Irons

There’s so many options, you need to choose the right style for your handicap… and get fitted.

BALL FLIGHT: GET THE FLIGHT BENEFITS FROM YOUR IRONS

effective set of irons is one that leaves consistent yardage gaps between clubs. Accomplishing this has less to do with distance and more to do with “peak height” – the point in the sky at which your shots stop rising and start falling.

The yardages between each club should be consistent if the height of your iron shots are similar. “A well-balanced iron set is one that helps players produce a ball flight that reaches the same height for every club and then drops at the same, steep angle,” says Tom Stites, director of golf-club creation for Nike. Does this mean your 4-iron should fly as high as your wedge? You bet. In fact, for better players, a 4-iron shot typically goes higher than a wedge shot. It just does so further downrange.

“On the wedge side of your iron set, because the lofts are higher and you’re hitting them with a glancing blow, a lot more energy goes into producing spin than ball speed and launch angle,” says Scott Carlyle, Cleveland Golf’s manager of wedges and irons. “So the clubs that fly the lowest are actually the wedges.”

To measure the peak height of your iron shots, find a clubfitter in your area with a launch monitor). If your peak heights start to fall off as you get into the longer irons, it’s time to look into hybrids or search for another model of clubs that better suits your swing.

SIZE MATTERS: STUDY SOLE WIDTH TO FIND YOUR IDEAL IRON

How can you tell what category of iron you’re holding in your hands? Turn it upside down and look at the width of the sole.

The sole width of a 6-iron for clubs that made our 2011 Hot List varies significantly by category: The average sole width of a super game-improvement 6-iron is 31.3mm. A game-improvement 6-iron averages 22.4mm in width, and a players 6-iron is 18.9mm. Stated another way: SGI irons are 40 per cent wider than GI irons, which are 19 per cent wider than players irons.

Why is a wider sole more forgiving? Because it lowers the club’s centre of gravity and increases its resistance to twisting on off-centre strikes. A wider sole also glides across the turf more easily. Consequently, fat shots usually go further.

Conversely, the wider a sole, the more difficult it is for better players to manipulate the club and work the ball. Even if the soles of players irons have got slightly wider over the years, they remain the most slender.

SUPER GAME IMPROVEMENT IRONS

GAME IMPROVEMENT IRONS

BETTER PLAYER IRONS