Struggling with Iron Play

[gazza88]

I've been playing a fair bit of golf lately and purchased a full set of new clubs.

My old set was Titlist 905R 9.5 regular, Callaway Big Bertha 4W regular, Taylormade RAC LT 4-pw rifle 5.0 and RAC Wedges.

My new set comprises of Big Bertha Alpha 815 10 Stiff, Optiforce 3W project x 5.5,Cobra Fly-z 3 Hybrid Stiff and Srixon Z545 irons with regular 980 Nippon shafts.

I have improved my accuracy and distance with the woods, however I have struggled with my irons even though they are supposed to be easier to hit. This has caused a knock on effect in confidence iny pitching and chipping. I find myself 260 down the fairway and hit either a fat or thin second shot. There are only two things other than my swing that I think could be contributing. My new irons have regular grips where as my old grips were undersized as I got them second hand. They seemed to suit my small hand size. The shafts feel more whippy to me than the old ones even though they are both regular.

When I do hit them OK a seven iron will go around 165 on average.

Should I seek lessons or tinker with the grips for example first.

I have have had my lie angle fitted.

[Tcann32]

If you average 165 w/ a 7i, I'd say that regular flex, whippy shafts are probably not the best fit.. new / different shaft can completely change the way you load, and release the club and can make quite a difference in your ball striking. Outside of that, you're just thinking too much, and getting down on yourself and it's affecting the rest of your game.

 

I struggled with my iron swing for probably half of this season, but I was hitting everything else pretty dang well, and it got tiresome to be missing most of the GIR's but I kept at it with the putting, shortgame, and driving, and I limped in with some pretty decent scores. Things have since turned around and now all the other parts of the swing are better, and the irons are back, and I've been playing quite well.

[gazza88]

Yeah I feel the shaft is a factor for me. I've never really got the flush boring flight I could get before. It's a pity as they were pretty expensive irons and re-shafting could get expensive.

I feel a some lessons may be required.

[8602081]

I assume that 980 means that it's 98 grams shaft..

 

That's very light for someone that can hit 165 with 7 iron.. I can see why it's whippy..

You either need to add weight or pick a heavier shaft..

[Tcann32]

Yeah I feel the shaft is a factor for me. I've never really got the flush boring flight I could get before. It's a pity as they were pretty expensive irons and re-shafting could get expensive.

I feel a some lessons may be required.

 

Re-shafting CAN be expensive, but it can also be pretty cheap. I'm sure you would fair better with some S300's or something similar, which can be had for a pretty cheap price. Not sure what's available in your area for fittings and golf shops, but if you bought those from a particular retailer, you may be able to work something out with the shafts. If not, you're really only looking at another $150 for some different shafts.

 

If you were hitting boring 165 7 irons, those shafts are most likely very wrong for you. Are you hitting them too high? Too low? hooks, slices, etc.. ? they've most likely affected your release. An ill-fit shaft isnt going to make your swing bad on its own. Putting the same swing on it, with good contact, as you were hitting before, you would probably just balloon them, but as I said before, they can affect how you load, and how you release the club. This is something I notice more in drivers and woods than Irons, but it definitely happens in irons as well.

[slimeone]

Swing weight, shaft weight, bend profile, grip size, tack, torque, iron head weight, grind, bounce, also the location of the centre of gravity on the face, could all be affecting your swing. Even just the look at address. Also offset of the iron heads, that always messes up my setup. Maybe spend some time working on making clean contact (with or without an instructor) and see how they feel. Hard to diagnosis issues with the irons unless you're making clean contact. Once you can make decent contact you should be able to gauge the iron's performance and see what might need changing.

[gazza88]

Yes I agree I play in Australia now originally from Scotland and generally use my 7 at 150 metres which is around 165 yards. This may be due in part to the slight stronger loft.

I definitely don't feel in control of the clubhead.

[gazza88]

I occasionaly hit them clean when I hold off a bit and my ball flight is higher than I would like.

[Eidolon]

Try talking to a Golf Pro who happens to be a good instructor. The internet blogs will only get you 100 opinions from 100 guys. And most can't analyze a swing flaw or break 80! You get what you pay for! ;)