Tips From Tim: The keys to adding distance with irons

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 01:00:16 +0000

Thursday, July 22, 2010 11:31 PM EDT

Today’s question wassubmitted by Richard G. Anderson, of Kensington.Hi Tim,My problem is lack of distance with my irons. On a par 3 hole, say 123 yards, I will use a 5-iron and just about reach the green. Players with me use a 7, 8, or 9-iron.

What am I doing wrong?First of all, for me to provide you with an accurate answer, I would really need to watch you hit some shots. however, let’s start with a review of the distance formula — distance is influenced by two main things, clubhead speed and solid contact. With that said, I can certainly suggest a few ideas that might provide you with more clubhead speed and therefore more distance:1. start by examining how you hold the club. The most common error I see on a regular basis is a golfer that holds the club too much in the palm of the left hand (this explanation is assuming you are a right-handed golfer). If the club is held in this manner, the golfer minimizes the opportunity to create any significant angle between the left arm lever and the clubshaft lever. The proper use of these levers is “the secret” to generating more clubhead speed, without having to use arm speed.As a test, place your hands on the club with your usual position and then remove your right hand. With the clubhead resting on the ground and without moving your arm, hinge your left wrist and notice the relationship between the ground and the clubshaft. If you are holding the club too much in the palm you will have difficulty getting the shaft past parallel to the ground. If you are holding the club more in your fingers you should be able to hinge the club well past parallel to the ground. This “more in the fingers” position will allow you the opportunity to create greater angles and therefore more clubhead speed.2. Flexibiltiy, flexibility, flexibility! I guess I made my point. every golfer needs to do whatever possible to improve and maintain their flexibility. The more flexible we are, the more we can turn our shoulders without having to turn our hips and thereby generating more coil/torque in our golf swing.3. make sure you are playing with the proper equipment. Having a shaft flex that is too stiff and/or a club that is too heavy will both contribute to a loss of distance.My final thought on distance with irons has to do with the term “loft.” every iron is built with a specific loft, i.e. a 9-iron has approximately 44 degrees. There is another term regarding loft called “dynamic loft,” this refers to the loft on the clubface when it impacts the ball. The goal for every golfer is to create a dynamic loft number that is less than the loft number the club is built with, i.e. that 9-iron that has 44 degrees of loft should have approximately 40-42 degrees at impact. we accomplish this by leading the clubhead into the ball with the hands and hitting the ball with more weight on the left foot than the right foot (again, this is assuming you are a right-handed golfer). Sadly, many golfers produce a dynamic loft number that is greater than the loft the club is built with and instead of hitting their 9-iron like a 9-iron, they are in effect hitting a pitching wedge. This could be your problem Richard.Hopefully by implementing some of these ideas you will increase the distance you are hitting your irons. If not, go see your local PGA Professional!thanks again for the question Richard and good luck in the drawing for the round of golf with two friends and yours truly at Shuttle Meadow Country Club!See you on the tee!Tim GavronskiHead Golf ProfessionalShuttle Meadow Country ClubE-mail questions to bcarroll@centralctcommunications.com

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Golf Swing Analysis Software » Tips From Tim: The keys to adding distance with irons

Tips From Tim: The keys to adding distance with irons

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