Irons and Hybrids

The irons that will best fit your golf game will feel balanced and easy to swing. They will be the right length to promote on-center club hits. The shafts will have a flex profile and weight distribution that is the best match for your golf swing; these shafts will assist you to achieve maximum distance and accuracy from your golf shots. The lie angles of the irons will be correct and will not promote pulling or pushing your golf shots. The grips will feel comfortable and allow you to hold the golf club firmly throughout the golf swing.

You need as a first step to identify the right length for your irons. Irons that are the right length for you will put you in an “athletic” ball-striking position – you will not be hunched over too much, or too upright. The best way to identify the right length for your irons is to, for example with 6 irons, hit clubs of different lengths with impact labels on them, and determine which 6 iron length produces the most on-center hits.

As for drivers and fairway woods, the flex letter on the shafts of irons means nothing – there is no standard for iron shaft flexes. You can, for example, take five different iron shafts that all say “R” on them and all of these shafts will have different raw shaft weights, different balance points, different uncut flexes and flex profiles. One of these shafts might in fact be the right shaft for you, but you will not know which is the right one for you without hitting test clubs with these shafts using a Launch Monitor to measure differences in ball striking parameters.

Many people think that graphite shafts are “not as stiff” as steel shafts. This is not true – graphite shafts can be stiffer or softer in butt flex than steel shafts. Graphite shafts are available that are lighter or as heavy as steel shafts. Some players can get more distance with graphite shafts than with steel shafts. Again, the only real way to determine if graphite shafts will work well for you is by hitting test clubs with different shafts and monitoring the results.

For many players – particularly middle and high handicap players – clubs like the 3 through even 6 or 7 irons may be difficult to hit. Hybrid clubs are a great option as a replacement for long irons. It is definitely worth considering replacing at least your 3 iron and 4 iron with properly fit hybrid clubs.