How to Hit a Long Iron Long and Straight

Flushing a long iron straight, high and long is a beautiful thing. There is nothing like the feeling of solidly struck long iron. Learning to flush long irons will make you a more versatile player. Not only will you be able tackle the long distance approach shot to the green, but teeing off with a long iron will be an invaluable go to shot in certain situations, instead of always swinging driver or 3-wood off the tee. Being able to poke a long iron a long way out there will keep your ball in the fairway on tight driving holes.

So, how do you hit the long iron long and straight? Simple. The first setup key is to position the ball forward in the stance, just opposite the left breast (for right-handed players). The ball forward position will promote a higher trajectory.

Second, the swing arc must be flatter or shallower. You do not want to attempt to hit down on top of the ball with a long iron. Instead, focus on sweeping the ball off of the turf and contacting the ball at the bottom of the swing arc.

Making the swing arc flatter will be easier since you will be standing further away from the ball because of the longer club shaft. A wider stance will also help to encourage a flatter swing as well as fortifying the stance to maintain balance.

During the swing, make a full backswing maintaining the spine angle. On the downswing and into impact, stay behind the ball and release the club from the INSIDE into the ball and sweep it off of the grass. There should be no attempt to 'get the ball into the air' during impact. The clubface of long irons have more than enough loft to get the ball airborne. -You will have to trust it.

A short, shallow divot or divot at all will be an indicator that the ball was swept off the ground. A deep divot will indicate that the angle of attack into the ball was too steep.

With practice, working the ball with longer irons will become easy. Playing draws and fades to shape the ball to fit the shot will come naturally. Just remember to sweep the ball by making a shallower swing, from the inside swing while maintaining a steady base. Do those things and you will look forward to hitting 4-iron from long distance.

Long irons