Long Ironing Problem

Hi, Ive been learning golf on my own for about several months now - I can easily hit my 8-PWs however, when i "try" and progress to my 7 Iron onwards, I couldn't hit them properly most esp from 6-3 Irons.

My 7 Iron even goes to 110 meters only. Is it because Im mentally "scared" of 'em long ones? or is it because I've got a problem swinging em?

Like what Jack (Nicklaus), said, its impossible to use diff swings to all 12 Clubs (excl. the Putter), so use 1 swing and 1 tempo, however, it doesnt seem to work. Would you be able to give me a tip or two that I could rid this mental "lapse" or "barrier" in hitting 'em mid-long irons?

Thanks in advance!

Hi santmr.
Firt of all, you are absolutely correct in your assumption that there is only 1 swing and 1 tempo for all your clubs ( exc putter)
You have to pay close attention to your ball position( click on this ) for your chosen club
A fairway wood and a long iron contact the ball right at the bottom of the swing arc, as opposed to a short or a mid-iron where the ball is struck as the clubhead is descending, and a tee shot with a driver where contact is made as the clubhead begins its ascent.

cheers and good luck
.

__________________
the dog wags the tail....the tail dosn't wag the dog

As per usual first class tip Aft. Who needs to pay for professional advice? Its all here on this site
Cheers,
Rob

Awesome, will try this one on the driving range asap, I shall post the results here. Thansk!

Hi Guys,

Just for a mental approach to long irons/woods...............

The mind plays a big part in hitting long irons or woods, think about this: Par 5 second shot 220 yds, you only think you can hit a 3 wood this far so you pull it out and swing way to hard in an attempt to get there, the result is a duffer of some sort.

Now if you get there a few times easily with you over the top swing, your confidence will build, you say "yeh I can get on easy in two" so you swing softer with more confidence and continue to get there, your h/capp drops and move on to the next problem.

The simple answer is convince yourself that you have the right club with a steady swing, just put a good swing on it and see how it goes, you may be suprised.

To many people simply swing harder with a long club........especially the driver that why we have so many slicers.


Hope this helps


Ian.

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

personally I dont like ironing at all, espicially if it will take a long time

Hi Ian.
Just to had to your reply.
Whenever i am faced with long approach shot, i fool myself into thinking that it is closer than it actually is. This stops me from trying to smash the ball into the next county.

aft

hi all
think aftford and ian are so right in that with a long iron you only swing at 80/90% as its more inportant to hit ball clean and square than it is to hit it flat out, i hit a good 1 iron and it only goes wrong when i try to hit it with 100% power, with 80/90% i hit a 1 iron about 200/220 of a tee, and that is long enough for me if its on the fairway. have used aftford system but using the 1 iron to drive the really long holes and 4/5 irons to drive the rest, no driver in bag and i was on fairway more and more relaxed playing too
bill

Hi Sant mate,

Aft has good advice but I would also check your back swing to make sure your not changing the club face by closing it or openning it. If your driving range has mirrors try and get on these to check the club face at the top of your swing.

Also what I found good practice with my long irons to hit them well is really slow down your swing when your at the driving range to get use to controlling the club with building up speed gradually. Do this and your faith in hitting good distences will improve.

Cheers
Mark

Awesome replies guys, thank you so much. I had to travel quite frequent since I posted this... and only tomorrow will I ever really try and whack as you might say a golf ball for a long time.

Again Thanks! Will try em all!