at the range and my dispersion was pants. sometime a difference in 30 yards with say a 6 iron. So hard to hold a green.

When I went for my C/F at mizuno, the Nippon shafts created a flight similar to yours. The shot now climbs to its peak and falls quite steeply. If I have 140 yard carry to the middle of the green I know I can take a 7 and not run off the back if it is at 150. Its a great trajectory to have and one that has got my dispersion alot better, I kno hit my irons a consistantly lentgh (just not always in the same direction)

 

[slugger]

HomerJSimpson, no ego... i was genuinly interested as to whether shafts can make much difference.

I've only been at this game for 1 season and know i'm not good enough to have an ego. I'm just very keen to learn all i can about the game as, as far as i can tell, any tiny littly bit of knowledge can help out on the course.

I'll stop asking stupid questions now.

 

[CarpeDiem]

i was genuinly interested as to whether shafts can make much difference.

If they didn't would we have custom fitting?

 

[jeffc]

I do agree that you should select the right club for the distances you hit, if you hit long or short consistency is the key.On the course I always err towards one club too many rather than one shorter.

However if one guy can hit 165 with a 7 but the other needs a 5 , the longer hitter has an advantage because the 7 is easier to hit and is more accurate i.e. he has more chance to make the shot.
This is why I have greater admiration for good players with low handicaps who cannot hit long. Simply put the longer you hit the easier the game becomes. IMO
I don't hit long therefore I am going to have to work hard to get where I want to be, all part of the glorious game.

 

[viscount17]

Simply put the longer you hit the easier the game becomes. IMO

not really, otherwise John Daly would have been No.1 and JB Holmes would now be.

I think I'll go with 'long is good but straight is better'

 

[DCB]

Quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Simply put the longer you hit the easier the game becomes. IMO


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



not really, otherwise John Daly would have been No.1 and JB Holmes would now be.

I think I'll go with 'long is good but straight is better'

Definately on the right track here. Keep it on the short stuff and it's so much easier.

I had my best ever spell of golf a few years ago and my fairways hit and greens hit stats were excellent that year.