Recovery Club or Long Iron or Wood?

Hello all.

As a 28 H/C struggling to improve, my major problem is that I don't ever hit the ball very long, what ever club I use!

I use a 3 wood for virtually all my Tee shots, which for me more often than not produces an acceptable outcome. (I'm trying the 1W on the range, but not got sufficient confidence yet to use it on the course).

So the dilemma I face now is what is the best club to use for the fairway drives on the Par 4 or 5s? I have generally been using a No. 3 18* Recovery club, but this almost always produces a slice that loses me distance and can often put me in trouble in the rough or woods!

I have noticed that my iron shots, typically 5 or 6, approaching the green are much better with little or no slice, so I wonder whether using a 3 or 4I for the hopefully longer drives down the fairway, will produce better results. I've tried this a few times recently, and generally the outcome has been reasonably positive.

I've heard people say that hitting the long irons is more difficult, and I know some people use a 3 or 5W for these shots, so I'm really not sure which is the best way to go. Any advice very welcome indeed, thanks.

One will never hit any club well if one always leaves it in the bag. Long irons require a bit of perseverance and a willingness to swing the club and not attempt to go for it. Poor tempo is what kills a good long iron shot.

Every club should be swung with an identical tempo and good contact is necessary for the shot to be successful. So, Bob, forget length for the moment and concentrate on a good solid strike out of the centre of the club. Good luck.

I couldn't agree more John. The amount of control and accuracy over say a rescue/5 wood (if the 3 iron is struck correctly) will become apparent. The big error that most people suffer from is feeling thehave to give it that bit more to 'get it airborne...result poor strick with a distance that could be avhieved with an 8 iron. Like you saty, tempo is the key.

I think you should focus on hitting 5-PW and settle for getting to greens in 3 shots rather than hitting the 3 rescue. Carry on practising at the range until you are confident hitting the ball without a major slice. Because you are off 28 I think you should use the shots you get on holes to your advantage. Being straight is better than being long and wayward.