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Iron Distances off the tee v off the fairway

SuperStroke
I never take tee vs fairway distance into consideration, I haven’t ever noticed a difference honestly. But when I tee up an iron it’s generally right at turf level and just to ensure the perfect lie. I also play on zoysia fairways and get great lies from it, so I think that’s why my distances could be the same. Elevation changes, wind, and temperatures are taken into consideration way before tee/fairway distance.

I would also wonder if the type of fairway grass would be the cause of some of the yardage differences?
 
Nothing discernible.

The only exception would be when I tee it up higher to take some distance off by hitting a little higher on the face. I typically only do this with my wedges when I want to take off 5 yards or so without having to change my swing or where I grip the club. I find it's easier than gripping down because it doesn't affect the "effective" lie of the club, swing weight, etc.
 
Long irons are a little longer off of the tee. Mid and shorts are the same.
 
About the same except long irons are little longer off the tee.
 
No difference. If there is I know something is wrong with my swing.
 
I actually strike it low on the face when teed up so I get a lower ball flight with roll out. That is why generally on a par 3 I do not use a tee and just hit it off the ground. If it is the right distance I want that spinny landing that I would get from the fairway. On longer par 3's I can't use an iron anyway so it doesn't matter.
 
I get the same distances off the fairway as I do the tee. And usually on a par 3 I won't use a tee b/c I make better contact off the ground vs teeing it up slightly.....

Only difference is when I use a 2 iron on driving holes. Teed up just a little I get better launch with the 2 iron compared to the fairway and ill see about 15 extra yards
 
Molten said:
I haven't done any testing to confirm it, but I assume most people have an AoA closer to neutral (or even positive) off a tee. I'd wager a guess that impacts this calculus
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I’d wager a guess that most golfers don’t have the proper negative angle of attack on their irons off the fairway either. I see lots of irons swept off the grass and with that lots of fat and thin shots as well. According to Trackman, the average PGA Tour player has a negative angle of attack even with his driver.
 
tahoebum said:
I’d wager a guess that most golfers don’t have the proper negative angle of attack on their irons off the fairway either. I see lots of irons swept off the grass and with that lots of fat and thin shots as well. According to Trackman, the average PGA Tour player has a negative angle of attack even with his driver.
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Hardest thing for me to teach kids, not sweeping their dang irons and wedges. It’s second nature to just sweep everything I guess.
 
Jman said:
Hardest thing for me to teach kids, not sweeping their dang irons and wedges. It’s second nature to just sweep everything I guess.
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Out of curiosity how do you try to teach them that? Do they fear the fat shot?
 
I will typically see about 5-7 yards difference total wise, but off the tee I will see probably around 8 yards of carry difference with higher flight so it stops versus the lower flight of the turf ball that rolls out a little.
 
jdtox said:
Out of curiosity how do you try to teach them that? Do they fear the fat shot?
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I don't teach but the visual that has helped for me is that I try to visualize a nail on the ball that I try to hammer down (with an angle of course). Then I become more task oriented, this has helped me on striking my irons way better.
 
jdtox said:
Out of curiosity how do you try to teach them that? Do they fear the fat shot?
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Best thing I’ve found is teaching them about where the club is bottoming out and getting them to understand the club hits the ball first.

Focusing on a point in front of the ball as their “strike spot” helps them start to learn that, plus, it gets them to realize the ground is not going to hurt you when wielding a large steel object.
 
Assuming that I'm in the fairway with a good lie, I see no difference, in fact, I feel more confident hitting it off the fairway than on a tee. When hitting with a tee on the tee box, I try to position the ball as low as possible for this very reason.
 
Jman said:
Focusing on a point in front of the ball as their “strike spot” helps them start to learn that, plus, it gets them to realize the ground is not going to hurt you when wielding a large steel object.
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That’s exactly how I learned to hit down on the ball with my irons, eventually it becomes second nature and you can just focus on the ball. Great method to learn how to properly hit irons!
 
I quit using a tee from the box with any iron, I just knock a little tuft of turf up and place the ball on top. Do it with fairways too sometimes. Irons maybe go a touch farther. Not much.




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If I tee the ball up when using an iron, I need to make sure I actually tee it super low. I notice if I'm a bit careless I will catch the ball high on the face and hit a real short one.

Even when not using a tee, because of the flat even lie sometimes even tight, I can hit a further shot. Maybe when thinking max distance I can maybe get 5-8 extra yards of carry.
 
TRA024 said:
I don't teach but the visual that has helped for me is that I try to visualize a nail on the ball that I try to hammer down (with an angle of course). Then I become more task-oriented, this has helped me on striking my irons way better.
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I find the ability of our bodies to do what they are told is pretty remarkable given a simple set of directions. I found great success just telling people I want them to hit the ball then the ground 4 inches in front. This can be done by most players after just a few practice swings as long as you make that the total focus and don't mix in other stuff.
 
Probably a full club, so nearly 10 yards. It is what I play for when I tee up my irons anyway, and it is usually accurate.
 
I hope my distances are the same. I’m hitting a stock 9 from 155 no matter off the tee or off the deck. I can get more yardage by lowering my ball flight with the long irons but that is seldom needed.
 
I’m basically the same with 7i up, maybe a little bit more on the tee if I want it.

I use my 4i as a driving iron and I hit it 10-15 yards longer teed up because I swing harder and hit slightly up on it, reducing spin. Or if not slightly up, at least less decent angle. Whatever I’m doing it lowers the RPM’s, lol.
 
Smiter said:
I’m basically the same with 7i up, maybe a little bit more on the tee if I want it.

I use my 4i as a driving iron and I hit it 10-15 yards longer teed up because I swing harder and hit slightly up on it, reducing spin. Or if not slightly up, at least less decent angle. Whatever I’m doing it lowers the RPM’s, lol.
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Interesting you hit your 4i further off a tee then you do from the ground. I use my 3i a lot off the tee but it still goes right at the same distance as if I were hitting it off the fairway flush.


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slimjim32 said:
Interesting you hit your 4i further off a tee then you do from the ground. I use my 3i a lot off the tee but it still goes right at the same distance as if I were hitting it off the fairway flush.


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I swing it a little different and by being less steep and maybe even hitting slightly up, it takes about 1k in spin off of it. I’m a very high spin player so knocking the spin down to 3.5k from 4.5 k can make easily a 10-15 yard carry difference even if initial ball speed remains the same. If I’m playing a very long par 3 and hit 4i, I’ll prpbably swing it more like I’m hitting from the FW than a tee so that it can hold the green better. But using it as a driving iron, I’m trying to hit a lower draw that fights the wind by spinning less.
 
Same with everything up to a 5 iron where I can hit up on it a little off the tee for more carry. Big difference with my 3 iron but I want that to be a low low club anyway
 
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