Problem with Long Irons

Hello everyone!
I am not able to hit 3 iron, which had been my favorite long iron. I use driver and 3 iron to cover distance. Now, due to this new unknown problem I am losing shots due to 3 iron.
My driver gives me 250-280 yard and 3 iron had been giving me 180-190 yards. At a 3 par hole of 215 yards, I am still able to get the correct distance and line from 3 iron using very low peg.
When I hit 3 iron on the fairway the ball is topped or I make a deep divot and the ball rolls to about 80-100 yards (there is no problem with the line/direction). Some times I get this same problem with 4 iron but all other mid+short irons and wedges (3nos) are OK. Other club in my bag is 3W, which I use seldom and it gives me about 210 yards, I am not confident using it often due to my lack of control of its direction/line.

Please advise how to rectify this problem with long irons.

Thank you/ Best regards

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Problem solved. Seriously - I can hit long irons very well. But guess what? A 19 or 22 degree hybrid is so easy to hit it's almost comical. Trust me on this one.

I totally agree with the hybrid solution. I demo'd a 3 Tour Edge J-Max, never gave it back. So much easier to get the same amount of distance that I hit with my Ping 3, but a much higher (preferred) ball flight. These clubs do hit themselves.

I agree with the hybrid. I had a 3 and 4 hybrid with my last set of clubs. I had wilson fat shaft 3 and they are right. They are easy to hit very forgiving and long. I still have them if i have trouble with my new irons. They also make good clubs for under trees to keep it down. I have used them for just off the green as a putter works well in ruff.

Thats the whole point with hybrids, you can hit them on the toe of the club and still get a reasonable result. Hit a 3 iron on the toe and it not only hurts the hands but the result is embarrassing

I hit my 1-3 irons for fun in practice but have all kinds of hybrids to chose from depending on course etc.

Thanks all for the advise.
Going for Hybrid is one option but presently my intention is to correct what ever wrong I am doing.
I had been hitting right with 3iron just 2 weeks back and I had been using it very successfully for controlled draw/fade around trees. Hence, I would prefer to stay with this iron.
It seems that I am making some mistake in addressing the ball.

youre not swinging harder are you? make sure your spine angle stays the same

This is a possibility, as I had slightly altered my swing for hitting the driver, I am turning my torso more than earlier to get a good whiplash. There may be a possibilty that same thing I am doing with long irons, I am still hitting long par-3 tee-shots well with 3i.

i go by this belief, swing for the trees with the driver but swing easy with your irons

prakcom - if you are turning your torso a bit earlier it may be that you have gotten slightly flatter at the top of your swing. This is fine with the driver and balls teed up, but when striking a ball on the turf there will be a tendency to hit behind the ball. Hit a few balls from a slight ball below your feet stance with the three iron and see if you stop hitting heavy, if so you know where you might be having problems.

good luck

nick

Other than switching to hybrids, my guess is that you are casting the longer irons from the top, rather than starting the downswing transition with a shift of weight to left while maintaing the wrist angle fromed at the top of the backswing.

Hello Nick, I think you are right, can you please elobrate more on the remidy/corrective action or what exactly to tryout during practice.
Thanks

Prakcom - happy to try and help. Just going on what you have said so far it seems that you are turning your shoulders more of late to get more distance. This is good and what i do however the tendency is to move the shoulders too early and the swing can get too flat and behind you - hence the tendency to hit fat with longer irons off the fairway. The problem is not so bad with shorter irons because by their design you have to swing a bit more upright but you still wont get good solid contact with too flat a swing.

So to fix it you can try the following:
Make sure that the clubhead starts the swing and not the shoulders.
Make sure you are keeping your back leg flexed at the top of your swing (too stop you swinging the club behind you and get your weight into your right side).
Bend over a touch more at address - this will steepen your shoulder turn.
Have a feeling that your arms are in front of your chest throughout the swing.
hit balls off a ball below you lie to feel a more upright swing.

I would try the above one at a time so that you dont lose your swing completely. If one idea doesn't work try the next! hope this helps - nothing in golf beats puring a long iron. Let me know how you get on.

nick

Thanks Nick, I think your analysis is correct and with your tips I should be able to correct myself. Will be playing this weekend and will revert back.
Thanks again.

Hello Nick,
I did manage to correct my 3i shot. You were correct as my hand were moving in sync with the chest throughout the swing. I just kept that in mind and I was able to hit 3 iron to correct distance, it goes straight but a bit towards the left (not a draw/hook).
Thanks