In golf, distance control is vital if you want to put together a good score. For that reason, it’s important to carry a set of irons with sufficient distance gapping.
However, many golfers struggle to hit their irons with clear distance gaps. For instance, a 6 iron can go as far as a 4 iron — depending largely on the quality of the strike.
In this article, you’ll learn why all your irons appear to go the same distance, along with 3 simple tips to help you strike your irons with suitable distance gaps.
Why Do All My Irons Go the Same Distance
Typically, all your irons can appear to go the same distance if you strike the ball inconsistently. Poor ball striking reduces ball speed, impacting distance. Long irons are often harder to hit than shorter irons, which is why a 4 iron can travel the same distance as a 7 iron.
Why Your Irons Go the Same Distance
In theory, the lower the loft of a golf iron — and the longer the shaft — the further the ball should travel. Ideally, the difference between each iron should be around 10 yards, since one degree of loft is equal to around 2 to 4 yards of distance.
However, there is a threshold to be aware of. When you get into the lower lofted irons, your distance will be compromised if your club head speed isn’t fast enough.
If your club head speed is too slow at impact, the ball speed is also lower. This directly causes your carry distances to be lower and you can see minimal — if any — variation in the distances produced by your long irons.
Usually, a lack of club head speed at impact is caused by trying to overhit the ball. This tends to result in a loss of balance in the swing and a poor strike on the clubface.
In the next section of this article, you’ll discover 3 simple ways to increase club head speed and consistency with your irons, to generate clear distance gaps.
How to Improve Gapping With Irons
If all your irons are going the same distance, you’re potentially losing distance with your longer irons. This needs fixing in order to define clear yardage gaps between your irons.
Here are 3 useful tips to solve this:
- Don’t overhit the ball
- Focus on the strike
- Consider using hybrids
Let’s dive into each one to learn how it can help you improve distance gapping!
1. Don’t Overhit the Ball
Firstly, many amateur golfers follow the misconception that you need to physically hit the ball further with long irons. However, you shouldn’t force it!
Instead, try to maintain the same level of effort for every golf swing, and let the club do the work. The different loft and shaft lengths will naturally alter distance.
Ultimately, a smooth swing will lead to better contact and make it easier to launch the ball off the turf. This is key for hitting each iron at its optimal distance.
PRO TIP: Swing smoothly with all your irons. Don’t treat your 4 iron differently from your 8 iron — other than ball position.
2. Focus on the Strike
Long irons differ from short irons in two ways — lower loft, and longer shafts.
As loft decreases and the shaft gets longer, many golfers struggle to make solid contact with the ball and the strike can deteriorate. Poor ball striking causes ball speed to drop, which offsets any marginal gains in club head speed delivered by the longer shaft.
To improve this, try to focus on staying balanced in the swing and keeping your head as still as possible. This will help you find the sweet spot more frequently.
By striking each iron consistently, club loft and shaft length remain the only variables affecting distance — helping define clear distance gaps between each iron.
Here are three excellent balance drills by TaylorMade Golf, designed to help you improve your ball striking with your irons:
3. Consider Using Hybrids
Finally, many amateur golfers find that most of their distance clustering problems occur with the long and mid irons — anywhere from 2 iron up to 7 iron.
The solution? Hybrids!
Put simply, hybrids are easier to hit than long irons. They feature larger club heads and lighter shafts, offering greater forgiveness for long-distance shots.
Hybrids are designed to replace your long irons, giving you a better chance of achieving a consistent ball speed even with off-center hits.
So, by swapping out problematic long irons for hybrids, you’ll be able to define clear distance gaps between each club in the bag, improving your distance control.
PRO TIP: Consider dropping your 3 and 4 irons for a 3 hybrid. This will offer you more forgiveness, versatility, and confidence.
Conclusion
In conclusion, golfers often find that their irons go the same distance when they are striking the ball inconsistently. This affects ball speed, which decreases distance.
To fix this, try these 3 tips:
- Don’t overhit the ball
- Focus on the strike
- Consider using hybrids
By swinging smoothly and focusing on making consistently good contact with the ball, you will find that the natural loft and shaft length will do the work.
If you’re struggling to hit your longer irons the expected distance, consider swapping them out for hybrids — they are extra forgiving!
