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Iron distance - how long is good, can long be bad?

SuperStroke
I don't think long is bad as long as long is consistent. That was the problem I had with gaming the Burner 2.0s. Great distance and forgiveness, but when I started flying 9I 160-165 randomly, it was time to look elsewhere. I want irons that I know I can hit a certain number when I need to hit it.
 
The driver is the longest and the putter is the shortest. The length of irons simply changes the makeup of your bag. I honestly have zero interest in trying to extend the length of irons. What is the job of an iron? The majority of the time it is to stick a green. Accuracy and consistency is the name of the game...not bragging distance.
 
I know this issue well and that is the reason why I just can't replace my DPC's even though there is some great tech coming out in the form of irons lately. I feel like I hit my irons plenty long already, sure there's room for more distance but I can't honestly say that it is a glaring weakness of my game.

When my GW goes 120 and my set PW goes 145 I start to get uncomfortable with how things are shaping up.
 
ArmyGolf said:
I know this issue well and that is the reason why I just can't replace my DPC's even though there is some great tech coming out in the form of irons lately. I feel like I hit my irons plenty long already, sure there's room for more distance but I can't honestly say that it is a glaring weakness of my game.

When my GW goes 120 and my set PW goes 145 I start to get uncomfortable with how things are shaping up.
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Miller Time said:
I don't think long is bad as long as long is consistent. That was the problem I had with gaming the Burner 2.0s. Great distance and forgiveness, but when I started flying 9I 160-165 randomly, it was time to look elsewhere. I want irons that I know I can hit a certain number when I need to hit it.
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These guys pretty much nail my thoughts on the matter. I am not a long player, but length is far from the biggest weakness in my game. What I do want is consistent forgiveness, and there are a few irons I've hit that I think would fit this bill nicely.

That being said, as long as pure strike distance is consistent...give me all the distance you can give me. I'd be lying to you if I said I wouldn't rather be hitting a 9 iron from 150 than a 7 or an 8. And yes I know that the number on the club doesn't mean much, but the point is, give me a shorter club to hit the same distance if you can.
 
Wish I hit the ball too far
 
To me it is all about knowing you lofts and gaps and building your set accordingly

For me, I typically have a bigger gap at the top of my bag so I want that 4-6 iron to go a little further and the distance irons are a good fit to fill the gap up until a hybrid is needed
 
I don't think I will ever be in camp where being long is more bad than good. Give me more distance and I will adapt.
 
Considering I hit my PW 105 - 110 yards, I would welcome more distance from my irons. Hopefully I'll get a chance to demo some of the newer offerings to see what sort of performance difference they offer compared to my G10's.
 
I think we should aim for even gaps trough the bag, and the driver sets the upper limit. The other aim is as easy to hit clubs as possible. After that, everything goes. I've seen bags with a driver, putter and irons only, and i've seen a bag with putter, two wedges and one iron, all other clubs being woods. And everything in between.

I personally don't want longer irons. I have nice even 10m gaps all the way down to my 54* wedge. I have a 58*, but I don't hit full shots with it. Longer irons would only kick a hybrid out of the bag, making room for a fifth wedge, which I don't think I need.

In other words, I'm good with the lenght I get from my irons, unless I get a longer driver, woods and hybrids as well. And I don't believe I can get that by changing my clubs, my driver is already close to optimal. YMMV.
 
JuKu said:
I think we should aim for even gaps trough the bag, and the driver sets the upper limit. The other aim is as easy to hit clubs as possible. After that, everything goes. I've seen bags with a driver, putter and irons only, and i've seen a bag with putter, two wedges and one iron, all other clubs being woods. And everything in between.

I personally don't want longer irons. I have nice even 10m gaps all the way down to my 54* wedge. I have a 58*, but I don't hit full shots with it. Longer irons would only kick a hybrid out of the bag, making room for a fifth wedge, which I don't think I need.

In other words, I'm good with the lenght I get from my irons, unless I get a longer driver, woods and hybrids as well. And I don't believe I can get that by changing my clubs, my driver is already close to optimal. YMMV.
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I kind of agree here, and for me, the fact that if the club technology will give me longer iron shots, it won't necessarily mean that my wedges follow, so there's an unnecessary gap right there, and if I start putting the ball way out there with the irons, and I can't get the same added distance with the woods, it feels futile.

Tervetuloa :) I didn't notice before that you were from Finland as well! :D
 
statistically speaking, the further you hit the ball (net distance), the better you will score, that goes for all clubs in the bag, you won't find any PGA teaching professional preaching to kids to give up power for accuracy, if they do, they probably won't be teaching too much longer. in other words the closer you can get it to the hole the better you will score. if you bombing your irons and drivers and struggling with your wedges because of weird yardages, do you think you will score better by dialing back and hitting full shots or would you be better off working on your wedge game?
 
kb24ismvp said:
statistically speaking, the further you hit the ball (net distance), the better you will score,
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Sure, no argument here. I'd love to be longer, basically without upper limit. Still, if I'm getting longer in irons without a corresponding gain in driver, the net effect might be negative.
if you bombing your irons and drivers and struggling with your wedges because of weird yardages, do you think you will score better by dialing back and hitting full shots or would you be better off working on your wedge game?
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If I would have weird yardages, I would get new equipment to even out the gaps. Assuming that, your question is interesting. Am I better off with a short iron/wedge with a comfortable yardage or half the distance, but requiring good touch on a partial wedge? Actually, I don't really know. If there is a difference, it is not obvious. Maybe I should start doing some statistics on this? In actual play, if I have the choice of putting the ball (say) around 80m out (my full 54* wedge, which I'm comfortable with) or 40m out, I'm taking the less risky shot. If I'm not going for the green, the situation implies that I'm hitting a long club, which on my game, involves much more risk than the next shot. In other words, that situation would be 'driver or wood on a short par4' or 'fairway wood or a hybrid on a non-reachable par5'. I would try to be away from any hazards, narrow parts of the fairway and so on. If that takes me to 40 meters or 80 meters so be it, the choice that gets me there is more significant for my score anyway.
 
kb24ismvp said:
statistically speaking, the further you hit the ball (net distance), the better you will score, that goes for all clubs in the bag, you won't find any PGA teaching professional preaching to kids to give up power for accuracy, if they do, they probably won't be teaching too much longer. in other words the closer you can get it to the hole the better you will score. if you bombing your irons and drivers and struggling with your wedges because of weird yardages, do you think you will score better by dialing back and hitting full shots or would you be better off working on your wedge game?
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http://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.101.html

That distance does not correlate with scoring ability as seen here

http://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.108.html

If it were true distance equals better scores then number 1 distance should be number 1 scorer (is that even a word? Lol).

Does distance help? Sure. Would I trade 10 yards of distance in order to ensure I can hit the spot I want or at least within a yard left to right? Everyday and twice on sundays.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk
 
ddec said:
I don't think I will ever be in camp where being long is more bad than good. Give me more distance and I will adapt.
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Exactly. I will just take half and 3/4 swings. Ain't no thang.
 
Count me in with those who never feel like I could be too long with my irons. If that were my biggest problem, I'd be in a much better place in my development than I am now.
 
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