5 Great tips to hit your irons further:
- Train For Speed
- Compress The Ball
- Control Your Launch Angle
- Consider Graphite Shafts
- Increase Your Tempo
We all know that distance is vital to reach your full potential in the game of golf.
The study on the analytics of golf reveals that the longer you hit the ball with your driver, the shorter approach shots you will have into the greens, which leads to shorter putts and ultimately lower scores on average.
However, little time is spent on how to hit your irons further. What if, instead of hitting a 9 iron 125 yards, you could hit your 9 iron 135 yards and increase each club in your bag by one club length or about 10-15 yards on average.
I think most people can agree that this would make a major difference on approach shots into par 4s and 5s and on the four par 3s that most golfer face throughout a round of golf.
The good news is that additional speed, resulting in increased distance with all golf is obtainable. Also, making some slight adjustments with the irons, even without additional speed, can result in a more penetrating ball flight and potentially more distance.
How To Hit Your Irons Further: 5 Top Tips
Update: I have found my speed training with my driver has lead to also hitting my irons further. As I gain new speed I often have to calibrate my irons. The speed from speed training with the driver will carry over to your irons!
Tip #1: Train For Speed
Ultimately, the number one factor that influences total distance in golf swing is the club head speed that is one able to produce. For example, with the driver the golfer that swings 110 miles per hour is going to hit the ball further than the golfer who only swings 95 miles per hour. The same holds true for the irons. Another example, the golfer that swings their 6 iron at 85 miles per hour is going to hit the ball further than the person at 70 miles per hour with the 6 iron.
So how does a golfer increase their swing speed?
The best system I can recommend and one that has worked for me and many touring pros is the SuperSpeed Golf System. This overspeed based system utilizes three different weighted speed training clubs. Two of hte clubs are lighter than your average driver and one is heavier. Over the course of time, the golfer trains every other day for about 15 minutes per session, potentially resulting in a 5-8% increase in clubhead speed.
The golfer can expect to see a difference as early as the first training session and after about a month of training, the speed can become more permanent.
Check current pricing on SuperSpeed Golf, here!
Of course, if hte golfer continues to train, he or she can expect to continue to increase their swing speed at a slightly slower rate, but over time increase by 1-2 miles per hour every couple of months. Of the course of a year, the golfer can see some rather impressive results with every club in the bag.
You can stand over that 9 iron from 135 yards or possibly more and have confidence that you have the swing speed to make this happen!
Tip #2: Compress The Ball
With your irons, you want to be able to compress the ball by keeping your hands forward at impact causing a quality compression of the golf ball. The golfer that struggles with the early release or casting of the club is going to struggle to compress the ball and maximum the potential speed created by the swing.
The golfer should work on half swings to make this happen, starting with the hands by the front leg, making a turn and then swinging through the ball. Oftentimes the golfer may fail to compress the ball due to a poor body rotation or casting the club from the top due to poor sequencing.
I have found the best way to work on this compression is through half shots and getting the feeling of the heads being slightly ahead of the ball at impact.
Resource: Hitting Long Irons vs Short Irons
In the video below, you can see the importance of getting the hands ahead of the ball at impact. Often the task you give yourself can have a big impact on the positions you are able to create. Check out the Shawn Clement video below for some further help!
Tip #3: Control Your Launch Angle
The ability to control your launch angle is related to being able to compress the ball. The golfer should work on hitting the ball at the lower rate than the loft on the club. For example, if a 9 iron has 42 degrees of loft, the launch angle should actually be in the lower to mid 20s. This helps maximize the distance by delofting the club, essentially hitting the ball with less loft than is on the club.
This is opposite of the driver, where the driver is actually hit at a slightly higher launch angle than the loft on the club. For example a 8.5 degree driver might have a launch angle of 13 degrees because the golfer hits the ball slightly on the upswing.
Resource: How to hit your irons pure!
If you are hitting your 9 iron at a 42 degree launch angle you are going to lose some significant distance!
Tip #4: Consider Graphite Shafts
On average graphite shafts are lighter than steel shafts resulting in an increase in swing speed. Many serious golfers with higher swing speeds stayed away from graphite shafts because of the uncertainty of distance control. However, graphite shafts have come a long way and could be considered in irons and still have control over distance control.
More and more professional golfers are turning to graphite shafts in their irons, some like DeChambeau who has the highest swing speed on tour.
If you need that extra 5-7 yards, the graphite shafts might be the solution for you!
Resource: Utility Iron vs Hybrid: Which One Should I Carry?
Tip #5: Increase Your Tempo
Maybe you have heard to swing low and slow. This is bad advice as proven by John Novusel Jr. of Tour Tempo Golf. Studies have shown that the best golfers swing at a 3:1 ratio, often times at an 18:6, 21:7 or 24:8 swing tempo. This is the number of frames it takes for the backswing, compared to the downswing.
When many amateurs are measured, the ratio is sometimes over 30 at a 36:11 ratio. This often produces a slower swing speed that results in a lack of distance and inconsistencies! Increase the speed on the backswing, often leads to an increase in total swing speed on the downswing. This results in additional distance with all clubs. Test it out by checking out the Tour Tempo app Frame Counter and measure where your swing is!
I was amazed at the distance increase by getting to a 21:7 ratio. It also helps reduce the amount of swing thoughts and gets the golfer to be more reactionary!
You might be surprised with the results!
Resource: Tour Tempo Review: Can It Help My Game?
How To Measure Your Progress
I would highly recommend checking out the possibilities of getting your very own personal portable launch monitor. The ability to monitor the following is a game changer:
- Ball Speed
- Carry Distance and Total Distance
- Launch Angle
- Spin Rate
- Side Axis
If you are serious about taking your game to the next level, gaining additional distance with your driver and irons, you need the instant feedback on every practice swing that you take. Whether you set it up in your garage with a net and mat, build a complete golf simulator or simply take with you to the driving range you will have the feedback needed to improve your game.
You can build your own laboratory where you can experiment and train for additional speed, while having real time data at your fingertips. I personally went with the SkyTrak and 800 rounds later on my golfer simulator. I have improved my scores by 4-6 shots and now shoot around par the majority of the time. The difference has been worth the investment!
Resource: SkyTrak Launch Monitor: The Ultimate Game Improvement Tool!
While not everyone can afford the Trackman used on the PGA Tour by many players, there are some quality budget level launch monitors that range between 500 and 2000 dollars. More golfers are making the investment to improve their game and are relying on the technology tools of today’s game for the feedback needed to make a difference and finally get better!
Here are the top 3 options to check out:
In addition, the golfer can truly understand how far they hit each iron. Having a chart of how far you hit each iron is a major advantage when you head to the course. Some golfers might be surprised to find out the truth on how far they actually carry each iron! Get the data through a launch monitor and then train with SuperSpeed Golf! A powerful combination!
Final Thoughts: How To Hit Your Irons Further
Let’s face it, being able to hit an 8 iron 160 yards helps improve your score when compared to only hitting your 8 iron 140 yards. Training for speed, tip #1, is the fastest and easiest way to gain more distance. Golfers of all ages are increasing their swing speed with the SuperSpeed Golf System and are getting real results!
Are you ready to take your game to the next level? Make sure you check out SuperSpeed Golf and combine with with a SkyTrak! Train like the pros and get real time feedback to get better!
Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better
What does this mean for you? I believe in the following recipe to get better:
1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor. Here are some options:
Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:
2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed. Here are some options:
Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:
3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier. Here is a series on breaking through:
We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.
4 – Practice Frequently
Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system? It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:
- Is a Golf Simulator Worth It?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator?
- What is the Best Golf Simulator?
- Golf Simulator Accessories?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for under $7000
- Top 11 Reasons to Buy a SkyTrak
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for Under $1000
- Why Build A Golf Simulator?
- What Space is Needed?
- Can A Golf Simulator Improve My Game?
- How Much Does A Golf Simulator Cost?
- Don’t Forget to Check out our 15 best golf swings of all time.