Do you struggle with how to hit long irons? Maybe you shouldn’t even bother trying! Coach Lockey explains why you can not hit your long irons and how to improve your long game golf swing.
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Hi I’m Matt Lockey, welcome to my Coach Lockey YouTube Channel. This YouTube channel is designed to help you play better golf, and to help you enjoy your golf more!
I specialise in golf course vlogs, golf challenges, golf tips, golf lessons, golf club reviews and the odd golf club unboxing. So pretty much everything golf!
I want to help you play better golf by providing coaching videos on all topics about golf. How to fix your slice, fix your hook, help you drive the golf ball longer, hit your irons more pure, hit your irons closer to the hole and help you draw and fade your golf shots.
As well as helping you produce the best long game you can have, I will help you lower your scores by chipping better, stopping duff and thin chips, pitching the ball closer and creating backspin like the tour pros. Finally, I will provide you help to putt better and hole more putts too!
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long irons why do amateur struggle so
much with hitting their long irons and
another question should you even be
using long irons I’m going to pop some
stats up here from the guys at shots
scope and have a look at the percentages
of Greening regulations from certain
distances and look as how handicaps go
up Greens in regulation from certain
distances start to go down is that
because of your long irons and the
inability to strike them or is it the
case of a lack of speed or accuracy let
me know in the comments down below if
you struggle with this area of your golf
bag before I give you some simple golf
tips on how to improve your long isons
if you’re new to the channel hello and
welcome if you’re a ret turning viewer
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not subscribed to the channel and you
enjoy the content hit that big red
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my new videos why do amateur struggle so
much with long irons long irons are no
different to Mid irons and short irons
you need to be hitting down slightly
with them and depending on your speed
that will have an impact on how
potentially you’re playing these golf
clubs so if you struggle with distance
you’re a short hitter of the golf ball
if you have a long iron in your bag and
you think that it’s the right answer
General patterns that I see see in my
lessons and day-to-day golfers out on
the golf course is you’ve got no Loft on
this club and you’ve got a lack of speed
so generally speaking golfers try to
help this golf ball up in the air low
point of your Arc moves behind the golf
ball you start to Fat shots thin shots
knobble shots along the ground it’s not
pretty and that’s why I say if you are a
short ha of the golf ball struggling
with your long irons is there any point
of you even having these think about the
different situations you put yourself in
on the golf course as well when you get
in the rough and you try and take a long
iron and you do the same swing and try
and help it up in the air there’s no way
that you’re getting that club to travel
through that thick grass and strike that
golf ball properly you need some speed
with long irons if you want them in your
golf bag I’m going to put some more
stats up here from the guys at shots
scope and look how hybrid wins in every
category longer distance shorter
distance apart from one that scratch
golfer from the shorter distance where
he’s going to have more Loft in his
hands or she then have that control
hybrid needs to go in your bag if you’re
struggling with your long irons so we
understand that irons you need to hit
slightly down and it’s the same with
hybrids too but the difference between
the hybrid and the iron is that you’ve
got roll and bulge on this face so it it
curves from the Leading Edge to the
crown it curves from the toe to the heel
and if you start hitting down on a
hybrid you’ll get that ball striking
higher on the face higher on the face
means that there’s more Loft on this
club higher up so you’re going to be
able to launch this hybrid better a
luxury that you don’t have with a long
iron so even swing the same with your
hybrid if you’re a slow swing speed
golfer as your mid D that’s going to get
you hitting down a bit more it’s going
to stop you leaning back trying to help
that ball up in the air and as soon as
you start striking that ball higher on
the face you’re going to get that higher
launch more control more distance on
these longer approach shots when you’re
on the golf course finally how you blend
your clubs in this part of your bag is
super important now if you’re a long
iron player and you hit irons well carry
on doing what you’re doing I’m happy but
if if you’re thinking now yeah this area
of my game isn’t great I need to put
some hybrids in my bag and I’m sure
you’ll do this with your wedges and
irons but you need to start doing this
when you get to this part of your bag
too and that’s blending each Club I want
my seven iron and eight iron to blend so
if I hit my eight iron hard or my seven
iron soft I can get them going the same
distance but the trajectory is going to
be different the control at the other
end is going to be different and that’s
no different when you get to this part
of your bag as well you want them to
blend so whether you stop at a seven
iron a 6 iron a five iron a four iron
and then go into your hybrid it all
needs to blend you need this club this
hybrid to overlap with your longest iron
and all the way up to your driver blend
this hybrid with your fairway wood and
then with your driver blending your golf
clubs even at this end of your bag is
super important why do amateur struggle
with hitting long L generally it’s a
speed thing 100% think about getting
hybrids in your bag to improve this area
of your game let me know in the comments
down below how many hybrids or long
irons do you have in your golf bag I’d
love to know and again a little reminder
if this video helps and you’re enjoying
the channel make sure you hit that big
red subscribe button hit the thumbs up
as it helps the channel and turn that
Bell on so you get notified of all my
new video uploads I hope that helps at
least gets you thinking about this part
of your Vol bag to help improve those
long irons and long approach shots let
me know how you get on I’ll see you in
the next one
[Music]
34 Comments
I don't struggle with my long irons at all,what are you going on about lol
Unrelated Lockey but my stand bag's just packed it in – any recommendations?
I think you're spot on as a general rule but I'm much more consistent in directional terms with my 4 utility iron than with my 4 hybrid! Sure I'm not getting as much height and distance but I do know where it's going to go more often than not.
High handicap here (20) but I actually generally strike my longer irons (5-3) better than my shorter irons (w-7). My gut feeling is that it has to do with my height (6’3”). My irons are 1/2” over standard and +1 upright but I still feel like I really have to reach to get the shorter clubs to the ball. Any thoughts on that?
Great advice yet again coach, I started with a PXG 3 hybrid, now have 2h, 5h,,6h searching for a 4h to finish, irons for the rest of the bag.
Tell that to a young Mark Crossfield – with his 2 iron.
And I am sure with bigger legs, you too Coach can hit it 375 yards.
Hybrids and 7 and 9 woods are so much easier to hit, and they offer tons of forgiveness!
Good call Coach. Slower swing speed, short hitter, older guy – all of the above.. That’s why I love my 4 and 5 hybrids (XXIO). Haven’t tried the utility irons that someone else mentioned. Thoughts?
Hi coach, its been a long winter down the driving range but now with my new clubs ( Ping 430 driver and 5- pw irons) I've been fitted for a ping 430 hybrid plus vokey wedges which will be here by the weekend. I'm ready to hit the golf course next week so just wanted to thank you for all the instructions I've received over the winter. 27 years since i last played golf and can't wait. Cheers
Are the titles of these videos for the benefit of the algorithm? The negative emphasis is just poor imo. The whole “why are amateurs crap” YouTube videos are a turn off for me. “How to get better with your long irons” would be better.
Lack of practice, smaller sweet spot, lack of confidence >>>> all why long irons are hard.
I hit my long irons better than I strike my short irons. Handicap doesn’t play a role on ball striking. Swing speed doesn’t really matter either.
I'm a weird golfer… mid handicap. I can't hit hybrid clubs at all… I actually hit long irons way better. 3-9
72 years old. 13 handicap. Have no trouble with my 4 iron. It's that damn 3 wood on the fairway that sabotages me. Sometimes hit it like a pro, sometimes like a beginner.
I switch between a driving iron and a hybrid depending on course I am playing, I also tend to draw the hybrid and fade the driving iron, they are interchangeable in my bag.
when I try to hit my 4 hybrid I always hit a hook with it so in a few days I am getting a new G430 5 wood HL and have a G430 7wood HL on order .
1 hydrid in my bag, a 4. I added last year. I used to love my 4 iron but when I got new irons the 4 just never felt right. Now thinking about a 5 hybrid. My gaps from 6 to 5 to 4 hybrid isn't what I want. In part because the 4 hybrid is flying further.
At age 67 I have lost the skill to hit any iron above my 5 iron. Most of the time my 5 and 7 irons travel the same distance but the trajectory is higher on the 7. I play the same two courses regularly, so I have found that a putter, 56, and 9,7,5 irons are all I need. I tried a hybrid and it just didn't work for me so I added a used 7 wood to go with my driver. Sometimes when the driver is misbehaving, I will tee off with the 7 wood. Usually after the 3rd hole, my drive will be ready to play and the 7 wood will wait its turn on the par 5s.
I have a 3 wood and a full set of hybrids from 4 through 9 and I love them
Percentages of greens hit from a further distance away will always be less regardless of the club you use. A 1 degree miss off the club will result in a bigger miss the further you play it out
I stop my irons at 6 then have 2 hybrids and 2 woods
I feel its a combination of reasons, we don't hit them often, the blade is less lofted, and longer we have to adjust ball position and then the mental nervousness…the lowest iron I carry is a 5 and my Hybrid has been fantastic replacing the 3/4…
You were always such a tremendous long iron hitter, and Mark went to Hybrids before you, but I believe you are now using Hybrids now too.
Long irons and amateurs? What about your mate Mark Crossfield who only goes to a 6i.
Today's 4 iron is the same club mainly as my old 2 iron from 30 years ago. I bought a new set of Mizuno JPXs several years ago and longest iron is a 6 🤣 I am old now and love my hybrids and fairway woods. Thanks coach! Good stuff!
My irons stop at a 6 iron. Then the fairway woods. I keep a 3 iron only for recovery shots under tree branches to get back on the fairway.
I play off 8 and can’t hit long irons due to lack of technique.my irons go to 6 iron but I do own a tsr4 hybrid, if it wasn’t that little wond I’d be playing off 18 or more
I keep my 4 iron in the bag,a couple of the places we play have a long par 3.. 4 iron seems more accurate for me off a tee, long par 4 definitely going hybrid. Good lesson Coach!! Cheers!! Do I sense a coarse vlog coming soon?
I play all hybrids, my lowest lofted iron is a 43* nine iron. I can shoot mid 70's.
I’ve not got a slow swing but I Made this change a few months back and it’s made a huge difference. Stop at a 5 iron now then 5 and 4. hybrids which are light years easier for me than the longer irons ever were. I’ve now got confidence at those distances which I never had with an iron.
Coach, what threshold constitutes a lack of speed? Less than 110mph with the driver … 100 … 90?
Currently play with only one 4-hybrid, but my middle and long irons are of hollow-body design; therefore, much easier to launch.
I go 7 wood, 25 degree hybrid and 28 hybrid. My longest iron is my 7 and I’m vey happy with this setup.
Usually hit them somewhat consistently but not always on target
2 fairway wood. 15/18
3 hybrids. 21, 25, 29
Then irons starting with 7i at 28*. Distance gaps are roughly 10 yds.
Swing speed for driver about 85.
An abundance of age and a lack of speed = lack of launch, height and spin = lack of control and distance. The lower the loft the worse it becomes. My least lofted iron is a 24.5* 5-iron because I hit a 4 iron just 4 yards farther, and a 3 iron actually goes 3 yards shorter. Sadly, it took me until recently to accept reality and ditch the long irons and put in a couple a hybrids. But now, my proximity to greens (yes greens, not pins) has improved dramatically and my "missed short" stat has dropped by nearly half.