A 1-iron has a low trajectory. It’s much less precise on distance because the ball will hit the ground and run. A 6-iron, with its higher trajectory, lands and stops more quickly. A pro can stop a 6-iron pretty much within 5 feet of its landing spot on most courses. But even I will be much more accurate at keeping the ball on the green with a 6-iron than with a softly hit 1-iron.
I’m going to disagree with those who are asserting above that hitting a partial shot accurately is harder than hitting a full shot. Pros do it all the time. Indeed, learning how to distance a partial wedge shot is crucial, since most pros can hit even a sand wedge over 100 yards with a full swing. The main issue is not one of inaccuracy with partial swings so much as it is the trajectory of the ball, and to a lesser extent the lie of the ball (it’s harder to hit the ball properly with clubs that have a lot of “loft” if the lie is hard and bare.
It’s all about the shape of the shot, as well as the distance.
I’m going to disagree with those who are asserting above that hitting a partial shot accurately is harder than hitting a full shot. Pros do it all the time. /QUOTE]
Only if they have to, in scenarios of the sort we’ve discussed, and
What works for a pro ain’t what works for a duffer.
An important point: lofted clubs used with a full swing will impart backspin and a high trajectory to the ball. The spin and high trajectory will make the ball stop quickly… very little roll. This is desirable when your target is the green.
If I use a 6-iron instead of a wedge from 120 yards, I have to land the ball 20 yards short of the green and hope that bounce, bounce, bounce, roll, roll end up close to the pin. With the wedge I just aim at the pin.
Definitely agreed. One of the big challenges a casual golfer faces is being able to consistently replicate a good swing. When the casual golfer makes a good swing, it feels great, the ball flies, and the golfer says, “wow, maybe this game isn’t so hard after all!” And, then, he or she spends the rest of their round flailing in the rough, because they can’t replicate that one swing.
For all but the most gifted of us, it takes a tremendous amount of practice and muscle memory to get to that place; the pros (and the dedicated amateurs) are willing and able to put in that level of practice, but for most golfers, that’s far beyond the amount of time they spend on the game. And, until you can consistently and predictably produce your full swing, it’s going to be even more difficult to get any sort of predictable result with a partial swing.
I think using a limited set of clubs is best for a sub-amateur like myself. I have a pretty good idea how far i’ll get with the wood and how far to the right i’ll have to turn to correct for the hook. Then a few more shots with the iron gets me into and out of the trap and onto the green and it’ll be an easy 6 or 7 putts to get the ball into that tiny freakin’ hole.
BTW: running coach, what brand of cast iron grill do you use? I bet the really expensive ones work best.
As mentioned numerous times already you absolutely want to take a full swing every time and let the club itself choose the distance.
There are times when this isn’t true, like perhaps if you can’t take a full back swing due to tree branches, or something. Also, when you get within say, 70 yards or so of the green a full wedge might mean overshooting the green, so a three-quarter or so swing is necessary.
If you’re not a golfer you probably don’t know that every course will have the distance to the hole on the scorecard and at the tee box. Also every course has a marker at 150 yards to the hole, and 100 yards to the hole. In most cases the 150 yard marker will be a white stake, and the 100 yard marker will be a sprinkler head, but not always. Some courses use other means, but there will be markers.
One thing golf has taught me is that I can very easily guess distances from zero to 600 yards just by sight. You get quite good at guessing how far you want to hit the ball, and it isn’t always just “as far as I can.” There might be a water hazard that you want to lay up in front of, for example.
There was a rule change a year or two ago that says you can’t anchor the putter to your chest or belly button now, stating that it provides an unfair advantage.
Apparently, there’s a couple of different longer-shafted putters: there’s the belly putter (41" - 44"), and the long putter (a.k.a., the broomstick putter, 48" - 52").
I’m just a hack golfer now - used to be able to play off about 12 or so.
I now use only 6 clubs - an old 2-wood, 3,4,6,8-iron and a putter. It means I have to invent shots, sometimes choose whether to hit a shot hard or soft, try to work out how much to open the face on the 8-iron for a pitch etc. (PS - all my clubs date from the 1930s, and most came from charity shops. The whole bag is probably worth about $20).
I actually enjoy the game a bit more now, and enjoy the challenge that it is ME doing all the work rather than trying to build a simple, repeatable mechanical swing and just do that using different tools. I got used to the idea reading about an old Scottish golfer who asked his caddy for ‘The Iron’ - and looked askance when he received the reply ‘Which one’?
I would undoubtedly get a better score with modern, brand-new, laser-guided, rocket launchers made from Unobtainium, but I’ve done that.
I have also played an entire round (9 holes) with only a putter, but that is actually far less fun than it sounds. Playing a whole round with a 6-iron is great…
Here’s a thought: Has anyone ever made a club with multiple striking surfaces? Like, you have a 1-wood head, and if you rotate it 180 degrees, there’s an iron, and then you turn it around and there’s a putter on the other end? It seems like that would get around the rule against “adjusting the playing characteristics”.
The problem is that you don’t hold and swing your golf club dead vertically. You hold it at a 30-to-35 degree angle, and each individual golf head accounts for that (it’s called the “lie”) so that the golf head sits flat on the ground at the bottom of the swing.
There have been clubs that have some form of this. The usual combination is putter with chipping iron (a “putter” if you will with a loft similar to that of a 5-ron). But because of the fact that the shaft is angled to the head of the club, you have to use one as a right-handed golfer, and the other as a left-handed golfer.
Occasionally, you will see pros in a pinch swing a club the opposite direction. Sometimes, they will use an iron with very little loft (like a 2-iron or 3-iron) and hit the ball with the back-side of the iron. They might try this if the ball is up against a tree or other obstacle that prevents taking the normal stance. Sometimes, if they feel the need for more loft for such a shot, they will turn a lofted iron, like a 9-iron, backwards (which means also upside down) and swing at the ball that way. Not something your average duffer should try!
My brother used to carry a lefty wedge (hit right handed clubs normally, but was not bad lefty) for getting out of trouble. Walls, trees, rocks, wrong side of water hazards, it was preferable to hitting the back side of the blade.
Wasn’t there one out there for a while that had an adjustable head/loft? I seem to remember this on some kind of wedge. You basically pushed in a couple tabs/buttons and you could move half the club face to change it.
I never really played golf although I did play at it for a while. I still have and collect a rather extensive collection of one irons; 27 different brands and models as of last count. It is for home protection of a sorts. Golfers will understand the implied joke.
