Use The Proper Golf Equipment (Video) - by Pete Styles
Use The Proper Golf Equipment (Video) - by Pete Styles

As with any part of your bagging with the setup of your clubs, we want to make sure that the long irons are really suitable for your game, your ability, your swing, but also what you're trying to achieve with the clubs. Now you can have a little bit of flexibility within that long iron range about the clubs you put in your bag, but also how you have them made up. So we can consider how the makeup of the golf club changes the shot we're going to hit. Now the standard thing would just be to consider the loft effectively with the irons, the number.

You could have a 1 iron, a 2 iron, a 3 iron, a 4 iron and then into the general set 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. So generally the 1 to 4 iron, 1 to 5 iron range is the area that we’d call the long irons. One and 2 irons at the moment are very rare. We don't really see many 1 and 2 irons. And a lot of golfers have actually taken the 3 and 4 irons out of that bag as well. But if you wanted to have that low-penetrating, running part of your game back in your bag, you can put your long irons back in. Now for some golfers, they just put the long irons that are already part of their average set. But for some people if you have maybe a muscleback or a bladed set, a bladed long iron might be very, very difficult to hit. It's going to have quite a small head, quite a small sweet spot. So you are generally looking really at sort of your single-digit handicappers and down they're going to get away with these bladed long irons. While the golfers are going to need a bit more forgiveness, so we could actually have a bigger cavity backed head in the long irons. It might feel like it gives you a slightly higher ball flight which might be a good thing for you. And some golfers would rather have a lower looking or a smaller profile head in their short irons, and a bigger profile, more confidence giving head in their longer irons. You can actually get blended sets. You could speak to the manufacturers next time you're looking to change your clubs. And say well, I want the cavity back versions of that iron, 3, 4, 5 iron, the muscleback version of the 6, 7, 8, and then the bladed version of the sort of 9, wedge and sand wedge. And some golfers are able to pick and choose the sets. It’s generally going through the custom fit options rather than just going straight to the shelf. Because when you buy them straight off the shelf, the shop are going to want to sell you the full set. But if you go custom fit, you can pick and choose the different irons. So generally speaking the cavity backed heads, the bigger head, the cavity back is going to hit the ball higher, the muscleback midflight, the bladed is going to be lower. So work out which option is best for yourself. Then obviously the 1 and 2 iron is going to be lower. The 3 and 4 iron is going to be higher. The next option to choose is going to be the shaft. Generally speaking a stiff and heavier flex shaft is going to be lower. So if you get a nice sort of stiff X100 or S300 kind of shaft, you're going to see quite a low ball flight, quite a heavy shaft, low-penetrating flight. If you need a bit more help getting the ball up in the air, you choose a softer steel shaft or even go for a more flexy graphite shaft, the sort of thing you might more see in your hybrid clubs or your 3 wood and driver. So I guess the general principle I'm trying to get across here is go and try these out. Go and experiment with them. Work out what you need in your long irons if you are going to put long irons back in your bag, and go and get custom fit for those options. And be understanding that you don't have to match exactly what's in your set already. These long irons can sit out there as specific clubs designed to do exactly the job you want, be that a nice high-ball flight, a medium ball-flight or a lower, more penetrating ball flight. 2016-07-08

As with any part of your bagging with the setup of your clubs, we want to make sure that the long irons are really suitable for your game, your ability, your swing, but also what you're trying to achieve with the clubs. Now you can have a little bit of flexibility within that long iron range about the clubs you put in your bag, but also how you have them made up. So we can consider how the makeup of the golf club changes the shot we're going to hit. Now the standard thing would just be to consider the loft effectively with the irons, the number.

You could have a 1 iron, a 2 iron, a 3 iron, a 4 iron and then into the general set 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. So generally the 1 to 4 iron, 1 to 5 iron range is the area that we’d call the long irons. One and 2 irons at the moment are very rare. We don't really see many 1 and 2 irons. And a lot of golfers have actually taken the 3 and 4 irons out of that bag as well. But if you wanted to have that low-penetrating, running part of your game back in your bag, you can put your long irons back in. Now for some golfers, they just put the long irons that are already part of their average set.

But for some people if you have maybe a muscleback or a bladed set, a bladed long iron might be very, very difficult to hit. It's going to have quite a small head, quite a small sweet spot. So you are generally looking really at sort of your single-digit handicappers and down they're going to get away with these bladed long irons. While the golfers are going to need a bit more forgiveness, so we could actually have a bigger cavity backed head in the long irons. It might feel like it gives you a slightly higher ball flight which might be a good thing for you.

And some golfers would rather have a lower looking or a smaller profile head in their short irons, and a bigger profile, more confidence giving head in their longer irons. You can actually get blended sets. You could speak to the manufacturers next time you're looking to change your clubs. And say well, I want the cavity back versions of that iron, 3, 4, 5 iron, the muscleback version of the 6, 7, 8, and then the bladed version of the sort of 9, wedge and sand wedge. And some golfers are able to pick and choose the sets.

It’s generally going through the custom fit options rather than just going straight to the shelf. Because when you buy them straight off the shelf, the shop are going to want to sell you the full set. But if you go custom fit, you can pick and choose the different irons. So generally speaking the cavity backed heads, the bigger head, the cavity back is going to hit the ball higher, the muscleback midflight, the bladed is going to be lower. So work out which option is best for yourself. Then obviously the 1 and 2 iron is going to be lower. The 3 and 4 iron is going to be higher.

The next option to choose is going to be the shaft. Generally speaking a stiff and heavier flex shaft is going to be lower. So if you get a nice sort of stiff X100 or S300 kind of shaft, you're going to see quite a low ball flight, quite a heavy shaft, low-penetrating flight. If you need a bit more help getting the ball up in the air, you choose a softer steel shaft or even go for a more flexy graphite shaft, the sort of thing you might more see in your hybrid clubs or your 3 wood and driver.

So I guess the general principle I'm trying to get across here is go and try these out. Go and experiment with them. Work out what you need in your long irons if you are going to put long irons back in your bag, and go and get custom fit for those options. And be understanding that you don't have to match exactly what's in your set already. These long irons can sit out there as specific clubs designed to do exactly the job you want, be that a nice high-ball flight, a medium ball-flight or a lower, more penetrating ball flight.