Struggling with the 5 iron

[woody69]

I know that some people view this as a medium iron, but for me it is my longest and I'm really struggling to be consistent or get any sort of distance with it. So much so it rarely comes out the bag, but I want to sort it out.

I have just been fitted for some new irons and I played with them on Wednesday and the 7-iron is like some kind of wizard magic stick. It is insane the consistency, ball flight and length I can get with it compared to my old one. I was managing to hit repeatable shots in excess of 160 yards, of which 3 measured shots were 170 (total carry and roll)and one even scraped 5 or so yards short of 200. Which for a 7 iron, for me is just unbelievable. I want that consistency with my 5!!

Moving on to the 5-iron I would expect to be at least an extra 20 yards or so on from the 7-iron (approx), but out of 10 shots I'm lucky to get 1 that makes it to 160, let alone past 170 with the rest all being hit very very low and getting to about 100 tops (if I am lucky). The main fault I think is a mix of hitting it fat, with the club bouncing up off the floor and catching the top of the ball, although I do occassionally come down and just hit the ball thin (I think as an over correction to the issue with hitting it fat).

Would widening my stance help me at all? I know it is a little longer than my 7 iron (obviously) but if the 7-iron is a magic stick, the 5-iron is the devils cane.

Any tips for the "longer" irons?

 

[the_coach]

Sounds very much like because there is less loft on a 5i, you're trying to help it a ways up in your swing motion.
So hanging back some, when coming into & through impact there's still too much weight on the trail side & subconsciously you're trying to help the ball up some, so there's an intention in there to swing upwards through impact.
You'll get away with it some if the balls on a tee, but not if it's on the ground.

With the weight on the trail leg sometimes if the hands/wrists don't bend upwards enough, flip, the club hits the ground first, if the hands/wrists flip in time you can get some contact but not full proper contact so that's why the 5i doesn't go as far as it should.
Sometimes the timing of this hand/wrist flip means the leading edge alone contacts the ball so depending where this happens in relation to the balls equator will mean either thins or tops.

The reason this happens, is with the weight hanging back it means with the 5i iron the lowest point of the swings arc is before the clubhead gets to the ball, simply because you're not really trusting the loft so hanging back on the trail side with the lift up of the body flick with the hands 'help up in the air' motion.

This means that with low point of the swings arc being before the clubhead gets to the ball, it depends then on the timing of the 'flick-up' hand/wrist movement as to where the ball or ground is struck first, so sometimes contact will be fat, sometimes with more of a earlier 'flick' you'll hit it thin or top it, but it's all part of the same kind of motion, just how & where it's timed as to the outcome at impact.

With any iron we need to swing down & through to get the ball 'up', so the lowest point of the swings arc needs to be target side of the ball, so ball first ground (divot) second.

Given the friendly looking lofted 7i you're feeling better able to swing down & through as you can see more loft at address, so with that club your low point is target side of the ball as it should be.

Just need the same intention of swinging down & through with the 5i as you have with the 7i, & trust the loft on the club to get it 'up'. It will do, you just need to picture the low point of the swings arc, is target side of the ball.

To then achieve that in the swing motion from the top you need to make sure that although your head upper body stays behind the ball, your weight at start of transition/downswing first needs to shift to be on the lead foot lead leg. then as long as you also clear the lead hip, you just swing downwards & through to make sure that lowest point is target side of the ball, so ball first, divot second.

From the top don't think 'helping up' & hang back, weight on the trail side, you need to think & do the opposite, weight left, swing downwards.

 

[Jack_bfc]

Or buy a hybrid...

5 iron in the garage with the 3 and 4...

 

[woody69]

Or buy a hybrid...

5 iron in the garage with the 3 and 4...

Well I've just spent 90 odd quid on this 5 iron so would rather try and fix the faults with that before buying another club....

 

[woody69]

Sounds very much like because there is less loft on a 5i, you're trying to help it a ways up in your swing motion.
So hanging back some, when coming into & through impact there's still too much weight on the trail side & subconsciously you're trying to help the ball up some, so there's an intention in there to swing upwards through impact.
You'll get away with it some if the balls on a tee, but not if it's on the ground.

With the weight on the trail leg sometimes if the hands/wrists don't bend upwards enough, flip, the club hits the ground first, if the hands/wrists flip in time you can get some contact but not full proper contact so that's why the 5i doesn't go as far as it should.
Sometimes the timing of this hand/wrist flip means the leading edge alone contacts the ball so depending where this happens in relation to the balls equator will mean either thins or tops.

The reason this happens, is with the weight hanging back it means with the 5i iron the lowest point of the swings arc is before the clubhead gets to the ball, simply because you're not really trusting the loft so hanging back on the trail side with the lift up of the body flick with the hands 'help up in the air' motion.

This means that with low point of the swings arc being before the clubhead gets to the ball, it depends then on the timing of the 'flick-up' hand/wrist movement as to where the ball or ground is struck first, so sometimes contact will be fat, sometimes with more of a earlier 'flick' you'll hit it thin or top it, but it's all part of the same kind of motion, just how & where it's timed as to the outcome at impact.

With any iron we need to swing down & through to get the ball 'up', so the lowest point of the swings arc needs to be target side of the ball, so ball first ground (divot) second.

Given the friendly looking lofted 7i you're feeling better able to swing down & through as you can see more loft at address, so with that club your low point is target side of the ball as it should be.

Just need the same intention of swinging down & through with the 5i as you have with the 7i, & trust the loft on the club to get it 'up'. It will do, you just need to picture the low point of the swings arc, is target side of the ball.

To then achieve that in the swing motion from the top you need to make sure that although your head upper body stays behind the ball, your weight at start of transition/downswing first needs to shift to be on the lead foot lead leg. then as long as you also clear the lead hip, you just swing downwards & through to make sure that lowest point is target side of the ball, so ball first, divot second.

From the top don't think 'helping up' & hang back, weight on the trail side, you need to think & do the opposite, weight left, swing downwards.

Thanks Coach.... need to get down the range and try it out. It certainly isn't a consious thought to try and help the ball into the air with the 5 iron with a flick, but maybe I'm doing that subconsiously....

 

[the_coach]

Thanks Coach.... need to get down the range and try it out. It certainly isn't a consious thought to try and help the ball into the air with the 5 iron with a flick, but maybe I'm doing that subconsiously....

Yep, that you're getting fats, thins & tops, they are all part of the same issue of the weight being a little too much on the trail side coming into & at impact so low point of the arc is at the wrong side of the ball. All those different contacts not caused by different issues.
The 'flick' would just be a reaction to the weight being a little ways too much on the trail side & the low point being before the club gets to the ball. Just an instinctive correction to try to get the club head on the ball.

If the longer clubs in the bag, when struck pretty good often favor a left to right flight, that would mean that the swing path is a little ways out to in as well, may not be of course, depends on the flight you get most often. But these two issues often go together to some degree.