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Is there such a thing as “too long” for you? Iron Edition

SuperStroke
If y'all have excess iron distance you need to shed I'd be more than happy to add it to my game! I've always been 2, 3 or even 4 clubs shorter than the average player, and even new generation irons haven't made a difference for me. I know I don't compress the ball properly which I believe contributes greatly to this.
 
for me personally yes. Im actually moving out of my current Mizuno pro 223's for Miura MC-501. Both have about the same ball speed but Miura has 400 more rpm/s and is what im looking for. Not a huge difference but enough that I prefer the performance more
 
I used to game a 3 wood that went almost as far as my driver - that was a problem off the tee but was great approaching longer par 5’s. On balance, it was going too far.

Irons wise, I choose to play weak lofted irons because I don’t want my 7 iron going 170… if I gamed stronger lofted irons, I would probably say that I was hitting them too far.
 
jfrigo1003 said:
for me personally yes. Im actually moving out of my current Mizuno pro 223's for Miura MC-501. Both have about the same ball speed but Miura has 400 more rpm/s and is what im looking for. Not a huge difference but enough that I prefer the performance more
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This is a big thing in my head right now, adding spin to control and balance things.
 
It's the gapping outside the irons that throws a twist into it. Having higher spin helps in this area of not needing certain things. The distance isn't really the issue and glad there are options.
 
Plenty of GI and SGI irons are too long, especially in the shorter irons. They don’t spin enough and the hot faces hurt me more than help me because distance is harder to control as is roll out after they land. They are longer but less accurate than my ZX7’s.

I had an Epic 4 iron that is too long to gap properly in my bag so I gave it to my son. It’s only 18 degrees and goes almost as far as my 4 wood off the tee.
 
Jman said:
This is a big thing in my head right now, adding spin to control and balance things.
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the launch monitor numbers are fun, but not when im 135 out with a PW that goes 150 and a 50 that goes 125

I tried getting away form blades this year for added forgiveness but found my distance control suffered
 
As long as the gaps are correct through the entire set I’m ok with distance. The random jumper that goes 25 yards longer is never ok. Big problem is, most wedges are designed to create ball speed to help on full shots and fill gaps with the longer irons.
 
Sort of. When I was fitted in the spring I was between the P790s and 223s. I really wanted the P790s but I was hitting the 7i around 190-195. I was concerned about gapping issues with my hybrid at the top of the bag and wedges at the bottom of the bag. I didn’t realize the PW was actually 45° which probably wouldn’t have been terrible. The spin was also a lot lower but when you factor in the loft difference between the two sets I was probably hitting a 5 or 6 iron
 
Right now, I would say no. As long as the distance is coming from a nice high-ish ball flight, with stopping power.
 
Jman said:
First, no, this isn’t a bragging thing, it’s more a genuine question that popped into my head as I was evaluating my iron distances today after some interesting moments on the course.
For you, is there such a thing as a club that’s just too long distance wise for how you play?
I know for many the answers will be you’ll take all the distance you can, and that’s probably the correct one, but there are a few outliers on here I’m curious to hear from.
So, what say you?
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It's why I decided to move off the 921 HMPs. At the time I bought them, they made sense for what I was needing and wanting to accomplish. I wasn't playing a ton and wanted something on the lower spin side of things with good feel. As I started to play more and dial in the swing, I found as I wanted to shape the ball or go less than 100%, the control wasn't there and as awesome as being able to hit a 7i 200+ on a simulator, it's not always practical on the course.

I did a 180 and went for a combo set of Mizuno 221Pro P-7 and 223 6 and 5 and kept my 4 iron from the HMP, which is essentially a driving iron. The HMPs were very forgiving, especially on mishits for not losing distance, which is not the case with the 221s, relatively speaking but it's a trade off I'm okay with for now.
 
I wish I still had my 2009 Callaway X-Forged irons. For some reason, a couple of years ago, I was losing about a club and a half distance with my irons. It was probably due to my bad back and the various swing flaws that caused. Anyway, in an effort to recapture distance, I sold those irons and bought an old set of TaylorMade Burner 2.0 irons. Now that I have them, I've not only regained all the distance I had lost, I gained almost a club compared to the Callaways. I'm certainly not complaining except for the 9i and PW - those just go too far, and I miss the workability I had with my Callaways. At some point, I'll probably buy a CB forged 9i and PW to make a blended set.
 
No, I have no club that is too long for my game. I have my club gaps dialed in pretty well except between my pitching wedge and my gap. For some reason I have lost a few yards between those two and am relying more on choking down on the pitching wedge to get that 110 yard shot.
 
I don't have that issue, however I chased that distance for a little bit and am reverting back to the consistency and accept the distance loss as I know it will help my game.
 
No, not for me. I really don't have any yardage gap issues in my bag. Then again I am a short knocker of the ball compared to averages, so perhaps I am one of those outliers.

I do carry a couple of clubs that tend to overlap each other as far as yardage, but I use them in different situations.
 
Man...great question. I was thinking so but in reality It's kind of fun actually but there are limitations and I could give up some of this distance for some more spin and control
 
After the age of 40....no, LOL

maybe in my 20s i didn't really care about extra distance because i was hitting 200yd 6 irons. So ball flight and spin was more important. Now i can't imagine a scenario where longer would be bad unless my trajectory was super low and the distance was all roll, i guess
 
My current set of Irons are hollow and I would say yes they are too long. I came from blades and wanted to see what all the craze was about with the hollows. The clubs are great but I notice If I catch an absolute pure shot or catch a flyer I can send the ball sometimes 20 yards past my carry number. I do not notice the outliers with my longer Irons but that is probably due to little miss hits. In my worst case (the reason I am getting rid of my irons) I had a flyer lie from 201 to the front of the green grabbed my 9i (typical carry = 148) to stay short of the bunker and water (180). Shot felt so good but I flew the trouble and ended about 10 feet over the green with about a 198 carry. I lost all confidence in the clubs as I have no idea when I'm going to catch another like that.
 
Jman said:
This is a big thing in my head right now, adding spin to control and balance things.
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Have the distances grown evenly, and stayed consistent, or are you at the spin line where it's brought in just a little bit of inconsistency? I'm kind of curious about the shot(s) that inspired the after round evaluation and thoughts.
 
Within my irons (5-G Cobra LTDx), I don't know how I would say they are too long. My gaps are okay - just a different numbered or lettered club to fit a distance than with the Forged Tecs I played. After thinking about my issue (set GW to King MiM Tour 50 degree) a little more, I don't know that I can say my GW is too long or my 50 degree too short. They're vastly different clubs that are designed to perform differently.
 
This is kind of like @ddec asking if it’s possible to be too handsome :p
 
Jman said:
First, no, this isn’t a bragging thing, it’s more a genuine question that popped into my head as I was evaluating my iron distances today after some interesting moments on the course.

For you, is there such a thing as a club that’s just too long distance wise for how you play?

I know for many the answers will be you’ll take all the distance you can, and that’s probably the correct one, but there are a few outliers on here I’m curious to hear from.

So, what say you?
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If the launch monitor showed the spin generated was too low to be able to hold greens, then yes, it would be too long.
 
OldandStiff said:
Have the distances grown evenly, and stayed consistent, or are you at the spin line where it's brought in just a little bit of inconsistency? I'm kind of curious about the shot(s) that inspired the after round evaluation and thoughts.
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188-190 yard carry 7irons. Just absolutely pure, easy, but uncomfortable to me. I know I’m in the S right now, and I can always bend them weak, but it brings a lot of questions.
 
Jman said:
188-190 yard carry 7irons. Just absolutely pure, easy, but uncomfortable to me. I know I’m in the S right now, and I can always bend them weak, but it brings a lot of questions.
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Yep, that's definitely right at the range that makes ya go :unsure:. I bent mine weak and am still living there, and man it just puts a lot of pressure on hitting that launch and spin. Little variations can show up a bit in end result. I've honestly had to just trust the data, because the feelings can get a little weird. Like, am I missing by more with my 7i like this, vs. am I hitting it as close from 192 as I always was kind of thinking. Data says to stick with it, and to not shallow out and bomb them. :LOL:

You've got a seemless transition to the 100 available to you with what you play, too. If you want it. That's nice.
 
Yes and no.

Yes: I need everything 6i through GW to be reliable/repeatable distance. I don't need any surprises when trying to hit a green.
No: Anything 5i/5h to Driver, can't be long enough. If I have one of these clubs in my hands, I have no expectation of hitting the green and have a lot of ground to cover. Not saying I can't hit the green with a 5i from 170, I just don't expect it's going to happen. I'm just trying to get to my scoring distance (150 in) or close enough for a chip/pitch into the green.

The problem with distance irons I've tried (PXG 0211, Cobra F9) is the face can be too hot causing fliers, fat soles that don't work for me, or they exaggerate my normal left miss too much to be useful. Most of the courses I play are tree lined and too much exaggeration left or right gets you in trouble quick. I did like the F9's and gamed them for the better part of 2 years, but the inconsistent distances nagged at me. I'm a player that could use the extra distance, but it has to be consistent. I'm sure there's a set out there that could deliver that for me, but I'm happy with my Launcher CBX irons and what they provide. I figure any distance gains will need to come via swing work and speed training. I've been able to add 20-25 yards to my 9-G using more aggressive hip turn and forward shaft lean to get better compression, but haven't been able to translate that to the course consistently. In all honestly though, it's not my iron distances that are costing me strokes on the course. It's distance/direction off the tee, short game, and poor technique on the course (fat/duffed shots) due to lapsed concentration from too much Fireball :unsure:.
 
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