Hitting Low Irons

[Lefty Moonshot]

Looking for advice on hitting my lower irons, 6 & below. I am solid everything higher than. My 6-iron I am so-so, but below that I am very inconsistent with my shots.

With lower irons I place the ball slightly more forward in my stance as compared to higher irons, but that is really the only adjustment I make. I do hit my low irons well off the tee when I give them just a small lift, but am trying to get it figured out hitting off the deck.

Any advice or tips that work for y'all would be appreciated!

 

[DaBuckBoys]

Interested in this one as well. Carry 5 & 6 irons and off the tee the 6 is good, the 5 a little iffy. I really don't hit them much otherwise but certainly would if I had any confidence in them.

 

[WLG1952]

What's the "inconsistent" ball flights on the 6, and lower clubs when hit off the turf?

 

[Chef23]

Some of it is tied to clubhead speed. At lower clubhead speeds the ball doesn't elevate which makes those clubs much less forgiving. At a mid 90 mph swingspeed with the driver the 5i is the longest iron I want to hit. I don't have enough speed to elevate a 4i off the ground consistently.

 

[DG_1234]

Looking for advice on hitting my lower irons, 6 & below. I am solid everything higher than. My 6-iron I am so-so, but below that I am very inconsistent with my shots.

No disrespect intended, but I question if you are truly striking your shorter irons "solid". The relatively high lofts and short shafts of short irons tend to produce reasonably playable shot results from faulty swings. In contrast, to get decent looking shots from low lofted - long shafted long irons requires a sound swing and solid strike, which most players do not consistently achieve. This is why hybrids were invented.
If you want to swing mid and long irons and get good shot results from them I suggest practicing with 9-8-7-iron and be very discriminating. In other words aim for truly pure-solid strikes. Once you can consistently achieve this with the short irons your swing will be ready to achieve good shots for mid and long irons, fairway woods and driver etc...

 

[nicklongdrive]

Ball position, should only be maybe half a ball ahead of like 7-9 iron. I used to catch mine thin when I had the ball position too aggressively forward.

 

[TrueMotionMatt]

Looking for advice on hitting my lower irons, 6 & below. I am solid everything higher than. My 6-iron I am so-so, but below that I am very inconsistent with my shots.

With lower irons I place the ball slightly more forward in my stance as compared to higher irons, but that is really the only adjustment I make. I do hit my low irons well off the tee when I give them just a small lift, but am trying to get it figured out hitting off the deck.

Any advice or tips that work for y'all would be appreciated!

Ball position shouldn't change for irons, it sounds like the consistency of strike or as @Chef23 nailed, speed. You should be hitting down on all irons and if you have enough speed through the fairway woods.

Let's see the swing of a short iron and long iron so we can see what's happening.

 

[jvbart]

Ball position shouldn't change for irons, it sounds like the consistency of strike or as @Chef23 nailed, speed. You should be hitting down on all irons and if you have enough speed through the fairway woods.

Let's see the swing of a short iron and long iron so we can see what's happening.

When you say hitting down on fairway woods, do you recommend the same swing and ball placement as irons? I'm terrible with my fairway woods but always move the ball up and try to sweep it which always felt unnatural.

 

[jvbart]

I struggle with long irons too. I have no trouble with swing speed but am a pretty inconsistent ball striker and my faults get exposed as the clubs get longer. I have had a lot of success with hybrids from 3-5 as they are much more forgiving for me.

 

[TrueMotionMatt]

When you say hitting down on fairway woods, do you recommend the same swing and ball placement as irons? I'm terrible with my fairway woods but always move the ball up and try to sweep it which always felt unnatural.

Yep just a wider stance but basically same spot.

 

[TrueMotionMatt]

I struggle with long irons too. I have no trouble with swing speed but am a pretty inconsistent ball striker and my faults get exposed as the clubs get longer. I have had a lot of success with hybrids from 3-5 as they are much more forgiving for me.

I’d say stick with hybrids unless you want to work on your swing and fix your low point control and consistency.

 

[jvbart]

I’d say stick with hybrids unless you want to work on your swing and fix your low point control and consistency.

Thanks! Definitely sticking with hybrids while I focus on other aspects of my game. Even if everything else was clicking I don’t think I would ever switch away from hybrids in the long irons, they are just so easy to hit.

 

[GolfLivesMatter]

No disrespect intended, but I question if you are truly striking your shorter irons "solid". The relatively high lofts and short shafts of short irons tend to produce reasonably playable shot results from faulty swings. In contrast, to get decent looking shots from low lofted - long shafted long irons requires a sound swing and solid strike, which most players do not consistently achieve. This is why hybrids were invented.
If you want to swing mid and long irons and get good shot results from them I suggest practicing with 9-8-7-iron and be very discriminating. In other words aim for truly pure-solid strikes. Once you can consistently achieve this with the short irons your swing will be ready to achieve good shots for mid and long irons, fairway woods and driver etc...

Good points. I suggest getting a blade 1 iron (I use Wilson Staff FG51) and hitting that club for hours, then go back to a 5 iron....it will feel like a PW.

 

[DougE]

Everything changed for me years ago, once I learned to change my path from steep to shallow, and from slightly over-the-top to inside-out. Ballstriking across the board got so much better. I went from a 15 index to under 5. (Though it was more than just a swing path change that contributed to the better index and it didn't happen overnight.) Like you, I too, used to have no issues hitting my shorter irons, but was afraid of anything over a 7i. Now I play a 4i players-style blade with confidence, both off the tee and off the deck. And though I believe I could even play a 3 iron with some success, there's really no need to. The lone hybrid I keep in my bag is a small-headed 818H2, which covers a 3i distance and gets me out of the rough without too much worry.

If I were a few years younger, I think I could go a few more strokes lower. Age, however, no matter how much you work at staying in shape (as I do), does affect swing speed. Yet a good swing with a shallow path into the ball will help make what speed you have a lot more efficient. For comparison, my driver SS is between 96 and 100, respectable for a newly minted Social Security card holder. And, fwiw, I have no difficulty getting the ball high enough in the air from tee or turf with my 4 iron. I typically get 10+ yards more distance with it than I do with my 5 iron. I am certain, if I was still swinging steep and OTT, I would not be able to play a 4i with any sort of consistency.

 

[GolfLivesMatter]

Everything changed for me years ago, once I learned to change my path from steep to shallow, and from slightly over-the-top to inside-out. Ballstriking across the board got so much better. I went from a 15 index to under 5. (Though it was more than just a swing path change that contributed to the better index and it didn't happen overnight.) Like you, I too, used to have no issues hitting my shorter irons, but was afraid of anything over a 7i. Now I play a 4i players-style blade with confidence, both off the tee and off the deck. And though I believe I could even play a 3 iron with some success, there's really no need to. The lone hybrid I keep in my bag is a small-headed 818H2, which covers a 3i distance and gets me out of the rough without too much worry.

If I were a few years younger, I think I could go a few more strokes lower. Age, however, no matter how much you work at staying in shape (as I do), does affect swing speed. Yet a good swing with a shallow path into the ball will help make what speed you have a lot more efficient. For comparison, my driver SS is between 96 and 100, respectable for a newly minted Social Security card holder. And, fwiw, I have no difficulty getting the ball high enough in the air from tee or turf with my 4 iron. I typically get 10+ yards more distance with it than I do with my 5 iron. I am certain, if I was still swinging steep and OTT, I would not be able to play a 4i with any sort of consistency.

Kinda like a field goal kicker swinging his leg from inside out vs. the old days of straight-on kicking.

 

[Buckeyegolfnut]

Looking for advice on hitting my lower irons, 6 & below. I am solid everything higher than. My 6-iron I am so-so, but below that I am very inconsistent with my shots.

With lower irons I place the ball slightly more forward in my stance as compared to higher irons, but that is really the only adjustment I make. I do hit my low irons well off the tee when I give them just a small lift, but am trying to get it figured out hitting off the deck.

Any advice or tips that work for y'all would be appreciated!

Why? Try placing them a little further back in your stance and see what happens! You need to hit down on them!

 

[GolfLivesMatter]

You might be playing the longer irons forward but your release is more of a punch shot-like release, more straight arm style, which will send the ball lower. You're probably smothering the ball with punch shots that work better on shorter irons

 

[razaar]

Here is a radical suggestion. Have a clubfitter set up your 5 and 4-irons to match your 6-iron. Identical shafts, lie, and head weight etc. You might feel confident going this way.