Ochoa & Tiger * Iron

From a distance of just over 150 yards I watched Ochoa use an 8 Iron - ditto for Tiger. Is Ochoa unsually long with her irons for a female? Is 150 yards unusaly for an 8 iron....


thanks,


james

Well she hits it off the tee 280 on average,so going by the scale of yardage that would not be surprising.
The average player hits an 8 iron about 120 yard's,its not all about strength,we can learn a lot from watching women pro golfer's.

The number on the club represents a distance relative to other clubs within the same set. This number does not represent an absolute value. Not all 8i are the same loft or length. There is no standard loft or standard length for any club. There is, however, an usual range of lofts and lengths for clubs with the same number stamped on it.

Were you comparing your performance to theirs? If that's what you were doing, you were setting yourself up for a disappointment and frustration. What would be more useful, if you've not already done this, is to flag all the clubs in your bag. At least then, you'd know which club to use for any distance you are confronted with. After all, knowing how far Tiger or Lorena hits their 8i serves you none when it's your shot.

After all, knowing how far Tiger or Lorena hits their 8i serves you none when it's your shot.[/quote]


Actually, the reason I noticed, is I use my 8 Iron from the same distance.

Thanks for the Info - I thouht the degrees of loft were uniform.

This says Tiger is more like 158yds

Tiger Woods Content - Club Distance, Video Interviews and more! - Golf Channel

If you want to hit your 8 iron as far as Tiger then use it to lay up in front of a water hazard

Actually, the reason I noticed, is I use my 8 Iron from the same distance.

Thanks for the Info - I thouht the degrees of loft were uniform.[/quote]

Well all it says is that for your ability, for that shot and for those conditions, the club with the 8 stamped on it that you use allows you to send the ball about 150 yards. It doesn't mean that it is the same loft and length as Tiger's or Lorena's.

Club makers like to say that their clubs are longer than the other maker's clubs. So, at some point in the 50's or 60's, they began to creep the loft of all their clubs lower and lower until today. All this only to be able to claim that their clubs are longer than the competitor's. For instance, a club with 30* loft will send the ball farther than a club with 31* loft. A 1960's pitching wedge, for example, has about 51* loft while a pitching wedge of today's has about 45* loft. This is why we now have the gap wedge to fill the gap between the pitching wedge and the sand wedge.

Martin thanks for your post – it makes sense to me. I have Callaway Hawk Irons with a stiff flex shaft – and an easy 8 is just over 150 yards. Now I have a TaylorMade SW and it goes, predictably, 120 yards – with a high flight and soft landing. I noticed that the TM SW is longer than most other SW. So when I go to another set of clubs the club distances will change. I appreciate your posts!

James

I heard a guy at my work talk about this he heard it from a guy who wont he 92 pub links which is a tourny in missouri for amatuer golfers its a pretty big tourny. He said that the 150 club for most pros and accomplished amatuers is a 7 iron that they swing very smooth. They could hit wedge that far but they can smooth a 7 iron that far and control it perfectly. That's what Tiger does with his 8 iron, he could for sure hit wedge that far just like he could probably hit 8 iron 175-`180, but hed have to swing harder, and it's easier for him to control that smooth swing with his 8.

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hi
the thing with Tiger and Ochoa is they are so good at hitting the ball off the sweet spot there distance control is just so good. when they miss it to the right or left of the hole and its hole hight, only rarely is the ball long or short with a full swing using a short iron.
like Martin said the loft of the clubs have been changing over the years and there was another change in the 90s i know my s/wedge in 96 was 52 and my wedge was 47%.
and now the same make of clubs would have the s/wedge at 54" and the wedge 46%. that means the s/wedge has more loft and the wedge has less in a new set compared to what i use now and most other clubs are 1/2% stronger too and thats a couple of yards with my swing.
bill

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An interesting thread.

Martin has done a wonderful job of providing all the answers I would.

The one thing I'd like to point out is that Tiger hit his 8 iron from 150. He could also step on a wedge at 150, or ease off a 5 for 150.

I've played a couple rounds with my coach and the one thing that struck me was club selection.

For most of us, on a clean lie from 150, we'd select the club that we hit around 150 most of the time. Perhaps the wind is in, and we take one more, or the wind is down, and we take one less.

For my coach, the other process includes deciding how high or low he wants his ball to go (termed flighting) and this also influences his club selection. Back to the case in point, if Tiger wants a high, spinny shot from 150, he hammers a wedge. If he wants something lower, he puts a smaller swing on a less lofted iron. Case in point: The wind is in and a little left, my coach is 132 to the pin. He hits this crisp little six iron that bullets through the wind, hits the green, takes one hop and stops. For reference, he can hit a six 190 yards if he needs to.

There's a lot more to the pros' club selection than just yardage... it's mind boggling some of the things considered (to my simple mind, anyway).

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Thanks for the replies – I think the matter is settled! Now that I think about it, during the last Golf Tournament in Montreal, I remember seeing (on T.V.) Tiger take too much club but “under swing” and he had a really good result. For my mid and longer clubs I think strictly yardage, since that is, unfortunately, all I got in the bag!

James

Brian that is a good one; it only took me a week to get it!

James