Do we still need to use 4 irons?

I'm starting to hit my 5i a little better than before.. maybe i should take my 4i out of the plastic, and give it a try !! As others have said, there's a bit too much dispersion with my 4H !

@Shamusan ... bro ... you swing speed is at least 20mph faster than mine ... for me even when I strike a 3i sweetly off the deck, it goes the same distance as my 5i, largely cos my swing speed is insufficient to optimise the launch. Of course hitting it off a tee (slightly raised), a 3i isn't really that difficult to use cos I can swing up on it, but for me there are other (easier and more reliable) ways to reach a 190m Par 3

@nutty ... the majority of hybrids are designed to help golfers who have problems squaring the clubface ... this also means they have hooking tendencies ... however with the right shaft and the right hybrid head (some are desgined to be fade biased) ... who knows ... I started out with flexible graphite shafts in my hybrids ... now I use either light steel or SF ... but yes, they occasionally have a tendency to hook out of control but for me my choice is for consistent distance over consistent direction (of course both is good lah but I am not a scratch golfer) because I prefer to miss left/right rather than long or short. Maybe u can keep searching for the right hybrid shaft combi ... btw no need application for to join the rest of the equipment sluts in Equipment Addicts Anonymous thread ... LOL!

@TDO ... hmmm I have never considered using woods for punch shots ... will experiment the next time I am at the range ... thanks!

Hi Derek, you should try it. It's relatively easy to hit.

Going to the range later, will try out the punch technique with woods, hopefully I will have one more option to use on the course when I find myself in the trees ...

Back to the topic, the link below briefly talks about the equipment choices used on the LPGA tour

http://golftips.golfsmith.com/clubs-lpga-pros-carry-bags-20655.html

So why look at their clubs instead of PGA tour players clubs? After all, many golfers are big strong men right? There are tables available that provide average swing speed, lanuch angle, carry distance, roll, height etc for both the average PGA and LGPA players.

http://thesandtrap.com/t/32498/trackman-data-pga-tour-vs-lpga

Looking at driver, 94 for LPGA and 112 for PGA. Which one do you think the average amateur is closer to?

Point to note, these are based on trackman data, so if you really want to compare, do it on a properly calibrated trackman. Alternatively, any other professionally used launch monitor will do as well (properly calibrated of course).

I have met golfers who tell me that they have a swing speed more than 100mph and wonder why their driver only goes 180-190m (carry plus roll). Looking at their swing and the flight of the ball (even when hitting around the sweet spot), that seems unlikely. So when I ask politely where they found out their swing speed, a common response was the now defunct Vgolf in Bras Basah, which was famous for ramping up distances on their simulator systems in an attempt to make golfers feel better.

I have met several of our forum golfers who have swing speeds in excess of 110mph (and 1 or 2 who I suspect are above 120mph) and trust me, you can tell immediately that they have a fast swing that is translating into a high ball speed. But the simple fact is that the vast vast vast majority of social golfers have no hope in hell of swinging a club that fast, let alone in a consistent enough manner to obtain a good smash factor in the right direction. The rest of the normal people are probably going to be swinging slower than the average LPGA player.

Back to the topic, if you are talented/gifted/lucky/forutunate/dedicated/hardworking enough to have a swing speed closer to a PGA pro, you can physically use any club (almost) and it just boils down to getting consistent ball contact.

If you are closer the LPGA swing speed, or slower than, perhaps a look into what LGPA players choose to earn a living with might be enlightening.

It is interesting to note that the Angle of Attack (AOA) on the driver for PGA Tour player is -1.3 deg and the LPA player is +3 ... I believe most of the social golfers would be positive AOA ... Perhaps that suggests why their ball flight is very penetrating ... It is high time for me to learn how to hit on a negative AOA for driver ... Hmmm ...

I dun even use a 5i, i choke down 1 inch on my 4H , i get 165m , choke down 1.5 inch its 155m. 5i is in my bag but only if i need to go low with a punch under trees. Oh.. Wait, this discussion is abt 4i.. Paiseyy OT

A bit more info on hybrids

http://www.pga.com/golf-instruction/instruction-feature/hybrids-and-irons/why-you-should-have-hybrid-video

Yes, I may still use my 4i ...

I am still using a lot of my 4 iron to fill the distance gap between 5 iron & 5 wood

haragolfer wrote:

Happy Feet wrote:

Quote :

Technospaz wrote:

Don't fit your bag based on what others think will suit you. Fit your bag based on what you know will suit you.

sound like one of the kennedy speech

Donts ask what the country can do for you. Ask what you cam do for your country.......

Dont ask what the 4 iron can do for you , ask what You can do dor your game.

I spend 1 hour at the range perfectng a 4 iron shot. Bring on course, bad lie , downward sloping water in front of green all cannot play. Hit also usually top or and hook. 1 hour on chipping or 50 m shots. Everywheer can use on the course.maybe people even clap when i land one close to pin.

Who am i kidding? What accuracy do i have from 150plus meters out. That which rory can do, i cannot.

Good point there

If you wanna hit 4i or 3i well, better to use full-cavity or pocket cavity iron for added forgiveness. Even top tour PRO like Rory McIlroy and TW use full cavity for their Nike 2i ...