Driver vs iron swing

[nvr3putt]

In one sentence, explain the main difference between your driver swing and that of your 7-iron?     

[GungHoGolf]

Setup (a little more secondary axis tilt, and feet and shoulders a little closed to the target with driver, to neutralize the club path), stance width, and ball position.

[coloradogolf]

Driver: I want to catch the ball on an upward path i.e. after club head has passed the bottom point of in swing (i.e. hitting up)

7-Iron: I want to catch the ball before the the club head passes bottom point of in swing (i.e. hitting down)

 

 

 

[Tpfol]

7-Iron: "I should be able to get this on the green"

Driver: "I sure hope I can find this ball"

[ShortGolfer]

My 7 iron has to dig the ball out of the grass while my driver swing merely has to meet the ball sitting high up on a tee.

Edited August 5, 2022 by ShortGolfer

[MonteScheinblum]

Setup and club length 

[kowalgolf]

Distance from the ball.

[phizzy30]

Ball position and set up differ.  Significantly wider stance as well with driver. 

[Pepperturbo]

My driver swing is more fluid, as opposed to my hit the sh** out of the ball iron swing.  Setup varies too.

[Ghostwedge]

My driver swing is hit the s*** out of the ball, my iron swing is more fluid.

Set up varies also. Pt and I have the same cap..... 😎

[Barfolomew]

2 completely different games 🐔

 

-one working down and thru like a low tennis shot down the line

 

-The other swingin up droppin bombs to the clouds in heaven

 

even the way cuts and draws are controlled are different.... they have to be with different swings..... at least the feels are

[golfarb1]

One Sentence- Setup differences  will automatically result in different swings between the driver and 7 iron

SETUP DIFFERENCES

Width of stance 

driver -wider stance -resulting in more of an A frame look with the legs 

7iron -narrower stance -legs more directly under the pelvis 

 

Driver -weight distribution at setup slightly favors rear foot-55/45 

7iron -weight distribution favors front foot -55/45 or even 60/40 . 

 

 

Placement  of hands 

Driver -slightly in front ( target wise ) of the middle of your stance 

7iron -hands just off of your inner front thigh-presets shaft lean 

Placement of ball

Driver-opposite inner front heel

7iron-middle of the stance 

 

Distance from ball

Driver -longer length of driver will result in the golfer standing further from the ball than with a 7 iron . 
 

Hanging of the arms 

Driver -upper arms will hang farther away from the body due to the longer shaft 

7 iron -upper arms will hang more towards the vertical due to the shorter shaft 

 

Tilt at setup

7 iron -shoulder tilt -( 4-8) degrees due to the simple fact that the trail hand is below the left hand Because the legs should be about vertical under the pelvis , the overall tilt  from vertical remains 4-8 degrees 

Driver -the same 4-8 degrees as the 7iron for the same reasons . However , the overall tilt  from vertical at setup will be greater with a driver due to the A frame effect  adding additional tilt caused by the wider stance . 

 

Hip bend 

7 iron - greater due to the length of the shaft resulting in the ball closer to the body 

Driver -less because of the length of the shaft  resulting in the ball further away 

 

 

 

 

All of these SETUP  differences will cause automatic changes in the swing  between the DRIVER and the 7 IRON 

7 iron -more shaft lean at impact-low point

in front of the ball

Driver less  to zero shaft lean at impact with low point at or in back of the ball

 

7 iron -AOA = negative -divot in front of ball

driver -AOA= flat to slightly up ( +3.5) . Top players rarely take divots in front of the ball with a driver 

 

7iron -more weight on front foot at impact  because of the shorter distance to get to the front foot 

Driver -less weight on front foot at impact due to the  greater distance needed to reach the front foot 

 

Driver swing will be flatter than the 7 iron due to the longer shaft and greater distance to the ball

 

One more point caused by the design differences between the Driver and the 7 iron. The sweet spot on the driver is slightly  above center . To achieve maximum results , the driver should be hit on this point . Among the changes many current players make to achieve this goal are higher tee lengths with the driver .
But one caveat with trying to hit up too much.  If golfers mistakenly try to hit up  too much up with the driver , the result could be opposite of optimum-hitting 

the ball lower on the clubface 

And hitting up more than ~ 4 degrees will result in path changes - path more OUTSIDE-IN 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 6, 2022 by golfarb1

[phizzy30]

24 minutes ago, golfarb1 said:

One Sentence- Setup differences  will automatically result in different swings between the driver and 7 iron

SETUP DIFFERENCES

Width of stance 

driver -wider stance -resulting in more of an A frame look with the legs 

7iron -narrower stance -legs more directly under the pelvis 

 

Driver -weight distribution at setup slightly favors rear foot-55/45 

7iron -weight distribution favors front foot -55/45 or even 60/40 . 

 

 

Placement  of hands 

Driver -slightly in front ( target wise ) of the middle of your stance 

7iron -hands just off of your inner front thigh-presets shaft lean 

Placement of ball

Driver-opposite inner front heel

7iron-middle of the stance 

 

Distance from ball

Driver -longer length of driver will result in the golfer standing further from the ball than with a 7 iron . 
 

Hanging of the arms 

Driver -upper arms will hang farther away from the body due to the longer shaft 

7 iron -upper arms will hang more towards the vertical due to the shorter shaft 

 

Tilt at setup

7 iron -shoulder tilt -( 4-8) degrees due to the simple fact that the trail hand is below the left hand Because the legs should be about vertical under the pelvis , the overall tilt  from vertical remains 4-8 degrees 

Driver -the same 4-8 degrees as the 7iron for the same reasons . However , the overall tilt  from vertical at setup will be greater with a driver due to the A frame effect  adding additional tilt caused by the wider stance . 

 

Hip bend 

7 iron - greater due to the length of the shaft resulting in the ball closer to the body 

Driver -less because of the length of the shaft  resulting in the ball further away 

 

 

 

 

All of these SETUP  differences will cause automatic changes in the swing  between the DRIVER and the 7 IRON 

7 iron -more shaft lean at impact-low point

in front of the ball

Driver less  to zero shaft lean at impact with low point at or in back of the ball

 

7 iron -AOA = negative -divot in front of ball

driver -AOA= flat to slightly up ( +3.5) . Top players rarely take divots in front of the ball with a driver 

 

7iron -more weight on front foot at impact  because of the shorter distance to get to the front foot 

Driver -less weight on front foot at impact due to the  greater distance needed to reach the front foot 

 

Driver swing will be flatter than the 7 iron due to the longer shaft and greater distance to the ball

 

One more point caused by the design differences between the Driver and the 7 iron. The sweet spot on the driver is slightly  above center . To achieve maximum results , the driver should be hit on this point . Among the changes many current players make to achieve this goal are higher tee lengths with the driver .
But one caveat with trying to hit up too much.  If golfers mistakenly try to hit up  too much up with the driver , the result could be opposite of optimum-hitting 

the ball lower on the clubface 

And hitting up more than ~ 4 degrees will result in path changes - path more OUTSIDE-IN 

 

 

 

 

 

Top players don't take divots with driver.  Hitting up on it excessively for most including myself causes an in to out path hence the dreaded duck hook coming into play. 

[bobfoster]

My Driver is a guy named Diego, who kills people that try to carjack us. My 7i is the club I use to kill people that try to break into my house.

 

Oh wait, that was when I was living in Mexico City 🤣. 

 

If you're actually asking about golf, I do the fairly boring (but time-tested) traditional Stuff. Driver has the ball teed left heel, slightly strong grip (my go-to on a straight fairway is a slight draw, find it easiest to control, and gives me additional roll - obviously changes if I'm trying to fade it around a right dogleg, in which case ball teed slightly lower, ball teed right toe instead of heel, stance slightly open, grip slightly weaker). And, of course, the biggest difference is hitting the ball on the ascending (past the nadir) side of the stroke. 

 

7i, completely opposite. I'm a digger not a picker, hit down hard on the ball. Hit on the descending side of the arc, the swing nadir a centimeter to two past the ball. Other than that, very simplistic, want to remove as many moving parts from the swing as I can. With the 7i (and all my mid-irons) back of the ball exactly inline with the buttons on my shirt and the center of my head. (Slightly different setup if it isn't a mid-iron ... address the ball slightly forward or backward in the stance with a 4i as opposed to a 9i, but the swing path is pretty much the same. ) And want to keep it mostly there through the entire backswing ... rotate around a fixed axis. It is the hips and shoulders that turn, My weight shifts to the back foot, but the axis of rotation doesn't change or shift backwards and then move forward (biggest mistake I see beginners make). 

 

But if I may digress? OP asked (the very interesting) question of what differs between the D and the 7i. They are quite different, but I got to thinking about the same question flipped upside down ... what is the same? There's actually about a half dozen things, but (IMO) the two biggest are these: Left arm and grip. This is probably just me though. 

 

When I was first starting to play, one of my first bad habits was not understanding the left arm. It would bend on the backswing, and I'd "chicken wing" the downswing/follow through. First revelation in golf (I was, like, in my early teens) came from a guy I caddied for to make HS spending money: "Pretend that your left arm doesn't have an elbow". I do get that some golfers (even pros) will not agree with this, but for me, in all of a month it greatly increased my consistency. I had learned tennis before golf, and enormous variability specifically with the elbow and forearm is critical. Totally the opposite in golf. You don't want fluidity, you want consistency. Returning the clubface to where you had it at set up. So point one? I'll fiddle with stance and grip and ball placement, but at the very top of my swing? I want my shaft parallel to the ground, my hips and shoulders turned, and my left arm as straight as a 2x4. I actually do a very slow backswing, because (IMO) the best golf shots come from being perfectly coiled at the moment of transition. You get that, and then you can just let go. 

 

A funny sideline? I write a lot, and have a lot of friends that are (actually published) writers. Was having a great talk a few months ago with a friend about Hemmingway. Who was (as it turns out, wrongly) reported to have said "write drunk, edit sober". He didn't say it, but I get the sentiment. The drunken Dionysian vs. the rational Apollonian (okay, totally off on a tangent, and probably only the old guys here that actually learned the classics in HS get this, but still). 

 

Golf is the opposite. Backswing sober, downswing drunk. If you take the time to get the hands, and shaft, and angle, completely aligned at the top? You can just (as several here have said) "hit the S*** out of the ball". 

 

Second big point (that I have been obsessing on lately). Sounds lie a really minor point, but grip strength, 1 - 10. In truth, the vast majority of weekenders I play with are probably gripping their clubs way too hard. With all manner of negative effects. Badly cuts down on both distance and accuracy. Have long been a fan of the classical Ben Hogan insight: "grip the club like it is a baby bird ... just firm enough to hold it, but not so tight that you strangle it". But I've lately been playing around with this a lot more. Start with almost every club (from putter to driver) at a 2 out of ten. Holding the club very loose (the looser the grip, the greater the feel). Even on a long putt I'll likely never go beyond a three on the backswing. Wedges - pitches and chips? A two, the might go to a four on the downswing (want firm, but with feel). 

 

At the other end - long irons, FWs and Driver? Still start at setup with a two. Tightens gradually, at the very top transition maybe an eight. But at the moment of impact that eight drops back down to a two or even a one (i.e., barely able to not have the club fly out of my hands). Full release. This, BTW, is why Freddie Couples, and Phil are old and can still bomb it. Why Langer is still making a fortune on the Champions. Watch their release just prior to the moment of impact. They have perfected it. 

 

BTW, this is why pro baseball players have such a notoriously hard time learning to play golf. The swings are actually quite similar. What you do with your body is quite similar. But in baseball, your grip is lightest on your takeaway, and the bat is gripped the firmest at the moment of impact - obviously, you are trying to hit a ball traveling at 95 MPH - loose wrists would mean your bat gets blasted out of your hands at hit that poor ball girl. Golf is the total opposite - ball is stationary, and both distance and accuracy emerge when you let your hands and wrists totally release on impact (in fact, watch a few clips from folks like Freddie and Phil, not uncommon to see their right hand actually come off the club about 1/4 way through the follow-thru). 

 

Opps. Bob's TL;DR of the week.

 

 

Edited August 6, 2022 by bobfoster

[golfarb1]

14 hours ago, phizzy30 said:

Top players don't take divots with driver.  Hitting up on it excessively for most including myself causes an in to out path hence the dreaded duck hook coming into play. 

The path of the clubhead moves in an arc around the body . While the specific shape of the arc will obviously vary by golfer depending on height , arm length , how upright or flat the swing etc. , it will still be an arc . The more that you hit up on a driver the further along the arc the clubhead will be  and the more outside-in the path.In the below still , Mr Zander shows the arc of the golf swing .

 

 

 

Edited August 6, 2022 by golfarb1

[mikpga]

Subtle changes in set up…