How to Hit Long Irons Better in Golf?

Have you found yourself consistently asking yourself- “Why do I struggle to hit long irons?” Well, let me tell you that you’re not alone.

Long irons are indeed the most formidable clubs in golf, and no other member in the lineup gives you as much challenging times as they do. Undoubtedly, they’re never the natural pick among the bunch. No wonder why more and more golfers are ditching their 3-irons and 4-irons for the hybrids.

However, if you aim to take up the challenge and master the greens with long irons anyways, it’s very much possible.

For efficiently learning how to hit long irons better in golf, you’ll need to have some essential tips and tricks up your sleeves. And in this article, we’ll help you out with just that. So, stick around.

Widen Your Arc

According to most pro golfers, the width of your arc decides the superiority of your long iron hit. Widening the arc means holding onto a wider stance, with the ball sitting by the side of your left heel. Likewise, you’ll have to set it towards the right foot when the ball needs to stay at a lower course.

Round out your backswing and create a sweeping motion. Try to keep up the initial arc you’ve made during the backswing while coming into your downswing.

Now, pull a strike on the ball while getting to the slant of the arc. This way, your head remains at the back of your ball, instead of making a stiff swing that would have sent your clubhead hitting on the ball downwards.

You should also remember that the ball doesn’t get to fly effectively unless you hit it at a lowly angle.

What Should the Ball Position Be?

The consistency of your hits largely depends on the ball position too. Most professionals find the front-center of their stance as the ideal ball position for hitting long irons.

Also, you won’t want to put the ball that far away from your front while it’s amateurish to try to get the ball airborne.

Putting the ball too far in front leads the clubhead to hit past its impact, which results in thinner shots, and therefore, super inferior distance. So, you should trust the loft of your club, no matter what, and place the ball just within easy reach at the front center.

For doing this, place your clubhead inside of your front foot. Now draw an imaginary line vertical with your body from that placement, and put a ball there. Take a short iron, and you should notice that the ball is sitting in the center of your stance. Do not use any longer club, for it will leave the ball farther ahead than necessary.

How to Hit Long Irons Pure?

When your setup is complete, you’ll need to find the drills perfect for hitting long irons pure.

Draw that imaginary vertical line once again, and this time, place a minimum of five balls on it. You should try not to hit any of the ground before the vertical line.

The best thing you could do next is to film yourself from the front while practicing this drill, preferably by keeping the camera vertically with the target line. It should also be focusing on your hands, so you can point out the bottom point of your swing arc while analyzing the video. 

If you keep swaying instead of turning, you’ll need to draw yet another imaginary line. This one should be running from the ground and behind your rear leg. Your hips must not break this plane when making the swings, and in some cases, they should be allowed for inbound moves from the line.

For working on this drill, set an alignment rod in the loops of your front belt. The larger share of the rod should be sticking forward.  Put another one from your rear foot, angled at 45 degrees with the ground. During your swings, the one at your hips should be aligned with the one on the earth.

Hit no less than 40 shots while practicing this drill, and ensure tight focus on each of them. Don’t stop filming, for it’ll denote the checkpoints of your improvements.

How to Hit Long Irons Straight?

Maintaining a straight trajectory can be challenging when you hit long irons. Yet, it’s very much doable with the right approach and technique. Here’s how you’ll do it.

After placing the ball correctly in the middle of your stance, you’ll need to prepare for striking it on the downswing. The follow-through should loft it towards the pin. So, make some powerful, controlled hits using your long iron; a 3-iron is ideal for this drill. During the hits, place the ball two inches farther from the center of your stance, for it’ll ensure the full power consistently stays behind.

You’ll also need to ensure your arm stays straight during the downswings. When your shooting hand remains straight, it allows you to make the necessary turns of your shoulder, which ultimately help keep the trajectory straight. In contrast, your shoulder will likely move wide to push the shots to the sideways.

Here’s another vital thing to remember- when you come down onto the ball, your bodyweight moves towards the direction of your shot. When you stay back on it, on the other hand, the balance doesn’t shift, which causes your lower body to move during the hit, and therefore, the hit goes off the trajectory.

How to Hit Long Irons off the Tee?

You’ll need to be proficient in your game for teeing off with long irons and improving your scores thereby. And without analyzing a player’s skillset, figuring out the proper drills can be challenging as well. However, the highlights of the basic drills for hitting long irons we’re sharing below will hopefully be of your help.

For the proper teeing off of the ball, you’ll need to tee it up correctly as well. Since you’ll hit longer irons, you’ll want it to be 0.25-inch above the ground. Meaning, the ball should always be teed slightly off the grass.

However, you shouldn’t tee it any higher than the mentioned height since your iron’s face has the design to give the ball a good loft.

Then you might be wondering- “why the additional altitude?” Well, the answer is it helps create the much-needed lie for bolstering your shot’s finesse.

If you still find yourself struggling, you’ll need to focus on your stance and movement. Go back to the stance correction technique we’ve discussed above, and then do the following.

Try to keep your head still. Not only will it help make short and compact backswings, but it’ll also ensure that you remain more concentrated over the ball. As a result, your hits will be more reliable.

How to Hit Long Irons High?

A high-long iron is rare to witness and execute, despite being one of the coolest things on the course.

To enjoy the great feeling that comes with it, you’ll need to relocate the ball slightly up from your stance and focus hard on your follow-through. Be sure to end high since you’re aiming to hit it high.

You must not try to lift the ball at all, for it’ll only result in low.

On a Final Note…

There’s no doubt that even professionals often find themselves in difficulties while trying to hit long irons consistently. Hence, the struggle is ever so real, no matter if you grow into a pro golfer and own a set of best-rated golf irons.

Still, the tidbits we’ve shared here will hopefully help you go a long way towards long-iron mastery. So, start practicing right away since you’re now well-informed about how to hit long irons in golf, and surprise your buddies with your skills.