Ditch Your 4 and 5 Irons

Ego is keeping the hardest clubs to hit in your bag.

Take a look at your bag. If you are an average amateur golfer, you likely carry a 4-iron and a 5-iron. Now, go to the range or use our Gapping Tool, and measure the carry distance of your 4-iron, 5-iron, and 6-iron.

For the vast majority of players swinging a 7-iron under 85mph, the results look like this:

• 6-iron: 155 yards
• 5-iron: 160 yards (low flight, rolls out)
• 4-iron: 162 yards (very low flight, heavy roll)

You are carrying two clubs that go the exact same distance, and neither of them will stop on a green.

The Physics of Long Irons

Modern game-improvement irons have incredibly strong lofts. A modern 5-iron often has the loft of a traditional 3-iron (around 21-23 degrees).

To launch a 21-degree iron high enough to land softly on a green, you need massive clubhead speed to generate spin and launch. Tour pros have this speed. You do not. When an amateur hits a 4-iron, it comes out low, with no spin, hits the front of the green, and rolls 20 yards over the back.

The Solution: 7-Woods and 9-Woods

The center of gravity in a fairway wood is placed far back and low in the clubhead. This design inherently launches the ball higher and with more spin than an iron of the exact same loft.

If you replace your 21-degree 4-iron with a 21-degree 7-wood:

• Launch: The ball will launch significantly higher.
• Descent Angle: The ball will come down steeper. Instead of rolling 20 yards, it might stop in 5 yards.
• Forgiveness: Fairway woods have much larger sweet spots. A toe strike on a 7-wood will still fly toward the target; a toe strike on a 4-iron will go nowhere.