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

SuperStroke
Jman

Jman

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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?
 
No, not solely based on yardage.
 
I think a set of irons becomes too long if it leaves a large gap between the lowest iron in the set (pw or gw) and your first specialty wedge. When I went in to buy new irons in December 2020 it came down to either jpx 921 HM pro and mp20 mmc. I was really afraid I would have too large a gap at the bottom end because I was hitting the 7i hmp 195yds, compared to 170 for the mp20) and I only hit my 50 wedge 110.
 
Absolutely. Most clubs will not have that problem, as I hit the vast majority of clubs about the same...but there are some trampolines out there that are way too long and cause issues.

Overall Distance isn't the holy grail for irons. Consistency with your distances and yardage gaps are.
 
As long as they’re consistently long, then that works for me. The older I get, the more distance I need lol.
 
Such a scenario does not exist for my game. I would 100% accept more distance to compensate for the loss of distance that I have encountered the past couple of years.
 
If the distance is coming from low spin that can be an issue sometimes, otherwise it’s all about gapping
 
Distance wise for irons? Nope. Nothing is too long based on just distance. If there’s an issue with gapping, then yes. I play for a 15 yard gap until my 6-5 transition which drops to 10 yards from what I’m seeing on course. If I were able to hit a 4i 250 that still wouldn’t be too long as long as it gapped. I imagine the gaps would be tougher to maintain with that kind of distance and it would see limited use.
 
Conceptually I believe it exists but it doesn’t exist for me. I don’t have enough clubhead speed to hit anything too far.
 
I can understand that being possible, but for me I haven't ever had a situation I felt that was the case.
 
I have never hit an iron that I thought was too long. I always need more distance. I do imagine that could be a problem for some big hitters. No one wants to carry 7i-9i and 7 wedges
 
For me it is more of a gapping issue. I carry a 4 iron, but rarely pull it unless for specific situations as it gaps too close at the top. Was literally looking at fairway woods 5 minutes ago on Callaway golf. Thinking about dropping my 3 hybrid and 4 iron for a 5 and 7 wood.
 
Yes. A club can go too far. But that is really based on other things. Like other club distances..

A driver can never go to far. But I have tried 3 woods that have gone too far to be practical.
 
Yes, I did not care for the aggressive lofts of the 0211 pxgs and moved on to more traditional lofted set. The top of the set, 8 9 w left too much of a gap to my wedges and was not ready to tinker with that. Fine irons, still have for folks to borrow but no longer my gamers.
 
I have more of a gap from the LTDx GW to my 50 comfort zone than I’d like. So, sort of too much.
 
In my search for a hybrid that would cover the 180-185-ish distance that gives ne so much trouble, I hit a Rogue ST Max 3H first and I was consistently getting 195-197 yards out of it (according to the simulator at GG). I'm getting pretty much that same distance out of my Mavrik 3W. I was really surprised by that. I ended up in a Sim2 Max 3H that was getting me the distance I wanted.
 
For sure irons can go too far. For me it's about gapping from my specialty gap wedge up to 7 iron. If that delta is 60 yards that's fine for 5 clubs to cover. If it starts approaching 70+ yards it's playable but I find myself with more in-between yardages on the course.

Sure you could alter your wedge setup to work but that's more than I care to do.
 
Simple answer is NO but I am not a long hitter.
 
Sometime I wish my lob wedge was a bit shorter. I find that a soft pitch shot for me is going 60+ yards where my old lob wedge was 50 and I almost wish it was a little less hot. The full swing gets out much further than I’m used to as well and makes for some adjustments in the short game. This is kind of a weird answer to this and is more due to a deficiency in my game that I struggle to hit high soft shots.

For all other clubs further is always better lol.
 
I don’t think so, as long as the gaps were consistent. That being said, I’d gladly sacrifice distance gains for control, unless in this hypothetical all things are equal. If I can get all the distance and retain control then I’ll take it, I just don’t want to be farther up in the trees.
 
This in an interesting topic to me and one I've had to think about quite a bit recently.

In a general sense, absolutely. I haven't carried a 3W in over a year because of it. I just don't have a use for a club that goes that far, on that flight. They're like little rocket launchers and just don't fit any of the layouts here at my distance. And I'm not foolish enough to think I can let something sit in the bag for weeks without so much as being uncovered, and then expect to pull off the type of shot I'd actually use it for when it does finally come off.

Certain irons are definitely in the too long category for me. Especially in the more precise part of the bag. And even in the long end, because if those clubs are really long, then either you have really stretched gaps or have to start moving your shorter clubs faster. And some really interesting things can start happening there without the proper launch and spin. The two flier PW's I have in the last few weeks from our rough that went over 185y, for example. And that carries over to some of the longer club designs. Without the right flight and spin, at higher speeds things can get a little less controlled.
 
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My philosophy is (right or wrong) I hit my driver a certain number and my lob wedge a certain number. I just want the rest to gap well in between which right now means more players type irons. I’m sure as I get older that will change and my equipment will adapt to those changes.
 
As long as the gaps fit then I'm really not worried - I just tie up the distance that the club goes with the number on the bottom and go with it. Issue comes when the distances either bunch up towards the top, or big gaps at the bottom, but that can be sorted out pretty easily I think.
 
Typically "long" irons have all the attributes I dislike - wide soles, thick top lines, offset, hot faces, hollow feel, and ball speed inconsistency.

If they made really long irons that looked like players clubs i'd absolutely game them.

My only prerequisite is that the highest lofted wedge would need to gap well into a 46* Vokey.

I'm imagining a set that starts at 6 iron while perfoming like a 4 iron, with five birdie hunting Vokey's rounding out the bag :love:
 
Not for me.

Based upon my numbers I don't have one that stands out as too long anyways. I'm in the take all the distance you can get. I would be happier if I could get another 30 yards from all of my clubs to be perfectly honest, but I'm not there yet.
 
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