Long Irons

I was told today that when swinging your long irons you take a wider arc and you don't hit down on the ball. I was wondering does the definition of a long iron stop at your four or five iron. Just wondering

Hi Dant,

Firstly the information from whatever source is miss informing you, yes naturally there is a larger swing arc with a long iron but you still hit down, the swing doesn't change.

The club being longer naturally shallows hence a smaller divot, the problem people have with long irons is trying to lift the ball or rushing the club back to the ball, swing smooth.

The mental issue with long irons is, because when you are further away from the green you try to swing harder to reach the green this is purely a mental issue. Swing at the same rhythm as you normally do, if you don't think you can get there with a smooth swing take a bigger club.


Hope this helps.

Ian.

__________________
Once you learn the swing, your next step is mastering golf psychology................

[quote=Ian Hancock] if you don't think you can get there with a smooth swing take a bigger club.
quote]

Amen brother, that was the advice I got from a pro many years ago when I asked about adding distance to my game.

Try practicing hitting your 3 iron no further than your 7 iron, you'll be surprised how much your long iron play improves.

D.

yeah, same swing different club.
The fact that the shaft is longer forces you to swing in a more horizontal plane. You should still be trying to hit the ball with a crisp decending blow, just like a 100yrd wedge.

longer irons are your 1, 2, 3, 4 irons, mid irons are your 5, 6, 7, and short irons are 8, 9, pw, sw,

You don't need a bigger arc, but you get a bigger arc because the club is longer. This bigger arc give your clubhead more distance to travel, so when you swing your 3 iron at the same speed as your 7 iron because of the bigger arc the clubhead will be traveling faster which gives you more distance.

Thank you all.