Every golfer wants more distance. However, chasing extra yards can often have the opposite effect, and can ultimately damage the rhythm of the swing.
If you feel like you’re losing distance with irons, the solutions are more subtle than you might think. Simple tweaks to your swing can add plenty of useful yards to each club.
In this article, I’ll teach you 3 simple fixes to add distance to your irons. Also, stick around to the end to find the best irons for amateur golfers available today.
Ready to add yards? Let’s go!
Losing Distance With Irons
Losing distance with irons can often happen when having too much tension in the golf swing, reducing flexibility and club head speed. Also, too much of an out-to-in swing path produces a slice, which adds unwanted spin and hinders distance. Finally, a slow backswing can prevent rotation, also limiting distance.
Do Golf Irons Lose Distance Over Time?
Over time, the grooves on your irons can become dull. This reduces friction against the ball, causing lower spin rates and less distance with your iron shots.
While there are methods to sharpen the grooves, it might be worth upgrading to a new set of irons if you feel your equipment is compromising the distance of your shots.
Nevertheless, grooves only show significant signs of wear if you play lots of golf. To put it into perspective, many golfers play for upwards of a decade with the same clubs!
It’s more likely that you’re losing distance with irons due to swing changes, rather than the equipment. With a few basic adjustments to your swing, you can start generating more club head speed, which can add more yards to each of your irons.
Read on to find 3 simple swing fixes to help you add distance with your irons.
How to Get More Distance With Irons
Ultimately, to get more distance with irons you need to increase the club head speed while improving the angle of attack. As a consequence, the club head will transfer more energy to the ball — at an optimal launch angle — to increase the overall distance.
Fortunately, there are 3 simple tips to help you achieve this:
- Remove tension in the swing
- Swing more from the inside
- Extend the backswing
Next, let’s address each step to help you add vital yards to your iron shots!
1. Remove Tension in the Swing
Firstly, aim to remove any tension in your body before you make a swing. Golf can be a stressful game, and overthinking can often lead to the body becoming tense.
Too much tension can restrict the amount of rotation in your swing, resulting in less club head speed and distance. Furthermore, it can often promote a downward angle of attack, which can also contribute to losing distance with irons.
Instead, try to relax and avoid standing too rigid in your setup. Also, try not to grip the golf club too firmly. A common tip is to hold the club with the same pressure you would hold a small bird — tight enough so it doesn’t fly away, but soft enough so you don’t crush it!
In effect, this creates a more fluid swing and prevents you from hitting down onto the ball with a steep angle of attack — increasing club head speed, launch angle, and distance.
PRO TIP: Practice the feeling of a more relaxed grip by first swinging the club with one hand, then graduating to both hands.
2. Swing More From the Inside
Secondly, you should focus on swinging the club more from the inside.
Many amateur golfers lose valuable distance with irons due to cutting across the ball with an out-to-in swing path. This produces a slice and knocks a lot of distance off your iron shots by applying unwanted spin to the ball.
Instead, aim to swing more around your body. Swinging from the inside during the downswing will promote a natural draw, adding distance to your shots.
PRO TIP: Place a couple of markers a few feet in front of the ball, aiming to build the sensation of swinging from in to out.
3. Extend the Backswing
Finally, try to extend the backswing further than you would normally.
Plenty of amateur golfers lose distance with irons due to being too careful with bringing the club back during the backswing. This reduces the amount of rotation in the upper body, which limits the power generated in the swing and the distance of shots.
Rather, try to physically swing the club back in the backswing. This increases the upper body rotation, creating more of a coil motion to generate more power and distance.
PRO TIP: To practice this motion, take your trailing arm and compare the action of moving it back slowly versus quickly. You’ll notice that the quicker motion generates more rotation, and a more explosive recoil.
Check out the video below, where Danny Maude demonstrates and explains each tip that helped a student gain 28 yards with a 7 iron:
Best Irons For Amateur Golfers
For amateur golfers, it’s crucial to invest in a set of irons that offers forgiveness, with the ability to get the ball up in the air quickly and offer plenty of carry distance.
Game improvement irons tend to be larger and more forgiving than bladed irons. Here are some of our favorite game improvement irons available right now:
TaylorMade Stealth Irons – Best Overall
Having manufactured golf clubs for over 40 years — and sponsoring many tour pros in the process — TaylorMade has grown to become one of the industry’s largest brands.
The TaylorMade Stealth Iron is the brand’s game improvement offering, providing useful forgiveness for off-center strikes. The club features a lower center of gravity, assisting with both ball speed and launch — particularly useful if you’re losing distance with irons.
While many game improvement irons offer performance benefits, they tend to sacrifice aesthetics. However, the Stealth irons break this trend and look incredible behind the ball. In fact, the premium, elegant looks rival those of high-end bladed irons.
Reasons to Buy
- Solid forgiveness
- Significantly longer than previous versions
- Premium looks
Reasons to Avoid
- Relatively low spin
Rating: ★★★★★
>> You can order your TaylorMade Stealth Irons here
Cobra LTDx Irons – Best Value
Cobra Golf was founded in 1973, and has since grown to become one of the leading golf club manufacturers in the world, sponsoring many tour professionals.
The Cobra LTDx Iron is a distance-focused club, designed to offer great forgiveness and longer hitting for amateur golfers. A steel core bar positions the center of gravity behind the hitting zone to deliver optimized power to the ball, while offering great feel.
Reasons to Buy
- Long and consistent
- Large, forgiving clubface
Reasons to Avoid
- Relatively low spin
Rating: ★★★★☆
>> You can order your Cobra LTDx Irons here
Callaway Rogue ST Max OS Irons – Best Premium
Golf giant Callaway has been producing clubs since 1982, and is the trusted equipment provider for many tour professionals.
The Callaway Rogue ST Max OS Iron features a large club head, which offers plenty of forgiveness for mishit strikes. Furthermore, the wide sole and enhanced offset makes it easier to hit repeatedly solid shots, improving consistency and confidence on the course.
Additionally, the club head features Callaway’s latest face technology — creating spin rate consistency across the clubface while enhancing sound and feel.
Reasons to Buy
- Strong distance
- Offsets a slice
Reasons to Avoid
- Won’t visually suit all tastes
Rating: ★★★★★
>> You can order your Callaway Rogue ST Max OS Irons here
Conclusion
While grooves can become dull over time and knock a few yards off your carry distance, it’s far more likely that you are losing distance with irons due to swing changes.
So, try these 3 simple swing fixes to add distance to your iron shots:
- Remove tension in the swing
- Swing more from the inside
- Extend the backswing
By making these changes, you’ll be capable of a more fluid golf swing with better rotation, more power, and a faster club head speed.
As a result, you’ll be able to hit your irons further than ever before!
