Meet the Irons

Understanding Golf Clubs: Irons

By Brent Kelley

Irons are so-called because their clubheads are made of metal. Of course, "woods" are now also made of metal, but that's a relatively recent development. Irons have featured metal clubheads (steel, these days) for centuries.

Irons feature thin clubheads and grooved faces. Accomplished players might choose a "muscleback" or "blade" style of iron, whereas beginners and most recreational players will want a "cavity back" style.

The difference is that a blade-style features a full back on the rear of the clubhead, whereas a cavity back is exactly that: the rear of the clubhead is, to a certain degree, hollowed out. This creates an effect known as "perimeter weighting," which is helpful to less-accomplished players.

A typical, off-the-shelf set of irons will include a 3-iron through pitching wedge (advertised as "3-PW"), 8 clubs total. The clubs are identified by a number (or "PW") on the sole of each club.

Each club has a little less loft than the next and a little longer shaft length than the next, so each club goes a little farther than the next. That is, a 3-iron has less loft than a 4-iron, which has less loft than a 5-iron, and so on. Also, a 3-iron is a little longer than a 4-iron, which is a little longer than a 5-iron, and so on. Therefore, a 3-iron will go a little farther than a 4-iron, which will go a little farther than a 5-iron, on through the pitching wedge.

The yardage gap between irons is generally 10-15 yards. Your 3-iron, in other words, should produce shots that are 10-15 yards longer than your 4-iron.

Also, as you move through the set to the shorter, more lofted clubs, the resulting shots will have a steeper trajectory; shots will rise at a steeper angle and fall at a steeper angle.

Two other irons, the 1-iron and 2-iron, are often offered for separate purchase. As a beginner, you'll want to steer clear of both of these. With their thin clubheads, very little loft and longer shafts, 1- and 2-irons are difficult clubs for recreational players to master. (In fact, many experts will recommend that beginners and recreational players also stay away from 3-irons and 4-irons, replacing them with utility clubs or fairway woods.)

Irons are generally categorized as long irons, mid-irons and short irons. Long irons are the 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-irons; mid-irons, the 5-, 6- and 7-irons; short irons, the 8- and 9-irons and pitching wedge.

For most amateurs, the short irons are easier to hit than the mid-irons, which are easier to hit than the long irons. Without getting too technical, the reason is that as loft increases and shaft length decreases, a club becomes easier to master. A shorter shaft makes a club easier to control in the swing (think of baseball where a batter will "choke up" on the bat - essentially, shorten the bat - when he's simply trying to make contact rather than swing for the fences). More loft helps get the ball airborne and adds a little more control to the shot.

Learning your distances - how far you hit each club - is much more important than trying to hit each club to some predetermined "correct" yardage. There is no "right" distance for each club, there is only your distance. That said, a typical male recreational golfer might hit a 4-, 5- or 6- iron from 150 yards, while a typical female might use a 3-wood, 5-wood or 3-iron from that distance. (Beginners often overestimate how far they are "supposed" to hit each club because they watch the professionals blasting 220-yard 5-irons. No matter what the commercial says, you are not Tiger Woods! Pro players are in a different universe; do not compare yourself to them.)

Irons can be played from the teeing ground, using a tee, and it is often appropriate to do so. On a par-3, for example, you will probably use an iron on your tee shot. Or you might use an iron off any (or even every) tee in order to have better control over the shot.

But most of your iron shots will come from the fairway. Irons are designed with divots in mind. That's why they have a leading edge that is somewhat sharply rounded. If you take a shot with an iron and dig up a chunk of turf, don't feel bad. Maybe you dug up too much turf, but it is entirely appropriate to take a divot with an iron played from the fairway.

That is because iron shots are played with the ball positioned so that it is struck on the downswing. That is, the club is still descending when it makes contact with the ball (for the proper ball position, see the article "Setup for Success").

Knowing which iron to use in which situation is mostly a function of learning how far you hit each club. But trajectory also often comes into play. If you need to hit the ball high - to get over a tree, for example - you would choose one of the higher-lofted clubs. So learning the trajectory of each of your irons - how high the ball climbs, and how quickly it climbs, with each iron - is another important factor.