Long Irons

Yes, there are clubs in your bag that have the numbers 3,4 and 5 on them. And no, they are not as scary as you might think. If you practice correctly with them, they can be a real weapon for you out on the course to help you take more money off your mates. Here are some simple tips to help you become a long iron flusher: 

Downward strike – a lot of amateurs look down at long irons, see there is less loft and think they need to help it up in the air. So they try and hit up on it which leads to thin, inconsistent shots. There is plenty of loft on them, they will go up even when you strike down on the ball. Put a tee in the ground just in front of the ball, and practice breaking the tee with a nice divot just after the ball. 

Set up – these clubs are a lot longer, so you can’t set up in the same way as you do with your short irons. The ball needs to be closer to your left heel (not as far as a driver), this will help you to have a squarer face at impact. 

Use them off a tee – If you have rarely ever hit your long irons, start by practicing off a tee. This game is hard enough as it is, and if you go straight into trying to hit 3 iron off the deck, you’re going to get frustrated pretty quickly and it will go back to collecting dust in your cupboard. Tee it up when you are on the range so you can see how it can actually get up in the air and go a long way. 

You have 14 clubs for a reason, and if you’re confident with all of them you will soon see the benefits it has to your scoring. Give those tips a try and become a long iron flusher.